Prologue: The Birth of FDC

In the history of Bangladesh, the birth of Bangladesh Film Development Corporation is marked by a number of matters; there were some events that inspired the systematic revolution against regional discrepancy and some people who taught how to establish one’s right by proving one’s potentials.

Among the events, first comes the Language Movement in 1952 that taught the people of this country to protest against injustice and fight for right or at least, to speak out in a louder voice. Then, in 1956, the decline of the Muslim League Government and the start of the Yukto Front Government in the East Pakistan turned things to our favor.

Moreover, there were some individuals, who paved the way for the establishment of a permanent film studio in FDC. We will focus for a while on the specific involvements of all those individuals in the chain of events that quickened the birth of FDC:

Abdul Jobbar Khan Abdul Jobbar Khan, the director of the first voiced film of Bangladesh, was among the people who initially consulted with the then honorable Minister for trade & industry about the establishment of a permanent film studio in Dhaka. Then, according to the suggestion of the honorable Minister, he together with Abul Kalam Shamsuddin submitted a plan to the government. Abul Kalam Shamsuddin Abul Kalam Shamsuddin was the Assistant Director (Public Relations) of the Province at that time. After the initial meeting with the then (1954) honorable Minister for Trade & Industry about the establishment of a permanent film studio in Dhaka and according to his suggestion, He together with Abdul Jobbar Khan submitted a plan to the government. DR. Abdus Sadek DR. Abdus Sadek was among the people who initially consulted with the then honorable Minister for Trade & Industry about the establishment of a permanent film studio in Dhaka. Nuruzzaman Nuruzzaman was among the people who initially consulted with the then honorable Minister for Trade & Industry about the establishment of a permanent film studio in Dhaka. Nazir Ahmad Nazir Ahmad was the Head of the provincial film department at that time. When, in 1957, the central government of Pakistan budgeted ten million rupees for the establishment of a film studio in West Pakistan, Nazir Ahmad raised his voice claiming a similar imbursement for a film studio in Dhaka, too. Then he, in cooperation with Asgar Ali Shah, the Secretary for Trade, and Abul Khaer, the Deputy Secretary for Trade, brought the matter to the notice of the honorable Minister for Trade & Industry. Finally and most importantly, He and Abul Khaer prepared, in less than two days, the draft of the FDC Bill that was presented to the parliament by the honorable Minister for Trade & Industry on the final day of that session. Asgar Ali Shah Asgar Ali Shah was the Secretary for Trade at that time and he helped Nazir Ahmad to bring the FDC issue to the notice of the then honorable Minister for Trade & Industry. Abul Khaer Abul Khaer was the Deputy Secretary for Trade at that time and later, after the foundation, he was the first Managing Director of FDC. He helped Nazir Ahmad to bring the FDC issue to the notice of the then honorable Minister for Trade & Industry. After that, he also assisted Nazir Ahmad in preparing the papers for the draft of the FDC Bill.

Abdul Jobbar Khan DR. Abdus Sadek Nazir Ahmad Abul Khaer