‘It's good time for films’

Halda, a movie directed by Tauquir Ahmed, is to be released across the country on 1 December. A song of the movie ‘Nonajol’ was made public on YouTube last Friday. It has already created a stir in the media. Last night Tauquir went to Tunisia to join the Carthage Film Festival with his latest released movie ‘Oggyatonama’.  Before leaving he was interviewed by Prothom Alo.

PA: Oggyatonama was widely acclaimed but did not run for long in the theatres. Why?

TA: Oggyatonama fell victim of piracy just after release. It is already a tough task to reach the audience if the story is not put across properly. Viewers lose interest if good stories are not presented well. However, the director is not responsible for what happened with Oggyatonama. The producer and distributor failed to project the movie properly.

PA: Are you prepared to deal with these shortcomings before Halda’s release?

TA: I am keeping these problems in mind and preparing accordingly for Halda. I’m going to release Halda through the right kind of distributor. I’ve talked and finalised matters with Avi Movies, which distributed the ‘Dhaka Attack’. Moreover, proper publicity is also important. Zahid Hasan, Tisha, Runa Khan and I announced 1 December as the date of release of Halda during a session of Facebook Live on Monday.

PA: Why did you choose this date?

TA: It’s a good time for movies. Educated people, including young viewers, are coming to the cinema halls. They are watching movies and discussing these. This is an encouraging sign for Bangladeshi movies. Besides, December seems to be a month of festivals. This is why I have chosen this time.

PA: Viewers received ‘Doob’ and ‘Dhaka Attack’ positively. Are you feeling any extra heat?

TA: No. Personally I am a stress-free person. I’ll present my movie to the audience humbly. I shall be glad if they accept it. But, if they don’t like it, I’ll research on why the audience didn’t show interest in the movie.

PA: Fazlur Rahman Babu, Zahid Hasan, Mosharraf Karim, Tisha all are your artistes. Wasn’t it tough to work with such a star-laden team?

TA: I want to say with due respect that I enjoy special privilege with them. I get real help from them during work. Zahid woke up at 4:00am for shooting. Tisha waded in muddy water and worked under scorching sun for shots. Mosharraf found out slots for me from his already crammed schedule. I get this privilege because of a longstanding good relationship with them all.

*This piece, originally published in the print edition of Prothom Alo Bangla, has been rewritten in English