One of the names that echo in our previous generation movie lovers’ heads if asked the most famous actress of the 1800s is Rozina. She was considered the ‘dream girl’ for many young females at that time. With her acting skills, she had made her place in the hearts of movie lovers, not only in Bangladesh but also in India.
Born as Renu, on 12 April 1956 in Goalanda, Faridpur, now under Rajbari, in the then East Pakistan, Rozina belonged to a poor family. She had spent her childhood in Rajbari watching different Bangla cinemas and dreamt of becoming an actress someday. She had worked hard against her fate and situation to enroll herself in the media world. With her passion and consistency, she finally got into acting and became one of the highest-paying actors in Bangladesh in the 1800s and the beginning of the 1990s.
She started off her acting journey at a very early age, in Dhaka, as a theater artist, where she was paid only 10 taka due to having a small role in the show. After many hardships, in 1977, at the age of only 16, she got to act as the main actress in the film “Rajmahal”, in the opposite of the then-popular actor Wasim. She could capture the attention of the movie lovers through this movie. In 1985, she was called as the main actress in opposite Mithun Chakraborty in a West Bengal (Indian) film Anyay Abichar. She acted till 1993 and then took a long break. However, she has acted in 350+ films in her life. She acted in Indian, Nepali, and Pakistani films too. After the break, she returned to the silver screen with the Bangladeshi movie called “Rakkhushi” in 2004 in opposite to Ferdous Ahmed. After leaving acting, she got busy directing several serials and recently she is directing a Bangladeshi government-funded movie.
Because she had acted in so many films, it shows she was not only highly demanded, but also she was skilled in acting. She is the winner of the National Film Awards, thrice. This proves her worth. In 1980, under the category of ‘Best Supporting Actress’, Rozina got the award for the movie “Koshai”. 8 years later, in 1988, she won the ‘Best Actress’ award for the movie “Jibondhara”. Recently, in 2023, she has been awarded with the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’. Then in 2004, she won the Meril Prothom Alo Awards for the category ‘Critics Choice Best Film Actress’ for the movie “Rakkhushi”.
Nowadays, though she is not seen in the film industry, she is still not totally forgotten.
Life of “Rozina” at a glance
Real Name: Renu
Birth Date: 12 April 1956
Birth Place: Goalanda, Faridpur, Rajbari, the then East Pakistan
Professions:
➢ Film Actress
➢ Television Actress
➢ Director
Marital Status: Married
Religion: Islam
Awards and Achievements:
➢ Best Actress, Bangladesh National Film Awards, Jibondhara (1988)
➢ Best Supporting Actress, Bangladesh National Film Awards, Koshai (1980)
➢ Critics Choice Best Film Actress, Meril Prothom Alo Awards, Rakkhushi (2004)
➢ Lifetime Achievement Award, Bangladesh National Film Awards, in 2023
Early life
The heartthrob of the 1800s, Rozina was born on 12 April 1956 in the village named Goalanda, in Faridpur, now under Rajbari, in the then East Pakistan. Her original family name was Renu. She belonged to a poor family. But with her passion, determination, and hard work, she now has become one of the richest actresses in Bangladesh.
Since her childhood, she has been a movie freak. She often used to visit cinema halls and dreamt of seeing herself on the silver screen someday. That is why she has worked hard to fulfill her dream and enroll herself in the media world. It is said that the first movie that she watched at ‘Chitra Cinema Hall’ located in Rajbari was “Saat Bhai Champa”.
She had moved to Dhaka at a very young age to enter into the film industry. She started from a small role and later on took herself as one of the popular actresses till date.
Career
Upon arriving in Dhaka, she started off in the media world as a theater artist. In a stage drama named “Shaistaganj,” she portrayed a small character. However, a moment after the stage act began, something interrupted it and caused it to stop. Still her dream did not shatter because she later met other actors through her theater group and received an opportunity for a small part in the movie “Janwar.” For this endeavor, she was only paid Taka 10 as honorarium. This was the start of her acting career which pushed her to work hard further.
Initially, not only she had to work hard to pave her way into the cinema world, but she had to stay persistent. She proved that if you are determined to do something, the universe will help you to achieve it. She was signed up for a film titled “Mintu Amar Naam” where she was expected to be cast against the then famous actor Sohel Rana. But, what a cruel twist of fate, she was dropped from the movie eventually. Her name was changed to Rozina from Renu for the movie by the director. A few days later, she was again dropped from two other films named “Sagor Bhasa” and “Aina”. Who knew, one day, this dropped actress will be the most valuable actress of the country?!
Finally, in 1977, at the age of only 16, she was offered the role of a main actress in the film “Rajmahal”, directed by F Kabir Chowdhury where her co-star was the then heartthrob Wasim. The movie became hugely popular and brought her to the spotlight. She grabbed the attention of the movie lovers. The audience loved the chemistry between Wasim and Rozina, and so this couple was seen doing other films together like Rosher Baidani, Zarka, and Rajshinghasan.
In the 1980s and 1900s, she became unstoppable. She started becoming a regular on the silver screen. She predominantly worked on films that were based on social themes as well as action and drama. She was still young at the time and not only in Bangladesh but also in India, she got demanded.
