Camera rolls for government-granted film ‘Jalrang’

The shooting for Apurbo Rana directorial film "Jalrang", which will chronicle the anguish of human trafficking, started on Saturday.

Anecdotes of naive rural people getting tricked and vehemently exploited by human traffickers have been a regular occurrence since time immemorial.

A myriad of people from Teknaf attempt to enter Malaysia via Thailand border. While illegally crossing borders, migrants often lose their life due to crossfire or starvation in the jungles of Thailand.

Illegal migrants who get trapped or get jailed, live in inhuman conditions for years. The government grant receiver film "Jalrang" will depict the sufferings of these people

"Alongside filming in the inaccessible areas in Teknaf, the shooting will also take place in the jungles of Thailand and Malaysia" Apurbo Rana told Prothom Alo.

The film which received Tk60 lakh grant from government has an estimated budget of Tk1.5 crore.

"Human trafficking is a global crisis. Around 8 million people are trapped as illegal migrants in different parts of the world and living in inhuman conditions," said the director.

"Though there are many films about human trafficking around the world, Bangladeshi films have not shed enough light on this vital topic," he added.

The film will be shot in three phases. For the first phase of the film, the crew will shoot for 10 days in Hotapara, Gazipur. The second phase will be shot in Cox's Bazar's Teknaf, Bandarban and Khagrachhari, while the third phase will be filmed in Thailand and Malaysia.

The cast of the film includes Symon Sadik, Shahiduzzaman Selim, Ushno Haque, Shatabdi Wadud among others.