Bangladeshi actress Rafiath Rashid on her Tollywood film, 'O Abhagi'

I am playing the titular role of Obhagi in this film. She hails from a poor lower class family and usually women hailing from such families do not have any right to even have dreams and aspirations of their own. But Obhagi not only dreams but dares to live them and has the audacity of falling in love with none other than Yamraj (God of death) himself. The depth and expanse of the role really got me hooked and I said yes to the film to play this powerful role. The film also has a strong message and portrays women from lower and poor caste families who are exploited and oppressed by society and who never dare to dream.

Learning a new dialect for the film wasn't that difficult for me since as a Bangladeshi, speaking in various dialects comes naturally to me. What was more important was to understand Obhagi and her journey, dreams and sadness, to portray her credibly on screen.

I would say I'm not much seen anywhere because I have a full-time profession of an international development worker. I am the head of an early childhood development programme at an international organisation and my projects are all in Africa. I travel almost every month and I am also busy doing my PhD in early childhood development  at the University of Geneva. Besides that I have a child to look after, hence acting has always been secondary in my life, I don't live on acting and I am privileged to choose a film that I want to do.

I love the diversity of stories and characters that I haven't played before. I love experimenting with roles and taking up something that challenges me and intrigues me.