Popular Bangladesh actor Shanto Khan and his father Salim Khan, an expelled leader of the Awami Leage, were lynched in Chandpur area on Monday, the same day Sheikh Hasina resigned as prime minister and fled the country amid deadly protests over a job quota.
According to media reports, Shanto was lynched at Chandpur on Monday night along with his father Selim Khan, owner of a renowned Bangladeshi production house, who had financed films ‘Tungi Parar Miya Bhai’, ‘Commando’ and others.
Salim Khan was an expelled leader of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League, the supporters of which have been facing attacks for the past several days.
Bodies of at least 20 supporters of Hasina’s Awami League party were recovered across the country through Tuesday, taking the overall death toll to 469 in almost three weeks since the protest first started in July, according to local media reports.
Members of the Kolkata film industry on Wednesday expressed shock over the killing of Shanto Khan and his father Salim Khan. The Kolkata-based actors, several of whom have worked with Shanto Khan in Bangladeshi film projects, however, did not want to comment on the reasons for the killing, saying those were internal matters of another country.
"I was stunned after hearing the news that he and his father were killed. We don't know the circumstances leading to their deaths. It saddens my heart to learn they were killed. Artists like us who thrive on art and creativity always yearn for peace, amity and brotherhood," news agency PTI quoted popular actor Rajatabha Dutta as saying.
Dutta, who had worked with Shanto in the 2022 Bangladeshi film ‘Bikkhov’ (Resentment), said that the young actor was cooperative and respectful on the sets.
Who Was Shanto
Shanto debuted with 'Prem Chor' in 2019 and later worked in ‘Piya Re’ in 2021, ‘Bubujaan’ in 2023 and ‘Anto Nagar’ in 2024.
Shanto, who also dabbled in modelling, had essayed the role of young Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in the film 'Tungiparar Miya Bhai' in 2021.
Actor Kaushani Mukhopadhyay, who starred opposite Shanto in ‘Piya Re’, said, "I got the deeply disturbing news late Monday night and have remained distressed ever since."
Kaushani Mukhopadhyay recalled that Shanto had extended all hospitality to her and other actors from India during the shoot at Chandpur and Dhaka for the film and not for once did she feel like an outsider in a foreign land.
“Since I was senior in the industry, Shanto was very respectful towards me and shared his ambition of making a significant impact in the industry," Mukhopadhyay said.
“I believe in the triumph of humanity and hope the situation will soon turn normal there," she said.
Filmmaker Raj Chakraborty said, “Any death, be it of a protesting student, a policeman, an actor, a producer or a political activist, is shocking. All of us have fond memories of working in Bangladesh. I am not merely saying this as a stakeholder of the film industry, but also as a human being and a citizen of India.
Actor-director Parambrata Chatterjee, who had worked on several projects in Bangladesh, was also appalled at the killings in the neighbouring country.
