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Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty's hubby walks out of jail on bail
A day after getting bail in a pornographic films case, Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty's husband Raj Kundra walked out of a jail in the Indian city of Mumbai on Tuesday.
Raj was arrested on July 19 by the crime branch of Mumbai Police for allegedly making and uploading on OTT (over-the-top) platforms several pornograhic films. Last week, Mumbai Police filed a 1,400-page chargesheet in the case.
In an inspirational social media post, Shilpa wrote: "There are always going to be moments that push you to the ground. In times like these, I truly believe that if you fall seven times, make yourself strong enough to be able to stand back up eight times."
"This rise will demand a lot of courage, grit, will-power, and strength during some of your most difficult moments. But, these qualities will only make you more resilient and robust in this journey called life. You will come back with renewed determination and motivation," she added.
After hours of grilling, Raj was arrested on July 19 by the crime branch of Mumbai Police in connection with the pornograhic film case. A total of 21 people have been arrested in the case so far.
According to Mumbai Police, the pornograhic films were shot in India by Raj's movie production firm and then transferred to Britain via a UK-based company.
"There was a case registered with the crime branch Mumbai in February 2021 about the creation of pornographic films and publishing them through some apps. We've arrested Raj Kundra in this case as he appears to be the key conspirator of this," the police said then.
The 45-year-old British-Indian businessman insists he is innocent.
In 2013, Raj hogged the media limelight after he was grilled by Delhi Police in connection with a betting and spot-fixing scandal that rocked the country's multi-million dollar cricketing tournament, the Indian Premier League. He's a co-owner of the Rajasthan Royals team.
Shilpa and Raj tied the knot in 2009, after dating for a couple of months. They have two children -- a son and a daughter.
A former model, Shilpa made her Bollywood debut in the thriller Baazigar (1993) starring Shah Rukh Khan as an anti-hero in the lead role. She went on to act in many other hit flicks, including action comedy Main Khiladi Tu Anari and romantic film Dhadkan.
Shilpa is also a celebrity endorser for several leading brands and products as well as a number of fitness campaigns such as the Fit India Movement, launched by the Indian government.
Web Series "Boli": Chanchal Chowdhury Again in an Unprecedented Character
Chanchal Chowdhury, a successful actor with diverse characters, recently surprised his fans by posting a picture of him with a bald head. This selfie in fact originates from the new web series 'Boli' made for the Hoichoi platform. The shooting of the web series 'Boli' started on September 15, 2021. Hoichoi's viewers will be able to enjoy this web content from next December. Let's get some insights about this web series still behind-the-curtain.
Read:24th National Art Exhibition extended till September 25
The story and crew behind the web series 'Boli'
Shongkho Dash Gupta, a well-known advertisement maker in the media, has started the work of 'Boli' focusing on the traditional game of Boli in Chittagong. The 'Boli' team has kept everyone curious about the background of the series.
Apart from Chanchal Chowdhury, Sohana Saba, Safa Kabir, Moushumi Mou, Ziaul Haque Palash, and Sohail Mandal Rana also star in 'Boli'. Director and actor Salauddin Lavlu is embarking on his journey on the web platform through 'Boli'.
Good Company is in the production of 'Boli'. Shonkho Dash's team is working on a plan to finish the shooting in two weeks.
Read:Pandemic fiction: Fall books include stories of the virus
Chanchal Chowdhury in portraying another versatile character
This is Chanchal Chowdhury's second work on the same platform after his huge success in 'Taqdir'. Although this is Chanchal Chowdhury's first work with new web series maker Shonkho Dash Gupta, he is quite optimistic about 'Boli'.
His fellow actors and actresses also acknowledge the versatility of his acting. He has established his name in every community of the entertainment arena as well as in the audience through the characters of Shonai of ‘Monpura’, ‘Aynabaji’ and ‘Misir Ali’ of ‘Devi’.
So far, Chanchal Chowdhury has won the National Film Award for Best Actor twice, the Merrill-Prothom-Alo Award for Critics and Audience Survey, and the RTV Star Award for Best Central Actor.
