Dhaka: Legendary actor Razzak, popularly known as Nayak Raj Razzak, passed away on Monday evening bringing the curtain down on an illustrious life. He was 76.

The actor was taken to United Hospital around 5:30pm after he suffered a cardiac arrest where doctors declared him dead around 6:13pm as they found no pulse, said hospital’s Duty Manager Sabbir Ahmed.

Hearing the death news, grief-stricken film and television artistes rushed to the hospital.

Meanwhile, President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed profound shock at the death of the legendary actor.

In separate messages, they recalled the contributions of Razzak to the country’s film industry and described the loss as irreparable.

The President and the Prime Minister prayed for eternal peace of the departed soul and conveyed their deep sympathy to the bereaved family members.

Razzka, the founding president of Bangladesh Film Artistes’ Association, was born on January 23 in 1942 at Nagtala in Taliganj of Kolkata.

During his adolescence, he participated in theatre productions in Kolkata. While studying at a college in Kolkata, he made his first film appearance in ‘Ratan Lal Bangali’.

Hoping to be a film star, Razzak went to study film in Filmalaya in Mumbai, India in 1961. Returning from Mumbai, he performed in two movies in Kolkata -’Pankotilak’ and ‘Shilalipi’.

He, however, moved to Dhaka along with his family in 1964. In Dhaka, he acted in TV plays initially.

Pioneering filmmaker Abdul Jabbar Khan helped Razzak join Iqbal Films Limited. Razzak was an assistant to director Kamal Ahmed in the movie ‘Ujala’.

Razzak’s major breakthrough came with his performance in movie of Salahuddin’s ‘Tero Nombor Feku Ostagar Lane’. He acted in other movies like Neel Akasher Nichey, Maynamati, Moner Moto Bou, Swaralipi, Osru Diye Likha, Jibon Theke Neya and Obujh Mon.