The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

Film artistes, makers, producers and directors at a memorial meeting remembered the late superstar Salman Shah and his performances.

Speakers said though Salman Shah spent a very short time in the film industry, he dominated the filmdom by virtue of his performances.

The meeting was held at the Zahir Raihan Colour Lab Auditorium of Bangladesh Film Development Corporation (BFDC) in the city yesterday.

Salman Shah Smriti Parishad organised the meeting in association with Asian Satellite Television Audience Rights Movement (ASTARM), Bangladesh Journalist Welfare Association, Only Entertainment and Media Vision to mark the 12th death anniversary of Salman Shah.

ANM Badrul Amin, Managing Director of BFDC, was present as chief guest, while M Hamid, CEO of Rtv, Mosharraf Hossain Chowdhury, DMD of Boishakhi TV, Redwan Khondaker, Managing Director of Abdul Jabbar Khan Film and Drama Institute, Salam Mahmud, President of Television Reporters Unity of Bangladesh (TRAB), Golam Morshed, film producer, Sonia Hossain, litterateur and lyricist, Roksana Bilkis, dramatist, SM Shafi, General Secretary and Suraiya Rahman Moni, President of the Salman Shah Smriti Parishad, among others, spoke at the meeting. Rafiquzzaman, Director of Abdul Jabbar Khan Film and Drama Institute, chaired the meeting.

After the discussion, a film acted by Salman was screened and Salman Shah memorial award was given.

Shahriar Chowdhury Imon, who used Salman Shah as a film name, was a superstar. The name, Salman Shah, evoked an era in the Bangladeshi filmdom. In the early 1990s when the country's film industry remained stagnant and when vulgarism and weak-script movies ruled the industry, Salman entered the film industry in a spirit vibrant with promise. The ailing film industry witnessed a real romantic hero and welcomed a new era in the romantic film genre with his appearance.

In 1993, when the film industry found Salman, a superstar of modern Bengali films, for the first time observed with the blockbuster 'Keyamat Thekey Keyamat.' Directed by Sohanur Rahman Sohan, the film was the remake of the Indian blockbuster 'Qayamat se qayamat tak.' In his debut movie, Salman earned a niche through his mesmerising performance and quality acting skills and soon he turned into a heartthrob of the young film connoisseurs. The pair Salman and Moushumi were treated as the most popular team after Razzak-Kabori, right after the release of the film.

Salman started his acting career in TV drama. However, he came to the limelight through his first film. Apart from 'Keyamat Thekey Keyamat,' in his short span of film career he also acted in 18 other hit movies. His on-screen chemistry with his first heroine Moushumi and then Shabnur were the most wanted silver screen couples of that time. But unfortunately he died on September 6, 1996.