::: Star Insight :::

Critics’ Award Winners

“Competitions allow one to judge his talent”

Nurul Alam Atiq
Best Director & Scriptwriter
Bikol Pakhir Gaan

“Recognition for any kind of work increases the motivation to do better work. And frankly, there is a tremendous need for competitions such as Celebrating Life in Bangladesh. I personally think that such competitions should increase in numbers,” says Nurul Alam Atiq. Participating in competitions allow one to judge his talents in comparison to others, to test the waters, so to speak. It helps to judge oneself, and provides a platform for aspirants to prove their worth. Atiq thanks the Daily Star for organizing such an event. He is proud to be one of the winners of the Critics' Award Section, and feels further motivated in his work.

A scene from Bikol Pakhir Gaan

Nurul Alam Atiq has been affiliated with the profession of directing media production such as television dramas for over a decade. “I really enjoy my work,” says Atiq. Truth be told, he doesn't know how to do anything else besides direction. By saying that he really means that nothing else interests him at all and he cannot even begin to think of doing something else. This is his profession, and he wants to keep doing it for as long as he may live.

Atiq enjoys Mostafa Sarwar Faruki's work a lot, besides which he is very fond of Jahir Raihan's films from the old days. He likes the works of Hritik Ghatak as well.

Since long, he has thought of writing a novel, and at the moment that is solely all that he has planned for the days to come. In essence, his novel will be set in what Dhaka city was 400 years ago. The culture and romance of the old Dhaka will come alive in the story.

“My work is a gift to the audience”

Amitabh Reza
Best Director
Ei Shomoy

“Any award is a positive gesture, and everyone enjoys being awarded,” says Amitabh Reza. He never expected to be awarded for the work that he has done, through which he has achieved this honor. In reality, he did not complete this piece of work with an award in mind, and in fact, he didn't even hear it being ever discussed. He completed this work with a lot of compassion and in his heart; he has tried to make it a wonderful gift to everyone.

A scene from Ei Shomoy

Amitabh have been affiliated with this profession for the last ten years, give or take. As he has no interests in doing anything else, he wants to specialize further and develop this field with his work.

There are many people working in media productions in Bangladesh and they are doing well, opines Amitabh. He is fond of their works. He also watched films by foreign directors, amongst which Abbas Kirostomi and Wankkarway are some favourites.

He feels that Celebrating Life Contests are mostly about youth, and about encouraging them. This is a very commendable initiative. And for this reason, Amitabh extends his appreciation to the ones who are giving their efforts in organizing it.

What does he plan for the future? He proclaims that he has no plans in getting married any time soon! On a different note, he would like to perform Hajj next year and of course, continue working in the field and continuously improve the quality of his productions.

“I want to make films for the silver screen”

Mesba Ur Rahman Sumon
Special Jury Award
Tobuo Angurlata Nandake Bhalobashe

Scenes from Tobuo Angurlata Nandake Bhalobashe

In 2006, Sumon first received an award for his second work. Awards motivate the awardees to keep doing better and better. It was the same in his case. His main fear is that he may become too proud after receiving these awards! Celebrating Life is his second award.

For the last 5 years, Sumon has been involved in this line of work. What he really wanted to do was to make films, and he hasn't let go of that dream. This is his profession and this is what he wants to do.

He likes works of many Bengali directors, such as Animesh Aich, Amitabh Reza, Mustafa Sarwar Farooki, and Atiq.

He feels jealous of people who win competition. This is not a negative jealousy. Looking at the good works of people inspires Sumon to work even harder so that one day he is would be able to produce better works than them. In this regard, he thinks that competitions are very important.

As far as his future plans go, he wants to make movies for the silver screen. This is his only goal in life.

“I enjoy challenging roles”

Joya Ahsan
Best Actor (Female)
Tobuo Angurlata Nandoke Bhalobashe

At this time Joya Ahsan is in a very strong position in Bangladesh's acting scenario compared to her peers. She started her career with modeling. In most cases it is seen that models become actors but they don't last long in this field as they don't have the acting talent. But Joya is different. After starting her career in the field of acting, she excelled. Although her start was not as strong, with time she has established herself as a very talented actor. She is a very good role model for the current generation. She is a prime example that models can also become talented actors.

In the Celebrating Life Contest, Joya received the Best Actor in the female category for her role in 'Tobuo Angurlota Nando ke Bhalobashe'. This is the first time that Celebrating Life has introduced Critics’ Awards for film and television. The biggest strength that Joya has is her versatility in acting. She takes challenging roles which other actors would think twice about. This has really helped her reach the position where she proudly stands.

When we asked her about her feelings after receiving the award she said:

Receiving the award was very exciting. I think this is a very prestigious award, not like any other awards that I have received. This award is very valuable to me. For this reason I would like to thank the Jury members, The Daily Star, and Standard Chartered Bank for selecting me for this prestigious award. I really worked hard for this role as it was a very challenging one, and receiving an award for this particular role is extra special.

In regard to which directors she enjoyed working with she said:
The directors who I enjoy working with all received awards with me at Celebrating Life 2010 except Animesh Aich. This is also very exciting for me. Nurul Alam Atiq, Mesba Ur Rahman Sumon, Amitabh Reza they along with others are some of the directors with whom I really enjoy working. My debut film was “Guerilla” which is a full length feature film. I am really excited about the outcome of this film. I would like to continue working in this field and present great works to the audience.

