Abdullah Mohammad Saad’s film Rehana Maryam Noor made history after it received a standing ovation following its screening in the prestigious Un Certain Regard section of the 74th Cannes Film Festival. This is the first Bangladeshi film to have been officially selected at the festival. The lead actress Azmeri Haque Badhon, who slayed the red carpet on Thursday in a ravishing Dhakai Jamdani with a metallic embellished halter neck blouse, spoke to us over phone from France.

Talking about the experience, Badhon said, “Saad did not let me watch the film because of the realistic darkness that it portrays. He wanted me to watch it at the world premier. While watching, I was in tears. Then came the magic moment. When the film got over, I noticed the audience had started clapping. Then they all stood up and the clapping went on for five-six minutes. An elderly French woman came and hugged me, crying.”

By her own admission, shooting for the film was a gruelling experience. “Saad is a demanding director. We gave 30-35 takes for some shots, that too after dedicated rehearsals for nine months. He was never happy at the shooting. His attitude was, ‘Kichhui hochhe na’. But then, he extracted the best from us. This film is by far the biggest milestone in my life. I don’t know if I would ever work with another worldclass director like Saad,” Badhon told us.

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