Adnan Al Rajeev: Bringing Bangladeshi voices to an international stage

When Adnan Al Rajeev and his team wrapped up 'Ali', he only knew that he felt he had done something right—that 'Ali' was a proper representation of the art he wanted to bring forward. 

Little did he know, his short film would make headlines throughout the nation, marking Bangladesh's debut in the official Cannes Film Festival's short film lineup. 

In a similar fashion, Rajeev has consistently remained in the headlines recently, at times as the producer of hits like 'Priyo Maloti' and now as the director of the short film 'Ali'. 

It seems almost as if Rajeev has cracked the code for successful projects. However, for the director, these achievements were only a result of working on art that felt personal to him. 

"I think what works for me is when I feel personally connected to an idea. When the story hits me right in the heart—I immediately know that it will be a story I will want to work on," shared Rajeev.

Similarly, there wasn't any code to 'Ali' either, only an intuition that this would connect with the audience just as it had resonated with the director. 

"For Ali, we just wanted to make something that we all believed in as a team, and we gave everything into the project. We immersed ourselves into the story, and after it was finished, we just felt like we did something right," he said.

Fans will have to wait a little longer to find out more about the synopsis of 'Ali' as the team cannot share the premise as per the rules of the competition. 

However, as the director broke the news on social media, he opened his post by describing the belief behind the film, reflecting the spirit behind 'Ali'.

"Some journeys don't start with a script," penned Rajeev. "They begin with a quiet belief — that the stories from where we come from deserve a place on the world's biggest stages. 'ALI' was that belief."

The director did reveal, however, that 'Ali' was filmed in Sylhet. For Rajeev, 'Ali' had chosen Sylhet rather than him, the location's natural beauty was all he could think of as he worked on 'Ali'. 

"I love Sylhet because of how beautiful it is—it has mountains and rivers, it has a very serene and haunting experience in terms of visuals. When I planned the story, that was the only place I thought of. I felt like this story was meant for Sylhet," said Rajeev. 

However, the road to success was not without its challenges. The team faced hurdles at each turn, from questioning the script to deciding how to construct each scene, the team worked tirelessly. 

"On the second day of filming, people asked us to stop shooting as they didn't want the location to be filmed," remembered Rajeev.  

He continued, "there were times when we would go to locations that we had thought would be right for the film, only to realise it would be difficult for the team [to shoot there]."

The director and his team put their heart and soul into the film, which may lead many to question why the story was made in a niche format. 

Rajeev's response to this is simple, he only created art that truly resonated with him. Niche or mass—all that mattered to him was that he created a film that he loves. 

"I believe 'Ali' is a story for the lovers of art. Those who want to feel art, make art, and understand art with their own voice—Ali is for them," shared Adnan. 

He further added, "As for the medium, I think every format has its own style. When I started working on the short film, I had to keep in mind that a great idea has to be contained within a short amount of time. If you are sure about what you want to create with the format, then everything will eventually fall into place."

This is also an achievement for Rajeev's production house, 'katalog', created alongside Tanveer Hossain, Arvin Belarmino and Kyla Romero, serving as a bridge between Philippines and Bangladeshi producers and directors. 
In an interesting twist, the production house's short film 'Agapito' directed by Arvin Belarmino and Kyla Danelle Romero will be competing with 'Ali' at the Cannes Film Festival.