Azmeri Haque Badhon: The actress who never plays the same woman twice

With each role she plays, Azmeri Haque Badhon sheds her skin and steps into another woman's life, often one caught in the crosshairs of society's cruelty. 

From the hauntingly restrained Rehana Maryam Noor to the unflinching investigator ASP Leena in 'Esha Murder', her career reads like a series of rebellions against comfort, against cliché. 

She is not drawn to glamour or applause, but to the grit beneath the surface, where characters bleed, suffer and fight to be heard. And somehow, each role becomes a mirror, revealing a new version of herself. 

Badhon says she is not interested in reruns — not Rehana, not Guti, not even the internationally celebrated turn in Khufiya; each story must be its own mountain.

As Esha Murder is making waves in theatres, we sat down with Badhon to talk about pain, power and why she refuses to play it safe.

When the script for Esha Murder landed in her hands, Badhon knew almost instantly — this was it. A female-led story, with a woman at the centre of the investigation, not just present but driving the narrative forward.

"This is the story I want to tell," she thought. 

And Leena, the character she chose, is not just a police officer chasing a killer — she slowly becomes a silent witness to the life Esha was forced to leave behind. 

In Bangladesh's bureaucratic system, things do not usually move fast. When a government officer is transferred, there is typically a long handover process before they can actually step into their role. 

But Esha Murder takes a different route; Leena, newly posted, dives straight into a high-stakes murder case on her very first day. It may seem unrealistic at first glance, but Badhon sees truth in it.

"I did my research," she explained. "I spoke to a lot of people, did my own market analysis, and it turns out, this does happen. There are real-life cases where officers had a major case dropped onto their lap on day one."

She added that Sunny Sanwar, the film's writer and director, being in law enforcement himself, brought real insight. "I also spoke to many female officers," Badhon shared. "They told me how they were thrown into situations and had to act fast. It's emotionally overwhelming, but very real."

As for stepping into Esha's shoes? That was harder.

In peeling back the layers of Esha's tragic past, Leena ends up confronting a suffocating society that fails its women again and again. As Badhon stepped into Leena's world, she began to feel that haunting closeness — the shared grief, the quiet rage, the weight of untold stories.

"No, I've never lived through something as horrific," she admitted. 

"But harassment, abuse, being objectified — that's something most girls here face. We've all felt echoes of Esha's pain. That's why I think the audience connects with her. It's heartbreakingly familiar."

To Badhon, Esha Murder is also a mirror held up to a deeply patriarchal society. She sees the story as one rooted in our everyday reality, where the weight of inequality is often brushed off as normal. But what makes the film meaningful to her is that, within that harsh system, a character like Leena exists.

"This is the story of our society," Badhon said simply. "A society built on patriarchy."

But then she smiled, almost hopefully. "Still, someone like Leena is there too. That's the part that matters to me."

For her, Leena represents the rare few who want to do things the right way — officers who are honest, committed and genuinely want justice.

"There's been a lot of mistrust around the police," she admitted, referencing the July movement and long-standing public discomfort. "Their actions haven't always inspired confidence."

But Leena, she feels, could change that — at least a little.

"She's like a breath of fresh air," Badhon said. "Maybe, just maybe, if people see characters like her on screen, they'll start believing again. Even a little hope matters."

From 'Rehana Maryam Noor' to 'Rabindranath Ekhane Kokhono Khete Ashen Ni' and now Esha Murder, Badhon's filmography has consistently seen the actress take on rebellious lead female roles. But she insists it wasn't some grand strategy. At least, not in the beginning.

"Rehana wasn't part of my plans," she said. "But maybe it was part of a bigger one. Maybe my Creator placed that story in my path for a reason."

Badhon added, "I don't want to do another Rehana, I don't want to do another Guti, I don't want to do another Rabindranath Ekhane Kokhono Khete Ashen ni, I don't want to do another Khufiya. So, in that case, each of my works has to be different from the others." 

Working on Rehana Maryam Noor changed her. The long, immersive process — almost two years — forced her to reflect, to grow. "Before that, I was working in the media just for the sake of it. I loved the craft, yes, but I wasn't truly connected to it."

That changed when director Abdullah Mohammad Saad introduced her to a world of female-led cinema and powerful global performances. Watching them, something clicked.

"I realised I, too, have something to say. Something to give back," she said. From that moment on, female stories became her purpose.

In South Asia, female-led films are still rare, and even when they are made, they are often met with scepticism, especially when it comes to commercial success. That mindset, Badhon feels, needs to change. And maybe, just maybe, Esha Murder is a step in that direction.

Making female-led films that are also commercially viable is tough, she admits. But Esha Murder was released during Eid, and even after two weeks, people were still buying tickets. "That's huge," she said with quiet pride. "I'm really thankful to Star Cineplex. Hall owners have a big role in shaping society, too."

And when finally asked who she relates to more— Rehana or Leena — her answer was immediate. 

"Rehana," she said softly. "Nothing compares to her. I'm deeply, personally connected to that character. She changed me."