Entertainment
The year in music: A melodious, rocking 2022
The music industry in Bangladesh observed a comparatively successful year, in comparison to the pandemic-induced 2020 and 2021. Returning to the full normalcy from the virtual events, this year was warmly greeted with several in-person concerts and programmes from the very beginning.
The Listeners were enamoured with the maiden edition of Coke Studio Bangla at the beginning of this year, produced and curated by the majestic singer-composer-music producer Shayan Chowdhury Arnob.
Coke Studio Bangla Season One featured a total of nine exclusive fusion tracks and two promotional songs, hosted a historic concert and showcased a handful of breakout stars including Animes Roy, Rituraj Baidya, Sanzida Mahmood Nandita, Ripon Kumar (Boga Taleb), Kaniz Khandaker Mitu, Makhon Mia, Rap group Jalali Set and Indian-Bengali music stars including Madhubanti Bagchi, Sunidhi Nayak and Soumyadeep Murshidabadi.
The nine songs - based on the emotions of celebration, devotion, love, craze, reminiscence, compassion, wedding, the fascination of romance and aspiration for freedom, also featured prominent and popular Bangladeshi singers including Pantha Kanai, Momotaz Begom, Mizan Rahman, Nigar Sumi, Tahsan Khan, Bappa Mazumder, Samina Chowdhury, Dilshad Nahar Kona, and the maestro himself, Arnob. The season was captivating and successful according to the audiences, and everyone is looking forward to the upcoming Season Two in 2023.
Freed myself from toxic relationship: Pori Moni
Dhallywood star Pori Moni hinted at separation from her husband, actor Sariful Razz, on her social media account shortly after midnight.
The post began with a New Year's greeting of “Happy 31st, everyone!” which afterwards hinted at a troubled marriage.
“Today I said adieu to Razz from my life and also freed myself from this toxic relationship. Nothing is more important than living a healthy life,” wrote Pori.
Also Read: Rape, murder attempts case: Pori Moni gives statement
Within minutes, the post went viral, with many celebrities and netizens urging Pori Moni to remain calm and take her time before making a final decision.
The actors first met while working on the movie "Gunin." Seven days after that, they tied the knot on October 17 last year.
Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin’s 108th birth anniversary being observed amid festivities
The 108th birth anniversary of the master painter and pioneering art educator Zainul Abedin, widely revered as the 'Shilpacharya' (great master of fine arts), is being observed on Thursday .
Zainul Abedin, who was born on December 29, 1914, in Kishoreganj, was a key figure in the formation of the Dhaka University Faculty of Fine Art (FFA) and the Folk Art Museum in Sonargaon, Narayanganj.
The 108th birth anniversary of Shilpacharya is being celebrated with a variety of celebrations, most notably the traditional ‘Zainul Utsab’ and ‘Zainul Mela’ by Dhaka University's Faculty of Fine Art.
Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni joined the inauguration ceremony of the three-day festivities as the chief guest, while DU Vice-Chancellor Prof Md Akhtaruzzaman inaugurated the festival. The prestigious ‘Zainul Award 2022’ was also handed over to three art luminaries - former DU FFA Dean Professor Emdadul Haque Mohammad Matlub Ali, eminent artist Shahid Kabir and Indian contemporary art historian, art critic, and curator Raman Shiv Kumar.
Read: 106th birth anniversary of Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin today
Earlier, the Faculty of Fine Art and Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) Department of Fine Arts placed floral wreaths on the grave of the Shilpacharya in the morning.
Zainul Abedin earned global respect for his 1943 illustrations of the Bengal famine. He visited Palestinian camps in Syria and Jordan in 1970 and made 60–70 paintings of the refugees there, adding just another example of his caliber as a modern, international artist.
During his childhood, he discovered his love of art while a young child frolicking by the Brahmaputra River.
His motherland, Bangladesh (then East Pakistan), welcomed him back after he graduated from the Government Art School in Kolkata in 1932. However, shortly after the Indian subcontinent was divided in 1947, he permanently departed Kolkata and came back to his own motherland in Bangladesh.
The Dhaka Art Institute was subsequently founded with active help from Zainul Abedin, who was appointed as the institute's principal in 1949. The institute was later developed into Dhaka University's Faculty of Fine Art.
He retired from the Dhaka Art Institute in 1967 and was conferred the honorary title of Shilpacharya (great master of fine arts) by the institute.
Prior taking the mantle of Shilpacharya, Zainul Abedin received two years of training from Slade School of Fine Art in London and developed a new style of art called the 'Bengali style' featuring folk art forms with their geometric shapes including the usage of semi-abstract representation and primary colours.
Read: Tribute to Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin on his 107th birth anniversary
However, he lacked the sense of perspective, realising the limitations of folk art, and went back to nature, rural life and the daily struggles of people to make art that would be realistic but modern in appearance, thus being the pioneer of modern artistic style in the subcontinent.
