Legendary Bangladesh actress Sarah Begum Kabori, who also starred in famed Indian filmmaker Ritwak Ghatak’s masterpiece Titas Ekti Nadir Naam, has died of COVID-19 in a state-run hospital in Dhaka,  bdnews24.com reported.

Kabori, one of the most revered Bangladeshi silver screen stars and a former member of parliament, was 71.

The end came in the early hours of Saturday, Dr Faruque Ahmed, the director at the Sheikh Russel National Gastroliver Institute and Hospital, said.

Bangladesh President M Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina have led the nation in paying tribute to the movie goddess, a two-time National Film Award winner of the country.

She had also been suffering from kidney ailments and the coronavirus infection for which she tested positive on April 5, left her lungs severely damaged.

Born on July 19, 1950 in Chattogram's Boalkhali, Mina Pal (Kabori's birth name) spent her childhood and adolescence at Firingi Bazar, the report said.

Debuting as an actor at the age of 13 with renowned filmmaker Subhas Dutta's ‘Shutorang' in 1964, Kabori, made her mark in films such as ‘Neel Akasher Neeche', ‘Mainamati', ‘Dheu-er Por Dheu', ‘Porichoy', ‘Odhikar', ‘Beiman', ‘Abak Prithibi', ‘Sonali Akash', and ‘Deep Nebhe Nai' during a career spanning three decades.

In 1971, Kabori went to Kolkata where she played an important role in creating public opinion in favour of Bangladesh's independence, speaking at various meetings and events while also organising cultural programmes, he report said.

In 1973, Kabori acted in Ghatak’s Titas Ekti Nadir Naam, an India-Bangaldesh joint production, and later made her directorial debut in 2006 with the film 'Aina'.

She won the Narayanganj-4 parliamentary constituency on the Awami League ticket in the 2008 general election.

(SAM)