Joy-Kushum reunite after 15 years

After a long gap of 15 years, Shahriar Nazim Joy and Kushum Shikder are set to share the screen once again. Once a popular on-screen pair with a noticeable chemistry, the two drifted apart over time. Breaking that hiatus, they will now reunite—not in a television drama, but in the web series "Paap Kahini 2", which is being directed by Joy himself.

Joy said the three-episode series is being made for Eid-ul-Fitr and centres on the proverb, "Greed leads to sin, and sin leads to death." He described acting in such a story as a deeply rewarding experience for him as a professional artiste.

Both Joy and Kushum began their journeys in the entertainment industry nearly two decades ago. Kusum became Lux–Anandadhara Photogenic Champion in 2002, the same year she made her acting debut in "Biye'r Angti", where Joy was her co-actor. They went on to work together regularly in several television dramas. Kushum later stayed away from TV dramas for around eight years, and it has been nearly seven years since the duo last appeared together on the small screen. During that time, Kusum also focused on big-screen projects.

Recalling their early days, Joy said he had been Kushum's co-actor in her first drama, adding that working together again after so many years would be a special experience.

Joy himself had taken a break from acting at one point before returning to the spotlight through hosting. He later regained recognition as an actor with a series of OTT projects on platforms such as Chorki, iScreen and Hoichoi, including "7 Number Floor", "Guti", "Papkahini", "840", "Jimmi" and "Ammajan". After spending five months in the United States, he recently returned to Bangladesh and said several new projects with established directors are in the pipeline, most of which are expected to be released around Eid.

Expressing her excitement, Kushum Shikder said she and Joy started their careers around the same time and have grown together as artistes. Working with old co-actors, she noted, always feels special due to the mutual understanding and shared journey.

"Paap Kahini 2" is being produced for the OTT platform iScreen. Shooting is set to begin in the last week of this month. The series will also feature Runa Khan and Ashna Habib Bhabna.