He wanted to live six more months. The physicians did everything they could, but finally all attempts to safe the actor’s life failed. Abdul Kader breathed his last at 8:20am Saturday morning at a private hospital in the capital city. Abdul Kader’s daughter-in-law Zahida Islam confirmed the actor’s death to Prothom Alo.
He was 69. Abdul Kader has left behind his wife, son and daughter.
Widely popular TV actor Abdul Kader had long been unwell. He was taken to Chennai for treatment on 8 December where, on 15 December, he was diagnosed with cancer. Cancer had spread all over his body, the physicians there said, and he was too weak to be given chemotherapy.
The actor returned to Dhaka on Sunday evening. On 21 December he tested positive for coronavirus. On Thursday Abdul Kader felt a bit better. As he was in the corona unit of the hospital, his family could not be with him.
Daughter-in-law Zahida said at around 11:00pm they had been at the hospital, but left upon advice of the physician. Then they rushed back within an hour after they received an emergency call from the hospital.
The physicians said that Abdul Kader’s condition had deteriorated. He had become weak and wasn’t moving. His breathing had become feeble too. At around midnight his condition suddenly deteriorated and the physicians shifted him from the corona unit to the ICU. He passed away while undergoing treatment in the ICU Saturday morning.
Actor Abdul Kader was born in 1951 in the village Sonarang of Tongibari upazila, Munshiganj. His parents were Abdul Jalil and Anwara Khatun.
Abdul Kader had an Honours and Masters degree in economics from Dhaka University. He began his career as a teacher. He would teach economics at Singair College and Louhajang College. He later joined the advertising firm Bitopi as an executive. In 1979 he joined the multinational company Bata where he worked for 35 years.
His first acting role was of ‘Amol’ in Rabindranath Tagore’s ‘Dakghar’.
From 1972 to 1974, for three consecutive terms he was drama secretary of Dhaka University’s Mohsin Hall student union. In 1972 he won the best actor’s award in champion Mohsin Hall’s play ‘Jaundice O Bibidho Balloon’ written by Selim Al Din and directed by Nasir Uddin Yusuf.
He was a member of the winning team in Bangladesh Television’s university quiz programme ‘Bolun Dekhi’. Till 1975 Abdul Kader was an executive council member of the DUCSU drama circle.
He became a member of the Theatre 'Natya Goshti' in 1973 and was its joint secretary for four years and general secretary for six years. He would act on television from 1972 an in radio plays from 1973.
Abdul Kader’s first TV serial was ‘Esho Golper Deshe’. He was the vice president of the Bangladesh Television Drama Artiste and Dramatists Council.
Kader acted in over 1,000 shows of 30 productions of the drama group Theatre. His well-known plays include ‘Payer Awaz Pawa Jai,’ ‘Ekhono Kritadas,’ ‘Tomrai,’ ‘Spordha,’ ‘Dui Bon,’ and ‘Meraj Fakirer Ma.’ He acted in ‘Payer Awaz Pawa Jai,’ at the 1982 international drama festival in Seoul, South Korea.
He also acted in plays staged in several places around the world including Japan, Canada, Australia, Kolkata, Delhi and Dubai as well in almost all districts of Bangladesh.
Abdul Kader acted in over 2,000 television plays. His prominent TV plays include ‘Kothao Keu Nei,’ ‘Matir Kole,’ ‘Nakhatrer Raat,’ ‘Shirsha Bindu,’ ‘Sabuj Sathi,’ ‘Tin Tekka,’ ‘Jubo Raj,’ ‘Agun Laga Sandhya,’ ‘Package Sangbad,’ ‘Sabuj Chhaya,’ ‘Kusum Kusum Bhalobasha,’ ‘Neetu Tomake Bhalobashi,’ ‘Amader Chhoto Nodi,’ ‘Dula Bhai,’ ‘Oggyan Party,’ ‘Mobaraker Eid,’ ‘Bahurupi,’ ‘Ei Makeup,’ ‘Dhuli Bari,’ ‘Saat Goenda,’ ‘Ek Janame,’ ‘Jol Pore Pata Nore,’ ‘Khan Bahadurer Tin Chhele,’ and many more.
He acted in many films as well. Popular actor Abdul Kader also appeared in many advertisements.