Khan Ataur Rahman (known as Khan Ata; 11 December 1928 – 1 December 1997) was a Bangladeshi film actor, director, producer,

screenplay writer A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. T ...

music composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

, and singer, best known for his role in the film ''

Jibon Theke Neya ''Jibon Theke Neya'' () is a 1970 Bengali-language Pakistani film directed by Zahir Raihan. The film is a political satire based on the Bengali Language Movement under the rule of Pakistan metaphorically, where an autocratic woman in one family sy ...

'' (1970). He received the

Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Screenplay The Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Screenplay ( bn, বাংলাদেশ জাতীয় চলচ্চিত্র পুরস্কার শ্রেষ্ঠ চিত্রনাট্যকার) is one of the highest fi ...

for the films ''Sujon Sokhi'' (1975) and '' Danpite Chhele'' (1980). He was awarded

Ekushey Padak Ekushey Padak ( bn, একুশে পদক; lit. "Twentyfirst Award") is the second highest civilian award in Bangladesh, introduced in memory of the martyrs of the Bengali Language Movement of 1952. The award is given to recognize contribut ...

posthumously in 2003 by the

Government of Bangladesh The Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশ সরকার — ) is the central executive government of Bangladesh. The government was constituted by the Co ...

Early life and education

The son of Ziarat Hossain Khan and Zohra Khatun, who lived in

Singair Upazila Singair ( bn, সিঙ্গাইর) is an upazila of Manikganj District in the Division of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Geography Singair is located at . It has 44151 households and total area 217.38 km2. Demographics As of the 1991 Bangladesh ce ...

Manikganj District Manikganj ( bn, মানিকগঞ্জ ) is a district in central Bangladesh. It is a part of the Dhaka Division, In 1845 AD it was at first declared as a sub-division. It was at first, under Faridpur district (Faridpur Zila) then it was in ...

, Rahman was born on 11 December 1928. When he was a student in class three, he won the first prize of the Dhaka Zilla Music Competition. He rendered the song ''Mon paban-er dinga baiyya''. Rahman attended

Dhaka Collegiate School Dhaka Collegiate School is a secondary school in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is one of the oldest schools in Bangladesh. The students of collegiate school are called Collegiatian. History The school was established in Dhaka on 21 June 1835 as Dhaka E ...

Dhaka College Dhaka College ( bn, ঢাকা কলেজ also known as DC) is the oldest secular educational institution of Bangladesh located in Dhaka. It offers higher secondary education ( HSC). It has Honours and Masters programs as well which are af ...

, and

Dhaka University The University of Dhaka (also known as Dhaka University, or DU) is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the oldest university in Bangladesh. The university opened its doors to students on July 1st 1921. Currently it ...

, completing a Bachelor of Science degree. Rahman was extremely obsessed with films. After enrolling in

Dhaka Medical College Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (abbreviated DMCH) is a public medical college and hospital located in Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh. It houses medical school as well as a tertiary care hospital on one campus. The country's first eve ...

, a career he later decided not to pursue, he made an attempt to escape from the family home and join the film industry. He had only Taka 60 in his possession at the time. His brother-in-law spotted Rahman in the Rail Station and he was forced to return home. As a result of Rahman's bohemian attitudes, he left Dhaka University in 1949 and ran away from home for the second time. This time he went to

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the '' de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the sec ...

(present-day

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

). He started frequented the film industry and slept on the side walks. He met Jyoti Studio's cameraman Jal Irani, who gave Rahman the chance to work as an apprentice but it was not satisfying enough for him.

Career

In 1950, Rahman went to

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former ...

and took a job as a

News Presenter A news presenter – also known as a newsreader, newscaster (short for "news broadcaster"), anchorman or anchorwoman, news anchor or simply an anchor – is a person who presents news during a news program on TV, radio or the Internet. ...

for

Radio Pakistan Radio Pakistan serves as the national public broadcaster for radio in Pakistan. Although some local stations predate Radio Pakistan's founding, it is the oldest existing broadcasting network in Pakistan. The network was established on 14 August ...

