United News of Bangladesh

Bob Rafelson, an influential figure in the New Hollywood era of the 1970s who was nominated for two Oscars for “Five Easy Pieces,” has died. He was 89. Rafelson died at his home in Aspen Saturday night surrounded by his family, said his wife, Gabrielle Taurek Rafelson. Rafelson was responsible for co-creating the fictional pop music group and television series “The Monkees” alongside the late Bert Schneider, which won him an Emmy for outstanding comedy series in 1967. But he was perhaps best known for his work during the New Hollywood era, which saw a classical studio system giving way to a batch of rebellious young voices and fresh filmmaking styles, and helped usher in talents like Martin Scorsese, Brian De Palma, Francis Ford Coppola and Steven Spielberg. Rafelson directed and co-wrote “Five Easy Pieces,” about an upper-class pianist who yearns for a more blue-collar life, and “The King of Marvin Gardens,” about a depressed late-night-radio talk show host. Both films starred Jack Nicholson and explored themes of the American dream gone haywire. “Five Easy Pieces” got Rafelson two Oscar nominations in 1971, for best picture and screenplay. Read: Marvel teases new Avengers movies, ‘Black Panther’ sequel He also produced seminal New Hollywood classics including Peter Bogdanovich’s “The Last Picture Show” and Dennis Hopper’s “Easy Rider.” Coppola once called him “one of the most important cinematic artists of his era” and his fans include Quentin Tarantino and Wes Anderson. Rafelson was born in New York City and was a distant relative of “The Jazz Singer” screenwriter Samson Raphaelson, who he said took an interest in his work. At Dartmouth he also became friends with legendary screenwriter Buck Henry. He developed an interest in Japanese cinema and the films of Yasujiro Ozu, especially “Tokyo Story,” while serving in the U.S. Army in Japan. After college, Rafelson married his high school sweetheart, who would work as a production designer on his films and others. He got his start in the entertainment business in television, writing for shows like “The Witness” and “The Greatest Show on Earth.” But “The Monkees” was his first big success. The idea for The Monkees, he said, predated The Beatles and the musical comedy “A Hard Day’s Night,” but it hit the moment well when it premiered on NBC in 1966. It ran for two years and allowed Rafelson to take a stab at directing himself. The Monkees also appeared in his feature directorial debut, “Head,” which would be the first of many collaborations with Nicholson. “I may have thought I started his career,” Nicholson told Esquire in 2019, “but I think he started my career.” Rafelson was proudest of the 1990 film he directed, “Mountains of the Moon,” a biographical movie that told the story of two explorers, Sir Richard Burton and John Hanning Speke, as they searched for the source of the Nile, his wife said. Rafelson's own adventures to places like Morocco, India, southeast Asia, Mexico and Guatemala influenced his work, she said. “He loved nothing more than disappearing into strange pockets of the world,” Taurek Rafelson said. Rafelson left Hollywood two decades ago to focus on raising two sons with Taurek Rafelson, Ethan and Harper, in Aspen. He and his first wife, Toby Rafelson, also had two children, Peter, and Julie, who died in 1973 when she was 10 years old.

Romanian singer Otilia Brumă enthralled Dhaka audiences in her first-ever live concert in Bangladesh on Saturday, at the International Convention City Bashundhara (ICCB) in the capital. The Romanian pop singer performed marking the exclusive launching of the Nokia G21 at the event titled ‘Otilia Live in Dhaka,’ organized by Rendezvous Asia Private Limited. Internationally acclaimed for her worldwide hit track 'Bilionera,' Otilia kept the audience entertained for almost an hour by singing all her popular songs. During the interval of the concert, Nokia G21 was launched and the singer then continued enthralling the Dhaka audience with western style dance to the rhythm of her popular songs. Read: Batighar stages 'Radcliffe Line' at BSA “I want to tell you that I am very happy to come to Dhaka for the first time. I am impressed and touched by your love and passion for my music, and hopefully, there will be more to come,” Otilia said during the concert, admiring the crazy crowd. Earlier, the singer landed at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Friday. Addressing the fans and listeners, she wrote, “After 13 hours of flight I finally landed in Dhaka! I can't wait to meet you at the concert tomorrow.” On Sunday, she posted an image on her social media handles wearing a red saree as a tribute to the traditional Bengali culture, which is being lauded and adored by the netizens.She announced her visit to Dhaka on her Facebook page earlier this month.Released in 2014, Otilia’s globally popular track ‘Bilionera’ currently stands with over 560 million views on YouTube, making her internationally famous.  

