"'An elderly woman once confronted me, saying, 'where is your other wife?'" -- Abdul Quader

Illustration: Shiplu

Who inspires you most?
My wife is my muse. She helps me by taking on multifarious tasks. For professional reasons, it is tough for me to commit my time completely to TV plays. I just brief her on the schedule of shooting and the type of character I am going to play. She collects my costumes and other required materials. She's in total control. Without her help I could not have continued my acting career.

Why do you always prefer humorous role?
Humour is scarce in today's dog-eat-dog world. Yet it is highly appreciated by the viewers. That is why I love playing comic roles.

What kind of response do you get from the viewers?
In the play Juboraaj, I portrayed the role of a matchmaker, who frequently says to girls, "You are a nice girl and I will find a suitable groom for you." One day, along with my wife, I went out shopping. A group of girls encircled us and said laughingly, "Supposedly, you're a good matchmaker, find us some handsome suitors."

How do your co-artistes regard you as an actor?
I'm well appreciated by my peers. Usually I schedule my shootings on holidays and it just seems like a picnic to me. Since I work for a multinational shoe manufacturer, my co-artistes often pull my leg, asking for free shoes.

Any hilarious incident you want to share?
One of the TV ads I had done left such a lasting impression on the viewers that a lot of my fans thought that the model who played my wife, was my better half for real. This particular time, when I was shooting for a TV play, an elderly woman confronted me saying, "Where is your other wife, whom we always see on the TV? Did you abandon her?"

To this date, that incident makes me chuckle.