This stage-play actor doesn’t limit his make-up to just wigs and fake beards. Being a student of fine arts, Chanchal Chowdhury's art knowledge about make-up is obvious. So this natural actor is very careful in the case of make-up to portray the character.
Read:Spl show to commemorate Aug 21 grenade massacre
Chanchal Chowdhury's fluent movement in web media
Chanchal Chowdhury’s fame spread even more after the release of 'Taqdir' on the Indian OTT platform Hoichoi. Since then he has been a regular in web content. He has already gained viewership by working in Giyasuddin Selim's 'Jatri', Krishnendu Chattopadhyay and Tanim Noor's 'Contract', Rabiul Alam Robi's 'Unoloukik'. This maestro stars in popular director Amitabh Reza Chowdhury's first web series 'Munshigiri' which is on its way to the unveiling.
For the first time, the Bangladeshi web serial is being featured on India's OTT platform G5. The name of the serial directed by Golam Sohrab Dodul is 'Roopkatha Noy' where Chanchal Chowdhury plays the central character.
Read:Legal actions will be taken against the creators of 'Ghotona Shotto'
Verdict
Chanchal Chowdhury's fans believe that he will be able to do justice to his name in the web series 'Boli' to keep up with his continuity in successfully showing the characters’ diversity. Chanchal Chowdhury's iconic character 'Boli' can uplift his career as well as popularity to a new height. What is more? The production of versatile web series like ‘Boli’, Bangladeshi contents can acquire an honorable place among the South-Asian web series.
Jane Powell, Hollywood golden-age musicals star, dies at 92
Jane Powell, the bright-eyed, operatic-voiced star of Hollywood's golden age musicals who sang with Howard Keel in “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” and danced with Fred Astaire in “Royal Wedding,” has died. She was 92.
Powell died Thursday at her Wilton, Connecticut, home, longtime friend Susan Granger said. Granger said Powell died of natural causes.
“Jane was the most wonderful friend," Granger said. ”She was candid, she was honest. You never asked Jane a question you didn’t want an absolutely honest answer to."
Granger was a youngster when she met the then-teenaged Powell, who was making her film debut in 1944's “Song of the Open Road,” directed by Granger's father, S. Sylvan Simon.
She performed virtually her whole life, starting about age 5 as a singing prodigy on radio in Portland, Oregon. On screen, she quickly graduated from teen roles to the lavish musical productions that were a 20th-century Hollywood staple.
Also read: Witness says R. Kelly kept her locked up before sex assault
Her 1950 casting in “Royal Wedding” came by default. June Allyson was first announced as Astaire’s co-star but withdrew when she became pregnant. Judy Garland was cast, but was withdrawn because of personal problems. Jane Powell was next in line.
“They had to give it to me,” she quipped at the time. “Everybody else is pregnant.” Also among the expectant MGM stars: Lana Turner, Esther Williams, Cyd Charisse and Jean Hagen.
Powell had just turned 21 when she got the role; Astaire was 50. She was nervous because she lacked dancing experience, but she found him “very patient and understanding. We got along fine from the start.”
“Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” proved to be a 1954 “sleeper” hit.
“The studio didn’t think it was going to do anything,” she recalled in 2000. “MGM thought that `Brigadoon’ was going to be the big moneymaker that year. It didn’t turn out that way. We were the ones that went to the Radio City Music Hall, which was always such a coup.”
The famed New York venue was a movie theater then.
Audiences were overwhelmed by the lusty singing of Keel and Powell and especially by the gymnastic choreography of Michael Kidd. “Seven Brides” achieved classic status and resulted in a TV series and a Broadway musical.
Also read: ABBA back after 40 years with new album, virtual stage show
“Blonde and small and pretty, Jane Powell had the required amount of grit and spunk that was needed to play the woman who could tame seven backwoodsmen,” John Kobal wrote in his book “Gotta Sing Gotta Dance: A Pictorial History of Film Musicals.”
After 13 years at MGM, though, Powell quit the studio, reasoning that she was going to be fired “because they weren’t going to be doing musicals anymore.”
