The health condition of National Award-winning actor Sadek Bachchu, who recently been tested positive for COVID-19, deteriorated on Sunday.

He was put on life support on Saturday afternoon at city's Universal Medical College Hospital, according to his family sources.

Bachchu was admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital with respiratory problems on September 6. The actor was then shifted to Universal Medical College Hospital on Friday after testing positive for COVID-19.

The 66-years-old has been suffering from diabetes and other health complications for a long time. In 2013, he had a heart surgery which then minimised his appearance on films and television.

Born as Mahbub Ahmed, the actor is best known for portraying negative characters in movies.

A retired employee of Bangladesh Post Office, Sadek Bachchu began his silver screen journey in 1985 with ‘Ramer Sumoti’ and acted in over 500 films till date. His career skyrocketed with Ehteshamul Haq’s acclaimed film ‘Chandni’ which cemented his identity as a regular in negative roles.

The actor received the National Award in 2018 for best performance in a negative role for the movie “Ekti Cinemar Golpo”.

In his illustrious career, Bachchu has also acted in numerous theatre, radio and television productions and performed as playwright and drama director.

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Star Cineplex, the first ever international standard multiplex chain in Bangladesh will continue screening movies at Bashundhara City Shopping complex as the mall authorities have stepped back from their previous decision of evicting the multiplex from level - 08.

Star Cineplex Chairman Mahboob Rahman Ruhel confirmed the matter to the media on Wednesday night, saying, "Bashundhara City authorities have called us today and told to continue screening cinemas here."

Thanking the mall authority of Bashundhara City, Ruhel also said that the extension of the contract came out a success after Ahmed Akbar Sobhan, Chairman of Bashundhara Group, expressed his interest on discussing the matter with the Cineplex authority.

Star Cineplex is scheduled to declare the details on Thursday regarding the future plan of continuing its regular operations at the Bashundhara City.       

Also read: Curtain falls on original Star Cineplex after eviction notice  

Earlier, the Cineplex authority informed media on September 01 that the 16 years old famous multiplex will stop its operation at the mall from October 01, after receiving an eviction notice from Bashundhara City authority - the birthplace from where it entertained the movie lovers since 2004.

The decision came out as a shock to the cinema enthusiasts and garnered negative reactions on social media, which might have prompted the reconsideration, according to the industry insiders.

Also read: Govt assistance sought for survival of Star Cineplex

A person working on “The Batman” production has tested positive for COVID-19, forcing the authorities concerned to suspend UK shoot.

A spokesperson for Warner Bros. said Thursday that the individual is currently isolating in accordance with established protocols, reports AP

Robert Pattinson is starring as the caped crusader in the new film from director Matt Reeves which had resumed filming a few days ago after an almost six-month hiatus because of the coronavirus pandemic.

It was one of the first major productions to resume in the U.K. with enhanced safety and distancing measures in place.

Hollywood has been slowly and cautiously getting back to work around the world in the COVID-era.

 “Jurassic World: Dominion” is another major Hollywood production that started up again recently in the U.K., at Pinewood Studios outside of London.

And other blockbusters have been filming around the world including Disney's “Avatar” in New Zealand. Each country has its own set of safety protocols and guidelines.

Regardless of how eager people are to get back on set, uncertainty looms over the safety of it, liabilities and public relations headaches should anyone get sick.

The New York Times reported in August that a few crewmembers on Universal's “Jurassic World” had tested positive, had quarantined and no one became seriously ill.

“The Batman” had had a brush with coronavirus in March as well. Andrew Jack, a famed dialect coach and actor who had been working on the movie before lockdown, contracted coronavirus and died. Reeves at the time tweeted that they were “heartbroken.”

“The Batman” was originally supposed to hit theaters in June 2021 but was pushed back to October because of the delays. The cast includes Zoë Kravitz, Colin Farrell, Jeffrey Wright, Andy Serkis and Paul Dano.

