I never wanted to be typecast: Taskeen

Shakirul Islam

It has been over seven months since Taskeen Rahman flew back to Australia at the end of November 2020 after he felt unwell with optical nerve complications amid the situation triggered by Covid-19.

As the months passed by, the actor has healed up after two surgeries so far on his eyes, as learned by The Business Post during a conversation with him recently.

“I have almost recovered. My condition is quite better now in comparison to the last year. Doctors have advised me to do regular checkup as well,” said Taskeen.

Sydney also had to brace lockdown as part of restrictions imposed by the Australia authorities to keep its citizens safe from the contagious coronavirus. “We are going through very careful situation here. People are also very supportive of the measures taken to deal with the Covid situation,” Taskeen added.

The ‘Dhaka Attack’ star said that, for his last, he had shot for Selim Khan directorial ‘August 1975’ in July last year when the shooting resumed after the lockdown was relaxed in Bangladesh.

Taskeen told The Business Post that, during the period of his convalescence, he missed being on the sets a lot and never forgot to keep an update of Bangladesh’s Covid-19 situation.

“I miss my country Bangladesh and especially my works immensely. I miss the whole experience--shooting, mates in the film fraternity, meeting with them, teamwork, film promotions and the houseful cinema halls. It is my love for films that take me to Bangladesh. The financial aspect is a matter, but my affinity for films is greater than this,” he further added.

Asked if he was ready to take part in shooting now, Taskeen said, “At this moment, I will say that I need one to two more months for myself.”

Taskeen said that he was approached for three new projects meanwhile, of which two were slated to be shot in Australia and another one from Kolkata. It is still at the discussion level.

In reply to a question concerning what Taskeen prefers – the role of an antagonist or protagonist, the actor replied, “I think that Bangladesh can carry out diverse experiments on me. Since the beginning, I have always said that I never wanted to see myself in stereotypical roles. I always wanted to be a character artiste. The other thing is I never wanted to restrict myself to typecasting.”

“I have always expected the talented filmmakers of Bangladesh to get me such opportunity so that I can prove my broad interest and dreams in Bangladeshi films. I am grateful for all the projects I worked in,” he continued.

Taskeen feels that his fans want him to explore more of himself. “My fans expect more from me than the ways they have seen me until now. They want me play more versatile and challenging roles,” he said.

The actor mentioned that he will be more selective in picking up projects from now onwards. “If needed, I will do relatively a smaller number of films, but I want to ensure my authenticity as an actor.”

This Eid-ul-Azha, Taskeen has got three of his films – ‘Operation Sundarban’, ‘Mission Extreme’ and ‘Shaan’ – postponed while shooting of two others was halted earlier owing to the pandemic.

“Our teams expected to release the films during the Eid. But, the situation didn’t allow it. We are very concerned over when the situation will get back to normal and films will be released,” said Taskeen adding that his films were not meant for streaming platforms. “In fact, my films weren’t meant for OTT platforms. Release on OTT will not bring us profit,” said Taskeen.

“Now we have nothing to do but wait until the virus situation lets up,” added Taskeen expressing fears over prolonged uncertainty. “If we think practically, do we really know when the normalcy will return? We don’t know. We want viewers from all strata of life to enjoy our films in the halls. We have made the films for all types of viewers,” concluded the actor.