Hawa director Mejbaur Rahman Sumon: I don’t intend to make films just to make money

Last year, Mejbaur Rahman Sumon’s Hawa was released on July 29 in Bangladesh. The film swept the audience off their feet immediately after its release. The initial frenzy started with the song Sada Sada Kala Kala, in which Chan Majhi, aka Chanchal Chowdhury, and his boatmen crew celebrate ocean life. In Bangladesh alone, the film ran for 11 months. 

Hawa had an overseas release, and in the US and Canadian theatres, the film ran for over a month. Finally, on July 7, Hawa was dropped on SonyLiv. “We are happy that now the film can be enjoyed by people who might or might not know the Bengali language. There are subtitles. And a larger audience will be reached. We are very happy about that,” said the director. 

Also read: Hawa review: Chanchal Chowdhury, Mejbaur Rahman Sumon, and his team create magic in this surreal drama 

Earlier, in an interview with OTTplay, Sumon emphasised that he made Hawa for theatres and not for OTT. Will there be any real difference? The director said, “When I made the film, I made it for the big screen. There is hardly any close or extreme close shot in the film. There will be visual differences. However, we don’t get to watch all the good films in theatres. We watched most of the classics at home. The story and content of the film remain the same, and hence people will watch the content of Hawa.”   

Sumon is also preparing for his new film, a psychological drama. “I work in an ad agency, and I take time to make films. I don’t make films keeping the business side in mind. I don’t intend to make films just to make money. Not that I have anything against it. I don’t do it. We are working on the preproduction of the second film. The casting is yet to be confirmed also,” he said.