Tanjin Tisha has spoken out after her membership of Abhinoy Shilpi Sangho, the association of television actors, was suspended. The association has suspended the memberships of actresses Tanjin Tisha and Samia Othoi indefinitely following a dispute between the two on a shooting set and an allegation of assault.
The actress spoke for about 25 minutes on a live broadcast from her Facebook page on Friday night, setting out her position on false campaigns on social media and the recent controversies.
‘False campaigns on social media get us criticised,’ Tisha said. ‘For those of us who want to survive through our work, that makes it hard. When you work in one place, you can disagree with many people, and there can be trouble too. But that does not mean I will go on social media first and tell everything, or tell journalists, so that someone’s career is harmed.’
Tisha also spoke about the controversies surrounding her over the past year. ‘In the last year I have seen a lot, I have even seen the sari affair,’ she said. ‘Today or tomorrow, everything will come out in front of everyone. I am just waiting for that day.’
On the incident with Samia Othoi on the shooting set, Tisha said: ‘There is a great artist in the play “Putuler Biye”. I had a problem with her. Everyone on the set witnessed that incident. What happened and what did not, everyone saw.’
Tisha played a mentally disabled character in the play. She said viewers would understand what happened that day simply by watching the scene. ‘I played the mad character. Or did someone else play a mad character? You have seen that too. Nothing was cut. Watch the scene and you will understand who really improvised. You will also understand the claim of abuse that has been made.’
After the incident, Samia Othoi accused Tisha of assault on Facebook. Abhinoy Shilpi Sangho then called both of them to an arbitration meeting. ‘Our respected figures sat as judges,’ Tisha said. ‘We sat for about five hours and discussed the whole incident. Why it happened, what happened, everything was heard. I have the notice of that meeting too, in writing.’
Tisha also described the arbitration’s decision. ‘We were told that both of us should issue a statement apologising and send a video message. She (Samia Othoi) did not send the video. I could not send it either, for some reason. Because I defied the notice, I have been sent a letter today suspending my membership. That’s fine.’
While Tisha spoke about the suspension on Facebook Live, Samia Othoi has not given a statement. Contacted by mobile phone for her reaction, she told Dhaka Mail: ‘I am at a shoot. I will talk about this later.’
Rashed Mamun Apu, general secretary of Abhinoy Shilpi Sangho, said several attempts were made to settle the dispute but none succeeded. Under the arbitration decision, the two actresses were asked to give video messages, but neither did. Their memberships were suspended as a result.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report