The Actors’ Equity Bangladesh has recently come under scrutiny. A group of actors have publicly denounced the current leadership of Actors' Equity Bangladesh, alleging a disregard for artistic integrity.
The announcement was made at an open forum titled "We Want to Speak, We Want to Listen" held on Tuesday at Dhanmondi's Rabindra Sarobar.
Before the fall of the Awami League government, many stars protested against the brutal attacks and shootings of students by the ruling party members and their allied organisations. However, many actors within the association remained silent or took opposing stances, leading to criticism of certain artists and leaders within the organisation.
In response, reformist artists proposed meeting with the association’s leaders to discuss reforms. However, the leaders rejected this proposal. The artists announced their intention to dissolve the Actors’ Equity Committee, but no action was taken. Reformist artists have continued their protests.
Among those present were Azmeri Haque Badhon, Shamol Mawla, Khairul Basar, Manoj Pramanik, Sohel Mondol, Nazia Haque Orsha and many more.
Actress Orsha stated, “After August 5, we have embarked on a new journey. However, we had to endure the consequences of the misdeeds committed by some senior artists over the past two months. Reforms are happening everywhere in the country, and we believe these reforms are crucial for our artists. As an artist, I have never been involved in any partisan work.”
She added, “I will call right as right and wrong as wrong. If I cannot do that then what kind of artist am I? Due to the actions of some of our leaders, we are now facing public scrutiny. We have tried to engage with our leaders to discuss these issues, but they refuse to meet with us. If you do not sit with us, you have to answer for everything you have done so far.”
Actor Shamol Mawla said, “Recently, a political faction among the artists has become evident, which we never wanted. We consider ourselves part of one family and want to remain under the same roof. There should be no factions among us because artists should not have sides. We wanted to sit and discuss all these issues with our leaders, but they were not willing to meet with us. Are we not artists, then? What is the reason behind this?”
