Sadi Mohammad Shahnewaz

Truly a ‘jack of all trades’, Rafiath Rashid Mithila is a generational talent. Very active now in Tollywood, Kolkata’s film industry, she reached new heights with last year’s “Myself Allen Swapan”. The actor, development worker, singer, writer and PhD student drops by The Daily Star for a candid shoot and a chat.

In a recent episode of The Daily Star's podcast, "Daraz presents A Peek Inside with Sadi", the “Kuhelika” actress discussed her journey in showbiz and her latest endeavours.

Even though she started her journey in “Close Up 1” in 2006, Abanti Sithi finally gained the recognition that she deserved in 2018 in Kolkata’s “Sa Re Ga Ma Pa” in 2018. Besides her prodigal singing prowess, she is also known as the ‘whistle-queen’ because of her pitch-perfect whistling skills. From a simple cup to a foil-paper, Sithi can make random paraphernalia sing as well. She has entered a new phase of life, and talks to The Daily Star while on the runway to Sylhet.

It is usually a good sign when a director acknowledges the intelligence of his target audience, respects it when putting the finishing touches on a story. While entering Mohakhali Cineplex to watch the premiere of Shihab Shaheen’s “Baba, Someone’s Following Me”, the pessimist in me instantly assumed that it’d be a straightforward tale of racism faced by South Asian students in Australia. In reality, the Binge original takes a more nuanced task to convey much more than that.

“I don’t know how else we can help a nation that is repeatedly being wronged other than through our art,” said Ahmed Hasan Sunny, a rising star in the music industry. “We’ve remained an audience, helpless after seeing bombs dropped on civilians, hospitals and innocent children in Gaza. We decided to do something about it.” The young artiste took the challenge to organise a concert in support of Gaza’s hand-in-hand with artist Morshed Mishu, who was already planning to make graffiti to speak up for the oppressed people of Gaza.

Intense, passionate, riveting – the trailer of Badrul Anam Saud’s new movie, “Shyamakabbya”, is likely to invoke these feelings within any reader. While the seasoned director’s vision goes a long way toward making this possible, much credit will also go to the leads, Shohel Mondol and Neelanjona Neela. 

Karnival started as a passion project between friends Tinu, Sabbir, Tonmoy and Sunny in 2006. Together, they made their debut album, “Indraloy.”

Action-packed, fantastical, nail-biting: Mizanur Rahman Aryan’s Punormilone is none of those things. In spite of that, or perhaps because of that, the family drama succeeds in subverting audience expectations amidst OTT’s “Thriller Fatigue”, with a powerful reminder of the age-old phrase la familia es todo (Family is all).

He was one of the undisputed kings of Bangla rock in the 2000’s when he was the frontman for Black. When he left the band to make Indalo, he took on an entirely new genre of music. Having also left his mark on television as an actor, he is now knee-deep into the world of podcasts, where I started a podcast is one of the most enticing shows on Youtube. Star Showbiz has a heart-to-heart with Jon Kabir.

In a city where most youth are confined to social circle jerks of restaurants and malls; these concerts are much-needed injections of life. Whilst there is a risk of fatigue and overuse, as it is with any industry, it is important that organisers persevere and stick to what makes them unique.

After Fairooz Nazifa's version of ‘Tumi Hina’ released on Gaan Bangla’s Wind of Change, her life changed as she started becoming more of a public figure.

The ace music producer Fuad Almuqtadir has been accompanied by Pantha Kanai, Tashfee, Muttaque Hasib, Pavel, Nick Gianni, Adhnan Sulaiman Nayeem, and Tanvir Tomal for an extensive series of shows in the United States.

“Of course, I will support the people of my industry,” said Tisha, perhaps as a declaration of solidarity. “Only when we have each other’s backs will our film industry truly flourish”.

Recently, Nusraat Faria once again bedazzled audiences in “Kolija Ar Jaan”, from Afran Nisho’s debut film, “Shurongo”.

For almost two decades, Emon Chowdhury astonished people with his near-celestial guitar playing, a craft which he has given his unique, soulful voice. In the past few years, he emerged as one of the finest music directors in the country, weaving his magic in films like “Hawa,” Gunin, “Raat Jaga Phool, and “Maya – The Lost Mother.”

In her relatively young career, Oyshee has recorded multiple hit albums, has won the National Film Award for her playback singing, and spawned multiple blockbusters including Dushtu Polapain and Garir Mechanic. Recently, she started a new chapter in life. We talk to the talented singer for more.

They say that life is a great leveller – and that sentiment is doubly true for the entertainment industry. Coke Studio Bangla, a cultural phenomenon fuelled by endless debates about meritocracy and even capitalism in music, started season 2 with the highly appreciated “Murir Tin”, blending dialects of Chattogram, Khulna and Sylhet to make an incredible musical mishmash.

The artiste, who admits to being the ‘son of Barishal’ is in Dhaka, recording with renowned composer-singer Kaushik Hossain Taposh for a new project. We had a chance to talk to the legend at the premises of Gaan Bangla television in the capital.

“I worked with the director, Aga Nahiyan Ahmed, many-a-times before. He is an exceptionally talented worker, and its unexpected that he’d make such a video, without even informing us of his ‘inspiration’.”

“This is very demoralising for me, that too on a song in which I collaborated with Minar. This is a person that I did two albums for, more than a decade back – it was supposed to be a heartfelt moment”.