‘Some members of my own team have disowned me’: Badhan drops bombshell after landing in Dhaka

Actress Azmeri Haque Badhan returned to Bangladesh this morning after allegedly being attacked and harassed during her visit to Italy for the Venice International Film Festival.

Speaking to journalists at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, Badhan said she believed those behind the alleged attack were ultimately putting themselves at risk through their actions.

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“I feel that those who carried out the attack are creating problems for themselves. The attackers think they will get away with it, but this time they physically assaulted me. It was not simply a matter of abusing me from a distance, chanting slogans or throwing water at me. They laid hands on me. This brutality must stop. I feel that they are actually making their own position unsafe,” she said.

Badhan also said the incident had tarnished Bangladesh’s image abroad.
“Bangladeshi expatriates behaved brutally towards me and attacked me in a despicable manner. Because of this, our country’s image was tarnished on foreign soil. Foreigners may think that we are a nation constantly fighting among ourselves — that wherever someone goes, they are attacked. That is simply unacceptable,” she said.

Badhan alleged that she was targeted because of her active role in the July-August 2024 student-led mass uprising. She claimed that some of those involved in the attack identified themselves as supporters of the Awami League, whose activities are currently banned, and the banned Bangladesh Chhatra League.

Addressing Awami League supporters, Badhan urged them not to become “blind followers”.

“You can love your party and support it, but please don’t become blind followers. If you are held accountable today, your families will suffer,” she said.

Referring to party leaders abroad, she added, “Those who are provoking you through audio and video messages from abroad do not live the same kind of life as you do. You work hard, earning money through your sweat and sending it back to Bangladesh. Please don’t do this. This is my request to you. What you have done is completely wrong.”

Badhan also addressed the party’s leadership, urging them to reconsider the direction of their future politics.

“My only request to the leaders is this: you are a major political party. Your activities may have been suspended temporarily, but you will engage in politics in the future. You are already drawing up a roadmap for what kind of politics you will pursue. Please do not create a roadmap that you will have to be ashamed of in the future,” she said.

During the interaction, Badhan also made allegations concerning members of her own team. While noting that director Rubaiyat Hossain had supported her, Badhan claimed that some members of the team had “disowned” her following the incident.

She also said she had been dropped from the Toronto International Film Festival, without elaborating on the circumstances. However, Badhan said her co-stars Sunerah Binte Kamal and Zaineen Chowdhury Karim, as well as Karim’s mother, had stood by her.

Badhan travelled to Italy as part of the team of Rubaiyat Hossain’s “The Difficult Bride”, which had its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival on September 6.

Following the premiere, Badhan went to a local park with members of her family, where she alleged that she was physically assaulted and harassed.