Amitabh Reza Chowdhury

Amitabh Reza Chowdhury is a Bangladeshi filmmaker. In his career, he has directed nearly fifteen hundred television commercials (henceforth TVCs).^[1][2] Amitabh has also directed a few television films to critical acclaim. He founded the production house 'half stop down', which mainly produces TVCs. Amitabh's directorial debut in theatrical feature film is Aynabaji which was released on 30 September 2016.^{[3][4][5][6][7][8]}

Chowdhury was born to a middle-class family in 1976. His hometown is Kishorganj, Bangladesh. He passed his HSC from BAF Shaheen College Dhaka.^[9] He went to Pune, India to study economics. While there, he studied literature on his own to aid his dream about making films.

After returning to Bangladesh, Chowdhury made a television film named Hawa Ghar (1999) under Maasranga Production which gained popularity. After Hawa Ghar he directed the first 20-episodes of the TV series Bondhon (2001-2002) under Maasranga Production. Following the success of Hawa Ghar and Bondhon, he received offers from agencies to make television commercials. He is now one of the leading directors of TVCs in Bangladesh. A number of his productions have been screened in other countries as well.^[10][11] He, his sister Mahjabin Reza and Md Assaduzzaman are owners of the production company "Half Stop Down". Under his production house he made more than 12 television films, followed by his first theatrical feature film. He has also worked as adjunct faculty in the Television, Film & Photography Department of the University of Dhaka.^[12]

Chowdhury's first wife was actress Nowrin Hasan Khan Jenny, whom he married in 2007 and divorced in 2009.^[13]

In January 2014, Chowdhury married Meem Rashid, the younger sister of singer Rafiath Rashid Mithila. They got divorced in 2016.^[14]

In November 2025, Chowdhury married Mushfica Masud in New York. Masud is a filmmaker and educated from Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema of Brooklyn College.^[15][16]

Chowdhury's debut film as a director was Aynabaji (2016).^{[17][18][19][20]} The film was a major success in the box office, and it was screened in movie halls across the country for next few months. However, it was not profitable for the producer.^[21] His upcoming films include "Rickshaw Girl" and "Punorujjibon".^[22] Aynabaji was screened at Marché du Film at 69th annual Cannes Film Festival, where it scored well. Aynabaji has won the award of the best film at the United States' 11th Seattle South Asian Film Festival.^[23] His next film was Munshigiri, released digitally by Chorki in 2021.^[24]

Amitabh Reza Chowdhury has been a jury member at several film festivals, offering his insight and expertise to support new talents in the film industry.

• Dhaka International Mobile Film Festival (DIMFF): In 2021, Chowdhury was invited to be a jury member for the 7th Dhaka International Mobile Film Festival. This festival highlights films shot entirely on mobile devices, fostering creativity and innovation in digital filmmaking.^[26]
• 11th International Children's Film Festival (2018): Chowdhury served on the jury for the 11th International Children's Film Festival. His role involved evaluating films that cater to young audiences, promoting the importance of children’s cinema in inspiring and educating the next generation.^[27]
• JU Independent Film Festival : Im Jahr 2022 wurde Chowdhury als Jurymitglied für das Jahangirnagar University Independent Film Festival ausgewählt . Dieses Festival würdigt unabhängige Filme und bietet Nachwuchsfilmern eine Plattform, um ihre Werke zu präsentieren. ^{[ 28 ]}
• Sylhet Film Festival : Amitabh Reza Chowdhury war 2020 auch Mitglied der Jury beim 4. Sylhet Film Festival. Seine Rolle bei diesem Festival konzentrierte sich auf die Rezension und Auszeichnung von Filmen aus verschiedenen Genres und trug so zum Wachstum neuer Filmemacher in Bangladesch bei.

Chowdhury erhielt für sein Werk zahlreiche nationale und internationale Auszeichnungen. 2017 wurde ihm der Meril-Prothom- Alo-Preis für die beste Filmregie verliehen. Außerdem erhielt er 2016 beim Seattle South Asian Film Festival den Preis für den besten Film für „Aynabaji“ . ^{[ 29 ] [ 30 ]}

• Beste Regie (2016) : Chowdhury erhielt den renommierten Nationalen Filmpreis für die beste Regie für seine Arbeit an dem Film Aynabaji , der sowohl bei Kritikern als auch beim Publikum großen Erfolg hatte. ^{[ 31 ]}

• Bester Regisseur (Fernsehen) 2008 : Chowdhury wurde für seine herausragenden Leistungen im Bereich Fernsehdramen als bester Regisseur in der Kategorie Fernsehen ausgezeichnet . ^{[ 32 ]}
• Bester Drehbuchautor (TV) 2008 : Im selben Jahr erhielt er auch die Auszeichnung als bester Drehbuchautor im Fernsehen.
• Bester Regisseur einer Fernsehserie (Kritikerpreis) 2014 : Im Jahr 2014 gewann er den Kritikerpreis für die beste Regie einer Fernsehserie , in Anerkennung seiner herausragenden Leistungen als Regisseur von Fernsehserien. ^{[ 33 ]}
• Bester Filmregisseur (Kritikerpreis) 2016 : Amitabh Reza Chowdhury wurde bei den Meril Prothom Alo Awards für seinen Film „Aynabaji“ mit dem Kritikerpreis für den besten Filmregisseur ausgezeichnet . ^{[ 34 ] [ 35 ]}

• Bester OTT-Regisseur (Jury) 2026 : Er erhielt die Auszeichnung gemeinsam mit Vicky Zahed für die Webserie Bohemian Ghora (2025), während Vicky Zahed in derselben Kategorie für Chokro 2 ausgezeichnet wurde . ^{[ 36 ]}

• Media related to Amitabh Reza Chowdhury at Wikimedia Commons