It's undoubtedly true that the river and the surrounding people, whose life is centred on the river, are in constant threat due to the industrial development of the country. The constant battle between the nature and industrial development is exclusively portrayed in the movie Halda, directed by Tauquir Ahmed, and written by Azad Bulbul.
Halda, a river which is the only natural breeding centre of fishes in Bangladesh, is the silent-watcher of life and struggle of the fishermen community. The movie reflects the life including sadness, happiness, poverty, helplessness, and love of the subaltern people.
The protagonist, Nusrat Imroz Tisha, a daughter of a fisherman, falls in love with the person who lives with her family (as he is homeless and saved the fisherman's life from the sea), and catches fish with her father. Their dream was to live happily ever after even in a small house. But, a local brick-factory owner comes as hindrance in love life of them.
He indirectly pressurizes her father, who is indebted to the factory owner, for marriage. The owner is already married and has no children. In fact, his only reason of marrying this girl is to get children. As there is no other option left for her, she agrees to be sold in the name of wedding.
On the other hand, the movie shows the happenings, establishment of brickfield and hamper of the environment, in the river Halda in a parallel way. It also depicts the hamper in the life cycle of fishes which, ultimately, affects the life of fishermen community. Some conservationists along with the villagers attempt to evacuate the bricks factories. But, in front of the powerful industrialists, the activists find themselves helpless.
In the story, we see, time passes after the marriage of the protagonist but no sign of her pregnancy is being discovered that brings repeated insults. Afterwards, at a point, she conceives but surprisingly her husband doubts about the child's paternal identity. He questions her about the identity of the embryo and beats her brutally. As a result, she decides to elope. She along with her beloved goes on a voyage in search of a new life. What happens next? Do they get their desired life? Does Halda get rid of the aggression of the industries? To know the answers, you need to watch the movie!
The stars like Nusrat Imroz Tisha, Mosharrof Karim, and Jahid Hasan has performed brilliantly. The minors characters too performed exceptionally well in the film.
The most resonating fact about the movie is its language. All the dialogues of the film are in Chittagonian dialect. It may seem to be a barrier to enjoy. But, the characters who are walking in the bank of Halda, if they would talk in any other language that wouldn't justify the settings. And, to be specific, adaptation of the language by the actors are so mature that it hardly unbelievable that they are acting. However, as the dialect is simplified and visually the film is appealing the audience can easily enjoy it.
Halda delineates the fight of the fishermen with the malignant nature and influential people. Due to pollution, the amount of fish decreases highly and the fishermen lose their livelihood gradually. But, they do not give up. Rather they start making a boat for fishing in the sea. This zeal for life and struggle for livelihood has a universal appeal.
The cinematography of the movie is brilliant and artistic. The panoramic beauty of the river Halda and its decay are shown structurally and aesthetically realistic. Thunderstorm, which is a very significant part of the people live by the rivers, is used in the film to symbolize grave scenes. Such symbolic use of natural element is noticeable in the film vividly.
The writer is studying at Department of English, University of Chittagong
