From real to reel – life goes to the movies

(bdnews24.com, May 27, 2011)

In 2006, Bangladesh found itself in the international media spotlight, for all the right reasons. One of its well-known citizens, Muhammad Yunus, an economist and one-time professor of the subject, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work, which also shared the honour: the Grameen Bank, an institution that provides small loans to people on or below the poverty line who have no collateral to use for credit from other banks that lend money. Yunus made what could be considered a mistake – he aimed to step into the political arena and had already become rather too well known on a global platform.

And where there is worth, there will be enemies. And, they came crawling out of the woodwork and attacked just when they thought the time was perfect and ended the whole thing. In March this year, the Bangladesh government removed Yunus from his post in the Grameen Bank, saying that after long scrutiny legal violations had been discovered and the Nobel laureate had overshot his age-eligibility limit.

The facts of the case are well known, especially in Bangladesh. But there is one ramification that is of interest to the ordinary Indian now, especially one who watches movies and is a fan of one particular actor: Irrfan Khan. The star has bagged a new and prestigious project to play Yunus in a film called Banker to the Poor, based on the eponymous bestseller. Being directed by Italian filmmaker Marco Amenta, it will show how and why, from a very human perspective, the Grameen Bank was opened and how it managed to boost the economy of a section of the Bangladeshi population that needed all the help it could get. It is reported that the actor will be meeting Yunus to get an insight into his role and the functioning not only of the bank, but of the man who created the institution. With someone of the thespian credibility and involvement of Khan, the film will be realistic and graphic, but whether it will find an audience is another question completely.

Meanwhile, international cinema has taken a number of true stories and made them come alive onscreen. A couple of years ago, Angelina Jolie and the same Irrfan Khan were reliving the tragic tale of Wall Street journalist Daniel Pearl, who was beheaded by al-Quaeda in Pakistan. More recently and closer to home, Monica told the story of Shivani Bhatnagar, another journalist, who was murdered in her home in New Delhi; it starred Divya Dutta, as talented as Khan, but not as well acknowledged for some reason. Somehow so many of these ‘true story films’ are about death and disaster, grief and revenge, but perhaps that is because that is what sells, certainly more than happy tales of roses and sunshine and everyone being happy.

Consider some of the film made on real subjects over the last year or so: Green Zone (2010), about events from the end of the invasion phase of the Gulf War until the transfer of power to the Iraqis; Mad in Italy (2010), based on events about a girl’s ordeal to stay alive at the hands of a young maniac; The Social Network (2010), on the creation of Facebook and the lawsuits that followed; 127 Hours, the story of Aron Ralston, the American mountain climber who amputated his own arm to free himself after being trapped by a boulder for six days; No One Killed Jessica (2010), on the real life murder case of Jessica Lall, a young socialite and model in New Delhi; Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey(2010), a Hindi movie version of the Chittagong uprising In 1930 and so many more.

But cinema is not just about box offices and fan clubs, but can be an educative tool as well. How many young people would be willing to read about the story behind one of the most successful networking tools ever: Facebook? I know very few adults who will even recognise the name of Aron Ralston, but so many youngsters will have seen 127 Hours and know it for a Danny Boyle film with music by AR Rahman! Children may not listen to Indian mythology, but after seeing My Friend Ganesha, they will know the entire story behind the baby elephant god and his creation and virtues. In fact, a number of schools and colleges have started understanding the positive qualities of commercial cinema, seeing it as more than just escapist fare or a dream world, and using it to educate, to mentor, to set examples of qualities that young people need to accept and absorb to be responsible, progressive and mature world citizens.

And the story of Mohammad Yunus could be another small step in that direction too.