'Zeeshan will always be my dream role'

Taskeen Rahman, whose film “Dhaka Attack” hit theatres in Bangladesh earlier this month, is the new talk of the town. The blue-eyed actor’s affirmative presence on screen as a negative character in his debut film has taken the social media by storm. After its release, the adrenaline-pumping movie’s soaring success had even surpassed Bollywood megastar Aamir Khan’s recently released “Secret Superstar” at a New York theatre. “Dhaka Attack” was also recently released at the theatres in Australia and New Zealand. In an animated conversation with Taneem Al Minarul Mannan, on behalf of Dhaka Tribune’s Showtime, in Sidney, Taskeen talked about how “Dhaka Attack” and sudden stardom have changed his life while making him feel the love of the people from his homeland. Taneem kicked off the session by congratulating Taskeen, who has been living in Australia since 2002, on the amazing premiere of “Dhaka Attack” in Brisbane and its release on other states as well. With the first question of how it feels to be a hit back in Bangladesh while living in Australia, Taskeen replied with a smile that he has been enjoying it very much indeed and thanked the audience for all the love and support they’ve shown him. He also expressed that he has always missed Bangladesh, and this sudden stardom has made him feel like he’s been here in his homeland all along. The “Dhaka Attack” villain’s performance and screen aura has even been compared with that of late actor Humayan Faridi. The viewers have frequently commended his performance by saying that another Faridi has arrived. When asked how he felt about these compliments, Taskeen quite humbly refused to be compared with such a huge personality. The talented newcomer believes no one can be compared to an actor with the calibre and talent like Faridi by having worked in just one film, and that the late actor is incomparable and irreplaceable. As a newcomer, Taskeen had a surprising ease on screen, with nothing suggesting that this was his first work on screen. The actor expressed that his only fear while shooting was whether or not he would be able to do justice to the character. He mentioned that he is never one hundred percent satisfied with his own work. His goal was to live up to his own standards and be satisfied with no less. The amazing performance of Taskeen in the role of Zeeshan brought up an interesting query- if he had any special affinity towards antagonists. Taskeen confirmed that he didn’t want to limit himself within a certain type of character. He is curious to explore every type of roles as an actor. “As long as there’s opportunity for good acting in a role, I will be interested.” said Taskeen. He did add that his negative role in “Dhaka Attack” will always be one of his dream roles and that he is very pleased to have done it properly. About the opening show in Brisbane, Taskeen expressed that he loved how focused the audience was during the movie, the positive feedbacks they gave after the show and most importantly, their smiling faces. Later the topic of “Dhaka Attack’s” massive popularity among the Bangladeshi community at Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane came up. Apparently, the Australian website where “Dhaka Attack” tickets were being sold, crashed because of its overload of hits. Taskeen expressed that it’s thrilling to hear of such enthusiastic response from the Australian audience. He agreed that viewers can discover the finer details while re-watching the film. Taskeen ended the interview with thanking Dhaka Tribune and its readers. He mentioned that he himself is a big fan and regular follower of Dhaka Tribune. He concluded by thanking their kind support and encouragement and hopes it will continue. “Dhaka Attack,” directed by Dipankar Dipon, broke several records just on its opening day in early October in Bangladesh and did excellent business throughout. Since its international distribution began, it is being received well by the Bangladeshi expatriates all over the world and breaking overseas records of other Bangladeshi films released abroad. Arguably the first cop-action thriller of Dhallywood, “Dhaka Attack” features Arifin Shuvoo and Mahiya Mahi in the leading roles. The film also boasts a heavyweight cast including Syed Hasan Imam, Alamgir, Afzal Hossain, Laila Hasan, ABM Suman, Shatabdi Wadud and Nawshaba.