SHEHUB MUNAWAR WAHID

Jannatul Sumaiya Heme is an actress and model. Sunday was her birthday. On the occasion, she spoke to The Bangladesh Today correspondent about her special day, acting, her new drama and other topics.

How did you spend the day?

Thank you for the wishes. My family members wish me after midnight. I actually prefer spending my birthday with my family and close friends rather than having a big celebration. That was not possible this year. I celebrate my birthday on the shooting set instead. I had a full day of shooting in Motijheel, so I shared the joy with everyone there. I felt a little sad that I cannot have my family around this time. Every year, well-wishers send me birthday wishes on Facebook, and some even send gifts. That is also a source of happiness.

How was your birthdays like during childhood?

There was a different kind of excitement around birthdays when I was a child. It was a lot of fun. The whole family would celebrate the day together. Back then, a birthday meant new clothes, cake, spending time with family and lots of happiness. Now I am older and busier, so I do not expect much from my birthday. Having my family by my side is the greatest joy.

What is your definition of life?

Life is an ongoing process for me. Life is never completely organised at any point. Responsibilities, relationships and challenges change with age. So rather than trying to control everything, I want to move forward while maintaining a sense of balance in my own life. I believe finding time for my family and myself alongside work is an important part of life.

You often act in romantic dramas. How is your recently completed drama ‘Prothom Premer Golpo’ different from other projects?

Prothom Premer Golpo is not simply a romantic story. Alongside love, it explores conflicts in the corporate world and issues of revenge stemming from the past. My character is named Mehnaz Kabir. She is a middle-class girl who works as a fashion designer. The circumstances, relationships between the characters and the twists and turns of the story make the drama different. I worked on it under the direction of Tanvir Tonmoy. I hope audiences will enjoy it.

You have worked with Niloy Alamgir on many projects, most of which have been well received by audiences. You have teamed up again for the new drama. How was the experience?

I have worked with Niloy Alamgir on many projects, and audiences also like our pairing. In Prothom Premer Golpo, our characters and the context of the story are different. Rather than comparing them with our previous work, we tried to present the two characters in a fresh way. Many viewers have said that our performances together were becoming too harder. We wanted to move away from that, so we opted for softer characters this time. Through this drama, audiences will discover this pair in a new form. They will be able to watch the drama later this month.

You remain busy shooting throughout the year. What do you do in your free time?

When I do not have shooting, I do exercise first. I try to work out for two to three hours. Then I watch films and series and catch up on my sleep. I have three cats, and I love spending time with them. Besides my pets at home, I also like taking care of stray dogs. Sometimes I go out to feed them. These activities help keep me mentally refreshed.

It seems you are doing fewer projects for OTT platforms. Why is that?

I have received offers to work on OTT projects, but so far, I have not found the proposals particularly appealing. If I like the story and the character, I would definitely like to work in this medium. Stories and characters are important to me, and I am finding those opportunities in television dramas right now. That is why I feel more comfortable working in dramas. However, if I get a good story and a challenging character, I would like to work on OTT projects in the future.