United News of Bangladesh

Misha Sawdagor,  famous for playing villain roles in Bengali films, is now debuting on OTT platform with Chorki’s limited series ‘Jodi Ami Beche Firi’. Tanim Parvez directed series will stream on Chorki on Thursday. Director Tanim will make his debut on OTT platform.  Misha has played the role of a corrupt engineer who gifted his girlfriend a flat to balance his extramarital affair hidden from his wife.  But unfortunately he gets stuck in the elevator of that building around which the story revolves. Read: Misha re-elected president of Bangladesh Cholochitro Shilpi Samiti “As I’m claustrophobic my body literally starts shaking when I go to basement, dark places or get on elevators so was a bit tensed when I heard the story revolves around an elevator. But managed to complete the shooting well anyway,”said Misha while sharing his shooting experience. About working in OTT for the first time Misha said “The experience working with Chorki was definitely different as it happens when we meet new people and go to new places.” "Chorki has already established its place in audience’s eyes so I kept that in mind from the very beginning and tried to use my seriousness in playing the role as much as possible," he added.  Read This is what Nuhash’s Hulu project is about The story is amazingly based on human psychology and the character he played was realistic, said Misha. “The character will not feel imposed rather as if it is extracted from real life people around you. There are also many messages for audience in the story,” he said.  Besides actor Misha Sawdagor, the ‘Jodi Ami Beche Firi’ series includes Bijori Barkatullah, and Dilruba Hossain Doyel.  Read Rayhan Rafi’s new film ‘Nisshash’ to be released on Chorki

Nuhash Humayun has revealed the name of his Hulu project. Incidentally, this is the first Bangladeshi content to be featured on Hulu, an American OTT platform.  What is Nuhash’s Hulu project called? The young filmmaker revealed on his verified Facebook profile that the Hulu project is called “Foreigners Only”.  “I am so so proud of the incredible work my team has done,” Nuhash wrote in the Facebook post. When will it air on Hulu? “Foreigners Only” is going to be aired on Hulu this Halloween, in October. Nuhash produced the short as an episode of Hulu and 20th Digital’s “BITE SIZE HALLOWEEN”. Read: Nuhash Humayun: I want to experiment, make mistakes What is “Foreigners Only” about? The short apparently takes a jab at some apartments in Dhaka’s Gulshan, Banani areas that are only rented out to foreigners.  Nuhash wrote: “…why is this a big deal? Why do we value the bideshi, the foreign...sometimes more than ourselves?” “FOREIGNERS ONLY asks these questions and more. And we might not like the answers,” he added. The Hulu short will not be released in Bangladesh right now, Nuhash wrote. Read Anonymous Content, CAA take Nuhash Humayun onboard  Earlier in an interview to UNB, Nuhash spoke about the Hulu content. He said, "Hulu has produced some exclusive content on the occasion of Halloween this year, and one of those projects is made by me. It will air on Halloween in October. It's a single content, and nothing to disclose more than that at this moment. After the official announcement of Hulu, everyone will know the details.” Speaking on being associated with Hulu's project, Nuhash said, “After evaluating some of my works, they gave me this project. When I went to Hulu's office in Los Angeles, I was a bit nervous. However, the meeting was quite positive. They appreciated all my plans, and that raised my confidence.” The content was produced in both Bangla and English, with Nuhash serving as both the director and screenwriter. Read ‘Moshari’ wins Atlanta Film Festival Jury Award Nuhash got signed by the Hollywood agencies Anonymous Content and Creative Artists Agency (CAA) earlier this year. Through these two agencies, he got connected with Hulu.

