LEESA GAZI

“The story Barir Naam Shahana revolves around the lead character, Deepa, and as the film follows her journey, other characters blend in to complete the narrative. I wrote this story in 2011, and Aanon and I wrote the screenplay for the film together. I feel that working with Aanon on this was one of the advantages for me. I think it is one of my successes that everyone in this discussion is commending my directorial approach. When an actor is preparing themselves, it is essential to let them use their creative freedom to understand, envision and embody their roles. It is an achievement for me that they felt comfortable and confident after working on this project. Apart from the five ladies present here, team Barir Naam Shahana cast includes Amirul Haque Chowdhury, Lutfur Rahman George, Iresh Zaker, Joyanto Chattopadhyay, among others. And every member of the cast and crew gave their one hundred per cent effort. As a director, I am grateful to all of them. I also consider myself a fortunate director to have such a dedicated and hardworking team. We all worked together for nineteen days, with seventeen days for shooting and two days break. We shot in extreme heat and got stuck in storms. We all went through intense shooting, but nobody backed out. Their persevering approach kept me motivated. Someone once told me, when crew members discuss their scenes and characters with each other. It shows that they have connected with the story by heart. The team started relating the roles of the film with women from their neighbourhood or surroundings. They started reflecting the attributes of those women in the storyline. And this inspired me. As a director, I wanted this story to connect with everyone, and I feel the team as a whole echoed my vision through their outstanding work. We just started the journey with this project, and we still have thirty per cent of the shooting left to complete in London. So, we hope to release the film by the end of 2022 or the beginning of 2023.”