Dr. Enamul Haque, a veteran actor, playwright, writer and an educator who was awarded many prizes and honors including Ekushey Padak and Swadhinata Puraskar, is no more. He was 76 years old at the time of his death. Enamul Haque is survived by his wife, two daughters and numerous fans and admirers.
The sudden death of Dr. Enamul Haque has cast a shadow of mourning over the country’s drama scene. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud have expressed their condolences over his death.
Although the exact cause of death of Dr. Enamul Haque could not be ascertained, it is believed that he died of a heart attack. Confirming the news of his death, his son-in-law actor Saju Khadem said that Dr. Enamul Haque did not have any physical problem. (Monday) In the morning, he was completely healthy. In the afternoon, he suddenly fell ill at his home on Bailey Road in the capital. When he was rushed to the hospital, the doctor on duty declared him dead.
Saju Khadem further said that the body of Dr. Enamul Haque will be kept at his house on Bailey Road at night. The next day, Tuesday, October 12, at 10:30 am, the body of this talented playwright will be taken to the central Shaheed Minar. His body will then be taken to his longtime workplace BUET at 12 noon. He will be buried at Banani Cemetery after Janazah.
Dr. Enamul Haque has been teaching at Bangladesh University of Engineering for 43 years. During this long period, he served as the Chairman of the Department of Chemistry for 15 years and the Dean of the Department of Engineering for two years. Enamul Haque’s wife Lucky Inam is a famous actress. Their two daughters Hridi Haque and Preeti Haque are also associated with the actor. Hridi Haque’s husband Litu Anam and Preeti Haque’s husband Saju Khadem are also popular actors.
Dr. Enamul Haque was born in Feni district. After obtaining bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemistry from Dhaka University, he returned to the country with a PhD degree from the University of Manchester, UK. He joined BUET’s Chemistry Department in 1965 as a lecturer. He was promoted to the posts of Assistant Professor, Associate Professor and Professor in 1970, 1979 and 1987 respectively.
In an attempt to inspire the people in the mass uprising of 1969, Enamul Haque participated in various movement-oriented plays. He took part in the non-cooperation movement in 1970, ignoring Ayub Khan’s bloody eyes by using drama as a tool.
Dr. Enamul Haque acted in the theatre for the first time while studying at Notre Dame College. Father Ganguly directed the play titled ‘Bharate Chai’. He was one of the founding members of the theatre group of the Nagarik Natyasampradaya established in 1968. He also served as the group’s vice president. On behalf of this group, he performed on the stage for the first time under the direction of Ataur Rahman in the play ‘Buro Shaliker ghare Ro’. He acted in many other plays including Dewan Gazi’s ‘Kissa’, Nuruldin’s ‘Sarajibon’ for the same team. In 1995, he left this group and founded Nagarik Natangon. He was the president of it.
The first TV drama starring Enamul Haque is ‘Mukhra Ramani Bashikaran’. It is produced by Mustafa Monwar. Dr. Enamul Haque is also successful as a playwright. The name of the first play written by him was ‘Onek Diner Ekdin’ many days. It was produced by Abdullah Al Mamun. Dr. Enamul Haque has written a total of 60 plays for TV screen. His writings are among the notable TV dramas of those days, on a ‘Nirjon Shoikote’, ‘Seishob Din Guli’ ‘Keba Apon Keba Por ‘ and so on.
Enamul Haque made his debut as a playwright for theatre through the play ‘Bibaho Utshob’. And ‘Grihabasi’ was the first play written by him for his own theatre group Nagarik Natyangan. The play, written in 1983, received a good response on the theatres in Dhaka. Dr. Enamul Haque was awarded the Ekushey Padak in 2012 in recognition of his work. Five years later of that this talented playwright won the Independence Award in 2017.
