Alamgir Kabir (film maker)

Alamgir Kabir
Born (1938-12-26)December 26, 1938
Rangamati, East Bengal (now Bangladesh)[1]
Died January 20, 1989(1989-01-20) (aged 50)
Alma mater Dhaka College
University of Dhaka
Oxford University
Occupation film maker
Spouse(s) Monjura Begum (1968-1975; divorced)
Jayasree Kabir (1975-1989; death)
Children 2 daughters and 1 son
Awards Independence Day Award (2010)[2]

Alamgir Kabir (December 26, 1938 – January 20, 1989) was a Bangladeshi film director and cultural activist.[3] Three of his feature films are featured in the "Top 10 Bangladeshi Films" list by British Film Institute.[4]

Early life and education

Kabir was born on 26 December 1938 in Rangamati. His parents originally hailed from Banaripara Upazila of Barisal. He completed the matriculation in 1952 from Dhaka Collegiate School and the intermediate in 1954 from Dhaka College. After completion of bachelors from the Dhaka University in Physics, he went to England to study Electrical Engineering at Oxford University at the age of 22.[1]

Career

During his stay in Oxford University he came across the The Seventh Seal by Ingmar Bergman. He watched it several times and became attracted to filmmaking. He went to British Film Institute to complete a number of courses on the history of the film industry, film direction and aesthetics.

He also got involved with the Communist Party of England and became a reporter of the Communist Party newspaper, the Daily Worker. In the early 60s, Alamgir went for guerrilla warfare training in Cuba.[1] As a reporter of the communist daily, he took interview of Cuban President Fidel Castro.[3] He also took part in the wars of liberation of Palestine and Algeria.[1] Alamgir was the founder of organisations such as East Pakistan House and East Bengal Liberation Front at London and was active in the campaign against racial discrimination.

In 1966, Alamgir came back to Dhaka. The Ayub government imprisoned him for his involvement with the leftist movement. Later, he started his professional life as a journalist. With the start of the war of independence in 1971, he joined the Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra as the chief of its English section. He also worked as the chief reporter of the Bangladesh government in exile. This period also marks the start of his directorial life with the making of documentaries.

After the war of independence, he started making feature films. During 1981-82 Alamgir was the Co-ordinator of the Film Appreciation Courses organized by the Film Institute, Government of Bangladesh.

Alamgir drowned at Jamuna River at Nagarbari ferrighat when returning from Bogra after attending film seminar on 20 January 1989.[1]

Filmography

Feature films

Short films

Awards

Personal life

Kabir married Manjura Begum in 1968. After separation from her, he got married to actress Jayasree Kabir in 1975. He had two daughters, Elora and Ajanta.[1] Sohrab Lenin Kabir is his only son.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ananta Yusuf (2014-02-04). "Between Politics, Cinema and Art". The Daily Star.
  2. ↑ "List of Independence Awardees". Cabinet Division, Government of Bangladesh. Retrieved 2012-11-29.
  3. 1 2 Hossain, Ayub (2012). "Kabir, Alamgir". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  4. ↑ "Top 10 Bangladeshi Films". British Film Institute. 2007-07-17. Archived from the original on 2009-05-27. Retrieved 2015-10-17.

External links


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