Family Wanted a Doctor or Lawyer: Boby Recalls the Fight to Become a Film Actress

Actress Yamin Haq Boby may look glamorous on screen, but reaching this stage was not easy at all, she has said. After her family learned she would act in films, she was even slapped at home.

Boby began her showbiz journey with modelling. She took part in a beauty contest and won the crown. She then earned praise acting in television dramas, before entering Dhaka cinema and establishing herself as an actress.

She had nurtured the dream of seeing herself on the big screen long ago. Recalling those days, Boby says she always wished in her heart to see herself on the big screen, though she cannot remember exactly when that wish was born.

Boby preferred watching films to hanging out with friends. In her words, she was a great film lover; after returning home from school and finishing her homework, instead of chatting or playing with friends she would watch films with her father — when he returned from office or on the weekly holiday. Watching films that way, the thought of seeing herself on the big screen came to her mind.

Boby's family members wanted their daughter to become a doctor or a lawyer. Boby says everyone in the family wanted her to become a doctor — one of her sisters is now a doctor. Later the family said she should become a lawyer. But her wish was always towards cinema. For that reason her mother kept a strict watch on her, so that she could not move towards films. Later she shot TV commercials saying she was going to study at a teacher's house; but film shooting takes a long time, making it harder to hide.

Boby has also told the story of how she got the chance to work in films. She says director Iftekhar Chowdhury called her for the film 'Khoj: The Search' after seeing a telecom TV commercial she did with Amitabh Reza Chowdhury; it was Ananta Jalil's first film. She was told they needed someone physically fit, because there would be a lot of fighting. Boby thought she would give it a try.

After getting the chance, Boby gave the screen test in secret. She was later informed by phone that she had been finalised. Hearing the news, she was more worried than happy — how would she manage at home for so many days. Boby says Salahuddin Lavlu endured a lot of pressure from her family.

After the matter became known at home, Boby had to endure many slaps. She says she cried and said this would be the last one, she would not do films after this; she would do only one film in her life and never request anything again — she should be allowed to do this one. Holding their hands and feet, she persuaded the family and assured them her studies would not be harmed. That is how her film journey began.

Boby then began preparing for 'Khoj: The Search'. She started practising fighting; she has also said she would return home with pain sometimes in her leg, sometimes in her back and sometimes in her neck. The film was released in 2010.