‘Jaya Aar Sharmin’ set for Chorki release on September 25

Director Piplu R Khan's pandemic-era drama "Jaya Aar Sharmin" will premiere on Chorki at 12:01 am on September 25. Starring Jaya Ahsan and Mohsina Akter, the film captures the quiet intensity of two women—an actress and her house help—confined within a single home during the Covid-19 lockdown. Their fragile bond grows in silence and eventually strains under the weight of isolation and shifting relationships.

Originally released in theatres last May, "Jaya Aar Sharmin" also features Tanjim Saiyara Totini in a guest role. Piplu co-wrote the story, screenplay, and dialogue with Nusrat Islam Mati.

Jaya Ahsan on the experience

Jaya described the project as unlike any other in her career. "I wouldn't go home after shooting because my mother was there. We worked with only the essential crew—sometimes you forgot the camera was even rolling," she said. Costumes were washed, sun-dried, and ironed repeatedly by the actors themselves to ensure safety. "People who saw it in theatres said it felt real and honest. What you see on screen is the life we lived during that time."

Mohsina Akter's perspective

Mohsina praised Piplu's openness to improvisation: "Very few directors allow that freedom. After a few takes he told me everything was fine, and from then on we shaped scenes together." She reflected on the larger lessons of the pandemic: "It made me realise how small we are before nature, and how nothing is greater—or more vulnerable—than life itself. We need to value relationships and give time to family."

The film, shot in a hushed corner of Dhaka's bustling Banani area, relies on live sound with no dubbing, heightening its sense of immediacy.