A legal notice has been issued seeking a ban on the screening of director Mejbaur Rahman Sumon’s debut film titled ‘Hawa’ due to alleged violation of sections 38 (1), (2), 41 and 46 of the Wildlife Conservation and Security Act of 2012.
On Monday Aug 22, Supreme Court lawyer Khandkar Hasan Shahriar sent this legal notice along with Bangladesh Film Censor Board Chairman, Information Ministry Secretary Md Maqbul Hossain and the Vice Chairman of the Bangladesh Film Censor Board Mohammad Saifullah.
They demand to stop the promotion, broadcast and any kind of exhibition of the film in the country or abroad. The notice calls for reconstituting the Censor Board to include members of the Wildlife Crime Control Unit (WCCU) lawyers and environmentalists as members of the Censor Board. The notice gives seven days to take necessary action.
Apart from this, before giving permission to any film in the future, the notice has asked to pay special attention to ensure that there is no violent murder scene, obscene language and violation of any section of the Wildlife Conservation and Safety Act-2012.
According to the notice, in the film ‘Hawa’, which was released on July 29 after receiving the permission of the Bangladesh Film Censor Board. it is known from the review of the film that Sardar Chan Majhi portrait by Chanchal Chowdhury of the fishing boat has a pet bird Nayantara, a Common Myna locally known as Shalik bird which was bound in a cage. Sardar feeds the bird regularly and also pours water into the bird's cage. However, at one point in the film, the bird was killed and eaten by him.
The notice also said that the film has several murder scenes which are very gruesome and full of violence. Apart from this, the female character in the film was seen portraying a negative character and numerous obscenities have been used. Which should not be seen by family members especially children, adolescents and young people can be greatly affected by these activities and it will have a negative impact on the society as well. However, nowhere in the film it was mentioned that children are not allowed to watch it.
The notice states that such films will create a negative impression about Bangladesh not only in the country but also in the outside the country.