Humayun Ahmed was a Bangladeshi author, screenwriter, dramatist, playwright and filmmaker. Dawn mentioned to him as the cultural legend of Bangladesh. Humayun Ahmed reached topmost of his recognition with the publication of his novel Nondito Noroke (In Blissful Hell) in 1972, which remains one of his most well-known works, winning appreciation from literary critics, including Dr. Ahmed Sarif. He wrote over 200 fiction and non-fiction books, all of which were bestsellers in Bangladesh. In acknowledgment to the works of Humayun Ahmed, Times of India wrote Humayun was a warden of the Bangladeshi literary culture whose involvement single-handedly shifted the capital of Bengali literature from Kolkata to Dhaka without any war or rebellion. Humayun Ahmed’s writing stylishness was characterized as magical pragmatism. Sunil Ganguly pronounced him as the most popular writer in the Bengali language for a century and according to him, Ahmed was even more popular than Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. Humayun Ahmed’s books have been the top sellers at the Ekushey Book Fair during the 1990s and 2000s.
Humayun Ahmed was born in Mohongonj, Netrokona, but his village home is Kutubpur, Mymensingh, Bangladesh (then East Pakistan). His father, Faizur Rahman Ahmed, a police officer and writer, was killed by Pakistani military during the liberation war of Bangladesh in 1971, and his mother is Ayesha Foyez. Humayun’s younger brother, Muhammed Zafar Iqbal, a university professor, is also a writer of frequently science fiction category and a newspaper columnist. Another brother, Ahsan Habib, is a painter and the editor of Unmade, a cartoon magazine.
Ahmed went to schools in Sylhet, Comilla, Chittagong, Dinajpur and Bogra as his father lived in various places upon official task. Humayun Ahmed passed SSC exam from Bogra Zilla School in 1965. He stood second in the merit list in Rajshahi Education Board. He passed HSC exam from Dhaka College in 1967. He studied Chemistry in Dhaka University and earned BSc (Honors) and MSc with First Class distinction.
Upon graduation Humayun Ahmed joined Bangladesh Agricultural University as a lecturer. After six months he joined Dhaka University as a faculty of the Department of Chemistry. Later he joined North Dakota State University for his PhD studies. He raised his interest in Polymer Chemistry and earned his PhD in that subject. He returned to Bangladesh and restarted his teaching career in Dhaka University. In mid 1990s he left the faculty job to dedicate all his time to writing and film production.
In 1973, Humayun Ahmed married Gultekin, granddaughter of Principal Ibrahim Khan. They had three daughters — Nova, Sheela, Bipasha and one son — Nuhash. Humayun Ahmed started to have an affair with Meher Afroz Shaon from middle of 1990s. Shaon is a TV actress and then friend of his second daughter. Later, in 2003, Humayun divorced Gultekin and married Shaon in 2005. From the second marriage he had two sons — Nishad and Ninit.
His first television drama was “Prothom Prohor” (first moment) in 1983, directed by Nawazesh Ali Khan. His first drama serial was Ei Shob Din Ratri (Tale of our daily lives). It was monitored by the comedy series Bohubrihi, the chronological drama series Ayomoy, and the urban drama series Kothao Keu Nei (There is no one in anywhere). The last one presented a fictional character of a perfectionistic gang leader named Baker Bhai, who was incorrectly condemned and executed.
Humayun Ahmed directed films constructed on his own stories. His first film, “Aguner Parashmoni”, based on the liberation war, won the National Film Award in total eight categories, including Best Picture and Best Director. The theme of the Liberation War frequently came through in his stories, often drawing upon Humayun Ahmed’s memories of that war and his father’s implementation during the war. Ahmed’s film Shyamal Chhaya was based on the liberation war of 1971.
Ahmed also wrote songs for few of his own films and plays. Some of the notables are titled as Ami Aaj Bhejabo Chokh Somudrer Joley, Chadni Poshor Ratey and Amaaar Achey Jol.
His 2012 film Ghetuputra Kamola was nominated as the Bangladeshi entrance for the Best Foreign Language Oscar at the 85th Academy Awards, but it did not create the final shortlist. In 2012 he was selected as a special adviser to the Bangladesh Mission in the United Nations.
In 2011 Ahmed had been diagnosed with colorectal cancer. He died on 19 July 2012 at 11.20 PM BST at Bellevue Hospital in New York City. He was buried in Nuhash Palli.
Source: Wikipedia
