Nusraat Faria's arrest: Celebs active in July uprising stands by actress

Actress Nusraat Faria was arrested Sunday from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on her way to fly to Thailand. And, the court in an order sent the actress to prison today, Monday.

This incident has caused diverse reaction among netizens on the social media. Many of those expressing their views were vocal during the July uprising. So, what are these celebrities and media personalities have to say about the arrest of Nusraat Faria?

Actress Azmeri Haque Badhon, who was vocal during the July uprising has shared her personal opinion about Nusraat Faria’s arrest. Posting a photo of Faria, she wrote, “What a shame! This girl has nothing to do with what a fascist regime did to the people. I am deeply concerned about the situation and the system. We do not live in a country where fair play is common, but this is truly unacceptable.”

As an artiste, small screen actor Khairul Basar also expressed his thoughtful views on Facebook.

“She is an actress. Her job is to act. Whatever role she is given in a story, she will try to portray it properly since that is her job. As far as I know she is not even politically conscious that much. In fact, she does not engage in politics either. Nor did she go to the BTV centre to shed crocodile tears. So why is this harassment centering her being in a particular film? Nobody went there to do politics,” he writes.

Raising a question on what will be the fate or course of action for an actor if they participate in any programme organised by the current government, Khairul Basar further wrote, “As an actress it’s not a crime to act in a film. If so, Nusraat Faria is being wronged. If the current government invites artistes to a state-organised event, what should the artistes do in that case? Should they oblige, knowing well that a future government will harass them for that? Or should the artistes never participate in a state-organised programme under a government at all?”

Director Shihab Shaheen commented. “Nusraat Faria’s arrest in an absurd and trumped up case is a form of harassment.”

Someone commented on that post, “Nusraat Faria is one of the accomplices of the fascists.” Under that comment the director replied, “She became an accomplice just by acting in a film?”

Young rapper Mahmud Hasan Tabib wrote, “Nusraat Faria did not commit any violence, nor did she take part in a procession. She had said, ‘There is a Hasina inside of every woman’. She had said it out of sentiment as she portrayed Sheikh Hasina in a film. She didn’t realise that artistes should never get involved in politics. Some people laughed at her comment, some appreciated it. But if she is branded as a murderer based on that particular statement, it’s an example of a flawed judicial system.”

Actor and director Sharaf Ahmed Jibon also raised the question, what an artiste should do if the government invites them to a project.

He wrote, “Nusraat Faria is an artiste. She acted in the film titled ‘Mujib’. Many other artistes have acted in it as well. Many artistes gave auditions. Some were rejected. Many were involved in different other ways. So, will they all be arrested now?"

He also wrote, “I’m thinking about myself! It could have been me in Nusraat Faria’s place! If I were invited, I would have gone as well. For it’s the job of an artiste to engage in any form of art. There are many such artistes who have been arrested. And, I feel that the public is pleased at this because these people were not real artistes, they were power-monger impostors under the mask of an artiste! But Nusraat Faria never seemed like one of them to me.”

Director Ashfaque Nipun has always been noticed to stand by the artistes. Whenever there has been an injustice he has been vocal on social media. Once again he has voiced his support for Nusraat Faria, as he wrote, “This is how others have been turned before and are still being turned into soft targets to weaken the cases against real murderers and offenders. Whatever this is, it is not called reforms.”

“The fact that an attempt to murder case has been filed and actress Nusraat Faria, who was out of the country at that time, has been arrested and sent to prison in that case unfortunately gives an indication exactly to that. We were demanding a fair trial for the July massacre. We never wanted nor want any sort of farce. Stop letting identified criminals flee and stop this charade of indiscriminate and baseless cases,” he added.