Photographs: Courtesy
By Tamzidur Rahman
Aref Syed is a name that has become popular recently on the release of his feature film acting debut Anil Bagchir Ekdin. His journey took flight when director Morshedul Islam spotted his performance in the short-film ‘The Professionals.’ A few years after, he was invited to meet Morshedul Islam who handed him the novel by Humayun Ahmed and suggested that he play the title role.
During the time when he was studying for his Bachelors degree at Columbia University, he received training from Stella Adler Studio of Acting and The Neighbourhood Playhouse in New York City. These led him to act on theatre productions like ‘The Zoo Story’ and ‘The Lady of Lakspur.’ Aref shared, “I am very fortunate to have been a part of Stella Adler Studio’s programme, although it was only as a hobby. Their most famous student till date is Marlon Brando.”
On his return to Bangladesh he had also taken part in several theatre productions here as well. Based on his experience, Aref commented on the difference between the stage and the camera, “Acting is the only constant. Yes, it is the most important bit, but it is probably the only thing that stays the same in both mediums. The thing about acting on stage is that once you get up and start acting – the floor is yours. However long it may be, for an hour or two – however many the audience comprises of, ten people or a thousand. The actor owns it even with all the obvious risks. “It’s a whole other story when it comes to acting in front of the camera,” Aref said. You get multiple takes until you reach a personal level of satisfaction as an actor. Even then, I would say that acting on film is slightly more difficult because it’s a more personal, more intimate medium compared to the theatre. The audience gets to watch your performance more closely. For instance if I had to play Anil Bagchi on stage rather than on film – the script, character portrayal, the story, etc would remain the same – what would change is my body language as I am trying to reach the farthest person in the audience from me with my voice projection. And for no reason would I get a single retake.”
Anil Bagchir Ekdin is a period drama set during the Liberation War of ’71 and the eponymous character is a young, Hindu man travelling from one part of the country to the other in order to unite with his sister. Aref Syed had not just walked on to the set with no prior prep. He had done some extensive research on how life had been for the residents of a wartime Bangladesh. “Obviously, I never experienced the Liberation War but I wanted to bring a genuine feel to the character. I was fortunately able to get in touch with survivors of the war who had similar experiences to Anil and get firsthand accounts of their experiences from that time. I am very grateful to them. I read the novel the film was based on cover to cover multiple times. I also read other books on the war and even had to forego my habit of working out at the gym because obviously a boy like Anil wouldn’t have the physical qualities I had. I tried my best to make the character portrayal as real as possible,” shared the young actor regarding his preparation to play Anil Bagchi.
When asked if there was anything at all that he’d want to change about the film, Aref shared, “The marketing. People in the Bangladeshi film industry put in a lot of effort and resources into making a production. Whether, ultimately the film turns out to be good or bad – it is never advertised properly to the masses. Either because of budget constraints or time – the film gets a release date and starts getting screened without the masses being aware. If there was one thing I could change about the movie – I would advertise it before its release.”