Cultural activists and others on Saturday mourned the death of actor Khaled Khan, who died in a hospital in Dhaka Friday night,
by paying tribute to him.
Theatre activists and other cultural personalities crowded the Central Shaheed Minar where the body was kept for public viewing and then at the
Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy.He was buried in his parental house at Mirzapur in Tangail after two namaz-e-janazas, first after the juma prayers at the Dhaka University central mosque and the second at Mirzapur in Tangail, with his family, friends, fans and cultural personalities attending.
Khaled had a vibrant presence in almost all areas of performing arts for 30 years.
Khaled, who was the eldest among nine siblings, was born at Mirzapur in 1957. Khaled had a passion for acting from his school days when he performed in some school productions.
Later in 1976, he joined Nagarik Natya Sampraday whene he was a student of finance in Dhaka University. He quickly earned a place in the theatre arena for his acting skills, voice delivery and refined pronunciation.
He acted in almost all major productions of Nagarik Natya Sampraday, beginning with his appearance in Dewan Gazir Kissa.
‘Something about him impressed me at the beginning. He was meticulous about what he was doing,’ actor Ataur Rahman, also general secretary of Nagarik Natya Sampraday, said. M Fakhruzzaman Chowdhury, a senior member of the theatre group, said, ‘It is difficult for anyone to forget his the role of Bishu Pagla that Juba’da [he was known among his friends as Jubaraj] played in Rabindranath Tagore’s Raktakarabi and the role he played in Syed Shamsul Haque’s Irsha,’
Ataur, who was Khaled’s mentor, recollected their staging of Syed Haque’s Irsha in Kolkata. ‘The iconic Shambhu Mitra was present when we staged the play. Shambhu Mitra, who hardly made comments on someone’s performance, that day he praised Khaled a lot. He even said that he [Khaled] acts like him [Sambhu Mitra].’
Khaled was also into theatre direction, beginning with Budhadev Bose’s Kalsandhya, which won him and the production 14 awards in Bangladesh and in India.
He also directed plays such as Ibsen’s A Doll’s House and Master Builder, Tagore’s Khudita Pashan and Muktadhara, among others.
Khaled directed three plays for theatre troupe Kanthasheelan and two for the troupe called Subachan Natya Sangsad.
For Kanthasheelan, Khaled directed Putul Khela (1993), an adaptation of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House; Bhrityarajtantra (1995) and Karigar (2004).
‘As a director, he was one of the best in the country. He he was careful about every little thing in a production, from acting to pronunciation, from set to light and from music to management,’ said Golam Sarower, president of Kathasheelan, who worked closely with Khaled.
‘He was soft-spoken and friendly. He could bring the best out of an actor,’ said Monirul Islam Shipon, a member of Subachan Natya Sangsad, who acted in Rupabati and Khudita Pashan that Khaled directed.
Khaled also had a remarkable presence on television, beginning in the early 1990s. He acted in many teleplays among which Rupnagar (1994) stands out.
Many still remember Khaled as Helal the character he played in Rupnagar.
‘Rupnagar is still arguably the most famous teleplays aired on any television channels. Khaled’s acting in a negative role was the cornerstone,’ said Nadir Chowdhury, who also played a major role in the teleplay.
Other famous teleplays he acted in include Eisab Dinratri, Mafassal Sangbaddata and Kon Kananer Phul.
Khaled was also a singer and recitation artiste. He lent voice to many jingles in television advertisements.
‘An artiste of his stature is rare. He was actor, director, singer, recitation artiste and what not. Khaled will be with us forever,’ said Hasan Arif, general secretary of Sammilita Sangskritik Jote, who was a longtime friend to Khaled.
-With New Age input
