Yesterday marked the directorial debut of noted actress Hridi Huq with the release of "1971 Shei Shob Din". Based on Dr Enamul Haque's story, the film features Ferdous, Tarin Jahan, Sanjida Preeti, among others.

The cast visited The Daily Star for an exclusive photoshoot, and had an adda over coffee where they shared a lot about the film.

"We all know that it will be Hridi's debut as a filmmaker, interestingly it is my first appearance on the big screen as well," shared Tarin. 

Two of the soundtracks from the film have already been released and earned praises from the audience.

"I believe Hridi gave her best effort to complete this project, and the plot being Enam Sir's story, it definitely made her dream come true," she said.

The film consists of over thousands of cast members, which is quite challenging to manage. "The arrangement is quite big, and the war scenes were shot in a realistic manner, as much as we could."

Ferdous played the role of a teacher from Dhaka University. He shared that his experience of working on the project was amazing. "It contains all of the elements that would not bore the audience," said Ferdous. "This film will remain as a unique example of Liberation War based film in Bangladesh." 

When asked why this subject was particularly chosen for her debut as a filmmaker, Hridi replied, "First or second doesn't matter to me, I have known the story for a long time, there have been stage performances on this story, I have also directed fiction for television on this plot. The story is very attractive."

Hridi mentioned that her experience was greater than she expected. "My emotions are attached with this film, and I am really happy that everyone who participated in this project was concerned and did their best." 

Sanjida Preeti played an important role in the film. She was connected with the director for a very long time. "We are very close as we have worked together and have a great bonding," Sanjida said, adding, "I was actually associated with the film from the second lot, and after working with the team, I felt really good. The team is extremely professional and the director managed everything extremely well."

Tarin concludes in praise of Hridi, saying that she will always remember the amount of effort Hridi gave on pre-production. "She was very cautious about every shot, makeup and art direction. Her portrayal of 1971 on the big screens will be a memorable one," Tarin said.

To experience this story and their journey, one must go the nearest theatres to witness 1971 through Hridi's eyes.

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