Beyond the Mirror View
With Aynabaji being an unprecedented success, how much has Nabila changed as a person after the movie?
I can tell you that as a person, I am the same since the release of Aynabaji. My life, however, has taken a complete U-turn. I remember when someone told me on the 30th of September, which was a day before the movie's release that my life would change completely after tomorrow. This turned out to be very true. When I am in public now, people approach me to talk and take my autograph. I was even approached by some members of the Cabin Crew in Kolkata's airport who simply said "Thank you" for Aynabaji. It is really overwhelming to garner the love of the people and I truly appreciate it. I would sincerely like to thank Amitabh Reza for this opportunity.
Please shed some light about your current projects regarding film and media.
To be honest, I had been receiving a lot of offers even before the release of Aynabaji. For now, I plan to continue my work as an anchor and a television personality. As for films, I don't really feel inclined to accept any offer until and unless it suits my taste so you can say that I am really picky about my work. I will always be waiting for the perfect opportunity and situation to bring the best outcome possible.
Do you ignore the mainstream media?
I don't really have anything against mainstream projects. I act purely out of passion and love for the craft, so I do not want to disappoint my audience with anything sub-par. I would never want to do a project where I myself am not happy with the final product.
Aynabaji is one of the most acclaimed and revered movies that Bangladesh has produced in many years. What do you think is the reason behind its success?
There are multiple reasons for this. One reason would be the extremely talented crew; they are undoubtedly the best that the industry has to offer right now and I am lucky to have worked with them. But the most crucial reason is that we made a movie that we ourselves would like to see as an audience. We did not follow any "set formulas" that a film usually follows to gain commercial success, we only followed our heart.
With higher expectations from the audience now, what does a film need to do in order to gain the same level of success?
The thing is, it is very normal to reach for commercial success but you have to remember that doing that is bound to hamper the quality of the film. I have many friends who are talented directors, but they are afraid to pursue their passion in fear of not attaining "success" according to the standards that the industry has set for us. When we started working for Aynabaji, there were many who said that this film will not do well commercially because it does not "appeal to the masses". In my opinion, this mindset needs to disappear as we can never achieve international standard films frequently with this attitude. However, many young and upcoming directors are courageous enough to pursue their visions of what a good movie should be.
Would you like to tell us anything regarding your personal life? What are your views on marriage?
I do not really see myself getting married in the near future. If the situation and the right person ever present themselves in front of me, I will by all means go for it. But for now, I would like to concentrate on my career. You can say that I am just going with the flow at the moment.
By Sadi Mohammad Shahnewaz
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