India, Bangladesh to jointly produce '1971 War' documentary

New Delhi, Aug 17: India and Bangladesh will jointly produce a documentary on the 1971 War of Independence of Bangladesh, a statement said here on Wednesday. This was decided at a meeting between Information and Broadcasting Minister M. Venkaiah idu and his Bangladeshi counterpart Hasanul Haq Inu here, the statement said. In this context, idu stated at the meeting that the archival material available with Films Division, Doordarshan and other media units in India would be optimally utilised. “This documentary proposed to be produced would commemorate the 50th year of Bangladesh Independence in 2021,” an official release said. idu also agreed to the proposal of Hasanul Haq Inu to facilitate the production of a mega movie by Bangladesh to mark the 100th birth anniversary of “Bangabandhu” Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 2020. At the meeting, idu said that information dissemition is critical to counter terrorism which is a common issue plaguing both India and Bangladesh. “Timely and correct dissemition of information will prevent rumours and falsehood, while at the same time, build the spirit of cooperation and understanding between people,” he said. Ajay Mittal, Secretary Information and Broadcasting and senior officials of the I&B Ministry were also present. idu also conveyed to his Bangladesh counterpart that AIR would be launching an exclusive service for Bangladesh and Bengali diaspora titled “Akashvani Maitree” on 23rd August 2016. President Prab Mukherjee would be launching the new channel which is expected to act as a bridge of amity between the two countries, the official release said. (IANS)