Actress Nasima Khan, a prominent figure in the film industry during the 1960s, has passed away. She breathed her last at around 7:30pm on Sunday while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Uttara, Dhaka.

Sony Rahman, organising secretary of the Bangladesh Film Artistes’ Association and an actor, confirmed the news of her death.

Nasima Khan was one of the pioneering actresses of Bangladesh’s film industry. Beginning her journey on the silver screen in the late 1950s, she acted in both Bengali and Urdu-language films.

She was born on 6 August 1944 in Lalbagh, Old Dhaka. Her ancestral home is at Ukil Bari in Rarhikhal village under Sreenagar upazila of Munshiganj. Her father was Mohammad Masud Khan. Her grandfather, Khan Bahadur Abdul Jalil, served as a deputy magistrate in Dhaka during British rule. Her family built a house in Lalbagh in the 1940s and settled there.

Nasima Khan made her big-screen debut in 1959 with AJ Kardar’s Jago Hua Savera. She played one of the supporting female roles in the film, which is regarded as Dhaka’s second talkie and also received international recognition.

In the same year, she got the opportunity to act in Baby Islam’s Urdu film Tanha. Her co-stars included Shabnam, Sumita Devi and Lahore-based actress Shamim Ara.

Nasima Khan made her debut as a leading actress in the 1961 film Je Nodi Moru Pothe, opposite Anis. She subsequently appeared in a string of films, establishing herself as a familiar face on the silver screen.

Among her notable films are Surjasnan, Dharapat, Kar Bou, Ujala, Begana, Apon Dulal, Uljhan, Main Bhi Insan Hoon, Dui Bhai, Gouri, Amar Bou and Dheuyer Pore Dheu.