Published: 09:10 AM, 20 May 2026
Masud Rana is sixty but not ready to call it a day!
Back in 1966, a year just after the brief and inconclusive Indo-Pak war, the literary scene of the then East Pakistan was rocked by a new kind of fictional protagonist -- someone who was not the epitome of virtue and ideal but a person who often lived at the edge of morality.
Thus the first morally ambiguous Bangladeshi fictional hero was born, bdnews24 reports.
He was styled after James Bond.
The guy loves whisky, does not shy away from taking a woman to bed, even if it's only for a night, drives the car fast, enjoys life's pleasures and is the envy of the staid lot.
While orthodox society with its pseudo puritanical norms was outraged at first; fathers reprimanded teenagers for showing interest in the character, although secretly harboured an admiration for the fellow.
Debonair, bon viveur and Bengali -- Rana triggered a social storm!
Sixty years later, in the hearts of, if not millions but thousands, he still remains the Bangladeshi hero who can match any international superspy.
Masud Rana is his name and, this year, he turns sixty!
Sheba Prokashoni, the publishing house which brought out the Rana books written by Qazi Anwar Hussain, has reportedly suspended its operation in order to carry out an internal audit over allegations of financial aberrations but that has hardly impacted Rana's cult status.
Hypothetically speaking, in a worse case scenario, even if Masud Rana books do not come out, the cachet of the fictional hero will remain and amplify.
