As Actor Ferdous Ahmed was asked to leave India on Tuesday night on allegationss of visa rules violation, the fate of his ongoing Tollywood projects has been left hanging in the balance.
The actor allegedly campaigned for Trinamool Congress’ (TMC) Raiganj candidate Kanaia Lal Agarwal on Sunday, thus violating visa norms. Among his projects, the most prominent one is ‘Datta’, a film based on the novel by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay.
The actor was supposed to portray the role of Bilash, the Nirmal Charkraborty directorial. When asked how Ferdous’ exit from the country will affect his film, Nirmal said they haven’t reached any decision yet. “We are monitoring the situation closely. Everything depends on how things turn out for Ferdous,” the director added.
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Almost 10 percent of the film’s shoot, which began in Bolpur last week, has been done. Ferdous had shot for two days out of his threeday schedule in the first leg of the shooting.
The rest was put on hold till June due to elections and to buy more time to get the costumes ready for the period drama. Nirmal said he would not mind postponing the shoot further, if required. Meanwhile, based on a report by the Bureau of Immigration regarding visa violations by the star, the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs has ‘blacklisted’ Ferdous as the visa allocated to the actor did not allow him to participate in political campaigns.
“In case Ferdous doesn’t get a visa and is unable to work in the industry, we will have to think of replacing him. But as of now, we are not taking a decision,” Nirmal added. Ferdous’ acting career spans two decades.
The National Award-winning actor has worked in more than 15 Tollywood films opposite Rituparna Sengupta and Rachna Banerjee, among the many projects he has done.
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He was also part of Srijit Mukherji’s ‘Yeti Obhijaan’. “When he first came to Kolkata, I was his closest associate. I am sure he wasn’t aware of the rules and regulations and did this unknowingly. However, he should have been more careful,” Nirmal said, adding that he is really worried about his project’s future.
