Secularist Movie Director Tareque Masud dies

by News Desk
August 13, 2011

http://www.weeklyblitz.net/1644/secularist-movie-director-tareque-masud-dies

Tareque Masud, the film director who became known in Bangladesh after directing his first feature film "Matir Moina" jointly with his wife Catherine Masud, died in a tragic road accident on Saturday afternoon in the Western district of Dhaka. Masud and four others, including the chief executive of Bangladesh's private ATN television news channel, Mishuk Munier, died on the spot when the minibus carrying them collided head-on with a bus at Ghior. Tarique Masud and Catherine Masud went to Ghior to select the shooting location for their next film named Kagojer Ful (The Paper Flower).

Masud's US-born wife and producer, Catherine Masud, and a noted Bangladeshi painter, Dhali al Mamun, and his wife were seriously injured in the accident.

Tareque Masud was an award-winning Bangladeshi independent film director. He was known for directing the films Muktir Gaan (1995) and Matir Moina (2002), for which he won a number of international awards, including the International Critics' Prize and FIPRESCI Prize for Directors' Fortnight at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival.

Road accidents are common in Bangladesh and kill thousands of people each year. Shoddy highways, poorly maintained vehicles and drivers' disregard for road safety are blamed for most fatalities. A recent study by the Dhaka-based Accident Research Center said that more than 12,000 people die in road accidents in Bangladesh every year, making the country's highways among the deadliest in the world.

Tareque Masud's dead body will be taken to Bangladesh Film Development Corporation for funeral prayers. After that, his dead body will be taken to Jatiyo Shaheed Minar, where people will pay last respect to the talented director.

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