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| Author | Qazi Anwar Hussain |
|---|---|
| Cover artist |
|
| Language | Bengali |
| Series | Masud Rana |
| Subject | Thriller |
| Genre | Espionage/mystery/adventure |
| Publisher | Sheba Prokashoni |
Publication date | 1966 – Current |
| Publication place | Bangladesh |
| Media type | Print (paperback) |
| Website | https://sebaprokashoni.com/ |
Masud Rana is a fictional character created in 1966 by the writer Qazi Anwar Hussain, who featured him in 472 books (325 novels and 6 short stories). Qazi Anwar Hussain created the adult spy-thriller series Masud Rana, at first modeled after James Bond, but expanded widely. So far 472 books have been published in this series which has gained a lot of popularity in Bangladesh. Written from the 1960s and continuing to present day, books are published almost every three months by Sheba Prokashoni, one of the most popular publishing houses of Bangladesh. Although Qazi Anwar Hussain started the series, he no longer writes it. A group of ghostwriters are employed to produce all the new Masud Rana novels.
The Masud Rana books describe the adventures of its eponymous hero Masud Rana, an international espionage agent of Bangladeshi origin, closely resembling James Bond in his expertise with weapons and love for women. Although the sole author of the series was Qazi Anwar Hussain, it is known that he liberally extracted segments of plots from popular Western spy thrillers from the contemporary period. Nonetheless, the series became a boon for young people in post-war Bangladesh, who had few entertainment alternatives in an era pre-dating cable TV, the Internet and smart phones. The books caused concern among some middle-class parents because of their occasional racy contents, and reading Masud Rana was an activity often frowned upon. The series eventually ran to well over four hundred individual titles.[1]
Masud Rana has also been adapted for one Bengali film and one TV drama.[2]
In July 2018, the Bangladeshi production house Jaaz Multimedia received permission from Hussain to make three movies based on the first three novels of the series. The production house hopes to release the films in the next five years.[3]
- ^ "The Spy who Lives on". The Daily Star. 26 May 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
- ^ "'Masud Rana is my dream role' -ABM Sumon". The Daily Star. 6 June 2020. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
- ^ "Masud Rana coming back after 44 years". The Asian Age. Dhaka. Retrieved 19 August 2018.