Sheikh Hasina Wazed is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Bangladesh from June 1996 to July 2001 and again from January 2009 to August 2024. She is the daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father and first president of Bangladesh. Having served for a combined total of over 20 years, she is the longest serving prime minister in the history of Bangladesh. She was the world's longest-serving female head of government. Her authoritarian regime ended in self-imposed exile following a series of violent protests in 2024.
Humayun Ahmed was a Bangladeshi novelist, dramatist, screenwriter, filmmaker, songwriter, scholar, and academic. His breakthrough was his debut novel Nondito Noroke published in 1972. He wrote over 200 fiction and non-fiction books. He was one of the most popular authors and filmmakers in post-independence Bangladesh. Pakistani English newspaper Dawn referred to him as the cultural legend of Bangladesh.
Runa Laila is a Bangladeshi playback singer and composer. She started her career in the Pakistani film industry in the late 1960s. Her style of singing is inspired by Pakistani playback singer Ahmed Rushdi and she also made a pair with him after replacing another singer Mala. Her playback singing in films – The Rain (1976), Jadur Banshi (1977), Accident (1989), Ontore Ontore (1994), Devdas (2013) and Priya Tumi Shukhi Hou (2014) - earned her seven Bangladesh National Film Awards for Best Female Playback Singer. She won the Best Music Composer award for the film Ekti Cinemar Golpo (2018).
The Bangladesh genocide was the ethnic cleansing of Bengalis, especially Bengali Hindus, residing in East Pakistan during the Bangladesh Liberation War, perpetrated by the Pakistan Armed Forces and the Razakars. It began on 25 March 1971, as Operation Searchlight was launched by West Pakistan to militarily subdue the Bengali population of East Pakistan; the Bengalis comprised the demographic majority and had been calling for independence from the Pakistani state. Seeking to curtail the Bengali self-determination movement, erstwhile Pakistani president Yahya Khan approved a large-scale military deployment, and in the nine-month-long conflict that ensued, Pakistani soldiers and local pro-Pakistan militias killed between 300,000 and 3,000,000 Bengalis and raped between 200,000 and 400,000 Bengali women in a systematic campaign of mass murder and genocidal sexual violence. In their investigation of the genocide, the Geneva-based International Commission of Jurists concluded that Pakistan's campaign involved the attempt to exterminate or forcibly remove a significant portion of the country's Hindu populace.
Abdur Razzak, known as Razzak, was a Bangladeshi actor and film director. He was dubbed Nayak Raj Razzak, a term introduced by Ahmed Zaman Chowdhury, editor of the magazine Chitrali. Razzak won the Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Actor five times 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 acted in more than 300 Bangladeshi and Indian Bengali and Urdu films and also directed 16 films. He is considered one of the greatest actors in Bangladeshi film industry.
The Cinema of Bangladesh, also known as Bangla cinema, is a diverse and vibrant entity, consisting of films produced across various regions in Bangladesh, each contributing its unique linguistic and cultural perspective. Beyond the dominant Dhaka based Bengali-language film industry Dhallywood, which is a portmanteau of "Dhaka" and "Hollywood", Bangladesh is home to cinema in several other languages and dialects. For instance, Chakma cinema from Bandarban, Garo cinema from Sherpur, Meitei and Sylheti cinema from Sylhet, Chatgaiya cinema from Chattogram. These regional cinemas play a crucial role in preserving and promoting the linguistic and cultural heritage of the country. The dominant style of Bangladeshi cinema is melodramatic cinema, which developed from 1947 to 1990 and characterizes most films to this day. Cinema was introduced in Bangladesh in 1898 by the Bradford Bioscope Company, credited to have arranged the first film release in Bangladesh. Between 1913 and 1914, the first production company, Picture House, was opened. A 1928 short silent film titled Sukumari was the first Bengali-produced film in the region. The first full-length film, The Last Kiss, was released in 1931.
Impress Telefilm Limited is a media production house in Bangladesh, formed in 2003. The company produces film, drama, and drama serials, music videos, variety shows, magazine programmes, musical programmes, and documentaries as well as TV commercials. It was founded by Faridur Reza Sagar.
Masud Rana, better known by the stage name Shakib Khan, Bengali pronunciation:[ˈʃaːki:bxaːn], is a Bangladeshi actor, producer, businessman, occasional singer, film organiser, and media personality who works in Bengali films, both in Bangladesh and India. He is widely regarded as one of the most popular and influential figures in Bengali cinema and is considered to be one of the most successful actors in the country's history. In his career spanning about two decades and 250 films, Khan has been the propeller of the contemporary film industry, Dhallywood. As of 2022, he was the highest paid actor in Bangladesh and West Bengal.
Mamnun Hasan Emon is a Bangladeshi film actor and model. He made his debut with the 2007 film Daruchini Dip starring Riaz, Momo and Bindu. He is addressed as "King of Dhallywood" and "Superstar" and "Film Star" in the media.
Mahfuz Ahmed is a Bangladeshi television and film actor. He is also a television presenter, model and television producer. He won Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Actor twice for his roles in Laal Sobuj (2005) and Zero Degree (2015).
Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Actress is the highest award for film actresses in Bangladesh.
National Film Award for Best Director is the highest award for film directors in Bangladesh, presented annually at Bangladesh National Film Awards ceremony by the Ministry of Information. It is given in honour of a film director who has exhibited excellence directing in Bangladeshi cinema. Since 1975, the award is given annually except in 1981, 1998 and 2003. It is presented by the President of Bangladesh at a ceremony held in Dhaka.
Shahiduzzaman Selim is a Bangladeshi theatre, television and film actor. He won the Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Actor in Negative Role for his performance in the film Chorabali (2012). He is currently the president of Actors’ Equity Bangladesh. In 2023 he performed in Priyotoma, which is the highest grossing Bangladesh film of all-time.
The Bangladesh National Award for Best Film is one of the categories in the National Film Awards presented annually by the Department of Films and Publications, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information in Bangladesh. It is the highest award for films in Bangladesh. This award goes to the producers of the film and is the only category in a year. The award comprises a medal, a certificate, and a cash prize of ৳50,000.
Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress is the highest award for film actresses in a supporting role in Bangladesh.
The Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Dialogue is one of the most honourable film awards in Bangladesh. Since 1978, the awards have been given for best dialogue. The first award winner was Subhash Dutta.
The Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Editing is one of the highest film awards in Bangladesh. Since 1977, the awards are given in the category of best Editing. The first award winner was Bashir Hossain. Mujibur Rahman Dulu was awarded 8 times and Aminul Islam Mintu was awarded 4 times.
