Nima Rahman

Nima Rahman
It was at the age of two-and-a-half that Nima Rahman first appeared on television. Faizul Khan Tanim finds out how this powerful stage and television actor is still going strong

Be it the stage or television, she’s done it all. From a rigid, angry woman to a romantic, her presence is equally powerful. Over 42 television dramas and 16 theatre productions are a testimony to actor Nima Rahman’s skills. It’s no wonder that Nima was the first woman director and producer for a lifestyle show on Bangladesh Television in 1998 called Amader Kotha, which was later aired on Ekushey Television (ETV) as well. Recently, I caught up with this boisterous personality at her Gulshan bookstore Words n’ Pages. Between sipping on a glass of honey lemon iced tea and playing computer games, she described her struggle finding proper roles in both TV and theatre. She blames the politics in the media world for the fact that she does few selected roles nowadays. ‘I was and still am very straight forward with my attitude. I refuse to be a sycophant to powerful people and honestly that is the reason why I worked so little,’ Nima tells me. ‘And I always loathed people saying something in front of you and then something different behind your back. My whole life, I did not harm anyone except myself so you can see how dense I am,’ she added with a smirk. Born into an illustrious family, Nima is the granddaughter of poet Golam Mostofa. She credits her mother for interest and enthusiasm in the arts. ‘She is my sole inspiration. She used to be there all the time with me, even when I joined theatre in 1974. I remember how in my childhood years, she drew with red and blue pencils to explain characters and how to play them. Her impact was so great in my life that I could not let it go before actually becoming someone in my profession’ ‘Maa always told me never to be arrogant. I remember the day I received the Bangladesh National TV award, she told me: “The world is so big that getting a national award is no big deal. There is a lot to learn and plenty of work to be done” ’, Nima remembers. She started appearing on Bangladesh Television from the age of two-and-a-half years, reciting poems at first. At the age of five, she acted in Atiq Ul Haq Chowdhury’s first drama Jedin Chithi Elo which was broadcast all over Pakistan, and then, at the age of eight, Nima made her first foray into the world she would make her own: she joined the theatre group Nagorik Natya Sampradaya. ‘I went on to receive the Best Child Actor award of Bangladesh National TV Awards for the year 1976’s overall performance. I remember Ferdousi Majumder receiving the award for best actress, Abdullah Abu Sayeed for best TV show host, Ferdousi Rahman as best singer and many more, from that event’. Nima played her first lead character in 1979 while she was still in school. It was in the drama Shetu Kahini where she starred opposite Humayun Faridi. ‘But it is definitely the TV drama Amader Montu Mia written by Mumtazuddin Ahmed, where my lead role actually made me a household name,’ she says. One of the most fulfilling roles that Nima has played however, was that of Princess Dilruba in the drama written by Selim Al Deen on Bangladesh Television called Gronthikgon Kohe. And on stage, she recalls her character in Mukhosh, directed by Sara Zaker, which also featured Abul Hayat and Asaduzzaman Nur. Also fulfilling, she says, was the play Himmati, originally written in German by Bertolt Brecht. Nima she is currently between two phases of her acting career, which is why she’s become so scarce on television and the stage. ‘I’m still not comfortable doing roles of mothers as I still feel so young. Plus it is so difficult to portray the character of a Maa’, she says. Rahman wholeheartedly believes that she is not the right person to talk about her own success. ‘Does the moon tell everyone when it shines at night? However, this moment is a success as you are taking my interview and if I really need to speak of achievements, I think, it was a recital plus song album Gaaney Gaaney Bhalobasha with Anjan Dutt, which got great reviews on both sides of Bengal’. So what kind of acting role is the Nima Rahman of today looking for? Is she more evangelical in her approach? Does she believe in theatre for a cause? ‘I don’t like to overshadow anyone, and while portraying a character, I never try to send out a subliminal message. When it comes to acting, its pure entertainment and I think there are plenty of other ways to get the message across,’ she says. Presently, she is working on three programs of her own direction which are aired on ETV – Bhalobasha Karey Koi, a show about couples; the cooking show Rondhoner Bondhon and Shongsharer Tukitaki, a lifestyle show. But there’s more to Nima than just the stage and the screen. She’s an ardent reader of books which spurred her on to start her bookstore Words n’ Pages in 2004. ‘I never had plans to open the bookstore but when it happened, I realised how much I liked to submerge myself in the world of books. Interestingly, I think people in our society are starting to read again and they should turn this into a habit.’ Apart from reading, Nima also loves music. Her collection includes Abba, Simon and Garfunkel, Neil Diamond, Boney M, as well as Western and Eastern classical music. And what about the future? ‘I wont say. It ruins that whole element of surprise,’ she says. When her projects take shape though, she says, I always scream the loudest to let everyone know.