Jahangirnagar University, Mar 28 (UNB) - The drama “Srabon Tragedy” was held on the last day Wednesday night of three-day-long “Mukti Sangram Uthshab” on the Jahangirnagar University campus.

The Teachers and Students Centre of JU organised the festivals marking the National Day and Independence Day.

The drama was staged at Selim Al Deen Muktaamancho by the third year students of Drama and dramatics department of the university. The play was written by Drama and Dramatics department teacher Anan Jaman and directed by another faculty of the same department Mohibur Rouf Shaibal.

The drama is about the history and background of the killing of the father of the nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, where the director tried to show the plot behind the killing and the stand of the then military backed administration.

Dhaka, Mar 26 (UNB) - A 15-day-long group art exhibition featuring artworks of women artists began at Gallery Cosmos in the city’s Mohakhali New DOHS area on Tuesday. 

Dedicated to all women of the world, the exhibition titled ‘Life 2019’ is showcasing artworks created by 39 women artists at Villa de Anjuman, Road-6, House-115, New DOHS, Mohakhali. 

Australian High Commissioner in Bangladesh Julia Niblett inaugurated the exhibition hosted by Gallery Cosmos as the chief guest. 

Speaking on the occasion, the Austrian envoy highlighted the role of women during Bangladesh’s Liberation War. 

She also said Bangladeshi women are progressing in different sectors.

Julia Niblett said although women artists are producing good artworks, their contributions are often overlooked. 

She, however, lauded Gallery Cosmos for hosting the all-women art exhibition to remove such discrimination.

Speaking on the occasion as a special guest, Cornelia Gautschi Holenstein expressed the hope that women artists will continue to overcome barriers that stand in their way.

Artist and freedom fighter Professor Abul Barq Alvi hoped that more women artists will emerge and excel at their creations. 

Gallery Cosmos Director Tehmina Enayet, artists Farida Zaman and Kanak Chanpa Chakma and freedom fighter artist Biren Som also spoke at the opening ceremony alongside fashion designer Mahin Khan. 

The participating artists are Afrozaa Jamil Konka, Antara Mehrukh Azad, Asma Akber, Atia Islam Anne, Bipasha Hayat, Dilara Begum Jolly, Dilruba Latif, Elham Huq (Khuku), Fahmida Enam Kakoli, Fahmida Khatun, Fareha Zeba, Farida Zaman, Farzana Rahman Bobby, Ferdowsi Priobhashini, Halide Salam, Hazvineyi Bridget Mutasa, Ivy Zaman, Kanak Chanpa Chakma, Kuhu Plamandan, Maksuda Iqbal Nipa, Mini Karim, Nargis Poly, Nasima Haque Quenee, Nasreen Begum, Preema Nazia Andaleeb, Rahima Afroz, Rebeka Sultana, Rokeya Sultana, Rubina Akhter, Samina Nafies, Shantwana Shahrin, Shameem Subrana, Sharbari Roy Choudhury, Shulekha Chaudhury, Sohana Shahreen, Soma Surovi Jannat, Shruti Gupta Kasana, Surovi Akhter and Vinita Karim.

The exhibition will remain open from 12 noon to 8 pm every day till April 9.
 

Dhaka, Mar 24 (UNB)- Bollywood's biggest award night - the 64th edition of the Filmfare Awards - ended on a celebratory note for Team Raazi, which went home with as many as five of the black statuettes, reports NDTV. Alia Bhatt won Best Actress for playing the role of a spy while Raazi also fetched Meghna Gulzar the Best Director Filmfare Award. Raazi also grabbed the Best Film trophy!

Meanwhile, Ranbir Kapoor scored the Best Actor Filmfare Award for playing the role of Sanjay Dutt in biopic Sanju.

Ranveer Singh won Best Actor Critics' Award for his menacing role in "Padmaavat". It was a tie in the category with Ayushmann Khurrana winning for AndhaDhun. Neena Gupta was awarded in the Best Actress Critics' category for playing a middle-aged pregnant mother in Badhaai Ho.

"Padmaavat", which had as many as 17 categories, scored win in four of them! Raazi clearly scored the highest number of awards at the 64th edition of the Filmfare Awards.

