INTRODUCING THIS YEAR'S ULTIMATE MAN

Azad being crowned ‘The Ultimate Man’

Thanks to initiatives like Lux Channel I Superstar and other such pageants, very talented women are brought into the world of media; complete with proper training to survive the new world they will venture in. Unfortunately this kind of a platform didn't exist for men for quite a while now. Things changed with the introduction of Emami's Handsome The Ultimate Man program, in partnership with Channel I, powered by the Bangladesh Navy. The show began last year and now, they have successfully organized the event for the second time. The show began with contestants coming in from all across the country. Through very difficult challenges, the number of contestants whittled down until there were only five left at the grand finale, where Md. Abul Kalam Azad became this year's Ultimate Man.

The gala event for the grand finale, held at BICC, was a spectacular star studded event featuring very prominent figures of the Bangladesh media. The contestants were brought on stage and performed with different themes to portray their poise and skill. Each of the five contestants put on a great show but in the end, the crown only can go to one person. That honour went to Abul, in addition to the privilege to be cast in a film by Impress Telefilm and Tk. 500,000 cash prize money.

Abul hails from Bogra, where he did his H.S.C and then earned a diploma in Hotel Management. He worked at the Westin at the front desk with the prospect of being promoted to a higher position. But when The Ultimate Man began, he made the tough decision to give it all up and join in, because he dreamed of working in the media from a young age. He had doubts of whether he is good enough to make the cut. But his performances throughout the trails of the contest has been very consistent which helped build up his self-confidence. These trails include naval training provided by the Navy, survival in the wild, acting and model training, doing odd jobs like baggage carrying and washing cars etc. Now that he has won The Ultimate Man title, he plans to get into acting as that is his genuine passion. He also wants to resume his studies by joining a filmmaking course so that he can understand the craft better.

Abul believes that absolute focus is required of him now because trying to do both these things at once would spell disaster because he wouldn't be able to concentrate on them properly. Therefore he plans to start acting and once he can make a proper career out of acting, he plans to take a break and go for his studies. He hopes to get into films eventually but wishes to test the waters first through television dramas. The current disappointments of the Bangladeshi media are now unknown to him, and hopes to be part of the movement that aims to remedy the situation. He hopes that Bangladesh will be able to get back to its golden days when Bengalis were glued to their national channels. As a final word to everyone, he asks the Bangladeshi people to watch more programs made here in this country and to support the artists who put so much effort into entertaining audiences. “Anything is possible if one puts their hearts into it and genuinely wants it,” says Abul.