Amitabh Reza
Ad Filmmaker
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Many A Tv viewer watches catchy commercials of corporate giants such as Grameen Phone, Banglalink, Citycell, Toshiba, Labaid and Apollo Hospital. However, a sizeable section does not know the name behind these TV ads.
That's the story of Amitabh Reza, the director of these commercials. So far he has directed numerous ads, of which the Banglalink commercial “Oi Din Ki Aar Achhe” was nominated for Global Mobile Award-2007 in 'Making Difference in People's Life' category.
Though Reza is one of the pioneers who changed the face of Bangladeshi TV commercials, he considers himself a “fiction (TV plays, films) director”.
He says that he prefers fiction but when one takes ad making seriously, he/she is not left with time for much else. However, he always dreams of becoming a true filmmaker.
Reza has been in this profession for over a decade. He wants to specialise further and develop this field with his work.
He won the Critics' Award for 'Best Director' in Celebrating Life 2010 for his work “Ei Shomoy”.
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Amitabh Reza has generated a new language of ad filmmaking in the country. Photo: Half Stop Down |
He has worked on couple of plays as well. He won a Meril-Prothom Alo Award (2008) for 'Best TV Director' for the play “Ekti Phone Kora Jabe Please?”. He likes urban settings, stories and characters and this reflects in his work.
He sees major changes in the media, as he says that plays and serials aired on BTV back in the day had powerful stories and now cinematography or the “language” is stronger.
On changes in ad making concepts he sees it as “much better and polished”. Entrepreneurs are getting smarter. They want to communicate with the consumers intelligently.
His commercial for Grameen Phone on Ekushey February bagged a prestigious award in Mumbai.
There are many people working in media productions in Bangladesh and they are doing well, opines Reza. He is fond of their work. He loves to watch films by Abbas Kiarostami and Wong Kar-wai.
He is the director-producer of creative house, Half Stop Down.
Compiled by Star A&E Correspondent
Animesh Aich
Filmmaker
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Animesh Aich is one of the most successful young directors and playwrights of this generation. He was the art director of Nasiruddin Yousuff's multi-award-winning film “Guerrilla”. At present he is working on his first full-length feature film.
Aich made two single-episode TV plays and a tele-film on the popular fictional character Misir Ali -- both earned admiration from the audience. His work “Garam Bhat Othoba Nichhak Bhuter Golpo” (made for TV) was screened at the South Asian Film Festival. He is a former member of the renowned theatre troupe Prachyanat.
Aich's introduction to the TV audience happened in 2003 with a tele-film, titled “Kufa”. Some of his other notable works for the small screen include “Chourashia Boi Porechhilo”, “Kohinoor”, “Hatkura” and “Raater Golpo”.
Aich adapted Humayun Ahmed's popular Misir Ali novel “Nishad” for his tele-film with the same title. According to Aich, he has always been fascinated by the character Misir Ali.
His other work, “Gorom Bhat Othoba Nichhak Bhuter Golpo”, is based on Sunil Gangapadhyay's short story. He wrote the script for the film with permission from the author.
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Animesh Aich is busy with the shooting of his first full-length feature film “Na Manush”. |
Aich says he wants to make plays, films or whatever it is in a way, which will take the viewers to a different realm. He graduated from the Institute of Fine Arts (now Faculty of Fine Arts), Dhaka University.
Eccentric ideas and plots distinguish Aich from most TV play directors.
On few occasions, Aich appeared on the screen as an actor. His performance as a terrorist in a Mezbaur Rahman Sumon play was lauded by many.
He was with an organisation called Jolchhobi, where he worked with Tarek Shahriar, Mostofa Sarwar Farooki and Nurul Alam Atique.
Desh TV introduced a series of TV plays, titled “Rang Mistiri Show”, a few years back in which Aich with contemporary directors showcased their talents. Aich and Mezbaur Rahman Sumon were the executive producers of the show.
So far he has penned nearly 70 TV plays, and directed nearly 40.
At present he is busy with “Na Manush”, his first full-length feature film. Shooting is underway. The film is an adaptation of a Shahidul Zahir story.
Compiled by Star A&E Correspondent
Kamar Ahmad Simon
Filmmaker & Film Activist
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Kamar Ahmad Simon was born and grew up in the maze-like old Dhaka. As a child, he wanted to be an architect. When he was in 12th grade, a film festival changed his mind. He was literally glued to the seat throughout the festival, lost in films like “Bicycle Thief”, “La Dolce Vita” and “Cinema Paradiso”.
Since there was no institution offering formal film education in Bangladesh, and he didn't totally lose interest in architecture, Simon enrolled in BUET (Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology).
In 2008, he attempted to make his first film with a vision to break the international stereotype that Bangladeshis are politically and religiously intolerant. He started to research on rural women. The result was a short film, “Stories of Change”.
The film has been acknowledged at five international festivals, and screened in cities like New York, Rome, Stockholm and New Delhi. A testament to the resilience of human spirit, the film travels through rural Bangladesh.
In the same year, Simon joined the late Tareque Masud's “The Paper Flower” project as an assistant director.
In 2009-2010, he organised two consecutive sessions of Shadhinota-Independence Day Film Festival, in association with Star Cineplex. In 2010, he organised and directed the Travelling Film South Asia Dhaka, featuring 12 documentaries from this region.
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Simon is attending Berlin Film Festival this year with his work “Are You Listening!”. |
In 2009, when he was planning to start his first script for a feature film, the tidal surge Aila devastated the southern part of the country. In the next few months, Simon travelled the entire region to understand the condition of the people. With a mixed impression, he started making “Are You Listening!”, his first feature length documentary.
The documentary has been invited to Campus Studio Lab of Berlin Talent Campus, Berlin Film Festival 2012. It has already been acknowledged with two awards from Europe -- Jan Vrijman Fund from International Documentary Film Festival of Amsterdam and Visions Sud Est from Switzerland. Last year it was awarded as the best upcoming project at the Asian Forum for Documentaries held in Kolkata.
To reinforce the independent film movement, he initiated 'Filmy Bahas' -- an email group for dialogue, discussion and debate on cinema, in memory of Tareque Masud.
He had been the designer and curator of the Tareque Masud Master's Class: Series 1, with the Berlin-based Russian filmmaker Victor Kossakovsky as the lecturer, in January 2012.
By Jamil Mahmud