Friendship over fame: The undying bond between Chanchal and his two buddies

Last year on October 31, actor Chanchal Chowdhury posted a selfie on Facebook. There were three people in the photo - Chanchal and two of his childhood friends. They grew up together in his village.

He mentioned their names in the caption – Tofazzal Hossain and Jilhazur Rahman Badsha. 

His friends are not stars like him. Both of them are businessmen in Pabna's Sujanagar Thana and have shops in the Nazirnagar Bazar of the area.

Whenever Chanchal visits his village, he meets these two. They have been friends for more than 40 years.

These three friends spoke with The Business Standard over the phone about their friendship and childhood memories.

Tofazzal Hossain said he was in mourning as his mother died several days ago. However, he felt better while talking about his friendship with Chanchal.

"Our friendship started during early childhood. Chanchal's father was our teacher when we were in class one. We studied at the Kamarghat Government Primary School. We spent most of our time together. After primary school, we got admitted to the same high school. We used to play together after school," said Tofazzal.

The three took an oath to keep their friendship intact. Jilhazur Rahman Badsha still remembers the date – February 21, 1986. They were in class eight. 

On that night, they took the oath under the moon standing at the edge of a huge field before a willow tree. They promised each other that they would never forget their friendship, no matter how difficult the situation becomes. They have kept the promise since.

However, sometimes they used to test the strength of their friendship. Tofazzal Hossain cited one such incident. He said, "Chanchal has always been very naughty. He could cough like a tuberculosis patient. He could also bleed while coughing. We had no idea how he could do that."

"At that time tuberculosis was very prevalent in the country. One day Chanchal started coughing up blood in front of us.

He said, friend, I think I have tuberculosis, I will not live long. Please save my life. You have a lot of money," said Tofazzal.

"I immediately took the initiative to take him to the hospital. I said I will save your life. Shortly after that, Chanchal and Badsha started to laugh. They said it was just acting. They wanted to test my friendship," he added.

They have many more stories like that.

Chanchal Chowdhury is a good singer, his fans also know that. However, the first listeners of his songs were these two friends. 

They always wanted to listen to his songs. Chanchal also loved to entertain his friends.

Badsha said, "My house is a little far from where Tofa and Chanchal live. But that never kept me away from them.

Whenever Chanchal comes home, he hangs out with us till late at night. He allotts his time for our friendship."
Chanchal said, "There was not this much selfishness in the world when we became friends. That is why our friendship is still intact. I still hang out with them when I go to the village. I go to their house. They also met me in Dhaka. If they ever call, I try to get it immediately."

"Sometimes I can not receive the phone when I am shooting, but I call them back whenever I am free. This is how our friendship is. We have maintained our friendship through mutual respect and love and I will cherish it for as long as I live."