Mustafa Kamal Syed: A true gentleman

Mustafa Kamal Syed was a true gentleman, a talented director, an extraordinary artiste, a cricket fan, a music lover and so much more. I have so many memories. As far as I remember, it was his undeterred efforts that made it possible for live cricket to be aired on Bangladesh Television. He was crazy about cricket. Now cricket matches are telecast live on various TV channels here. He played a pioneering role to make this possible.

He had a deep passion for music. He had such a variety of music in his collection. He took a lot of care about the music in his plays and had so much knowledge about music. Even behind the camera, he was so talented.

We saw Kamal bhai’s hair turning grey as he grew older. He was a handsome man. He could easily have worked in front of the camera if he wanted. But he didn’t. He would say that we wanted to pay full attention to production. That was about television, but he would act on the radio.

In fact we had acted to together in several plays. My co-actor was Kamal bhai in the first play I acted in when the radio station was shifted from Shahbagh to Agargaon. I can’t quite recall the name of the play, but I do remember his extraordinary acting skills.

And what a voice! There was Raisul Islam Asad’s voice and there was his voice. It was his voice that was heard at the end of the TV drama series ‘E Shob Din Ratri’. Whoever as working on a television drama at the time, whether it was Abdullah Al Mamun, Nowazish Ali Khan or Barkatullah, they would always call Mustafa Kamal Syed when they needed a voice-over.

It is so sad that Kamal bhai fell ill and passed away in this manner. And I could not even go to see him and pay my last respects. That will always sadden me.

He was a true achiever. When he was with BTV, he took television to new heights. He did the same in NTV. Until the agencies came into the scene, NTV had some of the best plays, all thanks to Mustafa Kamal Syed. He fought for that too. He just couldn’t take the way the standard of plays dropped in the hands of the agencies, with foul, crude language. It pained him. He would tell everyone, keep something positive in the plays. People will be entertained, and made to think too. He was a totally positive man, soft spoken, a true gentleman and unwavering in his principles.

He cannot be compared with anyone but himself. He was a source of encouragement and inspiration to many new directors and actors. Director Anjan Aich wrote, “It is totally due to Mustafa Kamal Syed that I am a little known now.” He would tell Momo, “You have to be in this for the long race.” These were words of wisdom, rare insight.

Kamal Bhai knew my parents. I first met him when I went to shoot for the play ‘Borof Gola Nodi’ in BTV. Kamal bhai was a part of all the good plays Afzal and I did together – ‘Niloy Na Jani’, ‘Bondhu Amar’, ‘Ei Shei Konthoshor’. We were like a team. Mumtaz sir would write the plays and Kamal bhai would make them. Munira Yusuf Memi’s first play was his. He would never pressurise new artistes. He would encourage them. He would somehow bring out the best.