Ruhul: Not necessarily. I do not consciously portray the ambiguities of British-Asian identities. I suppose it is inevitable that the complex nature of British Asian identity would be reflected in any work you do in this country. The main themes of my films are often exploring the various aspects of complexity, beauty and dreams in human life, particularly that of the Asian migrant community in England. Such aspects may include a chaos, trauma, hope and instability or disintegration of a family.          

What sort of response have you had from the Bengali community to your films?                                   

Ruhul: The majority of the people in the community have confined themselves within the world of commercial Bengali or Hindi films. So naturally I expected they would be less enthusiastic about my films. After the transmission of my feature film A KIND OF ENGLISH on Channel 4, I was shocked by the overwhelming response from every sector of the community. I discovered the painful truth that a large group of people in the community are psychologically crippled by the trauma of  migration and the hush realities of life in this country, a painful loss of their homeland, experiencing displacement and unable to cope with and confront everyday discrimination and inequality within and outside the community. There is a fear and strong reluctances to talk about anything other than the glorification of the community. They are frightened to face the reality. Their only request to me has been to paint a colorful image of the community. I cloud see a terrible frustration and alienation.              

How do you locate yourself? Do you see yourself as a British-Asian director, or a Bengali filmmaker in Britain, or do you think the question of your identity is more complex then that?

Ruhul: The question of identity is becoming more and more complex for the third generation of Asians. For me as a second generation Asian it is quite clear. By birth, I am a Bengali. By naturalization, I am a British subject and spiritually, I am an East Ender.

Who are your influences?

Ruhul: During my childhood in Bangladesh, going to cinema with the family was an exciting event. Amongst many excellent Bengali filmmakers, Subash Datta’s SUTORANG inspired me a great deal. Close to my heart is another Bengali filmmaker, Ritwik Ghatak, who was originally from Bangladesh but later moved to India. There are other filmmakers who have influenced me such as Ozu, Kurasawa, Tarkovsky and Satyajit Ray.

Most of your films are documentaries or docudrama and you mainly adopt a realist aesthetic. Why this preference?

Ruhul: A KIND OF ENGLISH is purely a fictional film based on stories taken from real characters, people around me. I suppose that working mostly with non-professional actors from the community and capturing their real life situations, created a documentary feel. But if you look at those films carefully, there is a great deal of dream and fantasy elements in them which keeps those characters alive.

Particularly in RHYTHMS and A KIND OF ENGLISH, there is minimal use of dialogue. These two films are very dependent on the image and Indian classical music. Why did you make this aesthetic choice?

Ruhul: I have a natural tendency to process information in visual terms. An idea for a film often sparks off from certain visuals, sounds or objects and specific landscapes; if they evoke poetry then they take a shape of a painting in my head. Since the cinema is a visual medium, why not use it to its full potential? A powerful image speaks better than words.

There is a sense throughout these two films of ‘let’s not talk about it’. For example, we get the repeated imagery of the women watching the men but not verbally articulating their feelings. A lot is said through the look.

Ruhul: It is to do with depicting inner emotional states. Verbalizing those spatial moments weakens the subtlety of the drama altogether. Sometimes silence is a powerful form of protest. It can be very effective. So far my efforts have been to create a multi-dimensional approach to a situation by using purely a cinematic language, which gives you an option to examine it from various angles.

You have very much offered a woman’s perspective in your films.

Ruhul: To some extent, this is true. The position of women in our community is so unjust and so fatal, that some of them would spend their whole lives in a torture chamber without leaving a trace of the fact they have led an unhappy life. This enormous strength and courage is astonishing to me. I cannot imagine any changes occurring within a society by ignoring women. The sooner we understand that the better for us.

Nearly all the reviews I have read have mentioned the gentleness of your films – and certainly there is a sense of serenity, a calmness in your work. How and why do you produce that cinematically?

Ruhul: To create a certain cinematic style begins with the conceptualization of the idea and carries through to the various stages of making the film. I tend to analyze plot carefully, its characterization, its mood and pace. Then according to that, uses of color, costumes, sets, props is taken into consideration and through lighting that specific mood is created. The composition of the shots is worked out and then a rhythm for the performance and the camera movements are maintained and later the same rhythms are achieved in the editing. Selective uses of sound effects help to enhance that particular style. I am fascinated by the mysticism of cinema. I feel there should be a mystical touch. It’s like putting your soul in there. I don’t know how, but if a filmmaker manages to do that, you can feel that, and you get a spiritual fulfillment when watching that movie. I suppose I am fantasizing unnecessarily. This could be to do with my own perception of the cinema and our dreams. 

                             Ruhul Amin and Cameraman Jonathan on the set Rythm.

How you found that your early focus on documentary films such as PUBRO LONDON and FLAME IN MY HEART subsequently pigeon-holed you with fenders of commissioning editor? 

Ruhul: Not really, in fact after completing two documentaries I was funded to do a fiction film A KIND OF ENGLISH.  

What are your opinions or experiences with Black Arts schemes or funding?

Ruhul:  At the beginning of 1980s there was a cry from the black community for proper representation in the media. Eventually they managed a few token faces here and there. There are a few black arts schemes trying to satisfy the needs of black artists, which is fine. But I don’t think we should opt out from mainstream British society. Art is not confined within black and white. Our diverse cultural background is our strength. We should gather enough confidence, technical and artistic skills be part of the mainstream British society and contribute equally.

You’ve been actively involved in filmmaking for sometimes now. How would you say (if at all) things have changed in terms of independent film production?

Ruhul: It has never been easy for independent filmmakers, in fact they are always dependent. The tendency to fund new work has died down and now funding tends to be more commercially oriented.

Is there a film you haven’t made which you would like to?

Ruhul: I feel that my serious filmmaking has not yet begun. The films I have made to date have been experiments, parts of a learning process towards making real cinema.