THE SUPERSTAR
If you haven’t heard of Azmeri Haque Badhon by now, you surely have been living under a rock. Although she has been working in media since 2006, Badhon’s popularity grew massively when she graced the red carpet of Cannes Film Festival in a stunning Jamdani this year for the screening of Rehana Maryam Noor, which received a standing ovation from an international audience. Professionally trained as a dentist, Badhon was always discouraged to pursue a career in media, being told that it’s not a respectable job. Despite all the obstacles and discrimination she has faced, Badhon has risen above them and continued on the path she was determined to walk on.
You have, in many instances, spoken about the difficulties you struggled with in life such as patriarchy and depression. What word of advice would you give women who face such obstacles?
I’m not one to give advice because I don’t really feel entitled enough to do so, but if there is one thing I would like every woman to know, it is that they need to love themselves first. I learnt this very late in my life – just about four years ago really! Most women in our society feel that they can never say “no” or “I don’t want that” – they are expected to bear the weight of the world without any complaints and be a ‘good girl’ as defined by the norms of a patriarchal society. No one here stresses on the importance of self-love. I remember when I once said this to someone, she told me not to say that because it sounds selfish. In order to break free from these ridiculous stereotypes, it is essential that we first learn to love ourselves. It is the very first step towards self-care.
You have been an exemplary mother for your daughter, despite having a very demanding career. How do you maintain your work-life balance?
The early years of motherhood were very challenging. It taught me that there is no perfect, single approach to taking good care of your child. Every mother faces a unique set of challenges, especially in terms of work-life balance, but mothers will always try their hardest to overcome them to facilitate the best oppotunities for their children. Personally, I take any responsibility entrusted to me very seriously, and as my daughter is the most important person in the world to me, she is my biggest concern. I am teaching her to look out for herself and be as independent as I am. There is no one in this world I love more than her and I care for her to the best of my abilities, just like every other mother out there.
Things that you completely depend on your phone for?
– Taking photos! I don’t think there has been a day in my life that has gone by without me taking photos. I love taking photos, both of myself and the surroundings – so much so that my daughter has declared that the theme of my next birthday party must be photography!
– To communicate with my daughter. As I spend long hours away from the house because of my work, I always need my phone be able to call my daughter.
THE SPEEDSTER
Avik Anwar, a racer from a country with no race tracks, is the first Bangladeshi to have ever won an international motorsports event. He first caught everyone’s attention in 2019 and by early 2021, he had broken yet another record by being the first Bangladeshi to have raced and won an FIA approved event, the UAE Pro Championship GT86 Class.
Besides being a fully certified professional racer, Avik is also an entrepreneur and the anchor and co-creator of DRVN, a web-based motor show. Although he had dreamt of becoming a racer since he was a kid, due to lack of career opportunities in the field, he went to Canada to pursue an education in Economics. However, as the heart always finds a way to get what it wants, it was in Canada that Avik was able to save up money from his part-time job and use it to explore race tracks and practice physically. Finally in 2014, he came back to Bangladesh and participated in the Rallycross Championship as a newbie. After winning the title for 3 years in a row, Avik wanted to expand his horizons and partake in global competitions. The rest, as we know, is history.
Do you consider racing as your profession or do you think of it more as a hobby?
As a fully certified racer, of course I consider it a profession! But it did start off as a hobby as this wasn’t really a source of income for me at first. Racing is an expensive hobby too – one practice session can cost upto 3 lac taka while an entry-level simulator will set you back by a lac or two. And although my parents were always super supportive of me, my father was adamant that I paid for all my racing shenanigans myself. Zero financial support and hundred percent mental support. So yeah, it’s a profession that is driven solely through my passion.
What is one piece of advice that you’d like to give to those who’d like to become a professional racer?
Buy a simulator and use it at home. Practice online. I actually started off by playing Gran Tourismo on Playstation back in 1999. The simulator community which now consists of maybe 50-60 people, is still developing in this country. All in all, my advice to those who want to pursue professional racing is that they should start practicing online immediately. If you’re good enough, a sponsor will definitely pick you up from there.
Things that you completely depend on your phone for?
– Operating my business – I use Whatsapp a lot. I hardly ever have to go to the office because I don’t need to; I can manage most things with my phone
– I take notes on my phone regularly, and the S Pen is really handy for that!
– I play games on it during my free time or while having to wait for something
THE STORYTELLER
A writer, illustrator, filmmaker and content creator, Nuhash Humayun is among the most talented young creative minds in the country right now. Despite the giant weight he carries in his name, Nuhash has garnered recognition on his own merit through his short films, music videos, TVCs and web projects. He captured everyone’s attention in 2017 with his directorial debut, Hotel Albatross, and more recently, Nuhash worked on the first ever anthology film to be produced in Bangladesh, ‘Iti Tomari Dhaka’, which has been selected for an Oscar nomination in the International Category.
At the core, Nuhash Humayun is a storyteller. Whether it be a music video, a fifteen-second commercial or a film, the story is at the heart of everything he creates. In his own words, the ability to retell a story in a better way is his best and worst quality. All his creations are his unique interpretations of stories, flavoured with his own experiences and perspective which are channeled through his lens, ingraining a tiny part of him in all his works.
Currently Nuhash is working on his first full length feature film, Moving Bangladesh.
Tell us a bit about Moving Bangladesh.
Moving Bangladesh is entirely my take on Pathao’s story. It’s a very human drama about being a young person in Dhaka and trying to make a difference. While it goes without saying that the film will be relevant for the youth, I think that it will also be an important narrative for the previous generations because it deals with new human interactions in the modern world. The mass adoption of technology in our daily lives has affected our relationship with older generations because they often fail to understand its implications on our lives, and in a way, this film may help bridge the widening generational gap caused by the rapid technological progress.
I have spent the whole of the past year working on the new draft of the script. Now that I am done and satisfied with it, I’m shifting gears to get into director mode. We are all set to start filming the movie next year. It’s my first feature, so it’s exciting and scary at the same time, especially because of the amount of attention it has been getting even before being filmed. It’s good motivation, but the pressure of these mounting expectations is quite intimidating too.
How would you assess the role of modern technology in art?
I think it is more difficult being a creator today; I think it was way easier to make content back when you had only one medium, and the scope was limited. Right now, because of technology, there are so many options. It has allowed a significant amount of people to create content who would not have ventured into the space otherwise. While that is a great thing, the challenge now is escaping mediocrity while trying to navigate through this space and trying to make something that lives up to the standard. This is an era driven by social media popularity where everyone wants to be as loud as possible, so it’s tricky to be true to what you want to make and not get side-tracked just to become viral.
Things that you completely depend on your phone for?
– I take a lot of notes on my phone. Contrary to the stereotypical image of a writer with a shabby little notebook, all my notes are on my phone.
– I watch a lot of ASMR videos on my phone to help me focus or defocus.
– I actually take a lot of photos that I never end up posting!