“When making television commercials, I get the freedom to dabble in multiple genres through small stories. So in a month, I produce four stories of four different themes; but as a director I think I’d love to make as much films as possible. I particularly love incorporating philosophy to my work as it allows me to convey messages to the viewers”
Adnan Al Rajeev
Director, Runout Films Ltd
Photograph by Sakib Muhtasim
Having worked under the tutelage of eminent filmmaker, Mostafa Sarwar Farooki, Adnan Al Rajeev has surfaced in the media industry as one of the most sought-after directors. He rose to the top upon directing the TV drama @18 All Time Dourer Upor as well as co-directing the special Eid drama, Chabial Reunion earlier this year along with leading directors such as Mostafa Kamal Raz, Adnan Al Rajeev, Ashfaque Nipun, Humayun Sadhu, Saraf Ahmed Zibon, Redoan Rony, Iftekhar Ahmed Fahmi and Ashutosh Sujon. Under his production label, Runout Films Ltd, he’s produced numerous advertisements for Grameenphone, Banglalink, Fair& Lovely, Centre Fresh and many other brands.
Adnan addresses that the entertainment culture has undergone a massive shift; with technology becoming our best friend, we’re learning to adapt to new cultures. But while we are at it, there are certain things that we’re leaving behind.
“We used to watch films at the theatres with our families before; now the idea of consuming films has become more personalised. Thus we’re losing out on practices like this; but having said that one also needs to take into account that the new wave of technology has enabled entertainment to become more widespread; that goes to show the massive percentage of success,” says Adnan Al Rajeev
With the arrival of increasing technology, the content and quality of media has changed significantly. The storyteller mentions that although there the transition in Bangladeshi entertainment scenario is admirable, however, there are areas which are in dire need of improvement.
“We really need to brush up on our dialogues and that includes me as well; in addition to that, our production design also needs to be restructured. Due to the dearth of skilled artistes, actors often have to swap between many roles all at once. Thus, their portrayals of characters tend to lack versatility.” Writing is another area that according to Adnan, remains gray. “There are a lot of attractive promos for dramas, the story however, when fleshed out is not as happening as the teaser,” he describes.
But that doesn’t stop him from stitching up a tale or two; he looks at the bright side of things too. “A lot of young people are coming into the industry; the advantage of working with new faces is that they bring about characters which have never been seen by the audience before.”
At the end of the day, what he truly finds liberating is directing advertisements. Adnan aims to work with a lot of issues; in fact he quotes that action, romance and thriller are some of his genres of preference. “With advertisements, I get the freedom to dabble in multiple genres through small stories. So in a month, I produce four stories of four different themes; but as a director I think I’d love to make as much films as possible. I particularly love incorporating philosophy to my work as it allows me to convey messages to the viewers” he wraps up.