Entertainment
Pori Moni, Razz have baby boy
Dhallywood stars Pori Moni and Shariful Razz were blessed with a baby boy Wednesday.
Their son, Rajya, was born at a city hospital in the evening.
Both the mother and the newborn are healthy now, Razz told the media.
Read: CID to probe Boat Club businessman Nasir’s case against Pori Moni
Pori and Razz were showered with love by their colleagues, fans and followers on social media after the news came out.
The actors first met while working in the movie "Gunin." Seven days after that, they tied the knot on October 17 last year.
Read Drug case against Pori Moni: HC stays trial proceedings for 3 months
Cultural organisations observe Bangamata’s 92nd birth anniversary
Observing the 92nd birth anniversary of Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib, cultural organisations arranged several events on Monday, shedding spotlight on her eventful life and contributions towards the nation.
The Ministry of Cultural Affairs and several cultural organizations namely Bangla Academy, Bangladesh National Museum, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy and others organized seminars and cultural programmes, marking the occasion.
State Minister for Cultural Affairs KM Khalid paid tribute by placing wreaths at Bangamata's mausoleum at Banani Graveyard in the capital in the morning, on behalf of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs.
Bangla Academy organised a special seminar and book launching event in the afternoon at its AKSB auditorium. State Minister for Cultural Affairs KM Khalid joined the event as the chief guest, and the event was presided over by Bangla Academy President Selina Hossain.
At the event, the academy’s newest publication titled ‘Bangajatimata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib: 92 tomo Jonmobarshikir Shroddha’ (Mother of the Nation Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib: Tribute to the 92nd Birth Anniversary) was launched by the chief guest.
Read: Bangamata’s 92nd birth anniversary on Monday
Poet Asad Mannan and Deputy Director of the Department of Culture in Bangla Academy poet Saymon Zakaria discussed on two other books written on the life and works of Bangamata titled ‘Chhotoder Bangamata’ (Bangamata for Children) and ‘Amar Renu’ (My Renu), written by Anwara Syed Haq.
The state minister later spoke as the chief guest in the evening at the commemorative lecture titled 'Mijib theke Jatir Pita: Bangamatar Obodan’ (From Mujib to the Father of the Nation: Contribution of Bangamata), organized by Bangladesh National Museum at its Poet Sufia Kamal Auditorium of the Bangladesh National Museum in the capital.
Chaired by the Chairman of the museum council Dr AAMS Arefin Siddique, the event was also joined by Cultural Affairs Secretary Md Abul Monsur as the special guest, while Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Memorial Museum Curator Nazrul Islam Khan joined as the keynote speaker.
Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) organized a commemorative cultural event titled ‘Shilper Aloy Shroddhanjali: Uthsarga Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib’ at its Music and Dance auditorium in the evening.
Eminent novelist and Bangla Academy President Selina Hossain joined the event as the main discussant, and the event was chaired by BSA Director General Liaquat Ali Lucky.
The event also featured cultural performances including poetry and dance recitals, instrumental tributes and musical; performances by several noted artists, pouring befitting tribute to the occasion.
‘Aat Ta Baje Deri Korish Na’: hidden gem of ‘Hawa’ soundtrack released
After releasing two chartbuster tracks ‘Shada Shada Kala Kala’ and ‘E Hawa’ which are still grooving the entire nation, the much-hyped superhit film ‘Hawa’s third official song was released on Saturday night.
Acclaimed musician and composer Emon Chowdhury, who also arranged music for the film's song ‘Shada Shada Kala Kala’, revealed the new song on Saturday titled ‘Aat Ta Baje Deri Korish Na.’
Soulfully sung by Basudeb Das Baul, a renowned Bengali Baul singer and musician from Bolpur in Birbhum district, West Bengal, India, the song is a traditional folk song which was collected and remastered for the film.
Read: Wind of 'Hawa' blows full
Sharing the song, ‘Hawa’ director Mejbaur Rahman Sumon wrote on his Facebook status: “The song is an old song that aged well and Basudeb Das Baul has been singing the song since his youth. I heard this song about five or six years ago.”
“We used to listen to this song a lot while writing the script for ‘Hawa.’ It can be said that Hawa's screenplay was written while listening to this song. Emon Chowdhury arranged the music for this track.”
The track and its music video showcase multiple scenes from the film while representing the vibrant chemistry between the characters, at the same time tremendously visualizing the fishing lifestyle of the fishermen living in the trauler, which was used as the ultimate setting of the film.
