Meher Afroz Shaon : THE STORY OF THE GOLDEN GIRL

Meher Afroz Shaon, a hyphenate, presides over both her family and her workplace. Her rise was a meteoric one and she scaled the ladder of success not only as an actress, or director, but also as a singer. She clinched the national award for best singer in 2016. In an extensive interview with this sparkling star in the entertainment industry, a number of topics have been touched upon including her career, childhood and more

Singing is not Shaon’s profession but her passion. “My mother had a great taste in music and it seeped into me,” Shaon says with a smile. During her childhood each morning began with music with Ranbindranath’s or Nazrul’s songs as well as old Bengali movie songs as staples. “So Whatever I’m doing, song is there for me casting the backdrop. When I worked in ‘Nokkhoter Rat,’ I used to sing and Humayun Ahmed (the late litterateur who was her husband) used to compliment a lot. It made me so glad that I went on practicing and today if I can sing it’s all because of the rigorous practices sessions,” She adds.
The biggest breakthrough of her career came in 1989. The year she worked as child artist in drama ‘Shadhinota Amar Shadhinota,’ aired on BTV. She affectionately recalls her early experience in the entertainment industry and says, ‘I felt so excited because I’m going to be on television and my friends are going to watch it. During our childhood things were a bit different — we used to crave for adoration from our near ones and took pleasure in the work well acco0mplished. Fame was the last thing in our mind.”
In 1991, for the first time in her life, she had the opportunity to work with Humayun Ahmed in his documentary film ‘Jononi’. The rest is history. From then on, she continued to make her audience happy. She carried her well in many different roles she played over the years. Every time she appeared on the screen, her presence was unforgettable.
Humayun Ahmed cast her in the lead role in film ‘Shrabon Megher Din’ and she performed with her heart out. There was no looking back from that point on. The Shonar Konna won the hearts of the millions, became an icon by her own right. She gave us back-to-back major hits like ‘Dui Duari’, ‘Shaymol Chaya’, ‘Chandrakotha’, ‘Amar Ache Jol.’
Apart from working in the silver screen as an actor, she continued to appear in the industry as a director and left her mark of brilliance on some of her works. She made her directorial debut with the TV drama ‘Ponkhiraj’.
“When I completed shooting and showed it to Humayun Ahmed, he wrote a beautiful letter addressed to me. It began with an unusual endearment: “Hello, Director.” Shaon recalls. She hastens to add, “I immediately got a gift from him and it was a script for the new director.” On the silver screen, her directorial journey started with movie ‘Krishnopokkho’ in 2016.
These days she is so absorbed in the industry that she barely gets time for herself. Still, whenever she is able to glean some time out of her busy schedules she spends that with her saviors: her two sons.
Meher Afroz Shaon, who is always smiling along with her two lovely boys on her Facebook, ardently posts her late husband’s laconic remarks extracted from his literary oeuvre. As for her thriving career and status as an artist, Shaon’s work bespeaks her sincere engagement and a zest for winning the hearts of the multitude.