Rabeya ( bn, রাবেয়া), also known by its English title, The Sister, is a 2008 Bangladeshi Bengali-language war film written and directed by Tanvir Mokammel, with permit from the

Government of Bangladesh The Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশ সরকার — ) is the central executive government of Bangladesh. The government was constituted by the Con ...

. The film is set during the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Benga ...

in 1971, and stars Aly Zaker,

Bonna Mirza Bonna Mirza (born 9 september) is a Bangladeshi actress both in television and film, and on stage, and a social activist too. She has acted more than thousand Television-dramas and some remarkable films. Mirza started her career in 1992 with thea ...

, Jyotika Jyoti, and

Tauquir Ahmed Tauquir Ahmed (born 5 March 1966) is a Bangladeshi architect and actor, turned director in both television and cinema. His films won many international and national awards including Bangladesh National Film Awards in the Bangladesh National Film ...

in lead roles. According to Mokammel, Rabeya is a "deconstruction" of the

Sophocles Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or co ...

play, ''

Antigone In Greek mythology, Antigone ( ; Ancient Greek: Ἀντιγόνη) is the daughter of Oedipus and either his mother Jocasta or, in another variation of the myth, Euryganeia. She is a sister of Polynices, Eteocles, and Ismene.Roman, L., & Roma ...

'', and was premiered on December 6, 2008. The film was shot in

Khulna Khulna ( bn, খুলনা, ) is the third-largest city in Bangladesh, after Dhaka and Chittagong. It is the administrative centre of Khulna District and Khulna Division. Khulna's economy is the third-largest in Bangladesh, contributing $53 b ...

and

Bagerhat Bagerhat Sadar ( bn, বাগেরহাট সদর) is an upazila of Bagerhat District in the Division of Khulna, Bangladesh. The municipality was established in 1958. It consists of 9 wards and 31 mahallas. History Khan Jahan Ali established ...

, and was screened at the

Singapore International Film Festival The Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) (Chinese: 新加坡国际电影节) is the longest-running film festival in Singapore. Founded in 1987, the festival has a focus on showcasing international films and providing a global platform for ...

and in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

. It was also broadcast on television in ATN Bangla on December 13, 2008.

Plot

Two orphaned sisters, Rabeya (Bonna Mirza) and Rokeya (Jyotika Jyoti), live with their uncle, Emdad Kazi (Aly Zaker), who is a conservative Muslim League leader supporting the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the partition of India, Partition of British India, wh ...

, in the village of Ibrahimpur located by the

Rupsa River Rupsa is a village development committee in Kalikot District in the Karnali Zone of north-western Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census The 1991 Nepal census was a widespread national census conducted by the Nepal Central Bureau of Stat ...

in the Ganges Delta, where a Pakistani army captain stationed a military base. Emdad wants one of his nieces, Rabeya, to be married to his son, Tariqul. Kazi's nephew, Khaled, joins the

Mukti Bahini The Mukti Bahini ( bn, মুক্তিবাহিনী, translates as 'freedom fighters', or liberation army), also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was the guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military, paramilitary ...

to fight for Bangladesh's independence, but was shot dead by the Pakistan Army during a battle, and was let alone unburied by the river, and no one was allowed to be near the corpse. The Pakistan Army warned to not bury any guerrilla fighter, branded as an 'Indian agent' or 'traitor', and anyone doing so will be executed. Rabeya attempted to bury her brother, but while doing so, she runs away from the spot after almost being noticed by the razakars. Later, she tries to bury her brother again, but was caught and later spared. Rabeya was later taken to her uncle, who told her that burying someone is not a duty of a woman. One night, she goes alone and attempts to continue burying her brother, but was caught by the Pakistan Army and was shot dead. The Bengali guerrilla fighters declare Rabeya as a martyr, and inspire the poor peasants to stand against the army for an independent Bangladesh.

Cast

* Aly Zaker as Emdad Kazi - A conservative chairman of the village of Ibrahimpur. *

as Rabeya - A courageous sister who attempted to bury her brother, Khaled, but was shot dead at the spot. *

as the intellectually challenged son of Kazi. *

Arman Parvez Murad Arman Parvez Murad is a Bangladeshi television and film actor. He won Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Actor for his role in the film '' Ghani'' (2006). Works * ''Bachelor'' (2004) * '' Ghani'' (2006) * '' Rabeya'' (2008) * ''Amar Bondhu ...

as Tariqul - Rabeya's fiancé. * Jyotika Jyoti as Rokeya - Rabeya's sister. * Masum Aziz as a soldier of the Pakistan Army * Uttam Guho *

Chitralekha Guho Chitralekha Guho is a Bangladeshi television, stage and film actress. She was awarded Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film '71 Er Maa Jononi (2014). Career Guho debuted her acting career in 1986 by ...

* Abul Hayat as the father of the sisters, possibly, in a cameo appearance.

References

{{reflist 2008 films Bengali-language Bangladeshi films Films directed by Tanvir Mokammel Films based on the Bangladesh Liberation War Guerrilla warfare in film