Read Best South Indian Movies Releasing in August 2022
The song ‘Aat Ta Baje Deri Korish Na’ was briefly used in Hawa film during a scene, while the full version got released last night. Basudeb also played dotara in the track, while percussionist Mithun Chakra played dubki, soroj was played by Oishshorjo Mallik and sarengi was Shounak Deb Nath Wreek.
Aside from playing the bass, Emon also mixed and mastered the track while Ripon Kumar Sarkar (Boga Taleb) coordinated the arrangement and the additional voice was provided by Maati Rahman.
Bongo brings Bangla dubbed 'Kaalidas'
Video streaming platform Bongo has released the Bangla dubbed version of South Indian film "Kaalidas," a true mass suicide story-based action, crime, mystery-thriller starring Bharath Srinivasan and Ann Sheetal.
The story is about Kaalidas (Bharath), a dedicated policeman who is tasked with investigating a series of apparent suicides in his city. However, it puts a strain on his marriage with Vidyaa (Ann Seethal), who soon seeks solace in their new tenant Aarav.
The film opens with an aerial shot of a multi-storey apartment. A girl falls from the terrace and dies on the spot. A small police team, headed by Kaalidas, examines the body and assumes it to be a suicide case.
Read: Bongo brings Bangla dubbed 'Beauty and the Beast'
The case turns interesting when several other such incidents happen that leave Kaalidas perplexed. His superior, ACP George (Suresh Menon), also assists Kaalidas in solving these mass suicide mysteries. But unknown to Kaalidas, his wife Vidya parts with him as she feels her husband does not spend enough time with her.
Also, Vidya falls for Aarav who is not only their tenant but also seems to have connections with the murder traces that Kaalidas follows.
Written and directed by Sri Senthil, storyline for the South Indian crime mystery thriller film "Kaalidas" was developed over five months, from October 2017 to February 2018. In March 2018, the shooting started. Finally, it was released on December 13, 2019, and became a box office success.
Read Best South Indian Movies Releasing in August 2022
'Rhythmic Abstraction' begins at Alliance Francaise de Dhaka
Bangladeshi Artist Liakat Ali's eighth solo painting exhibition titled "Rhythmic Abstraction" was inaugurated at La Galerie of Alliance Francaise de Dhaka Friday.
Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Ito Naoki attended the event as the chief guest.
Dhaka University Faculty of Fine Art Professor Mostafizul Haque, former chief whip of Jatiya Sangsad ASM Feroz, and International Crimes Tribunal-1 Prosecutor Md Sultan Mahmud also attended the event as special guests.
Read: Curtain rises on Shilpo Bangla Art Exhibition
The exhibition is displaying 30 paintings by the artist.
Also, Liakat's artworks have been showcased in solo and group exhibitions in Japan, Canada, the UK, the US, and China. He completed his BFA from the China National Fine Arts Academy, Hangzhou, in drawing and painting.
"The mood of painting makes the image much more attractive and the music can give a new mood to the images, which can be a new style in the abstract images in the contemporary platform that looks like rhythmic abstraction," he said about the ongoing exhibition.
Read BSA commemorates August 21 massacre with visual art show
Liakat Ali's art exhibition Rhythmic Abstraction will be open to all till August 13, Monday to Saturday from 3pm to 9pm.
Mim, Razz want to watch ‘Poran’ with elderly person denied entry to Cineplex for ‘lungi’
Poran lead actors Bidya Sinha Saha Mim Sariful Razz shared posts on their respective Facebook profiles expressing their desire to watch the film with the elderly person who was denied ticket at Star Cineplex’s Sony Square branch at Mirpur for wearing ‘lungi’.
“Can anyone find this elderly father? Please mange his phone number or address and inbox it only. I will watch the film with him and chat like father-daughter. He will watch the film with our Poran team wearing lungi,” Mim wrote in her post.
Sariful Razz also shared a similar post on his Facebook in search of the unidentified man expressing his dismay.
The incident of an elderly person with grey beard wearing lungi denied entry to Star Cineplex’s Sony Square branch at Mirpur for his informal attire has created quite a stir among netizens after it was shared on social media on Wednesday.
The film fraternity widely criticized the approach of the authorities as a staff at the counter denied to sell him a ticket to watch recently released film Poran directed by Raihan Rafi.
Read: Raihan Rafi’s Poran: An exciting love triangle film based on a real-Life story
However, the Star Cineplex authorities apologized for the incident and called it result of an unfortunate misunderstanding.