“I thought I’d have a lot of studios to go to,” she said in 2000, “but I didn’t have any, because no one wanted to make musicals. It was very difficult, and quite a shock to me. There’s nothing worse than not being wanted.”
She found one musical at RKO, “The Girl Most Likely,” a 1958 remake of “Tom, Dick and Harry.” Aside from a couple of minor films, her movie career was over.
She was born Suzanne Lorraine Burce in Portland, Oregon, in 1928. She began singing on local radio as a small child, and as she grew, her voice developed into a clear, high-pitched soprano.
When the Burce family planned a trip to Los Angeles, the radio station asked if Suzanne would appear on a network talent show there. The tiny girl with a 2½-octave voice drew thunderous applause with an aria from “Carmen” and was quickly put under contract to MGM.
Her first movie was a loanout to an independent producer for “Song of the Open Road,” a 1944 mishmash with W.C. Fields (at the end of his career) and Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy.
The character’s name in “Song of the Open Road” was Jane Powell, and MGM decided that that would be her movie name.
She played teens in such films as “Holiday in Mexico,” “Three Daring Daughters” and “A Date With Judy.” But she pleaded with the studio bosses to be given grown-up roles and finally succeeded in “Royal Wedding.”
Frothy romances and musicals continued to dominate her career, including “Young, Rich and Pretty,” “Small Town Girl” and “Three Sailors and a Girl.”
After her movie career ended, musical theater offered plenty of work for a star of her prominence and talent. She sang in supper clubs, toured in such shows as “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” and “I Do! I Do!” and replaced Debbie Reynolds in the Broadway run of “Irene.”
She frequently appeared on television, notably in the Judy Garland role in a new version of “Meet Me in St. Louis.
As she approached her 70s, Powell abandoned her singing career. “I can’t hit the high notes, and I won’t be second-rate,” she explained in 2000. She switched to drama, appearing in New York theater in such plays as “Avow,” portraying mother of an unmarried, pregnant daughter and a son who wanted to marry his male partner.
Powell’s first four marriages ended in divorce: to Geary Steffen (son Geary, daughter Suzanne), Patrick Nerney (daughter Lindsay), James Fitzgerald and David Parlour.
Powell met fifth husband Dick Moore when he interviewed her for his book about child actors. As Dickie Moore, he had been a well-known child actor in the 1930s and ’40s and gave Shirley Temple her first screen kiss in “Miss Annie Rooney” (1942). Moore, head of a New York public relations office, and Powell married in 1988. He died in 2015.
Jane Powell's survivors include her daughter, Lindsey Nerney, Granger said.
24th National Art Exhibition extended till September 25
The ongoing 24th edition of the National Art Exhibition at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA)’s National Art Gallery has been extended due to audience demand and will now conclude on September 25.
The event was opened to in-person audiences on September 1 as the first major public exhibition of BSA, since it shut its doors in April amid the second wave of COVID-19.
This year’s exhibition created history as the first-ever virtual edition inaugurated on June 29 at its website www.shilpakala.gov.bd and its official YouTube channel till July 31, due to the havoc of COVID-19 in the country.
Known as one of the most celebrated art exhibitions of the country and one of the flagship artistic ventures of BSA since 1975, the event was virtually inaugurated by State Minister for Cultural Affairs KM Khalid.
A total of 157 paintings, 47 sculptures, 53 prints, 17 photographs, 18 installations, 10 oriental artworks, 20 crafts, 7 new media works, 5 graphics works, and 7 potteries are on display, alongside 6 special performance art shows. Of the over 1,000 artworks submitted by a total of 786 artists, the 347 artworks of different mediums and genres by 323 artists are being showcased at this year’s exhibition.
Witness says R. Kelly kept her locked up before sex assault
She was an unsuspecting radio station intern in 2003 when she pursued what she thought would be a career-making interview with a R&B superstar — R. Kelly.
Instead, she had a horrific experience while locked in a darkened room for days, she’s now testified years later in lurid detail. She said she still lives with a strong belief she was drugged and violated by Kelly while she was unconscious.