Outgoing Inspector General of Police (IGP) Benazir Ahmed has said that “Operation Sundarbans” is winning over audiences since its release on Friday. “Despite being a two hours and 21 minutes long film, it has managed to keep the audience invested. The film is receiving positive reactions from moviegoers as it’s packed with action, adventure and suspense. VFX, sound quality, actors’ performances – altogether ‘Operation Sundarbans’ scores high,” the IGP said. Benazir Ahmed said this after watching “Operation Sundarbans” at Star Cineplex, Bashundhara City mall on Friday afternoon. “Our RAB troops and officers have also done a great job. In a number of ways, scenes of the operation have been highlighted. After watching the movie, audiences will better understand our officers’ acumen and efficiency,” he commented. Also read: PM declares Sundarban robber-free Referring to the story of “Operation Sundarbans”, Benazir Ahmed said that RAB started the operation with the aim of restoring peace in the Sundarbans, known as a sanctuary for robbers. “Peace and security were ensured in the Sundarbans through the skillful and smart operation of the officers and troops. We planned to present that success story to the nation through ‘Operation Sundarbans’,” he said. “However, it is not possible to highlight the success of RAB with just one film, and I think this film partly shows RAB’s many successes. After planning to make the film, I asked filmmaker Dipankar Dipon to go to the Sundarbans, stay there, talk to locals including the bhawali, honey collectors, fishermen and write the script. Dipan followed the instructions.” “The Sundarbans was a sanctuary for robbers for nearly 40 years after independence. RAB has been able to free the Sundarbans from them as well as inspire a quality film,” he said. The IGP said, “Earlier, when I worked on ‘Dhaka Attack’ with Dipan, I was the Police Commissioner. And while planning ‘Operation Sundarbans’, I was the DG of RAB. At the time of the film’s release, I am serving as the IGP.” Also read: 'Beauty Circus’ & ‘Operation Sundarban’ set the ball rolling for Bangladesh film industry Rab’s Legal and Media Wing Director, Commander Khandaker Al Moin; RAB's Legal and Media Wing Deputy Director, Major Raisul Azam; producer Arun Chowdhury; Chayanika Chowdhury, actress Tanjika, filmmaker SA Haque Olike, actress and director Hriday Haque, Raihan Rafi and artists of “Operation Sundarbans” were also present on the occasion.

Several young filmmakers are now taking Bangladeshi content to the international arena, and Nuhash Humayun is one of them. With drama projects such as ‘Hotel Albatross’, the short film ‘700 Taka’, web series ‘Pet Kata Shaw’, his recent short film 'Moshari' and his upcoming project for the international OTT platform Hulu, Nuhash's career is gaining momentum towards global success. After the success of 'Moshari' at two 'Oscar qualifying’ film festivals (HollyShorts Film Festival and Melbourne International Film Festival), audiences in Bangladesh have been wondering where and when to see the film, and answering that question, Nuhash told UNB that the short film is going to be available for Bangladeshi viewers in October. Regarding the work plan and experience, he said, "Interest of our viewers always sparks inspiration for any content creator. I have been blessed with that interest and our audiences might not have to wait too long for ‘Moshari’, which I hope everyone will be able to see in October.” Read:'Beauty Circus’ & ‘Operation Sundarban’ set the ball rolling for Bangladesh film industry “Working on this project has been really different for me. To succeed, I had to wait ten years. The idea for the plot first came to me ten years ago, but at the time there was no support since I dared to experiment with such fiction. I still needed a lot of creative support when I started developing ‘Moshari’, but I managed to finish it. Additionally, I've received a lot of reaction from audiences abroad. Now I’m eagerly waiting for Bangladeshi audiences’ reaction.” The news that Nuhash Humayun has created content for the international OTT platform Hulu broke the local internet, while the conversation regarding ‘Moshari’ was still going on. The completed content, which features numerous well-known Bangladeshi actors, is already in Hulu’s pipeline; however, due to the embargo till the official promotion from Hulu, Nuhash is currently keeping a lot of information about the project private.

Bangladesh film industry has taken off again after Eid, with the Friday release of the much-awaited ‘Beauty Circus,’ and ‘Operation Sundarban’. Jaya Ahsan-starrer Beauty Circus, directed by Mahmud Didar, has been released simultaneously at 19 halls across the country. Director Mahmud started filming the movie with the participation of 200 circus artistes of Naogaon and Manikganj and some 2,000 villagers in 2017 by setting up a circus pendant and arranging a rural fair. Apart from Jaya in lead, actors Ferdous Ahmed, Touquir Ahmed, ABM Sumon, Gazi Rakayet and Humayun Sadhu are in the cast of the film. Also read: Jaya Ahsan-starrer ‘Beauty Circus’ hits theatres Sept 23 Meanwhile, the star-studded film 'Operation Sundarban' directed by Dipankar Dipon was released in 33 cinema halls across the country. The film, produced by the RAB Welfare Cooperative Society Limited, showcases the Rapid Action Battalion's (RAB) historical and breathtaking operations against the pirates of the Sundarbans. Popular actors like Riaz Ahmed, Siam Ahmed, Nusraat Faria, Ziaul Roshan and Darshana Banik are in the cast of the film. Also read: 'Operation Sundarban' mesmerises audience at star-studded premiere The film is one of the most anticipated one of this year as it's based on the wild setting of the Sundarbans and the dark side of its pirates. The commendable narrative of the film complements the remarkable action-packed performances of the actors.

