Hridi opens up about directing movie for the first time

Hridi Haq is a popular actress and playwright in the country. For the very first time, she has directed a movie, which was recently released. Right now she is busy promoting her movie as well as planning future projects.

Hridi has gained popularity through television drama, but she prefers stage plays more than anything else. She has earned a name for herself directing both plays and TV dramas.

With all that experience on her back, she directed a movie for the first time, titled '1971 Shei Shob Din'. The story for the movie was written by Enamul Haque. The very same story was presented to audiences in the form of a television drama and also a stage play a long time ago. Now that  story is being presented in a cinematic form.

The movie tells the story of a family during the Liberation War of 1971. The family is a metaphorical portrayal of the whole country during the war. The movie was released in theatres on 18 August. Hridi has been getting a lot of praise from audiences since then.

"When viewers share their experience on social media after watching the film, it is truly inspiring. Viewers across all ages are watching the film and that is exactly what we had hoped for. We wanted it to not be confined within the boundaries of a specific age group or demographic," said Hridi.

Even though the film is performing well, its production was quite challenging. The shooting started in March, 2020 but was interrupted shortly thereafter by the Covid-19  lockdown. The director had to overcome many obstacles to complete the shooting of the film.

"After shooting some scenes, we faced consecutive lockdowns. Later, with the authority's permission, we slowly resumed shooting," she said.

However, making the movie required about a thousand people to move around together. The authorities were reluctant in giving them permission to do that. 

"Eventually, we managed to negotiate with them and completed shooting the movie. I believe that the experience gained during those difficult times will be one of the most valuable achievements in my directing career," Hridi said.

Although the movie is based on a story of the liberation war, it has been crafted a bit differently than others of its kind.  It doesn't solely focus on the war; it also presents the values of family and the theme of love with importance.

"We tried to understand the audience's perspective before making the movie. Before starting, I tried to view the film from an ordinary viewer's standpoint before making any final decision."

Hridi realised if the audience didn't like something they would put so much hard work in, then all that effort would go to waste. 

"Even before the film's release, its songs were already liked by listeners. This is also an important achievement of this film."

Several popular stars were cast in '1971 Shei Shob Din'. 

"I tried to present every character with equal importance. As a result, everyone was very enthusiastic and energetic about their roles. Each character felt like they were the main character," she said.

Throughout the film, audiences are treated to many powerful performances.  

"Everyone made an effort to deliver their best performance, resulting in what I believe was a very rewarding movie," expressed Hridi.

Made with government funding, the movie is expected to be released worldwide as well.