Entertainment Desk:

When “Little Miss Chaos” premiered on Chorki, audiences were instantly drawn to Ira — a fiery, bold young woman played by newcomer Sadnima Binte Noman. Her natural, unfiltered performance captured hearts and introduced a promising new face to Bangladesh’s OTT scene.

The web film, directed by Mahmuda Sultana Rima, starred Sadnima opposite Saad Salmi Naovi. But what made her portrayal remarkable was how far-removed Ira was from the actress herself. “Rima apu told me that grooming me for Ira would be a challenge,” Sadnima recalled. “The character was bold and sassy, whereas I am, by nature, calm and soft-spoken.”

The project became a turning point in her career — one that came after an audition she didn’t even follow up on. “I gave the audition and forgot about it. Then one day, the casting director called to say that Rima apu wanted to meet me. I went after office hours, and she told me she was determined to cast me despite knowing it would take work to mould me into Ira.”

After she was selected, rehearsals began in earnest. “We did 20 days of rehearsal, and during that time, I was completely immersed in the role. That’s how Ira came alive on screen,” said Sadnima. The preparation paid off; her performance was met with critical praise, and audiences began to remember her name.

The role also left something deeper behind for the artiste. “Something that will always remain in me from Ira is that I’ve learnt people need space and a chance to start afresh. I think I’ll apply that in my own life. I’m too emotional and afraid of attachments.”

Yet, long before “Little Miss Chaos”, Sadnima’s life had already played out like a scene from a film.

It all began one ordinary afternoon in Uttara. A six-year-old Sadnima was playing with her cousins when a film crew nearby caught sight of her. “Someone from the Half Stop Down production house approached me and asked if I wanted to shoot,” she laughed. “I was told by my mother never to talk to strangers or eat anything they offer, so I was very confused. Then he said I would be on television — and I immediately said, ‘No!'”

That production was none other than Amitabh Reza Chowdhury’s. “It was Amitabh Reza himself who told his team members to go to my parents. He said, ‘She’s a kid, go to her parents!'” she shared. Her mother soon handed over some photographs, and within a month, she got her first offer.

The commercial aired, and more followed. Between 2006 and 2015, she appeared in numerous advertisements, working repeatedly with Amitabh Reza Chowdhury and other leading directors. During that time, her parents encouraged her to explore dance, singing, and art — but it was performance that truly drew her in. She learned classical dance for several years and, in 2010, made her fiction debut as the young Jaya Ahsan in Nurul Alam Atique’s “Dubshatar”.

After years in front of the camera, she chose to step back in 2015 to focus on her studies. “After 2015, I took a break to focus more on education,” she said. When she returned in 2020, she was no longer the little girl people remembered. “By that time, people had forgotten me. They knew me as a new artiste.”

She re-entered the industry through commercials, working with Adnan Al Rajeev and reuniting with Amitabh Reza Chowdhury. Then came her supporting role in Mohammad Mostafa Kamal Raz’s “Moneri Rong Rangiye” (2025), followed by her first lead role in Parthe Sarker’s “Gold Fish”, opposite Khairul Basar.

But “Little Miss Chaos” truly marked her arrival. Its director, Rima, became a mentor figure, pushing Sadnima beyond her comfort zone. “Rima apu groomed me so well that the result is what the audience loved,” she reflected. “That film changed how people saw me.”

Having worked with both male and female directors, Sadnima has observed subtle but striking differences. “I’ve so far worked with two female directors, and they are Subrina Irene and Mahmuda Sultana Rima. I want roles that challenge me, stories that have a message.”

As a newcomer, she observes that the industry still struggles with script quality. “Most of the good scripts go to big artistes,” she admitted. “For new actors like us, there aren’t enough good stories, nor chances to work with senior actors to learn from them. We’re affordable, but with budget cuts, opportunities have shrunk.”

Still, her ambitions reach far. “I want to work with Raihan Rafi, Mizanur Rahman Aryan and Jahid Preetom,” she said. “And internationally, with Imtiaz Ali and Anurag Basu — they’re my favourites.”

From a six-year-old who stumbled into the world of television to an actress creating waves with “Little Miss Chaos”, Sadnima Binte Noman’s journey is a story of quiet persistence, courage, and charm. She may be calm in nature, but as Ira taught her, sometimes a little chaos is what makes you unforgettable.