From Shabana-Shabnur Fan to Actress: Jeem Says Many Are Unwilling to Take a Risk on Newcomers

Maftuha Jannat, known to viewers as Jeem, has drawn attention recently for her performances in three dramas — 'Bishpakhi', 'Petrol' and 'Aha Eki Maya'. She began as a child artist, took a break in between, and returned to acting after finishing her studies.

As a child, Jeem dreamed of acting after watching Shabana and Shabnur's films. She started with dance and then worked in several advertisements as a child artist. While in class seven, she got the chance to act in the film 'Debi', directed by Anam Biswas; she appeared in the childhood flashback portion of Ranu, a character played by Jaya Ahsan.

That childhood acting journey did not continue regularly; she took a long break for her studies. She returned to acting in 2023. Her first drama after returning was 'Secret Girlfriend', directed by Babu Siddiqui. Explaining how the opportunity came, Jeem said, 'I got to know Babu Siddiqui bhai through Facebook. When he learned of my interest in acting, he gave me the opportunity. That is how it started.'

Mabrur Rashid Bannah's drama 'Jotno' remains special to Jeem. In her words, ''Jotno' is my turning point. Viewers liked the character Ira in this drama very much. Even now viewers call me by the name Ira from a distance.' As viewers liked her pairing with Arsh Khan in that drama, Sakal Ahmed made the drama 'Doshta Kar?', in which she had to portray the complex psychology of a character.

Her experience of the three recent dramas is different in each case. In 'Bishpakhi', directed by Vicky Zahed, she said she had to break through many layers of emotion while playing an ordinary girl. She believes her chemistry with co-star Jonaid Bogdadi in 'Petrol' is one reason viewers liked it. In 'Aha Eki Maya' she acted opposite Arsh Khan; the romantic drama has a mix of family atmosphere and emotion.

Explaining why viewers liked the three dramas, Jeem said audiences no longer want to watch monotonous stories and the stories of the three dramas are completely different from one another — from romance and drama to psychological thriller. In every character she tried not to overact, so that ordinary people could relate the characters to their own lives.

Jeem also spoke about the limitations she faced while making her place in acting. In her view, many directors and producers do not want to take a risk on new actors and actresses, so newcomers mostly receive offers for similar types of roles at the start, and getting diverse and strong characters is a big challenge for them. She said, 'At the beginning I too had to face such problems. Newcomers also have talent. They need to be given opportunities.'

Jeem is studying theatre arts. She believes this institutional education helps her analyse a character's mental state, social background and emotions. Alongside that, she has received training in voice modulation, correct pronunciation, delivery and body language.

On the importance of body language, Jeem said, 'Acting is not just about saying dialogues. Feelings can also be expressed through a glance of the eyes or a small gesture of the body. My theatre studies have taught me how to bring out a character's emotions without exaggeration.'

Jeem said she wants to work with all directors in the future, without naming any particular one. But she wants to give importance to diversity in choosing characters — in particular, she wishes to act in characters that have psychological complexity. She wants to portray the many shades of the human mind on screen beyond a black-and-white divide, and also to bring the stories of strong women from real life to viewers through acting.