“One must keep the audience in mind, earlier they were not willing to pay for big ticket female led films, but after the pandemic when people were exposed to content on OTT, they have become more open to the idea. Today, story is the main hero of the film.”, said Nusrat Faria the lead actress in the Bengali film A House with No Name. She along with actress Afsana Mimi and Producer Abu Shahed Emon of the film, were interacting with the media and delegates at the IFFI ‘Table Talks’, hosted by PIB on the sidelines of the festival in Goa.
A House with No Name, from Bangladesh, was screened under the Cinema of the World section of IFFI 53 today.
Sharing why she chose to do the film, Nusrat Faria said, “I have been doing commercial films with song and dance, and romance for the last 7 years, and my schedule kept me away from my family. During the pandemic, after many years, I spent 60 days straight with my family, and when Abu (Shahed Emon, Producer) pitched the film to me, it reminded me of my relationship with my mother, and I instantly said yes.” The film itself was shot between two the Covid waves.
Afsana Mimi, a legendary actress from Bangladesh, who plays Faria’s mother in the film said that she found the part very challenging. On returning to screen after 18 years, and being a part of this film she said, “The conflict for my character in this film is very difficult. On one hand, she performs abortions, and on the other she craves to spend time with her daughter.” Faria also said that she couldn’t miss the chance to work with such a legend of Bangladeshi cinema.
In the film, Faria plays an actress who returns to her hometown, and discovers secrets about her family’s past. When asked about the difference in an actress on reel, and in real life, she said, “When I started working, my family wasn’t very supportive so I had to fight my own battle to get here, my character also has her journey as she tries to come up in a male dominated industry, where the only thing that sustains her is her passion. Their experiences may have been different, but their overall journey is similar, and I have drawn on my 7 years in the industry.”
The Producer, Abu Shahed Emon, described the film as a ‘complex and beautiful mother-daughter story’. The conversation also focused on the changes in this industry, where Afsana Mimi said, “Now there is more space for younger talent, and newer ideas, in a way I couldn’t have imagined when I started working.” When asked about the space that women occupy in the Bangladeshi film industry, Mimi said that while roles for women have always been there, number of female directors aren’t enough.