Amber Heard notified a Virginia court Thursday that she will appeal the $10.35 million judgment she was ordered to pay ex-husband Johnny Depp during a high-profile defamation trial that exposed the inner workings of their troubled marriage. Heard's lawyers filed a notice of appeal in Fairfax County Circuit Court, where a six-week trial featured riveting testimony from both Heard and Depp. The document notifies the Virginia Court of Appeals that Heard intends to appeal the judgment, as well as rulings the judge made after the verdict, including rejecting Heard's request to set aside the verdict and dismiss the lawsuit or order a new trial. “We believe the court made errors that prevented a just and fair verdict consistent with the First Amendment. We are therefore appealing the verdict,” a spokesperson for Heard said in a statement. “While we realize today’s filing will ignite the Twitter bonfires, there are steps we need to take to ensure both fairness and justice.” Depp sued Heard for libel over a December 2018 op-ed she wrote in The Washington Post describing herself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse.” Depp’s lawyers alleged he was defamed by the article even though it never mentioned him by name. Heard filed counterclaims, alleging that Depp's former lawyer defamed her by publicly characterizing her abuse allegations as a hoax. Also read: Heard faces high legal hurdles seeking to reverse Depp win The jury ordered Heard to pay Depp $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages. The punitive damages were reduced to $350,000 under a state cap. The jury awarded Heard $2 million on her counterclaim. Much of the testimony during the six-week trial focused on Heard’s claims that she had been physically and sexually abused by Depp at least a dozen times. Depp insisted that he never hit Heard and that she was the abuser. “The jury listened to the extensive evidence presented during the six-week trial and came to a clear and unanimous verdict that the defendant herself defamed Mr. Depp in multiple instances," a spokesperson for Depp said in a statement. "We remain confident in our case and that this verdict will stand." Also read: Amber Heard says she doesn't blame jury in Depp libel case

Theatre group Batighar staged the 28th show of its famous play "Radcliffe Line" at the Experimental Theatre Hall of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) Wednesday. The play, written and directed by Sanjoy Sarker Muktonil, depicts how a political barrier divides individuals and dehumanises them. The plot revolves around an incident between two troops from Border Guard Bangladesh and Border Security Force of India, which portrays Jamal, a soldier of BGB and Hiralal, a BSF soldier, pursuing a cow grazing on no man's land. Hiralal discovers a tunnel beneath the border barrier while following the cow from separate sides of the Radcliffe Line. Inside, Jamal and Hiralal confront each other and soon start fighting. After hours of combat, the exhausted soldiers engage in a conversation and realise how similar their lives are. They discuss their history, their feelings for their families, and other topics. Through the conversation, the soldiers become aware that they have been dehumanised by a phantom line that has robbed them of their humanity. However, just before the two soldiers are about to dissolve their illogical animosity, an unknown assailant kills them both with long-range shots. The lead characters of the play were performed by Khalid Hasan Rumi, Sharan Biswas, Shishir Sarkar, and Sanjay Halder. Despite being staged on a regular working day, the hall was full of theatre enthusiast audiences who lauded the frequent, witty conversations between the characters, as well as their skilled acting. Radcliffe Line was first staged on July 27, 2018, at the Studio Theatre Hall of the BSA.

Popular singer and composer SI Tutul has walked down the aisle once again. Tutul tied the knot to television presenter Sharmina Siraj Sonia. The couple got married on July 4 in the US, music director and writer Tanveer Tarek told UNB. The musician remarried a year after his divorce from actress Tania Ahmed. Also read: Tisha finally reveals her daughter’s picture "Tania and I were separated for five years. We officially got divorced last year," Tutul told the media. "Since then, I have been travelling to New York for different purposes, including for performing in concerts. I met Sonia through the reality show "Bangla Gayen" on RTV." Sonia said: "I have been single for 12 years. I was looking for a life partner. So, when Tutul asked for my hand in marriage, I couldn't say no." "We will celebrate our marriage with our friends and family in the US and Bangladesh very soon," she added. Also read: Pop legend Ferdous Wahid hospitalised Sonia worked as a presenter in several Bangladeshi media outlets. After that, she moved to the US and settled there.

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck were wed Saturday in a late-night Las Vegas drive-through chapel, culminating a relationship that stretched over two decades in two separate romances and headlined countless tabloid covers. Lopez announced their marriage Sunday in her newsletter for fans with the heading “We did it.” Lopez initially made their engagement public in April on the same newsletter, “On the J Lo.” “Love is beautiful. Love is kind. And it turns out love is patient. Twenty years patient,” wrote Lopez in a message signed Jennifer Lynn Affleck. Read: Indian pop singer Daler Mehndi jailed Lopez wrote that the couple flew to Las Vegas on Saturday, stood in line for their license with four other couples and were wed just after midnight at A Little White Wedding Chapel, a chapel boasting a drive-through “tunnel of love.” Lopez said a Bluetooth speaker played their brief march down the aisle. She called it the best night of their lives. “Stick around long enough and maybe you’ll find the best moment of your life in a drive through in Las Vegas at 12:30 in the morning in the tunnel of love drive through with your kids and the one you’ll spend forever with,” said Lopez. News of their nuptials first spread Sunday after the Clark County clerk’s office in Nevada showed that the pair obtained a marriage license that was processed Saturday. The marriage license filing showed that Lopez plans to take the name Jennifer Affleck. Representatives for Lopez and Affleck declined to comment. Lopez, 52, and Affleck, 49, famously dated in the early 2000s, spawning the nickname “Bennifer,” before rekindling their romance last year. They earlier starred together in 2003′s “Gigli” and 2004′s “Jersey Girl.” Around that time, they became engaged but never wed. Read: ‘Squid Game,’ ‘Abbott Elementary’ vying for Emmy nominations Affleck married Jennifer Garner in 2005, with whom he shares three children. They divorced in 2018. Lopez has been married three times before. She was briefly married to Ojani Noa from 1997-1998 and to Cris Judd from 2001-2003. She and singer Marc Anthony were married for a decade after wedding in 2004 and share 14-year-old twins together.    

