Ghetuptra Kamola, the latest film of author-cum-filmmaker Humayun Ahmed, who died recently, will represent Bangladesh in the forthcoming 85th edition of Oscars in the foreign language category.
It is the second submission of Humayun’s film in the Oscars after his Shyamal Chhaya sent in in 2005.
Recently released movie Ghetuputro Kamola features the tragic death of an adolescent boy, who performs in traditional ghetu gaan, an extinct performing art form that used to be presented in the haor areas in the northeast part of the country over a hundred years ago. In Ghetu Gaan adolescent boys dressed as girls, used to perform in an erotic way to entertain and satisfy the zamindars of that time.
The selection has ended the rumour regarding no participation from Bangladesh in Oscars resulted from a tug of war between two factions of Bangladesh Federation of Film Societies.
The 12-member reformed Oscars Submission Committee announced the Bangladeshi entry for the Academy Awards ceremony, organised by the United States Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at a press conference held on Tuesday at La Vinci Hotel.
The conference, organised by Bangladesh Federation of Film Societies, was attended by chairman of the Oscar Submission Committee Habibur Rahman Khan along with other committee members including Muhammad Hannan, Abdul Latif Bachchu, Abu Musa Debu, Rokeya Prachi and Abdus Selim.
The committee had received only two applications, Habibur Rahman Khan added saying, ‘Unfortunately we received only two films: Raju Ahmed’s Bhul and Humayun Ahmmed’s Ghetuputra Kamola.’
‘Bhul was not considered as it had been released on September 23, 2011,’ Khan said.
‘According to the “Special Rules for the Best Foreign Language Film Award” category in the Oscars, movies released between October 1, 2011 and September 30, 2012 could apply,’ he added.
He also explained the reason behind reforming the committee. ‘The 12-member committee has been newly formed after much misunderstanding between two factions,’ he added.
Bangladesh faced embarrassment in the Oscars ceremony last year when the two fractions sent separate entries. Finally, the Oscars committee did not accept any of the submissions.
Matir Moyna, Shyamol Chhaya, Nirantar, Swapnadanga, Aha, Britter Baire and Third Person Singular Number represented Bangladesh in Oscars respectively in year 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010.
-With New Age input
