Feature

WHAT does it take to make a dream come true? The first thing you need is a dream. So did we, the students of M-42 batch of Mymensingh Medical College, the dream to do something that would stand apart from the rest. Psychologists may abundantly call it the drive of self-actualisation; we simply call it a dream. We made a video-film; you can also call it drama or natok, 'The White Coats'.

Its plot is based on our experiences as MBBS students of our alma mater. The apron, or more precisely, the white coat, is our uniform as medical personnel, hence the title. It is a story of how we, the MMC folks, stride around in our beloved campus. It is also a story of love, or more accurately, stories of love and how it comes in various packages. But all of them have a common label stuck on them saying, 'Caution: It may cause painful pleasure'; just as the caution on a pack of cigarettes. Yet, none escapes the trap of nature. However, it is not only love that makes the whole thing. There are rage, power, humiliation, hatred and above all, friendship. This is more or less the storyline. Now, let's have a glimpse on how the story is brought to life.

The white Coat is a 70-minute film captured using DV-400 camera. The shooting had to be done within a short time frame of five days during May of this year. All the shooting took place on the MMC campus. There is a long cast list that includes as many as 35 characters. We are grateful to our good friend Abdullah Mohammad Saad, a promising young director, for letting his talent help us achieve our dreams. The technology unit also consisted of assistant director Bunty Afzal, cameraman Md. Zahangir, assistant cameraman Md. Alamgir, Boom holder Ujjal, coordinator Shiplu and editor Nobin. We thank all of them for their relentless efforts. Oh! I forgot to mention one little thing – we had to work 'without' any professional light unit as well!

The premiere was held mid-June at gallery-1 of MMC on the occasion of the 4th year ending of M-42 batch. The show was really magnificent except for the brief period of an electricity blackout.

Surely it was not an easy score for us, albeit, it was the first one, not only for M-42 but also among all the medical teaching institutes of the country. Besides, there were problems regarding funds and inevitably, campus politics! But the stronger your determination, the weaker your obstacles seem to be. Everyone of M-42 did his or her level best to make the entire endeavor a success. And we are also thankful and infinitely grateful to all our teachers and the college administration for equivocal acceptance and support.