Hasan Ferdous Mamun, the child actor who played the lead role in Humayun Ahmed’s last film ‘Ghetuputro Komola’, won the ‘Best Child Artist’ award at the 2012 National Film Awards for this character. Even today, Humayun Ahmed is radiant in the memory of this actor.
Mamun has been associated with theater since childhood. Actress Shamima Nasrin was a regular artist in Humayun Ahmed’s plays at that time.
Humayun Ahmed was looking for an actor for the character of Ghetuputro. Shamina Nasrin was the one who suggested Mamun for this character to Humayun Ahmed as she had acted with Mamun in many plays before.
Three others, including Mamun, went to Humayun Ahmed from the theater. The trio was handed a blank page upon arriving.
“It is a letter. You have to laugh reading this,” the late writer instructed them. All three of them passed the preliminary audition. Then they were instructed to cry reading the letter. Only Mamun passed this exam.
“Sir came and hugged me,” Mamun told Times of Bangladesh. Recalling memories from the first day, he added,”Sir said ‘I have found my artist.’”
In the film, the character of Ghetuputro had to know how to dance, which is why Humayun Ahmed sought artists from dancer Munmun Ahmed. But he did not like any of them. After that, Mamun was called to audition.
The story of becoming a part of this legendary film started in 2009. Shooting started in early 2010. Before that, he was part of a photoshoot session wearing girls’ clothes to evaluate how closely he could portray the character.
The story of the film revolves around a landlord in the Haor region. The landlord’s house shown in the film was shot in Habiganj. But, the scenes inside the landlord’s house were shot in Nuhash Polli.
Speaking to Times of Bangladesh, Mamun reflected on some stories from the shooting days. “Sir took a long time to get the shooting done. If I had been shooting today, it would turn out that I would get the next day off. He wanted the shot to be done in one take. Every day after dinner, Sir would sit with everyone in the shooting unit and they would discuss the shots, the good and the bad, and who performed the best that day.”
Mamun has many more memories with Humayun Ahmed. In some scenes of the film, Mamun is seen walking on the cornice of the roof. While filming these scenes, Mamun was as calm and relaxed as Humayun Ahmed was worried. According to Mamun, ‘I used to stay calm in such scenes during the shooting because I knew that Sir had made all kinds of security arrangements for me. I did not have any reason to be worried. But Sir was afraid. At the end of the shot, he would tell me to come down and I cannot stay on the roof any longer.”
But do memories ever run out?
Another day, Mamun and Masud Akand, the director of Ghetuputro Komola, went to Nuhash Polli for a photoshoot at around 7 am. By the time their shoot was over, it was 3:30 pm. When the two went to eat, they saw Humayun Ahmed sitting at the dining table with the food served in front of him.
When Mamun asked why he had not eaten yet, he said that he was waiting for him and they would eat together. Mamun was a little surprised because Humayun Ahmed used to eat and drink at the right time for various reasons.
Mamun also said, ‘You have not eaten yet? You may face health issues. You should have eaten.” In response, Humayun Ahmed said, “Nothing will go wrong if I ate late for a day.”
The gesture might be basic but it means a lot to Mamun. “Why would someone like Humayun Ahmed Sir wait for me at lunch? It is a great feeling and I still remember it,” Mamun said.
Alongside Humayun Ahmed, Mamun has worked with other renowned directors such as Salauddin Lavlu and Abul Hayat.
Currently, he has no media presence. According to Mamun, he does not want to get work by “oiling up” anyone.
After Mamun’s father’s passing, his studies were halted in 2018. He opened a rod-cement shop in Mohammadpur shortly after passing HSC. He is busy with his business as of now.