Here's a look at the list of winners:

Best Film: Raazi

Critics' Award for Best Film: AndhaDhun

Best Actor in a Leading Role (Female): Alia Bhatt, Raazi

Best Actor in a Leading Role (Male): Ranbir Kapoor, Sanju

Critics' Award for Best Actor (Female): Neena Gupta, Badhaai Ho

Critics' Award for Best Actor (Male): Ranveer Singh for "Padmaavat", Ayushmann Khurrana for

Best Debut Actor(Female): Sara Ali Khan, Kedarnath

Best Debut Actor(Male): Ishaan Khatter, Beyond The Clouds

Best Director: Meghna Gulzar, Raazi

Best Debut Director: Amar Kaushik, Stree

Best Actor In A Supporting Role (Male): Gajraj Rao, Badhaai Ho and Vicky Kaushal, Sanju

Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Female): Surekha Sikri, Badhaai Ho

Best Dialogue: Akshat Ghildial, Badhaai Ho

Best Original Story: Anubhav Sinha, Mulk

Best Actor (Male) in a Short Film: Hussain Dalal, Shameless

Best Actor (Female) in a Short Film: Kirti Kulhari, Maya

People's Choice Award for Best Short Film: Plus Minus

Best Short Film (Fiction): Rogan Josh

Best Short Film (Non Fiction):The Soccer City

Best Music Album: "Padmaavat"

Best Playback Singer (Male): Arijit Singh for Ae Watan, Raazi

Best Playback Singer (Female): Shreya Ghoshal for Ghoomar, "Padmaavat"

Best Lyrics: Gulzar for Ae Watan, Raazi.

Best Lyrics: AndhaDhun

Best Background Score: Daniel George, AndhaDhun

Best Sound Design: Kunal Sharma, Tumbbad

Best Choreography: Kruti Mahesh Midya, Jyoti Tomaar for Ghoomar, "Padmaavat"

Best Action: Vikram Dahiya, Sunil Rodriguez, Mukkabaaz

Best Cinematography: Pankaj Kumar, Tumbbad

Best Editing: Pooja Ladha Surti, AndhaDhun

Best Costume: Sheetal Sharma, Manto

Best Production Design: Nitin Zihani Chaudhary and Rajesh Yadav (Tumbbad)

The venue for the 64th Filmfare Awards was the Jio Gardens in Mumbai and was hosted by Shah Rukh Khan with several stars swapping places as his co-host.

New York, Mar 24 (AP/UNB) - OK, so it's basically "Big" with superheroes and villains instead of businesspeople and girlfriends, but director David F. Sandberg has infused his film with so much heart and charm that it hardly matters. Even the deficiencies, like the sluggish beginning and the random, ridiculous villains, fade away under a haze of goodwill because unlike so many big spectacle action pics with sequels in mind, "Shazam!" actually sticks the landing.

But perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself. Don't worry if you don't happen to know anything about "Shazam!" or are convinced that you won't care. I certainly didn't. Plus, there are a lot of superheroes to keep track of these days and someone who needs an exclamation point is and should be immediately suspect.

The movie isn't here to judge any lack of knowledge though. It's an origin story about a jaded 14-year-old Philadelphia foster kid, Billy Batson (Asher Angel), who's bestowed with superpowers by Djimon Hounsou (naturally). As Shazam, he's physically altered into an adult and takes the form of Zachary Levi. But of course, even with his height, his muscles, his voice and even his powers, he's still very much a kid and has a lot to learn.

Those are the basics, but the spirit really comes from the smart writing, the pitch-perfect casting and the supporting world around Billy and Shazam. Right before he gets his powers, he's placed in a new group foster home led by Rosa (Marta Milans) and Victor Vasquez (Cooper Andrews) that's full of quirky characters: Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer), a disabled superhero obsessive with a biting wit; Eugene (Ian Chen), a violent video game obsessive; Darla (Faithe Herman), the adorable youngest; Mary (Grace Fulton) and Pedro (Jovan Armand). The young actors assembled here are astounding, and immediately captivating, especially Grazer as Freddy and Herman as Darla who nearly steal the show. It's why when the film asks you to believe that it's really about family, and not merchandising, you're on board.

