An artist belongs to no party: Ashfaque Nipun

The first instalment of Mohanagar was a story about the Dhaka metropolis and a police officer. In Mohanagar 2, creator Ashfaque Nipun offers the backstory of OC Haroon (Mosharraf Karim). But since its release, some have said the creator's personal ideology has been reflected in it. Someone else has found similarities with real events in the story. Some have also said that there is a hint of political bias in it.

Mohanagar 2 was released on 20 April on the OTT platform HoiChoi. Mosharraf Karim plays OC Haroon in the series. 

Netizens have been heavily discussing and criticising its story. Ashfaque Nipun sat with The Business Standard to discuss all the criticism and answer various other questions.

In response to these criticisms, director Ashfaq Nipun said that an artist belongs to no team. Also, Nipun is a politically aware person. So it is only natural that any of his creations will be influenced by his personal thoughts and ideologies. Mohanagar is no different. 

No artist in the world works to fulfil the objectives of any political party or any person in particular. The artist practises art through his story, said Nipun. He has tried to tell the story of this metropolis, the story of its people in the most neutral way possible.

"However, working with political context or sensitive issues is quite risky," said Nipun. When asked if he thought Mohanagar would be criticised after release, he said, "I knew from the beginning that the series would be criticised after release because Mohanagar is a content that would stir the senses and thoughts of the viewer. Things that stir the senses and thoughts can get criticism from all quarters."

But apart from criticism, Nipun has also garnered prais from many people for both the seasons of Mohanagar. 

"This will serve as an inspiration for my next work," he said. 

Meanwhile, in response to why he released the story on an Indian OTT platform even though it is a story from this country, the filmmaker said, "I did not get any additional benefit from releasing it on Hoichoi. When Hoichoi asked me for a story, I just gave them one."  

However, he did not comment whether he will face any trouble if he were to create something like Mohanagar on a domestic OTT platform.

"Bangladeshi actors have the ability to work globally. From the beginning, I preferred Mosharraf Karim in the role of OC Haroon because he was never before seen acting in such a character who seems to be in the grey area. But not just him, this is the first time Fazlur Rahman Babu has come on screen as a secret service officer. Also, Tanjika Amin, Shyamal Mawla were put in challenging situations with their characters," Nipun said about his process of choosing and preparing the actors for the characters.

"I didn't even know that there would be a second season while making the first season of Mohanagar. Huge demand from the audience and the OTT's interest inspired me to create season two," he further said when asked if there would be a third season of Mohanagar. 

The end of season two has an unpredictable twist, through which the director has left open the possibility of a third season.