Zayed Khan is competing against Nipun for the post of General Secretary in the Bangladesh Film Artistes' Association elections, set to be held on January 28. He opens up about his plans, and more. 

What are your goals for the Bangladesh Film Artistes' Association elections  this time? 

We have some landless artistes, who have dedicated their entire lives to the world of cinema. They never receive steady salaries. This time, if I win, I will bring such issues to the forefront, and arrange accommodation for them. 

Did you plan anything of this sort during the last elections? 

Last time, we kept all our promises. However, I could not do anything about the accommodation arrangements because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The  direct support of the Honourable Prime Minister is required for the accommodations, but I couldn't meet her at that time of crisis. This time, we are looking into this matter with utmost importance. 

Photo: Collected from Facebook

If you win, what are your plans regarding the film industry? 

Although this is not the job of the Film Artistes' Association, we will work together to increase the number of cinema halls across the country. The association's job is to protect all interests of artistes. 

How do you plan to support artistes in need as we battle against the Covid-19 pandemic? 

Many of our co-artistes were left helpless during this time of crisis. They did not reach out to anyone for help; they could not  run their households. I stood by them on behalf of the association and I will continue to do so. We have arranged burials for those who were abandoned by their loved ones because of the Covid-19 pandemic. We went to Rajshahi when Andrew Kishore was laid to rest. 

There is a notion that you are more invested in the association than you are in acting. What are your comments on that? 

I think this is incorrect. I love working for the association, and I was a part of various organisations during my student life. It is not like I work with a vendetta against anyone. I work in conjunction with the 21 members of the association. 

There has been some doubts regarding the exclusion of 184 artistes from the association. 

I had no part to play in this matter. The artistes were not excluded, they were made associate artistes. This incident occurred in 2018, after which there was another election. Why did they go to court after so long? The court has said that they did not have sufficient documents. There may be a confrontation in this regard, nothing more.