Mehzeb Chowdhury – pioneer in criminology, savant in films
Mehzeb Chowdhury is best known for his invention of MABMAT, a Mars Rover-like invention that aids crime scene analysis which modernised the field. However, the Bangladesh-origin prodigy is also a member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA's) 'The Connect' programme for his contribution to the British film industry as a cinematographer and screenwriter.
Recently, he and two fellow BAFTA members made the South Asian Film, Television and Arts Collective (SAFTAC), a vivid community of South Asian talents who help each other. The multi-talented Mehzeb, who is also a musician, author, and painter, talked to The Daily Star over the phone for an interview.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. "In my teens, I idolised Leonardo da Vinci, who was an inventor, painter, sculptor, and an engineer. I was fascinated by all his talents, and a few years later, I worked on my repertoire of skills".
Mehzeb came to UK to take the bar exam in 2010, and then went back to Bangladesh to work at a law firm for two years. In 2012, he went to Durham University to do Masters in Criminology and Criminal justice. Although he had been leading a wonderful life in Bangladesh pursuing law and sports journalism, his artistic brilliance received 'wings' when he arrived in the UK.
"I was intrigued by the world of criminology when I started reading "The Little Sister" by Raymond Chandler in 2000. This book captured by my imagination for detective stories and a sprout of 'forensic science' started growing in my heart," he said. "At that time, the popularity of 'CSI' was at its peak, I was engrossed by the crime scene investigation in the show."
The now 'Doctor' Mehzeb works as an Assistant Professor of Policing at Northumbria University.
Mehzeb's greatest invention was heralded in 2016 when he developed MABMAT. However, he does not actually have any engineering experience at all.
"I was inspired by the Mars Rover, that I saw on one of NASA's channels. It immediately struck me – a similar invention can actually be used in the crime scene!" Mehzeb used acronyms from his parents' initials to make the name 'MAMBAT'.
In 2017, Mehzeb worked as a cinematographer for the feature film 'Redemption', directed by Edward Collier.
Thanks to his invention, the artiste caught the attention of BAFTA, when he became the only cinematographer in the Northeast to be included in the in the 2019/20 Crew directory. Mehzeb has now been accepted into the (BAFTA) Connect programme, for his contribution to British film industry.
"I got into filmmaking when I was doing my PHD at Durham University -- we have a strong film society established at the premises. We made a couple of short films which did quite well at the film festival circuit. We managed to get into prestigious film festivals like Sundance Collab and Sundance TV and thus when I applied to BAFTA crew programme, which gave me the opportunity to be mentored by Linus Sandgren, who was the cinematographer for "La La Land" and "First Man", he said.
"Around 2021, I started doing screenwriting, among which some projects premiered at Raindance Film Festival. "Remind me Yesterday" won the best sci-fi film at Berlin Film Festival and also secured the second spot at the Raindance festival. It was directed by Aleksandra Czenczek. I also worked with director Michaela Moir for "Downtime", which was showcased at numerous festivals as well. The sort of fanfare around the two movies cemented my portfolio and thus when the time for BAFTA connect programme came, I was selected. This gave me a good recognition of the work that I have been trying to do for the last 6 years," added the young inventor.
Mehzeb is writing the screenplay for his debut feature film, which focuses on a dystopian, futuristic setting. He wants to hire hero of South Asian as the main lead as there is negligible representation of them in Hollywood.
"In the past, I wanted to be an actor but when I got into this industry, I realised that representation really matters. I really want younger people to look at cinemas and think that they could be that person. I started an organisation with two of my fellow BAFTA crew members Haresh Patel and Shawn Basheer, called South Asian Film Television and Arts Collective (SAFTAC). We are all founding directors, and we have been able to do some amazing works representing South Asian creatives interest in UK and USA," he mentioned. SAFTAC now has over 1000 members.
Mehzeb had been recognised for almost everything that he has done, but he has reservations about his own paintings.
"In the last couple of years, I have got emails and messages about people wanting to buy my art. My target is to create two canvases at the end of the year. The template has always been Leonardo, and I will never be a good painter that he is. I want to give social messages through my paintings which touch upon themes like racism, and the subjugation of women in Afghanistan," he added.
Mehzeb has also formed a band called 'Megalithic' along with his Irish friend Alex McDonell. The album centres around a mixture of genres including indie rock pop to metal. They were featured on a website called Emerging Indie Bands, and a 50-year-old French Heavy Metal magazine.
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