Views no longer concern me: Polash

A shaken, intimidated and terrified Kabila standing behind bars, waiting to discover what fate has in store for him – this is how Ziaul Hoque Polash appeared for the last time on "Bachelor Point" season 3. While the future of the series was left in limbo with such a conclusion, Polash decided to take a little time to reappear on screen, experimenting with his strengths to absorb Kabila's dilemmas and anxiety.

The actor is finally back on screen as Kabila on Bangla Vision and Dhruba TV, waiting to showcase a different shade of the celebrated comic character for his fans.

We caught up with Polash over the phone while he was shooting in Chattogram to know about his expectations from the upcoming season of "Bachelor Point", forthcoming OTT releases, and directorial ventures in progress.

"For season 4, we were looking to break our own barriers," says Polash. "It not only offers new characters, but also projects the old ones with a new spin. Kajal Arefin Ome, the director, leads us and we always choose to trust his vision."

After garnering much praise for Adnan Al Rajeev's web film "YouTumor" and Shankha Dasgupta directorial web series "Boli", Polash seems to be rather happy with his OTT track record. "OTTs facilitate longer time for us actors to absorb our characters, offer better budget and also provide scope to practice our art form in a manner that we enjoy performing," he adds.

He is set to appear in Taneem Rahman Angshu's debut web series "Tirondaj", in a completely new attire.

"Angshu came to me with a challenge, and he also gave me the floor to explore freely, especially when it came to fixing my look for the production," mentions Polash. "He even studied the gestures that I usually present on the screen, and guided me to work against them as he wanted to showcase a completely new Polash in this project."

The actor currently aims at delivering exclusive characters on the screen for his viewers, and believes that OTT offers him the ground to do so.

"Each character has its own exclusivity and I want roles that have their own persona, body language, and ideology," asserts Polash, who is currently busy with selected TVC shoots alongside his OTT ventures. "Repeating similar characters often leads to an actor being typecast. Going against the tide, I look to building a stronger brand value, rather than being just a common product with lesser exclusivity to offer to his choosers."

Even as a director, Polash found success with his venture, "Revenge". The tele-fiction starred Afran Nisho and Tasnia Farin, Polash is looking to craft another fiction for the upcoming Eid al-Fitr. He also plans to release his first web series this year during the Eid al-Adha.

While speaking about his way forward, Polash also shared his perception of fame and how he is against the trending 'benchmark' that evaluates one's capabilities with the number of views.

"Unlike when I was younger, views are no longer of concern to me. Rather, being able to touch the audience with my work is what matters the most," he concludes.