Mir Syed Jafar Ali Khan Mirza Muhammad Siraj-ud-Daulah, commonly known as Siraj-ud-Daulah or Siraj ud-Daula, was the last independent Nawab of Bengal. The end of his reign marked the start of the rule of the East India Company over Bengal and later almost all of the Indian subcontinent.
Sirajganj District is a district in the North Bengal region of Bangladesh, located in the Rajshahi Division. It is the 25th largest district by area and 9th largest district by population in Bangladesh. It is known as the gateway to North Bengal.
Mohammad Zahirullah, known as Zahir Raihan, was a Bangladeshi novelist, writer and filmmaker. He is most notable for his documentary Stop Genocide (1971), made during the Bangladesh Liberation War. He was posthumously awarded Ekushey Padak in 1977 and Independence Day Award in 1992 by the Government of Bangladesh.
Sumita Devi also known as Nilufar Begum was a Bangladeshi actress. In 45 years of her career, she acted in around 200 films and 150 radio and television dramas. She was an artist at the Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra in 1971.
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.
Supriya Devi was an Indian actress who is known for her work in Bengali cinema for more than 50 years. She is best known for her portrayal of Neeta in Ritwik Ghatak's Bengali film Megha Dhaka Tara (1960). She was conferred the Filmfare Award and the BFJA Award twice. In 2011, she received the Banga-Vibhushan, the highest civilian honour in West Bengal. In 2014, she was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India, the fourth highest civilian award in India, for her contributions to the entertainment industry.
Bahadur Shah Park, formerly known as Victoria Park, is a historically significant urban park located in Old Dhaka, Bangladesh. Developed in the 19th century, it commemorates the soldiers who died during the Indian Rebellion of 1857 against British colonial rule. Named after the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah II, the park features several monuments and serves as a historical landmark and a popular recreational area for locals.
Chowdhury Muhammad Shahriar Emon, known by his stage name Salman Shah, was a Bangladeshi film and television actor and model. Referred in the media as the "Prince of Bangladeshi Cinema", "Hero of Heroes" and the "First Superstar of Modern Dhallywood", he is widely regarded as one of the most popular, influential and iconic figures in Bangladesh's film history. Shah appeared in 27 films in a short acting career of three years, many of which were successful. He first gained attention for his debut film, Keyamat Theke Keyamat (1993), and in the following three years appeared in leading roles in a series of commercially successful films, including Bikkhobh, Denmohor, Shujon Shokhi, Shopner Thikana, Ei Ghor Ei Shongsar, Sotter Mrittu Nei and Anondo Osru which established him as one of the most sought after leading men in the industry. Subsequently, he became the highest paid actor in the industry. Three of his films, Shopner Thikana, Sotter Mrittu Nei and Keyamat Theke Keyamat are among the top ten highest grossing films of all time in Dhallywood box office.
Alamgir Kabir was a Bangladeshi film director and cultural activist. Three of his feature films are featured in the "Top 10 Bangladeshi Films" list by British Film Institute.
There have been numerous works of art created as a result of the Bangladesh Liberation War. In 1971, a concert was organized by members of the British rock band, The Beatles, in support of Bangladesh. The songs recorded for and broadcast on Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra are still considered to be the best of Bangladeshi protest songs.
Cinema of West Bengal, also known as Tollywood or Bengali cinema, is the segment of Indian cinema, dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Bengali language widely spoken in the state of West Bengal. It is based in the Tollygunge region of Kolkata, West Bengal, India. The origins of the nickname Tollywood, a portmanteau of the words Tollygunge and Hollywood, dates back to 1932. It was a historically important film industry, at one time the centre of Indian film production. The Bengali film industry is known for producing many of Indian cinema's most critically acclaimed global Parallel Cinema and art films, with several of its filmmakers gaining prominence at the Indian National Film Awards as well as international acclaim.
Akash Ar Mati is a 1959 black and white film directed by Fateh Lohani and produced by Film Development Corporation (FDC). It was the first sound feature produced in East Pakistan including post-production, though like Mukh O Mukhosh, the first Bengali-language film made in East Pakistan, it used some cast and crew from the West Bengal film industry.
Amit Hassan is a Bangladeshi film actor and his actual name is Khandar Saifur Rahman. He was elected secretary general of the Bangladesh Film Actors' Association in 2015. In its review of 2011 cinema, The Daily Star included Amit Hassan among "Other stars that deserve mention". In January 2015 Hassan participated in a strike of Bangladeshi film artists against the screening of the Indian film Wanted in Bangladesh, calling for a boycott of Bangladeshi theatres showing the movie.
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.
Sayani Gupta is an Indian actress who appears in Hindi films. A graduate from the Film and Television Institute of India, she made her feature film debut in 2012 in Second Marriage Dot Com. She has since appeared in supporting roles in films such as Fan (2016), Jolly LLB 2 (2017) and Article 15 (2019). She essayed the role of a blind Pakistani-Bangladeshi lesbian activist named Khanum in Margarita with a Straw opposite Kalki Koechlin.
Hemen Gupta was an Indian film director, producer and screenwriter in Hindi language films and Bengali language films.
Sukumari is a 1927 short film, the first ever made film based in Dhaka, British India, initiated by enthusiasts from the Nawab family of Dhaka. Inspired by their encouragement, Ambuja Prasanna Gupta directed this experimental short silent film in 1927. The actors and crew were all residents of Dhaka, and it was their first experience in filmmaking. Consequently, the producers, director, actors, and entire crew of this film are considered the pioneers of film production in Dhaka, and thus, in Bangladesh.
Khwaja Mohammad Ajmal was one of the pioneers of the Bengali-language films during the British Indian era. He was associated with early silent Bengali films such as Sukumari (1927) and The Last Kiss (1931). He was a member of the Nawab family of Dhaka.
