Legendary Bangladeshi actress the late Sarah Begum Kobori’s, better known as Kobori Sarwar, final directorial venture, ‘Ei Tumi Sei Tumi’, is set to premiere overseas before its release in Bangladesh.
The film, which received government funding for the 2018–19 fiscal year, was Kobori’s long-cherished project; one she could not complete in her lifetime.
Kobori began shooting the film with Nishat Nawar Salwa and Raihan Riyad, but production came to a standstill following her untimely death on April 17, 2021, after she contracted Covid-19.
Her son, Shaker Chishti, a film graduate, has since taken on the responsibility of finishing the project. In an interview with The TIMES of Bangladesh, he said, “After my mother passed away, completing the film became quite a challenge. We lost five people from the crew, including the choreographer. Some of my mother’s scenes were left unfinished and it was difficult to shoot them. We had to find alternative ways to complete those parts.”
The dubbing process also posed difficulties. “We initially experimented with AI voice replication,” Shaker explained. “But AI still struggles to mimic Bengali voices naturally, so we abandoned that idea. It took us almost a year to find the right voice artist.”
He added that around 80 percent of the film had already been shot by Kobori herself. “I simply completed what she started. We plan to screen the film at various international festivals first and then release it in Bangladesh,” Shaker said.
Actress Nishat Nawar Salwa, who plays Arni in the film, described it as a dream project. After signing on, she went on to star in ‘Bubujan’, ‘Shopne Dekha Rajkonna’ and ‘Birotto’, all of which have since been released.
Now based in the US, Salwa reflected on her experience, “This was the film of my dreams. It was a rare honour for someone early in their career to work with an icon like Kobori. She was patient, generous and guided me personally through each scene. This film will always remain one of the greatest achievements of my life.”
The music for Ei Tumi Sei Tumi has been composed by Sabina Yasmin, who also lends her voice to one of the songs. Kobori herself wrote the lyrics for another track, performed by Konal and Imran, while Gazi Mazharul Anwar and Mohammad Rafiquzzaman contributed additional lyrics.
Beyond directing, Kobori also wrote the story, screenplay and dialogues, marking her complete creative vision for the project.
It is worth noting that her directorial debut, ‘Ayna’, was released in 2006: a testament to her enduring influence as both an actress and filmmaker in Bangladeshi cinema.
