Comedian Tele Samad dies

Renowned actor and comedian Tele Samad died at a city hospital on Saturday. He was 74. Tele Samad breathed his last in the city's Square Hospital in the noon, said Zayed Khan, general secretary of Bangladesh Film Artiste' Association.

The actor was admitted to the hospital on December 4 with difficulty in food ingestion due to low count of platelet in his blood.  Prior to that, he underwent a bypass surgery in the US in 2017. After his condition became stable, he returned to Bangladesh on September 27, 2017. But he was twice admitted to Square Hospital in October and again in November, 2017.

After finding out about his health, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina handed the actor a savings certificate worth Tk 2 million for his treatment. Born in Munshiganj's Noagaon, Samad grew up in a cultural sphere and followed in the footsteps of his elder brother, artist Abdul Hai, by enrolling into Dhaka University's Fine Arts Department.

He acted in almost 600 Bangla films. He made his debut in 1973 film Kar Bou. He got his breakthrough in the film Noyonmoni, directed by Amzad Hossain.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday expressed deep shock and sorrow at the death of renowned actor and comedian Tele Samad.

In a condolence message, she prayed for the eternal salvation of the departed soul and expressed sympathy to the bereaved family.