Like everyone else, I have my own story of struggle: Shohel Mondol
In a recent interview with The Business Standard, Mondol spoke about ‘Boli’ and the tribulations of his acting career
One of the most anticipated web series, 'Boli', has recently been released on the OTT platform Hoichoi. The series features a stellar cast under the directorial umbrella of Bangladeshi director Shankha Das Gupta.
Young actor Shohel Mondol was also a member of the cast. Earlier, he was seen in another well-received series, 'Taqdeer', where he worked alongside popular actor Chanchal Chowdhury.
In a recent interview with The Business Standard, Mondol spoke about 'Boli' and detailed his other works.
"Like many artists, my career in acting began through theater. When I came to Dhaka from Bogura for university, I had a lot of free time and to make the most of my spare time, I registered at 'Nagorik Natyongon Institute of Drama'," said Mondol when we asked him about how he started his journey in acting.
He continued, "I began working with a theatre group after six months of drama school. I started enjoying working with them within a few days. Meanwhile, I began to enjoy watching stage dramas at 'Prachyanat'.
Their compositions and work enthralled me. My passion for acting started to develop from that point onward as I continued watching plenty of performances and attended rehearsals."
According to Mondol, the time he spent alone sowed the seed of passion for acting. "I used to keep myself occupied with music, literature, drama and movies. That's how it began. Then I tried to go the extra mile to attract the attention of the audience. It has been a lengthy battle," he recalled.
"But struggle exists in everyone's life, my life is no different. Like everyone else, I have my own story of struggle. I've been rejected many times during the beginning of my career. Fortunately, [over time] many liked my performances," the young actor added.
While doing theater, Mondol's interest in visual media piqued but he faced difficulties in finding opportunities. In 2012, Mondol got his breakthrough through an advertisement for the telecommunication company Robi.
A year later, he got casted for Rubaiyat Hossain's movie 'Under Construction'. Then, he took a break from acting once again to run an editing panel that he started with his friends. Meanwhile, he worked as an editor.
In 2016, he acted in a drama called 'Sheola', where he played a lead character for the first time before he was casted for Amitabh Reza's 'Aynabaji'.
"I've always wanted to work in movies. Given the state of drama serials, I wasn't particularly interested in working in those. There was a point when I felt like leaving the media. But I didn't give up. I used to relentlessly edit dramas or TVCs and I still do," Mondol told the correspondent.
Mondol had already worked on a commercial movie called 'Musafir', after which he took a long break due to a lack of opportunities.
However, Shohel did not lose hope. He has recently acted in Mejbaur Rahman's debut movie 'Hawa'. The movie is awaiting release. Nonetheless, Mondol's performance in 'Taqdeer' distinguished him from others.
In the thriller series, he was seen on-screen as Chanchal Chowdhury's 'bhaisa'. "It was a unique experience working in 'Taqdeer'. I was a little afraid when I was asked to act in this series. But little did I know that this character would become so popular.
After playing that role, I saw that people responded very well. Everyone now knows me as 'Montu'. Some people even call me 'bhaisa'. But I'm not that happy with any of my work. I still think there is room for improvement. I'm learning that everyday," explained Mondol.
'Boli' was recently released, where Mondol presented himself in a great avatar. He has requested everyone to watch the series to understand how good it is.
