Grooming Talents

Actor/Singer
Zinath Sanu Swagata
Talks to
Naziba Basher

	courtesy: Zinath Sanu Swagata

I used to study at Five Star Pre-Cadet, a pre-school. There, we did not need to write any admission test to get in but they used to take a small interview. When I went to give the interview, they asked me to sing and since I used to learn singing from a very young age, I was good at it. They were so impressed that they asked me to participate in an upcoming show to be held on BTV (Bangladesh Television). Along with that, they even confirmed my admission in the pre-school! That performance on BTV was my first ever performance and I was only three and a half years old.

After pre-school, I got into Ispahani Girl's High School. I was a very active student there. I used to slack off a lot when it came to studies, but was very active when it came to cultural programmes. I used to participate in every cultural event and competition while I was in that school. Surprisingly, I never bunked classes. I was kind of a 'goodie-two-shoes' so I never had the courage to actually bunk a class even though I was always accused of either talking or not studying properly at school.

I then got into National Bank College (Classes 11 and 12). College was very different for me since I used to study in an all-girl's school and suddenly college life was co-ed. There were more boys than girls in that college. I remember the teachers making me sign up for events like singing competitions and science fairs, in and out of school. A lot of the boys used to follow me around, so I used to make them do all the work!

After college I got into Stamford University to get my bachelor's degree in Filmmaking in 2005. I am in my 6th and final year now. I have been blessed with amazing teachers at university which made it very easy for me to communicate with them. Unfortunately, I could not lead a normal life at university, because of my irregularity in class, thanks to all the activities I was involved in. Life got very hectic for me because in the same year that I got into Stamford (2005), I also got a job and to top it all, my band, Mohakaal, started making music seriously. At the same time, I won a beauty pageant -- You've Got The Look -- popularly known as YGTL, and started acting professionally. Plus, I also got into Rabindra Bharati in Kolkata for a degree in singing.

In the near future, I want to continue with my acting career. In terms of music, it has always been a part of me. The only plan I have is to not leave my band. We released our first album, which was self-titled as Mohakaal, on Eid-ul-Adha, 2011 and right now, we plan on performing in upcoming concerts.

For young aspiring performers, whether it is singing or acting, I would like to advice them to always keep their ears and eyes open to everything. To bring change and improvement to your talent, you have to keep up with the changing trends. And to do that, you always have to observe and keep up with the current situations. One thing I noticed is that most people, nowadays, do not want to learn anything. Even if you are God gifted, the only way to nurture your talent is by learning more about it. You should have full knowledge of what you are doing. That is the only way you will achieve what you really want.