BABITA’s Fame, Glory & Prosperity

Satyajit Ray and Ibne Mizan – two directors of two different poles in terms of production style and film philosophy, but Babita’s name is found in the list of favourite actresses of both of them.

It is not an easy matter to bring these two opposing streams – the critics of Bengal and the box office of cinema – to converge. Babita has been able to do this task effortlessly, and a separate chapter has been created in the history of cinema with her name.

Just as she has acted comfortably in films that are close to life, she has also played cheaply in films full of entertainment. The rare mixture of glamour and grammar has happened in Babita, which is why her name is still running.

After crossing 73 years of life, she is now full to the brim. This is her first birth anniversary after receiving the Ekushey Padak. On July 30, on the birthday of this famous actress, Farida Akhtar Babita, we talked about the career of an elusive actress who has developed into both ‘superstar’ and ‘actress’.

Babita’s film debut is in the hands of her brother-in-law Zahir Raihan. Just as this director has won critical acclaim for making ‘Kancher Deyal’ and ‘Kokhono Asheni’, he has also won the audience’s admiration for making ‘Behula’ and ‘Sangam’.

He has given birth to several superstars and created a bunch of market-beating directors. Is it hard to imagine that the life of such a diverse and extraordinary artiste whose career path he has charted will be blessed by Lakshmi and Saraswati?

Before independence, Babita acted in movies ‘Shesh Porjonto’, ‘Taka Ana Pai’, ‘Pitch Dhala Poth’ and ‘Swaralipi’. But she became a real star under the bright sun after independence. Babita, whose dreamer Zahir Raihan was, was born at the end of the war.

This actress shone like pure gold after shaking off the star ornaments from her body. After the country’s independence, the first liberated film in 1972 became a superhit.

The name of this film by the Razzak-Babita duo, directed by Mustafa Mehmood, is ‘Manusher Mon’. After flying her flag at the box office, Babita made her caste known as an actress in ‘Arunodayer Agnisakshi’ in the same year.

Babita became a woman of Bangladesh by casting a star-like character in a film that was a harsh and harsh narrative of the liberation war organised by the members.

Through this, she started working under the direction of family master Subhash Dutt. Elder sister Suchanda’s ‘Kagojer Nouka’ was floating in the same boat, this talented artiste will also give wind to the sails of younger sister Babita’s campaign to become an actress in the coming days.

1973 was the most eventful year of Babita’s acting career. Babita got the opportunity to act in a film by world-renowned filmmaker Satyajit Ray. ‘Ashani Sanket’ raised her Jupiter to the top.

What will the life of a Dhallywood star be like after taking lessons as a student of Satyajit’s master class? Will she be able to return to the familiar path of pouring pitches? Will she be able to hit sixes on familiar pitches like before? Or will she be stuck with the title of serious cinema actress forever? Babita answered these questions in 1973.

That year, alongside Satyajit Ray’s world-famous film, Babita acted in Alamgir Kabir’s ‘Dheere Bohe Meghna’, a Bangladesh-India joint production, and Khan Ataur Rahman’s ‘Abar Tora Manush Ho’, a film about the distraught youth of the post-war motherland. That same year, Babita acted in Mohsin’s ‘Rater Por Din’.

The first film of hero Wasim was a superhit. Through this success, Babita proved that she can tie her hair even when she is angry.

Until now, the films that Babita did business with did not receive critical acclaim; and the films that did receive critical acclaim did not create a stir at the box office.

In 1974, two complementary events came together in the same film. Mita’s ‘Alor Michhil’ satisfied the critics as much as it satisfied the exhibitors.

Even after Babita’s successful marriage on screen, the film’s business did not stagnate. Such a bold portrayal of post-war Bangladesh is like a torch for future generations.

Babita exploded as an actress in 1975. ‘Bandi Theke Begum’ directed by Mohsin, ‘Aporadh’ directed by Azizur Rahman, ‘Jibon Niye Jua’ directed by Shibli Sadik were superhits.

Babita was able to put her proud signature in ‘Lathial’ directed by Mita. But everything was overshadowed by her first National Film Award. Babita was recognised as the best actress in the year of her debut.

This achievement of hers came through a huge commercial success. She satisfied both the audience and the jury equally. Of course, if someone analyzes Babita’s character arc in ‘Bandi Theke Begum’, no mystery will be revealed.

A surprise happened in 1976, when Babita received the National Film Award again. She achieved this achievement for Amjad Hossain’s ‘Nayanmoni’. Her unique performance in the role of ‘Moni’, an oppressed woman of the Bengali era, had already made her popular across the country, gaining her new national recognition.

Now Babita is like a bridge between art cinema and commercial cinema. Her films fulfill the needs of the market and also meet the demands of the industry. She is the apple of the producers’ eyes, and art lovers also look up to her. Such a ‘monikinchanjog’ (a perfect match) is the lot of few heroines.

In 1977, Babita once again broke the barriers of industry and commerce. Along with this, she made an unsurpassed record. Babita won the National Award for Best Actress for the third time in a row. She received recognition for her extraordinary performance in Subhash Dutt’s ‘Bashundhara’.

As an artiste, she left her mark of creativity in the films she made in the midst of success and crisis in her artistic career. She has acted in artistic films like ‘Bashundhara’ and has performed in blockbuster films like ‘Nishan’.

The most commercially successful movie of the 1970s, ‘Nishan’, added another feather to the crown of superstar Babita. The National Award placed her on the throne of Dhallywood as a queen.

The following year, Babita maintained her artistic spirit and stardom. On the one hand, she is giving a touching performance in one of the best Bengali language films, ‘Golapi Ekhon Traine’, and on the other hand, she is setting the box office on fire with superduper hits like ‘Sohag’ and ‘Mintu Amar Naam’.

Art critics are amazed by Babita’s duality. Just as she is mixing two streams into one, she is creating an unprecedented event by conquering the market with artistic films.

Just as her performance in role of ‘Golapi’ should be recognised as the best in the history of Dhallywood, the commercial success of this movie should be celebrated forever. Because, only Babita can say – “There is no kelash (class) in Bangladesh!”

Babita has repeatedly brought class and age together. The year she created a frenzy in the cinema as AJ Mintu’s heroine (Protigga), the same year she won the respect of critics as Amjad Hossain’s heroine (Kosai).

The year she shone in Amjad Hossain’s ‘Sundori’, the same year she showed a glimpse of beauty in Dewan Nazrul’s ‘Barud’. ‘Laili Majnu, ‘Badnam’, ‘Challenge’ – Babita has gifted Bangladesh with so many superhit films in one year.

The films are incomparable in terms of character diversity, genre differences, and display of glamour.

In between all these entertaining movies, she has worked in other films like ‘Ferari Bosonto’. The year in which she has bagged superhit films like ‘Agni Pariksha’, ‘Talak’, and ‘Lal Memsaab’, Babita has also made a life-oriented film like ‘Pension’.

The same thing happened in 1985. Just as Babita had the highest grossing film of the year, ‘Chor’, in her possession, so too had the best film of the year, ‘Dohon’. She was as fluent opposite Sohel Rana as she was in TV actor Humayun Faridi’s first film.

That year, Babita worked in glamorous movies like ‘Miss Lanka’, and at the end of the year, she won the National Film Award for Best Actress for the literary film ‘Ramer Sumoti’.

Babita has been caught in the hands of two sides of the same coin. She has resolved the conflict between art and commerce. She has connected the mainstream with the alternative.

Even after becoming Satyajit’s unmarried wife, her heart did not tremble at the sight of Ibne Mizan’s ‘Laili’. Is there any other such determined actress in Bangladesh like her?