Renowned scholar and theatre director Syed Jamil Ahmed has been appointed as the 24th director general of the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA).

Assistant Director-Administration at the BSA, Hasan Mahmud confirmed the news to the Daily Sun on Monday.

“Renowned scholar and theatre director Syed Jamil Ahmed has been appointed as Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) Director General. The Ministry of Public Administration on Monday appointed him after issuing a gazette notification,” Hasan said.

Syed Jamil Ahmed will serve the post for the next two years.

It may be mentioned that, following the recent fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led government, Liaquat Ali Lucky, who served as the BSA director general for over a decade, stepped down from his position on 12 August.

Syed Jamil is a Bangladeshi scholar, theatre director, and founding chair of Theatre and Music Department of the University of Dhaka.

He has directed several popular plays. His notable theatre productions are – “Kamala Ranir Sagar Dighi” (1997), “Ek Hazar Aur Ek Thi Rate” (1998), “Behular Bhasan” (2004), “Pahiye” (2006) and “Shong Bhong Chong” (2009).

His latest production “Ami Birangona Bolchhi” premiered at the Shilpakala Academy on 16 June 2023. The play is based on Neelima Ibrahim’s book about the war heroines in the Liberation War in 1971.

Syed Jamil Ahmed has won a number of awards for his contribution including Nandikar National Theatre Award of Calcutta and the BV Karanth Award of India’s National School of Drama (NSD) to the field of theatre.