ANANTA JALIL BACK WITH MOST WELCOME 2

If there is one superstar of Bangladeshi films who has been able to do which no one else in the industry has done, that would be Ananta Jalil. Before action superstar AJ hit the screen with his stunts and digitally animated action scenes, there wasn't much being talked about or anticipated from the Bangladeshi film industry. And now, AJ has brought people back to cinema halls. His films have become a mainstay of Eid celebrations and people have begun to look forward to his films with great anticipation, and this time, he is back with Most Welcome 2. He is not just the acting talent in his films but also a director, producer and businessman. He began his professional career as a businessman in 1999 and his film career began in 2010 with the film Khoj: The Search. He had set up his production house 'Monsoon Films' in 2008. AJ's garments factory has grown to be the AJI Group and he was awarded CIP (Commercially Important Person) status multiple times. This week, Star Showbiz caught up with the silver screen superstar Ananta Jalil.

We would like to congratulate you on the box office success on your latest film: MOST WELCOME 2. What's the secret behind your success?
Firstly I would like to thank the Almighty and my fans for their love and support. I use the latest technologies in my films. When I entered this industry my aim was to be successful, and now, my movies are running side by side with Bollywood films. I do my work very seriously with full dedication. And I highly dislike wastage of time. All my movies had been successful till now, but Most Welcome 2 is the most commercially successful movie I have ever made.

What are your thoughts about the current situation of our film industry?
Well, many people are not doing well. I always give tips to young people who are trying to be successful in this industry. Still, they are not doing so well. What I try to do is select good locations and have a strong and meaningful story in my movies. I use standard equipment for shooting and a lot of effort and attention goes behind the choreography and cinematography. I bring technicians from abroad, but that doesn't mean I'm ignoring local technicians. What I try to do is make our local technician work with the foreign technicians, which helps our local technicians through exchange of knowledge and enables them to be better at what they do. Respecting your own work is a very important thing. People in this industry should show a bit more professionalism in their work. In my conversations with many people in the industry, I asked them about why they think their films are not as successful as mine. Their answer was, “Our movies are only viewed by lower class people.” And then I asked them why my movies are being viewed by all sorts of people regardless of their social status? Everyone from all walks of life watch my movies. People watch my movies because they can relate my movies with Hollywood and Bollywood movies. I also believe that people will start watching Bangladeshi movies more than they watch foreign movies in the near future. It's been a pleasure to hear from people saying that my films are entertaining and educational at the same time.

You make one film every Eid. Do you think it's possible for the Bangladeshi film industry to survive with just one good movie every year? In other countries we have many blockbusters every year.
Other people should start making good films too. They should try to follow the trend I have set. It's not my responsibility to make all the blockbuster films in one year!

You've proven yourself to be a box office hit. But aren't you taking too much pressure on yourself, being a director, actor, writer and producer at the same time? Do you have any plans in the future where you will play a single role in the movies making process, say be the lead actor and hire someone else to direct your films?
Why should I think like that? That's not how I'm thinking, at least not for the time being. I write scripts on my own but I still provide credits to other people just to make them more famous and bankable at the box office. I want to work with the upcoming generation, the young people. It doesn't mean that I don't respect the senior directors in the industry. I was hurt by the actions of one of my co-workers. Before working with me, he used to live as a bachelor in a low class building. Now, he owns a four storied building, only because he was working with me. Now he acts like he doesn't know me. I learnt from this experience, and became selective about who I work with. I want to work with people who won't hurt me.

Well we have seen you in a mobile advertisement. As a viewer I must say that it was smartly represented. Was it produced outside Bangladesh?
No it was produced in this country! But yes, the graphic editing was great. The commercial also had a very catchy catchphrase, “O shombob ke shombob korai Ananta er kaj!”

There is also something interesting about your on and off screen love interest. You're married to Barsha and your movies are still doing well with the fans, where you always have Barsha as the female lead. This is very unusual in case of other superstars in Bollywood, where a real life couple's movie usually turns into a box office bomb. What makes you different from them?
It's all in the presentation. You can see that I have presented Barsha like a tom-boy in this film. I want to represent ourselves in such a way that the audience would forget that we are a real-life couple. It's all in the presentation.

Ananta Jalil's interview with Star Showbiz by The Daily Star on Mixcloud

We can see that in other countries big producers only make 1 or 2 films a year themselves, but they do help new comers by working as a guest producer. Do you plan on doing something similar?
Yes I do. I want to take educated people in my work, especially English medium students and help them by working as a guest artist. There is another problem with our industry, not many senior artists help the younger ones.

What do you have in mind for the future?
I want to make a lab and a film institution. Plans are easy to make but hard to put it in reality.

Would you please share some words of inspiration for those who look up to you?
I think we just need to think big and take action. We need to keep working. We have to build from our strengths. I am where I am today because of the struggle and hard work I have gone through. In my first movie there were mistakes which my closest friends pointed out to me. In my second movie, I remembered those criticisms and made fewer mistakes. That is how I gradually improved. People who criticize constructively are good, but on the other hand there are people who only criticize just for the sake of it. I would strongly urge them to do something first and then criticize. It's not as easy as they think. Long story short, it's all about hard work, sincerity and dedication. Lastly, I must add one thing - DREAM BIG!

Catch the uncut version of Showbiz's cover interview and more on Radio Shadhin 92.4 FM every Saturday, 11 pm onwards.