Arts & Entertainment May 1, 1998

By Michel W. Potts
Special to India-West

VAN NUYS, Calif. – Production is nearing
completion on the full-length tele-film, "Far Faraway," By WIN-TV, a television production company that hopes to air its first episodes on L.A. City View Channel 35 as well as several cable access channels this coming September.

Earmarked for a total of 52 episodes, the production is a multi-cultural look at a group off immigrants from the Indian subcontinent and the problems they encounter as they struggle to survive in the American mainstream. The first of 13 one hour episodes were written by filmmaker M. Jahan Hassan together with a team of scriptwriters that includes Kabir Newaz, Sumon Shaha, Kazi Mashurul Huda and Lutfun Naher Lata, all of whom also have major roles in the production.

The film depicts "what we are going through each and every day," Hassan told India-West. "Aside from immigration problems, (South Asians) also have a lot of personal problems and I wanted to develop an insight to what they are feeling."
The soundtrack for "Far Faraway," performed by both local and well known artists from the continent, has been dubbed into several languages, including English, along with accompanying videos, and is set for release shortly.

Originally from Dhaka, Hassan founded the parent company of WIN-TV, Expose Communications, in 1991 to supply both hardware and software to the audio text industry in Southern California. Dismayed by the quality of many of the films aimed at Indian audiences, he decided to set up WIN-TV as a subsidiary.

Since 1995 WIN-TV, a full service media facility, has been launching productions in Asia, South America and the Middle East, with many of the programs in the local dialects, and is currently broadcasting in the United States in both English and Spanish, said a press release. To further rectify the problem of poor quality programming, Hassan decided to study film at the Hollywood Film Institute and become a filmmaker himself. "Far Faraway" is his first production since graduating last year. Also slated to go onto production in the immediate future are the television series "Pathar," "Proloye" and "Deshantar," written by the same team of writers who collaborated with Hassan on "Far Faraway."While WIN-TV’s initial productions are targeted for the South Asian audiences both here and overseas, "in another year or two we are thinking of having something for the American market," confided Hassan, who also announced plans for his company to acquire a 24-hour satellite television station.