Cineplexes must be affordable to the middle-class: Tauquir Ahmed

Filmmaker and actor Tauquir Ahmed recently received the best director’s award at the Rajasthan International Film Festival in India. After a long hiatus, he is now working on ‘Rupali Jotsna’, a serial written by himself, as well as preparing for a new film. In an interview with Prothom Alo, he shares his thoughts about drama, cinema and related issues.

Prothom Alo: Congratulations. Such an award must be quite an inspiration.
Tauquir Ahmed: Receiving an award is certainly a recognition, an inspiration. Each and every award inspires. And watching films at the festival, meeting other directors, is also very important. Meeting other people, sharing experiences is always enriching.

Prothom Alo: It has been quite some time since you made the serial 'Jalaprapat'. Now you are all set to make a new serial after a long hiatus.
Tauquir Ahmed: Yes. I have begun work on a serial titled ‘Rupali Jotsna’. This is the first serial that I have written myself. It is quite a challenge. The trend of our plays has changed. I am trying to see how to make a good play despite so many obstacles. I am trying to make a play that the people would watch before or want to watch now.

Prothom Alo: What do you mean by the trend of drama has changed?
Tauquir Ahmed: There is a certain slapstick element used in plays nowadays to catch the viewers’ attention. Most of the plays depend on comedy, that too, slapstick comedy. And on the web platform, it’s all about crime and thrillers. I feel a play must be given a touch of life. It must deal with society. It must deal with contemporary crisis, it must have representation of what is happening now. Art devoid of like seems fake to me. There are crime and thrillers in real life, but to what extent? It is important to tell the stories of the common people, the majority, who live and give to the society.

Prothom Alo: Any new film in the pipeline?
Tauquir Ahmed: Discussions are on. I will announce it once the funding is finalised.
Prothom Alo: What are your thoughts about the present state of cinema?
Tauquir Ahmed: It is not in a very good state. Our infrastructure has been ruined. We don’t have cinema halls. We need to increase the number of cineplexes. These must be set up in the districts and upazilas too, only then will films be screened properly. At the same time, cineplexes are very costly. There is no use in increasing cineplexes unless these are affordable to the middle-class. There has to be a system to take cinema to the people. This can help educate the people. Cinema is not just for entertainment. It must bear a certain responsibility.

Prothom Alo: How far can online platforms change cinema?
Tauquir Ahmed: It cannot be denied that times have changed. Technology changes along with time. The use of technology will increase. We have to go with the flow. We cannot deny the presence of Netflix or Amazon or whatever is out there. A filmmaker from Bangladesh will be judged on that benchmark, despite the wide difference in our resources. Still, we have to keep up with them, we have to make good films, and we have to increase our budgets and resources. That is an excuse I have offered, but we really have to step up our thinking, our technology and skills.

Prothom Alo: In quite a few movie productions recently, artistes are being brought in from other countries. Are we not creating good artistes here?
Tauquir Ahmed: We have failed to come up with any institute here to create such skilled artistes. Do we have a film school? Do we have an acting school? Not really. There is a film department in the university, but that is not enough.

* This interview has been rewritten in English by Ayesha Kabir