Ochena Dana

Channel: NTV

Directed by: Chayanika Chowdhury

Cast: Anisur Rahman Milon, Sabnam Faria, Azam Khan

"Our love was just a game. It was all about timing, planning, and of course, acting."

Everyone dreams of their happily-ever-after scenarios. Fall in love, get married, live the rest of the life with utmost bliss. However, reality doesn't always condone to such a grandiose idea; especially when you're least expecting tragedy. This is the premise of Ochena Dana, where Nitu (Sabnam Faria) elopes with her boyfriend Rasel (Anisur Rahman Milon) so that she doesn't have to undergo a marriage arranged by her father (Azam Khan). While the starry-eyed maiden desires to live the conjugal life of her dreams, her better half pulls the strings to put a sinister plan into motion.

Since the first morning of their wedded life, Rasel shows a character very different from the image of an ideal boyfriend that he had built in front of Nitu. Locking her up in a room without reason, approaching her inappropriately and overall, showing signs of an abusive husband; Rasel slowly peels off his fake persona and reveals to Nitu how everything went according to his grand scheme. It turns out that Nitu's father, a powerful businessman, voluntarily sold off Rasel's sister to a foreign client for illegal sexual purposes, which eventually lead to Rasel's sister committing suicide due to mental trauma. Rasel had blamed Nitu's father for this heinous crime for many years, and admits that he had stalked and eventually married Nitu just to get back at her father and teach him a valuable lesson. The drama wraps itself up with the role of the villain reversed; the caring father is portrayed as unforgivable evil, and the deceitful boyfriend-turned-husband is shown to be a conflicted yet pitiful fallen hero. Nitu ends up forgiving Rasel and chooses to be by his side, understanding full well the pain he went through and the struggle to hold on to justice in his own twisted way.

This drama was unique in many ways. While the on-screen chemistry between Milon and Sabnam Faria doesn't appear to hit off too well at first, the eventual plot progression and the layers of plot twists fleshed out their characters in an impressive manner. The story in itself was quite engaging, albeit bittersweet; showing how even the person you love the most may not be who you think they are. It also shows that love can come in many shapes and forms. Be it the love of a father trying to save his daughter from a kidnapper, or a brother attempting to serve justice in the honor of his deceased sister who was wronged by untouchable evildoers. All in all, Ochena Dana had an array of thought-provoking elements that made it a notable distinction from the rest of the telefilms and Bangla dramas centered solely on romantic relationships. As far as genres are concerned, this drama definitely stands out as a different, yet appreciated, take on the well-established romance genre.

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