United News of Bangladesh

Hollywood star Robert Pattinson and Oasis brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher are bringing their own brand of celebrity power to the Venice Film Festival, where both will attend world premieres on Saturday. Pattinson is promoting “Primetime,” a drama based on the controversial NBC reality series “To Catch a Predator” and its host Chris Hansen. The Gallagher brothers are attending for a documentary chronicling Oasis' 2025 reunion tour. Both films are scheduled for release in US theaters this month. The arrival of Pattinson and Oasis comes after several high-profile moments at the festival, including a lifetime achievement award for George Clooney and a strong reception for John Malkovich's performance in “Wild Horse Nine.” Pattinson portrays Chris Hansen “Primetime,” directed by Lance Oppenheim and written by Ajon Singh, examines a 2006 sting operation involving Texas assistant district attorney Bill Conradt, who died by suicide as police raided his home while television cameras were present. The film draws on journalist Luke Dittrich's Esquire article “Tonight on Dateline This Man Will Die,” which explored the controversial operation. Oppenheim said he wanted to examine the competing ambitions of a journalist, a television producer and a young Hollywood hopeful whose paths eventually converged in a crisis. Hansen was not involved in the film and has publicly questioned the filmmakers' motives. He has also said he once thought actor Denis Leary would have been a better choice to portray him. Hansen was invited to watch the film ahead of its Venice premiere but objected to being asked to sign a nondisclosure agreement. For Pattinson, “Primetime,” which opens Sept. 25, adds to an already busy year that has included appearances in “The Drama” and “The Odyssey.” He is also set to appear in “Dune: Part Three.” Oasis reunion gets documentary treatment “Oasis: Don't Look Back in Anger” combines concert footage with a look at the complicated relationship between Noel and Liam Gallagher, whose long-running feud led to the band's breakup in 2009. The documentary features previously unseen rehearsal footage and the brothers' first joint interview in 25 years. Directors Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace said they wanted to tell the story of two brothers overcoming a turbulent relationship while also exploring the enduring influence of Oasis' music. The film will receive an IMAX theatrical release in the United States on Sept. 11 through Disney and is expected to stream later this year on Disney+. Oasis reunited for its 2025 tour after remaining inactive for about 15 years.

Police have detained a car and its driver allegedly involved in an accident that left model and actress Meghla Mukta seriously injured in the capital's Banani area on July 28. Banani police informed Meghla's family about the detention on Thursday night. The accident occurred on July 28 when Meghla was crossing a road in Banani and a speeding car hit her before fleeing the scene. Passersby and locals rescued her in a bloodied condition and took her to a hospital. That night, actor Imtiaz Barshan, a friend and co-artist of Meghla, filed a complaint with Banani Police Station. Meghla suffered serious injuries to her face and head in the accident. She subsequently spent nearly a month receiving treatment in an intensive care unit and a cabin. She underwent multiple facial surgeries under the supervision of expert physicians. She recently returned home after making some recovery but has yet to fully recover. Her doctors have told her that she will need more time to recuperate. Following the accident, Meghla's colleagues submitted a written complaint to Banani Police Station against the car and its driver. However, alleging a lack of police action, Meghla's father filed a case with the police station on September 1. Police later informed the family that the car and its driver had been detained. The car was identified after analysing CCTV footage under the direction of Gulshan Division Deputy Commissioner Tanvir Ahmed, according to sources. However, Meghla has expressed dissatisfaction with the police's role and overall handling of the case, alleging she did not receive the expected cooperation from Banani police following the accident. She alleged that members of her family had to visit the police station repeatedly to help identify the car. Even after the driver was detained, she claimed there was a lack of transparency and unnecessary delay in the process. Meghla also alleged that police merely informed her family about the detention of the car and driver as a formality and did not provide satisfactory explanations regarding the next legal steps or any visible progress towards justice. She and her family have demanded proper legal action against those responsible and exemplary punishment. Recalling her experience, Meghla said, "I have never faced any legal trouble or had to deal with the police in my life. Two incidents have happened to me in the past three months." "My experience with the police in this incident has been very bad. It is extremely disappointing. I never imagined that the police could be so uncooperative," she stated. Meghla added, "We at least know the roads to some extent and have people we know. Even then, we are going through so much harassment. But I truly feel terrible for ordinary people in this country." "It felt to me that they do not receive any kind of legal remedy from the police. I am genuinely frustrated and angry about the whole matter," the actress stated with disappointment. Meghla Mukta made her acting debut with the 2014 Bangladesh-India joint production Aami Shudhu Cheyechhi Tomay. She later appeared in Nabab (2017) and made a notable foray into the South Indian film industry with the Telugu film Sakala Kala Vallabhudu (2019). She subsequently starred in Saiful Islam Mannu's Payer Chhap (2022), marking her first lead role in a Bangladeshi film.

