Camaraderie on the sets

(From right) Salahuddin Lavlu, Mosharraf Karim and Mominul Islam. Photo: Shah Alam Shazu

As the noon sun shone above, the adda at Pubail's Shooting Palli heated up. Actor Masum Aziz was at the centre of the chat in the house, known as “Ujjaler Bari”. Several new artistes joined in the casual chats, as well as actor Arfan Ahmed. However, everyone left, on foot, for “Minotir Bari”, a kilometer away, after getting a call from Salahuddin Lavlu.
In Minoti's house, made of clay and full of people, director Lavlu was sitting on the veranda, with his eyes fixed on the monitor. The cameraman was ready with his equipment for Mosharraf Karim's next shot. The director passed on his ideas to the actor, but it took a while to capture the entire scene on the reel. Sipping tea, Lavlu jokingly told Aziz that the group had missed the fun of shooting a single scene in two hours.
The next scene was also Karim's, who changed his clothes and rehearsed his lines before standing in front of the camera. The first take had to be canceled as a unit member's phone rang in the middle of the scene. After okaying the scene in two attempts, the director announced that the next shot will be taken at the bazaar. The production boy served pineapples to everybody on the set.
Adda and snacks continued, as playwright Mominul Islam arrived. It was his play that was being shot. Lavlu informed everyone that the play being made for Eid, is titled “Barabari”. Banglavision will air it for a week during Eid. The shooting has been going nonstop. The cast includes Mosharraf Karim, Lux Superstar Rakhi, Masum Aziz, Elora Gawhar, Munira Mithhu, Milon Bhattacharya, Arfan Ahmed, Amin Azad, Hafiz and others.
Next, the whole unit headed to a nearby bazaar. All the shops were closed for lunch break. The director said the closed shops came as a blessing, as it would have been difficult to shoot with people scrambling around. This scene involved Rakhi and Arfan Ahmed. A camera was set on the veranda of a shop. The two actors were given directions for the scene.
The camera started rolling. Rakhi was walking on the street with a book in her hands. Arfan Ahmed was walking on another street. However, the shout of a biker ruined the first take, while the noise of a three-wheeler ruined the next one. Finally, the scene was done when the sounds died down. By then there was a large crowd at the spot, most of them schoolchildren. One of them pointed to Karim and Lavlu. Sudden rain disrupted everything, forcing everyone to rush to Ujjal's house.
It was lunchtime at the house. After the meal, Masum Aziz expressed regrets on not being able do to a scene the entire day. Amin Azad assured him that his chance would come. As evening drew near, preparations were made for the next shot on the street -- with Karim, Rakhi, Amin Azad, Milon Bhattacharya. The scene showed Karim and his gang standing in front of a car, when Rakhi passes them by. Two takes were needed to get the shot. Arfan told Rakhi that she looked just like a college student in the scene.
With nightfall, the lights, cameras, monitors, booms were taken to the house next door for the day's final shot with Arfan Ahmed and Rakhi. Salahuddin Lavlu individually called all, and let them know about the next day's shoot. Masum Aziz however headed for Dhaka at night since he couldn't shoot the whole day, as his co-star Elora Gawhar did not show up at the shooting spot.