Mehazabien says no to Bollywood film

Popular Bangladeshi model and small screen actress Mehazabien Chowdhury has recently refused a proposal to star in a Bollywood film titled ‘Khufiya’ directed by Vishal Bhardwaj. The actress turned down the offer due to the inappropriate representation of Bangladesh in the film’s script.

Confirming the news to The Business Post on Thursday, Mehazabien said she was approached to join the ‘Khufiya’ cast in July. But she humbly refused the offer to the film’s casting director.

Mehazabien clarified why she said no to the Bollywood film ‘Khufiya’, “The casting director of Bollywood’s talented filmmaker Vishal Bharadwaj contacted me in July. They informed me that they were looking for an actress from Bangladesh for the film. They sent me the script of the film. After reading the synopsis of the plot, I realised this is a political genre film. The story highlights some of the political issues in Bangladesh in a way that I personally did not like. As a citizen of Bangladesh, I did not want to get involved in such a film which doesn’t represent the country in an appropriate manner.”

“If I really have to work in a Bollywood film, I would rather choose a story that will positively represent Bangladesh,” the actress added.

Earlier, the ‘Khufiya’ director also offered Bidya Sinha Mim, one of the most popular actresses in Bangladesh, for the same movie. But she also turned down the offer for the same reason. She said that after hearing the story, it seemed that Bangladesh would be presented in a negative way. That is why she rejected the offer.

Vishal Bhardwaj’s trilogy film based on William Shakespeare’s plays, ‘Maqbool’ (Macbeth), ‘Omkara’ (Othello), and ‘Haider’ (Hamlet) has received widespread recognition. Not only that, these films also earned him the reputation of being one of the most inventive brains in the world, capable of making Shakespeare thrive with contemporary India as the backdrop.