Actress Naziba Basher spoke about her role in Masud Hasan Ujjal’s upcoming film ‘Banalota Sen’, her approach to selecting projects and the social responsibility of artists during a recent visit to the Times of Bangladesh office ahead of the film’s Eid release.
The film, inspired by Jibanananda Das’s iconic poem ‘Banalata Sen’, marks Bashar’s first collaboration with director Masud Hasan Ujjal. She said she joined the project “very organically” after being contacted by the casting director.
“I was already a fan of his work, especially ‘Unoponchash Batash’, which is one of my favourites,” she said. “So when I heard he was making a new film, I became interested immediately.”
Naziba said her admiration for poet Jibanananda Das also drew her to the project. After reading the script and liking the character, she auditioned and was selected for the role.
Although she declined to reveal specific details about her character, she described the women in the film as layered and mysterious. “Every female character here has a mystery within her. Not just mysterious, they are also very strong female characters,” she said. “What I liked most about Ujjal bhai is the depth of characterisation.”
Addressing audience expectations surrounding a film based on such a well-known poem, Naziba clarified that her role is not a direct adaptation of the literary character.
“There is a world outside the poem in this film,” she said. “Just as readers imagine Bonolota Sen in their own way while reading the poem, viewers will probably feel the same after watching the film.”
She described the role as intelligent, strong and intellectual, adding that she found similarities between herself and the character. However, she said the dialogue proved especially challenging because of the precision in Ujjal’s writing.
“He writes very complicated dialogue. Not just difficult, but very precise,” she said. “You cannot improvise because the tone of the character gets disrupted.”
Speaking about her selective approach to acting projects, Naziba said the screenplay remains her main priority. “For me, the most important thing is the script. The content has to be strong,” she said. “I also think about what the work will leave with the audience.”
During the conversation, Naziba also commented on the increasing reports of child rape and murder in society and reflected on the role artists can play in addressing such issues.
“I think artists always want their work to create some positive impact in society. Art itself is deeply political,” she said.
She also criticised the romanticisation of violence and sexual assault in some films. “In many films, we have glorified violence or rape and even romanticised them. There is no denying that,” she said.
Discussing the growing popularity of “alpha male” characters in commercial cinema, Bashar warned that such portrayals can influence younger viewers.
“An adult may understand what to accept and what not to accept. But if a teenage boy watches these things, he may want to become like that character,” she said.
At the same time, the actress stressed that films of all kinds should continue to be made, but viewing restrictions must be respected, adding that cinema hall owners and families also share responsibility in protecting children from unsuitable content.
