<i>No resting on laurels for Kabori</i>

Kabori Sarwar

Kabori Sarwar, the heartthrob of the 60's and 70's Bangladeshi big screen has recently won the prize for best direction, awarded by Bangladesh Cultural Reporter's Association. Is the veteran actress turned director heady with success? She was cool and self-contained as she spoke to The Daily Star about her achievements and experiences in life.
Carving a niche for herself as a director now, she received the award for her debut directorial venture Aaina. She speaks with nostalgia of the past, and talks, more importantly, about her film, which has been screened at the Star Cineplex, Bashundhara city mall, with success. She certainly does not rest on her laurels, and speaks of her experiences in acting and directing.
When she got the offer for directing the film from Square Pharmaceutical's Machranga Productions, she plunged into it without hesitation. “The film deals with the sensitive issue of acid victims. As a girl grows up, she often faces several obstacles in our society. The story is by me and is based on events that are all too real. Acid throwing happens for different reason -- rage triggered by being turned down in love, property disputes and more.
“Incidentally, I have not given up working in TV programmes as I host the show Amar Nayok (My Hero), aired on Channel 1.
“The actors in my film, Aaina, features newcomers apart from Soovas Dutt and Ferdous. My son Shakir plays the role of a hoodlum. The central character is played by Sohana Saba,” says Kabori. She also appears in the film as a lawyer, who works for an NGO dedicated to women. Emon Saha is the music director and Z.H. Minto is the cinematographer. Mujibur Rahman Dulu is the editor. The film was processed in Chennai.
Is the experience of getting this award more satisfying than her earlier achievements in acting? Kabori says that acting is different from directing, the sense of exhilaration on the two cases differ and so the measure of self-satisfaction differs.
“Direction is more complicated than acting -- the latter being only a part of the entirety of the film. My role as a filmmaker is more compelling, I guess, in the long run,” she comments.
Touching on the travails and joys of direction, she says that as the film was shot in different locations, the travelling to and fro was somewhat tiring but the result wipes away any wariness and that might have ensued in the course of six months. The film was shot at Pubail, a village in Tongi, a set in the FDC, and various other locations.
Asked to recall some memorable moments from her numerous visits to overseas film festivals, Kabori recounts her trip to Spain, which according to her “was most endearing”. There she saw the film Goodbye, Lenin and says that she can identify herself with the central character, who weeps over the passing of a generation.
Kaboi Sarwar is indeed a woman to marvel at, by all accounts.