Entertainment Report :
Popular actress of two Bengal, Jaya Ahsan received a government grant of Tk60 lakh for the production of a movie in 2020-21 financial year. Mejbaur Rahman Sumon, renowned director of movie ‘Hawa’, is supposed to direct the movie titled ‘Roid’.
After three years, the director and producer said that the
movie ‘Roid’ will be made
without government funding, in a new arrangement.
Jaya Ahsan has already returned the first installment
of the grant. Earlier, director Amitabh Reza Chowdhury returned the grant money in
the same financial year.
Md Saiful Islam, Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, verified the reimbursement of Jaya Ahsan’s funds.
He said, “Jaya Ahsan has expressed her intention not
to continue with the film. She has refunded the money
received in the initial payment.”
When questioned about the timing of the money’s return, Saiful Islam clarified that along with the refunded initial payment, a letter was included with an invoice. However, they haven’t received the letter yet, so
he couldn’t confirm when Jaya Ahsan returned the money.
Regarding the reimbursement of the grant money, director Mejbaur Rahman Sumon said, “The casting process, location selection, and even my own busy schedule have all contributed to delaying the commencement of the project. We received the grant two years ago, and the deadline for submitting the film has already passed. Many have
faced criticism for not being able to complete and submit the movie on time. Neither Jaya nor
I wish to face such criticism. Therefore, we decided to return the grant money. However,
given the circumstances, we may require additional time
to complete the movie.”
Director Sumon emphasised that despite returning the
grant money, the movie is still in progress under a different arrangement. He said, “Returning the grant money doesn’t imply that the film project is being abandoned. I have already finalised the pre-production tasks. The film will be produced under our own company, Facecard Production.”
When asked whether Jaya would still be involved as
producer of ‘Roid’ despite the grant being returned, Sumon replied, “We haven’t discussed this with Jaya yet. I’ll be able to confirm whether she’ll be a producer of the film or not later. Our last conversation only revolved around the grant. We both agreed that we rushed into making the film, which we didn’t want to do.”
Jaya Ahsan could not be reached for further discussion on the matter. Now she is in India promoting another movie.