Aspiring young filmmaker Kamar Ahmad Simon quit his flourishing career in the advertisement industry when Tareque Masud invited him to join his mega-project “Kagojer Phul.” Tareque could not finish the film but he paved the way for Kamar to be one of the most promising film directors of the recent times.
With a number of international acclaims including “Grand Prix” from Paris and “Golden-Conch,” the director of “Shunte Ki Pao!” (Are You Listening) feels that the void created by the death of Tareque can never be filled up.
Paying homage to the legend on his third death anniversary, Dhaka Tribune caught up with Kamar who shared some of his golden memories with Tareque.
When and how did you meet Tareque Masud?
The hum of the violin was filling up the theatre, the end credit of “Matir Moina” was scrolling down, audience was in rush to leave the theatre, but I couldn’t move, I was nailed to the seat. I told Sara, (Kamar’s wife and producer of his projects): “Who is this director? This much of sensibility and restrain! Where is this coming from! This doesn’t seem like a Bangladeshi work at all! I need to see him, I want to meet him.” I went up straight; he greeted me without any inhibition. A friendship began out of respect, and was maintained till his last breathe.
How did you join “Kagojer Phul?”
Well, I knew Tareque was working on this script (Kagojer Phul) for a long time. One day he asked me to read the script. I went to his place and we had lunch together. It took me two hours and Tareque started telling the details afterwards. One day, Tareque asked me: “I need talented people for this project, would you consider being the ‘chief assisstant director’ of ‘Kagojer Phul’?” I long aspired to witness the creative process of Tareque closely; I was intrigued by his ambition and said: “Yes.”
What is the best lesson you learnt from Tareque?
“No matter where you are, whatever the situation is, there is always a way out if you look for it. There is always a ‘path not taken’ until you walk through it.”
Tell us about one of his undisclosed talent.
For me, I remember Tareque as a gourmet cook, but not in a traditional “Bangalee” way! He loved to cook with great care and with precision. In fact this obsessive taste for perfection was reflected in all his works and made him Tareque Masud.
Was Tareque a better director or a good human being?
He was both! To understand Tareque as a human being, one really needs to give time and effort. At first glance, he is a tough person and he was challenging to work with. But once you get to read the inner layer and can sync with him, it is a great way to live. As a director, he may appear very flat to many, but once you realise the content that he is delivering, you feel challenged and provoked!
Your best moment with him?
We have been through many. But to remember one, I would say “Padma.” Once in a while Tareque took me to the river Padma on the way to his village. We used to take a speedboat for the twenty-minute ride. With the changing panorama, engrossing sky, crossing waves, fishing boats, chars beaming with Kashful, the shared moments remain speechless, cinematic...
When do you miss Tareque the most?
When I don’t see our generation of filmmakers taking up the “path not taken” that Tareque walked through. When I see the chaos in the film industry and the lack of “leadership in shaping the opinion.” When I see opportunist ruling the industry, and when the buzz mostly remains around the budget or the profit of the film as if it is only a money-making/ money-driven-industry, and there is no need to question the worthiness of “cinema.”
If you were given the chance to say one last word to him, what would you say?
Tareque left us at the age of 55, and it took him 25 years or more to become what he was. I would have asked him to live a little longer, especially when he was ready to give more in a time when we are failing to differentiate between a “successful film” and a “meaningful film."