Struggle and stardom, luck and laurels, ups and downs -director Dr Mehmood Husain has experienced it all. He passed away on November 11 while undergoing treatment for cancer. He was 58 and is survived by wife, and two daughters.
Born in Sambalpur, Husain did his MA in Political Science from Delhi University and MPhil and PhD from School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi. He switched over to cinema with a Diploma in Film Direction from the Film and TV Institute of India (FTII), Pune.
Thirty years experience in film industry and TV as director, writer and producer, his feature films and documentaries represented India at four international film festivals. He wrote, directed and produced about 76 documentaries, short films, TV programmes and serials. He wrote and directed three feature films: (1) Unwanted (English) 1985, (2) Rashmi Rekha (Odia) 1998, (3) Ulgulan (Odia-Sambalpuri) 2009.
Besides movies, Dr Husain was a critically acclaimed documentary filmmaker with films like ‘A Cry Strangled’ (on female foeticide) for DD, which inspired the Government of Maharastra to ban the practice of sex determination test. Specially commissioned by Doordarshan (DD) to make the series ‘Sixty Years of Oriya Cinema’, he made NABARD sponsored serial ‘Pade Agaku’ (A small step forward). He was also assigned by DD to make Odia serial ‘Kunti Kuntala Shakuntala’ based on Kendra Sahitya Academy Award winning writer Binapani Mohanty’s novel.
Besides he also made serials for DD like ‘Bajrabahu’ based on Kanhu Charan Mohanty’s Odia classic. He directed documentaries ‘Prakruti Kolare Adivasi Mahila’ and ‘Tribal women in the lap of nature’. He also directed ‘Poet Sitakant Mahapatra: The Mythographer of Time’ for Films Division, Ministry of I & B, Government of India and documentary ‘Maulana Azad’ for NFDC- Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India. Recently, he was doing documentary on Odia New Wave Cinema sponsored by Film Division.
Dr Husain had produced and directed films for Iranian TV and ATN Satellite Channel. He also worked as Production Chief of ATN and correspondent for the English service of the German Radio, feature writer and Assistant Editor for National Herald and Blitz, Tuesday and Khabar Kagaj. He also wrote for many national and international newspapers. He penned two books entitled, The PlO: A study in Ideology, Strategy and Tactics and The Revolutionary Arabs: The Unfinished Agenda.
His demise was condoled by the film fraternity in the State with prominent personalities visiting his residence at High Tec complex, Sundarapada. The funeral was conducted at Satyanagar on Wednesday afternoon.
