Salman Shah, the beloved actor of the 1990s, remains an unforgettable figure on the Bangladeshi silver screen. Around the same time, another star was rising – Shakil Khan. Reflecting on that era, Shakil Khan has stated bluntly, “Those within the film industry were responsible for bringing Salman Shah down.”
The comments came after Shakil Khan received a special honour at the ‘Bangladesh Cultural Reporters Association (BCRA) Awards 2025’ on Saturday evening (9 November), held at the National Art Gallery auditorium of the Shilpakala Academy. Speaking to journalists outside the venue, he opened up about the past and present state of Dhallywood cinema.
Despite having been away from the industry for some time, Shakil Khan emphasised that he still identifies himself as a ‘filmmaker’. “People remember me because of cinema. I still love this medium. I have never said I would stop making films, but any future work must be done in a healthy, sustainable way. Good films are being made now, but the consistent interest from producers that we saw back then is no longer there,” he explained.
During the 1990s, Shakil Khan was a popular and commercially successful actor, though he never received the title of ‘superstar’. Reflecting on this, he said: “Nowadays, actors are called superstars after just one or two films. Back then, we delivered hit after hit but never earned that title. In 1996, the film Ei Mon Tomake Dilam released alongside eleven other films and was commercially successful, yet we were not recognised as superstars. We had the audience’s love, but the accolade never came. Today, the scene is entirely different – and that’s something you’ve created.”
He went on to comment on the state of the industry: “Cinema is doing well, but the internal support and sustained interest from within the industry are not what they used to be. Yet, my love for this profession remains undiminished.”