Prologue:
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| Paru |
A Trilogy is produced. The first part is ‘Haribol’, second part ‘Suparna Basu’ and the final part ‘Ra’. The total story will emerge from this trilogy. The canvas of this trilogy is Bangladesh. Each & every part is Bangladesh and its context. The stories are our familiar, known tales. There will be a direct connection between Bangladesh & the three stories of the trilogy. Three stories, three films, one trilogy.
Synopsis of Haribal:
After the construction of ‘Farakka’ dam, water-flow in the branches and sub-branches of the River Padma starts decreasing. The immediate victims are the Baleshwar inhabitants. Baleshwar is a branch of the River Padma. The Baleshwar part in the Nazirpur Upazila in the Northern Pirojpur District of Bangladesh is in the process of death. Now it is called Dead Baleshwar. ‘Haribol’ is a tale from that Dead Baleshwar.
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| Paru & Nitai |
Nitai-Paru’s twin sons– Lalu and Vulu– died in one noon, unnoticed by anyone around, in the pond of Harishaba. At this tragedy, Paru, the mother of the twin slowly becomes mad in grief. Nitai took it as a consequence of fate after Paru became insane. This marginalized village family led their life with a grief-stricken life.
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| SK Chowdhury |
While, a young filmmaker from Dhaka city comes to Baleshwar. His name is SK Chowdhury. The young filmmaker wants to make a film based on a true event of a woman being victimized by the Pakistani military and their traitor “Rajakar” accomplices in the 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh. The name of the victimized woman is Suparna Bose. Incidentally, Suparana Bose’s home is in Baleshwar in same village where the tragic event of Nitai-Paur took place.
At one point, the Nitai family was affected by various stalkings. Nitai & his mad wife became an issue in that rural village. The villagers created uproar– Nitai has no right to stay with a mad woman. The villagers who dislike Nitai or consider him as foe, they put forward this objection to the village powerful people for an illegal judgement. They made the decision– mad Paru will live with her brother Paltu. She cannot stay with her husband Nitai anymore. It is a kind of fatwa by the Village Panchayat.
This young filmmaker SK Chowdhury has been researching on Suparna Bose for writing the script, spanning more than 3 years. In Suparna Bose’s absence, he cannot progress with the script. After visiting this place numerous times, he firmly decides to continue his original plan of the film-making on Suporna Bose. In order to make that film, he wanders around the area of Baleshwar to find appropriate location for his film’s shooting. He makes rapport with the locals who may participate in the film. His assistant takes photos of them. Incidentally, one day, he comes to know about the incident of Nitai.
SK Chowdhury fully becomes aware of Paru’s incident after getting in contact with Nitai. Like Nitai, SK Chowdhury’s young mind cannot bear this unethical decision of the village committee. Besides, the research work and cinema location scouting on Suparna Bose, SK Chowdhury talks with the judges of the village committee. After learning about Nitai-Paru in detail, he deciphered the fact that the couple was a victim of Village Politics. They are also victim of Village Fatwa. He feels piety for the couple.
Meanwhile, Paru’s mental health deteriorates at the residence of her brother Paltu. After a certain time, Paru escapes and gets lost. Paru’s brother– Paltu– cannot find her in the entire village. Nitai also searches for Paru but finds her nowhere. The entire village starts to believe that Paru was indeed lost as she was not seen in the village for the next three years.
After losing Paru, Nitai starts to lead a life of a hermit. He gets in touch with the MATUA people of this region. The chief of the MATUA group is Ranjit Mondal. Every year at the anniversary of Hari Chand Thakur’s birth and death, at the 13th of Chaitra season, in the Orakandi of Gopalgonj, Nitai joins the group and followers of Ranjit Mondal. The only slogan of this group is– HARIBOL. That means ‘Call the God’.
Nitai use to ponder if he has ever committed any sin– which he did not. The village committee burdened him with unethical decision which he never accepted from the mind. Afterwards, maybe as a reward to him ascetic life, God himself gives Paru as a reward to Nitai. In accordance to the signal of Bhagban, Nitai started to live with Paru, defying all the forbid-dances of the Village committee. Now Nitai is freed from the asceticism and is now a bit rebellious. Nitai pays no heed to any village people. Now no-one from the village takes any notice about him. But new rumours about Paru spread in the village.
After three years, the troubling village people cannot take easily the family of Nitai-Paru. They are playing to arrange another judgement to the juries. Then they tried to spread a rumour in the village. They raise the question “Where Paru has been in the three long years?” Paru certainly cannot be virgin. What has the mad woman done, who knows? An ascetic man like Nitai cannot sustain his family with a mad woman– it doesn’t look good to them, etc etc. Although by then Paru is not mad. Paru becomes very quiet. And she does not even meet or talk with anybody. Even Paru doesn’t response to any talk of Nitai.
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| Paru |
Nitai falls into a deep crisis. The village-dwellers can create a different havoc if they learn about Paru’s pregnancy. However, Nitai becomes mentally disillusioned about how Paru become pregnant. Nitai now seeks for freedom. Nitai constantly asks for forgiveness to Bhagavan (God). But he gets no solution. And he cannot drop the beloved Paru, too. Finally, Nitai decided to move away with Paru to pilgrimage– without informing the villagers– as redemption. Then they went to Kashi. Here, the story of Haribol film ends.
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