Salahuddin

Salahuddin, a successful film maker of the early era of Bangladeshi Film Industry, was born on March 30, 1926 in Noakhali, East Bengal, British India. He directed a total of five films in the 1960s, all of which were critically and commercially acclaimed. He was a science graduate. In his student life he was associated with theater and music. Then he shifted his interest towards film making. He was one of the earliest of the filmmakers who started making films in the then flourishing film industry in Dhaka. His first film was Je Nodi Morupothay (1961), released in 1961. It deals with problems faced by urban middle-class families. Shurjosnan (1962) is his next film. This film is an adaptation of a novel by Alauddin Al Azad. It created furor among the ruling government when it was submitted for censorship at that time as it depicted the struggle against the oppression over the working class. The release of the film was delayed due to the subject of the film. It was one of the best earlier films made in our country and was acclaimed by critics far and wide. Baby Islam's fine cinematography is an added attraction of the film. Salahuddin then turned his attention to a play called Dharapat, written by Amjad Hossain. He adapted the play for big screen into a film called Dharapat (1963). This adaptation along with his earlier films dealt with the themes and issues related very much to life. His next film, Rupban (1965), was a milestone in our film history. At a time when there was an influx of Urdu-language films and our Bangla cinema was facing tremendous challenge, Salahuddin came up with a folk-based story to confront it. This film is an adaptation of a popular 'Jatra' or folk theater of the same name, with melodramatic stories of kings and queens, royal families and conspiracies and so on. 'Jatra's' are often based on mythological, legendary and religious characters. Songs are an integral part of the 'Jatra's' and popular dance-interludes are an added attraction. The plot revolves around the tribulations of Rupban, who is married to Rahim Badshah (King Rahim) twelve years younger to her. When Rupban was twelve, she was married to the just-born Rahim. She has to bring him up all by herself like a mother, but she is in reality, his wife. Rahim cannot consider Rupban as his wife, as she is like a mother to him. As a result, when Rahim grew up, he became attracted to another woman called Tajel. Dealing with the 'Oedipus complex', it was really a bold step on behalf of Salahuddin at a time when our film industry was just growing up. He made another film Alo Moti (1969) in 1969. After that he bade farewell to film making. He came back for a short period of time as the directorial adviser to Harunur Rashid, his one-time assistant, in the film Megher Onek Rong (1976). Salahuddin died in Indianapolis in the state of Indiana, USA, on 26th October 2003.