It started with ‘Jadukor’.
In 2017, Pritom Hasan and Shahtaj Monira Hashem came together for the song’s music video. He was the singer, she was the model-actress, and a professional pairing soon became something more. A liking turned into love. Five years of dating followed.
Then came the wedding.
In October 2022, Pritom and Shahtaj married in Sreemangal in a grand celebration that seemed to give their love story its fairytale ending. Their gaye holud, wedding photographs and videos filled social media. Fans watched them go from music-video co-stars to lovers and finally husband and wife.
The relationship also had its share of cute, intimate moments that fans loved. During their first Eid after marriage, Pritom gave Shahtaj Tk50,000 as salami. She said he had been giving her Eid salami since their dating days.
“When we were in love, I received even more money as salami. This time he gave me Tk50,000. It does not matter how much he gave. It is about love,” she said.
More recently, Shahtaj said Pritom cared for her like her parents did. “I feel proud of him. I cannot manage without him,” she said.
Then, on Sunday night, 4 October, came the shock.
Pritom and Shahtaj separately announced on Facebook that they were ending their marriage and moving towards divorce.
Pritom had once recalled how ‘Jadukor’ brought them together and how, after five years of love, he proposed to Shahtaj in front of her mother.
“I have been in love with Shahtaj for five years. I have been dating her since the time of ‘Jadukor’. I proposed to her with her mother and her together,” he said.
Her mother agreed and even handed him a list of what needed to be done and when. “I said, okay. Then I married Shahtaj,” Pritom recalled.
Now, after a decade together and four years of marriage, that story has changed.
Pritom said they had mutually and amicably decided to end their marriage after realising that significant differences in their mutual understanding made separate paths better for both. He stressed that the decision was not sudden. They discussed it at length and reached it with their families’ support and consent. They are now going through the divorce process.
Shahtaj shared a similar statement. Both expressed gratitude for their shared time, memories and experiences, and said they would retain respect and good wishes for each other. They also asked friends, colleagues and the media to respect their privacy.
Neither has given a more specific reason.
Still, fans are asking: what happened?
Such shock is familiar in Bangladesh whenever a beloved celebrity couple separates. Tahsan Khan and Mithila’s separation triggered a similar reaction among people who had seen them as an ideal couple.
Every relationship has its own private story. Photographs capture moments, not the whole story. For Pritom and Shahtaj, the love, laughter and memories of a decade remain, even as their marriage ends. They have also removed their photos together from social media, quietly erasing the visible traces of a life they once shared online.
Fans may wish for a different ending, but some stories are not ours to rewrite. ‘Jadukor’ brought them together. Now, life is taking them apart.
