Kabori sails into direction and script-writing

Kabori in her directorial role

Why choose acid victims for her theme rather than any other current social evil? For ages Kabori had harboured the ambition to make films based on the plight of unwanted children and women acid victims. She has made a film, Ekatturer Michhil based on a child. Kabori has been working at the Acid Victim Rehab Centre at Banani for quite some time.

Six months ago, she began her Herculean task with little care for the natural elements. The protagonist is a woman called Kushum (Saba, a new face) and the film follows the vicissitudes of her life. Ayena's story-line, based on her own imagination and experience, contains the childhood and youth of the protagonist, whose father is strangulated by the villain. The aging father, Azim Ali (Shubash Datt) is cruelly murdered, when he discovers that the evil Casanova is not only a nondescript chandabaz (extortionist)but is also a lecherous and licentious womaniser--with no qualms, what so ever--and who is only hell-bent on ravishing, innocent young and guileless women.

The plot continues to spin out Kushum's tale of untold travails, when she is attacked by the ruthlessly evil and conniving Ramiz (Joyraj), as she tries to blind him with a date-tree spike, taken from her father's grave spot. She had gone there to lament her fate and pray for guidance. She escapes to catch a train, which brings her to a garment factory. There she eventually falls in love with the dashing and impeccable Dolon (Ferdous).

However, destiny has its tragic turns. On the wedding night, the heroine has acid thrown on her, leading her to go overseas. From there she returns, full of optimism, thinking that she is beautiful as before, when in actuality she is not. The rest is left to the imagination. Other sub-plots are interwoven in the moving social episodic film of numerous tear-jerking incidents. Kabori eventually dons the mantle of a vengeance seeking lawyer-cum-human rights activist.

Dwelling on the problems that she faced in the course of filming Ekatturer Michhil, Kabori says that she's faced the age-long task of raising adequate funds for the venture. In her words, 'I approached numerous embassies, and many promises were given, but not kept. Eventually Machranga Production helped out. We worked in bad weather and good -- the summer rain being included in the film shots. I'm weary of political intrigues and inevitable lobbying, that are now an integral part of the life of many creative people in Bangladesh.'

The local version of the film is a little over two hours, while the overseas package is for an hour and 30 minutes.

Kabori Sarwar--like the famous World War II French singer, Edith Piaf--'has no regrets' and looks forward, in her twilight years, of making thought-provoking, meaningful films. She takes pride in raising five stalwart sons.