The king of television romance

One of the most prolific young directors of our time, Mizanur Rahman Aryan had a great year with hits such as Tumi Amari, Dekha Hobe Ki? and Sublet under his belt.  Aryan, who writes the scripts for his projects as well, has often times ventured out of his comfort zone and honed his directorial skills with a vast array of work. The Daily Star presents a candid interview with the king of romantic drama.

Thank you so much for your time. Could you tell us about your current projects?

As of now, I am working on two 75-minute telefilms – a love story featuring Apurbo and Mehazabien, and a family drama with two phenomenal women , Aupee Karim and Nusrat Imrose Tisha. I will not disclose further details about them, but I am sure that the audience will like the projects.

Even though you are an expert in romantic tele-fictions, most of your stories have sad endings. Why is that?

Tell me, how many real-life love stories have successful and happy endings? In our lifetimes, we tend to have many unfulfilled love stories that remain with us as memories, and my stories are mere reflections of these memories. We never know what happens to the fictional characters in the stories, and that is what I find most intriguing.

In many of the tele-fictions made here, we see the same faces repeatedly. Why are directors not working with new actors in the industry?

There are many restrictions that we, as directors, have to work with. Firstly, the budget and script are presented to us in a way that we only have a few options to work with. In many cases, we cannot experiment with newer actors, since the producers will also have a say in the casting. Naturally, the makers would want a popular face in their project, as it increases the chances of the project being a hit. You will notice, for example, in the top 20 dramas in a year, 12-15 of them will feature the likes of Apurba and Afran Nisho. That being said, I have personally worked with many young and talented actors, including Yash Rohan, Manoj Kumar and Allen Shuvro, among others.

If you were given the freedom to work with any actor in Bangladesh, that you have not worked with before, who would it be?

If it is a middle-aged love story, I would work with Chanchal Chowdhury and Mahfuz Ahmed. If it is a family drama, I would love to cast Mosharraf Karim.

You have solidified yourself as a top-tier director for the TV industry in the country. Do you have any plans to make a film yet?

In fact, I do plan to release a film by next year! It will be a love story, and the talks for it are in the final stages. However, we have not finalised a cast yet. I hope to publish an official declaration soon.