HE is a
comedian, a playback singer, a musician, a lyricist, a director, an author... the list
goes on. Above all, he is the creator as well as the compere of arguably the most popular
television magazine at present. Hanif Sanket is a household name in Bangladesh who has
carved a little nook for himself in the entertainment industry from which he amuses and
amazes, entertains and educates millions. Hugely of Ityadi fame, Hanif Sanket is versatile
in the true sense of the word, gliding from one creative medium to the other with enviable
ease. We caught up with the personality and managed to squeeze some time off his busy
schedule. Though reluctant at self-reflection he told us a bit about himself and his work.
Sanket is not too keen on talking about himself.
"I am a simple, easy-going person who is very
much aware of reality. I have no complex philosophies of life and want to lead it in a
natural way."
Was he a person with the
time?
"No and yes. I go with the time only as far my
vision and values intersect with it. Trends are followed as long as they are acceptable to
me. See if you can understand this. I would not want to be the good person among bad
people; but I would be willing to be the bad person among good people. I am also one
believing in the concept of quality and quantity. I would probably produce a single
production in several months but it would be quality material as much as possible."
The entertainment industry globally has flourished
into a profit-making business with almost everybody who is anybody churning out returns.
Sanket eyes these "artists" with a furtive glance; he will not have people
bringing together his fame with his fortunes.
"I am not one to make as much money as
opportunities present. It does not work for me that way - the position I am in now is one
with wealth just waiting to be embraced; I could have swept millions but I like to keep as
much as I need to live happily along with my family."
Profit is there, but as with every venture
attracting innovation, there has always been risk lurking in our entertainment industry.
It is indeed a risky path to expose an audience of the current standards in Bangladesh to
newer and diverse forms of entertainment. Many critics are of the opinion that recreation
in the media is either too high a "level" for the masses to enjoy or too cheap
and crude and without substance. So why did Hanif Sanket take this precarious path?
"First of all I don't think it was a risky
undertaking. In the late 1970's television was not a usual home appliance taken for
granted. It was new and could be seen at a very few places; at this time I started to get
into the entertainment arena in our country. The media is a very unique way to appeal to
the people and send across messages. Before and during the early years of my career I had
travelled to 35 countries, met peoples and cultures and saw what differences they had with
our forms of amusement. Two years of my academic life was also spent abroad so I basically
had a broader view and open mind to things. And these opportunities I put into real life;
actually what I started out with was not a complex theory or approach or anything like
that.
"The trick was to motivate people by using
tools which appealed to them. Like the daily events in their lives - they were naturally
attracted by it. My purpose was to depict our social troubles humorously so people would
take notice and try to correct them. My aim was to bring the people to you rather than go
to them. Social issues like water shortages, garbage problems and over-population had
people take them seriously when shown in a comical and funny way. Since these were issues
they could relate to easily the response was positive; many of my themes involved rural
settings like, the countryside, and so villagers had an appeal as well."
Sanket was an artist in other disciplines even
before he began work as a comedian. He was a stage performer, shifting to
"natok" (drama) where he lost interest. Films were next but that too didn't suit
Sanket due to "differences of principles and clash of views with the directors."
He also had a stint in directing and producing which were met with similar fates. There
was another reason.
"You see when I was in dramas and films I was
always aware of the fact that someone else's views and ideas were expressed through me; I
was a mere puppet being told to carry out certain scenes. This was not a way to get my
ideas, ideals, thoughts to the other side. So I decided to take up an objective of my own.
And it worked! The message got through. As I said earlier the tools were simple. The basic
social issues, the problems we face in our daily lives."
And why was the message well
received?
 "After I had won acclamation for Jadi Kichhu Mone Na Koren, people
took to me. For example when I was preaching about how we can make a difference to the
water crisis by switching off the taps when brushing our teeth, people would actually
remember me when they were brushing their teeth! 'Hanif Sanket had said not to waste water
when brushing so I will not.'"
The comedian warns, though, that his approach should
not be interpreted as lectures or sermon-like, rather it is a learning one through comical
instances.
As with all famous personalities who have some sort
of yardstick in their chequered careers, we asked Hanif Sanket about the inspiration
driving him. Surprisingly the answer was short and distinct.
"First it is part of my conscience. In the
beginning it kept telling me to do something for the people and reminding me of the
responsibilities an artist has to the society. Also in the young entertainment industry of
Bangladesh I noticed a peculiar thing. A section of society (not wanting them printed),
particularly those a bit conservative saw wit and humour as a lowly practice and unhealthy
entertainment; I had a growing feeling of rebellion against them and worked on my goal.
Another inspiration was obviously Fazle Lohani, the eminent journalist who made television
reporting popular in Bangladesh, from whom I learnt a lot."
Hanif Sanket is divided over the prevailing
standards in the entertainment industry here. It seems to him that there is enough
facilities, scope and support for the performers. But among these many are sub-standard
and so are their programmes. For audiences who enjoy wit and humour with substance there
are glaring infrastructural obstacles. For example, he opined, censorship is unregulated
and too harsh for many types of programmes.
Red tapism is the biggest harassment which can kill
off budding artists; this sort of attitude in the field of art and culture, especially, is
a threat to the healthy growth of a nation, he believes. Sanket expressed his frustrations
at the state-controlled media saying co-operation from the sector was wanting badly along
with a restructured policy to protect interests of the artists.
Not having a little discourse about the two
productions that made Hanif Sanket what he is would have been injustice indeed. So we
braced ourselves and asked him why viewers sometimes allege that present-day Ityadi might
be a cut-and-paste job of Jadi Kichu Mone Na Koren.
"These 'viewers' in question are either
disgruntled competitors or those with a personal grudge. Just compare the two programmes.
Jadi Kichhu Mone Na Koren had only a few jokes and songs in-between; the number of items
on the list was but a handful. But in Ityadi you have about 30-35 categories of jokes,
parodies, songs, focus stories and role-playing. Here we have to cater to viewers already
aware of the other forms of entertainment available on other channels. So we have a harder
task of drawing viewers to our show from the other ones. Ityadi is different and more
diverse."
The discourse was rounded up with a reflection on
the advent of satellite channels in the country. Sanket finds most of them, though not
all, airing hollow amusement and too much foreign culture.
"Apart from a very few, the other satellite
channels that do air Bangla programmes have completely alienated the packages. Plagiarism
is the order of the cyberwaves with no protection such as intellectual property rights.
Westernised anchors don't even hesitate to groove to adverse un-cultural body language.
Generally the satellite channels are not heading in the right direction."
And so Hanif Sanket ended with a message to
fulfilling his responsibilities to the people who have given him so much affection and
support. |
