Actor Khalilur Rahman Babar, popularly known for portraying negative roles in movies during the 70s and 80s, passed away yesterday. He was 68.

The actor--who had been suffering from blood pressure, lung ailments and diabetes--died at 9:10 am on Monday while being treated at Square Hospital in the capital.

Before making a firm position as a villain in the film industry, Babar made his big screen debut as a hero with the film ‘Banglar Mukh’ directed by Amjad Hossain. Babar started his journey as a villain through the film ‘Rongbaj’, produced by Nayak Raj Razzak and directed by Zahirul Haque. Eventually, he acted in over 300 films in his career.

He appeared in Monwar Hossain Dipjol’s film ‘Tero Gunda Ek Panda’  a decade ago for the last time.

Alongside appearing in the films, the actor also introduced himself as a director as well as a producer. Babar directed a few commercially successful films like ‘Doyaban’, ‘Daagi’ and ‘Dada Bhai’. He was also the producer of the film ‘Daagi’.

Born on February 5, 1952 in Dhaka, Babar studied at Tejgaon College.

In his illustrious career spanning over four decades, Babar was contemporary with noted actors Razzak, Farooque, and Humayun Faridi and also shared the screen with Salman Shah, a popular hero of his next generation.

Babar-starrer notable films are ‘Sareng Bou’, ‘Asami’, ‘Surrender’, ‘Sikandar’, ‘Oshikkhito’, ‘Purushkar’, ‘Agun’, ‘Inspector’ and ‘Daagi’, among others.