. Here he met with another notable Bengali media personality, Foteh Lohani. At this time, Khan Ata started taking music lessons from renowned Pakistani ''Sarnagi'' player Jawahari Khan. After some days Foteh Lohani moved to London. In 1952, Khan Ata went to London as well. There he performed as a singer and actor in several Bengali programs. He met with artist

SM Sultan Sheikh Mohammed Sultan ( bn, শেখ মহম্মদ সুলতান; 10 August 1923 – 10 October 1994), popularly known as S M Sultan, was a Bengali decolonial artist who worked in painting and drawing. His fame rests on his striking ...

and helped him with his savings to buy art supplies. Rahman and his companions also made arrangements for displaying and selling Sultan's paintings. In 1953, Rahman enrolled in the Theatre department at

City Literary Institute City Lit is an adult education college in Holborn, central London, founded by the London County Council in 1919, which has charitable status. It offers part-time courses across four schools and five "centres of expertise", covering humanities an ...

. Rahman studied in the Netherlands when he was awarded a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. I ...

fellowship in 1954. Thereafter, he worked as a teacher in London but also took to the stage for several years. In 1956, he returned home and starred in a film called Jago Hua Severa directed by AJ Karder. He played many roles with notable Bengali actress Tripti Mitra. In 1963, Rahman made his directorial debut with the film ''Anek Diner Chena'', and continued making many notable films like '' Nawab Sirajuddaula'' (1967), ''Sat Bhai Champa'' (1968), ''Arun Barun Kironmala'' (1968), ''Abar Tora Manush Ho'' (1973), ''Sujon Sokhi'' (1975), ''Ekhono Onek Raat'' (1997). In addition to acting, Rahman was a songwriter with over 500 compositions, some of which remain popular.

Personal life

Rahman married three times. When he was in London, completing a higher course in

Cinematography Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of Film, motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens (o ...

, he met an Englishwoman named Shirley and married her. On their return to Bangladesh and after having a child, they got divorced. Shirley returned to London with the child. Then Khan Ata married

Mahbuba Rahman Mahbuba Rahman (; born 3 March 1935) is a Bangladeshi singer. She worked in the film industry during 1950s and 1960s. She was the playback singer of ''Mukh O Mukhosh'' (1956), the first Bengali language feature film produced in erstwhile East Paki ...

. They met in a radio station. They had a daughter named Rumana Islam, a Bangladeshi singer. In 1968, Rahman married

Nilufar Yasmin Nilufar Yasmin (13 February 1948 – 10 March 2003) was a Bangladeshi singer of Nazrul Sangeet, Rajanikanta Geeti, Dwijendra Geeti and Atul Prasdi genre. She was the fourth of five Yasmin sisters of Bangladesh music. Her siblings are Farida ...

, a Bangladeshi singer. They had a son,

Agun Khan Asifur Rahman Agoon, known as Agun is a Bangladeshi musician. The son of actor Khan Ataur Rahman and singer Nilufar Yasmin, he is notable for songs like "''Baba Bole Chhele Nam Korbe''", "''Amar Shopno Gulo''" and "''O Amar Bondhu Go''". Ca ...

, who is also a Bangladeshi singer.

Filmography

As director

As actor

As composer

Awards

* Pakistan Film Festival Award *

Nigar Award The Nigar Awards ( ur, , translit=Inʿām Negār, lit=Picture Awards) were presented in an annual award show to recognize outstanding achievement in Pakistani cinema. The honors are awarded by Nigar Magazine founded in 1948. The Nigar Awards ...

* International film festival awards at Moscow and

Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of ...

(1975, 1980) * Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Lyrics (1980) *

(2003)

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

* * * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rahman, Khan Ataur 1928 births 1997 deaths People from Manikganj District Dhaka College alumni Dhaka Medical College alumni 20th-century Bangladeshi male actors Bangladeshi film directors Bangladeshi male film actors 20th-century Bangladeshi male singers 20th-century Bangladeshi singers University of Dhaka alumni Best Screenplay National Film Award (Bangladesh) winners Recipients of the Ekushey Padak Best Lyricist National Film Award (Bangladesh) winners Best Music Director National Film Award (Bangladesh) winners Best Music Composer National Film Award (Bangladesh) winners 20th-century screenwriters Dhaka Collegiate School alumni