M Venkaiah Naidu, Minister for Information and Broadcasting said that information dissemination is critical to counter terrorism which is a common issue plaguing both India and Bangladesh. Timely and correct dissemination of information will prevent rumors and falsehood, while at the same time, build the spirit of cooperation and understanding between people. The Minister stated this during his discussions with Minister of Information, Government of People’s Republic of Bangladesh Mr. Hasanul Haq Inu and his delegation here today. Shri Ajay Mittal, Secretary I&B and senior officers of the I&B Ministry were also present in the meeting.Shri Naidu 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. The Hon’ble President of India would be launching the channel which would act as a bridge of amity between the two countries. Shri Naidu further mentioned that the relationship between the two countries would strive to promote the commonality of heritage and culture.
During the discussions, both India and Bangladesh agreed to cooperate on a range of issues. Both Ministers agreed to collaborate to jointly produce a documentary on the 1971 War of Independence of Bangladesh. In this context, Shri Naidu stated that the archival material available with Films Division, DD and other media units would be optimally utilized. This documentary proposed to be produced would commemorate the 50th year of Bangladesh Independence in 2021. Shri Naidu also agreed to the proposal of Mr. Hasanul Haq Inu to facilitate the production of the Mega Movie by Bangladesh to mark the 100th birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 2020.Both sides also agreed to jointly workout a proposal for a joint AV co-production agreement between the two countries. It was also agreed to organize Film Festival of India in Bangladesh and a Bangladesh Film Festival in India. The Bangladesh Minister also agreed to the request of Shri Naidu to provide the celluloid version of the film Devdas directed by Pramatesh Barua, the Bengali version produced in 1935.
Bangladesh had earlier provided the DVD version of the film to NFAI. Regarding the facilitation of Free Film Trade between the two countries, Shri Naidu mentioned that Bangladesh could consider to relax the legal provisions which restricted the number of Indian films in that country. The easing of restrictions would have a positive impact on the local film industry. The Minister also offered to train the young film makers and entrepreneurs from Bangladesh at the Indian Film and Training Institutes. He also mentioned that collaborative measures would be initiated between NFDC and Bangladesh Film Development Corporation to promote joint production of films and also between NFAI and Bangladesh Film Archives for digitization and archiving.The Ministers during their deliberations also agreed to promote capacity building and training workshops for media persons, exchange program for officers associated with Information and Broadcasting and exchange of programs between DD and its counterpart in Bangladesh.