Known for the simple yet majestic projection of natural and social hazards, Zainul painted the 1970 Bhola cyclone that devastated then East Pakistan, portraying the effect of the cyclone through his painting ‘Monpura’.
As a fond lover of folk arts, Zainul formed Charu O Karu Shilpi Sangram Parishad and also collected a large number of traditional crafts, ceramic works, nakshi kanthas in his lifetime which he preserved through founding the Folk Art Museum at Sonargaon, Narayanganj in 1975.
He also founded the Zainul Abedin Sangrahashala, a gallery of his own works at the Shaheeb Quarter Park on the bank of his nostalgia-infused Brahmaputra River in Mymensingh in the same year.
In 1973, Zainul received honorary D.Litt from Delhi University. He was declared National Professor of Bangladesh in 1975. NASA honoured the iconic artist by naming a crater on the planet Mercury after the painter, called the 'Abedin Crater' in 2009.
The revered artist passed away in Dhaka on May 28, 1976 after losing his battle with lung cancer. He was buried beside the Dhaka University Central Mosque.
Chanchal Chowdhury’s father passes away
Popular actor-singer Chanchal Chowdhury lost his father Radha Govinda Chowdhury on Tuesday night at a city hospital. He was 90.
The acclaimed actor’s father breathed his last at 7:50 pm at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Green Life hospital in the capital.Actress and Chanchal Chowdhury’s friend Shahnaz Khushi confirmed this on her Facebook profile on Tuesday night.
Read more: Eminent film actor Wasim passes away
His last rites will take place at the hometown of Chanchal Chowdhury in Kamarhat of Sujanagar upazila, Pabna on Wednesday.Radha Govinda Chowdhury was admitted to the hospital due to old-age complications. He was taken to the ICU after his health deteriorated.
Mentioning his father’s illness, Chanchal Chowdhury wrote on his Facebook profile on December 25: “For 13 days now, my father has been in the ICU on life support. We are just counting the days now.”
Superstar Salman Khan’s 5 Super Hit Movies
A young artist named Salman made his first step into the Indian film industry with a supporting role in the movie Biwi Ho To Asi (1988). Was Bollywood prepared for the debut of one of India's most prominent actors? For the past 3 decades, Salman Khan has been named among the most expensive celebrities in Bollywood. Since 2000, the back-to-back blockbuster films starring this veteran actor have brought him immense popularity throughout South Asia. Let’s take a look at the 5 most popular movies of Salman Khan so far.
5 Everlasting films of Bollywood Star Salman Khan
Dabangg (2010)
If moviegoers of the Indian subcontinent are asked about the funniest police officer, everyone will say Chulbul Pandey in one breath. Thanks to Dabangg, this fictional character has been given a real veneer. Superstar Salman Khan has taken the character to a unique level in Avinab Singh Kashyap's direction. There is no way to understand from the filmmaking that this is Kashyap's directorial debut. Sonakshi Sinha made her big-screen debut by playing the role of Salman's heroine in the film.
Chulbul Panda-maker Dabangg has filled its coffers with USD 47 million worldwide. It also topped the list of highest-grossing Bollywood films in its year of release. The cinema holds the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. Salman Khan won the BIG Star Entertainment Award and Best Actor Screen Award for his portrayal of the character.
Read More: ‘I wasn’t necessarily acting’: Chanchal Chowdhury on ‘Karagar-2’
The success of Dabangg was followed by two more sequels titled Dabangg 2 and Dabangg 3 in 2012 and 2019 respectively. Its popularity was even spawned by The Animated Series, produced by Salman Khan Films, Arbaaz Khan Productions, and Cosmos Maya. The series centered on Chulbul Pandey premiered in 2021 on Disney+ Hotstar and Cartoon Network.
Fuad enthrals Dhaka with popular tracks in night of nostalgia
Reuniting with his beloved fans after 2019, popular Bangladeshi-American producer, composer, and singer-songwriter Fuad Almuqtadir grooved the Dhaka audience with ‘Fuad Live’ on Sunday night at the capital’s International Convention City Bashundhara (ICCB) Expo Zone.
Organised by SkyTracker Limited, the concert featured a star-studded line-up including Bassbaba Sumon, Pantho Kanai, Anila, Elita, Rafa, Zohad, Fairuz, Tashfee, Xefer, Tasnim Anika, Hasib, Riasat, Pavel, Ashreen, Aly Hasan, Zaki Adnan, Black Jang, Shafayat, Scionara and more.
