Mejbaur Rahman Sumon
Mejbaur Rahman Sumon, who is due to make his big-screen directorial debut with Hawa on July 29, said the directing process was a learning journey that helps new directors broaden their horizons.
“Although I started my career as a director of small screen productions, I always wanted to make films. After embarking on a journey to complete my first film, I made many mistakes and learned important lessons from my mistakes. The process of making a film is indeed a remarkable journey for any filmmaker and production team,” Mejbaur Rahman Sumon told New Age.
Mejbaur Rahman Sumon started his journey in the industry as a creator of TV plays, TV movies, drama series and TVC in 2010. However, he felt that he could not properly tell his stories in small screen productions due to of various limitations. As a result, he decided to try his hand at a larger canvas.
“When I was working as a director of small screen productions, I felt that I couldn’t tell my stories properly in small screen productions. Also, television productions are time-limited. Therefore, one cannot devote a lot of time to them. he said.
The up-and-coming director continued, “At some point I stopped scoring TV productions. I wasn’t sure about the future of my career as a director. At the time, the audience response inspired me to move on. Hawa is my first attempt to tell a story on a larger canvas.’
The trailer for her upcoming film Hawa was released on June 8. It received a huge response and garnered 250,000 views on YouTube. A song from the film titled Shada Shada Kala Kala was released on July 8 on YouTube. It has garnered over 210,000 views through Thursday.
“The song was written and sung by Hashim Mahmood. I’m happy because it went viral. Different artists and social media users have covered the song over 1,400 times. It is indeed a huge success,” he said.
He also added, “I don’t believe in treating a film as a commercial product. I don’t want to push the public to buy tickets. When shooting the film, we didn’t think about the commercial aspects of it. We do everything we can to make it happen. If the public likes our film, they will surely go to the cinema to see it.
He said the local film industry was gradually shrinking and losing its appeal to audiences.
“A director must first earn a living and then make a film, which is a long and difficult journey. Also, most local audiences don’t show much interest in local films. The market for local films is gradually shrinking in the country and young filmmakers in the future will have to rely entirely on the international market to screen their films,” he said.
The young director also explained how highlighting the local context can help filmmakers forge their own identity.
“I appreciate the works of many great foreign filmmakers. However, I don’t want to make films like them. They became great because they told the stories of their inhabitants. Likewise, I want to capture the lives and stories of my locality and tell those stories in my unique way,” Mejbaur concluded.
