Along with literary works, Raihan started working as a journalist, when he joined Juger Alo in 1950. Later, he also worked in newspapers, namely Khapchhara, Jantrik, and Cinema. He also worked as the editor of Probaho in 1956.[6] His first collection of short stories, titled Suryagrahan, was published in 1955. He worked as an assistant director on the Urdu film Jago Hua Savera in 1957.[7] This was his first direct involvement in film. He also assisted Salahuddin in the film Je Nadi Marupathe. The filmmaker Ehtesham also employed him on his film E Desh Tomar Amar, for which he wrote the title song. In 1960, he made his directorial début with Kokhono Asheni, which was released in 1961. In 1964, he made Pakistan's first colour film, Sangam, and completed his first CinemaScope film, Bahana, the following year.
Raihan was an active supporter of the Bengali Language Movement of 1952 and was present at the historical meeting of Amtala on 21 February 1952. He was among the first group of people who got arrested on the day. The effect of the Bengali Language Movement was so strong on him that he used it as the premise of his landmark film Jibon Theke Neya. He also took part in the 1969 Mass uprising in East Pakistan.[8]
In the immediate aftermath of the March 1971 start of the Bangladesh Liberation War, Raihan made the documentary Stop Genocide.[9] Before that he was making his first English film, “Let There Be Light." He abandoned the project and made his most notable work, the documentary “Stop Genocide," depicting the horrendous atrocities of the Pakistani forces. Critic Ziaul Haq Swapan calls it the start of the history of Bangladeshi documentaries and describes it as "a vehement protest against the Pakistan army’s pogrom in Bangladesh". Raihan also made the documentary A State is Born during the war.[10] Raihan went to Calcutta during the conflict, where his film Jibon Theke Neya was shown. His film was highly acclaimed by Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Mrinal Sen, and Tapan Sinha. Though he was in financial difficulties at the time, he gave all his money from the Calcutta showing to the Freedom Fighters trust.[11]
His father's name was Mohammad Habibullah. His mother's name was Syeda Sufia Khatun. He had an elder brother named Shahidullah Kaiser.
Raihan had been married twice, to Sumita Devi in 1961 and Shuchonda in 1968, both of whom were film actresses. With Sumita he had two sons, Bipul Raihan and Anol Raihan. Again with Shuchonda, had also two sons named Opu Raihan and Topu Raihan.
Raihan went missing on 30 January 1972, when he was trying to locate his brother, a notable writer Shahidullah Kaiser, who was captured and presumably killed by the Pakistan army and/or local collaborators during the final days of the liberation war.[12] It is believed that he was killed with many others when armed Bihari collaborators and soldiers of the Pakistan Army who were hiding fired on them when they went to Mirpur, a suburb of the capital city of Dhaka that was one of few strongholds for Pakistani/Bihari collaborators at that time.[12]
^Hoek 2014, p. 105: "Nadeem and Bobita ... in the Urdu film Jaltey Suraj Ke Neeche ... Directed by Zahir Raihan (though in places credited to his assistant director Nurul Hoque)."
^Raju 2002, p. 12: "After Glimpses from Life [Jibon Theke Neya], Zahir Raihan embarked on ... Let There Be Light ... but before the film was over, the 1971 Liberation War broke out and Zahir had to postpone the project, as it turned our later, forever."
Hoek, Lotte (2014). "Cross-wing Filmmaking: Urdui Urdu Films and Their Traces in the Bangladesh Film Archive". BioScope. 5 (2): 99–118. doi:10.1177/0974927614547989. S2CID154148790.
Raju, Zakir Hossain (2002). "Bangladesh: A Defiant Survivor". In Vasudev, Aruna; Padgaonkar, Latika; Doraiswamy, Rashmi (eds.). Being & Becoming: The Cinemas of Asia. MacMillan. ISBN0333-93820-8.
