Pori Moni

Biography

Shamsunnahar Smrity (born 24 October 1992), known by her stage name Pori Moni, is a Bangladeshi film actress. She was one of the highest paid actresses in Bangladesh. Moni began her career as a model and made her acting debut in the film industry with the movie Rana Plaza in 2015. She gained widespread recognition for her performance in the movie Dhumketu in 2016, which was a commercial success. Her most notable films include Swapnajaal (2018), Gunin (2022) and Antor Jala (2017). She has won several awards for her performances, she won the Special Critic Award at 21st Meril-Prothom Alo Awards. In 2020, she was listed in Forbes Asia's "100 Digital Stars".

== Birth and early life == Pori Moni was born in December 1992 in Singhakali village of Bhandaria Upazila in Pirojpur District, Bangladesh, at her maternal grandparents' home. Her ancestral home is in Baka village of Salabad Union under Kalia Upazila in Narail District. Her family name is Shamsunnahar Smriti. Towards the end of the 1990s, Pori Moni's mother, Salma Sultana, was mysteriously and severely burned in an accident at a residence in Dhaka. At that time, Pori's father, Monirul Islam, felt helpless with his three-year-old child, Pori Moni. He had his burn-injured wife treated at a hospital in Dhaka for a few days, during which he left Pori with her maternal grandfather, Shamsul Haq Gazi. Two months later, Pori's mother passed away while undergoing treatment in the hospital, leaving Pori Moni motherless at the age of three. Belayet Hossain describing Pori Moni's childhood events, further stated that the three-year-old child Pori Moni was raised from then on by her maternal grandparents and maternal aunt. Later, her father also passed away. Explaining the murder of Pori Moni's father, her younger maternal aunt Taslima Papiya stated that Smriti's father, Monirul Islam, was a police constable in Lohagara Upazila of Narail District. In 2012, he lost his job for a specific reason and since then had been living at his village home and engaging in business. Taslima Papiya further added that she heard opponents might have hacked Monirul to death over a dispute related to that business. Young Pori Moni grew up under the care of her maternal grandfather, Shamsul Haq Gazi, in Pirojpur.

=== Education === Both of Pori Moni's maternal grandparents were school teachers. She passed SSC from Bhagirathpur Secondary School in Mathbaria Upazila. Afterwards, she enrolled in eleventh grade at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Degree College in Mathbaria Upazila, but did not begin her studies there. According to Jahangir Kabir, the principal of the college, "Smriti came to enroll around 2011–12 with a GPA of 3.5 from Bhagirathpur Secondary School, but after enrolling, she did not attend the college." Instead, while studying for a bachelor's degree in Bengali at Satkhira Government College, she moved to Dhaka in 2011 and learned dancing at the Bulbul Academy of Fine Arts.

== Career == Moni's first film, Rana Plaza, based on the Rana Plaza disaster, was denied certification by the Bangladesh Film Censor Board, who stated that it was a national disaster that people may misunderstand. Her second film Bhalobasha Shimaheen was released on 13 February 2015. She co-starred with Shakib Khan in Aro Bhalobashbo Tomay and Dhumketu.

== Personal life == Moni married her cousin, Ismail Hossain, in 2010 and divorced him in 2012. She then married footballer Ferdous Kabir Sourav in April 2012. In 2019, Moni was engaged to RJ Tamim Hasan, but later they broke up. In 2020, she was married to film director Kamruzzaman Roni for a short period.

In October 2021, she married actor-model Sariful Razz. They have a son, Shaheem Muhammad Punno (also Rajya), born on 10 August 2022. On 31 December 2022, Moni confirmed her separation with Razz via social media later stating that she left his house with son Rajya a day prior. Later on, they patched up and started living together again on-and-off. After alleging several relationships of Razz with other actresses, including Tanjin Tisha, Nazifa Tushi, and Sunerah Binte Kamal, Moni divorced him on 18 September 2023.

In May 2024, Moni revealed that she had adopted a girl, Safeera Sultana Priom, in an online post written on Anandabazar Patrika.

== Controversies == On 8 June 2021, Moni accused Nasir Uddin Mahmood, a businessman and politician of the Jatiya Party, of sexual assault on her at the Boat Club in Ashulia, Uttara. She asked Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for justice on Facebook. On 14 June, Mahmood and businessman Tuhin Siddique Omi were arrested by the Bangladesh Police, but Mahmood was later released on bail. A week later, Moni was accused of vandalism at the Gulshan All Community Club. The club's president, K.M. Alamgir Iqbal, accused her of vandalizing the club on the night of 7 June at a press conference. However, on 18 April 2024, Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) submitted an investigation report that found proof of a murder attempt on Nasir Uddin Mahmud by Pori Moni and her costume designer Junayed Bogdadai Jimmy and vandalism inside the club.