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Chashi Nazrul Islam: A director of substance

KARIM WAHEED
CHASHI Nazul Islam would, in all likelihood, be on
anyone's list of top three Bangladeshi movie directors.
Debuting in 1971 with Ora Egaro Jon, which is considered to be the first movie on the Liberation War to make an intense impact on our masses, Chashi has never had to look back since. What separates him from his peers is his inclination towards remarkable stories by renowned authors -- be it classic novels by Sharatchandra Chattyo-padhyay or contemporary work by Selina Hossain.
Did he always know that he would be a filmmaker and how did he start? A smiling Chashi asserts, "Never had any doubt. I knew what I wanted to do with my life since I was a student of class seven. I started as an assistant director and had the opportunity to work with Fateh Lohani for Shomadhan (1962). I've worked with other eminent directors like Obaidul Haque, Rashed Asgar
Chowdhury, Mohsin aka Karigor and Syed Muhammad Awwal. I consider myself fortunate that I could learn from the best of directors."
Why the obsession with popular literary works? Chashi retorts, "I don't make movies based solely on what's selling. I always stick to novels and stories that have somehow moved me. I've made Debdash (1982), Chandranath (1984) and Shubhoda (1986) based on Sharatchandra's novels
because I feel that very few authors have focused so closely on Bangalee society as well as our individuality. Decades have passed, yet the appeal of his creations don't seem to fade. I was overwhelmed by the strange reality of the time depicted in Selina Hossain's Hangor Nodi Grenade and I knew I had to make a movie on that." Chashi has also made Biroho Byatha (1988), based on Bankimchandra Chattyo-padhyay's Bishbrikkho. It
should be mentioned that his Shubhoda holds a record of winning 12 National Awards.
Any incident while shooting, that still haunts him? Chashi takes his time and responds, "It was during the shooting of Ora Egaro Jon, Khasru, one of the lead actors, brought two captive Pakistani soldiers and said, 'Let's make the film as realistic as possible and kill these rogues!' I was so shocked, I didn't know what to say at first. You have to understand, this was right after our Liberation War and the War was still very alive in peoples' mind. I however explained to him that according to the Geneva Convention, we were not allowed to harm the captive soldiers. I still get flashes of that incident."
Chashi's last film was Shasti (2005) based on Rabindranath Tagore's short story and it has been well received by both
masses and critics. He is currently working on Shubha, another short story by Tagore. Why Shubha?
Chashi says, "Partly because of the title. 'Shubha' is short for Shubhashini -- the lead character's name. She is mute, yet Tagore christened her Shubhashini (an articulate woman). The story has intrigued me. We began shooting on June 1 and currently we're doing the dubbing. To make a movie version of a short story I had to elaborate on the plot without moving away from the track Tagore had set."
Purnima plays the lead role, Shubha, while Saqib Khan plays Protap. Famed actress of yesteryears, Sujata makes a comeback after all these years, with the movie as Shubha's mother.
Chashi is also working on the scripts of Gendu Sheikh by Golam Gafur and Shudhu Tomar Jonnyo by Rabeya Khatun.