Luxury doesn’t appeal me: Badhon

Actress Azmeri Haque Badhon has demonstrated her versatility in roles, from Rehana in 'Rehana Maryam Noor' to Muskan Zuberi in 'Robindronath Ekhane Kawkhono Khete Ashenni,' and from Sultana in 'Guti' to Heena Rehman in 'Khufiya.' Each character has contributed to her growth as an actress.   

In fact, she has taken a decision on her own that the characters should be of her own choice especially female-centric roles. However, she faces challenges as producers tend to overlook female-centric projects. May be that’s why she doesn’t find characters of her preference.

In her latest project, Azmeri Haque Badhon has commenced shooting for 'Esha Murder: Kormofol.' The film is female-centric, with Badhon portraying the role of a police officer. The second phase of shooting for 'Esha Murder' began on Monday. 

‘I have been taking challenges in female-centric roles since I played ‘Rehana’. There was a time when our producers and directors used to think why a woman would be the protagonist!”

“I have shown it through my journey from ‘Rehana’ to ‘Heena’. The characters have been well received by the audience. But the producers here are scared to take risks,” Badhon lamented.  

She believes that the audience wants to see better stories now. If that can be ensured, there remains no more complains about the character. Because, it’s not like that female-centric characters mean you have to highlight only the struggle of a woman.

Badhon said, “While selecting plot, producers always face a social barrier. However, I’ll be playing the main character again this time and I’ve taken this as a challenge. The fan base I have attracted, will be engrossed in the ordinary police officer of blood and flesh as well as in her investigation, this much I can say.”

Badhon has been noticed signing very few projects, after doing the film ‘Rehana Maryam Noor’. Though she has been offered several scripts in the meantime, no project seemed to attract her. She did only a handful of projects.

In terms of major projects, Badhon appeared in Chorki’s web series ‘Guti’ last December. Currently, after a year, she is engaged in the 'Esha Murder' series. For the rest of the time, she focused on herself and her family. 

Badhon said, “It’s not that I don’t get offers. But the problem is I don’t find that many characters of my own preferences. And this annoys me. Then again, it makes me feel happy that the projects I have done are dear to me.”

She’s a professional actress but the number of work she has done is very few. However, she often encounters questions about how she maintains her lifestyle. Her eloquent response to this question serves as a reminder of Badhon's transformative journey. 

In her words, "Once there was uncertainty in me. I used to worry about things like what will happen if I don’t find work, I need to save up money and I have to do this or that. Then when I tried to do all of these, I found that I was ruining my present with different sorts of pressures.”

“I want to enjoy the present. And I want to live life freely within my rights, on my own terms. That’s why my lifestyle is so simple now. I don’t take pressure for anything. I live with my parents and my needs are very low. Just things those are necessary.”

“Luxury items such as cars, houses or expensive brands don’t attract me. I just want to do better projects now. And, I want to give my daughter a good education. That’s the goal of my life,” she continued.

Badhon’s father’s house was in Sreenagar of Munshiganj. She doesn’t visit there that much. But, eventually she had to visit and she made the trip in a local bus. It was a wonderful experience for this actress.

Badhon said, “Since I don’t have a car of my own, I use my parent’s car. My daughter was staying with my parents at our village home in Bikrampur for quite some time and I had to leave for shooting on Monday which would finish on 23 December.

“I was missing my daughter so much. She wasn’t there for just two days, but it seemed like 200 years to me. I boarded the bus from Mirpur to give her a surprise. Getting down from the bus on the main road in my village, I went home in a Tuktuk (local transport).”

“My daughter was surprised to see me. I have ridden a local bus many times before this. Since I wear a mask nobody can identify me. I can even talk to other passengers on various topics. My outfit, appearance everything just blends in with other passengers," she added.