Has Shakib Khan truly become everyone’s hero from ‘Gulistan to Gulshan’

Has megastar Shakib Khan really become everyone’s hero—from Gulistan to Gulshan? The phrase “from Gulistan to Gulshan—everyone’s hero” has come from Shakib Khan himself. At the success celebration of the film Borbad, Shakib Khan said that his films are now being embraced by audiences of all classes, from Gulistan to Gulshan.

Shakib Khan’s film career spans 26 years. So far, he has acted in around 250 films. Both the length of his career and the sheer number of films are truly astonishing for any film star. But what is even more interesting is the career graph of Shakib Khan in recent years. Shakib Khan’s career can broadly be divided into two parts: once these two parts are clear, the turning point of his career becomes easier to understand.

From “Ananta Bhalobasha”, his first film directed by Sohanur Rahman Sohan in 1999, to “Tandab”, released in 2025, Shakib Khan’s career can roughly be split into two phases:
First phase: 1999 to 2016
Second phase: 2016 to the present

In the 16 years of his first phase, Shakib Khan achieved much success and recognition. By the end of that period, he was already a superstar—films ran on his name alone. In those 16 years, his bag was full of blockbuster hits such as “Koti Takar Kabin”, “Priya Amar Priya”, “Amar Praner Swami”, “Number One Shakib Khan” and many others. He also won the National Film Award, the Meril Prothom Alo Award and almost every other private award. Even then, Shakib Khan had not become the hero of Gulshan—that is, the upper class, the upper middle class, and the educated audience. They neither wished to watch his films nor accepted him as a hero. Countless trolls and memes were made about him. Multiplexes, including Star Cineplex, did not screen his films—giving the excuse that their audiences did not watch Shakib Khan’s films. From that position, today Shakib Khan’s films are among the biggest commercial successes not only in single-screen cinemas but also in multiplexes.

This radical change in Shakib Khan began in 2016 with the release of “Shikari”. Shikari was a joint production film, directed by Joydeep Mukherjee. Although it was a joint production, the film was made entirely by a director and crew from Kolkata. In this film, Shakib Khan appeared in a completely different form for the first time. Shedding the over-the-top acting, costumes and mannerisms that were previously criticised, Shakib Khan, through “Shikari”, appeared before audiences in a smart, polished form and first caught the attention of the educated upper-class viewers.

After that, in Bangladeshi films like “Samraat”, “Bossgiri”, “Mental” and “Rangbaaz”, there was a mixture of the old and the new Shakib Khan. This was because many of those films had already been started or planned earlier. During this time, two more joint productions were released. In 2017 came “Nabab”, directed by Joydeep Mukherjee. In 2018 came his films “Chalbaaz” and “Bhaijaan Elo Re”. That same year, Rajib Biswas’s “Naqab” was released. Although these films presented Shakib Khan in a new light, not all of them were equally commercially successful. In fact, gradually the box-office returns of these films began to decline. On the other hand, even though Shakib Khan’s on-screen presence changed, his image in the minds of audiences did not. This was because films like “Panku Jamai”, “Ami Neta Hobo”, “Captain Khan” and “Moner Moto Manush Pailam Na”—made in the style of his first phase—were being released at the same time. As he sometimes appeared in his old form in those films, the continuity of his image transformation could not be maintained.

At this time, various scandals regarding Shakib Khan’s marriage and children, news of his permanent move to America, and above all the shutdown of the film industry due to Covid, virtually halted his career. During this pause, there was a strong possibility that Shakib Khan’s career might end, but instead, he surprised everyone by staging a complete comeback. During Covid, he kept fit through regular exercise, enriched his cinematic taste by watching many local and foreign films, and above all, made a clear plan about the kind of films he would do and which directors he would work with.

In continuation of that, in 2023 he brought “Priyotoma”, directed by Himel Ashraf. “Priyotoma” gave Shakib Khan a new birth. Although the change in his look and screen presence was previously achieved through Indian directors and crews, this time it happened with a Bangladeshi film. As a result of “Priyotoma”, not only did his look change, but his image changed too. By acting in the role of an elderly character, superstar Shakib Khan revealed his acting depth. “Priyotoma” was not just a blockbuster—it also rewrote the box-office records. Since none of his old films were in circulation then, Shakib Khan carefully chose new projects that could take him closer to the new generation.

In 2024, three of his films were released — “Rajkumar”, “Dorod” and “Tufan”. Of these, “Rajkumar”, directed by Himel Ashraf, was considered a landmark in Bangladeshi commercial cinema because of its story set across both home and abroad, its American heroine, quality shooting overseas, and above all, a good storyline. However, the film was not as commercially successful as “Priyotoma”. At that time, though, Shakib Khan had a film like “Tufan” in hand, directed by Raihan Rafi, which was made in the formula of South Indian masala cinema. Although “Tufan” was not praised by critics, it was commercially successful, and Shakib Khan’s acting was highly appreciated. With this film, Shakib Khan firmly established himself as a hero for the Gulshan audience.

Then came the July mass uprising. A major change took place in Bangladesh’s political landscape. As a result, the release of new films stopped for almost five to six months. This stagnation was broken by Shakib Khan’s film “Dorod”. Directed by Anonya Mamun, this joint production—shot in Bombay, with a Hindi actress and a pan-India release—generated a lot of hype, but it could not achieve significant box-office success. Consequently, Shakib Khan’s career again faced questions. The subsequent films were therefore going to play a crucial role in the new journey of his career. Around this time came “Borbad”, directed by Mehedi Hasan Hridoy. A box-office storm like “Priyotoma”, “Borbad” was highly praised for Shakib Khan’s acting. His acting style, costumes and overall screen presence showed a distinctive smartness.

After that came “Tandab”, directed by Raihan Rafi, released on Eid-ul-Azha in 2025. The film was entirely made in Bangladesh with a local crew. Its rap songs, unusual dance sequences, use of a monkey mask and above all, its unconventional plot, made the film well-received by audiences. Had the HD print of the film not been leaked within six days of release, the box-office success of Tandav would have been even greater. Even so, Tandav has been regarded as Shakib Khan’s smartest film to date, elevating his position among upper-class and educated audiences.

Through “Borbad” and “Tandab”, Shakib Khan has truly become the hero for audiences from Gulistan to Gulshan. However, with these two films, Shakib Khan has also stepped back from the social responsibility of an actor. Psychologists believe that as a very popular hero, he has done things on screen that may have a negative impact on audiences. But in today’s cinematic reality, social responsibility no longer seems to matter—commercial success now appears to be the main criterion for judgement, for audiences and even the media.

For most of his life, Shakib Khan made films that adhered to social responsibility. Now he understands what the new generation wants in the cinema halls. He is consciously bringing exactly that. With his choice of characters, costumes, acting style, selection of heroines and so on, Shakib Khan has managed to satisfy audiences “from Gulistan to Gulshan.” The new Shakib Khan is rapidly surpassing himself time and again. The speed of this progress suggests that perhaps very soon Shakib Khan will be seen in foreign films, beyond the borders of the country. But before that, how far the local films in his hands will take him to the peak of fame remains to be seen. Along with surpassing himself, Shakib Khan has also become the lone saviour of Eid-dependent Bangladeshi cinema, with its back to the wall. Based on his success, many institutions in Bangladeshi commercial cinema have started dreaming again. That is why much now depends on Shakib Khan’s successes and failures—at a time when the number of cinema halls in Bangladesh is beginning to decline at an alarming rate.

Sauren Habib: Film critic