UNPRECENDENTED BEGINNINGS

I got married to Brindabon Das in 1994 at the office of the theatre troupe, Aranyak Natyadal. From then onwards, my journey in acting began. My first project was an advertisement, directed by Mamunur Rashid. My first TV series, Shilpi, was also directed by him. I then took a break from television and started doing theatre regularly. My coming into acting was purely coincidental. I was never inspired by anyone to start acting; the inspirations came later, as I proceeded. Theatre, Mamunur Rashid and Nazma Anwar's acting inspired me. When I watched Namja Anwar's acting in Iblish, I was mesmerised. I promptly decided that I would only pursue acting if I could act with the same ease and skills as her.

DRIVE FOR PERFECTION

An actor always has the thirst to do more and better projects; it's the same case for me. However, our industry is trapped within a system: it typecasts many actors. No one thinks about giving actors roles outside the ones that the system has bound them to. However, even if this poses as a source of unfulfillment for actors, the love and adoration by the audience make up for it.

Photo: Hridoy Tanvir

EMOTIONAL ENCOUNTERS

I have had many memorable encounters. If I am to talk about an incident which happens to me more or less regularly, I would have to mention how some fans of my work embrace me and start crying if they see me somewhere, be it the streets or marketplaces. I think it has to do with how certain characters that I played had a huge impact on them. During that time, I get very emotional, and wonder if I'm worthy of such love.

LEISURE WITH FAMILY

If I'm being honest, I don't have much free time at all. However, whatever spare time I can get, I spend it with my two sons. When our whole family is together, we chat while having tea.

FAVOURITES AND IDOLS

My favourite writers are definitely Rabindranath Tagore and Kazi Nazrul Islam. I was also once a huge fan of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay; his writings seem very real. Ahmed Sofa, Selina Hossain, Shawkat Ali and Nirmalendu Goon are also my favourites. I have many favourite actors, so I can't name all of them. From the senior actors, I would have to choose Dolly Johur, Chitralekha Guho and Fazlur Rahman Babu. I also like the acting of Chanchal Chowdhury, A.K.M Hasan and Mosharraf Karim. From directors, Salauddin Lavlu is truly amazing. Golam Sohrab Dodul, Sagar Jahan, Shokal Ahmed and Dipu Hazra are my favourites from directors who are working presently.

Interviewed by Akhand Jahid

Transcribed by Amina Hossain