The day of September 1, 2020, will forever be remembered as a gloomy day for the movie-lovers in Bangladesh - as the Star Cineplex, known as the very first branch of modern cineplex in the country - has officially announced that it is shutting down operations at its Bashundhara City branch where it started 16 years ago.

“Star Cineplex in the Bashundhara City Shopping Mall will not reopen. We received an eviction notice from the market authority a few days ago, as our contract ends next month (October 1) and it has not been possible to be renewed,” Mesbah Uddin Ahmed, Public Relations head of Star Cineplex, confirmed to media on Tuesday.

However, the other branches of Star Cineplex will continue operations once the restriction on movie theatres gets lifted, he added.

Although the ongoing pandemic of COVID-19 has impacted the cinema industry like never before, the crisis situation is not the reason that Star Cineplex to shut down in the Bashundhara City - nor the fear of lacking cinema audience in the future, Mesbah specified.

“We, alongside all our loyal and beloved movie-lovers are emotionally attached to this branch, as this has been the very first in the country. Many urban people started coming to cinema theatres again because of this branch. We believe this relationship will continue between us and our movie-lovers in our other branches, once they are re-opening”.

Apart from the Bashundhara City branch in Panthapath, Star Cineplex has two other running branches in Shimanto Shambhar (Dhanmondi) and SKS Tower (Mohakhali). A new branch is scheduled to start its operation at Mirpur, soon.

On August 12, the Cineplex authority called a press conference in which a seven-point plea was declared to the government, in order to keep their operations in all of their 15 screens across Bangladesh. 

All branches of Star Cineplex have remained closed since March 20.

Also read: Govt assistance sought for survival of Star Cineplex

Started as the first international quality state-of-the-art multiplex cinema theatre in Bangladesh on October 8, 2004 by Show Motion Limited (incorporated in 2002) at Bashundhara City - Star Cineplex became a household name for the movie-loving urban youths and families for the last 16 years. While many cinema halls failed to generate new audiences, the Bashundhara City branch of Star Cineplex brought urban audiences back in movie theatres and simultaneously enthralled audiences of both local and foreign movies, which has been appreciated by both the audiences and industry-insiders throughout its running years.

Young director Rafat Jamil’s short film 'Seized Pleasure' got its release on country’s first pay-per-view movie streaming platform LagVelki.com on Friday.

The short film has already participated in many national and international film festivals.

Based on a thought-provoking storyline revolving around a man in his fifties, a young man and a watchman in an open sand field and their psychological journey revolving around a specific target - the short film is dedicated to the late singer, journalist and cultural activist Sanjeeb Choudhury.

Also read:Anna Karina, the icon of French New Wave cinema, dies at 79

Veteran actress Jyoti Chattopadhyay who previously worked in Morshedul Islam's 'Suchona' (1988) alongside with legendary actor Humayun Faridi, has made his comeback in acting through this short film - alongside recitation artist Laltu Choudhury and Tanvir Siddiqui.   

'Seized Pleasure' has participated in the 2019 Salamindanaw Asian Film Festival in the Philippines, as part of its Asian Competition category. It has also participated in the MoziMotion Film Festival in the Netherlands and Indie Best Films Festival (Ibestff) in California, New York. 

The film was nominated in three categories - best film, best director and special jury award, in the Bangladesh Short and Documentary Film Festival 2018 and also projected in 64 districts across the country by Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy. It also participated in the TFP Film Festival 2019, organized by the Television, Film and Photography Department of Dhaka University and the Short Film Festival-2018 in the Chittagong University of Engineering & Technology.

Director Rafat Jamil is currently working as a Senior Copywriter in an advertising agency and previously worked as a journalist in the daily Prothom Alo. 

LagVelki.com is the first online pay-per-view movie streaming platform in Bangladesh where the viewers can watch movies in this digital platform (www.lagvelki.com) at Tk 50 per movie.