Legendary actress Jharna Basak, better known by her stage name Shabnam and celebrated as the ‘Princess of Rupnagar’, is set to appear on television for the very first time in her illustrious career.
Despite a journey spanning nearly four decades and more than 180 films, the iconic star has never before featured as a guest on a TV programme. That changes today, on her 80th birthday, with a special interview titled ‘Shabnam: Rupnagarer Rajkonna’.
The programme, hosted and directed by journalist Abdur Rahman, will air on Channel i at 8:25 pm. In it, Shabnam reflects on her extraordinary life, revisits her cinematic milestones and shares deeply personal memories.
Shabnam’s journey began as a dancer in Ehtesham’s ‘Ei Desh Tomar Amar’, before she debuted as a lead actress at just 15-years-old in Mustafa’s ‘Harano Din’ (1961). Her breakthrough came the following year with the Urdu film ‘Chanda’, which catapulted her to fame across Pakistan.
From the 1960s through the 1980s, she reigned as one of the most celebrated leading actresses of South Asian cinema. Her final screen appearance came in Kazi Hayat’s ‘Ammajan’ (1999), after which she retired from films.
Her vast body of work, spanning ‘Amar Songshar’, ‘Julie’, ‘Jowar Bhata’, ‘Naach Ghar’, ‘Nacher Putul’, ‘Sahadharmini’ and, of course, the unforgettable ‘Ammajan’, cemented her as one of the greatest stars of her era.
Loved not only as a screen icon but also as a figure audiences embraced as their own, Shabnam’s legacy remains deeply woven into the fabric of Bangla and Urdu cinema.
Her long-awaited television debut is a historic moment for admirers eager to hear the untold story of a star who defined an age of South Asian films.