Rahsaan Noor

Noor was born in Chicago to Bangladeshi parents. His father immigrated to the US in the 1970s and is a software engineer; Noor's mother is a physician. He grew up in Chicago with his younger brother who is an IT consultant. Noor's paternal grandfather was the editor of Bangladesh's two largest newspapers, Dainik Bangla and The Daily Ittefaq, and his maternal grandfather was the managing director of Adamjee Jute Mills.[6]

In 2002, while in high school, Noor auditioned for and landed a role with a new Disney campaign, however, he decided to instead focus his attention on his basketball aspirations.[7] Noor would go on to play Division III college basketball at Lake Forest College and participate in the Midwest Conference Championship game.[7] Playing the point guard position for the team, he was named an Academic All-American.[8] Noor graduated from college with honors in economics and international relations.[7] While in college, Noor also interned for Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Muhammad Yunus.[7]

Noor began his career by appearing in independent movies and Bengali television commercials. In 2013, he made his debut in Bengali cinema opposite Ismat with the romantic drama movie Simanaheen. The movie depicting a Hindu-Muslim relationship became a commercial success and Noor's performance received critical acclaim.[9][10] The Dhallywood Report wrote, "(Noor) took the challenge of learning to act in a new language and succeeded. A very fine young actor, Rahsaan (Noor) is someone to watch out for."

For his work in Simanaheen, Noor was presented with the Outstanding Contributions to Bengali Cinema Award by the Bengali Writers Association.[11]

Noor's next effort saw him portraying the struggling rapper Taz Rahim in the 2015 crime drama movie, The Spectacular Jihad of Taz Rahim, also starring Monica Dogra. Though the film was a commercial and critical failure, Noor's portrayal of Taz Rahim was described by critics as a "charming, fun, and exciting experience".[1] The movie further positioned Noor as a "global desi on the cusp of becoming a dominant global player" with Grazia India calling him an actor "on-the-brink-of-fame".[12][13]

In 2018, Noor broke out and rose to international fame after starring in and directing Bengali Beauty. The film saw him portray the character of a brash Bangladesh radio DJ that challenges authority and romances a demure medical student (Mumtaheena Toya) during a politically turbulent time in Bangladesh's history. Before gaining international acclaim, however, Noor's debut directorial venture garnered much controversy as the film was banned in Bangladesh in March 2018.[14] The ban was later overturned in June 2018.[15] Bengali Beauty would go on to receive critical and mass acclaim while becoming the first Bengali language film in history to release in the United States, United Kingdom, and China.[16] Noor was praised for both his performance and his direction. Sanjay Pati of Urban Asian likened Noor to "a capable bandleader or stage illusionist" who "knows how to structure a story."[17] Regarding his performance, Faraz Hossain of Prothom Alo praised Noor's acting as "outstanding" while Smita Bannerjee of Brown Girl Magazine added that Noor's performance "oozes with charm."[18][19] Nice Noor of NTV documented audience response in Bangladesh with one audience member stating that "watching Bengali Beauty felt like watching a Hollywood movie."[4] Dick Johnson of NBC News further labeled Noor as, "one of the great new talents of our time," while Syed Rumman of NTV Europe added that "Noor's talented entry is an extraordinary addition to Bengali cinema."[3][4] Bengali Beauty's total worldwide gross of US$21,327,428 (BDT 180.5 Crores) make it the all-time highest grossing Bengali language film at the worldwide box office.[2][20][21][22][3]

• Rahsaan Noor at IMDb

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