Salman Shah: An immortal hero of Dhallywood

There are some stars who come on screen, shine, and then disappear in the stream of time. Some others remain in the hearts of the audience even after they leave.

Their acting, laughter, costumes, dialogues, or on-screen presence are rediscovered across generations. Salman Shah is one such name.

Even though it has been three decades since his death, his popularity does not seem to have waned.

Rather, as time passes, new interest, emotion, and nostalgia are being created around the dream hero of the nineties.

‘Baba Bole Chhele Naam Korbe, Sara Prithibi Take Mone Rakhbe’ -these lines of the song seem to strangely match Salman Shah’s life.

What he has done in his short career is still a separate chapter in the history of Bengali cinema.

With a sweet smile, smart presence, fluent acting, and his own fashion-all of this combined, he became the dream hero of a generation.

The afternoon that brought the country to a standstill was September 6, 1996. That Friday began like any other day but as the afternoon wore on, the atmosphere of the country changed.

When Bangladesh Television’s 5:00pm news reported that popular film star Salman Shah was no more, the entire country seemed to be stunned in an instant.

Fans could not accept the sudden death of a young man who had become the centre of love of millions of viewers in just a few years of his film career.

A shadow of grief fell all around. The news of Salman’s death also gained importance in the media at home and abroad.

After his departure, a kind of void was created in Dhallywood, for which no immediate alternative could be created.

To capitalise on his popularity, many actors were later tried to beautify Salman’s image on the screen. His style of dress, hairstyle, and behavior were all his.

But no one could replace Salman, who had captured the hearts of the audience. Because Salman was not just a hero, he was a cultural symbol representing a time.

Before becoming a hero, star Salman Shah made his film debut in 1993, with the movie ‘Keyamat Theke Keyamat’ directed by Sohanur Rahman Sohan.

This young actor, known as Emon, became a new discovery for the audience in his first movie.

After that, the name ‘Salman Shah’ gradually became a star identity. However, his appearance in the world of acting was not entirely sudden.

In the mid-eighties, he acted in a music video for the show ‘Kothar Kotha’, written and presented by Hanif Sanket. The young Salman was seen in the role of ‘Apurba’ in the video for the song ‘Naamti Chhilo Tar Apurba’.

From there, an important chapter of his journey in the entertainment industry began.

Salman Shah was born on September 19, 1971, in his paternal home in Dariapara, Sylhet. His father, Kamaruddin Ahmed Chowdhury, was a magistrate.

His mother, Neela Chowdhury, was involved in politics and music. Growing up in a cultural environment, Salman had a special attraction to art since childhood.

Salman was a trendsetter off-screen too, and the biggest feature of his popularity was that he influenced a generation not just with his acting but also with his style.

When it comes to the clothing and hairstyles of the youth in the 90s, Salman’s name inevitably comes to the fore.

Backbrushed hair, bandana on the head, T-shirt, jeans, various hats, and handkerchief on the collar or watch on the hand – almost every fashion accessory he used became a must-have for the youth.

When he went out on the street, young people could be seen with hair or clothes like Salman.

It can be said that along with acting, he himself became a fashion trend. The craze of fans surrounding him was also amazing.

Ananda Bichitra reported that such an incident happened in 1994 while he was in Cox’s Bazar during the outdoor shooting of movie ‘Tumi Amar’. A young woman tried to jump off a cliff after not getting an autograph.

When Salman noticed the matter, he quickly stopped her and convinced her not to do such a thing.

The incident is still discussed as an example of the countless fan craze surrounding Salman.

Even after his death, discussions about him on social media, reminiscing about him, or the spread of his old photos and videos prove that Salman’s popularity is not limited to a single period.

Many popular heroes have appeared in Bangladeshi films and have also been loved by the audience. But in the case of Salman Shah, the matter is a little different.

His career was short, but his impact was long-lasting. He was a star who was ahead of his time. In addition to acting, everything from clothes, hairstyles, and speech patterns to the hero’s presentation on screen had its own uniqueness.

The characters he played were also diverse – sometimes a romantic young man, sometimes a rebellious young man, sometimes a passionate lover. He left his own unique mark in each character.

Perhaps this is why he has not become old even for the new generation. Rather, thanks to social media, that dream hero is coming back to the new audience again and again.

Mystery of death, search for memory the mystery and controversy surrounding Salman’s death has also kept his memory in the spotlight.

Since his sudden death in 1996, various questions have been swirling around him – suicide or some other reason? There have been many discussions and investigations surrounding Salman’s death for a long time.

On August 9, villain actor Mohammad Ashraful Haque alias Don was arrested in connection with the hero’s death. He was arrested from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka.

On behalf of Salman’s mother Neela Chowdhury, his brother Alamgir Kumkum filed a murder case with the capital’s Ramna Police Station in October last year.

A total of 11 people, including Salman Shah’s ex-wife Samira Haque, villain actor Don Haque, were named as accused in the case.

The other accused are Samira’s mother Latifa Haque Lucy, businessman Aziz Mohammad Bhai, David, Javed, Faruk, Ruby, A Sattar, Saju and Rezvi Ahmed alias Farhad.