Afzal Chowdhury named Babita and went to the land of no return

Entertainment Report :

Afzal Chowdhury, the cinematographer behind the timeless cinematicmasterpiece ‘Jibon Theke Neya’, died.

On Thursday, he breathed his last in a hospital in the capital.

He was 92 years old. Sources from his family have confirmed that Afzal Chowdhury died due to age-related ailments.

Bangladesh’s internationally renowned actress Babita was named ‘Babita’ by Afzal Chowdhury and his wife.

Afzal Chowdhury used to work with Babita’s elder sister actress Suchanda’s husband Zahir Raihan.

When Zahir Raihan was looking for an actress for his movie ‘Jwolte Suruj Ki Niche’, Afzal Chowdhury told Zahir Raihan, “The heroine is in your house.”

At that time, however, Babita was acting in movies using her family name ‘Poppy’. She also acted in a drama titled ‘Ekti Kolom’.

According to Afzal Chowdhury, Zahir Raihan nominated Poppy as the heroine for the movie ‘Jwolte Suruj Ki Niche’.In this movie, Afzal Chowdhury and his wife Farida Akhtar named ‘Poppy’ as ‘Babita’.

Although the movie was not released but Babita worked one after another.

Hailing from Sirajganj, Afzal Chowdhury’s journey into the world of photography began during his childhood.

In 1950, he ventured to Bombay with aspirations of pursuing a career in filmmaking.Afzal Chowdhury’s professional career started in 1960 with the movie ‘Aur Bhi Gum He’ in Karachi, Pakistan.

However, his path took a significant turn when he received an invitation from esteemed filmmaker Zahir Raihan to work on the movie ‘Kancher Deyal’.

Relocating to Dhaka, he began his journey as a cinematographer in the city.

His talent extended beyond his collaboration with Zahir Raihan.

Apart from his iconic work in ‘Jibon Theke Neya’, he worked in movies such as ‘Sangam’, ‘Bahana’ and ‘Aayna’.