Dhaka Nawab Family & Film Edited By Anas Khwaja

Dhaka Nawab Family and Film Edited by Anas Khwaja

Backgound & Movie shows in Ahsan Manzil * Nawab Khwaja Ahsanullah and Nawab Khwaja Salimullah were great admirers of art and culture. Both were members of the Calcutta based Photographic Society of India during 1888-89 & 1890-1896. Under their patronage photography flourished in Dhaka. (1) * In the spring of April 1898 Nawab Khwaja Ahsanullah invited the visiting Cinematograph Company from Calcutta to Ahsan Manzil. The family members and the elite of the city were present at the show. (2) * The first Bengali organization for producing and exhibiting films was the Royal Bioscope Company , established in 1898 in Calcutta by Hira Lal Sen (1866-1917). Sens’s grandfather Gukul Krishna Sen Munshi of Zindabahar lane was a close friend of Nawab Abdul Ghani. (1813-1896). (3) * On the 16th and 22nd March of 1911 Royal Bioscope Company exhibited shows at Ahsan Manzil. Nawab Salimullah arranged these shows in honor of Khwaja Yusuf Jaan who earlier had been bestowed the Nawab title. Two more shows at the residences of K. Abdul Alim and Khwaja Azizullah were arranged on the 24th and 25th respectively. Starting June 5, 1916 for couple of days Nawabzada Khwaja Atikullah had also premiered movies at his Dilkhusha residence. (4) * Under the initiative of the Madan Theatre Company the first Indian Bangla silent movie Biswa Mangal was released November 8, 1919. Priya Nath Ganguli, the famous director-producer of a later period, was the man behind the screen. Priya Nath was the son of Chandra Kumar Ganguly, the manager of the DHAKA NAWAB ESTATE, (5) Footnotes:1.Anupam Hayat, 2.Dhaka Prokash 1926 Feb 1899, 3.Anupam Hayat, 4.Diary of Khwaja Moudud, 5.Anupam Hayat

Sukumari –The first short film of Bangladesh At that beginning of the 20th century Calcutta was the bastion of film production with full facilities of artists, technicians and studios. Dhaka was lacking all these facilities. The first film-making process in Bangladesh started under the financial help and patronage of the Dhaka Nawab family. In 1927-28, a group of young men of the Dhaka Nawab family stepped forward .As a test case the young boys produced a short film named 'Sukumari' (The good girl).

A shot from Sukumari

Sukumari was directed by Ambuj Prasanna Gupta, a high profiled dramatist and an instructor in physical education of Jagannath College. Nawabzada Nasarullah played the hero role. Interestingly at that time it was impossible to find an actress. A young man, Syed Abdus Sobhan was chosen to play the heroine. Shooting was done in Dilkusha Garden. Khawja Azad, a graduate from Aligarh University and Khwaja Ajmal, a noted sportsman, who studied photography, rolled the camera. Others who helped to make this movie were Professor Andalib Sadani of Dhaka University, Syed Abdus Sobhan, Kazi Jalaluddin and others. Their movie was completed by 1928-29.The test was successful. When completed this was a silent movie of four reels. Unfortunately the copy of the film was never available for public screening. But there were a few private screenings. The print of 'Sukumari' is lost forgood. Only one priceless still photo (with hero Khwaja Nasarullah and heroine Syed Abdus Sobhan) is in the treasury of the Bangladesh Film Archive. The Last Kiss –The first full length silent feature film of Bangladesh After the success of Sukumari, the young men of the Nawab family went for a bigger venture. They set up Dhaka East Bengal Cinematograph Society and produced a fulllength silent movie titled The Last Kiss. Khawja Ajmal played the role opposite to heroine Lolita (as per Anupam Hayat). Khwaja Nasarullah was the hero initially and was replaced by Kazi Jalaluddin and Khwaja Ajmal later on (as per Dr.Md Alamgir). The central character (leader of the gang) was played by

noted artist Shailen Roy (Tona Babu). Other cast and crew members were Khwaja Adel, Khwaja Akmal, Khwaja Shahed, Khwaja Nasarullah and Syed Saheb E Alam. The actresses were Lolita alias Buri (heroine), Charu Bala, Deba Bala alias Devi and Harimati. The first three of these artists were drawn from the brothels of the old Dhaka while Harimati was a famous Baiji.

Lolita-a scene from The last Kiss The shooting of the film started from Octobar 1929, Shootings took place in the vicinity of Dilkusha, Motijheel, Paribagh and Azimpur. The camera was handled by Khwaja Azad. Assistant cameraman was Khwaja Ajmal and Khwaja Zahir. The director of the movie Ambuj Gupta himself composed the Bengali and the English subtitles of the film. Andalib Shadani of the Dhaka University composed the Urdu subtitles. Printing and processing works were done in Calcutta. The total cost of the movie is estimated 12,000 rupees. In 1931, The Last Kiss was released in the Mukul cinema hall (now Azad). Distinguished historian Dr Ramesh Chandra Majumdar, professor of Dhaka University, inaugurated the premier show of the film. The movie played on different theaters for several weeks. Then the film was taken for greater distribution in Calcutta. Finally the print was taken by Aurora Film Company and was lost in their possession. .

K.M.Azad

K.M.Ajmal

K.M.Adel

K.M.Shahed

Syed Saheb E Alam Khwaja Zahir

K.Nasarullah

Comments by Dhaka Nawab Family members about the movie “The Last Kiss” Sayeed Shahabuddin says , I have vivid recollection of the filming of "The Last Kiss", as some scenes were filmed at Bait-ul-Amn, where we lived. Uncle Azad was operating the camera and large square cardboards, covered with silver paper, were used as reflectors in sun light. Then we saw the film. A whole row of Mukul Cinema was occupied by us, children, to the best of my recollection - my sisters Tahera and Bilquis; Najma, Anwar and Hamid; Mashooque; Shahenshah; Effat and Shafique, Fayaz and I - if I have missed anyone it is due to fading memory. One absentee was my three-year old brother, Shahed, who was too young to be with us, but old enough to take a prominent part in the film as a child actor. He and Tuntun, daughter of Rai Bahadur Satendra Nath Banerjee, if I remember correctly, were the characters around whom the film was based. There was a scene where Kaloo Chacha (Sahib-e-Alam), father of Fayaz Alam, an excellent horseman, kidnapped the child Shahed and rode away with him in his horse. My mother felt it was too dangerous, and did not allow Shahed to be picked up on to a galloping horse. Therefore, a doll or something was used for this scene. Imagine our childishness. When this scene came on, all of us watching the film, whispered to one another "Don't say, it is not Shahed." So much for a sail down memory lane. With best wishes and blessings, Sayeed Shahabuddin Amr Quadir says, K.M.Ajmal was the hero in the film, his brother K.M. Adel was the doctor, and my mother's Mamu - Nawabzada Khwaja Nasarullah played the part of the police commissioner in The Last Kiss... My mother remembers seeing clips of the film as a young girl, while living in Dhaka.

Allah Hafiz. Best Regards, Amr Quadir Other Link: http://www.upperstall.com/Bengali/bengalihistory1.html