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Photo: Sheikh Mehedi Morshed

From winning hearts as the quirky Reshma Pakhi in “Pressure Cooker” to portraying Sadu’s wife in “Roid”, Nazifa Tushi has steadily established herself as one of the most versatile performers of her generation.

Fresh off the success of “Roid”, where both audiences and critics have praised her performance, Tushi is now riding a wave of overwhelming love from fans who simply cannot seem to get enough of her. The excitement only intensified when the trailer for “Annie”, directed by Abdullah Mohammad Saad, dropped on Monday (June 8), instantly drawing attention with its dark, unsettling tone and Tushi’s striking new transformation.

The Daily Star caught up with Nazifa Tushi to talk about “Annie” and the passion that continues to drive her as an actress.

“This is the first time that a mini series from Bangladesh is having its world premiere at the prestigious Seriencamp Festival in Cologne, Germany, yesterday. Unfortunately, due to visa-related issues, our entire team was unable to attend the premiere. Instead, we recorded a session that was screened for the audience at the festival,” said Tushi.

“We are hopeful that audiences and industry professionals will recognise the potential of ‘Annie’ and that the series will soon find buyers, allowing us to bring it to both local and international audiences,” she added.

The trailer of “Annie” highlights several themes, including inequality, mistrust, and social violence embedded within relationships between men and women, among other layered aspects.
Speaking about the project, Tushi shared, “This series is a mixture of multiple genres. I haven’t worked in something like this before. It is also my first collaboration with Abdullah Mohammad Saad, and the level of satisfaction I gained from this project is immense. As an actor and as a human being, I have learned a great deal. My perception of the world has changed through this work.”

“What people don’t know is that this was my first project after “Hawa”, but it is only being released now. I wish I could have attended the premiere. I haven’t even watched my own work yet. Saad bhai is very strict; he doesn’t show anything to his actors. The trailer was the first thing I saw,” she added.

“This is the first time I am completely satisfied with my work. I’m really blown away by how much the audience has loved the trailer. I don’t think people have seen Yash and Symon in such new looks before this project.”

Tushi also revealed that “Annie” contains no background music, adding that she believes the series is aimed at a niche audience, but those who watch it will truly appreciate its depth.
“I’m really happy that people are watching my projects and loving them. I’m grateful to my audience and directors for pushing me into such unique characters and challenging me as an artiste. I want to be loved by audiences, but I don’t want too much praise either, because I fear whether I will always be able to give my 100 percent.”

“To reach this position, I struggled for 10 years. I waited a long time for the right scripts, even though many were coming my way,” she added.

With “Roid” receiving an impressive response in theatres, Nazifa Tushi is delighted that audiences are embracing such an artistic film that encourages viewers to think deeply. “I am flabbergasted by the incredible reviews people are writing and trying to decipher the core message of ‘Roid’. It has a lot of biblical and artistic inspirations blended beautifully into the story. What I loved most is that after watching the film, fans were completely immersed in its world and didn’t even recognise me. Instead of asking for selfies, they were talking to me about the film. That is my biggest satisfaction as an artiste,” she said.

The team of “Andhar” also shared a group photo from their recording studio, where curious fans zoomed in on Tushi’s look from the film.

Reacting to it, she laughed, “Yes, I saw that post and it was so funny. I loved the fact that audiences are so curious about me that they spotted my look from so far away, where I was sleeping in a bathtub. The way people are engaging with my work and eagerly waiting for my projects truly means a lot. I really hope I get more characters like this. For me, audience love matters the most, more than awards.”