Poth Productions: the organisation behind Arifin Shuvoo’s first portrayal of Bangabandhu

Did you know before Arifin Shuvoo got selected for the role of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in Shyam Benegal's forthcoming film "Bangabandhu", Shuvoo played the role of the Father of the Nation on the stage in Sydney, Australia?

In fact, some stills of Shuvoo depicting Bangabandhu's powerful speech became viral on social media prior to his casting in the film. It was the popular actor's first stage performance as well.

"I knew the production house, Poth Productions previously," said Shuvoo, who is now shooting for the biopic in Mumbai. "The role that I played in 'I am Thy Father" was challenging for me, as I never performed live on stage, let alone portray the Father of the Nation."

The Dhaka Attack actor also informed that they rehearsed about ten days before presenting the show in front of thousands of people.

"I am Thy Father" was directed by Nahid Kamal Rupsha and Hafiz Saadullah.

"The story portrays the life of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, with a depiction of major events from his life in connection with the birth of Bangladesh," shares Nahid Kamal Rupsha.

According to Nahid, the story has been infused with a few fictional touches. The narrator of this story is Bangabandhu himself. It shows him in his afterlife, where he meets three extraordinary leaders of the world, who had been pioneers in serving their people and experienced similar sort of struggles in their journey.

 "Shyam Benegal casting Arifin Shuvoo in Bangabandhu's biopic not only stamps Shuvoo's credibility, but also ours as well," shares Nahid. "Poth Productions congratulates Shuvoo for his great performance on stage, and wishes him all the best for the film."

The theatrical comprises dialogues, poetry, music, and series of contemporary and fusion dance performances. The production is heavily dependent on vivid audio-visuals and light design, which depict the intriguing stories and compliment the performances on stage.

The majority performers for the story were theatre actors, Contemporary and Bharatnatyam dancers from Sydney. 

Founded in 2009, Poth Productions (PP) is one of Australia's biggest South-East Asian creative cultural organisations, with over 200 performers and 12 executives.

The organisation's core offerings has been blending Bengali, South Asian and Western artistic influences to deliver original musical, theatrical and visually engaging stage shows.

Majority of PP's theatricals are based on Bangladesh and​ Bengali heritage, history and cultural journey.

The faces behind the troupe are— Hafiz Saadullah, Director, Creativity and Innovation, Nahid Kamal, Director, Productions and Performances, Sakib Iftekhar, Head of Marketing and Communications, Shawon Arijit, Master of Coin (Treasurer), Faisal Hossain, Head of Audio-Visual, Rakesh Mondal, AV Team member, Zafar Munna, AV Team Member, Gazi Tasnuva Hemel Diti, Choreographer and Performance Coordinator, Elison Gomes, Choreographer and Performance Coordinator, Nixon Gomes, Choreographer, Russell Ahmed, Head of Operations, and Tasnuva Amin, Operations Team Member.

"PP's mission has always been to carry the cultural and historical legacy and heritage forward to subsequent generations in a manner that they can relate to in a multicultural setting," said Nahid.

PP is the cultural partner of Boishakhi Mela Sydney for 10 years, the biggest Bengali New Year celebration outside Bangladesh with Australasian Bangladeshi diaspora.

PP's signature projects have been its 7 theatricals— Water Lily- the Blossoming of a Nation (2011), Sonar Tori – A Momentous Journey (2012), Bhalobasha – All Tragics Welcome (2013), Cornered Nation – Roaring Tiger (2014), Premer Mora – The Roaring Ballad (2016), I am Thy Father (2017), and Aladdin – Desi Style (2018).

Majority of them were held at Sydney Olympic Park. Besides theatrical productions, PP has produced fashion shows and dance medleys and charity shows as well.

The organisation is the Australian Line Producer of Mostofa Sarwar Farooki's forthcoming feature film "No Land's Man"

 PP with its partner entities Deshi events, is one of the acclaimed movie screeners within Australasia. They have successfully screened "Aynabaji", "Doob", "Gohin Baluchor", and "Shwapnojal".

Some of of PP's musical ventures are "Pritam Live in Sydney"​ at Whitlam Centre Liverpool NSW (2016) with Bollywood singers Nakash Aziz, Aditi Singh Sharma, Benny Dayal, Shreeram Chandra, Antara Mitra, Maqsood O Dhaka & Andrew Kishore Concert​ at Hills Centre (2013), 'Jolsha- Untraveled Euphonies'​ (2018 & 2020).

PP is working with government officials and event management companies to stage "I am Thy Father" in Bangladesh and major cities all over the world. The organisation's web series productions are also underway, it iss working with a renowned Bangladeshi entertainment personalities.