In 1985, this young girl was cast by Indian Hindi cinema director Shakti Samanta in the starring role opposite Mithun Chakraborty in his Bengali film Anyay Abichar and its Hindi adaptation Aar Paar in 1985. Rozina was the first actress from Bangladesh to be chosen for a main role in Bollywood cinema. At the box office, that movie brought in 1.5 crores, making it the highest-grossing Bengali movie at that time. Later, in the early 1990s, Rozina acted in multiple West Bengal films as the leading actress opposite renowned actors like Chiranjit, Tapas Paul, Ranjit Mallick etc.
When she got older, she did not act as the heroine anymore. She however still did not stop acting and so she played the roles of mother, sister, and sister-in-law in different films in the 1900s.
She became irregular in the film industry after 1993. Till then, her filmography included “Chokher Moni”, “Sonar Cheya Dami”, “Matir Manush”, “Shohor Theke Dure”, “Abhiman”, “Anarkali”, “Bini Sutar Mala”, “Rakhe Allah Mare Ke”, “Sohag Milon”, “Sath Maa”, “Taser Ghar”, “Goli Theke Rajpath”, “Shiri Farhad”, “Bhaggalipi”, “Daku o Darbesh”, “Warish”, “Rangin Rupban”, “Hasu Amar Hasu”, “Rosher Baidani”, “Razia Sultana”, “Kosai”, “Jibon Dhara” and “Sabuj Mia”.
After a long break and being absent from the silver screen, she made a comeback by doing a Bangladeshi movie called “Rakkhushi” in 2004. The popular actor Ferdous Ahmed was the opposite of her in the movie. The movie got huge popularity. It proves that even after a decade, Bangladeshi movie lovers have not forgotten the ‘dream girl’ of many youths. There is a funny fact about this movie. Rozia was about 12 to 13 years older than Ferdous. Interestingly, it was the first time that an actress in Bangladeshi cinema had ever paired up with a younger actor. The audience still loved their chemistry in the movie.
In her entire career, she has worked on over 350 films in Dhaka, Kolkata, Nepal, and Karachi. Besides working for films, she was seen lip-synching for Bangladesh’s once very popular singer Sabina Yasmin in songs such as “O Amar Rasiya Bandhure”, “Ei Mon Tomake Dilam”, “Jalpari”, and “Chhairo Na Chhairo Na Haat”.
After 2012, again after a long break, Rozina was seen directing 2 serials named ‘Mejdidi and Borodidi’ which were based on the works of Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay. Moreover, she played the title role in “Mejdidi”. She also directed the drama Badnam, which was inspired by the tale of Rabindranath Tagore. She also produced multiple television dramas based on the life of Kazi Nazrul Islam.
She was seen as a model for the brand LUX.
In the recent years, she has been working on a project of directing the movie “Phire Dekha”. It is a government funded project as it is based on the Liberation War. With this movie, she will be debuting as a movie director. This movie is yet to be released. She will also act in the leading role in the movie. Eminent actor Elias Kanchan will be seen beside her. She is working hard as this project holds a special sentiment to her and thus she wants to make the movie a success.
Awards and Achievements
Even though Rozina has acted in more than 300 films, she has received only 3 times. However, 2 of them were National Film Awards! Multiple time winner of these awards show quality matters over quantity.
In 1980, under the category of ‘Best Supporting Actress’, Rozina got the award for the movie “Koshai”. 8 years later, in 1988, she won the ‘Best Actress’ award for the movie “Jibondhara”.
Recently, in 2023, she has been awarded with the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’.
After many years, when she returned to the silver screen from a long break, in 2004, she showed her capability again and won the Meril Prothom Alo Awards for the category ‘Critics Choice Best Film Actress’ for the movie “Rakkhushi”.
Personal Life
Rozina’s birth name was Renu, but for the sake of the media world, she later became Rozina. Interestly, before gaining fame as ‘Rozina’, she had used a few other names. She had to alter her name several times before finally sticking to Rozina. In a film called ‘Ayna’, she acted as Shayla. She was known by this name for a short period of time. She was also called by Roushan Ara.
As we know already that the young Rozina used to watch a lot of cinemas in her childhood, so it is only natural to wonder who was/were her favorite actors? Afterall, some way or other, she had followed the style or paths of them. It is said that Rozina used to watch movies of Kobori, Chuchanda and Shujata. Also, when Rozina was a famous actress in Dhaka/Bangladesh, that time most of the Bangladeshi movies were made by adapting the style or stories of Hindi films. That is why, Rozina was bound to follow Indian actresses. Nonetheless, she could earn immense popularity in the eyes of Bangladeshi movie lovers.
Nowadays, this once huge successful actress of Bangladesh is reported to have settled in London, England. She is said to have a restaurant of her own, named Mithu’s Kitchen. To be honest, because she is quite old now, her demand has fallen. She is not called for films anymore.
In her marital life, some sources say that she was married before she came into the limelight. Also, though her husband’s name is not found easily, some reports say her husband was the late Fazlur Rashid Dhali, a cinematographer.
Conclusion
Rozina might not be famous anymore to the young generation, however, her popularity and contribution in the media world is unforgettable. She has represented our country internationally. Her achieving the National Award, twice, proves her capability and acting skill. Even now, she is being recognized and respected by Bangladeshis.