Life after the guns fall silent: A Victory Day Special

What happens after the guns fall silent and the flags are raised? How does a nation learn to live with the freedom it has just won? There is a proverb by John C Calhoun that goes like : It (freedom)is harder to preserve than to obtain liberty. The aftermath of every revolution or independence is rarely triumphant; it is marked instead by unrest, fractured loyalties, political decay and a deep mistrust of power.

Cinema across the world has repeatedly returned to this uneasy moment — the day after victory, when ideals collide with reality. On the occasion of Bangladesh's Victory Day, this article revisits a selection of films that confront the turbulent, often uncomfortable politics of life after liberation.

Abar Tora Manush Ho (1973)

Among the most discussed (and controversial) additions to the corpus of post-independence films on the Liberation War of Bangladesh is Abar Tora Manush Ho, released on 7 December 1973. Directed by Khan Ataur Rahman, the narrative and dialogues were partially penned by Amzad Hossen. The film featured performances by Faruk, Babita, Sultana, Raisul Islam Asad, and Khan Ataur Rahman himself.

The famous film revolves around the lives of seven freedom fighters returning from the war. It portrays their relentless struggle to confront the post-independence social degradation, corruption, and black marketeering they could not tolerate. 

Armed with weapons they did not surrender after the war, these individuals undertake personal missions to combat these vices. Two songs from the film "Ek Nodi Rokto Periye", and "Tumi Cheyechile Ogo Jante", remain timeless classics.. It is imperative to note that the story critiques unlawful actions committed under the guise of a warrior's identity after the war, without questioning the sanctity of the Liberation War itself.

The Wind That Shakes The Barley (2006)

The Cannes film festival winner film is a powerful and unflinching look at the human cost of political struggle and the devastating impact of war on familial bonds. Directed by Ken Loach, the Irish war of independence in 1920 inspired film follows the fictional story of two brothers, Damien and Teddy, in Ireland where Damien and his brother joined the volunteer guerilla armies (the IRA) coincidentally. 

They solidarily fought till the creation of the autonomous Irish state through the treaty. The treaty split the brothers: Teddy saw it as a pragmatic step toward peace and joined the Free State Army, while Damien saw it as a betrayal and joined the Anti-Treaty IRA. 

The division of the nation becomes a painful civil war, putting former comrades, even Damien and his brothers against each other as sworn enemies. The film ends with a heartbroken Teddy forced to command the firing squad that executed his own brother. 

Garm Hava(1973)

M S Sathyu's 'Garm Hava' is a cinematic experience of 'Partition as violence', addressing both physical and psychological trauma. The film mostly focuses on how 1947 partition's aftermath created struggles of Muslims in post-independent India, their vulnerabilities and most importantly ambivalent national identity, following Salim Mirza (Balraj Sahni), a muslim shoemaker and his family who caught between loyalty to his homeland and the pressure to migrate to Pakistan. 

Salim's brother Halim, a former politician of All India Muslim League, secretly moves to Pakistan, and because of this, Salim's house is treated as "evacuee property." As a result, he faces discrimination in India, losing access to loans, business support, and property rights. Even though Garm Hawa ends with the Nehruvian vision of brotherhood, hot winds have weakened this optimism. The continuous need for muslims to prove their loyalty remains relevant today, especially in the context of recent Citizenship laws in India.

Ashes and Diamonds (1958)

This Andrzej Wajda's film is a profoundly emotive exploration of postwar Poland in 1945, capturing the psychological turmoil and moral ambiguity of a nation emerging from the devastation of WWII. Maciek Chelmicki, a young resistance fighter, is torn between assassinating a communist leader and pursuing freedom and love. His fleeting romance with Krystyna underscores the fragility of human connection amid political turmoil, while his hesitation and the deadly cost of ideological violence reveal deep moral anguish.

The film's climax- Maciek's lonely death underscores tragic inevitability, blending personal despair with national turmoil. The film's evocative use of shadows and smoke mirrors the era's anarchy, becoming a meditation on longing, loss, and the human cost of war and ideology. Through fleeting, intimate moments, it portrays the struggle between Polish resistance fighters and Russian forces to shape a new hierarchy in a "liberated" nation- an enduring theme still relevant in global politics today.

The Aftermath (2019)

The film is set in 1946 postwar Germany, where British Colonel Lewis Morgan (Jason Clarke) and his wife Rachael (Keira Knightley) arrive in Hamburg to assist in the city's reconstruction. Tensions arise when they are required to share a requisitioned mansion with the previous German owners, widower Stefan Lubert and his teenager daughter Freda. 

Both families carry profound losses, Rachael mourns her dead son, while Stefan and Freda grieve their formal life and loved ones. The emotional tension is heightened by Freda's own youthful desire for independence and involvement with a local werewolf activist, adding layers of interpersonal conflict and suspense. 

The tension turns to mutual understanding and a morally complex romance between Rachael and Stefan, set amid Freda's own struggles with independence and local unrest. Themes of loss, reconciliation, and forbidden passion shape the characters' journeys, while James Kent's precise framing highlights isolation and intimacy. Franz Lustig's cinematography intensifies this with an atmosphere of disorientation.  

Delupi (2025)

After the 2024 July uprising in Bangladesh, a political shift took place; Delupi is a film made in that context and has been released recently. In Delupi, there is a powerful portrayal of how, day after day, we have made the proverb "He who gets the power misuse it" come true around our state politics, and this is vividly depicted layer after layer throughout the film. 

If we speak specifically about the character of Zakir Chairman, initially seen running helplessly through water, rain, and mud under Ruling party dominance, later emerges as a new terror after the Prime Minister flees.

Through acts of extortion, land grabbing, exploitation, and abuse of power, the film hints at the return of old vicious politics. Amid this, the jatra troupe's question—"Will there be a jatra this time, or a qawwali?"—suggests cultural confusion and delusion. The only ray of hope is the young leader Mihir, who seems to represent the July uprising itself.

Inspired by the name of a union in the Khulna region, director Tauqirr Islam has made the film Delupi. In this film, he has worked entirely with non-professional artists, who maintain a sense of authenticity throughout the whole film. The film may not contain an understanding of our national politics in the post–July uprising period, nor does it present the background of the uprising. But through this film, Tauqir has properly documented the post–July mass uprising condition of grassroots politics in Bangladesh. 

Globally, one of the major attractions of political cinema is post-war films. On the one hand, these films can raise power-centric questions about those in authority, and on the other hand, they can encourage ordinary people to uphold the dignity of an uprising/revolution and to protect it. In Bangladesh's current political reality, making more such films has become even more necessary. Happy Victory Day!