Renowned theater director and academic Syed Jamil Ahmed has been appointed as the Director General of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy for a two-year term. The Public Administration Ministry issued a notification today (September 9) confirming the appointment.
Born on April 7, 1955, in Dhaka, Syed Jamil Ahmed joined the Liberation War in 1971 at just sixteen years old. He later graduated from India’s National School of Drama in 1978, securing first place in his class. That same year, he topped the Television Producers Training course at the Film and Television Institute of India. In 1989, he earned his master’s degree in theater arts from the University of Warwick, UK, and in 1997, he completed his PhD at Dhaka University.
Dr Ahmed is the founder of the Department of Theater and Performance Studies at Dhaka University, where he has taught for over 30 years. His notable publications include Achinpakhi Infinity: Indigenous Theater in Bangladesh, In Praise of Niranjan: Islamic Theatre and Bangladesh, and Reading Against the Orientalist Grain: Performance and Politics Entwined with a Buddhist Strain.
These works have been published by esteemed publishers such as Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, UPL, and Andersen. He has authored over 60 academic articles on theater, stage direction, folklore, and cultural studies, with his writings appearing in languages including Bengali, English, French, Norwegian, Russian, Chinese, and Korean.
Ahmed’s career as a director is distinguished by his blending of traditional Bengali theatrical forms with indigenous cultural elements. His productions, staged both nationally and internationally, have been highly acclaimed, particularly Chaka (by Salim Al Din), Bishadsindhu (by Mir Mosharraf Hossain), and Rizwan, based on the poetry of Kashmiri poet Aga Shahid Khan. His work has been staged in India, Pakistan, and the US, earning international recognition.
In addition to his directorial accomplishments, Syed Jamil Ahmed has designed lighting for more than 70 stage productions and set designs for over 80 plays. He has led numerous workshops and received several research fellowships. His impact on Bangladesh’s theater scene extends beyond his department, having directed productions for the country’s leading theater groups. In 2018, he founded Spardha: Independent Theater Collective, a nonprofit, professional theater group.