I don’t believe in heroism, I believe in acting: Arifin Shuvoo
Arifin Shuvoo talks about his new film and his career
The movie 'Mission Extreme' starring Arifin Shuvoo was released in theatres on 3 December.
The actor sat down with The Business Standard and talked about the story behind the film and his career.
The Business Standard (TBS): Mission Extreme is finally in cinemas. How do you feel about it?
Arifin Shuvoo (AS): I feel great. A lot of collective hard work went behind this movie. Unfortunately, we could not release it on time because of Covid-19. The release date was postponed several times. The viewers can finally enjoy the movie now.
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TBS: You worked very hard behind this film. You transformed your body as well for the sake of this movie. How did you do it?
AS: After hearing the story of the film, it made me realise that I should not present myself in a mainstream way. I had to present myself according to the character I played in the film. What if I told them that I was an indomitable and clever police officer but my appearance did not show that? It doesn't work this way for me. My characterisation should be as it was scripted. So, I started preparing right after reading the script. It took me eight or nine months of training to transform my body. Then, I started shooting.
TBS: How did you get involved with the film?
AS: When the film was being planned, Sunny Sanwar, the writer and director of the film, visited me. He also wrote 'Dhaka Attack'. He sat in my living room and discussed the script with me. After hearing his story, I agreed to star in the film.
TBS: Are con movies made only for Arifin Shuvoo?
AS: I don't think so. But I'm convinced that the audiences of 'Dhaka Attack' accepted me as an officer of Counter-Terrorism or Detective Branch. Maybe that's why people perceive these roles for me. It also may be due to the fact that no one else has been able to capture the character of an honest police officer as much as I have. I hope that others will work on this in the future.
TBS: How much would you rate yourself as an honest person in real life?
AS: I would give myself an eight out of 10 for honesty.
TBS: We have seen you invest a lot of effort behind 'Mission Extreme'. Tell us about how much hard work you had to invest in the movie?
AS: The length of my career is short. I have made maybe 25 movies in my entire career. But 'Mission Extreme' has been the most difficult film I have ever worked on. I have never trained this hard physically before. We would go to the movie set in the morning alive and return dead due to exhaustion. It was also my first time shooting in the desert. For me, it was a unique experience. Shooting is not always comfortable and there is too much pressure. Many people may not comprehend it.
TBS: Tell us something about your body transformation experience.
AS: I got injured during transformation. I finished shooting two parts of the movie with the injury. While training, I probably ate all kinds of fish in Bangladesh. Fish, eggs, vegetables, peanuts and proteins were the only things I ate. If I need to play a new character in the future, maybe I will change based on the role again.
TBS: How important is it to change looks for a character?
AS: It's not common in our country. I've seen all the heroes looking the same if not for prosthetics and makeup. Wearing a wig or a beard is not really a change of look. I mentioned this because body transformation is a change that is uncommon in our industry. I don't want to be a part of the project if I don't get enough time to get into the character. I believe I have to add something special to each character and try out something new, otherwise, the audience will not accept me.
I don't believe in heroism, I believe in acting. My performance will have to touch the audience. This is why I spend so much time behind the scenes to work on myself. I am still learning to act. The concept of heroes or heroism is made up by us.
TBS: But it will take a long time to get into a character this way. Won't you lose a lot of opportunities?
AS: I don't have any problem with that. I don't really need much. I came to Dhaka with Tk256. In the beginning, I worked as a model and radio jockey. Then I acted on TV and then I moved to movies. The journey spanned almost 10 to 12 years. But even after working for such a long time, I don't own a house in Dhaka and I don't have any regrets. I just want to keep doing my job dedicatedly. I want to continue working relentlessly and eventually, I will be rewarded.
My mother once told me that "Tk1 is 100 paisa. So think a hundred times before spending a penny." I'm not greedy because of this advice. I live my life with this attitude. I may not have much but I have contentment. I'm happy with my family and that is peaceful.
TBS: 'Mission Extreme' was released in three continents. How do you feel about this?
AS: I feel great. I've released several movies outside Bangladesh before. I visited several countries and saw that I have a lot of fans outside the country. If they accept our efforts, we'll be successful.