We congratulate Joya Ahsan for her achievements and for reaching the pinnacle of her acting career.

“Every major role deserves to be awarded”

Shatabdi Wadud
Best Actor (Male)
Ei Shomoy

Celebrating Life Critics’ Award is only for those who are really talented media personnel. Shatabdi does not believe that only heroes and heroines should be awarded. If someone is not a hero or heroine but yet plays a major role with talent, they should be acknowledged as well.

Shotabi Wadud is one such actor of this time who received the Best Actor (Male) Award for the television drama “Ei Shomoy”. The drama was directed by Amitabh Reza and was written by Aktaruzzam Elias. He is also a very versatile actor who enjoys playing challenging roles. Shatabdi is very happy to receive the award and proud.

He thanks the Jury members, the Daily Star and Standard Chartered Bank for selecting him for this award.

“An award is truly a source of excitement”

Nilufer Anjum (Producer)
Best TV Drama
Bikol Pakhir Gaan

An award through a competition inspires and rewards good work, and that to Nilufer, is a commendable initiative. “I have found myself becoming quite fond of the Celebrating Life Awards, as the ones involved are encouraging the youth of Bangladesh” says she, and adds that “The Daily Star works with students, and against the use of drugs; which are very positive for Bangladesh in my opinion.”

Nilufer Anjum has been a part of this industry for two years now. There was always a connection that she felt that she needed to explore, and she enjoyed becoming acquainted with people from this field. Getting to know them inspired her to enter this field. But, first and foremost, she is a lawyer by profession. She wants to work in the media alongside her current profession.

A lot of people are doing good work in our country, and she enjoys almost everyone's work. Among them she liked Nurul Alam Atiq's work the best, and wants to work with him the most. Besides him, she is very fond of Animesh Aich, Amitabh Reza, and Chaynika Choudhury. When discussing the Celebrating Life Awards, Nilufer says “An award is truly a source of excitement! I am very happy to have achieved this award, because this was my first work. Truly, such an honor has made me exuberant.” The people that she works with are all very good in their fields, and are used to doing such work. She is thankful to them for their contributions.

Nilufer has various plans for the future, since the work done in this field is very challenging, the competition is huge and various forms of commercial work exist. She wishes to ensure that whatever she is a part of to be a quality production and wants to stand beside those who are doing well in this sector and patronize them.

“I never thought I would be awarded”

Mamun
Best Sound
Ei Shomoy

Winning an award under the banner of Celebrating Life is a huge deal for me. I never thought that I would receive this award. Even before the name of the winners were announced I was in doubt whether I would get this award or not. When my name was announced I was overwhelmed.

For the last three years I have been involved with this line of work. Before this I was involved with electronic works. From a very early age I was interested in music. I took up this line of work solely from the love and passion I had for music.

Music is both my hobby and my profession. There were times when I had to work on my music for two to three days at a stretch; yet I never felt irritated. My mentor is Nahid Bhai. I used to work as his assistant which I is a post that I still hold to this day. It is a pleasure working him.

I really liked the competition. Usually the actors on screen are acknowledged for their work. People working behind the scenes are rarely mentioned. It is not often that a production has been stalled due to the us. Even after that we are barely acknowledged. This competition has been a great platform for us to get introduced to the audience. About the future, I would have to say that as long as I am physically able I would like to continue this line of work. Since my professional degree is in Electronics Engineering, I want to contribute in such a way that Bangladesh would be able to import her technologies abroad to the global market.

“Recognition has motivated me”

Sunny Chowdhury
Best Editor
Bikol Pakhir Gaan

After receiving the award, I am elated and excited. I have been involved in this line of work for the last 8 years. This is my chosen profession. I work at 'MachRanga ' Productions and really enjoy working for this production company.

I enjoy almost everybody's work. If I have to mention a few names I would have to mention Shihab Shahin, Gias Uddin Selim and Atiq; I really enjoy their work. In short I would like to say that I admire almost everyone who has been in this profession longer than me.

If I were to comment on the competition, I would have to say that the competition is a great initiative. When a production is completed, it is always the screen personalities who get all the recognition. The fact that our contribution goes a long way in making of the movie is not usually recognized. I hope that this type of competition introduce us to the public and the young generation.

My future plan is to improve my position in this field. I want to produce good work and present them to the public. The recognition that I have received has motivated me to improve in the future.

“Work satisfaction is important to me”

Nehal Quraishi
Best Cameraperson
Bikol Pakhir Gaan

This is a very different feeling that I cannot express in words. This is the first time I am receiving an award from our honorable President. This is a very exciting time for me.

I have been doing this kind of work for the last 12 years. Before that I was working at an NGO.

Atiq Bhai, Amitabh Reza, Sumon, Masud Hasan Ujjal are some of my favorite people and I really enjoy and am inspired by their work.

I never really looked at this as a competition, I felt that I myself involved in a work. I think that the feeling that one gets while working on something is very important. I am really appreciative about this competition. The fact that the competition is giving importance to these technical aspects makes me happy.

In the future, I want to be the sole cameraman in making a full length feature film. So far, I have worked in the productions of Monpura, Joyjattra, Antorajattra, but there I was part of a camera crew. In the future, I want to film an entire movie with my own hands.