A BIOGRAPHY OF ATM SHAMSUZZAMAN

In his childhood, Shamsuzzaman used to watch films with his mother, though his father was against it. He claimed that because of his mother, he could gather enough courage to step into the realm of acting. It was his dream and passion from his childhood to work in the film industry. He had to go through initially to pursue his passion. In an interview, he said that he used to act in community programmes during his teen years. That time, his father did not approve of this at all. His father wanted him to be a lawyer. But Shamsuzzaman was a very stubborn kid. At one point, he was not allowed to stay with the family anymore because of this. So he decided to move out from his family and started to live in a neighbor’s house. But his mother took care of him a lot by bringing food/meals for him. 

Besides writing, Shamsuzzaman would spend time reading lots of books; he was an avid reader. Though he loved reading books of different authors, Rabindranath Tagore was his favorite among all writers. According to Salauddin Lavlu, a Bangladeshi famous TV director and actor, Shamsuzzaman was like a walking library as he was very knowledgeable due to being a book lover. However, he was humble enough to never show off or express his knowledge. 

Shamsuzzaman’s humbleness, righteousness, and sense of commitment have always inspired other media people. He always had a smiling face. His marvelous camera presence, commendable sense of improvisation, and deep understanding of his roles are what made him unique. But Mamunur Rashid, another prominent actor, thinks that an actor like Shamsuzzaman should have been utilized more by the film makers because Shamsuzzaman had more potential to give more to our entertainment industry. 

Besides writing for films, Shamasuzzaman used to write stories and poems for newspapers too. He considers writer Ranesh Dasgupta as his mentor in the literary arena. To ensure quality, Shamsuzzaman would go to Ranesh Dasgupta who would go through Shamsuzzaman’s writings. 

Though Shamsuzzaman gained huge popularity for his negative (villain) roles, he claimed to not like them much. He said in an interview that despite earning money from those films where he played villains, he could not get satisfaction. He shared one funny incident regarding this. Once as he was walking down a road in the village, a random lady saw him and just ran away thinking him as a bad person in real life too. 

Before dying, he had undergone six major operations. He faced difficulties moving from one room to another. For this reason, he had reduced the number of working hours. He used to spend most of his time praying and watching TV. He still always used to consider himself a ‘happy person’.When he was fully fit and healthy, he used to work for minimum 18 hours a day. At one point, he reduced his appearances in films and instead started doing regular roles in TV dramas.

Alongside Bangladeshi films, he used to watch international films too. From India, his favorite actor was Soumitra Chatterjee and from Hollywood, Gregory Peck. He was also fond of Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida. 

Whether he played as a comedian, or a villain, or a grandfather, he always was respectful to his role. He enjoyed all kinds of acting. He believed that acting gives him positive energy.

In marital life, in 1968, Shamsuzzaman got married to Runy Begum. The couple together had three sons and three daughters. On March 13, 2012,  ATM Kholikuzzaman Kushol, who was the youngest son of Shamsuzzaman, killed the eldest son of Shamsuzzaman, ATM Kamaluzzaman Kabir at their residence. Shamsuzzman himself filed a case against his own son. He testified in court and later in 2014, Kushol was given a life sentence in prison.