Actors' Guild suspends Tanzin Tisha and Samia Othoi's membership indefinitely

The Actors' Guild, Bangladesh has suspended the membership of actresses Tanzin Tisha and Samia Othoi indefinitely over an assault allegation on a shooting set and the counter-statements that followed. Several attempts were made earlier to resolve the dispute between the two actresses, but none succeeded. The decision to suspend their membership was later taken at a meeting of the organisation's executive council.

In a letter sent to the two actresses on 4 October, they were informed that a show-cause notice regarding the suspension of their membership had been issued on 7 July. Neither of them replied to that notice.

The matter was also discussed at a meeting of the organisation's arbitration committee. On the committee's recommendation, the executive council meeting decided to suspend their membership. The letter was signed by the organisation's general secretary Rashed Mamun Apu and organising secretary Masud Rana Mithu.

Rashed Mamun Apu told the media that several meetings had been held to bring about a compromise between the two actresses. At an arbitration meeting, it was also decided that they would issue an apology statement and a video message. But that decision was never implemented. Two letters were sent one after another, yet no reply came. There was no response on the phone either. Later, on the arbitration committee's recommendation, the executive council unanimously adopted the decision to suspend their membership.

The dispute began on 3 March at the shooting of a drama directed by Rafat Majumder in Manikganj. That day, Samia came on Facebook Live and accused Tanzin Tisha of assault. She claimed that although the scene required her to slap Tisha lightly, Tisha slapped her hard several times, leaving her eyes and cheeks swollen.

Tisha, however, denied Samia's allegation and said the scene was performed as required by the script and the characters. The director also said the scene required both of them to slap each other. A slap landing hard during the performance may have caused a misunderstanding, he said.

The organisation said it took the tough decision to suspend their membership after several initiatives over a long period failed to bring about a compromise between the two sides.