Samia Zaman is a familiar name as one of the most popular newscasters of now defunct TV channel, ETV. After a short absence on TV screen, she now returns, not in front of the camera but behind it. Recently, she has completed the first phase of the shooting of her debut feature film, Ranikuthir Baki Itihash.

Why the sudden change in tracks? She spontaneously responds,"It's not sudden. I developed a thirst for filmmaking a long way back in 1985. At that time I joined a film course of Chalachhitram Film Society, conducted by eminent filmmaker Morshedul Islam. Famous film personalities like Alamgir Kabir, was one of the teachers." She says with a laugh, "Accidentally, I scored top in that course." Later she went through practical training at FDC and assisted in directing the film Shuchona. Later she joined the BBC World Service in London and came back in 1999 and joined Ekushey TV. But her love for films never waned. In her own words, " All these years, I had been preparing myself to make a movie, as it is not an easy task."

Now the shooting of her debut film Ranikuthir Baki Itihash is complete and will soon be at the editing table. Ranikuthir Baki Itihash -- the unusual name suggests that it's not an ordinary, run of the mill feature film. As she says, "The story idea is mine. I can't say it is a thriller, but our filmmakers don't usually make this genre of film."

Inspired by a foreign story, this psychological mystery drama is a rarity in our film industry. According to Samia, though the country's literature is replete with many mystery and suspense stories, there is a lacuna of horror, suspense and thrillers in the film industry. This explains why she has chosen to work on this "gap". Asked about which stories inspired her, she says mischievously, "Actually I am not going to tell you any particular name; this is in fact an added mystery of my film. Let viewers find out the similarities, though the plot has been changed drastically. "

Is this going to be an art film? "No way. First of all I have a strong reservation on the divisions between art and mainstream movies. My movie is an absolute commercial mainstream film. It has mainstream actors and actresses like Alamgir, Ferdous and Poppy. It has songs, drama, suspense and thrills. But the approach is totally different and everything is shown aesthetically," says Samia.

So what's so unique about the movie? The movie revolves around a newly married couple's visit to an old nawab palace. The story unfolds with the couple discovering many uncanny incidents and in the process, revives some unknown events of the past, which would have made their lives happier if kept secret.

To capture the authentic essence of the nawabi environment, the shooting was held in an old Nawab Manzil at Tangail's Nawab Ali Hasan Chowdhury's estate. The main part of the shooting was completed in two weeks on location. "I had a very talented and efficient team in this film. The work done so far makes me positive about this venture," says Samia. Directed by Samia, the script is by Dewan Shamsur Rakib. "Maksudul Bari's expertise in camera work, Kaushik Sankar Das's innovative production design and Monidipa Dasgupta and Chandana Dewan's gorgeous costumes, music by SI Tutul and lyrics by Kabir Bakul give the film a smart look," she believes.

"I believe that the kind of story that I have chosen is in demand among a certain group of people. And as I've signed popular mainstream actors in the film, I hope that viewers from every walk of life will appreciate it. Frankly speaking, I can't afford to pick and choose my audience. And I do want to reach as many people as I can and, in the process, establish this new genre of film in the country," Samia concludes.