United News of Bangladesh

The nominations for the 98th Academy Awards have been announced, ending hopes for India’s official entry Homebound, which failed to make the final list in the Best International Feature Film category. Homebound, directed by Neeraj Ghaywan and backed by Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions, had reached the shortlist stage and drew attention internationally. The film stars Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa and Janhvi Kapoor. In the overall race, Sinners emerged as the top nominee with 16 nods, while One Battle After Another also featured among major contenders across categories, according to the report. The Academy Awards ceremony will be held on March 15. Comedian Conan O’Brien is set to host the event. The report also noted that Wagner Moura became the first Brazilian actor to earn a Best Actor nomination, while Timothee Chalamet set a record as the youngest male actor to receive three acting nominations.   With inputs from NDTV

Actor Suniel Shetty has said he does not believe nepotism exists in Bollywood and argued that family support is a normal part of life. Speaking on a podcast, Shetty said people may call his son Ahan a “nepo kid”, but every father wants his child to do well. He added that being privileged can bring opportunities, but success depends on how a person uses them. Shetty also praised Ahan’s co-stars in Border 2, including Diljit Dosanjh and Varun Dhawan. He said Varun often talks more about Ahan’s role than his own, and called it a sign that the common idea of “spoiled star kids” is not always true. He said Varun has been speaking highly about Ahan in many places. Border 2, featuring Ahan Shetty, was released in cinemas on Friday. On the release day, Suniel Shetty shared an emotional note for his son on Instagram. He said the Border film franchise is not just about war or glory, but about discipline, sacrifice, courage and the value of peace. Suniel Shetty acted in the original Border, released in 1997.   With inputs from NDTV

HBO’s banking drama Industry has returned for its fourth season with a darker tone and a star-studded cast. The show follows young bankers navigating London’s high-finance world. Season four features new actors including Max Minghella and Charlie Heaton. Critics say the series has become more intense, exploring toxic workplace culture, mental health crises, and shocking events. The storyline now shows former victims becoming perpetrators, with central characters Harper Stern and Yasmin facing extreme challenges in their careers and personal lives. Experts note the series depicts the corrupting influence of power and ambition in high finance. Industry first aired in 2020 with little attention but has grown popular over four seasons, gaining high ratings and a prime Sunday night slot on HBO. The series is praised for blending finance, politics, media, and social power struggles into a gripping drama. Season four is available weekly on HBO and HBO Max in the US and on BBC One and iPlayer in the UK.   With inputs from BBC

British singer Harry Styles has released a new single, Aperture, and announced a 50-show world tour for 2026. The first single from his upcoming fourth album, Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally, Aperture marks Styles’ return after nearly four years. He described the track as the “perfect little bow” to complete the album. The album is set for release on March 6. Styles will perform across seven cities, including six shows at London’s Wembley Stadium and 30 shows at New York’s Madison Square Garden. The tour will also visit Amsterdam, São Paulo, Mexico City, Melbourne, and Sydney between May and December. For his London shows, Styles will be joined by Shania Twain. Other special guests across the tour include Jamie XX, Jorja Smith, and Robyn. Ticket sales are scheduled later this month. Styles said spending the past years attending live shows and being in audiences inspired the music on his new album. He told BBC Radio 1 that seeing bands like LCD Soundsystem live reminded him why live music is special. The singer first rose to fame as a member of One Direction before launching his solo career in 2017. His previous album, Harry’s House, won a Grammy and a Brit Award in 2022.   With inputs from BBC

