Qazi Anwar Hussain wanted me to play Masud Rana: ABM Sumon
From shooting above enormous mountains to capturing action sequences in the Nevada desert and the Pacific Ocean, Sumon said he was thrilled by the experience
Masud Rana is a fictional character created by novelist Qazi Anwar Hussain in 1966 and has featured in 468 books. Hussain created his series of adult spy-thrillers, also titled Masud Rana, modelled after the James Bond series of novels by Ian Fleming.
The novel series is a mainstay of contemporary Bangla literature and has a massive fan following. Although Hussain started the series, he did not write most of the stories. A group of ghostwriters were employed to produce all the new Masud Rana novels.
Tall, toned muscles, chiselled jaw; this is the collective image in the mind of the readers of the Masud Rana novels. Rising moviestar ABM Sumon, who possesses all the aforementioned attributes, has been cast in the shoes of Masud Rana, in director Asif Akbar's spy action-thriller MR9.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
In fact, late novelist Qazi Anwar Hussain, who passed away in January of this year, wanted Sumon to play the iconic character.
The Business Standard reached out to ABM Sumon to learn more about him and his behind-the-scenes stories of shooting MR9, the joint venture production between Bangladesh and USA that also stars renowned Hollywood actors in pivotal roles.
ABM Sumon has always been passionate about maintaining a well-sculpted physique. Sumon has been a gym rat since his school days, but conversely, had zero intention of pursuing a career in modelling or acting.
"I was perhaps in class 8 or 9 when I enrolled in a gym. The thought of starting my career in modelling never crossed my mind until a gym owner and friend in 2012 advised me to try my luck in modelling," recalled ABM Sumon.
Sumon was soon given the opportunity to make his acting debut in the film 'Ochena Hridoy', released in 2015.
"Ochena Hridoy was not just my debut film, it was also the debut film for the director and the lead actress."
Sumon spoke about being cast as the protagonist of MR9, which also stars Hollywood actors Michael Jai White, Frank Grillo and Matt Passemore.
"Asif Akbar's father was the producer on my first film. When Asif decided to direct MR9, he visualised me as Masud Rana," said Sumon.
Even though he already had a soft spot in the director's heart he still had to go through an auditioning process with Hollywood talent scouts.
"A team of Hollywood experts came to Bangladesh in 2019, to select the protagonist of MR9," recalled Sumon. "They liked me both in terms of physique and mannerisms. In fact, the writer of the Masud Rana series, Qazi Anwar Hussain, also wished for me to star as Masud Rana in MR9."
ABM Sumon was given the role almost immediately after the audition. Shooting however came to a halt almost as soon as it started. Due to the pandemic, the production had to wait two years before they could resume.
The highly anticipated film also stars Indian actor Sakshi Pradhan, who won MTV Splitsvilla season 2 in 2018, next to ABM Sumon.
Filming of the movie just wrapped up recently, and spanned locations in both Bangladesh and the US. From shooting above enormous mountains to capturing action sequences in the Nevada desert and Pacific Ocean, Sumon said he was thrilled by the experience.
Sumon currently has a couple of films in the pipeline. He completed shooting for 'Antarjal', which also stars Bidya Sinha Mim and Siam Ahmed, among others.
Sumon's last appearance was as a police officer in the 2017 film 'Dhaka Attack'.
"I take careful consideration before I engage in a project because I believe quality matters over quantity," said ABM Sumon.
