Lesson 2/44 min
Zahir Raihan
Profile
- Born 19 August 1935, Feni; childhood name Mohammad Zahirullah
- Novelist and film director; known as Bangladesh's greatest filmmaker
- Took part in the Language Movement and the 1969 mass uprising
- His elder brother was the martyred intellectual Shahidullah Kaiser
- Disappeared at Mirpur on 30 January 1972
Watch out: One source gives 1933 and another 1935. Reliable sources and the Bangla Academy biographical dictionary say 1935.
Main films
| Film | Detail |
|---|---|
| Kokhono Asheni | His first film as director |
| Kancher Deyal (1963) | Won the Nigar award |
| Sangam (1964) | Pakistan's first full-length colour film (in Urdu) |
| Jibon Theke Neya (1970) | Based on the 1952 Language Movement; first use of the national anthem |
| Stop Genocide | A Liberation War documentary |
| Anowara, Behula, Sonar Kajol (1962) | Other films |
| A State is Born, Let There be Light | Documentaries linked to the Liberation War |
Watch out: One book calls Sangam “Bangladesh's first colour film”. According to sources it was Pakistan's first full-length colour film; Bangladesh was not yet independent.
Novels
- Arek Falgun (1969) — the first Language Movement novel
- Shesh Bikeler Meye, Borof Gola Nodi
Check yourself
In which film was the national anthem first used?
At a glance
- 1
Zahir Raihan was born in 1935 in Feni and disappeared on 30 January 1972.
- 2
Sangam (1964) was Pakistan's first colour film.
- 3
Jibon Theke Neya (1970) is based on the Language Movement and first used the national anthem.
- 4
Kancher Deyal (1963) won the Nigar award; Stop Genocide is a Liberation War documentary.
- 5
His novel Arek Falgun appeared in 1969; his elder brother was Shahidullah Kaiser.