Kabori

Sarah Begum Kabori (also Kabori Sarwar; born Mina Pal,^[1] 19 July 1950 – 17 April 2021)^[2][3] was a^[4] Bangladeshi film actress and politician.^[5] Her notable films include Sutorang, Sareng Bou, Abhirbhab, Shat Bhai Champa, Sujon Sokhi and Lalon Fokir.^[3] She received the Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Actress for her role in the film Sareng Bou (1978) and Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013.^[6][7]

Kabori
কবরী
Member of Parliament
In office 25 January 2009 – 20 November 2013
Preceded by	Muhammad Gias Uddin
Succeeded by	Shamim Osman
Constituency	Narayanganj-4
Personal details
Born	Mina Pal (1950-07-19)19 July 1950 Boalkhali, Chittagong, East Bengal, Pakistan
Died	17 April 2021(2021-04-17) (aged 70) Dhaka, Bangladesh
Nationality	Bangladeshi
Spouse(s)	Chitta Chowdhury Shafiuddin Sarwar ​ ​ (m. 1978; div. 2008)​
Children	5 sons
Occupation	Actress, politician and social worker
Awards	full list

Kabori got involved into politics later in her life. She became an elected member of parliament from the Narayanganj-4 constituency as an Awami League politician in 2008 and served until 2014.^[8]

Early life

Kabori was born in Boalkhali, Chittagong, East Bengal, Pakistan.^[2] She studied until 8th grade.^[8] Her father, Krisna Das Paul, was a Bhajan singer and her mother used to recite verses from religious books. Kabori was born in a cultural based family. Her siblings knew how to dance and sing. And her brother could play the tabla.^[9]

Film career

Subhash Dutta and Kabori in the film set "Sutorang" (1964)

Kabori debuted in film industry at the age of 13. Her first film Sutorang, directed by Subhash Dutta, was released in 1964.^[10] She earned the role through the music director Satya Saha.^[9] In the film, Subhash Dutta changed the actress 'Mina's' name to 'Kabori,' which means 'bun of hair.' With her new name and appearance, Kabori quickly became a symbol of romance for the local audience through her debut in cinema.^[11] Kabori starred with Razzak in more than 20 films together since Dutta's Abirbhab in 1968; the films include Nil Akasher Niche (1969), Deep Nebhe Nai (1970), and Ka Kha Ga Gha Umo (1970).^[12]

Kabori acted in several films with Farooque in the 1970s, notably Sujon Sokhi and Sareng Bou.^[3] She also starred with Bulbul Ahmed in Chashi Nazrul Islam's Devdas (1982).^[3] She acted in the 1973 film Titash Ekti Nadir Naam by Ritwik Ghatak, an Indian filmmaker.^[3] She also acted in an Urdu film Bahana by Zahir Raihan with co-actor Rahman.^[3] She also worked with other actors including Alamgir, Sohel Rana, Uzzal, Wasim, Khan Ataur Rahman, Golam Mustafa, Anwar Hossain and A.T.M. Shamsuzzaman.^[3]

In 2006, Kabori directed the film Ayna.^[13]

Kabori authored a book titled "Sritituku Thaak".^[3]

Political career

In 2008, Kabori was elected to the National Parliament in Bangladesh from Narayanganj-4 for 9th Bangladesh Parliament. During 1971 Liberation War, she participated by donating blood to help the freedom fighters.^[5] She had fled to India during the war and worked on a film, "Joy Bangladesh", in Mumbai.^[3]

Personal life

Kabori first married Chitta Chowdhury.^[14] After the divorce from Chowdhury, she married Shafiuddin Sarwar in 1978. Sarwar is an uncle of politician Shamim Osman.^[14] The couple was divorced in 2008.^[14][15] She had five sons.^[5]

Death and legacy

After testing positive for COVID-19, Kabori was first admitted to Kurmitola General Hospital and later, was shifted to the ICU in Sheikh Russel National Gastroliver Institute and Hospital where she died on 17 April 2021.^[16][3] She had been working on a film titled Ei Tumi Shei Tumi since 2019. ^[17]

The 1969 Ka Kha Ga Gha Umo film was shot in Chuadanga. The crew stayed at a house called Setab Manzil. The road around the house started going by the name Kabori Road after Kabori which became official in February 2017.^[18]

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Director	Co-artists	Ref(s)
1964	Sutorang	Jorina	Subhash Dutta	Subhash Dutta
1965	Bahana		Zahir Raihan	Rahman, Garaj Babu	[19]
1967	Heeraramon			S. Akbar, Anwara, Siraj, Jeshiri, Sadiq Nabi	[20]
	Momir Elo		Kazi Khaliq	Razzak, Siraj, Anwar, Jalil, Chitra, Wahida	[20]
	Sat Bhai Champa		Khan Ataur Rahman	Azim, Raj, Attiya, K. A. Khan	[20]
	Bashori	Radha	Abdul Jabbar Khan	Razzak
1968	Abirbhab		Subhash Dutta	Razzak	[21]
	Arun Borun Kiranmala			Azim
	Soeey Nadya Jage Pani		Khan Ataur Rahman	Syed Hasan Imam, Rosy Afsari, Jalil Afghani	[22]
	Chorabali		Ismail Mohammad	Rozi Afsari, S. Akbar, Syed Ahsan Ali Sydney	[23][24]
1969	Nil Akasher Niche			Razzak
	Moina Moti		Qazi Zaheer		[25]
1970	Deep Nebhe Nai			Razzak
	Binimoy			Uzzal	Debut film of Uzzal
	Dorpo Churno
	Jey Aguney Puri		Amir Hussain		[26]
	Ka Kha Ga Gha Umo		Narayan Ghosh Mita		[26]
	Nayika		U. Chowdhury		[26]
	Sontan		E. R. Khan		[26]
	Aka Baka			Razzak
	Kanch Kata Heera			Razzak
1971	Jai Bangladesh		I. S. Johar		Hindi
	Jolchhobi			Farooque	Debut film of Farooque
1972	Apon Por		Khan Ataur Rahman	Zafar Iqbal
1973	Lalon Fokir
	Titash Ekti Nadir Naam		Ritwik Ghatak		Bengali (India-Bangladesh)
	Rangbaz			Razzak
	Amar Jonmobhumi			Alamgir	Debut film of Alamgir[2]
1974	Sadharon Meye			Zafar Iqbal
	Masud Rana			Sohel Rana	Debut film of Sohel Rana
1975	Sujon Sokhi	Sokhi	Khan Ataur Rahman	Farooque
1977	MotiMohol	Firoza	Ashok Ghosh	Razzak, Mahmud Koli
1977	Love In Simla		Abul Bashar	Alamgir
1978	Sareng Bou		Abdullah al Mamun	Farooque
1982	Devdas		Chashi Nazrul Islam	Bulbul Ahmed, Anwara Begum
1988	Dui Jibon		Abdullah al Mamun	Bulbul Ahmed, Diti, Afzal Hossain, Nipa Monalisa

