Mehazabien returning with Eid drama

Actress Mehazabien Chowdhury has been away from dramas for the last two years. She didn’t appear in any new drama even on Eid. She acted only in one drama named ‘Ananya’ in this break.

After the drama aired on 16 December, it garnered much acclaim. Finally, this actress will be seen in a new drama on this Eid after two years.

Mehazabien said, “I haven’t worked in an Eid drama in the last two years. Although some old dramas aired on Eid in the last two years, audience still make request for new works. If everything goes alright I wish to work in a drama on this Eid-ul-Fitr.”  

However, Mehjabeen did not want to reveal details about the name of the drama, her co-stars and the director yet.

She said, “I liked the story and my character in the drama. The script is being worked on. The shooting might begin by the end of this month. Let it begin first, I will reveal the details then.”

Mehazabien started moving away from drama towards the end of 2022. She focused on OTT projects. After two years she has hinted at returning with a drama again. But her comeback depends on the plot, character and budget of the drama.  

Mehazabien said, “There might be fewer dramas or I might be irregular in them because of the stories and characters but I’m not leaving dramas for good. However, it’s difficult to be regular in dramas with the stories and budget of dramas these days.”

“After reading most of the scripts that I’ve been getting recently, I get the feeling that I have already worked in this story or in this character before. This disappoints the audience,” she said.

On this point this actress added, “I have been working in dramas for more than a decade now. I have done more than 450 dramas so far. I have played versatile characters in a variety of stories. Now it has become tough to work without a good plot or character.”

“Because the audience has an expectation from me and I have to keep that in mind as well,” she added. She however says that she’s not abandoning dramas completely.

If she can find a script that’s worth it she might as well work on a few dramas a year. “For example, I did work on a script of this sort named ‘Ananya’ last year,” said the actress. She believes it’s possible to reach the audience faster through dramas indeed.

Giving detailed explanation on this point she added, “While cinema halls are declining across the country, OTT hasn’t yet reached the village level to that extent.”

“Not all viewers have the scope to enjoy contents from these medium at present. Plus, there’s a charge to view these contents. In that case, dramas are quicker to reach more viewers with the help of YouTube and Facebook,” she added.

“But, aren’t your audiences being deprived from the way you are working in dramas only some of the times and not regularly?” In response to this query Mehazabien said, “Even if I work on fewer projects, I would hope to keep the audience pleased throughout the year by presenting something good before them.”

As it has been the case with many stars that without having contact with the audience through work throughout the year there’s a risk of decline in the number of fans and audience. If there’s any such concern in your case as well?

In this concern the actress said, “I’m not at the risk of losing audience. I will work only if I can find good stories. I believe that the audience has stood by good stories in the past and will be there in future as well. Be it one, two a year or only one every couple of years.”

Mehazabien had been busy with OTT projects in the last two years. She has garnered accolades by working in about a dozen web films and series including ‘Kajoler Dinratri’, ‘Redrum’, ‘Neel Joler Kabyo’, ‘Sabrina’, ‘The Silence’ and ‘Ami Ki Tumi’.

“Does that mean Mehazabien is more interested in OTT or the big screen?” In response to this question this star actress said, “My interest of working in these mediums has increased because of indeed the stories and budget.

Imagine that I receive a script featuring a different story or a versatile character. Now, you need a budget to execute the project. The budget of drama won’t suffice for that. Then the script gets made for cinema or OTT.”

Mehazabien added, “You can find satisfaction from working on OTT stories. Since the budget’s higher, there’s no comprises before, after or during the shoot when it comes to the requirement of the story. And, there is no rush to finish the work fast to save the budget.”

“The end result gets better for this. There’s one more thing, OTT has the freedom of storytelling as there is no censorship. This makes the work more reflective to the audience. Is that possible in drama?” she questioned.

Mehazabien acted in a feature film titled ‘Saba’ last year. This film now awaits submission for censorship. This actress might have her silver screen debut with this film this year.

On this topic Mehazabien said, “I had already been preparing for two to three years to do a film. I was just waiting for a good story and script. Once I found that, I did it.”

Mehazabien replied to the question whether she will appear on the big screen regularly from now on, “I don’t want to count films separately. I will do more movies if I can find good stories and good scripts. No matter if it’s a commercial or art film.”