Work is progressing fast on 'Bangabandhu' biopic: Information Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud

Work is progressing fast on the 'Bangabandhu' biopic, being produced under a joint venture arrangement by Bangladesh and India and directed by Shyam Benegal.

Information minister Dr. Hasan Mahmud made the remarks after reviewing the progress of the biopic at Mumbai Film City on Monday.

Dr Hasan Mahmud arrived at Mumbai Film City Monday afternoon and was welcomed by Maharashtra Health, Education and Culture Minister Amit Deshmukh.

They then proceeded to inspect the film set, accompanied by Manisha Verma, managing director of Film City, and Shyam Benegal.

Dr Hasan Mahmud praised the replica of Bangabandhu's Dhanmondi residence where Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa, Sheikh Hasina and the Bangabandhu family were confined in 1971; the Pakistani bunker and surrounding homes were made precisely to scale.

Following inspection of the set, Information Minister Dr. Hasan Mahmud announced that the Mumbai schedule of the biopic would finish filming in April, and shooting in Bangladesh would begin in September.

That afternoon, the minister also visited the National Museum of Indian Cinema in Mumbai. At an event organized by the Bangladesh Sub-Embassy in Mumbai that evening, Dr. Mahmud spoke with Indian citizens who had participated in the Bangladesh Liberation War and selected glitterati of Mumbai's film industry.

During his five-day visit from February 5, the Information Minister inaugurated the 3rd Bangladesh Film Festival in Calcutta and spoke at the Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata.

These are the very same grounds where Bangabandhu had given his historic address 49 years ago to over a million Bengalis, as witnessed by Indira Gandhi.

The Information Minister is scheduled to return to the country on Thursday (February 11).