‘Ajob Karkhana’: In search for the song of soul
Music is deeply connected with human emotions and often acts as therapy, which helps heal the mind and soul. Apart from listening to different forms of music, musical films is a popular genre in cinemas, where the narrative is highly depended on melody.
Today, the government-funded musical film "Ajob Karkhana" (Song of Soul), directed by Shabnam Ferdousi, has been released. Produced by Samia Zaman, the film features an ensemble cast of Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Shabnaz Sadia Emi, Dilruba Hossain Doyel, Selim Boyati, Dilu Boyati, and Kitab Ali, among others.
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This film marks Shabnam's directorial debut in a fiction film. In her career, she directed over 30 documentary films and also earned a National Film Award in 2016 for her directorial project "Born Together", including other noteworthy acclaims. She has been serving as the head of Programmes at Ekattor Television for over 12 years.
"I was too conscious about the fact whether the film is being made into a proper fiction! Since I am a documentary filmmaker, the most challenging part about this project was accepting that the characters are fictitious and they lie (laughs), whereas documentaries reflect truth only."
"Ajob Karkhana" showcases the awakening of a philosophical journey of an artiste, who— during a professional tour— witnesses the lifestyle and livelihood of such artistes who are connected with their roots, aka folk artistes.
"The idea of this film was weaved in my mind as I was producing the musical travel show for Ekattor, featuring folk artistes from the remote areas of our country," shared the director, adding, "I chose Bappa Mazumder as the host of the show since he is a pop musician. The story of my film, in a nutshell, is similar to the idea."
For the sake of the show, Shabnam had the experience of encountering hardworking labourer artistes who lived in extreme poverty. "When these artistes performed, they transformed into powerful performers, captivating the spectators. Also, they do not know any of the pop artistes in the urban area. For the people living in rural areas, these folk artistes are superstars."
Parambrata portrays Rajeeb, a rockstar in the film. "I was looking for an actor, who is in his 40s, and can play an electric guitar effortlessly. One day lyricist Asif Iqbal connected me with Param, who could see himself in the character," asserted Shabnam.
Param shared the behind-the-story in detail in an exclusive interview with The Daily Star.
Musical films are one of the popular genres of cinema worldwide. Films like "Singing in the Rain" (1952), "The Sound of Music" (1965), "Mother India (1957), and "Mughal-E-Azam (1960), are some of the highest-grossing films globally with numerous other identical films— all are examples of musical films.
In Bangladesh, this genre was explored in films, such as "Rupban" (1965), "Beder Meye Josna" (1989), "Monpura" (2009), "Moner Manush" (2010), "Ghetu Putro Komola" (2013), and "Kajol Rekha" (2024), among many others—where music plays the soul of the film.
The film contains six original tracks, of which, five songs are composed with the lyrics of eminent poet Helal Hafiz.
Labik Kamal Gaurob was in charge of the project's background music, he also composed two songs for the film. The other three songs were composed by Tonmoy Tansen, from the band Vikings, and one track has been handled by the emerging band 7 Minutes.
"There were several pressures that I came across during the journey of making the film," shared Gaurob. "Firstly, in a musical film, music is the central character. Also, we had to put in extra effort since we worked with four different genres of music (folk, rock, classical, and fusion). Making melody with the lyrics written by a personality like Helal Hafiz was another feat since we had no other options than to make it top notch."
He also shared that during the Covid lockdown, most of the work was done by him singlehandedly. "For a song, at least 12-14 instruments are used and they are played by different individuals. However, during the lockdown period, I had to do them all by myself! It was a stressful, yet unique experience for me. Overall, it was quite challenging, but enjoyable and rewarding at the same time."
Samia Zaman, renowned journalist, filmmaker, and the owner of Versa Media, produced the film. She shed light on the smooth collaboration between art and commerce.
"'Ajob Karkhana' stands out due to its diverse music and profound philosophy, which I believe, will connect effectively with today's audiences in Bangladesh and beyond. However, the film bends more on an artistic approach than a typical commercial one. Also, for every film, there is a particular audience, and I believe that this film will also find its audience."
She also feels that despite many barriers, recent developments in Bangladeshi cinema, particularly in post-pandemic times, show a ray of hope. "With audiences having access to global cinema, our task is to present genuine narratives and innovative concepts on screen."
Shabnaz Sadia Emi, an icon in the Bangladeshi modeling industry, and also a renowned anchor, made her silver screen debut with this film. "I have always thought that I will only do films when I am offered an adventurous role. This is one of such roles, and to tell you the truth, it is hard to say no when your co-star is Parambrata!"
Emi's character in the film is a ramp model, who is the girlfriend of Rajeeb, played by Parambrata. "My audience will be able to find a resemblance between my personality and the role I play in the film, which is why it drew me instantly."
"Ajob Karkhana" received a government grant worth Tk 50 lakh in the FY 2016-17. The film's shooting began in 2019, and due to Covid, the post-production process took time to complete.
The film took much time for its theatrical release since its completion in 2021. Meanwhile, it went to 17 international film festivals and bagged five awards—Best Debut Film at JAFFNA International Cinema Festival (2023), FIPRESCI award winner (2021) at the 20th Dhaka International Film Festival, Best Sound and Music award in France's Gange Sur Seine Festival, and Best Original Song award at France's Toulouse's Festival.
The "Chandrabati Kotha" famed actress Dilruba Hossain Doyel portrays a journalist and a television programme producer in this film. "My role has a resemblance with Shabnam apa herself, and this created some sort of nervousness in me. However, she made me comfortable enough to get in the character," she shared.
"Also, being a great fan of Parambrata, sharing the screens with him also made me anxious. But I must share this, that he is extremely down to earth, and a friendly person by nature. Whenever we met, he would always ask about my son first. Working with him was comforting and I got a lot of insights from him."
"Ajob Karkhana" has received five halls in the initial week, which includes two outlets of Star Cineplex (Bashundhara City, and Sony Square), Lion Cinemas, Silver Screen (Chattogram), and Jamuna Blockbusters.
The film will also have a premiere at a festival in Toronto this very month as the closing film of the ceremony.
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