National Award-winning actress Nusrat Imrose Tisha and renowned film-maker Mostofa Sarwar Farooki are celebrating their 12th marriage anniversary on Saturday.On this occasion, Tisha posted three pictures of their daughter, Ilham Nusrat Farooki, on her verified Facebook page.

Legendary pop singer Ferdous Wahid was admitted to a Dhaka hospital Friday after he suffered a heart attack in the morning. The 69-year-old musician is now undergoing treatment at Birdem General Hospital, said his cousin Tayeba Nabi Tannu while confirming the news. Ferdous has heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. Earlier, he also tested positive for Covid-19. The music icon, also the father of popular musician Habib Wahid, rose to stardom in the 70s with his sonorous voice and melodious tunes. His most popular songs include "Mamooniya," "Agey Jodi Jantam,""Emon Ekta Ma Dena," and "Ami Ek Paharadar." Also known as an actor and film director, Ferdous made his directorial debut with the film "Kusumpurer Golpo" (The Story of Kusumpur) in 2013.

A court in the northern Indian state of Punjab on Thursday sent popular pop star Daler Mehndi to jail, rejecting his appeal against a two-year prison term for trafficking migrants to the US. The singer had been out on bail since his conviction in the case in 2018. "The singer was taken into custody by police soon after the court turned down his appeal against the sentence and cancelled his bail bond. He has to undergo the prison term now," TS Bhargav, a lawyer, told the local media. Also read: James Caan, Oscar nominee for ‘The Godfather,’ dies at 82 The case was filed by Punjab Police way back in 2003 after a probe revealed that Mehndi took some 10 migrants, disguised as dancers in his troupe, to the US and returned without them. Subsequently, the singer was also booked and chargesheeted for cheating after many people lodged complaints alleging that he took large sums of money on the pretext of taking them to Western countries. Also read: Ustad Rashid Khan to sing in 'Coke Studio Bangla' Season Two The 54-year-old singer helped popularise Punjabi dance Bhangra worldwide in the late 1990s and early 2000. He also sang in several Bollywood flicks, and is best known for his dance, voice, turban, and long robes.

With its biggest artists' collaboration in a single track, Coke Studio Bangla released its seventh song Wednesday night – a fusion of Radharaman Dutta's "Lilabali" and Bari Siddiquie's "Bhaber Deshe Thako Kanya." Composed and arranged by Shayan Chowdhury Arnob, the song Lilabali features Rubaiyat Rehman, Tasfia Fatima (Tashfee), Masha Islam, Karishma Sanu Sovvota, Jannatul Firdaus Akbar, Sanzida Mahmood Nandita, Armeen Musa, Warda Ashraf and Md Makhon Mia. Read: Ustad Rashid Khan to sing in 'Coke Studio Bangla' Season Two The fusion encapsulates the many ways a bride is adorned by her bridesmaids and the rush of emotions that goes through each of them. It also shows the other side of the same coin, where the groom expresses his sentiments in a light and fun setting. Together, the song draws a complete picture of the Bangladeshi way of celebrating a wedding. The chief sound engineer of the song is Faizan Rashid Ahmad (Buno), and the track was mixed and mastered by Saadul Islam. The orchestration team features Hassan Haider Khan (shehnai), Rahin Haider (tenor saxophone), Sayonton Mangsang (alto saxophone), Saadul Islam (banjitar and electric guitar), Imran Ahmed (electric guitar), Shuvendu Das Shuvo (electric guitar), Faizan Rashid Ahmad Buno (bass), Shayan Chowdhury Arnob (guitar), Ripon Kumar Sarkar (khomok), Mithun Chakra (percussions), Mubarak Islam (percussions), Pantho Kanai (drums), Pradyut Chatterjea (keys), Adit Rahman (Keys), and Salahuddin Mahmud (harmonium). Up to now, the first season of Coke Studio Bangla has released seven complete fusion tracks – "Nasek Nasek" (Animes Roy, Pantho Kanai), "Prarthona" (Momotaz Begum and Mizan Rahman), "Bulbuli" (Ritu Raj, Nandita), "Bhober Pagol" (Nigar Sumi and Jalali Set), "Chiltey Roud" (Arnob and Boga Taleb), "Shob Lokey Koy" (Kaniz Khandaker Mitu and Murshidabadi) and Lilabali. Also read: Coke Studio Bangla concert held at Army Stadium Music enthusiasts can enjoy the fusion performances on Coca-Cola Bangladesh's official Facebook page, YouTube channel and Spotify. Coke Studio Bangla is produced by Grey Advertising Bangladesh, with Syed Gousul Alam Shaon being the creative producer of the show and Shayan Chowdhury Arnob as the curator and music producer.