The 'invisible actors' of celluloid

She has appeared in more than two hundred films, but you might not have noticed her.

Sometimes she is a university student, at other times the family member of the lead actor.

In one film she is seen grieving the demise of a loved one, in another she is chanting slogans in a procession. But who is she?

She is Rahela Begum, a junior artist of Bangladesh Film Development Corporation.

In a recent conversation with The Business Standard, Rahela said she has been in the showbiz industry for over 40 years.

"I came here when I was 18 or 20 year old, and now I am around 65," the woman said adding that she could not get over the passion of acting after so many years.

The woman, who has worked in over 200 films, lives in a rented room at the Begun Bari slum in Dhaka. Her only daughter is married, and after the death of her husband, she is all alone.

But, she did not lose her passion for lights, camera and action. Therefore, every morning she goes to BFDC, hoping to get a role as an "extra".

The word "extra" is indispensable to Bangladeshi films.

From the era of Hiralaal Sen till today, junior artiste, who are locally termed as "extra", have made significant contributions in the country's film industry by eagerly starring in the small but necessary roles.

Junior artists are at risk of losing their jobs. Photo: Collected

However, over the years, the scene of BFDC has changed and so has the fate of all these junior artists.

Talking to The Business Standard, another junior artiste Parvin expressed her frustration over the fall of the BFDC.

Sitting beside the FDC canteen in Koritala, she told this correspondent that the fall began during 2007-2008.

"Earlier there were no scarcity of films, and we had enough work. I made around Tk25,000 every month," she recalled her days.

But, with the fall of the industry, production of films have reduced significantly, she said adding that now competition has increased as there are too many junior artiste and lesser films.

Asked about the monthly income, Parvin said if junior artists bag the work through brokers, they end up losing 20-30 percent of their income.

Adding with Parvin, another junior artiste Shefali Begum said they get between Tk400 and Tk500 for each role. "Now we make around Tk8,000 to Tk,10000," she said.

"We get food and costumes during the shooting," Shefali added.

In addition to films, these junior artiste also cast in commercials, dramas and music videos.

"The pay in those projects were higher, but nowadays we are not getting work very frequently," Shefali also said.  

Despite the hardship, these junior artiste did not lose hope. Each one of them have a story of stepping into the industry.

While many of them wanted to be bright stars of the showbiz industry, some others only came here to earn money.

Morjina is one of the many junior artists in BFDC.

Every morning, Morjina and the others gather at Koritala and wait for work. If they get a call, they do their roles and then come back again at Koritala to wait for more calls.

"We come here every day no matter whether we get work or not. I do not feel good to pass time at home. It is a matter of passion, once anybody enters this industry, she/he cannot retreat," she said.

The Junior Artists' Association, a platform of junior artists of BFDC, is not very effective in securing rights of these people.

The members alleged that leaders of the association do not care about them.

However, they still did not lose hope. They believe that BFDC will revive again and they will have work.

However, many big stars in the sky of Bangladeshi film industry started their lives as junior artists. 

For example, Shabana started as a junior artist out of her love for films. In 1969, she made her debut as a junior artist in Notun Sur.

Then she worked in many other movies, including Talash, Abar Bonobashe Roopban and Dakbabu, as a junior artist.

Shabana appeared as a heroine for the first time in Chokori in 1967.

Razzak also worked as a junior artist in several films, including 13 Number Feku Ostagar Lane, towards the beginning of his career.

Besides, Alexander Bow, Shahin, Dilder, Sahara, Moyuri, Shanu, Suchona, Nadi, Jhumka, Jinia, Nasrin, Sonia and Shahnur were also junior artists.