Nasiruddin Yousuff

Guerrilla director Nasiruddin Yousuff Yousuff is delighted after winning the first state recognition as a film director who also won two more national awards in best screenplay and best dialogues categories jointly with Ebadur Rahman for the film. 
Despite winning 13 awards in 10 categories, Guerrilla director Nasiruddin Yousuff believes that the film should have won more awards at the National Film Award 2011, announced by government through a gazette notification.
‘This is a moment of honour for me as I got the highest state recognition as a film director and at the same time responsible as people will expect more from me,’ said Yousuff as his reaction to the success. 
‘But, Guerrilla deserves more awards. I wonder how ATM Shamsuzzaman as the supporting actor and Shimul Yousuf as the music director did not win the awards. Shapma Reza also could win the award in the best supporting actress category,’ said Yousuff questioning the transparency of the jury board as one of the jury members has been conferred with an award in the best supporting actor category.     
 Earlier, Guerrilla that depicts the guerrilla operations during the war of independence in 1971 in a large canvas won the best film award in the Asian movie category in the Kolkata Film Festival in 2011 and was also selected for the international film festivals in Moscow and Rome in the same year.
Nevertheless, on the other side of the story of success, Yousuff is now burdened with a huge debt for his big-budget film, which however, won the government grants and tax free waiver.
A frustrated Yousuff blames the dilapidated situation of the cinemas and video piracy for the business loss of the ‘quality film’.  ‘The film got appreciation in abroad and gained popularity among the viewers. In Dhaka, the shows got houseful responses in the available few quality cinemas. But most of the cinemas across the country are in so bad condition that the target viewers of the film [middle class people] don’t want to go there. So, the film failed to make the deserved turn over. And now I’m in debt as I took loan to make the film.’
Out of frustration Yousuff do not want to make any film in near future, though he told New Age in 2012 that he was planning of making another film on the war.
Nasiruddin Yousuff, chief of one of the leading theatre troupes of the country Dhaka Theatre, however, still wants to be known as a theatre director. ‘Look, there are many examples of personalities working simultaneously in two mediums. To me, theatre is my passion, while I love film. I cannot ignore my four decades of attachment with theatre. Theatre is my first love,’ Yousuff said.