Mithila, as never seen before

The Rafiath Rashid Mithila starrer ‘Maya’ is to be released in Kolkata this month. Counting films from both Dhaka and Kolkata, four more of her films are awaiting release. Apart from that, she will also be seen in Chorki’s ‘Myself Allen Swapan’ series this Eid.  

‘Maya’ is based on William Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’. Mithila has appeared in the characters of Mahira and Maya in the film. How? Mithila herself spilled the beans -- Mahira is a Muslim woman.

She’s faced with various crises along her way in life. At one point she retaliates by becoming Maya. The story portrays Mithila in three different looks, in three different timelines. Besides, the character’s dialogues are heavily infused with Hindi. It wasn’t an easy task for her.

About the preparation of the character Mithila said, “The director shared her ideas with me, and I prepared for this on my own. I prepared for about two months. I practiced everything - how the character will stare, how she will speak, her movements and posture.”

She continued, “Several looks, ages and a different language- the audience has never seen me like this. You could say, it’s my rebirth in cinema.”

The actress said in one of the looks she’s a 20 to 22-year-old girl, in the next one she’s 40 and in the other one she’s a woman of 55 years. All three looks are different according to age; even their speaking style is different as well. Almost 70 per cent of the dialogues in the film had to be delivered in Hindi.

Didn’t you struggle with nonstop shooting and working in three different characters one by one? While replying to this question Mithila said, “It was Maya’s journey, so I had a bit of luck there. The characters were shot, dividing the dates.

Besides, I have a plus point of my own. Whenever I put on the get-up for a look, I can instantly transport into the skin of that character. I didn’t struggle that much with the language either. I knew Hindi more or less already.”

‘Sunday suspense’ is a popular programme being aired every Sunday on popular India FM channel Radio Mirchi. The programme transforms thrilling stories and novels into radio dramas.

Mithila gave voice over in a drama named ‘Moumachir Shok’ on that programme. This was her first ever experience of working in this field.

On last 26 February the drama came on air in two episodes. About working on radio Mithila said, “The Sunday Suspense programme is quite popular indeed in both Bengals. I was invited all of a sudden. They needed someone to portray the character of a girl coming from Bangladesh in that drama. I also agreed.”

“Besides, I never worked on radio before. I had a wish to experience that as well. After it went air, I found that I was receiving praises even in Bangladesh let alone Kolkata. I like doing voice acting. That’s why I enjoy dubbing in cinemas. You can play with the character using your voice. There’s a whole different sort of fun in that,” she continued.

As part of her job in non-government organisation, Brac, Mithila has to travel different countries around the world, sometimes in Uganda, sometimes Tanzania or sometimes in Sudan. In fact, Mithila’s lifestyle has also changed after marrying Kolkata film director Srijit. Her daughter Ayra has also enrolled in a school in Kolkata.

So, outside of work, she now stays in Kolkata most of the time. Mithila is now busy with work both in Kolkata and Dhaka. Shooting of Kolkata films ‘Nitishastra’ and ‘Meghla’ has already been completed. In Dhaka, she worked on ‘Nuliachhorir Sonar Pahar’ and ‘Kajolrekha’. These films are awaiting their release.

Meanwhile her web series ‘Myself Allen Swapan’ will be released on Chorki this Eid-ul-Fitr. Mithila is very optimistic about this one also, “Now everyone is getting to know actor Nasir Uddin Khan as Allen Swapan. Here I played the role ‘Shayla’. The audience is yet to know what kind of character it is. The audience might indeed be surprised to see the character after the release.”