Over the years, Mehazabien Chowdhury has gone from strength to strength as an actor, proving her prowess in different roles and mediums. The question of the gifted actor gracing the silver screen has gradually become a matter of 'when' than 'if'. Hence, speculation has always followed regarding the signing of her first full-fledged movie. The Daily Star reached out to Mehazabien today, after news about her 'first movie signing' surfaced.

It was reported by a platform that 'Jaya', directed by Shihab Shaheen, is going to be your first movie. Would you like to comment on this?

In Bangladesh, a 40-45 minute fiction is termed as a 'single drama', and anything above 50 minutes is termed as a telefilm, which is absolutely different from a full-fledged movie.

The project with Shihab Shaheen, 'Jaya', is actually a 'telefilm' being made for a web platform, and hence being called a web film. However, this is not a movie.

For example, I have acted in 'Tumi Amari' directed by Mizanur Rahman Aryan. This is an exclusive web project for an OTT platform, which followed the formula of a telefilm. It cannot be called a movie only because the fiction was uploaded on the web, and hence is being called a web film!

Web contents in our country are far from the effort, budget, and vision required for proper cinema. So, the news was completely misrepresented. The situation has become a little embarrassing for me, since fans are congratulating me on my social media, after being misled by such news. I have not signed for any movie.

The definition of cinema is constantly changing, and many view online projects as the future for the industry. Do you think that is the reason for the confusion?

The terms used globally are often misunderstood in our country. For example, if an international online platform uploads and classifies a project as a 'movie', it is because it was originally shot to be a feature length film, to be displayed in a cinema hall, online platform, or both without compromising on the quality. Films can deviate from the traditional formula – there are short films for example, but they have to be labelled as such.

Every actor has high hopes for what their first movie is going to be like. How do you envision your first outing on the silver screen?

On television, we are often limited with the kinds of roles we can play. For my first movie, I would like to play a character portraying the struggles of a woman in depth, preferably in a unique setting and story.

Which of your current projects are you looking forward to?

Even though I have signed for many good scripts, we have not been able to shoot for most of them because of the pandemic. When shootings were reopened, we realised that it not only puts the actors and crew at risk, but the people who surround us to watch the shooting. I look forward to the time when the risk is mitigated, so that I can continue do what I love – acting!