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Tete-a-tete

Shojol: On a rising curve in his career graph

Nadia Sarwat
In a recently aired TV play, Shojol portrayed an aspiring young man who wants to be an actor, dreaming that his favourite actresses were his co-stars. One of today's busy TV actors, did Shojol ever nurture such dreams in his early years? Let's hear it from the model-turned-actor, who not so long ago had a chat with The Daily Star.
“Honestly, I dreamt of being a barrister, but it was my parents' wish that I enrolled for a BBA at Jahangirnagar University. I was a party boy, having lots of fun at family get-togethers and the like, you know. Photographer Iqbal Ahmed noticed me at one such event, and suggested that I try out for a photo shoot. I accepted his offer and that's how it started."
Shojol's first public appearance as a model was a Coca-Cola billboard advertisement in 2001. Soon he became the face of successful TV commercials like Starship condensed milk, Jony fabrics. Cute shampoo, RC soft drinks and others. EkusheyTVs popular musical show Virgin Takdum Takdum which he hosted, helped him gear up for his media career. He auditioned for a TV play in 2005 and showed considerable potential in this arena.
For special programmes broadcast during last year's Eid celebrations, Shojol appeared in almost 40 TV plays and films. Appreciating the trend for more experimental work he says, "I consider myself lucky to work with young and talented directors like Koushik
Shankar Das, Diponkor Dipon, and Masud Hasan Ujjal, as well as experienced directors like Afzal Hossain. Several of my recent plays have moved away from the typical 'girl meets boy' theme. In Chayaferi, Tempo, Abhishopto Hari, Akjon Porojibi, Taroka Karkhana, I
got the chance to play versatile characters, ranging from a boy who falls in love with a girl from a different community, a man who finds that the woman he loves is his stepsister, to a software developer and an aspiring actor.”
At present, Shojol secs many
opportunities for newcomers in media. "I think our media has now reached a position to provide actors with a steady career. In fact, if a person wants to work seriously, s/he won't have the time to think about any other profession. There are so many channels and so many productions today; you need to work much harder.”
While he never received any professional training, Shojol doesn't seem uncomfortable fitting into any character role. "For this, I have to credit my seniors from whom I learned a lot, particularly Afzal Hossain. From the outset, he has helped and advised me all along."
About his dream character, Shojol said “Oh, there are lots of characters I would love to portray. Several TV plays have had brilliant characterisations, but I was really moved by Indian film actor Nana Patekar's performance in the film Khamoshi. He played the role of a physically challenged man, unable to speak or hear, whose daughter becomes a famous singer. Patekar was superb. 1 always long for meaty roles into which 1 can really dig my teeth, regardless of the on-screen time. Be it a small part, my wish would be to play mature, exceptional and remarkable characters."