Charismatic media personality Asaduzzaman Noor is best known for his brilliant depiction of “Baker Bhai” in Humayun Ahmed’s popular TV soap “Kothao Keu Nei.”
The character was so well played that it made a place for him in the heart of the audience of our country forever. In fact, the TV soap gained so much popularity and Noor’s acting was so convincing that when the story of the drama took a tragic turn and the much loved character “Baker Bhai” was sentenced to death, an actual riot broke out in the country. People all over rallied against the fictional verdict and demanded that the story be changed!
In an interview with Dhaka Tribune, Noor states that although the role of “Baker Bhai” gained more popularity, his favourite character from his long illustrated career is of the landlord from the epic series “Oyomoy.” This series is also an adaptation of a novel by the gifted prodigy Humayun Ahmed.
“I have a lot to thank Humayun Ahmed for. It was for him that I got to play such versatile characters. His unique stories gave me the opportunity to bring out the best in me. He created a space for me to show my talent and push myself to portray difficult and challenging roles.”
“We enjoyed working with each other so much and have worked on so many projects together that, there was a time when I was always a first choice of Humayun Ahmed.”
Noor further added: “Ahmed changed the scenario of TV dramas in Bangladesh, he was the first to introduce dramas that portrayed real life situations and tragedies. He broke the trend of stereotyped love stories that we use to show in dramas back then.
There was a redundant pattern in the storylines of the dramas at the time and acting had flair of melodrama and poetic notions. Ahmed was the pioneer of introducing realistic stories closer to life that let the audience something to relate to. I think that is what made him so popular and he also had a talent to incorporate humour in all his tales.”
According to Noor, through the social dramas “Aishob Din Ratri” and “Bohubrihi,” of Humayun Ahmed, a revolution was observed in the TV arena of Bangladesh. “It was a turning point for television plays.”
While talking about Ahmed as a person, Asaduzzaman Noor said: “He was an amazing friend. He was very generous, sincere and honest as a person, but at the same time he was very moody. His emotions were always on the surface, be it anger, sorrow or happiness. I guess that is quite common among artistic people. When he passed away, I lost a great friend. It is a national loss, but for me, losing him is a personal loss.”