The film, which has reportedly grossed over Rs 117 crore in India, is also expected to make its OTT debut on JioHotstar after its theatrical run Malayalam film Bethlehem Kudumba Unit, starring Nivin Pauly and Mamitha Baiju, is set to reach a wider audience with its Tamil and Telugu dubbed versions releasing in theatres from September 4. Directed by Gireesh AD and produced by Bhavana Studios, the film was released in Malayalam cinemas on August 21. It received a positive response from audiences and has performed strongly at the box office. According to industry tracker Sacnilk, the film has so far grossed around Rs 117.75 crore in India, while its net collection stands at approximately Rs 100.85 crore. The final box office figures are yet to be announced as the film continues its theatrical run. The feel-good romantic drama follows a young woman who moves to a new neighbourhood in the city. After settling in, she develops an interest in an older man living nearby. Besides Nivin Pauly and Mamitha Baiju, the film also features Sangeeth Prathap, Suresh Krishna, Vinay Forrt, Roshan Shanavas and Shyam Mohan in key roles. The music has been composed by Vishnu Vijay, with Ajmal Sabu handling cinematography and Akash Joseph Varghese serving as editor. After completing its theatrical run, Bethlehem Kudumba Unit is reportedly expected to premiere on JioHotstar. However, an official streaming date has not yet been announced. Source: NDTV

Renowned actress Elina Shammi was seriously injured in a road accident while travelling on a battery-powered rickshaw (an e-rickshaw) in Dhaka on Wednesday evening. The actress said she had gone out to buy some necessary items for a shoot when the accident occurred. According to Shammi, the e-rickshaw was travelling at a high speed when it lost balance after a stone or brick-like object fell under one of its narrow wheels. She fell onto the road as the e-rickshaw overturned and landed on her. Shammi sustained injuries to her head and forehead in the accident. Doctors later put a total of 15 stitches across two wounds. She went to a hospital in  traditional rickshaw after the accident. On Thursday, Shammi shared details of the incident in a social media post, referring to the battery-powered rickshaw as “Tesla” - a sarcastic reference commonly used in Dhaka. “Life is fleeting, and we realise it again and again,” she wrote, expressing concern over road safety and what she described as the growing risks faced by ordinary people on the roads. Recalling the accident, Shammi said she had repeatedly asked the driver to slow down but her warnings went unheeded. “I kept telling him, ‘Brother, please go slowly'; but he was racing against the wind,” she wrote. She said the wheel apparently lost balance after running over a stone or brick-like object, causing the driver to be thrown in one direction while she fell onto the road and the vehicle landed on her. Shammi said a screw from the wheel may have cut her forehead and injured the front portion of her head. She thanked Allah for saving her life and said the accident could have resulted in more serious consequences. “Allah has given me another chance at life. Alhamdulillah,” she wrote. Questioning the safety of battery-powered rickshaws, Shammi asked who would take responsibility for the damage and injuries caused by such accidents. She also requested her followers to pray for her recovery and safety.

South Korean police have asked prosecutors to indict Bang Si-Hyuk, the billionaire music executive behind K-pop giant HYBE and supergroup BTS, over allegations that he misled investors before the company went public. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency referred Bang's case to the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office on Thursday, recommending his indictment for allegedly violating the country's capital markets law, according to police and prosecutors. Bang, HYBE's founder and chairman, has been under investigation over allegations that he misled investors in 2019 by telling them the company had no immediate plans to go public. Police allege that the investors later sold their shares to a private equity fund shortly before HYBE launched its initial public offering. Investigators have previously said the private equity fund may have paid Bang around 200 billion won, or about $147 million, under a separate agreement that entitled him to 30% of profits from stock sales following the company's IPO. South Korean media reported that police also referred four other people to prosecutors on Thursday, including HYBE executives and officials linked to the private equity fund, recommending their indictment. Bang and HYBE have denied any wrongdoing. “We have consistently responded to the allegations with objective evidence and facts,” Bang's legal team said in a statement Thursday, adding that it expects the matter to be resolved fairly and transparently through the legal process. Police had previously sought Bang's arrest twice, in April and May, but prosecutors rejected both requests, saying there were insufficient grounds for his arrest and ordering further investigation. Legal observers say prosecutors may seek additional investigation before deciding whether to formally indict Bang. The latest development comes as BTS returned to the global music scene and launched a highly anticipated world tour earlier this year, following a nearly four-year break caused by the members' mandatory military service in South Korea.

