I was used as a trump card: Rozina after Artistes’ Association election defeat

Veteran actress Rozina has alleged that she was “used as a trump card” during the recent Bangladesh Film Artistes’ Association election after losing her bid for an executive committee member’s post.

Rozina contested the election from the panel led by Shiba Shanu and Joy Chowdhury. Speaking to reporters at her Uttara residence on Sunday night, she claimed she had no intention of entering the race and agreed only after repeated persuasion from her panel.

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“I did not want to contest the election. Joy emotionally convinced me to run because my presence would demonstrate that senior artistes were backing their panel,” she said.

“I was used as a trump card. They should never have pressured me into contesting only to have my dignity compromised in this way.”

The actress also alleged that she was sidelined throughout the campaign.

“I was not regularly involved, and I believe they planned things in a way that ultimately led to my defeat,” she claimed.

Questioning the conduct of the election, Rozina said she did not find the overall environment satisfactory and alleged there were irregularities in both the voting and vote-counting processes.

She also expressed deep disappointment over what she described as the declining culture of respect at the Bangladesh Film Development Corporation (BFDC).

“The BFDC is no longer what it once was. Respect and values have steadily disappeared,” she said. “I do not know whether I will ever return to the Film Artists’ Association. But I have already told my family that after my death, my body should not be taken to the BFDC.”

Rozina said her decision was not the result of a single incident but of years of accumulated disappointment.

“There is no longer a culture of respecting senior artistes,” she said.

Recalling the late Razzak, popularly known as Nayak Raj, she said he had once expressed a similar wish that his body not be taken to the BFDC after his death.

Despite her dissatisfaction with the Artistes’ Association, Rozina said she would still attend government programmes or Producers’ Association events if required, but has no desire to visit the BFDC for routine occasions.