Remembering Humayun Faridi

Actor Humayun Faridi was born on this day in 1952. From theatre to commercial Bangla films, the gem of an actor made his mark in every medium of acting in Bangladesh.

In the space of a four decade career, Faridi became a league of his own. His signature style in acting is still talked about in social media posts, tribute videos and even in memes.

Director Shaer Khan, a close colleague of Faridi, fondly dubbed the actor as 'Pagla' and 'Genius' in a newspaper article. Shaer wrote, "Actors like Humayun Faridi are a rare breed. We will have to wait for a hundred year for the next Faridi, just like Hollywood is still waiting for the next Gregory Peck."

Shaer dubbed Humayun Faridi as the 'Gregory Peck of Bangladesh.' His euology wouldn't be an overstatement as Faridi is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors Bangladesh has ever seen.

Faridi has done a variety of roles in Bangla films, a number of them were antagonistic roles. But even in a villainous role, he stole the spotlight. His portrayal of 'Kan kata Ramjan' has become a phenomenon is the TV history of our country. However, his slightly lesser known role of Mr. Hawladar, a sexist and abusive manager in the cult classic film 'Palabi Kothay,' is also one of his finest works. In the age of MeToo movement, the film looks more relevant and it was certainly ahead of its time.

Faridi was equally adept at recitation. He had done recitation since his campus days at Jahangirnagar University.  His recitation clips of the poem 'Nobin Kishor' or 'Jodi Nirbashon Dao' are widely watched on social media.

Even after seven years after his demise, his fans admire him just as before. Humayun Faridi's spectacles were auctioned in a charity event lately to raise fund for Covid-19 victims. A Bangladeshi expat from Hungary bought the memorabilia for tk3, 25,012.

Faridi's only daughter Debjani, who is rather private about her father, has expressed her interest to publish a memoir about the late actor. She also thanked the government for bestowing a posthumous Ekushey Padak to her father in 2018.

Happy Birthday, acting extraordinaire.