Tarana Halim: Breaking out of the mould of a romantic heroine

Tarana (3rd from left) and a unit member seen with snake-charmers, while directing Jibon Jekhane Jamon

Currently she is busy directing and scriptwriting for the documentary Jebon Jekhane Jamon. This fort|nightly programme, aired on Channel i, has earned recognition and won three awards as best documentary. Some of the topics that have been telecast are child labour and marriage, and the danger of teenage lo~e affairs. In one controversial episode, of the nearly 100 such shows, she zeroes in on the pathetic situation of teenage unwed mothers. 'It was a brave topic and people began to talk about the programme,' reminisces Tarana.

She cites another episode featuring a womanl violated during the war of 1971, who was compelled to enter a brothel. Then there is the powernul tale of a frmedom fighter, winner of the national title of Birprotik, whose 90-year-old mother was unable to visit his grave in Sylhet. Eking out a lonely existence, the mother saw a beacon of hope when the TV channel helped her to make the trip. Says Tarana,' The episode focused on the inability of the administra|ion to organise the mother's visit to her son's grave even after 32 years. Wm shot and telecast this historic journey.'

Her forte, she points out, is not the stermotyped romantic heroine. On the contrary, she favours intrepid women struggling to find a way to freedom and identity. 'I have always done the main character. Romance may be a part of it, but I have always looked for determination, values and confidence against social repression,' asser|s Tarana.

Recalling her professional tie-ups with directors, she mentions the names of the 'promising and inno~ative' Mustafa sarwar Faruki and the 'highly professional' Atiqul Haque Chowdhury. The former directed her in a play called Pratyabartan, for which she won the Best Actress Critic Award from Prothom Alo. Faruki, she says, 'has a refreshing concept about women's rights.' Altogether, she has won around 10 national awards for her drama talent.

Tarana has recently returned from a trip to Germany where she presented a paper on Violence against Women: A Bangladeshi Perspective. Called on by the Bangladeshis to stage a play, she perfozmed a self-writ|en solo piece. the show was a catharsis both foz her and the audience as it was on the subject of discrimination of women. 'I never realised just how much emotion I had bottlel up inside myself. I was very happy that I had not forgotten acting, though I have largely been away from the arc lights as I am not in the good books of BTV right now,' says Tarana.

Then there is another drama, Bohurupi Bhalobashi, for which she has donned the mantle of playwright and director. This work, to be aired on Channel i during Eid, depicts the loneliness of an elderly widow whose son has gone abroad. After a series of events, she comes to terms with her solitary existence.

There's yet another facet of Tarana her law practice.

In her plays, she depicts women's rights. There is also a portrayal of women as winners so that they can gather courage to fight against all odds. Tarana's works seems to say goodbye to the long suffering heroine and a hello |o the brave woman who firmly refuses to compromise with society's demands.