I don’t need a hero as long as the story is good: Priyontee Urbee

The sweet and charming Priyontee Urbee donned a different avatar in Deepto Play's web-film "Apolap." From portraying a resilient mother in "Kothay Palabe Bolo Rupban" in the project "Ei Muhurte," to playing the antagonist in her latest web-film, Urbee loves taking on challenging roles as she thrives to prove herself in Showbiz.

In a conversation with The Daily Star, the actress opens up about her latest projects and more.

How was your experience of playing an antagonist?

Portraying a character like Borsha, was very exciting for me. Her multilayered persona and the way it was written intrigued me the most. Antagonist roles often receive immense hatred from the audience. The reception of Mostafa Monwar's character in "Shurongo" is a good example of this tendency. However, despite playing an antagonist, people loved my portrayal of the character. 

What was the most challenging scene in the web-film? How did you prepare yourself for the role?

Apolap did not present many challenges for me as an artiste. However, I had difficulty walking around in heels, which was tough as I don't wear such uncomfortable shoes in real life.

My director, Muhammad Ali Munna, gave me some films to study to help mold my character. He told me sternly that I must essay the role with such ease that the audience shouldn't be able to guess till the end that I am the antagonist, and that everything had happened because of Borsha.

How was it working with such a stellar cast?

I didn't have any scenes with Nipun apu and first interacted with her during the premiere. She is exceptionally sweet and down to earth. 

Barshon was incredibly supportive as I shot most of my scenes with him. 

I was initially worried about working with Ziaul Roshan, fearing that commercial actors might be difficult to work with. But he was always punctual.

I developed a great rapport with my co-stars, as though we had worked together before.

How has the production's reception been so far? 

The response has been positive till now. Our main feedback will come from Deepto Play's subscribers, who are paying a nominal fee to access our content. 

However, it is disheartening to discover that some people are watching our content for free on Telegram. Despite our best efforts and significant investment from our producers, it breaks our hearts that our audience can not afford to pay TK 18 to enjoy our web-film.

Why is it that most of your projects don't have heroes?

My stories are my heroes; as long as the story is good, I don't care about having a hero on screen.

While shooting for Kothay Palabe Bolo Rupban, excited spectators asked me who the actress was. I told them there was no 'heroine' as I couldn't make them understand the plot. 

Asked about the hero, I often said the 'golpo' (story) was the production's hero. This answer often left them confused as they thought 'golpo' was the name of my hero in the production.

What are your upcoming projects?

Currently, I am shooting with Afzal Hossain for the feature film "City Gold," helmed by Sajal A Azad. We have a few days of shooting left. I have also finished shooting for "June" and am currently involved in the dubbing process. 

Additionally, I am also in talks for the "Ministry of Love" anthology series, but nothing has been finalised yet.