“We would like to clarify Star Cineplex does not discriminate against customers based on anything, least of all a person’s attire. No such policies exist at our organisation that would deny a person the right to purchase a ticket because of them choosing to wear a lungi. We want to emphasise everyone is welcome to experience their favourite movies at our cinema halls,” they wrote in their Facebook page on Thursday.
The Star Cineplex authorities also invited the elderly person and his family at their Sony Square branch to watch Poran.
Besides, they said they are investigating this incident and promised to ensure no such misunderstandings take place in the future.
Curtain closes on BUP Film Fest 2022
The curtain closed on the two-day Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP) Film Fest 2022 in Dhaka Wednesday with the prize-giving ceremony.
Two hundred and seventy-seven participants from 40 public and private universities joined the fest in five categories: short film, cosplay, script writing, poster design and quiz competition. Actors, actresses and the director of the much-talked-about movie "Hawa" attended the opening ceremony Tuesday.
Read: 8th Dhaka International Mobile Film Festival begins
BUP Vice-Chancellor Major General Md Mahbub-ul Alam joined the prize-giving ceremony as the chief guest. Actor Abul Hayat was present as the special guest. Director Giasuddin Selim was the judge at the film fest.
Major General Mahbub-ul Alam said a film is not only a medium of entertainment but also a tool to educate people and stimulate patriotism among them.
Read BUP Freshers’ Reception-2022 held on campus
"A good, thoughtful movie can broaden the window of our mind. It can also inspire us to think critically about society and our surroundings," he said.
Maiden book on Bangladeshi band music ‘Banglar Rock Metal’ launches on Friday
Envisioning a noteworthy publication dedicated to the rich culture of band music genre in Bangladesh, the first Bangladeshi band encyclopedia titled 'Banglar Rock Metal’ is set to be unveiled on Friday at Baatighar, Bishwo Shahitto Kendro in the capital.
Authored by journalist Haque Faruk and writer Milu Aman, the book not only carries a chronological history of the gradual development of the Bangladeshi band scene but also the authentic profile of 180 bands with their discography.
From their collective experiences of the authors as music journalists and writers in the past two decades combined with almost two years of relentless efforts, 'Banglar Rock Metal' is said to be the encyclopedia the band music enthusiasts needed, according to the book’s co-author Haque Faruk.
Read:Wind of 'Hawa' blows full
Sharing the journey with UNB, Haque said that he has spent hours at the archive section of different libraries apart from his regular professional responsibilities as a full-time journalist. “It has always been a dream project for us as band music enthusiasts, and we worked passionately hard to fine-tune this book from time to time.”
Haque informed that to write this book, the duo not only depended on the existing-secondary documents but also recorded the history through the first-person narration of the living band members.
"To ensure the accurate presentation of every band’s history, we have crosschecked the information with all the existing and even the former members of the bands who are still alive. We had to conquer the hurdles to find and contact some of the musicians from the past who had been almost forgotten from the band music scene and have been living in different parts of the world for decades now. Still, we managed to document them because of their cordial cooperation.”
Read Music Alliance Bangladesh cancels 'National Music Festival and Conference' in Sylhet
Published by Aajob Prokash along with a special poster, the book cover is designed by Niaz Ahmed Aungshu. Mustafiz Karigar made the cover typography, while the essential graphics are done by Kousik Zaman.
Joy Shahriar, a renowned musician and founder of Aajob Prokash said, "Preorders are open till launching but we have already started receiving overwhelming response from the band-music fans, and we hope the first-print copies of the book would stock out pretty soon, once the book is officially launched."
'Banglar Rock Metal' can be preordered via the Facebook page of Aajob Prokash at a discounted price. The printed price of this 450-page hardbound book, band encyclopedia, is Tk 1000 and available for preorder at Rokomari dot com.
Read Bongo brings Bangla dubbed 'Kaalidas'
Beyoncé to remove offensive word from new song
Beyoncé is removing an offensive term for disabled people from a new song on her record “Renaissance,” just weeks after rapper Lizzo also changed lyrics to remove the same word.
“The word, not used intentionally in a harmful way, will be replaced,” a spokeswoman for Beyoncé wrote in a statement to The Associated Press on Monday.
The song “Heated,” which was co-written with Canadian rapper Drake among several others, uses the word “spaz,” which is considered a derogatory reference to the medical term spastic diplegia, a form of cerebral palsy.
