THE ACTOR AND THE MENTOR

This year's 68th Cannes Film Festival was a very special occasion for Shaan Rahman, a young talented Bangladeshi actor trained in Canada. The 18-minute fictional short film Eye for an Eye, where he played one of the leading roles, was launched and screened at the Short Film Corner Section of this highly prestigious film festival. The film, submitted from Canada, was also directed by a Bangladeshi filmmaker Khijir Hayat Khan renowned for his short films 'Jaago' and 'Bourne Identity in 60 Seconds'.

Shaan's talent and passion for acting not only made him an excellent performer; he is now also a mentor. After coming to Bangladesh this year, Shaan has been running his own acting school called 'The Arena' where he teaches the techniques and methods of acting which are still quite unfamiliar in our country.

Born and raised in Bangladesh till the age of 19, Shaan went to Canada for higher education in mathematics and physics. However, in the 2nd year of his university, he started to feel that he finds his real passion in acting and not in science books. Shaan says, “I used to spend hours reading and analysing scripts, movies, roles, characters and acting styles.”    

Photos: Courtesy

Taking a different turn, Shaan then enrolled at the University of Victoria's 4 year long Acting Specialist Programme. He also completed training courses at The Actor's Foundry. Shaan says, “My formal education in acting has proven to be very resourceful and effective to build my acting career.” 

Shaan Rahman. Photo: Prabir Das

“Many think that acting is a god-gifted talent. However, I think without proper training and hard work, this talent cannot be nourished,” he adds.

Shaan runs his school according to the curriculum he had studied under at The Actor's Foundry. In a month long crash course, a student, starting with the basics of acting such as script analysis, gets the spirit of a true performer by the end of the month.

A F M Sayem, a software engineer, has recently completed the crash course at The Arena. He says, “The course was really awesome. In the first week, I was given a script to analyse the scenes, acts and was taught the basics of acting. Then I learned about how to prepare my mind for acting through different kinds of relaxation exercises including meditation.” 

“In the third week, I learned how to fuse my own personality with the character. In the final class, I had to perform the character I was given in the first class with the script. This package course on acting has changed my mind and now I am really passionate about it,” says a beaming Sayem.

After a short postponement during Ramadan, Shaan is going to re-launch his acting classes at Jaatra Biroti in the capital's Banani area with newer ideas and experiences. Shaan says, “In my classes, I also learn a lot of things from my students. They are very enthusiastic and brimming with excitement to learn the art.”

Besides teaching at The Arena, Shaan is also working on different projects and connecting with industry professionals and artistes to share his decade long knowledge and experience in acting.