Thought of my mother when I won the Lifetime Achievement honour: Rozina

Celebrated veteran actress Rozina is a multiple-time National Film Award winner. This year, she is to receive the most prestigious 'Bangladesh National Film Award for Lifetime Achievement (2022)' for her outstanding contributions to Bengali cinema. In a recent conversation with The Daily Star, she talks about journeying from stage to the silver screen, her achievements and more.

You are to receive the most prestigious award, the Bangladesh National Film Award for Lifetime Achievement (2022), how does that make you feel? 

As an actor, there is no greater achievement than this and I am ecstatic to be considered worthy of this award. I am thankful to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the jury board and all the people involved in the Bengali film industry but most of all I am thankful to my audiences. Without them, it would not have been possible.

Whom did you think of first after learning about the award?

My mother. She was the one who was most apprehensive about my decision to build a career in cinema and later she became my biggest supporter. She wanted me to do well in my studies or singing, but when I pursued my acting career, she became my biggest admirer.

How do you look back on your struggles in the industry?

My initial days were full of struggles. I was a simple girl, who had dreams of making it big in films. I didn't have a god-father, or anyone to guide me in the industry. I come from a humble beginning of theatre and I did all sorts of small roles when I first started. However, I didn't lose hope and I was adamant about becoming a successful actress on my own and proving everyone wrong.

Have you ever been thrown out of a film?

There was an instance where I signed up for a film named "Mintu Amar Naam" and later, the makers replaced me with another actress. That movie gave me my stage name 'Rozina'. The incident was devastating for me, I cried a lot but my mother consoled me. She made me remember how resilient I can be and how far I can go with my strength as a human being. I remember her words to date and carry on with life with utmost gratitude.

How did you fight back from that difficult circumstance?

After getting replaced in the movie, I changed my outlook towards the film industry. I realised that if I didn't respect myself enough no one would. So, I decided not to act in films where there are multiple actresses. Also, I chose not to go to directors' offices to request roles, rather I told them to come to my house if they wanted to have discussions about their films.

Rozina cheekily recalled an incident where she declined to go to popular director F Kabir Chowdhury's office for a film and how shocked he was seeing a new actress' pride.

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What happened next? Did you get the movie?

A month after the incident, director F Kabir Chowdhury came to my Mohammadpur house and signed me up for a movie instantaneously. However, I could not believe it until the shooting started. We made a film named "Rajmahal" and the rest is history. The film did so well at the box office that I never had to look back again.