Gulshan Ara Akhter Champa became a household name for her role as a damsel in distress in the famous TV drama of the 1980s Ekhane Nongor. Her acting career soon diverged into two complementary strands. On TV and in alternative films, there emerged an actress trying to get the most out of her acting ability, while the same actress, in the Bangla moviedom, brought to the screen a new sense of the glam and rose to prominence as a star. Mahfuz Mizan met with Champa to trace some of the aspects that went into the making of the actress and the star.
Gulshan Ara Akhter Champa better known as Champa is one of the most prolific actresses in the Bangladeshi film industry and has acted in more than 200 films in her career. The versatile actress has featured in films and spcial TV dramas such as Teen Kanya, Nishpaap, Bheja Chokh, ShonkhonilKaragar, Padma Nadir Majhi, Target, Lal Darja, Bhai, Abar Aranye, Chandrokotha, Akash Bariye Dao, Khola Daroja, Apoya, Ekhane Nongor, Shasti and Moner Manush. The five time National Award winning actress was a household name in the 80’s and 90’s. Nowadays she is either working in front of the camera or spending days with her grandsons. As the star gives an insight into her life and works one is able to get a picture of how the youngest sister of the two already famous actresses — Shuchanda and Babita — made it to the top.
Early years
Champa was born in a culturally-inclined family — her elder sisters Kohinoor Akhter Shuchanda and Farida Akhtar Babita are iconic Bangladeshi actresses. She was the fifth child among the three brothers and three sisters to father Nizamuddin and mother Dr Jahanara who was a homeopathic practitioner.
‘Life was simple but at the same time it was unique. We used to go to different melas. I never had any formal training in acting as I used to act with my toys and my sisters as well,’ says Champa. ‘Unlike nowadays where the children are mostly confined to smart phone screens, we had huge fields to play in. One of the main reasons why I’m one of the tallest stars in the industry is due to this. As I had the opportunity to hang from trees and other outdooractivities, it helped me with my growth process,’ recalls Champa.
Unfortunately, the star’s mother passed away when she was only seven years old. The absence of a mother figure was hugely felt throughout the household although Champa had little understanding of death at her age.
‘I was so young then, that I did not understand the concept of death and genuinely thought she is going to return one day. My sisters Shuchanda and Babita both supported me and our father was everything to us. However, I still believe a mother is a key figure for any daughter and I badly miss her at times,’ observes Champa.
Apart from this, the family was also very enthusiastic about arts and culture, ‘My father was a very good comic artist. We sisters used to arrange family programmes where we used to recite poems, sang songs and act as in a “swapnapuri” style,’ she recalls.
Champa was hugely inspired by her sisters in acting as well. ‘Babita and Shuchandra apas were my mentors and I learned a lot of things from them. However, I always looked forward to developing my own style of acting,’ she explained. Her other inspirations were Shabana Azmi, Sri Devi and Smita Patil.
‘I was in love with Sri Devi — she is the only actress who can change her expression within seconds,’ Champa observes.
The days in the industry
Initially, Champa started her career as a model and wanted to pursue her career as one. However, after receiving an offer from Abdullah Al Mamun to work on one of his teleplays ‘Doob Satar’, she was skeptical about the whole proposal. ‘I was always anxious about being a celebrity and wondered if my personal life would remain the same after I became one. I have seen people badgering my sisters after becoming obsessed with them. People came to them in between shootings and asked questions like, “What do you eat?” Nowadays, the situation changed, but in those times celebrities faced these awkward situations,’ she remembers.
The star further adds, ‘I might be a star, but I always had a strong sense of guarding my personal life. I am a very organised person and I always prefer to handpick my own clothing, maintain my food habits, arrange my furniture and take care of every intricate detail about myself. When I cook, I make sure the dishes complement each other; I make the tailor pay heed to all of my my demands regarding my attire and go to the store myself to select my furniture. Obviously if I acted in a film, these things would become difficult to maintain.’
