Interview
I’d die with this regret: Jaya Ahsan
Jaya Ahsan starrer film ‘Nakshi Kathar Jamin’ is now running in theatres. She plays the lead role in this film directed by Akram Khan. Jaya has also started shooting for a web series titled ‘Jimmi’ in Pabna. She spoke to Prothom Alo about her film, series and other engagements Wednesday.
What projects are you working on in the new year?
I’m heading to Pabna today (Wednesday) for the shooting of Jimmi. We’ve already completed two to three shooting sessions for it earlier. This time, we’ll be shooting in Pabna for three to four days.
From the name, Jimmi sounds like a different kind of story. Could you share more about it?
I play a government employee here. I can’t say more than that at the moment. I worked under Ashfaque Nipun’s direction for the first time in this series. When I used to work in Farooki’s (Mostofa Sarwar Farooki) TV series ‘69’, Nipun and Adnan were all assistant directors. You can say I’m working with him after one and a half decades. They have become accomplished directors and producers now.
What kind of feedback are you receiving from the viewers of ‘Nakshi Kathar Jamin’?
During my visits to the theatres, I spoke directly with the audience. Many senior viewers shared that this film is essential viewing for the younger generation.
I even saw grandparents bringing their grandchildren to the screenings, as well as teachers bringing their students. Their goal is to help the new generation learn about the history of the Liberation War.
These viewers, who lived through that era, understand the immense sacrifices made to achieve our country, our land, and our flag. They want the younger generation to grasp the truth about where we come from and the roots of our identity. It is about connecting the new generation to the origins of our history and the values that shaped us.
You have worked in several films based on literature in recent years. Which one’s your favourite among them?
All of them are my favourites. If you talk about 'Putulnacher Itikotha', who wouldn’t want to play the character of 'Kushum'? Nakshi Kathar Jamin is another significant work in my career, and I truly enjoyed 'Alatchakra' as well.
There’s a special reason behind doing these films—they have archival value. With 'Nakshi Kathar Jamin', I became part of a film about the Liberation War, while Khacha gave me the opportunity to contribute to a project about 1947.
Are there any more literary characters that you would like to play?
There’s one character I wanted to play all my life, but that won’t be possible in this life any longer. It’s the character of ‘Ratan’ from Rabindranath Tagore’s ‘Postmaster’. After all, I won’t be able to play that eight or six-year old child, right. I would have to die with this regret.
How was your experience acting in ‘Putulnacher Itikotha’?
It has been a wonderful experience. Just wonderful! Lal Da (Suman Mukhopadhyay) as a director is really organised. He’s also splendid as a theatre director. I feel that he’s the best choice to do ‘Putulnacher Itikotha’. How fine of quality he is as a director is already known to all.
I also feel fortunate to have worked alongside such talented co-artistes. Ananya Chatterjee, one of my favorite actors, was part of the cast, as were Parambrata and Abir, both of whom are exceptional.
Everything starting from art direction to cinematography is excellent. That’s why the film is going to be premiered in a film festival like Rotterdam, that too in the main competition category.
You had started producing films with ‘Debi’. Then why didn’t you produce any other film latter?
When you are the producer you have to manage everything starting from the biggest task to the tiniest one all by yourself. There are more films in the pipeline and you will get to see more productions under the banner of ‘C-te Cinema’ in the coming days. It’s not that we have only made films from the production house rather we have made talk shows and documentaries as well. We are also working as a producer for the films ‘Jaya Aar Sharmin’ and ‘Fereshteh’. You may even see us producing others films in the coming days.
Our film industry is still struggling to stand its ground. Neither there are good commercial films nor artistic films on regular basis. You have been working in Kolkata for a long time, and have done Hindi films too. What advice do you have for our industry from that experience?
If you look at it, even our country is not that old either. During these 54 years’ time, we have gone through turbulent times also. The environment, the situation, they depend a lot on the country, politics and everything. Still, we are producing many good films and web series every year whereas films made in the festive season are doing extremely well. We have also had one or two exceptional commercial films every year. Actually we need a number of films, a number of projects to release at the same time for all that. More importantly we need to feel safe as people, so that we can go to the theater and watch the films. And, we can move freely. Only then we will actually lean more towards entertainment.
Have you seen any local projects lately?
I watched ‘Priyo Maloti’ and liked it. I enjoyed Shankha Dasgupta’s direction and off course Mehazabien’s drive. Before that I watched Nuhash’s ‘Dui Shaw’. That was exceptional, impeccable. It was a job incredibly well done. It even occurred to me that Nuhash Humayun is one of the noteworthy among all the directors of this time.
Didn’t you work under Nuhash’s direction in a series…
The project actually started a while ago. Basically, it’s a cameo appearance for me. I even had to wait for quite a long time to do this character. The shooting schedule was disrupted many times. Sometimes because of the rain, sometimes for natural disasters and there was also political unrest in the middle. But, finally we were able to wrap it up. Although, my part was very small it took me a number of days to shoot. My scenes were shot in Raozan and Sitakunda. I really liked doing this project.