Google Doodle celebrates 73rd birth anniversary of Rosy Afsari

Doodle has created a Doodle to celebrate the life and career of Rosy Afsari, a prolific and award-winning Bengali actress who broke down barriers in the Bangladeshi film industry by becoming the country’s first female director.

The Doodle shows Rosy smiling while dressed in traditional attire.

Born in Laxmipur on this day in 1949, Shamima Akhter Rosy began her acting career in the early 1960s, appearing first as Rosy Samad, and later under her married name Rosy Afsari. In 1964 she appeared in Zahir Raihan's Sangam, the first color film in Pakistan.

Making her mark during the Golden Era of Bangladeshi cinema, Afsari came to prominence for her subtly powerful performances in films like the 1973 release A River Called Titas, about the life of fishermen on the bank of the Titas River in Bangladesh, and the 1974 historical drama Alor Michil, focusing on the Bangladesh independence movement in 1971. Over the course of a career spanning four decades, she was a standout in both Bangla and Urdu language films, as her unique presence shone through.

At the first ever Bangladesh National Film Awards ceremony in 1975, she won the award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the film Lathial. In 1986, Rosy Afsari directed the film Nirasha, making her the first woman movie director in Bangladesh. She also produced several movies through her company Rosy Films.