Tasnia Farin: Why would anyone decide when an actress should marry?

Tasnía Farin has recently spoken out about gender inequality in the entertainment industry during an interview with Anandabazar Patrika. The actress, who was earlier set to star opposite Dev in "Projapoti 2" but could not due to visa complications, has now travelled to Kolkata to discuss a new film with acclaimed filmmaker Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury. Chanchal Chowdhury is also expected to feature in the project. This time, however, Farin faced no visa hurdles.

During her visit, Farin attended the premiere of Koel Mallick's film "Swarthopar" alongside Chanchal and Aniruddha. While she is usually reserved about discussing the inner workings of the Bangladeshi entertainment industry, the actress did not shy away from addressing prevalent disparities in her recent interview.

"My journey has been very tough. It takes us women a long way to negotiate even a small increase in payment, while a new male actor can raise his fee after just two films — and that demand is accepted," said Farin. "Even in female-centric films, actresses are confined within specific, clichéd narratives — either about oppression or women's rights. Nobody seems to want to explore beyond that. When these films fail to perform at the box office, the blame goes to the genre itself. But how can they succeed if you don't provide the right budget or story? Male-led films don't face these shortcomings."

Farin also spoke about marriage and its perceived impact on a woman's career in showbiz. "There was a time when people thought marriage ended an actress's career, but things have changed now," she said. "Why should anyone decide at what age an actress should marry? That's for me to choose. I've seen my workload increase after marriage. From Hollywood to our own industry — no one cares about an actress's marital status anymore."

Although she rose to fame through television dramas, Farin has lately been focusing more on films. Explaining her absence from the small screen, she said, "I'm not finding roles that inspire me in television, which is why I've turned my focus to films. When I worked on Atanu Ghosh's "Aaro Ek Prithibi", I was still doing television. But now, there's little left to rediscover on the small screen. Cinema satisfies that creative hunger. That's why I'm exploring opportunities in both Bangladesh and India. But that doesn't mean I'll never return to television — it's the medium that made me who I am."