Made a grave mistake, was driven by emotion: Ferdous

KOLKATA:

Bangladeshi

actor Ferdous Ahmed, who was compelled to return to his country on Tuesday after his

visa

was terminated for taking part in a political campaign here, said it was an unintentional error on his part. The actor, who has also been

blacklisted

by the Indian government, participated in a poll rally on Sunday for Trinamool’s Raiganj candidate, a move not allowed on his visa.

Speaking to TOI on Wednesday from Dhaka, Ferdous tendered his “unconditional apology to the Indian government and the people of India for committing a

mistake

, which should not have taken place in the first place”. “I committed a genuine mistake, driven by

emotion

. I will request the Indian government to revoke the visa cancellation and allow me to work in India again,” he said. Ferdous held a work permit for India that was valid till 2022.

The actor, who had been visiting Kolkata for work since 1998 and made his debut in Basu Chatterjee’s ‘Hotath Bristi’, felt he got entangled in the political controversy owing to a mistake. “I had been shooting for a film, ‘Datta’, in Bolpur. From there, I went to meet a producer, Tapan Saha, in Raiganj. There, actors Payel and Ankush were participating in the rally. I got carried away by requests and joined the rally. I did not even know the candidate,” Ferdous said. “I was unaware I was committing a mistake and surely, it was not a planned participation in the road show. It was a mistake driven by emotion that led to my visa cancellation. I do not have any obligation or affiliation towards any political party in India. I am a Bangladeshi national and was keenly watching the election in India. I participated in the rally with my co-workers without thinking about the implications and had no intention to show any loyalty towards any political party.”

Ferdous pointed out he had always tried to improve the cultural ties between India and Bangladesh. The actor now planned to apply to the Indian high commission in Dhaka to get back his visa to work in India, said a source. Since he had a long-term work permit, multiple producers had contacted him for their films, said the source, adding the visa cancellation would impede Firdous’s professional career. Even the actor confirmed three films were in the pipeline.

Dipankar Mukherjee, an immigration lawyer, said the actor could only appeal to the India government to rescind the termination of his visa. “As he is a foreigner, he cannot move any court in India to get his visa and it is already a proven fact that he committed a mistake.”

Another Bangladeshi actor,

Gazi Abdun Noor

, is fearing a similar repercussion, as he was also seen in a rally for Trinamool’s Dum Dum candidate Saugata Roy, travelling in Madan Mitra’s car. The Bangladesh deputy high commission in Kolkata has cautioned him for his act. But Noor said he had gone to meet Mitra, who was a friend who had helped him during his mother’s illness. “I had no car, so was travelling in Mitra’s car,” said Noor, adding he had been visiting Kolkata since 2011 and graduated from RBU. .