Rezaur Rahman draws inspiration from his days as a ‘sheep’ during internships
The recently released Chorki series 'Internsheep' follows the story of Shuvro Reza, a fresh graduate who starts his internship at a marketing agency, AgenZ, in Dhaka. Like many interns in the real world, before he can feel a sense of accomplishment – and a step closer to a permanent job – he is faced with the realisation of what a professional life truly entails.
In one episode, Shuvro pitches his very first idea to his colleagues, but when that idea is presented to the boss, another colleague takes credit for it.
"So, did you find any similarities with your own internship in the series?" he asked.
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"Sheep move together in a herd. They go wherever the shepherd tells them to. The life of an intern is like that of the sheep. Interns have no choice, and they do not have a voice. They do exactly what they are told and they must play by the rules."
Rahman recalled being an intern at a corporate office in 2015.
"It was hard enough to learn the ropes of a corporate environment, but it was harder to strike a balance between my work and personal life. These experiences went on to inspire some parts of the series," he said. "Meeting with so many different people, adjusting to the culture, while trying to make my own mark was a journey on its own. The series reflects the problems I faced during my internship."
"Colleagues taking credit for your work; office mates not including you in their social plans; getting blamed for mistakes that weren't your fault; these have happened to me several times during my internship," he added.
Rahman wanted to work in the media ever since he was a teen, but as the son of a banker, he succumbed to family pressures and studied accounting. He, however, could not stay away from a creative career. But, he soon realised that this was not an easy path.
He interned as an assistant director for a TV show that not only held back his salary for three months, but also coerced him to spend money out of his own pocket to pay vendors. Rahman wanted to strike, but he was discouraged by everyone else.
Rahman invested a lot of time and money on people in the industry, and ended up being taken advantage of. He finally found success as a Programme Producer at Qinetic Network's Daekho TV in 2018. During his time there, he directed many skits, sketches, and digital content. He even got to collaborate with artists such as Jaya Ahsan, Arefin Shuvoo, Tahsan, Jon Kabir and many more.
It was at Daekho where he met up-and-coming digital-creator, Kaarina Kaisar. Together they co-founded their very own production house, House of Chaos, in 2020, specialising in films, OVCs, TVCs and digital content.
House of Chaos' first success came with an OVC for Sweet Drops that went viral. The production house also made several other successful content, some of which went on to win national awards and international recognition, i.e. Apex Nino Rossi's Breast Cancer Awareness campaign.
"As my father is a banker, my family wanted me to follow in his footsteps. However, when I started my own production house, one of my commercials became quite popular, so much so, that it caught my father's attention," said Rahman. "He proudly said to me that filmmaking is in my blood. My father also wrote and directed several plays when he was a university student. This inspired me even further to pursue my dreams."
Even though Rahman primarily worked with commercials, at the back of his mind, he always knew he wanted to work with drama and thrillers. But, given how saturated Bangladesh's OTT platforms are with these genres, he decided to explore something new.
Rahman wanted to work with something relatable, and what's more relatable in youngsters facing the wrath of their superiors at the office? Internsheep has been receiving a lot of positive reviews on social media, particularly from young people.