From makeup artistes and hair stylists to dancers and junior actors, the Indian film industry seems to be increasingly banking on foreign talent -- a trend common in sectors like telecom and information technology. But film artiste unions claim that the trend is depriving eligible Indian nationals of job opportunities in the domestic film industry and that too at a time when Bollywood is struggling to make a comeback following two years of the pandemic. Moreover, nearly 90% of the foreigners employed in the Indian film industry do not have valid work permits and the country's police usually choose to turn a blind eye to such illegal immigrants, according to the film artiste unions. Read: Shah Rukh Khan completes 30 years in Bollywood Indian cinema is made up of numerous regional language film businesses -- from Tollywood in Bengal to Kollywood in Tamil Nadu -- that employ a number of people.  The Indian film industry generates USD 2.7 billion in revenue annually. "But the Indian film industry is now facing a major issue with the foreign crew replacing their Indian counterparts," a union member told an Indian media outlet. "Many of these foreigners are working illegally in India in violation of visa norms." Bollywood is also going through a bad patch -- 15 of the 20 big Hindi films released so far in 2022 have performed horribly at the box office, including Kangana Ranaut's Dhaakad, Akshay Kumar's Rakshabandhan and Aamir Khan-acted Lal Singh Chaddha. Read When Bollywood actor Padmini Kolhapure kissed King Charles

When the dream is big, age or time can’t contain it. The career graph of actor Nasir Uddin Khan is a testament to this. Although Nasir became popular with the web series ‘Mohanagar’, he has been acting for more than two decades. Nasir started acting in 1995, through joining the Chattogram-based drama group Teerjok. Soon, acting became his main focus instead of studies or jobs. Read VR installation begins at Drik Studio reimagining future of libraries Meanwhile, Nasir started a family and was soon blessed with two children. However, passion ruled over practicality and Nasir took the bold decision of quitting his job and focus solely on acting. Read: Distributors claim “Hawa” among top 30 US box office hits His massive success justifies that decision. While talking to UNB, Nasir said that when he first came to Dhaka in 2016, he had no idea what would happen next. “People close to me used to say that I should get a job for the sake of paying my bills. But I came to Dhaka to be an actor, nothing else. Most people who knew me thought I was making a big mistake. But I was confident and now I know that my decision was right,” said Nasir. Although the showbiz industry had to go through a tough time during the Covid-19 pandemic, the OTT platforms started to gain popularity at the same time. Bangladesh was no exception. Read When Bollywood actor Padmini Kolhapure kissed King Charles A wind of change has taken over the local entertainment industry since the start of web series production. While these web series have offered the audience the expertise of multiple directors, they have also turned many actors into stars overnight. “The OTT platforms met the needs of the audience at a time when the showbiz industry was going through a crisis. My career also took a turn after acting in a web series, thanks to the OTT platforms,” said Nasir. Nasir has recently become the talk of the town after the release of the film ‘Hawa’. Many are saying that the film is the turning point of Nasir’s acting career. But the actor thinks otherwise. Read Green University English Club stages “Macbeth” “Life doesn’t follow a straight line. We have to live with both the good and bad. I view my career this way. There will be many highs and many lows in my acting career. Hawa will definitely help my career grow, but I don’t think this will be the turning point,” added Nasir. Currently, Nasir Uddin Khan is busy with Hawa’s publicity and shooting for some new films. The actor is working on two new films and some new web series.

