Chashi Nazrul Islam (11 October 1941 – 11 January 2015)^[1][2] was a Bangladeshi film director and producer. He won Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Director twice for the films Shuvoda in 1986 and Hangor Nodi Grenade in 1997.^[3] He was awarded Ekushey Padak in 2004 by the Government of Bangladesh.^[4]

Nazrul Islam was born on 23 October 1941 at Shomoshpur village in Sreenagar Upazila of Munshiganj to Mosleh Uddin Khan and Shayesta Khanom. He was the eldest among four brothers and three sisters. His father was a service holder at Jamshedpur, India. At the age of 16, his father died. He got a job at the office of his uncle, the then auditor general of Pakistan. He was a member of the theatre organisation Krishti Sangha.^[2] After Nazrul Islam got laid off from that job, he started to perform on radio programs in 1965.

Nazrul Islam's brother in law Syed Awal, who was the chief assistant of director Fateh Lohani, introduced him to Lohani.^[2] He was first cast in a minor acting role in Asiya (1961).^[2] He got his breakthrough as an assistant director to Obaidul Huq in the film Dui Diganto (1964).^[2] At the same time, he directed and voiced radio dramas including Ramer Sumoti, Socrates and Sakhina Birangana.^[2] In 2006, he directed Shuva based on Rabindranath Tagore's novel Shuvashini with Shakib Khan and Dilara Hanif Purnima, which praised from critics and audience.^[5][6] In 2013, he directed Devdas based on the Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay novel Devdas, who also directed the 1982 version, featuring Shakib Khan as Devdas, alongside Moushumi and Apu Biswas in the leading roles. It received positive response from critics and a good opening at the box office,^[7][8] and won National Film Awards thrice at the 38th National Film Awards and nominated one category in 16th Meril-Prothom Alo Awards.^[9][10][11]

Nazrul Islam served as the chairman of the Bangladesh Film Director's Association, as a member of the censor board and of the joint production committee.^[2]

At age 73, Nazrul Islam died of liver cancer at the Labaid Hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh on 11 January 2015.^[12] Two of his films released after his death, Ontorongo (6 December 2015) and Bhul Jodi Hoy (8 January 2016).^[2]