Mamunur Rashid remembers Humayun Faridee at a commemoration programme on Wednesday at Chhayanaut.— Snigdha Zaman

Humayun Faridee’s peers and colleagues remembered the acting genius in a commemoration programme organised by Television Programme Producers’ Association of Bangladesh on Thursday at the Chhayanaut Auditorium.
The programme titled ‘Tumi Robey Nirobe’, was attended by renowned actors, directors and producers like Syed Hasan Imam, Atiqul Haque Chowdhury, Mamunur Rashid, Jamaluddin Hossain, Tareque Anam Khan, Hanif Sanket, among others, to remember Faridee, who passed away on February 13 at the age of 60.
Speakers at the programme evaluated Humayun Faridee as an actor, his contribution to TV, theatre and cinema. Moreover, they demanded due state honour for Faridee as a genius and proper documentation of his memory.  Tarique Anam Khan, who was also the anchor of the programme, was the first to speak at the session. Recalling the grand birthday bash organised by the producers last year to celebrate Faridee’s 60th birthday at the same venue, Tareque said, ‘It’s the bitter reality that just a few months after the grand celebration, we have now organised a commemoration programme for him.’
Describing Faridee as a great actor, the president of the association Mamunur Rashid said, ‘He was one of the very few actors, who could spontaneously use his intellect and emotion together.  Television Programme Producers’ Association will bring out a publication on the great actor.’ Syed Hasan Imam praised Faridee’s helpful mentality. ‘He was not just a brilliant actor but also helped his co-artistes to explore their talents,’ he said.
Gazi Rakayet evaluated Faridee as a teacher saying, ‘I had the rare opportunity to attend a few acting classes conducted by him. He was a great teacher who had extraordinary insights on teaching acting.’ Poet Goutam Dam recited a self composed poem titled ‘Faridee Dada’ in memory of the great actor.
Humayun Faridee embarked on his acting career as a Jatra artiste at a young age. While at university he began acting in theatres in the late 1970s and was active till the 1990s. He reigned over both theatre and TV with his unique acting ability to portray versatile characters, in the 1980s.  In the early 1990s, he became a regular in cinema with ‘high hopes’ of bringing about the rebirth of the country’s movie industry. Meanwhile, he left theatre for ‘personal causes’. However, till his last days he continued his acting career in TV plays.