Awards

Year	Award	Category	Film	Ref
1973	Bachsas Awards	Best Actress	Lalon Fokir
1975	Bachsas Awards	Best Actress	Sujon Sokhi
1978	Bangladesh National Film Awards	Best Actress	Sareng Bou
	Bachsas Awards	Best Actress	Sareng Bou
1988	Bachsas Awards	Best Actress	Dui Jibon
2008	Bachsas Awards	Honorary Award		[2]
2009	Bachsas Awards	Lifetime Achievement		[27]
2013	National Film Awards	Lifetime Achievement		[28]
2019	Nayakraj Razzak Award			[12]

References

1. Afsar Ahmed (6 May 2005). "Tit Bits – The celebrity name game". The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
2. মিষ্টি মেয়ের ৫০ বছর. BD Times 71 (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 18 October 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
3. "Silver screen legend Kabori no more". The Daily Star. 17 April 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
4. "Actress Kabori dies of Covid-19". The Business Standard. 17 April 2021. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
5. "Political career spells divorce for Bangladeshi actress". asiaone news. 23 November 2008. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
6. "জাতীয় চলচ্চিত্র পুরস্কার প্রাপ্তদের নামের তালিকা (১৯৭৫-২০১২)" [List of the winners of National Film Awards (1975-2012)]. Government of Bangladesh (in Bengali). Bangladesh Film Development Corporation. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
7. "Film Mrittika Maya wins national award 2013". The Daily Star. 10 March 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
8. "Constituency 207". Bangladesh Parliament. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
9. "Muniments of my life". 17 November 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
10. অভিনেত্রী কবরীর ৫০ বছর (in Bengali). Prothom Alo. 4 June 2014. Archived from the original on 25 November 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
11. "Roar বাংলা - সারাহ বেগম কবরী: স্মৃতির অলিন্দ". Roar Bangla (in Bengali). 7 May 2021. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
12. "Kabori honoured with Nayakraj Razzak Award". The Daily Star. 23 April 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
13. "Heroine searching for heroine". Prothom Alo. 27 February 2015. Archived from the original on 27 February 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
14. "Actress Kabori divorced". The Daily Star. 20 November 2008. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
15. "Entry into politics sours Kabari's marriage". Gulf News. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
16. "Veteran actress Kabori passes away". Dhaka Tribune. 17 April 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
17. ""I feel very proud to have been born in Bangladesh" - Kabori". The Daily Star. 17 April 2021. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
18. "Revisiting 'Kabori Road'". The Daily Star. 18 April 2021. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
19. Gazdar, Mushtaq (1997). Pakistan Cinema, 1947-1997. Oxford University Press. p. 254. ISBN 0-19-577817-0.
20. Gazdar, Mushtaq (1997). Pakistan Cinema, 1947-1997. Oxford University Press. p. 259. ISBN 0-19-577817-0.
21. Gazdar, Mushtaq (1997). Pakistan Cinema, 1947-1997. Oxford University Press. p. 262. ISBN 0-19-577817-0.
22. Gazdar, Mushtaq (1997). Pakistan Cinema, 1947-1997. Oxford University Press. p. 260. ISBN 0-19-577817-0.
23. "চোরাবালি (Chorabali) - বাংলা মুভি ডেটাবেজ | Bangla Movie Database". বাংলা মুভি ডেটাবেজ (in Bengali). Retrieved 28 January 2024.
24. "শক্তিমান অভিনেতা সৈয়দ আহসান আলী সিডনী'র ২০তম মৃত্যুবার্ষিকী আজ - নিরাপদ নিউজ". nirapadnews.com/. 14 February 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
25. Gazdar, Mushtaq (1997). Pakistan Cinema, 1947-1997. Oxford University Press. p. 266. ISBN 0-19-577817-0.
26. Gazdar, Mushtaq (1997). Pakistan Cinema, 1947-1997. Oxford University Press. p. 268. ISBN 0-19-577817-0.
27. বাচসাস চলচ্চিত্র পুরস্কার পেলেন রাজ্জাক-কবরী জুটি. Kaler Kantho (in Bengali). 27 December 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
28. জাতীয় চলচ্চিত্র পুরস্কার-২০১৩ ঘোষণা. Dhaka Times (in Bengali). 10 March 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015.

External links

• Kabori at IMDb