'I loved him and he loved me too'

BabitaProthom Alo

It took quite some time to get through to Babita on her birthday, the calls weren’t going through. Finally she called back -- from Canada where she went on 16 July to visit her son.

“I managed to get my visa after one and a half years. I was really missing my son,” she said.

She’ll be spending her birthday with son Anik this year. He missed her last year because he couldn’t come to Bangladesh either. Both of them are quite happy to be celebrating her birthday together.

“He’s quite good at giving surprises, so I’m expecting a surprise from his this time!” laughed Babita.

Babita
Prothom Alo

So how did this top actress, once the sweetheart of the silver screen, spend Eid with her son?

“My son was busy with office work on Eid,” she replied. “He works online from home. But it felt good because we were together. It has been so long since I saw him in real life and tousled his hair, cooked for him. I was really missing him. So we had a great time together on Eid.”

She would remain at home in Dhaka and never went out anywhere, not even to sister Champa’s house next door. Champa wouldn’t go over either. No relations would come either.

The three sisters – Babita, Suchonda and Champa
Prothom Alo

How long does Babita plan to stay in Canada?

My visa is for four and a half years. Once the border opens, I will go to the US to spend time with my brothers, she replied.

In Canada she is in the town Kitchener where everything is normal. People just have to wear masks and follow the rules. “I go for walks every day. I go to the shops with Anik. I am enjoying the fresh air.”

How would she spend time in Dhaka before she went to Canada?

“I never went out anywhere other than to take my vaccine and if I had work at the bank. I have a garden on the roof and would spend time with my flowers and the birds. I would watch old movies on my laptop.”

Babita
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What does she miss about Dhaka on her birthday?

Over the last few years children from Distressed Children and Infants International would come to visit her on her birthday. She would cook for them. “They would sing and dance and bring me all sorts of gifts.”

“I will also miss some of the younger artistes of the film industry who would come over in normal times.”

With Soumitra Chattopadhaya on Aswani Sanket
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What are her feelings on her birthday?

“Nothing special – another year dropped from the time the Creator has allocated for me. That’s what I commemorate. Actually I never had big celebrations for by birthday. I don’t see the point. We have only one life and there is so much to do. I think of what I haven’t done.”

She speaks about her view on life. “The Creator have given everyone certain qualities. We should use those while we can. We should make something of our lives, something to be remembered by. I have tried to leave behind a legacy of work so I may be remembered. I don’t know how successful I have been.”

Senior artistes like Babita are sorely missed in the film industry.

“I would like to continue acting forever, but there are no stories out there. No one brings me any story that excites me. An artiste never gets everything in life. There will always remain a sense of dissatisfaction. That applies to me too, but I will not specify. No director has come to me with anything new.”

Some say you don’t want to act again…

“I never said anything like that!”

With son Anik
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Any plans for your son’s marriage?

“That is up to him. I want to see him married too, but no pressure!”

Babita and Zafar Iqbal
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The last question – were you ever in love?

“I would like Zafar Iqbal a lot. He was so smart and good looking! I loved him and he loved me too. In our shooting breaks or when we would hand out together, he would teach me songs. We would play the guitar and sing English songs.”

* This interview appeared in the print and online edition of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten for the English edition by Ayesha Kabir