Rahsaan Islam

Rahsaan Nur Islam (; born September 24, 1986), known as Rahsaan Noor , is an American actor, director, and writer known for his work in the Bengali film industry. He made his debut in Simanaheen and broke out to gain international recognition in 2018 for acting in and directing the commercially successful romance Bengali Beauty.

Born and raised in Chicago, Noor began his career by acting in commercials for Bengali and Bangladeshi television. His first film role was a supporting character in the independent American social drama Promise Land (2013), and in another early role, he went on to star in the crime drama The Spectacular Jihad of Taz Rahim (2015). Noor has been credited with "putting new-age Bengali cinema on a global map," and has been further recognized by many to be "one of the great new talents of our time." His parents are Bangladeshi immigrants to the United States and he grew up in Chicago with his younger brother, Ridwan. Noor's paternal grandfather is journalist and author Nurul Islam Patwari, the former editor of The Daily Ittefaq and Dainik Bangla newspapers and founder of Bichitra magazine. He is also the great-grandnephew of former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Mizanur Rahman Chowdhury.

Growing up, Noor's first love was basketball. So much so, he "would sleep with his basketball." After successfully auditioning, Noor passed on the opportunity to instead focus his attention on his basketball aspirations. Despite his early hesitance to pursue acting, Noor was inspired by the experience and would end up taking creative writing and acting classes while still in high school. Playing the point guard position for the team, he was named an Academic All-American. While in college, Noor had internships with current United States Senator Tammy Duckworth and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Muhammad Yunus; calling the latter "a life-altering experience."

Career Career beginnings (2011–2017) While still working as a financial analyst, Noor began work on his first Bengali language feature film Kings of Devon. The romantic drama depicting a Hindu-Muslim relationship across eras was co-directed by Noor's Promise Land director, Kevin Dalvi, and Ria Mahtab. Noor featured in a double role, portraying a young Hindu man in 1947 Calcutta and a young Muslim man in modern-day Chicago. Simanaheen went on to release in the United States and Bangladesh, and declared a hit after becoming a commercial success.

Following Simanaheen, Noor moved to Los Angeles and enrolled in UCLA to study acting, directing, and the movie business in greater detail. The film was directed by Raghav Murali, with Noor and Monica Dogra in the lead cast. Though the film was a commercial and critical failure, Noor's portrayal of a struggling rapper turned NYPD informant was described by the New Indian Express as a "charming, fun, and exciting experience," and that Noor "is a global desi on the cusp of becoming a dominant global player." Grazia India added that Noor is "an actor on-the-brink-of-fame." Noor has described working with Dogra, Kal Parekh, and Sorab Wadia in the film as the "pivotal learning experience that helped [him] improve as an actor."

Breakthrough (2018–present) In 2018, Noor broke out to gain international attention after starring in and directing Bengali Beauty. Noor made the decision to produce, direct, and star in the film because he felt "embarrassed" and "frustrated" with the failure of The Spectacular Jihad of Taz Rahim as well as the direction of his career, and wanted to "prove" that he could "make a good movie." Sanjay Pati of Urban Asian likened Noor's direction to that of "a capable bandleader or stage illusionist" who "knows how to structure a story." Smita Bannerjee of Brown Girl Magazine added that Noor's performance "oozes with charm," while Dick Johnson of NBC News praised Noor as "one of the great new talents of our time." In October 2018, several prominent journalists noted that producers and distributors had colluded with cinema hall owners, including Jaaz Multimedia and Star Cineplex, to prevent Bengali Beauty from releasing in theaters in order to keep competition out of the market. Noor would note that the experience left him "more embarrassed than he had ever felt in his life." In May 2019, the film released in China and became the first Bengali language film in history to release in the United States, United Kingdom, and China. Bengali Beauty grossed $21.4 million at the worldwide box office.

Noor will next star in the musical romance film Coco & Nut.

Personal life Aside from acting, Noor continues to play basketball regularly and is an avid fan of the NBA.

Filmography +Key Denotes films that have not yet been released Year Title Role Notes 2010 Kings of Devon Johnny Bengali film; also director, writer, and producer 2013 Simanaheen Amar/Raiyan Bengali film; double role 2013 Promise Land Asad Khan 2015 The Spectacular Jihad of Taz Rahim Taz Rahim 2018 Bengali Beauty Afzal Khan Bengali film; also director, writer, and producer 2025 Coco & Nut Pre-production; also director