Her foster mother was in a relationship with a Kolkata based businessman, who left his second family unsupported after his death.
Aged 17, Rafique married a wealthy man to get some financial stability in her life, however, the union did not work well.
She finally broke up and turned to prostitution, before going on to work as a bar dancer to make a living.
At the age of 25, one of her Pakistani fans who was 20 years her senior offered to marry her and Shagufta agreed, and he died before the marriage could happen.
After working for many films as a writer and screenwriter, she made her directorial debut with the Bengali action thriller film, Mon Jaane Na which was released on Holi 2019.