Ahassan Uddin: The Bangladeshi actor making waves in French cinema

In 1994, a four-year-old boy left Bangladesh with his parents for France. They arrived at a cramped, shared room, sleeping on floors and sometimes selling flowers outside metro stations. 

Now, three decades later, that same boy has found himself on the big screen, playing Rahul, a cheeky, endearing factory worker in the film 'Delocalisé' directed by Redouane Bougheraba.

"It still feels surreal. I never thought something like this could happen to me. I always believed these things only happened to others," the debut actor said, still somewhat in disbelief.

Born in Dhaka, he grew up in Paris, where weekends were reserved for Bollywood. 

"Every week, my uncle would bring a new DVD, 'Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham', 'Kaho Naa...Pyaar Hai', all of them," Ahassan shared. 

"We had one of those DVD players that made a loud noise when it loaded, remember those?" His multilingual tongue became fluent just through watching films, and his fascination with the glamour and drama of Bollywood took root early.

At ten, he danced to 'Ek Pal Ka Jeena' at a school function in Paris. "They gave us five minutes to do anything we liked. So I picked a Bollywood song. That was my first time on stage," he said.

He kept dancing, joining a local 'Desi' dance group that performed at cultural shows and weddings. Though dance remained a passion, his reality was a far cry from the world of cinema. 

From the age of 13, Ahassan worked after school at his father's restaurant. Later, he dropped out of university to pursue a full-time job.

His day job was running safety checks on a train platform in Paris, ensuring commuters boarded safely. On the side, he opened a small chicken shop where he also worked as the chef. "I roast the chickens myself. It's my recipe," He said with a grin.

The idea of acting never felt realistic. "I had sent my profile to a few casting pages, but nothing ever came of it." 

That changed in 2023 when a friend forwarded him a casting call on Facebook. "They were looking for a South Asian man, good-looking, between 30 and 50," he recalled. He sent the photos with zero expectations.

A week later, he received a callback. Then another. At the final audition, he was asked to improvise scenes, dance, and even help choreograph. By the end of it, he was told: You are the one we need.

"If a Bangladeshi role comes my way, I'll do it without hesitation. Acting is about becoming different people, but you never forget who you are."

Ahassan Uddin, actor

Set in both France and Kolkata, 'Delocalisé' tells the story of Redouane, a factory worker forced to relocate to India when the company shuts down its French operations. Rahul, Ahassan's character, is the first person Redouane meets in India — his co-worker and soon, best friend.

"We shot for 44 days in Kolkata," he said, still glowing at the memory. "It was my first visit there. But I felt at home. I understood the language, the culture. And honestly, I would have done it even without being paid. That's how much it meant to me."

Ahassan was the self-proclaimed translator in the sets of Delocalisé, as he was familiar with the language, he acted as the bridge between the French and Indian actors.

Though the experience was cinematic, his life remains grounded. He still runs his chicken shop and manages a valet business near the airport. "I have a team of 20 to 30 people. They park cars for travellers. It's a lot of work," he said.

And yet, acting has carved a new path that he hopes to pursue further. "The director has mentioned future projects. Nothing confirmed yet, but I'm hopeful," adds Ahassan.

He may have played an Indian character, but he doesn't shy away from his roots. "I'm Bangladeshi, always will be. If a Bangladeshi role comes my way, I'll do it without hesitation. Acting is about becoming different people, but you never forget who you are," he asserted.

He still watches old Bangla dramas, especially classics from the satellite era. "I didn't like Bangla films growing up, but dramas, those were brilliant. BTV days, I loved those," he said.

Despite his recent success, he hesitates to call himself an actor. "One movie doesn't make me one," he said humbly. "But maybe it's the beginning."

When asked about his inspiration, he did not pause, "Hrithik Roshan was the first. But Shah Rukh Khan is the reason I believed a brown boy from nowhere could become something."

There's no grand PR machine behind him or rehearsed soundbites. He is just a man who once danced at school to a song on a borrowed DVD — who now waits to see if he can dance his way into the cinema for good. 

And maybe one day, we'll see him not just as Rahul, but as himself, representing Bangladesh on the big screen.