Live Desk: India and Bangladesh will release biopic on Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in the next March. The decision came at a meeting between Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud and his Indian counterpart Anurag Thakur in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Dr Hasan Mahmud also met Indian met Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S Jai Shankar. The meeting took place on Tuesday as Hasan Mahmud inaugurated Bangabandhu Media Corner at Press Club of India (PCI) the previous day.

During the meeting, the two Indian ministers hailed Dr Hasan Mahmud for inaugurating Bangabandhu Media Corner at PCI.

They also decided to celebrate “Maitree Diwas” on December 6, the day in 1971 India formally recognised Bangladesh. The cultural teams of both countries will perform in Dhaka and New Delhi marking celebration of the day.

The two meetings also discussed ways to boost bilateral, cultural and people-to-people relations and visa simplifications.

"The biopic Bangabandhu is almost 75 per cent complete and we talked about completing it sooner. The shooting will be in Bangladesh for the rest of the part. We will try to complete it by March," said Thakur after the meeting held at his Akbar Road residence.

The biopic is made to celebrate the twin occasion of both countries- Bangladesh is celebrating its 50th year of Liberation and India too is celebrating its 75th year of independence.

"Bangladesh and India enjoy historical ties. People to people and government to government contact have been our key areas. Bangladesh is celebrating its 50th year of Liberation and India too is celebrating its 75th year of independence," added Thakur.

About ties between two next-door neighbours, he said, "My meeting with my counterpart was a fruitful one on improving ties between both countries. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also travelled to Bangladesh. Such meetings will further strengthen ties between the two countries."

"On 50th year of International Film Festival of India (IFFI), focus country was Bangladesh. People like movies from Bangladesh and how Indian movies can be shown more in their countries will be our focus. We are trying to better our relations in the field of movies, audiovisual technology, virtual effects and gaming and other technology sectors," he opined.

Speaking on the occasion, Mahmud termed the initiative a tool for strengthening the Indo-Bangladesh relationship.

He said bilateral relations between both countries have reached a new height under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Remembering the contribution of Bangabandhu, Mahmud said, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman sacrificed his life for the freedom and the people of Bangladesh.

He thanked India for playing a critical role in the liberation efforts of Bangladesh saying that it had not been possible to liberate Bangladesh without the help of India.

Anurag Thakur invited Dr Hasan Mahmud to attend cultural festival at the Indian city of Goa.

In tweeted message, Anurag Thakur  termed his picture with Bangladesh counterpart to be the best photo of the day.

Talking to journalists at Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi, Hasan Mahmud said he proposed his Indian counterpart to take step to ease visa and other proceedings for visit of cultural groups of both countries.

Later, Dr Hasan Mahmud held a meeting with Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S Jai Shankar and they discussed media and bilateral cooperations.

"Glad to meet Bangladesh Information and Broadcasting Minister, Hasan Mahmud. Our bilateral cooperation is progressing steadily across all domains. Discussed media and public perceptions in that regard," Jaishankar tweeted.

Meanwhile, Hasan Mahmud said he discussed connectivity, cultural relations, vaccine and Teesta water sharing issues during the meeting. Bangladesh is optimistic about getting more Covid-19 vaccines from India which sees drastic fall in infection rate.    

Like Europe, the people of South Asian countries may have a facility to make visa-free visit and movement, he said.

Ministry of External Affairs Secretary (East) and former Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Riva Ganguly Das, Bangladesh High Commissioner to India  Muhammad Imran, Deputy High Commissioner Nurul Islam and Minister (Press) Saban Mahmud were present.

In the evening, Dr Hasan Mahmud attended unveiling of a book on Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971 written by late Akashvani journalist UL Baruah.

Bangladesh Jatiya Press Club and Press Club of India singed a MoU to celebrate birth centenary of Bangabandhu, 50 years of Bangladesh-India relations and golden jubilee of independence together. The members of both press clubs will make visit to each others’ country under the deal.

Dhaka, 07 September (campuslive24.com)//BIT