Cassandra Wilson, the acclaimed jazz singer, songwriter and producer who won two Grammy Awards and became known for her distinctive voice and genre-crossing music, has died at the age of 70. Wilson died at her home in her native Jackson, Mississippi, on Tuesday morning, according to Hinds County Coroner Jeramiah Howard. Her manager said the legendary jazz artist “transitioned peacefully at home,” surrounded by family, close friends and her manager. Named America’s best singer by Time magazine in 2001, Wilson was widely admired for her deep, soulful contralto voice and her ability to blend jazz with blues, folk, pop, R&B, country and other musical styles. Musician Jon Batiste, paying tribute to Wilson on Wednesday, said her voice captured the spirit of the American South. Born and raised in Jackson, Wilson developed an interest in music at an early age. Her father, Herman B. Fowlkes, was a musician, while her mother, Mary Fowlkes, was a teacher. She grew up listening to artists including Motown performers, Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk. Wilson began taking piano lessons at the age of 6 and later played clarinet in marching bands. While studying at Millsaps College and Jackson State University, she performed at coffeehouses and played with cover bands. In the early 1980s, she worked with and learned from leading jazz musicians in New Orleans before moving to New York City. There, she joined saxophonist Steve Coleman’s M-Base Collective and eventually became its main vocalist. Wilson’s distinctive style earned her four Grammy nominations and two awards for Best Jazz Vocal Album. She won in 1997 for “New Moon Daughter” and again in 2009 for “Loverly.” In 2015, Wilson performed a special concert at the Apollo Theater marking the 100th anniversary of the birth of legendary blues and jazz singer Billie Holiday. Later that year, she released “Coming Forth by Day,” her final album, which paid tribute to Holiday. In 2022, Wilson was named a Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts, one of the highest honors for jazz musicians in the United States. Tributes poured in following news of her death. Batiste said Wilson’s unique vocal style and her ability to combine folk traditions, R&B and music from the African diaspora with experimental and popular sounds had a major influence on him. He also praised her deep connection to Mississippi, saying her Southern roots remained at the heart of her music even as her artistry continued to evolve. Jackson Mayor John Horhn described Wilson as an extraordinary daughter of the city and said the world had lost a truly unique musical voice. “Cassandra Wilson carried the sound, spirit and history of Mississippi with her wherever her music reached,” the mayor said in a statement. He said her music had a rare depth and showed a powerful understanding of how songs can move people, tell stories and connect generations.

A group art exhibition titled ‘Untold Story’, exploring memory, identity, heritage and the often unspoken dimensions of human experience, was inaugurated at La Galerie of Alliance Française de Dhaka (AFD) in the capital's Dhanmondi on Tuesday. Curated by Fareha Zeba, the exhibition brings together artist books and contemporary artworks by a group of artists working across painting, drawing, collage, stitching, textiles, found materials and experimental book forms.

