Actress Nusraat Faria sent to jail, bail hearing on May 22

Dhallywood actress Nusraat Faria has been sent to jail in connection with an attempted murder case filed at Dhaka’s Vatara Police Station stemming from an incident during the Anti-discrimination Student Movement protests.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Sarah Farzana Haque issued the order after a hearing on Monday.

Nusraat was brought to the court lock-up around 9am and taken to the court dock about an hour later.

In court, Sub-Inspector Zakir Hossain, the general registration officer at Vatara Police Station, said that the investigating officer in the case, Sub-Inspector Billal Bhuiyan, had petitioned to keep the actress in jail custody until the investigation was complete.

After the hearing, the court granted the request and ordered her to be sent to jail.

Nusraat's lawyers Farhan Mohammad Arav and Morshed Alam Shahin sought bail on her behalf during the hearing. They argued that Nusraat had travelled to Canada from Bangladesh on Jul 9, 2024, and returned on Aug 14, 2024. According to them, she supported the student-led movement that culminated in the fall of the Awami League government and had also posted about it on social media.

Representing the state, Public Prosecutor Omar Faruq Faruqi opposed the bail plea. The judge ordered that a report be submitted to clarify whether Nusraat was indeed out of the country during the incident in question and whether she had posted in support of the movement.

The next hearing on the bail petition has been scheduled for May 22, pending the report.

Nusraat was arrested on Sunday at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport as she was preparing to travel to Thailand.

In March, an individual named Enamul Haque filed the attempt to murder case at Dhaka's Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s court, accusing 283 people. The Vatara Police Station recorded the complaint on Apr 29 on the court’s orders.

Nusraat played the role of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina in the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman biopic “Mujib: The Making of a Nation”.

The film, directed by the late Indian director Shyam Benegal, was a joint production of Bangladesh and India. Apart from Nusraat, the film, which was released in 2023, also stars Arifin Shuvoo and Nusrat Imrose Tisha.

Upon receiving news of getting the role of Hasina, Faria said she could not believe she had the opportunity to portray the Awami League leader.

She said, “When I learnt of it, I felt like the luckiest person in my country. Because, no one has ever played her role onscreen before. I don’t know if anyone will do it in the future.”

“I feel that even if I never act again in the future, I have got the opportunity to play this role, which is the ultimate achievement for me.”

Faria’s career began as a radio jockey and presenter. She made her acting debut in the 2015 Bangladesh-India joint production film ”Aashiqui: True Love”.

Since then, Nusraat has acted in several films including “Hero 420”, “Badsha - The Don”, “Boss 2: Back to Rule”, and “Dhat Teri Ki”.

Nusraat is also a singer. She made her debut with a song titled “Pataka” in 2018. She has since released several other songs, including “Habibi” and “Ami Chai Thakte”, which have been released on various social media platforms, including YouTube.