Mohammad Mainuddin Ahmed (Selim Al Deen) (18 August 1949 – 14 January 2008) was a Bangladeshi playwright and theatre artist. He was the founder chairperson of the Department of Drama and Dramatics at Jahangirnagar University. He was awarded Bangla Academy Literary Award in 1984 and Ekushey Padak in 2007 by the Government of Bangladesh for his contribution to theatre and won the Independence Award in 2023 for his contribution to the field of literature.
Early life and education
Deen was born as Mainuddin to Mofizuddin Ahmed and Firoza Khatun in Shenerkhil village of Sonagazi Upazila of Feni on 18 August 1949. He was the third of their seven siblings. He assumed this pen name later. His school life started in 1954. He travelled with his father to different parts of the country and received education in many institutions as his father was doing a transferable government job in the department of Customs and Excise. He passed matriculation examination in 1964 from Mongal Kandi Bohu Mukhi High School and ISc from Feni College in 1966. In 1967m he was admitted to the University of Dhaka to study Bengali literature. But later he graduated from the Karatia College, Tangail. He came back to the University of Dhaka and obtained his MA degree from the Bengali Department. In 1995, he earned his PhD from Jahangirnagar University. His first job was in an advertising firm as a copywriter. In 1974, he joined Jahangirnagar University as a lecturer. He married Begaumjadi Meherunnisa Parul the same year.
Theater debut
Deen was attracted to reading literary works at a very young age. As he turned on to admit into Dhaka University in 1966, he decided to become a career writer. In the early years, Deen wanted to be a poet and published some of poems he composed. But soon he realised that poetry was not his cup of tea. It was his instructor and a playwright Munier Chowdhury who encouraged him to focus attention on drama. First he started reading plays and study the life of playwrights. Then he started to write plays himself. He wrote his first drama in 1968 while still a university-student. His first radio play was ('On the other side of Darkness') was broadcast in 1969. He wrote a play for Bangladesh Television styled (later renamed ) which was broadcast in 1970. His first play for the theatre was (tr. Story about snakes') was staged in 1972
Deen's close study of European culture is reflected in his initial plays. His earlier works including , , , , Documentary were cast in European format.
However soon he realised that the tales of rural farmers are no less heroic than the Herculean feats of Achilles or Prometheus. This realisation changed his mindset and diverted his attention to the lives of his countrymen.
Career
Deen carried out extensive research for his doctoral dissertation in which he proved that the history of Bengali drama is older than that of European drama. He moved earth and heaven to collect data in support of his thesis. During 1977 to 1979, Selim Al-Deen studied Bengali which prompted him to write his first unique drama . The success of instilled in him enormous confidence that using tradition as the foundation was pregnant with success.
Deen's subsequent works, namely , , , , and followed the pattern of epic realism which he inaugurated in Bengali culture. In the early 1990s, he brought the long overlooked traditional folklore style called to his dramas like . He resorted to the same format while composing .
Dhaka Theatre
Deen was one of the founding members of Dhaka Theatre which is a leading theatre group of the country and rendered vital contribution in advancing the progressive drama movement. Notably, Dhaka Theatre staged almost all of Selim's plays. He and his fellow artists ran the theatre movement across rural Bangladesh to popularise the culture in rural areas of Bangladesh.