The concert featured several performances of Fuad and friends, and began with Hasib’s performance of ‘Dak Diyachen’ which throttled the ‘Fuad Intro’ part of the concert. The segment then featured Fairuz performing 'Tumi Hina', followed by a couple of tracks by Tashfee. Popular singer Xefer then rocked the audience with Fuad’s popular song 'Besto Shohore'.
Read: 32 bands to take the stage of Dhaka Rock Fest 3.0 on December 27,28
Reuniting with Fuad after a long time, Elita performed her popular tracks 'Kothay' and ‘Urey Jete Chai’. Pantha Kanai then grooved the audiences with a crazy performance of ‘Nouka’ and ‘Chumki’, which was followed by rap performances of Back Jang and the viral ‘Bebshar Poristhiti’ famed singer Aly Hasan’s group with their popular tracks. Fairuz then took the stage, concluding the ‘Fuad Intro’ part.
The next part, the ‘Rafa intro’ began with AvoidRafa, Cryptic Fate and former Aurthohin member Rafa’s majestic performances including the song ‘Anmone 2’ which was originally mastered by Fuad. This was followed by ‘Manbo Na’ by Ashreen and Zaki Adnan, followed by two rocking tracks by Nemesis frontman Zohad and Arekta Rock Band’s Riasat.
The ‘Bassbaba Sumon intro’ then began as the concluding part of the event. The night's biggest attraction was from this intro and the segment where Bassbaba Sumon, Fuad and Anila Naz Choudhury performed together on stage for the first time in 14 years since 2008, after their critically acclaimed 2007 album ‘Ekhon Ami’.
“The last time I performed on stage with Fuad was for the Joy Bangla concert (2020). On that particular day, I came to the venue by ambulance and wondered if I would ever be able to walk into the stage or perform again. Fast forward to 2022, and here I am once again performing with Anila, and Fuad and with a much better physical condition - and I believe it is a miracle because of your prayers and wishes,” said an emotional Sumon, thanking the audience.
Read: Mehreen honoured with BCRA ‘Best Pop Singer’ Award
Anila began the intro with her popular song ‘Ke Bashi Bajay Re’ from Fuad's 2007 album ‘Bonno’, the biggest hit of his career. The soulful tribute to the Happy Akhand-Lucky Akhand track was then followed by the mesmerizing performance of Sumon and Anila, who performed their superhit song ‘Gaibo Na’ after 14 years on stage.
Tasnim Anika then grooved the night with two of Fuad’s most popular and electrifying tracks, ‘Tumi Ki Shara Debe’ and ‘Rupban’. Tashfee then performed ‘Bhromor’, followed by Hasib’s rendition of another popular Fuad remake ‘Nitol Paaye’ and the concert ended with the official song for the ICC World Twenty20 World Cup 2014 song ‘Char Chhokka Hoi Hoi’ by Johan.
Fuad’s first full-length album was the self-released ‘Maya’ in 1998, followed by his next album, Re/Evolution, released in 2003 featuring dancehall, R&B, hip hop, and pop styles and artists from 6 different countries across 3 different continents, establishing him as one of Bangladesh’s most promising producers along with Habib Wahid and Arnob, his contemporaries in the industry.
Fuad Live was presented by its telecom partner Banglalink, beverage partner Nescafe, payment partner bKash, community partner Bangladesh Band Music Forum Community and PR partner MediaQuest Bangladesh.
‘I wasn’t necessarily acting’: Chanchal Chowdhury on ‘Karagar-2’
Acclaimed Bangladeshi actor Chanchal Chowdhury shared his thoughts in a social media post, stating that his acting was a reflection of his personal self in the much-anticipated Hoichoi original web series “Karagar-2”.
Chanchal Chowdhury shared a poem penned by Dibyo Jyoti, who played the young professor David Adams, the lead character of the series.
“My deep personal feeling was reflected in the expression of my character. I wasn’t necessarily acting,” Chanchal wrote in that post.
Read: “Ghotona Shotto” infuriates audiences for insensitive portrayal of children with special needs
While sharing Dibyo’s poem, the renowned actor wrote, “Even he wasn’t acting, I believe. This was a highly emotional time for Karagar-2 because of the way both of us were feeling.”
Mentioning his father’s illness, he wrote, he was looking for the answer to another question.
“For 13 days now, my father has been in the ICU on life support. We are just counting days now. How did Dibyo put my unconscious father’s thoughts into words?”
Read: Humayun Ahmed: The Creator of Versatile Fictional Characters
Dibyo’s mother, actress Shahnaz Khushi, read out the poem at the hospital on Sunday.
“We couldn't hold back our tears,” Chanchal added.
“Karagar 2” is the sequel to Syed Ahmed Shawki’s mystery thriller series “Karagar” – starring Chanchal Chowdhury, Intekhab Dinar, Tasnia Fareen, Dibya Jyoti, FS Nayeem, and Afzal Hossain, among many others.
