‘Shimu made me more confident, bold and brave’

Rubaiyat Hossain’s film for women by women ‘Shimu-Made in Bangladesh’ is now busking under the limelight after it got international recognition at the 78th Golden Globes as the Bangladeshi entry for Best Foreign Language Film. The movie on women’s tireless fight for equal rights is also running for the second week in Bangladeshi cinemas.
Reekita Nondine Shimu, who played the lead character of Shimu in the film, drew the attention of the audience for her brilliant performance. In a conversation with The Business Post’s Purba Zannat, Reekita Nondine
Shimu shared her thoughts regarding the film, her works, and a lot more.

How did the Bangladeshi audience respond to the film?

Actually, the response I’m getting for the film is beyond my expectation. When I was shooting the film in 2018, I knew it will be submitted to international festivals, but I always wanted the film to be shown in Bangladeshi theatres. So, the news of the film releasing in Bangladesh made me so excited. Now, after receiving a huge response, I feel really good. I’m now getting the feeling that my responsibility has also grown higher.

Does the character ‘Shimu’ left any impact on you?

‘Shimu’ is the kind of character who can be seen around us every day but nobody actually has time to ponder into their life. My journey as ‘Shimu’ started just after the offer came in. I started observing the lifestyle, gestures, talking styles of the apparel workers so on and so forth. Through this film, I have learned a lot about their life, and the character too influenced me a lot. ‘Shimu’ made me more confident, bold, and brave than before. Before playing ‘Shimu’, I never felt confident to visit an office alone. I used to take a friend with me. Never had the courage to stand against wrong.

Even was scared to travel alone. But after portraying ‘Shimu’, I had a solo trip to London and Belgium. I think ‘Shimu’ made me able to become more confident and self-sufficient than before.

Share with us your feelings after the film’s international appreciation?

The film was screened at the BFI London Film Festival and I was there too watching the film for the first time with the audience. The experience was amazing. The joy and excitement of people of different cultures over a Bangladeshi film were really nice. I was representing Bangladesh there and it was a moment of pride for me. Then the film started to win awards. It’s a big achievement for me.”

How do you assess the taste for films of Bangladeshi viewers?

I think the film taste of the Bangladeshi audience has changed. The film has a different narrative than usual commercial films. So, I was a bit nervous about whether the film will be a successful one or not. But their response towards ‘Shimu’ changed my mind and made me believe that people want this type of content more.

What are your next projects and future plans?

I usually take selective projects which I think suit me that I can connect with and can be able to pull off the character. Quality work is the topmost priority of mine. I have just finished working for the web series ‘Kaiser’ directed by Tanim Noor on the Indian OTT platform Hoichoi.

Before that, I also worked with Aditya Vikram Sengupta’s ‘Once Upon a Time in Calcutta’. For now, I am passing a busy time with some post-production works. If all goes well, I will start working on some national and international projects after Eid.