Steven Spielberg premiered his much-anticipated “The Fabelmans" to thunderous applause at the Toronto International Film Festival, debuting his most autobiographical film and one the 75-year-old filmmaker said he's been building toward his whole life. “The Fabelmans,” which Spielberg wrote with Tony Kushner, draws extensively from the director's own childhood — from his parents, played by Michelle Williams and Paul Dano in the film, and from his early formation as a filmmaker. The film opens with a timid young boy outside a cinema going to see his first movie ("The Greatest Show on Earth"). His mother encourages him: “Movies are dreams, doll." “It's something obviously I've been thinking about for a long time,” Spielberg said on stage after the screening late Saturday. "I didn't really know when I was going to get around to this. It is not because I decided to retire and this is my swan song. Don't believe any of that." Spielberg said he first talked about what would become “The Fabelmans” with Kushner during the making of “Lincoln.” The playwright, Spielberg said, played the role of therapist as Spielberg unloaded his memories. But it wasn't until the pandemic that the director resolved to tell, for the first time, his own story. Also read: When Bollywood actor Padmini Kolhapure kissed King Charles “As things got worse and worse, I felt if I was going to leave anything behind, what was the thing that I really need to resolve and unpack?” said Spielberg. Spielberg, whose three sisters were in the audience, later added: “This film is for me a way of bringing my mom and dad back. And it also brought my sisters — Annie and Sue and Nancy — closer to me than I ever thought possible. And that was worth making the film for.” Universal Pictures will release “The Fabelmans” on Nov. 11 in New York and Los Angeles before expanding it nationwide Nov. 23. Its world premiere at Toronto — which happened to immediately follow Rian Johnson's “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” at the Princess of Wales Theatre — was a major event, and an unusual one. It was Spielberg's first film at TIFF, and he said while introducing the film that it was his first time ever in a film festival's official lineup. The two-and-a-half hour film was immediately received as a grand and personal opus for Spielberg, all but certain to play a staring role at the Academy Awards. Aside from Williams, who is pregnant with her third child, and Dano, the cast includes Seth Rogen as a close family friend, a brief standout performance from Judd Hirsch, Jeannie Berlin and newcomer Gabriel LaBelle who plays Sammy Fabelman, the fictionalized young Spielberg. “Steven was generous about letting us into his life,” said Dano, who said he had access to Spielberg's old photographs, home movies and lengthy conversations over Zoom with the director. “The goal was to capture a life lived.” Also read: Playing Marilyn Monroe was life-changing for Ana de Armas While there are vividly drawn moments of movies transporting Sammy, “Fabelmans” may surprise some for how complexly it weaves filmmaking and family life. Cinema in Spielberg's film is both a transformative power and something dangerous; a way to express genuine emotion and to hide from it. Kushner, a frequently collaborator with Spielberg, said the film demonstrates how “film is an unreliable friend.” “It will take you to into a place of safety and right through safety is something unexpected and scary," said Kushner. “It happens over and over again in the movie.” “The Fabelmans” is populated by early experiments with 8-millimeter cameras, little movies made with family members and increasingly ambitious short films. All mirror Spielberg's own first forays into filmmaking, though there are some differences. “I made all the behind-the-scenes stuff in this movie much better than the actual films I made when I was Sammy's age," Spielberg said with a smile. "It was a great do-over."

