The actor's 2nd death anniversary observed
Razzak was born on January 23 in 1942 at Nagtola in Taliganj of Kolkata. His parents fondly addressed him as Raju and sometimes Raja. He loved acting from his schooldays. He also worked on stage those days. He first stood in front of the camera for the film "Shilalipi".
Marking the occasion of his 2nd death anniversary, the artiste's family arranged a programme which includes offering prayers at the actor's graveyard at Banani and milad Mahfil. Also, to commemorate and pay homage to the legendary actor, various socio-cultural organisations including Bangladesh Film Artiste and Directors Associations placed floral wraths on the actor's grave at the Banani. Various organisations arranged programmes including discussion highlighting his remarkable life and works. Several satellite television channels and Bangladesh Television aired his widely-popular movies to pay tribute to this legend of Bengali cinema.
Razzak was the youngest among three brothers and three sisters. Despite losing his father Akbar Hossain and mother, Nisarunnesa at a young age, he motored on to study at Kolkata, became a part of Rongo Shobha Natya Dal (led by Chhabi Biswas), and even went to Mumbai to get a diploma at the Filmalaya film institute in 1961. But the beginning, his dream wasn't too smooth. Despite doing a few films in Kolkata, times were hard and he came to Dhaka in search of a better life. In 1964, he moved to Dhaka and met Abdul Jabbar Khan, producer of the film "Mukh O Mukhosh". He later got a job at the production house Iqbal Films with the help of Jabbar.
However, acting was his forte and within a short span of time, he became the most popular face in the film industry. In the middle of his career, he got the title of 'Nayak Raj' from Ahmed Zaman Chowdhury, editor of Chitrali. Later, he made his directorial debut with the film "Chanpa Dangar Bou".
Razzak's career took off with a mold-breaking role, and by the time he became the first action hero of the country with Zahirul Haq's "Rongbaj" in 1974. Even though Razzak was enjoying the height of his popularity, Razzak kept pushing his limits, playing the role of a security guard in 1978 film "Oshikkhito" and of a school assistant in Azizur Rahman's "Chhutir Ghonta", highly unusual for an industry-ruling leading man. Razzak made his directorial debut in 1977 with the film "Ononto Prem", which he closed with a kissing scene with Babita that was unthinkable at the time. The film was eventually released without that final scene. Despite his hero days coming to a decline in the mid-eighties, he went on to act and direct films into his later ages, many under his own production company Rajlokkhi Productions - named after his wife.
Some of his notable works are "Abirbhab", "Bashori", "Etotuku Asha" "Nil Akhasher Niche", "Je Agune Puri", "Moinamothi", "Dwip Neva Nai", "Sharalipi", "Ashikkhit", "Chutir Ghanta" and more.
Besides his monumental success as an actor, Razzak also had a pioneering career as a producer and director. He emerged as producer with the film Akankha in 1976 and debuted as a director with his film Ononto Prem in 1977. He established his own production company Rajlokkhi Productions and made several films from the banner.
Razzak was elected goodwill ambassador of Unicef as the first Bangladeshi film artiste. He was also the founding president of Bangladesh Film Artistes' Association.
Razzak, throughout his versatile career, won Bangladesh National Film Award five times as for best actor for his roles in the films Ki Je Kori (1976), Ashikkhito (1978), Boro Bhalo Lok Chhilo (1982), Chandranath (1984) and Jogajog (1988).
He was awarded the Independence Day Award in 2015 by the Government of Bangladesh. He was also awarded several lifetime achievement awards, most notably Indo-Bangla Kala Music Awards (2003), Bachshas Awards (2009), Meril Prothom Alo Awards (2014) and Tele Cine Awards in Kolkata (2017). He went on to become the first Bangladeshi actor to be a UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador. Razzak later founded the Bangladesh Film Artistes' Association.
August 21 marked the 2nd death anniversary of actor Abdur Razzak.
The writer is a freelance contributor.