Brazilians celebrated the nomination of “The Secret Agent” film to four Oscar categories on Thursday, which many said confirmed the rise of Brazilian cinema and its universal appeal. “The Secret Agent” — nominated for best picture, best actor, best international film and achievement in casting — now shares Brazil's record for nominations, alongside the famed 2002 film “City of God” set in a favela in Rio de Janeiro. “The Secret Agent” follows a widowed father — played by Wagner Moura — who becomes a target of Brazil’s military dictatorship in the 1970s simply because he stands up to a business owner with ties to the regime. Director Kleber Mendonça Filho said that more than one million spectators have seen the film, in a video posted on social media Thursday following the nominations. Last year, Brazilian feature film “I’m Still Here” was also a box office success, drawing millions of moviegoers. It was nominated in three categories and won best international feature, giving Brazil its first Oscar. The back-to-back successes are leading many to say that Brazil is living a particularly fruitful moment for its cinema — including President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who said that the local industry is currently “experiencing one of the best moments in its history.” The nominations are “recognition of our culture and of Brazil’s ability to tell stories that move the world,” he said on social media. “I’m Still Here” is also set during the dictatorship, and observers say both films have contributed to nationwide discussion about the dark period in Brazil's history from 1964 to 1985, when people were tortured and disappeared. Reaction to political turmoil Lúcia Espírito Santo, a 78-year-old retired lawyer, said that she herself had to watch her words when she was studying law at university for fear of disappearing. “What we see in the film happened a lot. People would disappear and you didn’t know why. Friends of mine from college disappeared because they spoke out, they advocated for freedom and democracy,” she said, exiting the cinema after seeing the film. Sabrina Guimarães, a 20-year-old student at a Rio de Janeiro university, who went to see the film Thursday, said learning about the country’s history is essential. “Even though we learn this stuff at school, we don’t spend much time on it and it’s not very specific. Feeling like you’re there in the person’s shoes, knowing what was happening at the time is very interesting,” she said. “It’s good to understand what happened in the past so we don’t repeat these things in the future.” Director Mendonça Filho said the film is a reaction to Brazil's past decade of political turmoil, including the far-right administration of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who last year was sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison for attempting a coup. But the film also dialogues with the political climate in other places around the world, he said in an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday. “The film is very Brazilian, but it’s also universal, so it can be used to discuss issues in the United States, in Europe or in Brazil,” Mendonça Filho said. “The theme of power being used to crush people and social classes is a theme that’s current, not just historical.” ‘Intense emotion’ Casting director Gabriel Domingues, who was nominated in the new category of “achievement in casting,” said the outpouring of support for the film reflects broader enthusiasm for Brazilian cinema. “Brazilian cinema is really in a moment of intense emotion, beyond just excitement. People get very moved, with this participation in international events and awards and everything,” Domingues told The Associated Press, comparing it to Brazil's atmosphere around soccer. Ana Paula Sousa, an expert in cinema and teacher at the ESPM University in Sao Paulo, said that the achievements of “I’m Still Here” and “The Secret Agent” are changing Brazilians’ relation to the film industry in a country were movie attendance is historically low. “People are talking about Brazilian cinema and thinking it’s cool to talk about it. (…) That's something we didn’t see before, and it’s really great,” she said. Sousa said she hopes the successes will spark more consistent movie attendance among Brazilians. Espírito Santo, the elderly moviegoer in Rio, said that she was incredibly proud of Brazilian cinema following the Oscar nominations. “We’re showing up, stepping onto the red carpet abroad,” she said. “Brazil is starting to look like a producer of films, of well-told stories.”

