Screenplay is most important element of a production: Ishita

Actress Rumana Rashid Ishita said that the entertainment industry can produce much better content if it gets quality scripts by good scriptwriters, who are leaving the industry for being overworked and underpaid.

‘A screenplay is the most important element of a production. A good screenplay can enable a production to conquer the hearts of viewers. However, writers working in our entertainment industry are underpaid and overworked and as a result, many talented and aspiring scriptwriters are turning to other professions,’ Rumana Rashid Ishita told New Age.

To overcome the situation, Ishita feels that the industry needed to consider scriptwriting a full-fledged profession with substantial pays and other benefits and only then the industry would be able to rope in promising and talented scriptwriters.

Ishita is also a director and writer. She took a long break from the entertainment industry and did not act in any production for over seven years. She recently acted in an Eid telefilm named Not Out.

‘I have been busy with family matters and taking care of my son is now a priority. I do not have any plan to act regularly and will only work in selective productions. I acted in the Eid telefilm named Not Out directed by Mizanur Rahman Aryan. It was aired on NTV,’ said Ishita,

Ishita made her debut in the entertainment industry after winning the national talent competition Notun Kuri in 1988. She thinks the industry has changed a lot over the decades.

‘The industry has changed in many ways, including due to the advancement in technology, which has made consumption of entertainment contents even more enjoyable. This means the productions at home are in sync with those in the rest of the world,’ she said.

Ishita thinks that the new generation artistes are more talented and blessed as they stand to enjoy the benefit of technology.

‘Compared with the new generation, I feel that we were underprepared. The new generation artistes have a better understanding of what is going around in the global entertainment industry and can prepare themselves accordingly,’ she said.

Ishita also thinks that there is an element of speed in everything the new generation of artistes do as it has deeply been ingrained into the collective psyche.

‘Back in our days, we were taught to take things slowly and steadily. The new generation wants to achieve everything very quickly, which is not possible in any fields of creative work,’ she observed.

As Ishita came into the limelight after winning a talent hunt competition, New Age asked her why such competitions are not producing enough new young talents. ‘Before the pandemic, a lot of talent hunt competitions were held on a regular basis and they were producing young talents. The difference is that we used to take time to master a particular skill. Whereas the new generation simply does not have the time and patience,’ she replied.

She has not yet acted in OTT productions. However, she said that she will act in OTT productions if the situation favours her and the right script comes her way.

‘OTT platforms became popular a few years ago in other parts of the world but the Bangladeshi audience became familiar with this platform during the Covid-19 crisis. My fans will see me in OTT productions if I get the right offer,’ ended Ishita.