Shabnam facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Shabnam
শবনম شبنم
Born	Jharna Basak (1946-08-17) 17 August 1946 (age 78) Dacca, Bengal, British India
Nationality	British Indian (1946-1947) Pakistani (1947-1998) Bangladeshi (1998-onwards)
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1961–present
Spouse(s)	Robin Ghosh ​ ​ (m. 1964; his death 2016)​
Awards	13 Nigar Awards Lux Style Lifetime Achievement Award (2019) Lifetime Achievement Award from Pakistan Television (2012) Sitara-i-Imtiaz from the President of Pakistan (2024)

Jharna Basak (born August 17, 1946), known as Shabnam, is a famous actress from Bangladesh and Pakistan. She became well-known in the Pakistani film industry, called Lollywood, after actor Waheed Murad gave her a main role in his movie Samundar in 1968. Shabnam was a top actress in Lollywood during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. She won the Nigar Awards 13 times, which is a record for an actress. She has acted in more than 150 films. For 28 years, she was a leading star in Pakistani movies.

Shabnam moved from what was then East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) to West Pakistan in 1968. She lived there until the late 1990s before returning to her home country, Bangladesh.

Early Life and Beginnings

Shabnam was born on August 17, 1946, in Dhaka. At that time, Dhaka was part of British India. Her father, Nani Basak, was a football referee. As a child, Shabnam was very energetic and loved to practice dance moves. She was different from her sister, who enjoyed singing. Her journey into acting started when she was offered a small role as a dancer in a movie.

Becoming a Star

Shabnam on the film poster of Chanda (1962), directed by Ehtesham

Shabnam started her acting career after joining the Bulbul Lalitakala Academy. A friend of her father helped her get a dance role in the movie "Ei Desh Tomar Amar." Her next role was also as a dancer in "Rajdhanir Bukey." When a song she danced to became very popular, people wanted to see her in a main role. This led to her first lead role in a Bengali film called Harano Din.

Shabnam later moved to West Pakistan. Director Ehtesham chose her for his Urdu movie Chanda. At first, her Urdu language skills were not very strong, so she practiced her lines in Bengali. Her husband, Robin Ghosh, composed the music for this film. Chanda was a huge success, and it made Shabnam a top star in the Pakistan film industry.

By the early 1970s, Shabnam was the most popular actress in Pakistan. She kept this top position until the mid-1980s, when she slowly started to act less. She is known for being one of the few actresses in the world who played romantic lead roles successfully for almost 30 years.

After the Bangladesh Liberation War, Shabnam wanted to visit her home in Bangladesh. It took her two years to get the special permission needed to travel. People in Lollywood worried she might not come back from Bangladesh. But Shabnam promised her fans and co-workers that she would return. Only then did the government let her leave.

Around 1988, she started taking on different kinds of roles. She worked in films in her home city of Dhaka and also in Lahore. From 1987, she lived in London. Shabnam left Pakistan's film industry in the late 1990s. She officially retired and moved to Bangladesh in 1997. She said she retired because of her age and to take care of her parents. She had planned to retire after her very successful film Aaina. But because she had so many fans and offers, it took her 20 more years to finish her last films before retiring.

After a two-year break in Dhaka, Shabnam acted in her last movie, 'Ammajan,' in 1999. She played the main role in this film, which became a huge hit and one of the most successful movies in Bangladeshi history.

In 2012, Shabnam and her husband visited Pakistan after 13 years. The Pakistani government gave them a lifetime achievement award. This event was hosted by the famous actress Bushra Ansari. Many young Pakistani artists performed songs from Shabnam's and Robin Ghosh's movies. Important people, including the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Yousaf Raza Gillani, attended the show.

Shabnam's Urdu movies had 23 "diamond jubilees" in Lollywood, meaning they were very successful. Shabnam was the main actress in 12 of these films. She holds the record for winning 13 Nigar Awards for best actress.

In 2017, Shabnam announced she would return to Pakistani TV in a series called Mohini Mansion Ki Cinderellayain. She is also set to star in Aina 2, a new movie that is a sequel to her 1977 film Aina.

Personal Life

Shabnam married music composer Robin Ghosh in 1966. They had one son named Ronnie Ghosh. Robin Ghosh passed away on February 13, 2016, in Dhaka. Shabnam has described him as a very loving and understanding person who supported her career. After retiring from acting, she took care of her parents and her husband. She now lives a quiet life as a housewife in Dhaka.

Filmography

Shabnam acted in a total of 170 films. This includes 152 Urdu films, 14 Bengali films, and 4 Punjabi films. Her first film was a Bengali movie. Her first Urdu film, Chanda (1962), was filmed in Bangladesh.