As the Bangladeshi cinema industry celebrates the birthday of actress Shabana on June 15, her remarkable journey from child artiste to one of the country’s most successful and acclaimed leading ladies continues to inspire generations of film lovers.
Shabana is widely regarded as a living legend of Bangladeshi cinema, having ruled the hearts of audiences for more than three decades. Beginning her career as a child artiste in the early 1960s, she rose to become one of the most popular and commercially successful actresses of Dhallywood during the 1970s and 1980s.
Born on June 15, 1952, in Dabuya village of Raozan upazila in Chattogram, Shabana was enrolled at Gendaria High School in Dhaka, but her formal education came to an end when she was just nine years old.
She made her film debut as a child artiste in the 1962 film ‘Notun Sur’, performing under the name Ratna. She later worked as a dancer and extra in several productions, including Talash. Her early screen appearances also included supporting roles in ‘Abar Bonobase Rupban’ and ‘Dak Babu’.
Shabana’s breakthrough came in 1967 when she made her debut as a leading actress in director Ehtesham’s ‘Chokori’. Starring opposite Nadim, she gained widespread popularity through the film. It was during this period that she adopted the screen name Shabana. The commercial success of ‘Chokori’, produced in both Bangla and Urdu, helped accelerate her rise in the industry.
Director Ehtesham, who was a cousin of Shabana’s father, played a key role in introducing her to films. Although her family was initially hesitant about her acting career, her father later became one of her strongest supporters. Recalling her early days in cinema, Shabana remembered her first scene as a dialogue-based shot that marked the beginning of her acting journey.
Over the course of her career, she appeared in nearly 299 films. Her most successful screen partnership was with actor Alamgir, with whom she starred in around 130 films. She also formed popular on-screen pairings with Razzak, Farooque, Jasim, Sohel Rana and Nadim.
Among her notable films are ‘Chokori’, ‘Obujh Mon’, ‘Modhu Milon’, ‘Ora 11 Jon’, ‘Chhutir Ghonta’, ‘Jononi’, ‘Bhat De’, ‘Rajlakshmi Srikanta’, ‘Ghatak’, ‘Swami Stri’ and ‘Ghorer Bou’.
Her achievements earned her 10 National Film Awards, in addition to a Lifetime Achievement Award. She also received numerous honours from organisations including the Producers’ Association, BACHSAS, Art Forum and Lalitakala Academy.
In 1973, Shabana married government official Wahid Sadik. Together they established SS Productions, a production company that went on to back several successful films. She retired from acting in 1997, the same year her final film, ‘Ghore Ghore Juddho’, directed by Azizur Rahman, was released.
Since 2000, Shabana has been living in New Jersey in the US with her family. She and her husband have three children: Sumi, Urmi and Nahin.