Andrew Dominik had been trying to make a movie about Marilyn Monroe for over a decade. The film wouldn’t be a biopic, but an experiential portrait delving into the psyche of Marilyn Monroe and Norma Jeane. It kept falling apart, but the New Zealand native couldn’t let it go. Then he found Ana de Armas, and, he said, the movie came alive. “It was like love at first sight,” Dominik said Thursday, before the world premiere of the film at the Venice International Film Festival. “When the right person walks through the door, you know it.” The nearly three-hour epic is based on a work of biographical fiction by Joyce Carol Oates and examines the public and private life of the Hollywood icon from her troubled childhood as Norma Jeane to her global stardom as Marilyn Monroe and various relationships along the way, from her mother (Julianne Nicholson) to her marriages to Joe DiMaggio (Bobby Cannavale) and Arthur Miller (Adrien Brody). Also read: Met Gala 2022: Kardashian as Monroe, a gilded Blake Lively “I wasn’t very aware of Marilyn. I was familiar with some of her movies, but for me it was a huge discovery and learning process,” de Armas said. “We wanted to honor her in the recreations where she was Marilyn, but I also had a lot of room to create the real woman underneath that character. It was about understanding and empathizing and connecting with her and her pain and her trauma.” She added: “If you put aside the movie star she is, she’s just a woman, just like me. Same age. It was a project I knew I had to let myself open and go to places I knew were going to be uncomfortable and dark and vulnerable.” Filming began on Aug. 4, the day Monroe died in 1962 at her home in Los Angeles at age 36. It was an accident and just the result of some delays. But it also was one of many times the filmmaker and his cast felt a somewhat mystical connection to the subject of their film. Though the story takes many liberties with the facts of her life with the intent of getting to the truth of her life, the production did use real locations like the apartment she and her mother lived in when she was a child and the house she died in. “It took on elements of being like a séance,” Dominik said. De Armas agreed that “there was something in the air” being in the same places Monroe had lived. Also read: Warhol's 'Marilyn' auction nabs $195M; most for US artist “I wasn’t in character all the time. But I felt that. I was living that. I felt that heaviness and that weight in my shoulders. And I felt that sadness,” de Armas said. “She was all I thought about. She was all I dreamed about. She was all I talked about... It was beautiful. “ “Blonde” has been hotly anticipated for some time: For taking on a figure like Monroe in an experimental way, for its rating, the first ever NC-17 movie that Netflix has made, a designation set by the Motion Picture Association that forbids those younger than 17 from watching the film in the theater. There’s also curiosity around de Armas’s performance. The Cuba-born actor worked with a dialect coach for a year to prepare. “Storytelling that is as brave as this is essential,” her co-star Brody said. And for him, de Armas did more than just play the role. She channeled the person. “The first day of filming, I went home with this sense of awe that I had the privilege of actually working with Marilyn Monroe,” Brody said. “It’s very rare that I can say that someone transported me to another time and place.” For de Armas, it was about the challenge. “I did this movie to push myself... to make other people change their opinion about me,” she said, through some tears. “This movie changed my life.” “Blonde” opens in select theaters starting Sept. 16 before becoming available on Netflix on Sept. 23. It’s one of many Oscar hopefuls launching in Venice, where it is also among the films up for the festival’s awards on Saturday.

After conquering hearts in Bangladesh, Mejbaur Rahman Sumon’s film “Hawa” is now thriving in the United States, placing among top 30 films in US box office, the film’s distributors say. On September 2, the film premiered in 73 theaters in US and 13 in Canada. This is the first time a Bangladeshi movie has ranked in the top 30 in US box office, according to Md Waliullah Sajib, President of Swapna Scarecrow Bangladesh, which is the distributor of the film in North America. Read: ‘Aat Ta Baje Deri Korish Na’: hidden gem of ‘Hawa’ soundtrack released According to Swapna Scarecrow Bangladesh, the gross box office collection of "Hawa" is $213,461 till now, a combined collection in Canada and USA. A total of 25,444 people (9,930 in Canada and 15,514 in US) have seen “Hawa”, a record for a Bangladeshi film. “Hawa” is the second Chanchal Chowdhury-starring movie that has been commercially successful in North America. The 2018 film “Debi”, starring Chanchal and Jaya Ahsan, secured a lifetime box office collection of $125,414. With its collection of $127,149 in the US market and $86,312 in Canada, “Hawa” broke the record in just three days. Read:Wind of 'Hawa' blows full “We observed a whirlwind by 'Hawa' in the US box office, thanks to the enthusiasm of the Bangladeshi audience in Canada and the United States. We had no idea the response would be as intense as it was,” according to Sajib. Following a “bede” (gypsy) woman who is rescued and sheltered on a fishing boat that has become stranded in the middle of the sea while narrating a story in the style of magic realism, the film features an ensemble cast including Chanchal Chowdhury, Nazifa Tushi, Sariful Islam Raaz, Sumon Anwar, Nasir Uddin Khan, and Sohel Mondal in the lead roles. The screenplay was written by Sukarna Sahed Dhiman, Zahin Faruq Amin, and Sumon, while Sumon wrote the story and dialogue for the movie. Read Environment Ministry to withdraw case against Hawa upon 'agreement' “Hawa” has been produced by Sun Music and Motion Pictures. Jazz Multimedia is the distributor of the film in Bangladesh.