Legendary film actor and dancer Javed, a prominent figure of the golden era of Dhallywood, has passed away. He breathed his last on Wednesday at around 11:30am at a hospital in Uttara, Dhaka, after a long battle with illness. He was 82 and had been suffering from cancer.
The news of his death was confirmed by his wife, actress Dolly Chowdhury. She said that Javed’s physical condition deteriorated critically in the morning. A few days earlier, he had been brought home from the hospital, where his treatment was continuing.
Doctors and two nurses were regularly visiting him at home. On Wednesday morning, the nurses informed the family that his body had become cold. He was then taken to the hospital by ambulance, where doctors declared him dead.
Former general secretary of the Bangladesh Film Artistes’ Association, Zayed Khan, also confirmed the death of Javed in a Facebook post. He wrote, “Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un. Popular Bangladeshi film hero Javed Bhai passed away this morning (Wednesday).
He had been ill for a long time. He was widely praised for his outstanding performance in the film ‘Nishan’ and gifted audiences with many other superhit films.”
Javed’s real name was Raja Mohammad Ilias. He was born in 1944 in Peshawar, then part of British India. Later, he moved with his family to Punjab. He began his journey in the film industry in the 1960s as a choreographer. He first worked as a dance director in the Urdu film ‘Malan,’ directed by Kaiser Pasha.
Javed started his acting career as a hero with the release of the Urdu-language film ‘Nayi Zindagi’ in 1964. Over the course of his career, he acted in nearly 200 films and also worked as a dance director in more than 100 films.
Some of his notable films include ‘Malka Banu’, ‘Nishan’, ‘Onek Din Age’, ‘Shahzadi’, ‘Kajol Rekha’, ‘Saheb Bibi Golam’, ‘Norom Gorom’, ‘Tin Bahadur’, ‘Chandon Diper Rajkonna’, ‘Ajo Bhulini’, ‘Chorer Raja’, ‘Shaheb Bibi’ and ‘Zalim Rajkanya’, among many others. His performance in Nishan remains particularly memorable for audiences.
In his personal life, Ilias Javed married actress Dolly Chowdhury in 1984.
As a rare combination of actor, dancer, and choreographer, Javed will remain a memorable figure in the history of Bangladeshi cinema. His death has cast a shadow of grief over the film industry.
