Reginald Massey
When Ali came East 37
years ago on February 18, Muhammad Ali, the “greatest heavyweight boxer
ever,” came to Bangladesh along with his wife for a five-day visit.
During the visit, wherever Ali went, he was greeted wholeheartedly by
tens of thousands of fans. Ali was also awarded honorary citizenship of
Bangladesh while the boxing stadium in Paltan was named after him.
Since
my early youth I have been fascinated by Bengal, its culture and its
people. I read all about Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Henry Derozio, Michael
Madhusudan Dutt, Tagore, Nazrul Islam, Jamini Roy and other amazingly
creative people. No other region of South Asia had produced such a large
number of artists and poets.
In London, in the seventies, when I
was chairman of Seven Stars Films I met a leading Bangladeshi
businessman named Ghiasuddin Chowdhury and he said that it would be a
good idea for me to make a film about Bangladesh. It was a new country
which was created by the forces of history and the blood of its brave
martyrs. After much thought we decided that the best person to project
Bangladesh would be the Black Muslim boxer Muhammad Ali ('The Greatest')
who was universally loved and respected. In fact, American President
Jimmy Carter and his mother had great affection for Ali.
The
problem was how to get to Ali. Many trips to Los Angeles were undertaken
and eventually Ali agreed that he'd introduce Bangladesh to the world.
But first he had to solve a small matter in the boxing ring. He was
scheduled to fight Leon Spinks which he thought was only a small
problem. But Spinks beat him on points. Ali was devastated. He thought
that he could not face his fans in Bangladesh and I had to convince him
that his defeat would make no difference. The government and the people
of Bangladesh would welcome him nonetheless. He asked me: “Brother Reg,
are you sure?” I replied, “You have my word for it.”
Full marks
to President Ziaur Rahman and his officials. Ali, his wife Veronica and
his entire entourage were state guests and treated like royalty. He was
given the citizenship of Bangladesh and taken to all the important areas
and sites of Bangladesh from the tea gardens of Sylhet to the
tiger-infested Sundarbans and the Chittagong Hill Tracts and the
fabulous sun-soaked beaches of Cox's Bazar. I, with my film crew, filmed
Ali enjoying the sheer beauty of the country. He was brilliant,
especially when speaking directly to camera. Ali was a natural
communicator and I am glad that in spite of his serious health problems
he still survives.
Bangladesh I Love You, when cut and edited,
was screened in United Kingdom cinemas by Lord Grade's distribution
company. It was greatly appreciated and well received. That was my small
contribution to put Bangladesh on the world stage.
But all
enterprises of this nature and magnitude are a team effort. There were
many people, Bangladeshis, British and American who pitched in
wholeheartedly. The New Zealand author and journalist Marc Alexander
was the main anchor-man and my chief cameraman was Lewis “Rory” MacLeod, a Scotsman pure and unashamedly unpolluted.
What
is seen on the screen is the final result of long planning, hard work,
hard bargaining and absolute sincerity of purpose. I insisted that
Bangla music be included as well as a traditional Bangladeshi Islamic
marriage ceremony be filmed. The scene where the father of the bride
bids farewell to his beloved daughter still brings tears to my eyes.
Normally
'firanghi' cameramen would not be allowed anywhere near a new Muslim
bride of the upper Bangladeshi class. While I was directing the scene,
“Rory” asked me: “Reg, can I continue shooting?”
I replied: “Rory, continue filming! You may not understand this but you are filming history.”
Personally
I feel it is a pity that the film has not been commercially released in
Bangladesh. After almost 40 years the younger generation must be made
to realise what immense opportunities have been missed.
(Reginald
Massey, Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and Freeman of the City of
London, has written many books on South Asian subjects. His book SOUTH
ASIA: Definitions and Clarifications is required reading in leading
world universities. Massey wrote this article exclusively for this issue
of Wide Angle)
