Hotter than the summer sun

Photo: Shahrear Kabir Heemel || Styling & Makeup: Farzana Munny

Tell us about your journey into the showbiz industry. Did you always want to be an actress?

I never really planned to make it here. I was one of those back-bencher girls in class, heavily introverted with very few friends. One day, Kaushik Iqbal randomly took a photo of me. I don't know what it was about that photo, but as soon as I uploaded it, I got an offer from Mostofa Sarwar Farooki for a Banglalink TVC. I accepted it and became a brand ambassador for Banglalink. I simultaneously got contacted by Amitabh Reza Chowdhury for another television commercial. You could say that in many ways, I got lucky. I never had any prior acting or modeling experience.

You've made quite the mark as a singer too. How did that transpire?

Singing has always been one of my passions. I never thought that I was that good at it or anything, but somehow people really liked "Ure Jai", a song that I sang with Bammy last year. The song was directed by Adit da (Adit Rahman). As of now, the song has more than two million views on YouTube. I have also made this mashup cover of five really popular songs: Closer, Cold Water, Shape of You, Starboy and We Don't Talk Anymore. It will be coming out very soon. Actually, I don't specifically see myself as a singer or an actress. I'm more of a 'go with the flow' kind of a person. I'll latch on to anything that seems good.

What would you say is your biggest achievement until now?

My biggest achievement is, I finally was able to get a cat! (laughs) To be honest, I don't think I've really achieved anything of that magnitude as of yet. But yes, I wasn't joking about the cat! I felt really triumphant when I was able to convince my mother to get me one! Its name is Akamaru. The name is inspired from the dog from Naruto.

Speaking of which, everyone knows by now that you're a huge Naruto fan. How much are you into anime?

I'm an anime freak! I used to watch Naruto since I was a little girl. Now that the story is over, I can't wait for the sequel (Boruto) to come out. I watch all kinds of anime: you name it, I've seen it. Some of my favorites are Attack on Titans, Full Metal Alchemist, Death Note and Dragon Ball Z. I am really obsessed with Japanese culture as a whole.

You have starred in many hit music videos made by various content creators. Some of them tend to focus more on the video rather than the song itself. Do you think this is harmful for music in the long run?

I will admit that visual content has become very important in the industry today. With an open platform and so many content creators, the level of competition is higher than ever. However, there are many super-talented people who do amazing music and videos. The problem lies when money becomes the driving force behind the inception of some of the contents you just talked about.  I've seen that when some people get mildly popular, they churn out videos in hopes for some quick views and cash. That is when the quality really suffers.  

Who are your closest friends in the industry?

That's a tough one! I would say I'm closest to Salman (Salman Muqtadir).  Tamim and Shouvik from "Gaan Friendz" are very good friends too. I'm not much of a people person though. I'm quite the mama's girl, I share everything with my mother.  Anyone who has to contact me goes through my mom first! (Laughs) 

What can we expect from you in the future?

I just want to affiliate myself with good work, whatever kind that may be. Right now, I'm very excited about the mashup song that I'm doing. We tried to bring in an international flavor to that. Besides that, you'll see me starring in drama and television commercials. 

Anything you'd like to say to your fans?

I just want to thank all of you for supporting me; I'd never have achieved the little I did without you guys. I love you! Shubho Noboborsho!

Interviewed by Sadi Mohammad Shahnewaz

Photo: Shahrear Kabir Heemel and Rashed Shumon