Shimul Yousuf

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Shimul Yousuf (Bengali: শিমুল ইউসুফ) (b. 24 March 1957) is a Bangladeshi actress and singer.

1 Early life
2 Carrier
3 Binodini
4 Awards
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Early life

Shimul Yousuf was born in Dhaka on 24 March, 1957 and is the youngest of seven siblings. Her father Mehter Billah from Bikrampur was a singer and instigated his children in cultural activities. Her mother also had a nag of singing. Surrounded by the culture atmosphere of her neighbourhood in Kamlapur, Shimul started singing at tender age of five. She introduced performing on radio and television and went on to sing in a children show named "Kochi Kanchar Mela". She trained in classical and traditional songs from virtuosos of music like Ustad Helaluddin, P C Gomez, Altaf Mahmud, Abdul Latif and others . Shimul completed her Honours in Social Science. She got admitted to Institute of Fine Arts and also went to Baroda School of Fine Arts for schooling.^[1]

[edit] Carrier

Shimul first appeared in theatre in one of the Abdullah Al Mamun’s plays to raise funds for the freedom fighters in 1972. In 1974 she incorporated her in Dhaka Theatre after her siblings asked to proxy for another actress. Shimul began to take acting seriously after her famous 1975 drama “Muntasir Fantasy” where she also composed 18 songs for it. She worked on Kasai (1976), Char Khakra (1977), Shakuntala (1978), Phani Monosa (1980), Kitton Khola (1981), Keramot Mongol (1985), Hat Hadai (1989) and Chaka (1990). During 1990s her performances in Joiboti Kannyar Mon (1995) and Bono Pangshul (1998) were also acclaimed critical admiration. With nearly 33 years of her carrier she acted in 30 stage plays and 400 television dramas. Besides acting in 2000 stage shows, she composed, sang, designed costumes and choreographed in most of them. She considers drama is a form of art far distinguished from a source of amusement or social reform. She said … I am showing people a form of art. It’s like a painting that you want people to remember much later after seeing it.^[1]

[edit] Binodini

One of her volatile/influential work in theatre is the drama Binodini, based on a 19 century actress Binodini Dashi. It is a solo where Yousuf mainly portrayed the character of Binodini and delivered all the speeches of remaining characters. The play is written by famous script writer Selim Al Deen and directed by her husband, another supremo Nasiruddin Yousuf. The play mainly perpetuated the life of Binodini Dashi as she struggled prolong her carrier in theatre. Shimul said, it (the drama) shows the reality, the conflicts and contradiction an actress faces today, has not changed much since Binodini’s time. Obviously I am affected by such realities.^[1]

[edit] Awards

About 15 major awards were presented to Shimul Yousuf for her contributions in theatrical arts in Bangladesh. She won the President Award for best child artist of Pakistan in 1965. Her major awards regarding acting are Lokanatya Dal Award in 1994, Arannyak Dipu Smriti Gold Medal in 1998, Kochi Kancha Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003, and Bangladesh Film Journalist Association Award for Best Actress in 2006 for play Binodini.^[1]