A BREEZE OF FRESHNESS THIS EID

With Eid being the high season for television entertainment, TV directors in the last year or so have really been pushing the envelope to dish out quality TV plays this time of year, and this Eid Ul Azha seems to have one project standing head and shoulders above others, in terms of promise.

“Osthir Somoye Swostir Golpo” is a series of seven TV plays to be aired on Gtv this Eid, by seven 'new' directors under the supervision of veterans Amitabh Reza Chowdhury and Mezbaur Rahman Sumon. The haunting and surrealistic trailer for the series has already created a buzz on social media. The plays are titled “Shaola” by Zaheen Faruq Amin, “Buuker Bhetore Kichu Pathor Thaka Bhalo” by Tanvir Ahsan, “Taile Shey Kothai Roilo” by Anom Biswas, “Mahut” by Sukorno Shahed Dheeman, “Kotha Hobe Toh” by Syed Ahmed Shawki, “Protishodh” by Abid Mallik and “Hotel Albatross” by Nuhash Humayun, the eldest son of iconic wordsmith-director Humayun Ahmed. The Daily Star spoke to the two masterminds of the project, about the idea, target and expectation from it.

“Except for Abid, (who has one TV play to his credit that aired a long time ago) all the directors are making their first fiction for TV,” Amitabh Reza Chowdhury told The Daily Star. “They have all been working in alternative media like YouTube and short films and adverts.”

“People like me and Amitabh bhai have been making TV fictions for a while now, and we always want to see new, fresh things on the TV screens” added Mezbaur Rahman Sumon. “We felt in the last 5-6 years it has become a little weak in that aspect. So we wanted to bring new people, to bring something new and fresh for the television audience. We cannot bring a change. When we were new, we broke the mold, and we feel like these talents who have been working with and around us, can bring about this necessary change, and that is why this project was undertaken,” he added.

“We know that these people are good makers, but it is difficult for them to reach the producers, and so we decided to instigate it,” Amitabh Reza chimed in. “Tom Creations and Kandy Productions are producing these plays, so we said we will take responsibility for the quality, and they have to ensure it is aired on prime time and most importantly without commercial breaks.”

What are the expectations from the plays, we asked Amitabh and Sumon. “We are very excited as we see the finished products. They have done the work with passion and brought out real, honest and humane stories. We are still seeing the plays, suggesting corrections, and we hope they will be great.”

Last Eid, Mostofa Sarwar Farooki and Amitabh Reza helmed two separate projects of similar nature (standalone stories with separate directors), the Chabial Eid Reunion and the Aynabaji Original Series, and both were embraced warmly by the TV audience. With “Osthir Somoye Swostir Golpo”, one can only hope that the tides that have begun to turn gain some momentum and TV entertainment at least in the festive season becomes a catalyst in the overall quality improvement of the Bangladeshi television scene.