As the nation mourns the killing of acclaimed filmmaker Tareque Masud and media personality Mishuk Munier in August 13 road crash, three others who also lost their lives with them appear slipping into oblivion.
People know little about Jamal, Mustafiz and Wasim or the dreams the ill-fated three had pursued until their death.
THE MASTER BUILDER
Jamal Mia was a grarami, one of those professional artisans who make ghar or traditional house.
Tareque Masud rightly recognised the artist in the 32-year-old man who had mastered the art of making mud houses. He engaged Jamal to build mud houses for the set of his next venture Kagojer Phool (The Paper Flower).
On the black day of August 13, Jamal was in the microbus carrying the film unit of Tareque. A bus of Chuadanga Deluxe Paribahan hit their vehicle on Dhaka-Aricha highway at Ghior in Manikganj, killing the five on the spot.
Tareque's wife Catherine Masud, painter Dhali Al Mamun, his wife Dilara Zaman Jolly and film production staff Saidul Islam were wounded in the accident.
Jamal Mia lived at Chalabazar of Kapasia in Gazipur with his wife Ruma Akhter and three-year-old son Ruman in a mud house that he built on less than 700 square-feet of land four years ago.
The piece of land and the house are the only properties the down-to-earth craftsman left for his family. A rickety bed, a wooden cupboard and an old television made their belongings.
"I don't know what to do now…how I will run the family," the wife said sitting on her yard. Ruman was playing on the lap of his mother. The child looked pale and weak.
"He [Jamal] used to tell me how he looked forward to Ruman's education," she said. "I don't know whether his dream will ever be fulfilled."
"He never had the chance of saving money because whatever he earned was spent on food," she said.
On the day of the accident, Jamal was sitting on the last row of the microbus behind Dhali Al Mamun. His body was crushed under the bus.
DREAM OF A HOUSE
Mustafizur Rahman Mridha, 24, the microbus driver, always wanted a good education for his two younger brothers who passed Higher Secondary Certificate examinations successfully.
"He [Mustafizur] was much excited as I informed him over the phone of our success in HSC exams last month," Muktadir, brother of Mustafizur, said on Friday.
"Our brother always inspired us to study well and dreamt that we will own a big house and live together when we will get jobs completing studies," Muktadir recalled.
Mustafizur bore the educational expenses of his brothers, his father Abul Kalam Mridha said.
"I have no land. My family was dependent on me and Mustafizur," said Kalam, a chauffeur by profession.
"I taught him driving and he was very sincere to his duties."
The eldest of six children, Mustafizur, studied up to class-IX. He started driving the car of Tareque Masud around six years ago and most of the time he used to stay at the residence of the eminent filmmaker.
Mustafizur was buried in his family graveyard of Eshsorkathi village of Nilsmriti Upazila in Jhalakathi.
STORY OF A CINEMA
Syed Motaleb Hossain was known as Wasim in the film industry. He was supposed to work as a camera assistant in Tareque's next film Kagojer Phool.
He was buried at his village home the next day of the car crash.
Obaidul Islam Karu, an art director of Kagojer Phool, said: "Wasim was very hardworking person at the shooting spot."
Wasim had been working in the film industry for around 25 years, said his daughter Momtaj Akhter Begum.
Living in a mess at the capital's Begunbari area, Wasim, 45, used to send money every month for his wife and son living in a village of Tangail.
"My father was the only breadwinner of our family. Except for five-katha land in Tangail, we have nothing." she said.
"My father wrote a script for a cinema and dreamt of shooting it one day," said Momtaz, who lives with his husband in city's Badda.
Momtaj said Wasim used to frequently visit her residence in Badda and tell her that he will direct the cinema one day and then bring his family to Dhaka. "But his dream has been shattered."
Source : The Daily Star
