Mazharul Islam: The booming voice on radio

As the young Mazharul Islam entered the stage in shining armor in the role of Tipu Sultan's son, he had little idea that his budding career in the media world was fated to take a detour.
Mazharul Islam is a name synonymous with voiceovers in commercials, and a sought after name for the movie directors and advertisers.
His unique talent of mastering his voice and tonal qualities during his presentations has made him a hit in the media.
Islam says that his voice frequency is at par with those of Sabina Yasmeen, Runa Laila or Momtaz although he is quite content to concede that he does not have the same talent for singing!
His ability to hit the right notes, the right modulation has catapulted many of the products he advertises to success.
How did he get into this unusual line of voiceover?
"The meager pay as casual artiste in radio was not enough to maintain my family. My unusual career took root with the sudden demise of noted actor Fateh Lohani. The distressed directors were on the lookout for someone to dub his voice. With the talent to imitate others with ease I offered my services to the directors, and I struck gold."
Islam's first venture in movie voiceovers began with the blockbuster Rangbaj. " Haa bhai…ebaar ashitechhey suuuppperr hit...” his voice would have the atypical message to stir the imagination of the viewers. “The voice of Mohammad Ali the well known Pakistani actor, was dubbed in mine for the movie Afsos. I did a similar job for the Iranian film Messenger.”
“Besides lending voice to around 10,000 commercials, I have played lead roles in about 170 radio plays,” adds Islam. He shares an anecdote of how 11 prison inmates wrote to him praising his character as Devdas in a radio play. They wrote that they had forgotten their miseries while listening to the play. “It's possibly my height that prevented me from performing in any other media,” he adds impishly.
Over the years, Islam has created a niche for himself where he communicates with listeners of all echelons through radio commercials in a manner typical of him, that appeals to all.
But how did he innovate this style? "It was only when I came to understand that the style is rather fascinating to the mass that I began to be more attentive and gradually it was a new trend that I set in the commercials of the country."
A founding member of the commercial service of Radio Bangladesh, Islam was honoured the Best Sound Editor and presenter for six programmes broadcast on Radio. But Islam feels he has reasons to feel dejected, as he has not been awarded or recognised outside of the studio.
In the post Liberation era, Islam conducted two folk festivals that continued for seven days each. One was inaugurated by president Abu Sayeed Chowdhury('73) and the other by Bangabandhu ('74).
Why haven't very many people followed in your footsteps? " When I trod the rocky path, my initial payment was Tk 30/ only. That too, I was paid partially. However, I am open to any competition. I innovated new ideas, to attract my audience. It's the turn of others to make their own,” he says.
Any particular training needed? “Since I trained in music and recitation, it helped me immensely. Besides that, it was only instincts and intuition that guided me to develop my presentation,” adds Islam.
“I am content with my studio Shetu which I have turned into a small transcription service. I have rare collection of songs and interviews which often come to use for others.”
As a media consultant of Radio Today and RJ of abc radio, Mazharul Islam is still innovating different ways to attract his audience though he still prefers to work from behind the scenes, to be the voice that everyone knows.