"Taqdeer", the fourth Hoichoi original from Bangladesh, released on December 18, 2020. It is gaining immense appreciation and rave reviews from different corners of the world, besides Bangladesh and India. In a recent chat with The Daily Star, the creators Syed Ahmed Shawki and Saleh Sobhan Auneem spoke about the success of the show.

"Taqdeer" features Chanchal Chowdhury in the lead role, along with Sanjida Preeti, Manoj Pramanik, Partha Barua and Sohel Mondal Rana among others. The eight- episode series has stirred intrigue, and is being showered with praise all over social media.

In "Taqdeer", Chanchal Chowdhury plays a man who gets entangled in a murder scandal, when he finds a mysterious corpse in his freezer van.

Still from ‘Taqdeer’.

While conceiving the idea for the show, director Shawki and co-creator Auneem crafted original characters who represented Bangladesh. Some reviews from India said that "Taqdeer" is one of the best shows of Hoichoi till date. "I carefully read all the reviews and comments," says Shawki. "I am overwhelmed and humbled by the fact that people loved our show so much."

Shawki also said that people are liking Chanchal Chowdhury's work, which is expected, but Sohel Mondal Rana wins the hearts of the viewers with a breakthrough performance.

The director added that Manoj Pramanik is brilliant on the show. "Chanchal Bhai fit the lead character's role perfectly. Rana's character is very loving and people can easily get emotionally attached to him. Manoj's character has shades of grey, and he is not easy to like," he says. "I welcome constructive criticism and look forward to those who can point out the flaws. It will help us to improve upon our future projects."

On the other hand, Auneem had a different view about reviews. "I absolutely try to avoid reviews and comments," he says, "rather, I try to discuss and take suggestions from colleagues and friends."

Shawki asserted that OTT platforms must offer variety to the audiences. "I am actually reading the reviews to observe the kinds of stories that people are looking for," he says. "We often hear that audiences look for specific genres such as dark comedies or thrillers on OTT platforms. However, I think these platforms should be full of options, so that people get to choose what they want to watch, according to their mood."

He also mentioned that people in Bangladesh are mainly saying that they are proud of "Taqdeer", whereas Indian reviews are drawing comparisons between the show and India's own web originals. In many cases, "Taqdeer" has earned higher scores, in comparison to Indian projects. Even certain dialogues from the show are a hit among the viewers.

The co-creators Shawki and Auneem are grateful to Hoichoi for supporting them and giving them full creative freedom.

Director Syed Ahmed Shawki with co-creator Saleh Sobhan Auneem.

"We didn't expect such widely positive responses," shares Shawki.

Auneem further adds, "Frankly, without Hoichoi's support and their belief in us, we would not have come this far."

"Taqdeer", a Film Noir and Film Syndicate Production is jointly written by Neyamutullah Masum and Syed Ahmed Shawki. Film Syndicate is owned by Tanim Noor and Krishnendu Chattopadhyay.

Film Noir will start working on their new project soon. "We are planning to collaborate with other creators, and produce our next projects, as we believe collaborations will make us stronger and more refined," concludes Auneem.

Stills from ‘Taqdeer’.