“I was sexually assaulted,” the woman told jurors on Thursday at Kelly’s sex-trafficking trial. “It wasn’t something I invited.”
Also read: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo resigns over sexual harassment
The witness, who testified without using her real name, became the latest in a string of accusers to take the witness stand against Kelly since the trial began in New York City on Aug. 18.
Kelly, 54, has repeatedly denied accusations that he led a criminal enterprise that sexually exploited women, girls and even boys during a 30-year career highlighted by his anthem “I Believe I Can Fly.” His lawyers have portrayed his accusers as groupies who are lying about their relationships with him.
Publicly recounting her experience with Kelly for the first time, the former radio intern said she was a 21-year-old single mother from Salt Lake City when she got up the nerve to approach Kelly’s entourage about an interview.
“It would have been my very first huge celebrity interview,” said the witness, now 39. “I thought it would kickstart my career.”
She was invited to fly to Chicago and meet Kelly at his “Chocolate Factory” music studio, all paid for by the Grammy-winning recording artist. There, she was greeted by someone who made her sign a non-disclosure agreement, demanded personal information about her family and surprised her by asking if she “needed protection” — specifically, a condom, she testified.
“No, I’m not here for that,” she responded.
Also read: Report tells of sexual assault, racism at military institute
She was told to wait alone for Kelly in a windowless room. When she tried to step out, she discovered that the door was locked from the outside and that, after banging on the door with no response, she needed permission from Kelly to go to the bathroom or anywhere else, she said.
“I was scared. I was ashamed. I was embarrassed,” she said.
The witness claimed two days passed before she was finally given something to eat — Chinese takeout and a soda. After only a few bites and sips from her meal, she passed out on a couch, she said.
She awoke to find that someone had taken off all her clothes and felt “wet stuff” between her legs and on her thighs, she said. She also spotted Kelly in the corner pulling up his pants, she said, making clear to her he had assaulted her.
Kelly left the room, saying he would be back soon, she said, the last time she saw him. What felt like another few days had passed before she was given a flight home, she said.
She said on the way out of the studio, an employee warned her to keep her mouth shut about what had happened. The way it was put: “Don’t f--- with Mr. Kelly.” She took it as a potential threat against her child and family.
As he has with other accusers, defense attorney Deveraux Cannick pressed the witness on why it took several years for her to come forward with her accusations. He noted too her admission that she had a cell phone when she alleges she was locked in the room.
“Did you call 911? After you were raped, according to you, you didn’t call 911?” Deveraux asked on cross-examination.
“That’s correct,” she responded.
The woman’s allegations resulted in a kidnapping charge listed in a sweeping racketeering indictment against Kelly that’s kept him in jail since 2019. It alleges he “together with others, did knowingly and intentionally secretly confine an individual” that the document identified only as a “Jane Doe.”
Another woman who testified on Thursday was someone who appeared on a sequel to a widely watched documentary series — “Surviving R. Kelly” — that portrayed him as a sexual predator. She has described having a tumultuous relationship with him but hasn’t directly accused him of any crimes.
The government instead was seeking to use her to corroborate testimony from other accusers that Kelly used spankings and other discipline to make women he was allegedly exploiting stay in line over months or years.
“It was fun in the beginning,” she said of her time with him. However, she said, it later became “controlling.”
When a Bollywood celebrity ad adds to the woes of a unicorn
Building brands is not a child's play these days -- they have to be bold to be heard. But crossing the line can backfire.
An Indian unicorn, for instance, is facing backlash on social media over its decision to promote its brand via an advertisement that many perceive portrays the workplace exploitation of its workers.
The ad featuring Bollywood stars Hritwik Roshan and Katrina Kaif has definitely given leading food delivery giant Zomato an edge over others in the competition for attention, but it has triggered widespread derision.
Read: India's first food delivery unicorn fires up start-up ecosystem
The first ad shows Katrina opening the door for a Zomato delivery professional. After taking the delivery of a cake, she asks the Zomato man to wait for a slice, but he gets another notification for delivery and leaves.