Winning an Oscar remains one of Hollywood's highest honours, but the famous golden statuette comes with a long history of mystery, controversy and unusual rules. The Academy Awards have grown far beyond their modest beginnings in 1929, when the first ceremony reportedly lasted just 10 minutes. Today, the Oscars are the centrepiece of a huge awards season involving studios, campaign consultants, critics, media outlets, stylists and thousands of people working behind the scenes. The origins of the Academy itself were also far from simple. Hollywood producer Louis B. Mayer helped establish it at a time when the film industry was trying to improve its public image and strengthen the influence of major studios. Even the origin of the name “Oscar” remains uncertain. One popular story says Academy librarian Margaret Herrick nicknamed the statuette after her uncle, though no one knows for sure who first gave the award its famous name. Over the years, the Oscars have produced both celebrated choices and controversial decisions. Classic films such as Citizen Kane and Brokeback Mountain lost the Best Picture award, while Crash and Green Book won the top prize. Other acclaimed films, including 2001: A Space Odyssey, Do the Right Thing and Hoop Dreams, were not even nominated for Best Picture. Acclaimed filmmaker David Lynch, meanwhile, never won a competitive Oscar. Despite such criticism, an Oscar remains the most widely recognised award in the film industry. The statuette itself is worth far less than its symbolic value. It costs about $400 to produce, but studios can spend tens of millions of dollars campaigning for awards. Winning can lead to higher salaries and greater career opportunities, although an Oscar is no guarantee of long-term success. The trophy also comes with strict ownership rules. Winners of Oscars awarded after 1951 cannot sell or dispose of their statuettes without first offering them to the Academy for $1. The popularity of the Oscars has also changed over the decades. Television audiences have risen and fallen since the ceremony was first broadcast in 1953, while the Academy has repeatedly faced criticism over its membership and lack of diversity. In 2015, the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite sparked widespread criticism and pushed the Academy to make major changes in its membership. Critics have questioned the Oscars' relevance almost since the awards began. Yet the ceremony continues to attract global attention every year. For Hollywood, the Oscar remains both a symbol of artistic achievement and a reminder of the industry's flaws — shaped by talent, ambition, money, power and, often, controversy.

Dulquer Salmaan has revealed that his upcoming film I’m Game has more to offer than what viewers have seen in its trailer, including a fantasy element that has been deliberately kept under wraps. The film is set to hit theatres on September 3. Speaking to students at a college in Hyderabad, Dulquer said the makers intentionally avoided revealing the film’s main surprise in the trailer to preserve the experience for cinema audiences. According to Pinkvilla, the actor said the film has a fantasy-related core concept that has not yet been shown to viewers. The revelation adds a new dimension to the film, as earlier reports had suggested that its story could involve a man receiving a transplanted hand from someone who had died, with the hand somehow linked to avenging its former owner’s death. However, the trailer tells a different story. Dulquer plays Dan John, a carefree and risk-taking man who knows how to make quick money. Instead of relying only on luck while betting, he uses an algorithm to decide where to place his money. But his life takes an unexpected turn when the algorithm begins producing results that work against him. His carefully planned world starts to fall apart, leaving audiences wondering what is really happening. Dulquer’s latest comments suggest that the trailer has revealed only part of the story, while the fantasy element and the film’s main concept have been kept secret ahead of its release. The actor also said his character, Dan John, would surprise audiences. He added that it had been some time since he last played a somewhat bratty and carefree character. Directed by Nahas Hidhayath, I’m Game also stars Antony Varghese Pepe, Kayadu Lohar, Kathir, Mysskin, Samyuktha, Vinay Forrt, Jayasudha and Shyamaprasad. The film was originally scheduled for release on August 21 during the Onam festival but was later postponed to September 3.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has cancelled a planned exhibition honouring British fashion designer John Galliano following strong criticism over his past antisemitic and racist remarks. The exhibition had been scheduled as the Costume Institute’s spring 2027 show and was expected to coincide with the annual Met Gala. The museum said another exhibition would be announced later. “Following thoughtful discussions with John Galliano, we have together decided not to proceed with the exhibition,” the museum’s director and CEO Max Hollein said in a statement. Galliano said he supported the decision and expressed regret over his past remarks, particularly the pain caused to Jewish and Asian communities. Galliano was once one of the fashion industry’s most celebrated designers and served as creative director of Christian Dior. However, he was dismissed after racist and antisemitic remarks he made in 2010 and 2011 became public. He was later convicted in France over antisemitic comments. After several years away from the spotlight, Galliano returned to the fashion industry in 2014 as creative director of Maison Margiela, where he worked for a decade. He would have been only the third living designer to receive a solo exhibition at the Met’s Costume Institute. The planned exhibition had faced growing opposition, including from New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin, who welcomed the museum’s decision to cancel it. Menin said she had repeatedly opposed honouring Galliano, arguing that the exhibition had caused deep pain to the Jewish community at a time of rising antisemitism. She described the cancellation as the right decision, saying the harm and distress caused by the planned exhibition were unacceptable. I can also make it shorter and sharper for direct UNB website publication.