‘It’s time to think who should be referred to as actors, models’: Actors Equity Bangladesh

UNB, Dhaka: ‘It’s time to think who should be referred to as actors, models’: Actors Equity Bangladesh
Actors’ Equity Bangladesh (Obhinoy Shilpi Shongho), a dedicated and professional organization of television actors, has issued a statement in response to the ongoing debate over the arrests of model and former TV presenter Faria Mahbub Piyasha and model Mariam Akhter Mou.

Shared from the organization’s official Facebook page, the statement has disputed the attributes or accomplishments that permitted the disgraced duo to identify themselves as actors or models.

“Nowadays, anyone who appears in the photoshoots for tailoring shops or a few billboard ads or television and online commercials doesn’t hesitate to call themselves actors or models; without having the dedication, concentration, knowledge, philosophy, preparation, social and professional responsibility and other necessary attributes that are required to become a model or an actor,” the organization said through the statement.

The organization also pointed out that many Bangladeshi actors and models have earned respect with their work and made their families proud, have received unconditional love from people, garnered social and national recognition, have become the norm for millions of people as the role models – and all these achievements often get chastised when media labels random people as models and actors when they get arrested for their misdeeds.

“Labelling random people as cultural activists, entertainment stakeholders, models or actors – their works, interest in work, social responsibility, preparation, and other factors must be examined,” the statement added.

Echoing their support to the statement, several actors and media personalities shared the post from their own Facebook profiles including Jaya Ahsan, Fazlur Rahman Babu, Sazu Khadem, Rafiath Rashid Mithila and more.

The current president of Actors Equity Bangladesh is Shahiduzzaman Selim, who is serving the organization alongside Vice Presidents Azad Abdul Kalam, Tania Ahmed, and Iqbal Babu.

Earlier, the Detective Branch (DB) of police detained model and former TV presenter Faria Mahbub Piyasha following a raid at her Baridhara residence and another model named Mariam Akter Mou from her Mohammadpur residence during a separate drive in the early hours of Sunday. Foreign liquor, shisha, yaba pills and other narcotic substances were seized from the residence, according to Police.