Desk news:
Tuesday is the 17th anniversary of death of legendary dramatist and theoretician Selim Al Deen.
Born at Senerkhil in Feni on August 18, 1949, Selim Al Deen began searching for the roots of Bangla theatre in the early ‘80s. He negated the conventional concept of theatre, calling it western-influenced and initiated the development of a unique theatre form based on local tradition
In 1974, he joined the Bangla department of Jahangirnagar University as lecturer. The drama and dramatics department of the university was opened under his guidance in 1986.
A founding member of Dhaka Theatre, he was also chief adviser of Bangladesh Gram Theatre, which he founded along with Nasiruddin Yousuff in the early ‘80s.
He enriched Bangla literature writing plays on narrative style such as Shakuntala, Kittankhola, Keramat Mangal, Hathadai, Chaka, Jaibati Kainyar Mon, Hargaj, Banpangshul, Nimajjon and Dhabman.
His plays have been included in the curricula of the University of Dhaka, Jahangirnagar University, Jadavpur University and Rabindra Bharati University in India.
His play Hargaj has been translated into Swedish. Two films — Chaka and Kittankhola — were made based on his plays. He also compiled Bangla Natyakosh.
He received several awards, including Ekushey Padak, Bangla Academy Literary Award, Best Tele-playwright Award and National Film Award.
Selim Al Deen passed away on January 14, 2008.
