Victim families: Hansal Mehta's Holey Artisan film dishonours Bangladesh's religious, emotional sentiments

The recently announced Bollywood movie titled "Faraaz" -- which is based on the 2016 Holey Artisan massacre in Dhaka -- dishonours and disrupts Bangladesh's religious and emotional sentiments, observed the family members of the victims.

They, in a press release issued by Abinta Kabir Foundation, expressed their dissatisfaction, concerns, and objections over the production of the Hansal Mehta directed film.

"Not only will the film dishonor the sacrifices of all the victims, but it will indirectly tarnish the image of Bangladesh as an extremist nation to the world. That dark night is not at all a proper representation of our nation, nor our religion, and such a movie that can lead to people believing otherwise can be disastrous; it will do injustice to our country and our religious sentiments,” Abinta Kabir Foundation quoted one of the family members of the victims. 

The teaser and the name itself suggest that the film intends to portray one of the victims, Faraaz, who was at the cafe with his two friends, Abinta Kabir and Tarishi Jain. All three friends lost their lives that night. 

Families of Abinta and Tarishi have served legal notices on Hansal Mehta, demanding an immediate halt of the film’s production, stating that the “trauma behind that night is too raw and that such movies that monetize people’s real emotions should be banned forever.” 

Moreover, none of the victims’ families were approached by the production house for their consent, especially Abinta’s and Tarishi’s, whereas a movie on Faraaz is impossible without involving them.

Also Read - Legal notice seeks to stop production of Bollywood movie on Holey Artisan attack

“This incident which severely shook the entire nation must not be represented, not now, not tomorrow, not ever,” Ruba Ahmed, mother of Abinta stated with grief. 

She further claimed that she is dismayed at the insensitivity of the production house for not reaching out in any manner to attain any sort of approval from her or the other families. 

She said: “When making a film about Faraaz, automatically my daughter, Tulika’s daughter, and the other victims come into the scene. How can it be that none of us were approached for consent? This is supposed to be based on a ‘true story,’ so to portray only one story, the film will disregard all 21 other lives, all of whom were killed in the same incident? How is this humanity?” 

The families of Abinta and Tarishi urged director Mehta and all the other filmmakers to refrain from portraying that traumatic night through any form of media. 

They requested such filmmakers, and their supporters, to not force them and the other families to relive the unimaginable trauma of the night over and over again. 

A film that has the potential to damage the reputation of our country, to misrepresent the religion of Islam, and to dishonour the lives of the victims of the July 1 attack, should be brought under tough scrutiny from Bangladeshi authorities before it is allowed to be released to the world, the family members furthered in the release.