A Creative Soul

Writer Mostafa Monwar
Talks to
Sumaiya Ahsan Bushra

	Courtesy

Ever since childhood, I was always the notorious type. My partner in crime were both my brothers, with whom I often indulged in 'monkey business' which would annoy my parents a lot. Playing and reading books all day were my favourite pass times. When I was young, my father told me that if I enrolled into a cadet college, then I would be able to play all kinds of games. And I, being the fool, was coaxed by my father's tempting words and got admitted into Comilla Cadet College and studied there from grade 7 to 12. As a student, I was doing moderately well, but I kept my fair share of distance from cultural programmes and competitions. I guess it was mostly because I had a lack of confidence.

After finishing college, I was eager to join the theatre to become an actor. After joining the theatre group, Prachyanat I decided to attend North South University for formal education. Even, during university, I joined North South's Cine and Drama Club, so that I could be more active with the theatre. Soon after, I also found love in drawing and photography. During that time, I was driven by the forces of reading books, acting, my art works and photography, which stimulated a different kind of energy in me, producing a form of creative madness, which eventually contributed to writing some great scripts. During one of the adda sessions, a random stranger offered me a job at an advertising agency called Adcom. Out of sheer curiosity, I joined and have been glued to the world of advertising since then. It's been almost ten years and I am still here, only at a different work place called Asiatic. I finished my education at North South University and although, I do not get time to work in the theatre, I have been acting on television every now and then.

In the recent years, I have acted in Guerrilla, a film themed around the Liberation War. I have been writing scripts for a while now but now I am more into writing stories. One of my stories was published in the book called Shomoyer Golpo 2013.

I do not have a role model per se but my inspiration flows from creative mediums. I always make one thing clear to myself- my work should stand out from others. I will work in such a manner that it would make a difference in my absence, particularly when it comes to generating ideas for advertising. As for those, who want to work in the creative field, be it script writing or acting, you should always remember that there is a peak. The sky is your limit and you need to attain the highest goals possible, you cannot be easily satisfied with what you have. You need to strive hard, to attain perfection. You need to set your position on the global perspective. Secondly, the world of creative work is more like solving a puzzle game, if you come here, with the mind set that you will treat it like any other occupation, then life will certainly become an ordeal. Instead, you should enjoy the work you do and treat it as a game. Thirdly, you need to see, read and listen to what the world has to offer to you.