Online Desk: Pyari Begum, renowned actress and the female lead of the first ever Bangla feature film, “Mukh O Mukhosh”, breathed her last this afternoon at her Uttara residence. She was 87. Pyari Begum was married to actor Aminul Haque. Funeral prayers have been arranged at a mosque in Uttara after Esha prayers today, followed by her burial. Her body will be buried in Uttara’s Sector 12 cemetery.

On August 6, 1954, the muhurat (inaugural ceremony) of “Mukh O Mukhosh” took place at Hotel Shahbagh. This landmark film holds the distinction of being the first-ever Bangla feature film produced in Bangladesh (then East Pakistan).

Directed by Abdul Jabbar Khan, “Mukh O Mukhosh” was released on August 3, 1956, paving the way for the development of the Bangladeshi film industry. The movie’s release came merely four years after the historic Language Movement of 1952, which culminated in Bengali attaining the status of becoming a state language of Pakistan on May 7, 1954, following the sacrifices made on February 21.

Growing discontent among Bengalis regarding the exploitation and discrimination by West Pakistan was on the rise. Bengali technicians and workers in the film industry were becoming disillusioned with the Pakistani film industry. Kolkata, having become the centre of the Bengali film industry due to partition, was progressing in film production.

In this context, the journey of Bangladeshi cinema began. The initiative to make a feature film in Bengali took shape in 1953, with the production of “Mukh O Mukhosh.” Abdul Jabbar Khan, inspired by a newspaper report on a robbery, wrote a play titled “Dakat”. He decided to adapt the story into a film. During that time, Dhaka lacked studios and facilities for film production. Iqbal Films stepped forward to produce “Mukh O Mukhosh”.

Finding female artistes for stage plays was a challenge in the 1950s. Initially, director Abdul Jabbar contemplated having a man dressed as a woman for the film, a common practice in stage plays at the time.

Later, Abdul Jabbar Khan placed an advertisement in the newspaper to find an actress for “Mukh O Mukhosh”. Pyari Begum, an intermediate student at Eden College, and her friend Zahrat Ara responded to the advertisement published in Chitrali magazine. They would go to the office of Iqbal Films in Nawab Katra. Thus, the journey of Pyari Begum in the Bangla film industry began. Pyari Begum’s demise follows the passing of Zahrat Ara, her co-actress in “Mukh O Mukhosh”, on July 19, 2021.

Pyari Begum said about the loss of her friend and co-artiste Zahrat Ara, “My close friend and co-actor Zahrat Ara has passed away. I am quite old now. There are a lot of things I do not remember. Even then, I am glad to have been an actor in the first ever Bangla feature film.”