Jahid Preetom has built his reputation on telling stories about the tangled equations of human relationships: love, separation, longing and nostalgia. Though academically trained as an electrical engineer, he entered the media world and soon won both critical and audience acclaim with one standout drama after another.
His breakthrough came with ‘Buk Poketer Golpo’, aired on Valentine’s Day 2024, which was praised as one of the year’s best. He followed it with ‘Tilottoma’, exploring racism; ‘Frenzy’, a story of modern friendship; and most recently the web film ‘Ghumpori’, which elevated him to new heights as a director. Each of his works offer audiences a fresh experience, marked by lyrical cinematography, music and dialogue.
Now, the young director has quietly started shooting his debut feature film. Popular actor Afran Nisho plays the lead in this romantic thriller, and his parts have already been filmed in Dhaka. The project is being produced by Alpha-i Studios.
The female lead, however, has yet to be finalised. Alpha-i chief Shahriar Shakil is currently in the Middle East scouting locations for Redwan Rony’s ‘Domm’ and is expected to sign the heroine from there. Her role will be filmed afterwards.
How did Nisho’s shoot wrap without a heroine on board? Does the story not involve a meeting between the leads? A production source told Times of Bangladesh, “Maybe they meet, maybe they don’t. There’s a twist here, you’ll only know once the film is released. Revealing it now would spoil the fun.”
The film remains untitled and Pritam himself could not be reached for comment. However, in previous interviews he has repeatedly expressed his determination to make a feature film.
Before stepping into directing independently, Jahid Preetom spent six years as assistant director to Vicky Zahid, also working as creative director on his team.
Today, he is recognised for portraying romance, mystery and emotion in a style that is both poetic and realistic. His acclaimed works include ‘Opekkhar Neel Prohor’, ‘Bhalobasar Karagar’, ‘Ghraan’, ‘Meghe Dhaka Roddure’ and ‘Memoir of Love’.
