A. K. M. Abdur Rouf (15 December 1935 – 1 April 2000) was the founder-curator of the Bangladesh Film Archive (BFA).[1][2] He was awarded Ekushey Padak in 2010 for his contribution to arts [3] and Independence Day Award in 2016 in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the nation by the government of Bangladesh.[4]
A. K. M. Abdur Rouf | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 15 December 1935 Khulna district, Bengal Presidency, British India |
| Died | 1 April 2000 (aged 64) Dhaka, Bangladesh |
| Nationality | Bangladeshi |
| Spouse | Rashida Rouf
(m. 1958; d. 1979) Shahanara Rouf (m. 1982; d. 2020) |
| Children | 5 |
| Awards | Ekushey Padak, Independence Day Award |
Early life and career
editRouf was born ion 15 December 1935, Khulna to Haji Mohammad Kinu Sheikh and Amena Begum. He did his Matriculation in 1952. He completed his Intermediate Certificate from Jagannath College, Dhaka in 1954 and graduated from Govt. College of Arts & Crafts, Dhaka in 1959.
He started his career as a civil service cadre in East Pakistan. During the Liberation War, Rouf was the first among few to defected from the Pakistan Government Service and actively participated in the Bangladesh Liberation Movement under the guidance of the late justice Abu Sayeed Chowdhury.[5][6]
He was the calligrapher of the constitution (1972) of People's Republic of Bangladesh. During his role as the founder curator of Bangladesh Film Archive, Rouf collected documents and prints of old films. His collection included a print of Mukh O Mukhosh, photographs of the first silent film made in Dhaka, The Last Kiss; a print of Dhrubo, (1934) directed by Kazi Nazrul Islam; Pramathesh Barua's Devdas and a print of the first silent film made in the sub-continent, Raja Harish Chandra.
Abdur Rouf designed the five taka coin and the official postage stamp of four taka commemorating the Bangabandhu Jamuna Multi-Purpose Bridge in 1996.[7]
In 2018 the Abdur Rouf foundation started its journey of behalf of his memory aiming to help unprivileged children in Bangladesh.[8]
Rouf was also a cover designer. He designed covers of nearly 2800 books.[1]
He died on 1 April 2000.
References
edit- ^ a b Jamil Mahmud (3 April 2009). "Abdur Rouf, founder-curator of Bangladesh Film Archive, remembered". The Daily Star.
- ^ "Film Archive". Banglapedia. Retrieved 2019-03-26.
- ^ "15 named for Ekushey Padak-2010". The Daily Star. 17 February 2010.
- ^ "14 individuals, Navy picked for Independence Award 2016". The Daily Star. 2016-03-08. Retrieved 2019-03-26.
- ^ "Muhith, Maqsudul, Bannya are among 14 named for 2016 Independence Award". bdnews24.com. 7 March 2016. Retrieved 2019-03-26.
- ^ "Swadhinata Padak for 13 persons, an institution". The Independent. Dhaka. Archived from the original on 26 March 2019. Retrieved 2019-03-26.
- ^ "Bangladesh Post". bangladeshpost.gov.bd. Retrieved 2019-03-26.
- ^ "Abdur Rouf Foundation launched". New Age. Retrieved 2019-03-26.