They began their acting career in the same time in the late 1980s. All of these five contemporary actors are still dominating the small screen industry acting and directing plays. But, they never
acted together in any production.
This is for the first time that Azizul Hakim, Shahiduzzaman Selim, Zahid Hasan, Tauquir Ahmed and Mahfuz Ahmed will perform together in a play titled Sangri La, their first ever collaboration work, which these actors consider as Eid gift for their fans.
The record budget production of 56 lakh taka also features popular actors like Jaya Ahsan, Tarin, Shanu, Aparna and Prasun Azad.
Zahid first invited his peers to initiate such a project where all of them will act what never happened before.
‘We’ve been working together in the same industry for over two decades but never worked together in any production even though we have very good relation. That’s why I thought we should share some good moments together,’ Zahid Hasan told New Age.
‘Moreover, it’s an experiment to see what happens if all of us work together in a big budget production in the low budget market where most of teleplays cast two stars in a production,’ he added.
Everybody agreed with him and decided to put their best in the joint venture considering it their responsibility to set an example in the slumped trade small screen industry.
‘Our TV production has reached the bottom line. As senior actors it’s our duty to work together to lift it up. Otherwise, the viewers will lose interest, which will be a big loss for the newly developed industry,’ Mahfuz Ahmed told New Age.
‘We made all the decisions together for the production considering it as our own child. So, we enjoyed while working together that we miss in hectic life,’ he added.
They decided that Tauqir Ahmed would write a play and Shahiduzzaman Selim would direct it. As per the group decision, Selim and Tauqir visited Nepal last May for their dream production.
‘That was a very helpful visit for developing suitable idea of a play for the Eid. I came to learn about two myths in Nepal and thought they could be a very good theme,’ Tauiqir Ahmed told New Age.
‘As a playwright I thought I should create five major characters giving equal importance to show justice to all of these senior actors. Then I developed the story based on a tourist team. In the play, these holidaymakers, all of whom have Bangladeshi origin but have different religious and social backgrounds, encounter various odd experiences and mental agonies from the beginning of the trip,’ said Tauqir.
The play, however, does not feature the dark sides of life. Rather, it unveils the inner urge of every individual to get the eternal peace as expressed in the popular Nepalese myth Sangri La, a fictitious sacred place which offers the permanent happiness.
‘I got unbelievable support and cooperation from each of the actors. Every day during the two-week shooting schedule, we could start works at 9:00am what is not possible even here in Dhaka. They gave their best effort and endured all the troubles of the travelling shooting unit,’ Shahiduzzaman Selim told New Age.
‘The female actors have been selected considering the demand of the characters. And they have also given their best efforts. Two Nepalese actors also have performed in the multilingual production where actors use Bangla, English, Hindi and Nepalese,’ Selim added.
Sharing his experience Azizul Hakim said, ‘Tauqir wrote a very good play and Selim did wonderful job as a director. I’m satisfied with my performance like the rest of the team members.’
‘We believe everybody will enjoy our dream production Sangri La,’ Hakim added.
Sangri La will be aired in seven consecutive days on SA TV during the Eid festival at 10:30pm.
‘When we heard about the production we commissioned it to give something special to the viewers during the Eid festivity,’ Syeda Rokeya Begum, commissioning manager of SA TV, told New Age.
-With New Age input
