Bangladesh cinema legend Sarah Begum Kabori dies of COVID-19 aged 71

Sarah Begum Kabori, whose immense acting talent made her Dhallywood royalty, has died of COVID-19 in hospital care, bringing the curtain down on one of the most revered Bangladeshi silver screen stars who became a legend in her own time.

The 71-year-old filmmaker and former MP passed away around 12:30am on Saturday, said Prof Dr Faruque Ahmed, the director at the Sheikh Russel National Gastroliver Institute and Hospital in Dhaka.

He told bdnews24.com around 12:45am that the actress-producer was on life support and pronounced dead “sometime ago”.

President M Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina have led the nation in paying tribute to the movie goddess.

The two-time National Film Award winner had tested positive for the coronavirus infection on Apr 5 and was taken to Kurmitola General Hospital.

She was moved into intensive care at Sheikh Russel hospital on Apr 8, as her condition worsened. She had also been suffering from kidney ailments and the coronavirus infection left her lungs severely damaged.

Born on July 19, 1950 in Chattogram's Boalkhali, Mina Pal (Kabori's birth name) spent her childhood and adolescence at Firingi Bazar.

She started her acting at the age of 13 with renowned filmmaker Subhas Dutta's ‘Shutorang' in 1964.

In a career spanning three decades, she also made her mark in films such as ‘Neel Akasher Neeche', ‘Mainamati', ‘Dheu-er Por Dheu', ‘Porichoy', ‘Odhikar', ‘Beiman', ‘Abak Prithibi', ‘Sonali Akash', and ‘Deep Nebhe Nai'.

In 1971, Kabori went to Kolkata where she played an important role in creating public opinion in favour of Bangladesh's independence, speaking at various meetings and events while also organising cultural programmes.

After returning to the new-born country, her focus turned to acting in films.

Kabori made her directorial debut in 2006 with the film 'Aina'. She later began working on 'Ei Tumi Se Tumi', her second film as director, with a grant from the government in fiscal year 2018-2019 but has left it unfinished.

Kabori was also avid writer and in 2016, bdnews24.com Publishing Limited (BPL) published her memoir 'Smritituku Thak'.

She made a foray into politics as well, winning the Narayanganj-4 parliamentary constituency on the Awami League ticket in the 2008 general election.