The second ad is almost similar, only that the Zomato delivery executive has to forgo an opportunity to take a selfie with Hritwik after handing him over a food bowl. "For us, every customer is a star," says the tagline.
While the Twitterati has slammed Zomato for glorifying the poor working conditions of the delivery professionals, the unicorn says the ad is aimed at making the delivery men "the hero".
"This ad disturbed me. We don't need to glorify people rushing to deliver food. Or condescend to them and make it out to be heroic. Service providers need to come back to Earth," K Srinivasan tweeted.
"So the message here is what? That @zomato delivery guys work under such pressures and time constraints that one can't even wait 10 seconds for a selfie with a superstar. And that's a work culture they are proud of having?" tweeted Gaurav.
"Zomato spends crores on Hrithik instead of giving raise to deliver personnel," wrote another social media user.
Zomato has also put out its version of the controversy. "We believe that our ads are well-intentioned, but were unfortunately misinterpreted by some people," it said in its statement on Twitter.
Read: Indian economy grows by 20.1%, raising hopes of recovery
The controversy erupts barely a month after Zomato became India's first new-age technology unicorn to list on the bourses, scripting a stellar debut that could lute similar consumer start-ups to go public.
The company, backed by Jack Ma's Ant Group, in fact, rode on the Covid outbreak that has prompted a trend of people moving to order food items online the world over.
Such was the fantabulous listing on July 23 -- true to hype -- that Zomato's market capitalisation breached 12 billion US dollar mark in the first hour itself, making it one of the 50 most valuable traded firms.
ABBA back after 40 years with new album, virtual stage show
ABBA is releasing its first new music in four decades, along with a concert performance that will see the “Dancing Queen” quartet going entirely digital.
The forthcoming album “Voyage,” to be released Nov. 5, is a follow-up to 1981′s “The Visitors,” which until now had been the swan song of the Swedish supergroup. And a virtual version of the band will begin a series of concerts in London on May 27.
“We took a break in the spring of 1982 and now we’ve decided it’s time to end it,” ABBA said in a statement Thursday. “They say it’s foolhardy to wait more than 40 years between albums, so we’ve recorded a follow-up to ‘The Visitors."
Also read: Grammy-winning folk singer-songwriter Nanci Griffith dies
The group has been creating the live show with George Lucas’ special-effects company, Industrial Light & Magic. They say the virtual versions of themselves are “weird and wonderful,” and go beyond holograms.
“It was suggested to us that we could go on tour as a hologram. And this is now four, five years ago,” Björn Ulvaeus, ABBA’s 76-year-old guitarist, backup singer and co-songwriter said at a news conference Thursday. “And we found out very soon that that wasn’t even possible because holograms is an old technology, but I mean, the vision was there of having our digital selves, that even was a possibility.”
“And also,” said Benny Andersson, 74, who plays keyboards, sings and writes songs with Ulvaeus, “we want to do it before we were dead.”
Ulvaeus added, ”it’s good if you do that before you dead. Because it gets more accurate then.”
They sang and played together for hours every day for weeks, using motion capture and other techniques to create the 22-song, approximately 90-minute show.
“We dressed up in a leotards with dots or little things on them,” Ulvaeus said. “And we had dots in our faces and helmets with cameras. And there we were, the four of us on stage together doing these songs.”
Also read: 'Aastha': Journalist Mizan Malik's new song tributes the youth
They say it was hard work but a great pleasure, but for one thing.
“I’d say the only big problem was that we had to shave our beards,” Andersson said. “I’ve had my beard for 50 years.”
The planned show spurred the making of the album, which features the new songs “I Still Have Faith In You” and “Don’t Shut Me Down.” It began with sessions in 2018 and was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.
“It was so joyful to be together in the studio again, the four of us,” Andersson said.”
The show will come 50 years after the founding of the group that consisted of two married couples for most of its existence, and whose name is an acronym of the first names of its members, Agnetha Fältskog, 71, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, 75, Ulvaeus and Andersson.
