Eminent filmmaker and novelist Zahir Raihan was remembered on Tuesday, 19 August, on the occasion of his 90th birth anniversary.
To mark the occasion, the Zahir Raihan Film Institute hosted a special programs in Dhaka titled “The Philosophy and Struggles of Filmmaker Zahir Raihan in the Bengali Liberation Movement.” The event featured paper presentations, recitations, musical performances, discussions, and film screenings.
Rustam Ali Khokon, member secretary of the National Education and Culture Movement, presented a paper, while participants in the discussions included Bangladesh Chhatra Union President Mahir Shahriar Reza, journalist and film critic Bidhan Riberu, Udichi Central Committee acting president Mahmud Selim, and Raihan’s son, Anol Raihan. The program was held at 5pm at Café Vintage, Vintage Convention Hall, Dhanmondi.
Born on 19 August 1935 in Majupur village, Feni district, Raihan began his education at Calcutta Alia Madrasah, India, before his family returned to Feni after the 1947 Partition. He matriculated from Amirabad High School in 1950 and began his journalism career with Juger Alo. Although he briefly joined medical college after completing his intermediate exams at Dhaka College in 1953, he eventually earned a Bachelor of Arts in Bangla from Dhaka University in 1958.
Raihan’s early career included work with newspapers such as Khapchhara, Jantrik, and Cinema, and he served as editor of Probaho in 1956. He was also one of the publishers of English Weekly Express. His literary works include Suryagrahan (1955), Shesh Bikeler Meye, Arek Phalgun, Trishna, Borof Gola Nodi, and the acclaimed Hajar Bochhor Dhore.
Raihan’s film career began in 1957 as an assistant director for Jago Huye Savera, later working with directors Salahuddin and Ehtesham. His directorial debut, Kokhono Asheni, was released in 1961, followed by groundbreaking films such as Sangam (1964), Pakistan’s first color film, and Bahana (1964), Pakistan’s first cinemascope Urdu film. Raihan went on to direct hits including Sonar Kajol (1962), Kancher Deyal (1963), Behula (1966), Anowara (1966), and Agun Niye Khela (1967), launching the careers of stars such as Nayak Raj Razzak and Babita.
An active participant in the 1952 Language Movement and the 1969 Mass Uprising, Raihan used cinema to reflect Bangladesh’s national identity, most notably in his 1970 film Jeebon Theke Neya, considered a milestone in Bangladeshi cinema. During the 1971 Liberation War, he produced documentaries including Stop Genocide, highlighting atrocities by the Pakistani army, and donated proceeds from Calcutta screenings to the Freedom Fighters Trust.
Raihan was married twice, to actresses Sumita Devi (1961) and Shuchonda (1968), with four sons: Bipul, Anol, Opu, and Topu. On 30 January 1972, he went missing while searching for his brother, writer Shahidullah Kaiser, who had been abducted and killed by the Pakistani army and its collaborators. Raihan is believed to have been killed during this mission.
For his contributions to literature and cinema, Raihan was posthumously awarded the Bangla Academy Literary Award (1972), Ekushey Padak (1977), Independence Day Award (1992), and Bangladesh National Film Awards (2005).
