top of page
Poster with Laurels low-res.png

AWARD WINNING FILM-MAKING

CREATIVES 

Original Story by

Leesa Gazi

Screenplay by

Leesa Gazi + Aanon Siddiqua

Directed by

Leesa Gazi 

Director of Photography

Xoaher Musavvir

Associate Producer

Mohammad Rafi Sumon

Executive Producers

Elizabeth D. Costa

Krishnendu Chattopadhyay

Chief Assistant Director

Nazmul Huda

Art Director

Shihab Nurun Nabi

Costume Designer

Tania Rahman

Location Manager

Ali Ahsan

On-Location Sound

Nahid Masud

Head of Tech +
On-Location Editor

Alex Unai

Music Director

Sohini Alam
Oliver Weeks

CAST 

Aanon Siddiqua

Amirul Haque Chowdhury  Jayanto Chattopadhyay

Naila Azad Nupur

Lutfar Rahman George

Iresh Zaker

Kazi Ruma

Kamrunnahar Munni 

Mugdhota Morshed Wriddhi

Nimur Rahman Apon

Ensemble actors from Kushtia

SOUNDTRACK VOCALISTS

Momtaz Begum
Moushumi Bhowmik

Laisa Ahmed Lisa

Sohini Alam

Sahana Bajpaie

Shibu Kumar Shill

Baby Akhtar
Shumel Chowdhury
Aanon Siddiqua

A HOUSE NAMED SHAHANA

Dipa is fierce. She is quirky. She is truthful. She is a 'menace'. She is a woman who takes control of her own life, defying social stigma and the burden of family honour. Is Dipa a total misfit? Who decides?


Shahana's daughter Dipa asks her tailor to stitch deep pockets on her burkha. The young waiter at the tea stall worships the ground she walks on; the maid at home revels in her affection; the widowed college teacher's heart is in turmoil. Yet her family considers her a disgrace and a menace to society.

"This girl's surrounded by water"

 

An enigmatic remark made by a random older woman portends disaster, but though Dipa sinks, she never drowns.

 

This is the story of Dipa, a divorced woman who lives in a small town in 90's Bangladesh. Raised by a weak and ineffectual father and stepmother, Dipa is strictly controlled by her uncle. Having committed a teenage indiscretion, she is forced to marry a widower in England, over a trunk call niqah. Dipa subsequently suffers abuse, escapes, and persuades her parents to let her study. Seven years later, she is a qualified physician. A transformed and confident Dipa creates a future on her own terms.

Director Leesa Gazi, on A House Named Shahana:
 

"Being a divorcée myself in '90s Bangladesh, I experienced enormous social stigma and observed how divorced women were outcasts in their own homes and society in general. Through this film, I want to tell Dipa's story. She does not accept what is decided for her by others and fights back. I know other women like Dipa too. Dipa's story emerges from actual events.

 

The premise of 'Baarir Naam Shahana' lies in its honest storytelling, every character in the film appears from our surroundings. We know them, find them in our homes, family, society. I want the camera to play a silent role in this film by capturing whatever unfolds before it without manipulating the storytelling. There will be no special effects or gimmickry. Through truthful performances, I aim to make the audience empathise, resonate with the characters, laugh and cry with them and be entertained. It will be a triumphant film."

bottom of page