Words cannot describe the anguish I witnessed in Nepal: Apu Biswas

Actress Apu Biswas and the entire team of the film “Shikar” narrowly escaped a major disaster while shooting in Nepal. A devastating natural disaster struck the very mountainous route they had been scheduled to take to Kathmandu on 26 August.

Fortunately, their journey was scheduled for 27 August. The one-day difference appears to have helped the entire shooting unit avoid a major tragedy.

The team was shooting “Shikar” in Pokhara at the time. After learning about the disaster, the shooting was suspended. Apu Biswas felt that continuing to operate cameras amid such suffering would be inhumane.

After discussing the matter with the entire team, she decided to suspend the shoot. The entire unit of “Shikar” then returned safely to Bangladesh.

Apu Biswas returned to Dhaka on Friday night. After returning home, she spoke about her harrowing experience in Nepal. Although she felt relieved to have returned safely, she was also deeply saddened by the suffering of the people there.

Despite making it home safely, the scenes she witnessed on the roads in Nepal continued to haunt her, particularly the anguish of people who had lost their loved ones.

In a video message to Prothom Alo earlier, Apu said the entire team of “Shikar” was safe. She said the area affected by the disaster was far from where they were staying.

However, despite the distance, they were not completely removed from the impact of the disaster. While travelling from Pokhara to Kathmandu and then returning to Bangladesh, they witnessed the helplessness of people affected by the disaster with their own eyes.

Speaking on Friday night, Apu Biswas said, “A major natural disaster occurred in a mountainous area two to three hours from Kathmandu. Coincidentally, we had planned to travel along that same route on the 27th. Because our journey was scheduled for the following day, the ‘Shikar’ shooting unit miraculously escaped a major accident.”

Apu said she still shudders when she thinks about what now appears to have been a narrow escape.

She said, “The accident occurred around the same time and near the road we were supposed to take to enter Kathmandu. It is by the immense mercy of Allah that we were scheduled to travel by bus on the 27th, not the 26th.”

Apu has learnt that tourists from Bangladesh and several other countries were also stranded in the disaster in Nepal. Many of them are still unaccounted for. The situation has left her deeply concerned.

Apu said, “As far as I have heard, tourists from 27 countries, including Bangladesh, were there. It is very sad. They may not be our relatives, but they were our own people. I do not know what condition the families of those who are still missing are in.”

Apu Biswas also said that authorities would suspend travel along the affected road for the next 15 to 20 days because of the severity of the disaster.

As a result, the entire unit had to return to Bangladesh without completing the shooting. Once the situation returns to normal, the director and producers will set new dates for the shoot.

However, safety was not the only reason behind the decision to suspend filming. Apu also felt that continuing the shoot at such a time would be inhumane.

She said, “Shooting a song amid people’s suffering in such a devastating situation would look extremely inhumane. So, after discussing the matter with the entire team, I decided to suspend the shooting, and we all returned safely to Bangladesh.”

The scenes Apu witnessed among the people of Nepal before leaving the country and on her journey back are now what she remembers most vividly.

In her words, the experience cannot be understood simply by reading news reports; it is difficult to grasp its depth without seeing it with one’s own eyes.

Apu said, “You may know that this disaster occurred on the 26th, but apparently they had received a warning about it nine months earlier. Perhaps they did not take it very seriously. And within this week, they are receiving indications of another disaster as well.”

After pausing for a moment, Apu said, “To be honest, those who have suffered the greatest losses may be able to understand the full extent of this devastation. We did not experience that situation ourselves, so we cannot fully comprehend it. But what I saw and heard on the way back to Dhaka from Pokhara via Kathmandu is beyond words. I cannot put into words the anguish I saw among the Nepali people.”