Eight months after shooting-set slap row, Tisha and Othoi have memberships suspended indefinitely

The Actors' Equity Association, Bangladesh, has suspended the memberships of actresses Tanzin Tisha and Samia Othoi for an indefinite period following allegations of assault on a shooting set and counter-statements by both sides. The decision was announced on Friday night in two separate letters published on the organisation's Facebook page.

The organisation had previously taken initiatives several times to settle the dispute between the two actresses. Those initiatives were not successful, general secretary Rashed Mamun Apu said.

The two published letters are dated 4 October. The letters, addressed to Tanzin Nahar Tisha and Samia Akter Othoi, said a show-cause notice regarding 'suspension of membership' had been issued to them on 7 July, but neither of them submitted a reply to the organisation's office.

The letters also said the matter was discussed at an arbitration or dispute-resolution meeting of the association. In line with the decision taken there, the organisation's executive council at its regular meeting decided to suspend both actresses' memberships for an indefinite period. The letters were signed by general secretary Rashed Mamun Apu and organising secretary Masud Rana Mithu.

Samia had alleged that in a scene of the drama she was supposed to slap Tisha lightly. She said she did so following the director's instructions, but Tisha then slapped her hard several times. Her eye and cheek swelled and she had difficulty speaking, Samia claimed.

Samia also alleged that she had a personal dispute with Tisha before this. She claimed Tisha had threatened her over working with actor Musfiq R Farhan. According to Samia, Tisha introduced Farhan as her husband and warned her not to work with him. The independent truth of that allegation could not be confirmed.

Tanzin Tisha, on the other hand, denied Samia's allegations. She claimed that whatever happened on the shooting set was required by the script and the character, and that she had not hurt anyone out of personal animosity.

Tisha said at the time that she was playing a teenage girl with special needs in the drama. The character's behaviour included scenes of hitting or biting others, so she had only done what was in the script for the performance. She also said viewers would understand the context of the incident once the drama was released.

The drama's director, Rafat Mozumder, described the incident as a misunderstanding. He said the scene required both actresses to slap each other, and the situation may have become complicated because a slap landed hard during the performance.

The association issued a statement the day after the incident. It said that if a professional complication or difference of opinion arose with a member, publicising it on social media or in the media without informing the organisation was contrary to the code of conduct. It also warned that organisational action could be taken against any member who violated the code.

The suspension letters made no separate finding on the truth of the assault allegation on the shooting set. The decision was taken mainly on the basis of the failure to reply to the show-cause notice and the arbitration meeting's decision, the letters said.

No new reaction was available from Tanzin Tisha or Samia Othoi after the suspension decision. It was also not known whether they would appeal against the decision.