Read: Best South Indian Movies Releasing in August 2022
Lizzo also removed the word from one of her songs, “Grrrls,” in June after disability advocates complained about the lyrics. Lizzo said in a statement she never wanted to promote derogatory language.
Disability advocate Hannah Diviney, who pointed out Lizzo’s lyrics that lead to the change, wrote on Twitter that hearing the word again used by Beyoncé “felt like a slap in the face to me, the disabled community & the progress we tried to make with Lizzo.”
Best South Indian Movies Releasing in August 2022
South Indian movies continue to amaze its audiences. Even in the second half of 2022, there is no exception. On the contrary, the level of surprise is increasing. Renowned filmmakers along with popular actors from the Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Tamil film industries are going to present their best works in the coming month. This entertainment features a glimpse of the most hyped South Indian films set to release in August 2022.
Top 10 Upcoming South Indian Movies in August 2022
Bimbisara | Telugu Fantasy
Release Date: August 05, 2022
Mallidi Vasishta, the writer and director of the film, focuses here on the time travel context. King Bimbisara of the 5th century BC Magadha Empire travelled through time and landed in the modern world.
The movie is produced by Hari Krishna K under NTR (Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao) Arts. Nandamuri Kalyan Ram played the role of King Bimbisar. Besides, Catherine Tresa, Warina Hussain, and Samyukt Menon played other significant roles. MM Keeravani looked after the music composition of the film.
Read 'Operation Sundarban’ to hit the theatres on September 23
Sita Ramam | Telugu Romantic
Release Date: August 05, 2022
This extraordinary love story is written and directed by Hanu Raghavapudi. The story is basically set in the backdrop of 1960s Kashmir. An orphaned soldier sends a letter from his camp in Kashmir to the love of his life, Sita. The letter faces many obstacles on its way to the recipient.
The movie is produced by Baijayanti Movies and Swapna Cinema. The film marked the debut of actress Rashmika Mandanna in Telugu cinema. Dulquer Salmaan played the lead role with her in the film. Vishal Chandrasekhar worked here as the music director.
Parakkum Pappan | Malayalam Superhero
Release Date: August 06, 2022
Renowned music director Anirudh made his Malayalam debut with this film. It is also the directorial debut of Viyan Vishnu. The most exciting news is that popular actor Dileep will be seen in the role of the flying superhero in the movie.
Read Bangladeshi filmmakers receive grant from British Council for portraying climate change stories
The movie, produced by Carnival Motion Pictures and Graand Productions, will revolve around the excitement of the villagers surrounding a superhero. The story of this film is written by Rafi, a veteran filmmaker.
Cobra | Tamil Thriller
Release Date: August 11, 2022
The film, written and directed by R Ajay Gnanmuthu, revolves around a mathematical genius who uses his mathematical prowess to commit crimes under the guise of Cobra. SS Lalit Kumar has produced the movie under the banner of Seven Screen Studios. The music of the movie is composed by the famous music director AR Rahman.
The film stars Srinidhi Shetty in the title role. The movie also stars a huge ensemble of star performers in various roles. The movie marks the Tamil debut of Shetty, Khalid, Mathew, and Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan. Apart from this, Mia George, Padmapriya, Kaniha, Mohammad Ali Baig, Meernalini Ravi, KS Ravikumar, and Meenakshi are also in the cast.
Read Marvel teases new Avengers movies, ‘Black Panther’ sequel
Michael | Tamil Action
Release Date: August 11, 2022
Versatile actor Sundeep Kishan is making his pan-India debut with this massive action movie directed by Ranjith Jayakodi. Michael is a joint production of Bharat Chowdhury and Puskur Ram Mohan Rao. The film will simultaneously release in Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam along with Tamil.
Renowned South Indian director Gautam Vasudev Menon will be seen playing the antagonist. Divyansha Kaushik is playing the female lead opposite Sudeep Kishan. Makkal Selvan Vijay Sethupathi, Varalakshmi Sarathkumar, and Varun Sandesh will be seen in other important roles in the film.
Gaalipata 2 | Kannada Romantic Comedy
Release Date: August 12, 2022
This is the fourth time that actor Ganesh and director Yograj Bhatt have worked together on a film. Written and directed by Bhatt, the film is a sequel to Galipata (2008). Like Galipata 2, it also features the same characters in two different timelines and two different locations. Three friends embark on a turbulent yet epic journey to find fulfilment in their love.
Read Bongo brings Bangla dubbed 'Beauty and the Beast'