Aly Zaker laid to rest

Ekushey Padak-winning thespian and popular television actor Aly Zaker was buried at Banani graveyard following a namaz-e-janaza after Asr prayers on Friday.
The actor died at 6:45am while undergoing treatment for COVID-19 at United Hospital in the capital. He was 76.
He was earlier admitted to Bangladesh Specialised Hospital. As his condition improved, he returned home on November 22.
Aly Zaker was taken to the United Hospital on Tuesday after his condition again worsened, Quddus said.
Aly Zaker’s widow Sara Zaker said that he tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday and was admitted to United Hospital in the day.
The actor also had been suffering from cancer, diabetes and other health complexities for the last few years.
The body of the veteran actor was taken to the Liberation War Museum at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in Dhaka at about 11:30am. His body was kept there for an hour. Different socio-political and cultural organisations placed wreaths to his coffin. He was given state honour at the museum.
His body was then taken to his office Asiatic 360 Media Agency in Banani.
Aly Zaker is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.
Aly Zaker was born on November 6, 1944 in Chattogram. He attended different schools at Feni, Khulna, and Kushtia until his family settled in Gendaria, Dhaka in 1954.
He then studied at St Gregory’s High School in Class IV.
Between 1972 and 2019, Aly Zaker directed 15 plays and acted in 31 theatre productions, including several productions that were box-office hits. Those include Sath Manusher Khonje, Kopenik-er Captain, Galileo, Nurul Diner Sarajiban, Macbeth, Achalayatan, and Dewan Gazir Kissa. His performances in the role of Nurul Din, Dewan Gazi, and Galileo earned huge acclaim.
He also adapted many plays of the popular western dramatists Moliere, Anton Chekov, William Shakespeare, Bertolt Brecht, Edward Albee, and Carl Zuckmayer.
He won several awards including National Academy of Performing Arts Award in 1977, Sequence Award of Merit in the category of outstanding theatre personality in 1984, and EkusheyPadak in 1999 for his contribution to the country’s theatre.
He also won Critics’ Circle of India Award for outstanding direction and acting in 1984 for his seminal contribution to the theatre in Bangladesh.