  Ryan Coogler’s blues-steeped vampire epic “Sinners” led all films with 16 nominations to the 98th Academy Awards on Thursday, setting a record for the most in Oscar history. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voters showered “Sinners” with more nominations than they had ever bestowed before, breaking the 14-nomination mark set by “All About Eve,” “Titanic” and “La La Land.” Along with best picture, Coogler was nominated for best director and best screenplay, and double-duty star Michael B. Jordan was rewarded with his first Oscar nomination, for best actor. Paul Thomas Anderson’s father-daughter revolutionary saga “One Battle After Another,” the favorite coming into nominations, trailed in second with 13 of its own. Four of its actors — Leonardo DiCaprio, Teyana Taylor, Benicio del Toro and Sean Penn — were nominated, though newcomer Chase Infiniti was left out in best actress. In those two top nominees, the film academy put its full force behind a pair of visceral and bracingly original American epics that each connected with a fraught national moment. Coogler’s Jim Crow-era film — the rare horror movie to win the academy’s favor — conjures a mythical allegory of Black life. In “One Battle After Another,” a dormant spirit of rebellion is revived in an out-of-control police state. Both are also Warner Bros. titles. In the midst of a contentious sale to Netflix, the 102-year-old studio had one of its best Oscar nominations mornings ever. As the fate of Warner Bros., which Netflix is buying for $72 billion, hangs in the balance amid a challenge from Paramount Skydance, Hollywood is bracing for potentially the largest realignment in the film industry’s history. The 10 films nominated for best picture are “Bugonia,” “F1,” “Frankenstein,” “Hamnet,” “Marty Supreme,” “One Battle After Another,” “The Secret Agent,” “Sentimental Value,” “Sinners” and “Train Dreams.” Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein,” Josh Safdie’s “Marty Supreme” and Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value” all scored nine nominations. The nine for “Marty Supreme” included a third best actor nod for 30-year-old Timothée Chalamet, the favorite in the category he narrowly missed winning last year for “A Complete Unknown.” With Jordan and Chalamet, the nominees are Leonardo DiCaprio for “One Battle After Another,” Ethan Hawke for “Blue Moon” and Wagner Moura for “The Secret Agent.” Nominated for best actress was the category favorite, Jessie Buckley (“Hamnet”), along with Rose Byrne (“If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”), Kate Hudson (“Song Sung Blue”), Renate Reinsve (“Sentimental Value”) and two-time winner Emma Stone, who landed her sixth nomination, for “Bugonia.” ‘KPop’ leads a field light on big hits The year’s most-watched movie, with more than half a billion views on Netflix, “KPop Demon Hunters,” scored nominations for both best song (“Golden”) and best animated feature. Sony Pictures developed and produced the film, but, after selling it to Netflix, watched it become a worldwide sensation. Blockbusters otherwise had a difficult morning. Universal Pictures’ “Wicked: For Good” was shut out entirely. While “Avatar: Fire and Ash” notched nominations for costume design and visual effects, it became the first “Avatar” film not nominated for best picture. The biggest box-office hit nominated for Hollywood's top award instead was “F1,” an Apple production that landed four nominations. The streamer partnered with Warner Bros. to distribute the racing drama. This year, the Oscars are introducing a new category for casting. That new honor helped “Sinners” and “One Battle After Another” pad their already impressive stats. Along with those two films, the nominees are “Hamnet,” “Marty Supreme” and “The Secret Agent.” An international shift continues The academy, which has expanded its overseas membership in recent years, also continued its tilt toward international films. Every category included one international nominee. For the eighth year in the row, a non-English-language film was nominated for best picture. More non-English performances were nominated than ever before. The top nominee of them all was Joachim Trier's Norwegian family drama “Sentimental Value.” It cleaned up in the supporting actor categories, with nods for Stellan Skarsgård, Inga Ibsdotter LilIeaas and Elle Fanning. Also nominated for best supporting actress, in addition to Taylor: Amy Madigan for “Weapons” and Wunmi Mosaku for “Sinners.” In supporting actor, the nominees included Jacob Elordi for “Frankenstein” and, in a surprise that likely dislodged Paul Mescal of “Hamnet,” Delroy Lindo for “Sinners.” A competitive best international feature category mirrored the turbulent state of the world. That included the Iranian revenge drama and Palme d'Or winner “It Was Just an Accident,” by the often-imprisoned filmmaker Jafar Panahi. He's spoken passionately against the ongoing crackdown of demonstrators in his home country. France nominated the film. Also nominated: the Tunisian entry “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” about volunteers at the Palestine Red Crescent Society; the Brazilian political thriller “The Secret Agent”; the apocalyptic Spanish road movie “Sirât” and “Sentimental Value.” The 98th Academy Awards will take place on March 15 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles and will be televised live on ABC and Hulu. YouTube's new deal to exclusively air won't take effect until 2029. This year, Conan O’Brien will return as host.

