Veteran actor-director Salahuddin Lavlu has launched his own YouTube channel, Salahuddin Lavlu Dramas, to regain the creative freedom he says has become increasingly difficult to find in television drama production.
The director-actor began releasing dramas on the channel on Thursday, 15 October. He now plans to make dramas specifically for his own platform, moving away from the pressures he says have shaped much of the industry’s current content.
Speaking to Prothom Alo on Thursday, Lavlu said audiences still watch and discuss his star-studded dramas. Viewers continue to ask him for stories reminiscent of his popular works, including Ronger Mela, Vober Hat, Sakin Sarisuri and Shonar Pakhi Rupar Pakhi. However, he said various obstacles had made it increasingly difficult to create dramas of that kind.
“Nowadays, making dramas comes with additional pressure over views and virality. Some people want to work with all sorts of offbeat stories. As a director, I was under mental pressure because of these issues. Basically, I opened my own channel to free myself from that pressure. I felt I needed to work independently,” Lavlu said.
He has no intention of following viral trends simply to attract attention. Instead, he wants to tell stories on his own terms, reflecting the country’s culture and people.
“I want to return to the kind of content that reflects our own culture and speaks about us, as I did before. These stories will also carry the imprint of the times,” he said.
Lavlu plans to start with smaller productions rather than large-budget dramas. He wants to make short, accessible stories that audiences can watch in one sitting.
The response to his announcement has already encouraged him. According to Lavlu, the channel gained 3,000 subscribers within just 12 hours of his announcing it on Facebook, before he had uploaded any content.
“That has made me hopeful. If the content is good, audiences will certainly support me,” he said.
The channel released Ondho Ma, the first episode of the series Hridoypora Gondho, on Thursday. Asad Sarkar wrote the episode. The series will release one episode every Thursday and conclude after 26 episodes.
Lavlu hopes to expand the channel on a larger scale in the future.
