Cinema hall owners will get Tk 1,000 crore long-term soft loans under the refinancing scheme of Bangladesh Bank to construct modern cinema halls and also renovate the old ones.

The winter wave of COVID-19 is going irresistibly strong with the latest inclusion of Akbar Hossain Pathan Farooque, one of the legendary actors in Bangladeshi cinema and Member of Parliament from Dhaka-17 constituency who has tested positive for COVID-19. Sharing his physical condition with media, his family members informed that the actor has tested positive on Monday. He was then admitted into Kurmitola General Hospital in the capital in the evening. According to wife Farhana Farooque and niece Asma Pathan Rumpa, his physical condition is currently stable, however, he is suffering from fever and cough. Farooque returned home on last week of October after nearly one and half months' treatment in Singapore for TB (Tuberculosis). After returning to Bangladesh, he also joined the parliament session on November 6 and November 9. He then got tested twice after both the sessions and despite being tested negative for the first one, his second result came out positive. Farooque was previously admitted to the United Hospital and Evercare Hospital in the capital. He was taken to Singapore on Sep 13 on a special flight after doctors in Bangladesh could not identify his disease. He was tested negative for COVID-19 back then. The actor has gone through a total of 14 COVID-19 tests in the last three months. A freedom fighter in the 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh, Farooque has been enthralling the audience of Bangladeshi mainstream cinema with an accomplished career spanning over five decades in Dhallywood. He received his first National Film Award in 1975 for the film 'Lathial' and again in 2016 with the prestigious induction in the 'Lifetime Achievement' category. Abar Tora Manush Ho (1973), Sujon Sokhi (1975), Sareng Bou (1978), Golapi Ekhon Train a (1978), Shaheb (1979), Mia Bhai (1987), Padma Meghna Jamuna (1991), Koti Takar Kabin (2006) are some of the most iconic films. A more recent entrant into politics, Farooque got elected as a Member of Parliament from Dhaka-17 constituency in 2018 from the ruling Awami League.  

Long-known as the ‘King of Playback’ in the Bangladeshi music industry legendary singer Andrew Kishore passed away on Monday evening and noted celebrities have expressed their grief on social media regarding his departure.