The first season of “Karagar” became a runaway hit in Bangladesh and India’s West Bengal.
Read More: Netflix New Release January 2023: 10 Most Hyped English Movies, Series
32 bands to take the stage of Dhaka Rock Fest 3.0 on December 27,28
Thirty-two bands are set to light up the stage of the Dhaka Rock Fest 3.0, one of the most anticipated band music festivals in the capital, on December 27 and 28 at the International Convention City Bashundhara Expo Zone.
The third edition of this musical rendezvous, organised by SkyTracker and presented by telecom operator Banglalink, will feature different bands including Warfaze, Aurthohin, Meghdol, Artcell, Nemesis, AvoidRafa, and Cryptic Fate.
"Rock music is incredibly popular among the youth in Bangladesh and we want to entertain the concert-loving young crowd. So, we organise this concert regularly," SkyTracker Director Sazid Islam said Saturday.
Qazi Urfi Ahmad, brand and communication director of Banglalink Digital Communication said: "We have been regularly organising and sponsoring various programmes considering the needs of the youth of our country, such as the Dhaka Rock Fest."
The gates of this year's Banglalink Dhaka Rock Fest 3.0 will open at 10am on both days.
The first day of the concert will feature Apekkhik, Arekta Rock Band, Artcell, Bangla Five, Bangu Bibi, Brahmaputra, Cryptic Fate, Fantasy Realm, Karnival, Nemesis, Owned, Power Surge, Sonar Bangla Circus, Torture Goregrinder, Trainwreck, and Unmaad.
The second day of the concert will feature Aftermath, Arbovirus, Aurthohin, AvoidRafa, Bay of Bengal, Calypso, Conclusion, Dads in the Park, Mechanix, Meghdol, Severe Dementia, Shepherds, Shuvo Jatra, Sin, Subconscious and Warfaze.
Concertgoers can buy tickets for Dhaka Rock Fest 3.0 from the event's ticketing partner Get Set Rock's website. Tickets for a single day will cost Tk500 and combo tickets for both days will cost Tk900.
Digital entertainment app Toffee is the streaming partner of the event.
Mehreen honoured with BCRA ‘Best Pop Singer’ Award
Singer Mehreen has been honoured with the Bangladesh Cultural Reporters Association (BCRA) Best Pop Singer Award 2022 for her outstanding contribution throughout her illustrious career in the music industry.
The award was handed over at the 27th anniversary of BCRA held at the International Mother Language Institute in the capital recently.
Read: Pooja to receive Vietnam President’s “Friendship Medal” Wednesday
Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud attended the programme as the chief guest and handed over the award to the singer. President of Nagorik Dhaka’s President M Nayeem Hossain was also present there.
Pooja to receive Vietnam President’s “Friendship Medal” Wednesday
Pooja Sengupta, artistic director of Turongomi Repertory Dance Theatre, has been honored with the “Friendship Medal” from the President of Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
“I’m delighted to inform you that the President of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam has awarded you the Friendship Medal for your contribution to promoting the traditional friendship relations between Vietnam and Bangladesh,” said Vietnamese Ambassador in Bangladesh Phan Viet Chien in a letter to Pooja Sengupta.
The President of Viet Nam has authorized the Ambassador to hand over the friendship medal to Pooja and expressed high appreciation for her art work “Ho Chi Minh- A journey to explore the light within."
The Embassy of Vietnam in Bangladesh is going to host an award giving ceremony on Wednesday at the Embassy Chancery.
Young dance artist and cultural entrepreneur Pooja Sengupta is the only Bangladeshi to receive this prestigious award from the government of Vietnam this year, said a media release.
Turongomi received the official letter from the Vietnam Embassy in Bangladesh to produce and stage a dance theatre on the life of President Ho Chi Minh in 2019.
In September 5-6, 2019 the production premiered in Dhaka at the National Theatre of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy.
Read more: Turongomi Repertory Dance Theatre to join Indonesia International Culture Festival 2022
The production received huge appreciation from the audience, critics, media, bureaucrats, diplomats and eminent artists of all genres.
It is the first Bangladeshi production to be cited at the panorama of International Dance Council UNESCO, being mentioned as the first ever Biography Dance Theatre in the world.
The 40 minutes Dance Theatre is a creative work conceptualized, scripted, designed, choreographed and directed by Pooja sengupta.
In 2017, Turongomi was nominated and awarded at the very prestigious “International Dance Festival 2017” hosted by the government of Vietnam.
Turongomi was selected for their popular production Anamika Sagorkonna.
A team of 10 members attended the festival under the leadership of Pooja Sengupta.
Since its inception in 2014, Turongomi has been working with the motto of establishing the signature style of Bangladeshi dance in the international arena and for achieving professionalism in the dance scenario of Bangladesh.