lit a candle 1h agoA television playwright working across serial drama in South Asia is less known to Western audiences, but Maruf Hossain Sajib's method, writing and directing his own work, recalls the studio discipline of American television's earlier decades. His death at 40 is a significant loss to Bangladeshi natok.
Their story
Maruf Hossain Sajib was a Bangladeshi television director and playwright who wrote many of the dramas he staged, building a recognisable voice in Dhaka's small-screen industry before his sudden death at forty. Colleagues knew him as a storyteller first: a writer who carried scripts from the page to the set,…
Maruf Hossain Sajib was a Bangladeshi television director and playwright who wrote many of the dramas he staged, building a recognisable voice in Dhaka's small-screen industry before his sudden death at forty. Colleagues knew him as a storyteller first: a writer who carried scripts from the page to the set, and a director who kept returning to intimate family stories, romantic comedy and moral pressure.
Reliable obituaries place him among the younger generation of natok makers who rose through Eid specials and telefilms in the 2010s and early 2020s. He directed and wrote popular titles including Bilop, Babui Pakhir Basha, Rongin Kagoj, Adhar, Security Girl, Tomake Paowar Jonno, Hashi, Bikel Belar Chad, Dusto Misty Prem, Adorer Chad, Jora Shaliker Ghor, Jolkouri, Dujon Dujonar, Bablar Jadur Baksho, Khushi, Aaj Akashe Chad Nei, Kotha Bondhu, Kajol Chokher Meye, Apnara Amake Shunun, Aaj Kal Tumi Ami, 100 Bigha Ful Bagan, Mumta, Meghla and Nusaiba. The Movie Database later listed further directing and writing credits into 2025 and 2026, among them Valo Manush, Ami Ekhanei Thakbo, Amar Bou Sob Jane and Votvoti, confirming how continuously he worked until the end.
Recognition arrived with Bilop. At the Meril-Prothom Alo Awards for 2021, held in May 2022 at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre, critics named Maruf Hossain Sazib (a common English spelling of his name in that report) Best Scriptwriter in the limited-length fiction category for the drama listed there as Biplob, matching the Bilop title used across Bangla obituaries. The Times of Bangladesh and other outlets also credit him with Best Playwright and Best Television Director honours at the Channel i Digital Media Award 2021 for the same work. Afran Nisho and Mehazabien Chowdhury appear in the widely circulated full drama upload of Bilop, which kept his name attached to one of the decade's more watched Bangladeshi teleplays.
Off camera he held organisational roles. He served as training and research secretary of the Television Playwrights' Association, and Directors Guild Bangladesh later called him a respected member when announcing his death. He also published a short-story collection titled Oli Goli Te (also rendered Alite Galite), extending his writing beyond television scripts.
On the morning of 15 September 2026, around 5:00am, Sajib died in Uttara, Dhaka, after heart-related complications. He was 40. Television Playwrights' Association president Shihab Shaheen confirmed the death to the press, noting that Sajib had been receiving treatment for heart problems and that his condition worsened that Tuesday. Director Ashikur Rahman said he had recently returned home after treatment and appeared to be recovering. Colleagues recalled that he had still been online and discussing future work only hours earlier. Actor Tawsif Mahbub wrote that they had spoken recently about upcoming plans; Mehazabien Chowdhury remembered meetings full of ideas; Ziaul Faruq Apurba called him a favourite director of many. His janaza was held after the Zuhr prayer at Uttara Sector 12, and he was buried in the Sector 12 graveyard the same day. He is survived by his wife and three children.
Sajib's legacy sits in the volume of Bangla television drama he left behind, in prize-winning writing for Bilop, and in the shock his early death sent through an industry that still measured him as a young craftsman with unfinished plans. Memorial coverage from Daily New Nation, Times of Bangladesh, Views Bangladesh, RTV, Bangla Telegraph, Gramerkagoj and Bijoy Bangla together fix the facts of the morning: heart failure, age forty, Uttara, and a community already quoting his unfinished lists of ideas.
His death also reopened a quieter conversation inside Bangla television about the health pressures on mid-career makers who shoot compressed Eid schedules while carrying guild and association duties. Friends described a man still sketching plots on the phone the day before he died. That unfinished notebook, more than any single rating chart, is what fellow writers said they would miss.
Biography adapted from Daily New Nation; Times of Bangladesh (tob.news); Views Bangladesh; RTV Online; Bangla Telegraph; Gramerkagoj; Bijoy Bangla; Dainik Somoy; The Daily Star (Meril-Prothom Alo 2021 winners); Directors Gu.
In their own words
“Life is so uncertain and so short. Death has reminded us of that once again in the harshest way.”
Actor Tawsif Mahbub, quoted in Times of Bangladesh coverage after Sajib's death, recalling a recent conversation about future work.
“Our everyone's favourite director Maruf Hossain Sajib is no more.”
Actor Ziaul Faruq Apurba in a condolence message reported by Views Bangladesh.
“I did not work much with Maruf Hossain Sajib bhai, but we met many times. When I used to do dramas regularly, we would talk about many things whenever we met.”
Actress Mehazabien Chowdhury, quoted across Views Bangladesh and Bijoy Bangla memorial reports.
“Maruf Hossain Sajib, a respected member of Directors Guild Bangladesh, passed away at 5am today.”
Directors Guild Bangladesh condolence message reported on 15 September 2026.
“He had many plans and ideas and wanted to accomplish much more.”
Actress Mehazabien Chowdhury remembering Sajib's creative ambitions, as reported by Times of Bangladesh.
“Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi rajiun.”
Traditional Muslim expression of grief used in Directors Guild Bangladesh and actors' condolence posts.
“He breathed his last at about 5:00am.”
Reporting via Television Playwrights' Association president Shihab Shaheen in Daily New Nation.
“A voice of Bangla television drama who wrote what he directed.”
Editorial characterisation synthesised from multiple 15 September 2026 obituaries describing his dual role as playwright and director.
Photos
5Maruf Hossain Sajib, portrait used in Times of Bangladesh obituary coverage
by People Forever
Maruf Hossain Sajib in a portrait circulated by RTV Online
by People Forever
Memorial share image from Dainik Somoy coverage of Sajib's death
by People Forever
Portrait accompanying Gramerkagoj's report on Sajib's death
by People Forever
From social media
3Posts by Maruf, and posts about them, kept here so they are not lost.