New faces for Bangladeshi cinema

Mimo (left) and Niloy - winners of Super Hero Super Heroine contest

Amidst razzle-dazzle, the grand finale of 'Fair & Lovely Super Hero Super Heroine 2009' was held at Hall of Fame auditorium of Bangabandhu International Conference Centre on October 21. Bangladesh Film Development Corporation (BFDC), ntv and Market Access Group jointly arranged the event. Unilever Bangladesh sponsored the programme.
The gala event featured performances by the 12 finalists as well as renowned artistes.
Niloy Alamgir from Dhaka won the title 'Super Hero' while Lamia Siddiqui Mimo from Khulna was crowned 'Super Heroine'. The first runners-up were Sohan Khan and Jannatul Nabila Bashury while second runners-up were Asifuddin Imrose and Merry Prema Gomez.
The Super Hero and Super Heroine got Tk 2,00,000 each as prize money. First and second runners-up received Tk 1,50,000 each and Tk 1,00,000 each respectively. Apart from these, they will have the opportunity of acting in major feature films.
Sohanur Rahman Sohan, renowned film director and one of the judges of the competition; Mosaddek Ali Falu, chairman of ntv; Mamataz-Ala-Shakoor Ahmed, managing director of BFDC and Sharif Shah Kamal Taj, chairman and managing director of Market Access Group handed over the cheques to the winners.
Eminent directors and producers Gazi Mazharul Anwar, Shawkat Jamil, F.I. Manik, Kazi Hayat, Giasuddin Selim, Khorshed Alam Khosru and others showed much interest in working with these talented actors.
Among 12 finalists, six contestants -- Indrani Haldar Eshita, Mehedi Hasan, Faria Mahbub Piyasha, Mostafizur Noor Imran, Ayesha Sultana Shampa and Sakhawat Hussain Sagor -- were eliminated in the gala round. They all received Tk 50,000 each.
The programme started with a song "Dekho shamney tomar shubishal akash" -- composed by Fuad Al Muqtadir. Partha Barua, Bappa Majumdar, Rizia Parveen, Mila and others performed the song.
The 12 finalists then performed to a medley of classic Bangla films songs. Kabirul Islam Ratan choreographed the dance performances.
Sharif Shah Kamal Taj, Mamataz-Ala-Shakoor Ahmed, Mosaddak Ali and Enayetur Rahman delivered speeches on the occasion. Mamataz-Ala-Shakoor Ahmed said, "Some new faces have emerged through this competition. We hope, they will prove their mettle with hard work." Mosaddak Ali said, "I, on behalf of ntv family, assure all of you that ntv was, is and will always be engaged in such types of talent hunts."
The competition, first of its type, started in the country with 32,000 contestants on August 13 last year. Auditions were held in different divisional cities and district towns. Three main judges of the competition were veteran film actor Razzak, director Sohanur Rahman Sohan and actress Moushumi.