From winning the National Film Award to representing Bangladesh at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival to the overwhelming success of Purno Doirgho Prem Kahini (PDPK), Jaya Ahsan had a very special year in 2013.
While her de-glam look and brilliant acting in the Liberation War based film Guerrilla brought Jaya the first National Film Award in her career, Her "Dhallywood" transformation in PDPK opposite Shakib Khan was a risky venture for her.
But, with her stunning look and acting, Jaya proved her versatility. Her glamour adds a different dimension to the film industry and hopefully that would contribute to bringing positive changes to the fashion sense of the beauties in the film industry.
Dhaka Tribune caught up with the accomplished artiste on the eve of the New Year 2014 to know about her ventures in the coming year and more.
After the success of PDPK, what do you plan for your career?
Yes, the success has really boosted up my confidence and given me access to the mass audience. But even before PDPK, I started to step out of TV industry since I became very upset about the substandard works there. Now I'm giving full concentration to my film career.
What are your next ventures?
Right now I'm working in two films Parle Theka by Samurai Maruf and Zero Degree by Animesh Aich. A few projects are under discussion but not yet finalised.
Your recent ventures in mainstream cinema have been criticised by a certain people, how do you see it?
Our movie industry is considered as a failed business, but many experimental works are being made and I’m positive about the change. I always look for diversity and experimentations. Viewers will also find me in a different manner in different stories. On the other hand, there are different types of audience. We need to also think about the so-called "suburban and lower class" audience. We have to help them to take their taste to a higher level.
Where do you want to see our mainstream film in near future?
I believe good commercial films should be made regularly for the development of Dhallywood. As an artiste and film lover I believe I should have an active participation. So, I’m acting in commercial films even after facing many the criticisms.
Please share your experience at the Cannes Film Festival.
I was surprised and honoured to be the first Bangladeshi actress to walk on the red carpet at the festival. It was a big responsibility as I was going to represent my country on a platform like this.
I saw there were so many pavilions of different countries but, I felt really bad thinking why we didn't have any. Even they thought I am from India. I was loud that I am from Bangladesh and I had to be very diplomatic.
The best thing was to watch the movies since Cannes selects the best movies from all around the world. Moreover, It provided me a grand opportunity to mingle with the big names of the world cinema. But, I found them depressed about the films and they wanted more exciting stories and experimental works. I think, we, the Bangladeshis, have the potential to fill in the gap. Our contents and concepts are very rich. We need to be more smart with the technology and then we can find a distinctive position in the world cinema.