Afroza Sultana Ratna (known by her stage name Shabana) is a Bangladeshi film actress. She earned a total of ten Bangladesh National Film Awards. Her national film award-winning roles were in ''Janani'' (1977), ''Sokhi Tumi Kar'' (1980), ''Dui Poisar Alta'' (1982), ''Nazma'' (1983), '' Bhat De'' (1984), ''Apeksha'' (1987), ''Ranga Bhabi'' (1989), ''Moroner Pore'' (1990) and ''Achena'' (1991). Across her three-decade-long career, she appeared in 299 films. She co-starred with Alamgir in 130 of them. In 1981, Shabana attended the 12th Moscow International Film Festival where she met actress

Natalya Belokhvostikova Natalya Nikolayevna Belokhvostikova (russian: Ната́лья Никола́евна Белохво́стикова, July 28, 1951 in Moscow, USSR) is a retired Soviet and Russian actress. She was awarded the title People's Artist of Russia in 19 ...

. Shabana starred in the film Bhat De for which she received the National Film Award as Best Actress in 1984 and attended the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

. Shabana served as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and helped with vaccination campaigns against polio in Bangladesh in 1988 and 1989. She was photographed with fellow UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador actress,

Audrey Hepburn Audrey Hepburn (born Audrey Kathleen Ruston; 4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993) was a British actress and humanitarian. Recognised as both a film and fashion icon, she was ranked by the American Film Institute as the AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars, t ...

, in 1989. In July 2017, Shabana was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by Prime Minister for her contribution as an actress to the Bangladeshi Film Industry.

Early life and career

Shabana's family has originated in Dabua,

Raozan Raozan,gohira ( bn, রাউজান) is an upazila of Chattogram District, in Chattogram Division, Bangladesh. It was established in 1947. Geography Raozan has 45,777 households and a total area of 246.58 km2. The two main rivers ...

area in

Chittagong Chittagong ( /ˈtʃɪt əˌɡɒŋ/ ''chit-uh-gong''; ctg, চিটাং; bn, চিটাগং), officially Chattogram ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম), is the second-largest city in Bangladesh after Dhaka and third largest city in B ...

. She started her acting career co-starring with Pakistani actor

Nadeem Nadeem (also spelled Nadim or Nedim; ar, نديم) is an Arabic masculine given name. It means "best friend of the drinker" "companion", "confidant" or "friend". Originates from the plural word "Nadama""نَدامَى" which means, drink to forg ...

in Urdu film ''

Chakori ''Chakori'' ( bn, চকোরী ur, چکوری), is a Pakistani Urdu feature film. This film was released on 22 March 1967 on Eid-ul-Azha Day in Dhaka, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). The film was directed by Captain Ehtesham. It was Nadeem' ...

'' in 1967. She acted in 299 films in Bengali and Urdu, and one in Hindi titled '' Shatru'' where she starred with Indian actor

Rajesh Khanna Rajesh Khanna () (; born Jatin Khanna; 29 December 1942 – 18 July 2012) was an Indian actor, film producer and politician who worked in Hindi films. He is called as the "First Superstar of Hindi cinema", he consecutively starred in a record ...

in 1986. The film was directed by

Pramod Chakravorty Pramod Chakravorty (15 August 1929 – 12 December 2004) was an Indian Hindi film producer and director. Career Chakravorty is best known for directing Hindi film classics like ''Ziddi (1964 film), Ziddi'', ''Love in Tokyo'', ''Tumse Achcha Kau ...

. She acted with Nadeem, Razzak,

Bulbul Ahmed Bulbul Ahmed (born Tabarruk Ahmed; 4 September 1941 – 15 July 2010) was a Bangladeshi actor and director. He won the Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Actor award three times for his roles in the films ''Shimana Periye'' (1977), '' Badhu Bi ...

Prabir Mitra Prabir Mitra (born 18 August 1941) is a Bangladeshi film actor. He won Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film '' Boro Bhalo Lok Chhilo'' in 1982. He also won the 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award. ...

, Shawkat Akbar, Subhash Dutta, Rahman,

Syed Hasan Imam Syed Hasan Imam (31 August 1871 – 19 April 1933) was an Indian politician who served as the President of the Indian National Congress and was elected in September 1918.Ujjal Ashraf Uddin Ahmed Uzzal (known by the stage name Uzzal; 28 April 1946) is a Bangladeshi film actor, producer and director. In the film, he made his film debut with Subhash Dutta directed film ''Binimoy''. In addition to acting in the film, he al ...

, Zafar Iqbal, Alamgir,

Jashim Abul Khayer Jashim Uddin (known professionally as Jashim; 14 August 1950 – 8 October 1998) was a Bangladeshi film actor, producer, action director and a freedom fighter. He acted in more than 200 films and is known as the first action hero of ...

ATM Shamsuzzaman Abu Taher Mohammad Shamsuzzaman ( bn, আবু তাহের মোহাম্মদ শামসুজ্জ়ামান; 10 September 1941 – 20 February 2021), better known as known as ATM Shamsuzzaman, was a Bangladeshi film and telev ...

, Khasru, Sohel Rana, Mahmud Koli,

Ilyas Kanchan Idris Ali (born 24 December 1956; known by his stage name Ilias Kanchan) is a Bangladeshi actor and activist. He appeared in more than 350 films during the 1980s and 1990s. He earned Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Actor for his role in t ...

Wasim (actor) Mesbahuddin Ahmed (23 March 1947 – 18 April 2021), known by his stage name Wasim, was a Bangladeshi film actor. In 1964, he was crowned as 'Mr. East Pakistan' for bodybuilding in the then East Pakistan (currently Bangladesh). He also served ...

Humayun Faridi Humayun Kamrul Islam (known as Humayun Faridi; 29 May 1952 – 13 February 2012) was a Bangladeshi actor and drama organiser. He worked in television dramas, movies and theatre plays. He won Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Actor for his ...

, Javed Sheikh and

Shabana-Nadeem pair

Shabana first acted with Pakistani film actor

in her debut Urdu film

in 1967. Her performances in the films Anari, Chotey Sahab, Chand aur Chandni and Chand Suraj, an experimental film with the first half devoted to the relationship between Waheed Murad and Rozina and the unconnected second half focused on Shabana and Nadeem, received international critical acclaim. She resurfaced in Pakistani movies during the 80s, when co-productions among South Asian countries became popular, including roles in Basera (1984) and Aandhi (1991), both co-starring Nadeem. She also starred in the Pakistan-Turkey co-production ''Halchal'' with Javed Sheikh in 1986.

Personal life

Shabana retired from acting in 1998 and immigrated to the United States to live with her family members. She has been married to Bangladeshi film producer Wahid Sadique since 1973. They have two daughters and one son. Her daughter graduated from Yale and attended Harvard University for her doctoral work. Her son works in finance.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shabana Living people 1952 births People from Chittagong Bangladeshi film actresses Pakistani film actresses Actresses in Urdu cinema Actresses in Hindi cinema Bangladeshi expatriate actresses in India Best Actress National Film Awards (Bangladesh) winners Best Actress Bachsas Award winners National Film Award (Bangladesh) for Lifetime Achievement recipients Best Supporting Actress National Film Award (Bangladesh) winners 20th-century Bangladeshi actresses