Jamaluddin Hussain

Mr. Jamaluddin Hussain was born in October, 1943. Hecompleted his early education at St. Placid’s High School, Chittagong and Chittagong Government College. He graduated in Mechanical Engineering in 1965 from the then East Pakistan University of Engineering & Technology, now BUET, Dhaka and completed Post Graduate Diploma in Advanced Industrial Management from The Netherlands in 1974.

Mr. Jamaluddin Hussain joined the then East Pakistan Industrial Development Corpration in 1966 as an Assistant Engineer. He left Government job in 1978, when he was a General Manager in Bangladesh Textile Mills Corporation.

Mr. Jamaluddin Hussain went into construction business in 1978 and was a Director of a large construction group Nirman International Ltd. He later started his own textile industy in 1986 and was in textiles and garment business till 2006.

Alongside his profession as an Industrial Manager and a businessman, Mr. Jamaluddin Hussain has been engaged in theater acting direction as a hobby and passion. He started amateur acting from childhood. He continued his theatrical pursuits at school, college and university and throughout his professional life. He is now a full time theater activist.

During the War of Liberation of Bangladesh in 1971 he was arrested and was put under surveillance by the Pakistan Army for pro- liberation ideals and cultural activities. He later managed to leave secretly his place of work and residence in Chittagong and managed to stay underground with his wife and two babies until the country was liberated.

After liberation of Bangladesh, Mr. Jamaluddin Hussain joined the Group Theater Movement and became of the leading activists of the movement in Bangladesh. He joined Nagorik Natya Natya Samprodaya,a pioneer theater group of Bangladesh, in 1975. He later became Vice-President of the group. He left Nagorik Natya Samprodaya in 1995 and founded Nagorik Natyangon as its founder General Secretary. He is now President of the Group, which has been renamed in 1998 as Nagorik Natyangon Ensemble.

As a theater activist and creative artist Mr. Jamaluddin Hussain has directed and acted in many highly acclaimed stage productions in Bangladesh. Several of his productions have been also staged in Kolkata and New York. He has also acted in Delhi and London. After moving to New York in 2007 Mr. Jamaluddin Hussain has regularly directed and acted in Bangla plays in New York till 2017. He has also directed and acted in South Asian Theater Festival at New Jersey, USA. Alongside his works on the stage, he has acted in over 200 television plays and serials in leading roles. He has also written several plays for television and stage.

As a theater organizer Mr. Jamaluddin Hussain was a Presidium member of Bangladesh Group Theater Federation, which is the umbrella organization of over 150 theater groups in Bangladesh. He was the founder General Secretary of Bangladesh Betar Televison Shilpi Songshod (Radio & Television Artists Association) and also President of Bangladesh Television Shilpi Songstha (Television Artists Association).
Mr. Jamaluddin Hussain was Chairman of the Steering Committee for overseeing the construction of the National Theater Complex, National Music Complex and National Art Gallery at Dhaka, Bangladesh. He was a member of the National Commission for granting autonomy to State owned Radio and Television. He was also member of National Grants Committee for Films. Mr. Hussain was the Leader of the Bangladesh Cultural Team to Turkey.

Mr. Jamaluddin Hussain has received several awards and citations from different organizations for his creative works. He has received the prestigious Bangladesh Cine Journalists Association Award in 1998 and 1999, Bangladesh Cultural Reporters Award in 1999 and 2000, Television Reporters Award in 2000, 2003 and 2004 and several other awards.

Mr. Jamaluddin Hussain has been awarded EKUSHE PADAK, the second highest National Award by the Government of Bangladesh, in 2013 for his achievements in the field of Art & Culture.