Popular TV director Chayanika Chowdhury was taken to the office of Detective Branch at Minto road on Friday (August 6) just after she left a talk show on Somoy TV in the capital, Nazmul Haque, additional deputy commissioner of DB Cyber and Special Crime, confirmed the news to the press.
The Report’s Showbiz team has compiled the bullet points of that interview before she got detained.
Chayanika said in the interview: “I first met Pori professionally while working on my first film. Before that, I first saw her while watching Gias Uddin Selim’s film ‘Swapnajaal.’ I was mesmerised by her performance there and watched the film twice.”
“Right then I decided I wanna work with her. When I got the script for my debut film ‘Bishwoshundori’ I knew she was perfect for the project.
“And ‘Bishwoshundori’ was a year and half-long journey before it hit theatres. Working on this project I developed a sweet relationship with her. I love that she loves a challenge and is a workaholic. She is very dedicated to her work.
“I also got to know how she does not have parents and how she takes care of her grandparents by herself. She is an amazing person. And I developed this sweet relationship with her while working with her. During and before the shoot. We shared notes on the dialogues and she used to call me whenever she cooked Khichuri or something.
“I had this sweet relation with her. She respected me very much. Addressed me as ‘Mom’ or ‘Maa.’
“My career is now more than 20-years-long in this industry and I have the same respectful relationship with everyone I have ever worked with. People trolled me without understanding the whole context,” the director said.
After this television interview, she was again stopped by journalists. She condemned the journalists who edited out her and statements and made it seem like she had no relationship with Pori. Which led to the online harassment and trolling of her after the raid at Pori Moni’s Banani home on August 4 afternoon.
She also answered the online trolls who were asking why she was with Pori during press conferences in June but not beside Pori after the raid.
The popular director replied that after the raid she was in law enforcement custody. If she were not then she would have been there.
She also reminded the press that she was always beside her casts and crew in her 20-year-long TV and film career.
She also clarified that these allegations against her were her personal matter which Pori never shared with her and she respects the country’s law and law enforcement agencies and waiting to see where this investigation will go.
After making these statements she was detained by DB police while leaving the Somoy TV building.
Pori Moni made headlines in June after demanding justice on Facebook after she was allegedly subjected to torture at Ashulia’s Dhaka Boat Club on June 8. Chayanika, whom Pori addresses as ‘Mom,’ was seen beside her during the press conferences the Dhallywood star held at that period.
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) raided Pori Moni’s Banani home on August 4 afternoon following a viral Facebook live drama from the starlet’s verified Facebook fan page. She was later on detained.
Chayanika was recently under online scrutiny for not being seen beside Pori after she was detained.
Pori also recently signed the contract to star in Chayanika’s upcoming web film ‘Ontorale.’
Pori was also the star of Chayanika’s debut film ‘Bishwoshundori,’ co-starring with popular actor Siam Ahmed.
Out of the 30+ films in her career, ‘Bissho Shundori’ is known to be the second commercially successful film of Pori along with acclaimed filmmaker Gias Uddin Selim’s ‘Swapnajaal.’
Chayanika detained
"Pori Moni revealed the name of a female director during her interrogation. After their face-to-face interrogation, DB will verify whether the director was Chayanika," DB officials told the press after they detained Chayanika from Panthapath today (Friday, August 6).
However, no clear allegations against the popular female director were made by the law enforcers at the time of writing this report.
A few hours later Pori's personal costume designer, Jimmy, was also detained by DB police.
Members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested Pori Moni and her friend, producer-director Nazrul Islam Raz, among others on Wednesday.
A mini bar was found at Pori Moni’s Banani residence where she regularly arranged parties, according to RAB.
They seized 33 bottles of different types of foreign liquor, more than 150 used foreign liquor bottles, yaba tablets, LSD and “ice” from Pori Moni’s home.
According to RAB, the syndicate run by Pori and Raz used to host DJ parties in several upscale areas, including Gulshan and Banani, and supply illegal drugs, using the parties as a cover.
Chayanika, Bangladesh’s most reputed female director
Chayanika made her debut as a TV director in 2001 with the drama 'Shesh Belay'.
Chayanika Chowdhury is married to Arun Chowdhury, a popular writer and journalist. The couple has a daughter named Anulekha. Chayanika Chowdhury's sister Tamalika Karmakar is a popular television and film actor.
Chayanika Chowdhury has also received several awards in recognition of her work as a director and TV producer. These include the Cultural Reporters Award in 2003 and the Best Critic Award from the Cultural Journalists Forum of Bangladesh in 2004.
She also received a special award in 2010 from the Charunidam Institute of Acting and Research.
