Theatre: Where it all Started…

Actor Mostafiz Shahin
Talks to
Promiti Prova Chowdhury

	Courtesy: Mostafiz Shahin

I did my SSC from BCSIR High School. Since the school is situated inside BCSIR, Dhaka, we had enough free space which kept us close to nature. I cherish every moment that I spent at school. I was good at studies and always managed to be in the top ten. I remember Hawlader sir, who was the strictest of all. All of our mischievous activities somehow happened in front of him and we used to get pathetic punishments! I played cricket, hosted cultural programmes and played with a band only out of interest.

After SSC, my father got transferred to Gopalgonj. So I got admitted to Bangabandhu College in Gopalgonj. After passing HSC, I came back to Dhaka and got admitted to Dhaka College to study Accounting. But I was never really interested to do anything related to the subject. Rather, I used to spend my time in addas at TSC and Shahabag and made a huge group of friends there. A friend from school was also there who was a member of Onushilon Nattyagoshti. Inspired by him, I also got involved. Eventually, I started doing theatre on a regular basis as a member of Centre for Asian Theatre (CAT) which is the only professional theatre organisation in Bangladesh. However, when my graduation came closer, my father asked me what I actually wanted to do in life and I said that I wanted to evolve as a theatre activist. Though a little sceptical at the beginning, he was pleased after seeing one of my shows.

Eventually, I found out that it was really hard to manage living expenses in this city with the little money earned from theatre. So in 2002, I left CAT and joined Nagorik Nattya Shampprodaya. For a living, I started acting in TV plays and worked as a play director. By this time I got admitted to Masters in Film and Media at Stamford University. In 2008 I completed my Masters and for the last two years, I have been working as a full time actor in different TV plays. Among them, 'Nagorik' and 'Ponchom' are two daily soaps worth mentioning that are currently being aired on Channel 9 and GTV, respectively. Besides that, I conduct theatre classes at different universities. I conduct workshops for East West University Drama Club on a regular basis and am working as a part-time instructor of the course Introduction to Drama at University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB).

One thing that I have learned through the journey of my life so far, is one should not waste time. Do what you are supposed to do today. Do not linger or leave it for tomorrow. Only by managing and utilising your time properly you can get rid of stress and an unnecessary mess. By doing the right thing at the right time, your way becomes smoother towards your goal.