For Nazira Mou, showbiz has brought recognition, memorable roles and years before the camera, but also bitter experiences, including unpaid dues she repeatedly sought without success.
“Not every experience in showbiz has been pleasant,” Mou said.
“People who have a habit of not paying have no shame,” she told TIMES, saying many people she worked with years ago still owe her money. “They kept saying they would pay, but they never did. After asking repeatedly and not getting it, I now feel embarrassed to ask again. I have forgiven them from my heart.”
Mou did not name anyone or disclose the amount owed.
Has she had enough of acting? Not quite. She said her absence is mainly due to responsibilities outside showbiz, including her business, child’s school and husband’s business commitments. “I am not getting the opportunity,” she said.
Mou entered showbiz in 2006 as runner-up in the Binodon Bichitra competition and began acting in 2007 in a drama directed by Debashish Biswas. After around eight years focused mainly on ramp modelling and advertisements, she became a regular television actress in 2015, at one point shooting 20 to 25 days a month.
She married UK-based businessman Mizanur Murad Rahman in January 2021. Their daughter, Maira Rahman, was born in October that year. Mou then took a long family-focused break, calling her family her biggest responsibility and source of happiness after marriage.
She also runs a modern beauty salon in Banani, Dhaka, serving both women and men.
Offers, particularly television serials, continue. “I have not yet decided what project I will return with. Whenever I do return, I want to come back with good work,” she said.
She misses acting. “Sometimes, when I see my colleagues’ work, many old memories come back. I really miss the familiar place.”
Mou was last seen in Shoibur Rahman Russell’s Nandini, her big-screen debut opposite Indian actor Indraneil Sengupta.
Filming began in 2017 and ended towards late 2019, but remaining work stalled because of Covid-19 and the producer’s illness. The film received clearance from the then-censor board in 2023 and opened in 26 Bangladeshi cinemas on 12 September last year.
Now, Mou is waiting for the right story and character, hoping to return without putting her family or business life on hold.