Their music has remained ubiquitous in the decades since their breakup, in part because of the stage musical “Mamma Mia!” and the two films that followed it.
They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010.
Last week the group launched a website with the title “ ABBA Voyage,” teasing the new announcement. Tickets go on sale Tuesday.
Noted Bengali writer Buddhadeb Guha dies in Kolkata
Noted Bengali writer Buddhadeb Guha died in a Kolkata hospital late Sunday, reported Indian daily The Hindustan Times.
He was 85.
Earlier this year in April, Guha was detected with Covid-19 and was admitted to a hospital for over a month. He had to be hospitalised again recently with lung and urinary tract problems. He died around 11.30 pm on Sunday due to post-Covid complications after a massive cardiac arrest, PTI cited his family as saying.
A chartered accountant by profession, Guha was one of the most popular writers who created the popular children’s character Rijuda and his sidekick Rudra, who explore jungles. Nature and forest were recurrent themes in his novels and short stories. He is best remembered for his novel Madhukori which is considered a milestone in Bengali literature.
He was married to eminent Rabindra Sangeet exponent Ritu Guha who died in 2011. He has left behind two daughters.
Guha was the recipient of many awards, including Ananda Purashkar in 1976 and later Shiromani Puraskar and Sharat Puraskar. He was also an accomplished musician.
“Buddhadev Guha is no more. He was blessed as to be one with the Divine on the night of Janmashtami (Lord Krishna’s birthday) 2021.Do join his family and friends in celebrating his life,” his elder daughter Maleni B Guha posted in social media.
Sanyat’s 2nd single ‘You and Me’ awaits global release
Sanyat Sattar’s second single, ‘You and Me’,will be released on global platforms on August 29.
He wrote the lyrics and composed the music in the duet featuring Sarah Billah.
“I had the track and music ready and was looking for a duet partner. Coincidentally, my friend Sarah was in Bangladesh, and I requested her to join me,” he said.
Sarah, an accomplished singer herself, has sung many Bengali songs. ‘You and Me’ is her first one in English.
'Aastha': Journalist Mizan Malik's new song tributes the youth
In tribute to the young generation to boost their morale amid the pandemic, Mizan Malik, a renowned journalist, poet, and lyricist, has penned a new song titled 'Aastha' which was released on August 23, 2021, on his official YouTube channel. Close-Up One famed singers Putul and Vashon sing the song 'Aastha', tuned and composed by Zahid Bashar Pankaj.
The song, 'Aastha', got released at a time when the Covid-19 pandemic has afflicted the entire world and the youth are going through a critical phase due to the prolonged closure of the educational institutions. Many have abandoned the reading table in favour of their smartphones.
Time is passing in a state of trauma, as the young generation does not know when life will return to normal.
In such a reality, lyricist Mizan Malik wrote the 'Aastha', suggesting the youth not to give up and not to abandon their innate positive spirit.
"Our new generation is spending idle and hopeless moments without having entertainment during the deserted time as if dust has accumulated on their dreams," Mizan Malik stated of the song. "Basically, I wrote the song to stimulate their morale."
READ: Pandemic fiction: Fall books include stories of the virus
Expressing her joy about the song, singer Putul said, "I feel good after a long time singing a song that has a different dimension. He has written the song with passion and care, and we are expecting everybody would enjoy the song."
Last year, amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Mizan Malik wrote several inspirational songs, including 'Kheya', 'Prarthana', 'Bangladesh', 'Aradhana', and 'Matobad', to name a few.
Over the last 15 years, Mizan Malik has created a name for himself by creating songs for prominent singers including Andrew Kishore, Rabi Chowdhury, folk singer and Member of Parliament Momtaz Begum, Biplob, Sumon Rahat, Fakir Shahabuddin, Sohel Mehedi, Khaled Munna, and Pritam.
READ: Spl show to commemorate Aug 21 grenade massacre
A well-known journalist in the country for his award-winning investigative journalistic works, Mizan Malik is currently serving as the Deputy Editor of Amader Shomoy and President of Crime Reporters Association of Bangladesh-CRAB.