US actor Ashton Kutcher has said Hollywood is not responsible for pushing unrealistic beauty standards. He said society is the main driver behind people’s desire to look perfect. Kutcher, 47, is starring in the science fiction series The Beauty, about a drug that transforms people into their most attractive version. He told media that entertainment reflects society and does not force uniform beauty. He said social media and constant on-camera exposure have increased pressure to appear perfect. Cosmetic enhancements are becoming socially acceptable, he added. The series, adapted from a comic by Ryan Murphy, also features Meghan Trainor and highlights current social issues, including weight-loss drugs and cosmetic procedures. Kutcher said many people pursue these treatments not for health reasons but to fit beauty ideals. Co-star Rebecca Hall said the show questions society’s obsession with beauty. Her character, an FBI agent, investigates the deaths of extremely attractive people and faces her own insecurities. Kutcher and Hall said the series shows the risks of chasing unattainable beauty and the impact of social pressure on mental health.   With inputs from BBC

Nearly 95 years after its release, Charlie Chaplin’s silent film City Lights remains one of the most celebrated movies in history, with its final scene widely regarded as the greatest in cinema. The 1931 romantic comedy follows Chaplin’s Tramp, who falls in love with a blind flower girl. The Tramp helps her regain her sight and secures her future, only to meet her outside her successful flower shop in the film’s iconic closing shot. Film experts say the scene captures pure emotion and simplicity, showing Chaplin’s mastery of storytelling, performance, and camera work. British Film Institute lists and filmmakers such as Stanley Kubrick and Orson Welles have praised City Lights for its artistry. The final moment, where the Tramp smiles at the flower girl, is noted for its subtlety and emotional depth. Chaplin’s careful framing and restrained performance made the scene powerful without dialogue. City Lights was Chaplin’s most expensive silent film, costing $1.5 million at the time, and required hundreds of takes to perfect key sequences. Despite challenges, it earned three times its budget and remains a benchmark for cinematic storytelling. Experts say the film’s influence can be seen in later movies, including The 400 Blows, Moonlight, and Pixar’s Monsters, Inc., which echo the power of Chaplin’s final shot.   With inputs from BBC

The Golden Raspberry Awards, known as the Razzies, have announced their 2026 nominations, spotlighting films and performances judged as the year’s worst, a day before the Oscar nominations. Disney’s live-action Snow White and the science fiction remake War of the Worlds led the list with six nominations each, including worst picture, worst director, worst screenplay and worst remake, according to reports. Snow White also drew nominations linked to performances by Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot, while its computer-generated dwarf characters were also singled out in categories such as worst supporting actor and worst screen combo. War of the Worlds, inspired by HG Wells’ classic novel, also received major-category nods, including worst actor and worst screen combo, the reports said. Other films mentioned among this year’s nominees include Hurry Up Tomorrow, Star Trek: Section 31 and Netflix’s The Electric State, which features Millie Bobby Brown. The 46th Razzie Awards results are set to be announced on March 14, one day before the Oscars ceremony, with winners chosen by more than 1,100 members of the Golden Raspberry Foundation.   With inputs from NDTV

Veteran lyricist and screenwriter Javed Akhtar has said he would not choose to remake Amitabh Bachchan’s classic film Don, arguing he has no creative regret about the script, and therefore sees no reason to rewrite it. The comments resurfaced as Akhtar recently disclosed that he was approached by the makers of Border 2 to rewrite songs from the 1997 blockbuster Border, but he declined, calling the idea a sign of “creative bankruptcy” and saying he did not want to create nostalgia. In an earlier interview, Akhtar said if he were to remake any of his own films, he would prefer one where he felt he had made mistakes and could improve it on a second attempt. Since he felt satisfied with Don, he said he would not remake it. Akhtar’s son and filmmaker Farhan Akhtar had earlier explained that he picked Don for a remake because he believed the film’s storytelling style and language were modern for its time and could fit easily in a contemporary setting. Javed Akhtar also said he would rather revisit other films where he felt the second half could have been stronger, naming Kaala Patthar, Mashaal and Arjun. Farhan Akhtar remade Don in 2006 with Shah Rukh Khan in the lead, with Priyanka Chopra and Kareena Kapoor also featuring in the film.   With inputs from NDTV