Ilias Kanchan was born on December 24, 1956 in Kishoreganj, East Pakistan [now in Kishoreganj, Bangladesh]. He is an actor and producer, known for Parineeta (1986), Shasti (2004) and Ma Mati Desh (1992). He was previously married to Jahanara Kanchan and Diti.
After his first wife, Jahanara Kanchan, had died by a car crash accident on 22 October, 1993, he started a nationwide movement on road safety named "We Demand Safe Roads", which is still ongoing.