Champa would soon put these worries behind her to finally take the plunge and start acting in the mainstream movies.
The first film Champa was part of was Teen Kany,a which was supposed to be her first and last film. Champa recalls, ‘I was already married to Shahidul Islam Khan, a businessman by profession and he told me he would only allow me to act in the film if it was my last one, to which I agreed.’
After her debut film was a massive hit, she got a very lucrative offer from the actor Alamgir to work as the main heroine with two other male heroes in the film called Nishpaap.
‘I couldn’t resist the offer as it was too good to be true. I had to persuade my husband for seven days straight and finally got the permission to act in it. After the film was released it was one of the most successful movies of my career and I didn’t need to look back. The public acceptance for me rose in droves. My husband was so impressed with my progress that he didn’t hold me back. Alamgir bhai to this date speaks highly of that film and calls it his golden goose,’ she remembers.
Harking back to her early days of success, the actress also emphasised that working in films was her passion but she also took the right decisions and made sure she kept her house in order as well. She says, ‘In my entire career I have not signed for films that would tarnish my reputation or that I would regret. Besides working professionally I always maintained my family life with equal vigour.’
Besides, the actress has worked in 15 Indian movies namely Padma Nadir Majhi, Sandip Ray’s Target and others. She has worked both in art and commercial films as she explains, ‘While I have worked in commercial films, I have also had my fair share of experience with art films. The difference between art and commercial is that art films tend to negotiate reality. The emotions, costumes and overall setting is toned down or made to look real, whereas in commercial films everything has to look a bit exaggerated or over the top.’
The actress is currently working in three films namely Amitabh Reza Chowdhury’s Rickshaw Girl, Chayanika Chowdhury’s Bisshwa Shundori and Shaon.
‘I’m playing an important character in the Rickshaw Girl which is actually an English film, where I’m the owner of a rickshaw garage and the other two films I’m playing as a side character.’ Further explaining the role she said, ‘It is customary for a girl to stay indoors and look after the housework, children and cooking, but here I am a strong independent woman in the film who owns a rickshaw garage. The rickshaw girl in the film looks up to me.’
After the turning of the tide
The actress seems enthused about the changes in the film industry, she says, ‘Compared to the difficulties we faced in the past, nowadays the working atmosphere has totally changed. The director, cast and crew have become a bit more professional than they used to be in the past. Yet there is a long way to go if we compare it to international standards. Apart from that, technology has also advanced and nowadays it has become very simple,’ she said.
The actress however expresses the bad side of technology as well, ‘I want to caution my fans that with the advancement of technology a lot of fraudsters have made fake profiles with my name. Please do not believe in them. I also see various rumuors and false information about me in Youtube and other websites, which is a cause for serious concern.’
When talking about the new generation of actors and actresses she said,‘The actresses coming in the film industry are glamorous, possess a perfect figure and are often skilled. However, I believe some of them are living in an illusion. They are heaped with undeserving praises from various media personalities and they turn snobbish or arrogant early on. This impacts their work a lot.’ She also added that nowadays key traits of performers are also missing. She explains, ‘An artiste should have dedication, passion and respect towards their craft, nowadays I see there is a lack of depth. Apart from this they also need to respect other senior artistes and stars. One must realise the value a star holds and be aware of the fact that they have occupied a certain niche after a lot of hard work.’
Nowadays, the star actress who has a career spanning over three decades spends her time mostly with her twin grandsons Arzan and Ariz.
‘I believe a woman’s beauty lies at every stage of her life. AS I grew old, sometimes I used to get sad when I used to see myself but then I made myself realise that this is all natural. Every morning when I wake up and see my two grandchildren, all of those worries go away.’
Champa’s daughter Esha is an artist by profession and is married to Tanvir Ahmed, a businessman. She says, ‘I always felt the absence of a son, but Tanvir fulfills that role perfectly, I am content with my daughter as well because she also inherited the creative grain of mind.’
Photos by Abdullah Apu
