Photo: Collected
Azizul Hakim began acting with stage plays five decades ago. That journey, which began under the guidance of theatre personality Mamunur Rashid, continues to this day, and along the way he has found equal success in television plays and films as well as on stage. This year the accomplished actor has entered his 50th year in acting; to mark the occasion, a book on his experiences as an actor is to be published.
Azizul Hakim said a publishing house has shown interest in bringing out a book on his acting life, and discussions are now under way on how the book will be arranged.
The actor said, ‘My journey in theatre began under the guidance of Mamunur Rashid. The stage made me an actor. It is truly an honour that someone has taken the initiative to research and publish a book on an artiste’s long acting life. Fifty years is a very long time. I have gathered a great deal of experience along the way. Stage acting, direction, advertisements, television plays, films — every field will come up in this book. Through it my experiences will reach the new generation. Since a book cannot be published over and over again, I want to take a little time and do the work well.’
Delighted at the golden jubilee of his acting career, he said, ‘Stepping into 50 years in acting is a very big thing for me. To have gone on acting in good health for so long is a great blessing from Allah. The feeling of this journey is something else. At the start I never thought about whether I would be able to stay active in acting for so long. I simply loved acting, and out of that love I kept working until 50 years went by. Looking back now, it amazes me. It is above all the love of the audience that has given me the strength for such a long journey.’
Azizul Hakim joined the Aranyak theatre troupe in 1977 under the guidance of Mamunur Rashid. Besides acting in various productions for the troupe, he has also directed. He made his television debut in 1981 with the play ‘Ekhane Nongor’, and in 1984 he played a leading role for the first time in the play ‘Tabuo To Se’; he gradually became one of the most popular television actors of the 1990s.
He made his film debut with ‘Shankhanil Karagar’. He is still acting in equal measure in television plays, on OTT platforms and in films. He has also been successful as a director, winning praise for a number of popular television plays over his long career. Some of the plays he has directed are ‘Tabu He Rongdhonu’, ‘Sakal Sondhya Raat’ and ‘Nij Grihe Porobashi’.