Freddy, with his wealth of superhero knowledge, helps Billy/Shazam figure out what to do with these new, strange talents. The training montages have a terrific comedic sensibility and Grazer and Levi are perfectly matched for the job. Levi in particular pulls off the tricky feat of playing a disaffected, but still fairly innocent young teenager while wearing spandex and a cape, no less. Grazer, meanwhile, who we've seen before in "It," is beyond his years with his ability to draw a laugh.

That's not to say the movie is perfect. The beginning gives an extended origin story for both Billy and the little boy who will grow up to become the megalomaniac villain, Dr. Thaddeus Sivana (Mark Strong).  Dr. Sivana is woefully underwritten, too, although Strong does his best being the straight, serious guy. For the most part it comes across as less of a threat and more of a buzzkill that gets in the way all the fun we were having with Freddy and Shazam.

Also, as if Dr. Sivana wasn't enough, the script gives him Seven Deadly Sins as henchmen. These sins take the form of unimaginative and indistinguishable CG gargoyles. I'm not exactly sure what lust or greed would look like in gargoyle form, but I'm pretty certain this isn't it. They're also given dubbed voices that feel about as authentic as the voices of the monsters The Power Rangers battled on Saturday mornings.

There's also a running gag about a strip club that seemed a little retrograde for a current film. But, nitpicks aside, "Shazam!" is just a lightning bolt of unexpected joy that is certainly worth your time and money.

"Shazam!," a Warner Bros. release, is rated by the Motion Picture Association of America for "for intense sequences of action, language, and suggestive material." Running time: 132 minutes. Three and a half stars out of four.

 

New York, Mar 24 (AP/UNB) — Barbra Streisand apologized Saturday for her remarks about Michael Jackson and two men who have accused him of sexual abuse, saying that she should have chosen her words more carefully and that she admires the accusers for "speaking their truth."

Streisand had received bitter criticism online after she was quoted in The Times of London as saying that Jackson's accusers were "thrilled to be there" during the alleged abuse, which "didn't kill them."

After an initial statement Saturday to The Associated Press in which she sought to clarify her remarks, the superstar of song, stage and screen posted an apology online that went further.

"I am profoundly sorry for any pain or misunderstanding I caused by not choosing my words more carefully about Michael Jackson and his victims," she wrote.

"I didn't mean to dismiss the trauma these boys experienced in any way," she wrote. "Like all survivors of sexual assault, they will have to carry this for the rest of their lives. I feel deep remorse and I hope that James and Wade know that I truly respect and admire them for speaking their truth."

The apology went far beyond the earlier statement to the AP, in which she elaborated on her published remarks, saying she felt "nothing but sympathy" for the men, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who accuse the late star of molesting them as children.

She wrote in that earlier statement: "To be crystal clear, there is no situation or circumstance where it is OK for the innocence of children to be taken advantage of by anyone."

The remarks in question came deep into a wide-ranging interview with The Times. Asked about Jackson, Streisand was quoted as saying she "absolutely" believed Robson and Safechuck, who make their allegations in the recent HBO documentary "Leaving Neverland."

Jackson's estate has condemned the HBO documentary. Jackson, who died in 2009, was found not guilty in 2005 of charges he molested a 13-year-old boy.

Streisand was asked about the documentary, which she called "too painful."

She then said that Jackson, when she met him, was "very sweet, very childlike." Asked how she reconciled that man with the one portrayed in the documentary, she replied: "His sexual needs were his sexual needs, coming from whatever childhood he has or whatever DNA he has. You can say 'molested,' but those children, as you heard say, they were thrilled to be there. They both married and they both have children, so it didn't kill them."

Among those firing back on social media was the director of "Leaving Neverland," Dan Reed, who wrote of that last quote: "Did you really say that?!"

Asked by The Times whether she was angry at Jackson, Streisand said: "It's a combination of feelings. I feel bad for the children. I feel bad for him. I blame, I guess, the parents, who would allow their children to sleep with him."

Also attracting attention Saturday for remarks about Jackson was his close friend and mentor Diana Ross.

"This is what's on my heart this morning," Ross wrote on Twitter. "I believe and trust that Michael Jackson was and is A magnificent incredible force to me and to many others."