Badhon gets nomination for APSA

Actress Azmeri Haque Badhon has bagged nomination under the ‘Best Performance by an Actress’ category at the 14th Asia Pacific Screen Awards for her portrayal of the character ‘Rehana’ in Abdullah Mohammad Saad directed film ‘Rehana Maryam Noor’.

On being nominated at the prestigious award based in Australia, Badhon told The Business Post on Wednesday, “Obviously I feel great, but the whole credit goes to my director, Saad. I am grateful to him for ‘Rehana Maryam Noor’ and where I am today with this film”.

“I believe that hard work always pays off,” she said.

“I had a break for around one year and a half for some difficulties in my life. I just kept my patience and worked hard to give my best. Now I have been nominated for best performance by an actress at APSA. I again thank director Saad for having trust in me and taking me onboard ‘Rehana Maryam Noor’,” Badhon added recalling that how people used to categorise her as merely “glamourous” and not that conventional actress back in the past.

The executive producer of ‘Rehana Maryam Noor’ Ehsanul Haque Babu lauded Badhon for her role to take Bangladesh to a newer stage with her performance in the film.

“Our film has been participating in various global festivals and bringing honour for Bangladesh. A Bangladeshi actress has been nominated for a prestigious award like the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. It’s a great success for Bangladesh,” he added.

Babu informed that they are going to submit ‘Rehana Maryam Noor’ to battle at the 94th Academy Awards.

‘Rehana Maryam Noor’, which was screened at the ‘Un Certain Regard’ sidebar at this year’s Cannes International Film Festival, also has been nominated at Hong Kong Asian Film Festival in the New Talent Award section recently.

Having received clearance from Bangladesh Film Censor Board in September, the film now awaits local release.

In the film, Badhon plays the role of ‘Rehana’, an assistant professor at a private medical college.

Along with Badhon, Alena YIV from Israel, Russia’s Valentina Romanova-Chyskyyray, Leah Purcell from Australia and Essie Davis from New Zealand are the nominees under ‘Best Performance by an Actress’ category as the nominations in the 14th Asia Pacific Screen Awards were revealed Wednesday.

Cannes winners ‘Drive My Car’, directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi, and Asghar Farhadi’s ‘A Hero lead’ also secured nominations for the Asia Pacific Screen Awards.

The prizes will be presented on November 11 at a ceremony at Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia.