Mukh O Mukhosh

Mukh O Mukhosh (Bengali: মুখ ও মুখোশ, lit. ''The Face and the Mask'') was the first Bengali-language feature film to be made in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).[3] It was produced by Iqbal Films and directed by Abdul Jabbar Khan. The film was released in East Pakistan on 3 August 1956.[1] It was released in Dhaka, Chittagong, Narayanganj, and Khulna. The film was a great success as viewers thronged to watch the first film to be made in the region. It earned a total of Rs. 48,000 during its initial run.[4]

Mukh O Mukhosh
Poster
Directed byAbdul Jabbar Khan
Written byAbdul Jabbar Khan
Produced byNuruzzaman
Shahidul Alam
Starring
CinematographyKazi Mesbahuzzaman
Edited byM.A. Latif
Music bySamar Das
Distributed byPakistan Film Trust
Release date
  • 3 August 1956 (1956-08-03)[1]
Running time
99 minutes
CountryPakistan
LanguageBengali
BudgetRs. 64,000 (equivalent to Rs. 330,000 or ৳120,000 in 2021)[2]
Box officeRs. 48,000 (equivalent to Rs. 240,000 or ৳90,000 in 2021)

Background
Ali Mansoor and Zahrat Ara in a scene.

Abdul Jabbar Khan started working on the film in 1953. At that time, the film industry in erstwhile East Pakistan was virtually non-existent, and local film theatres screened mostly Urdu films from Lahore, Hindi films from Mumbai, and Bengal films from Kolkata. To establish the film making infrastructures, a meeting was held in 1953 where F. Dossani, a West Pakistani film distributor, claimed the local climate was not suitable for film production.[5] Khan challenged him and start making the film. He went to Kolkata and discussed with Moni Bose, a prominent scriptwriter, to select the story. Khan primarily planned to make the film from the literary works of Kazi Nazrul Islam or Jasimuddin. But Bose selected Dakaat (Robbers), a play, and later a novel, written by Khan on a true story of robbery published in newspapers. Bose himself wrote the first 3 scenes. Khan finished the rest and started working on the films.[6] He had to manage all the things, even the film camera, as then there wasn't any in East Pakistan. He worked on the film for two years. In the absence of any local film production studios, the negatives of the film had to be taken to Lahore for development.[5]

Cast

Production

Playback singers for the two songs in the film were Abdul Alim and Mahbuba Rahman. However, the song by Abdul Alim is lost, as the film of that part of the film has deteriorated completely. Mahbuba sang the other song in the film - Moner Boney Dola Laage Hashlo Dokhin Hawa. All lyrics written by M. A. Gafur (Sharathee). Samar Das directed the music of the film.[11]

Q.M. Zaman served as the cameraman.[12] Shyam Babu was the make-up artist.[13]

References
  1. "Celebrating 60 years of - Mukh O Mukhosh". The Daily Star. 3 August 2016. Archived from the original on 8 May 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  2. Sayeed, Abu (3 August 2021). "বাংলাদেশের প্রথম চলচ্চিত্র 'মুখ ও মুখোশ'". Prothom Alo (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 25 July 2022. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  3. Fayeka Zabeen Siddiqua (6 November 2015). "Talking about our first Talkie". The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 10 May 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  4. "Mukh O Mukhosh". Pakistani films. Archived from the original on 12 May 2006.
  5. Waheed, Karim (12 August 2005). "Celebrating 50 years of our cinema: Remembering Mukh O Mukhosh and Abdul Jabbar Khan". The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  6. Onusurjo, Nabeel (19 June 2017). "মুখ ও মুখোশ". The Daily Ittefaq. Archived from the original on 20 September 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  7. "'Mukh O Mukhosh' hero Aminul no more… : Dhaka Mirror". Archived from the original on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  8. "Jashim's commemoration is today". newsg24.com. 8 October 2017. Archived from the original on 30 August 2022. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  9. "Mukh O Mukhosh artistes to appear on talk show today". New Age. 4 August 2016. Archived from the original on 30 August 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  10. "Rehana Jolly : An actress of 400 movies". The New Nation. Archived from the original on 30 August 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  11. Komol, Khalid Hasan (2012). "Das, Samar". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  12. "Death anniv of QM Zaman today". The New Nation. Archived from the original on 30 August 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  13. "Make-up artist MM Jasim". The New Nation. Archived from the original on 30 August 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
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