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El Niño may return, raising concerns over rising heat in Bangladesh
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Tuesday, April 21, 2026
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Shababa Iqbal

Shababa Iqbal is an American journalist of Bangladeshi origin with a background in entertainment, fashion, literature, and youth-focused storytelling. You can reach out to Shababa by emailing shababa@icloud.com.

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‘Big Mistakes’: Chaos, comedy and a perfect binge-watch

3 hour(s) ago
If you are looking for a show that spirals gloriously out of control while still keeping things fun, “Big Mistakes” delivers exactly that. It is fast-paced, chaotic in all the right ways, and just self-aware enough to stay entertaining without tipping into exhaustion.
3 hour(s) ago
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Essay / On ‘Bridgerton’: When romantic escapism clashes with the realities of class

10 April 2026, 00:00 AM
Romance has never existed apart from inequality. The genre depends on distance—on obstacles that make love feel hard-won.
10 April 2026, 00:00 AM
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ESSAY / Romance, radical hope, and the modern happily ever after

27 February 2026, 00:05 AM
Few genres are as unapologetically optimistic as romance. At its core lies the Happily Ever After (HEA), a convention so fundamental that it often stands in for the genre itself.
27 February 2026, 00:05 AM
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ESSAY / ‘Sunrise on the Reaping’: Fan service and repetitive themes weigh down ‘Hunger Games’ prequel

9 April 2025, 18:00 PM
Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games series has captivated pop culture with its bold take on tyranny, sacrifice, and resistance, spanning Katniss Everdeen’s blazing defiance in The Hunger Games (2008) to her final stand in Mockingjay (2010) against Coriolanus Snow’s cold cruelty.
9 April 2025, 18:00 PM
‘Nadaaniyan’: It’s time for Bollywood to wake up to unskilled star kids

Review / ‘Nadaaniyan’: It’s time for Bollywood to wake up to unskilled star kids

9 March 2025, 05:13 AM
There is a great debate about nepotism in Hindi cinema. It's upsetting for everyone when clearly unskilled children of famous people are paraded as readymade movie stars, increasing the rift between the haves and the have-nots and highlighting the inequities of various systems across the screen. "Nadaaniyan", starring Khushi Kapoor and Ibrahim Ali Khan in the lead roles, is yet another example of this.
9 March 2025, 05:13 AM
Playing it safe: ‘The Roshans’ compromises its own potential

Review / Playing it safe: ‘The Roshans’ compromises its own potential

22 January 2025, 03:53 AM
The Roshan family has been active in the Hindi film industry for multiple generations, contributing to music, acting, and direction for over 60 years or so. Naturally, there was a story waiting to be told. Their dynasty includes the patriarch and music maestro Roshan Lal Nagrath, his sons Rajesh Roshan, the music composer, and Rakesh Roshan, the director, and actor, as well as his grandson Hrithik Roshan, who became an overnight sensation with his first leading role in “Kaho Naa… Pyar Hai” (2000) and is one of Bollywood’s most beloved stars today.
22 January 2025, 03:53 AM
wicked wizard of oz film review

FROM PAGES TO PIXELS / Fascism, propaganda, and resistance: ‘Wicked’ as a mirror to our times

20 December 2024, 14:10 PM
The basic premise is a powerful one: What if the Wicked Witch of the West wasn't so bad after all, and what if the Wizard and the seemingly perfect society he oversaw were the real threats?
20 December 2024, 14:10 PM
‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3’ is a maze of missed opportunities

Review / ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3’ is a maze of missed opportunities

10 November 2024, 11:01 AM
The most positive aspect of “Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3” (2024) is its unpredictability. While the climactic twist is audacious and unique, the film suffers from clumsy execution, falling short of evoking the intended emotions. It's a fine thought, albeit underwritten, and it deserved a bit more complexity than the film's chaotic momentum allows. Nonetheless, I have to say that I did not see it coming.
10 November 2024, 11:01 AM
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How ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ mirrors the social media age

To me, Wilde’s novel articulates the deepest anxieties of the late Victorians and continues to offer us ways to interpret our own experiences.
16 October 2022, 09:42 AM
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Of diverse princesses and demigods: Is racebending in fantasy adaptations enough?

Progress is underway, but some studios are still hiding behind the curtain of racebending as if it will solve all of the problems of race innate to cinema itself. Nonetheless, all of it matters—Ariel and Annabeth being portrayed by young Black women—because what we read and watch feeds our imagination.
21 September 2022, 18:00 PM
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The Little Mermaid: Has Disney sanitised our expectations from fairytales?

Thanks to 2023's The Little Mermaid, Black and brown girls can finally see themselves as princesses in a film where the protagonist's skin colour is not as instrumental to the story as the princesses' heritage was in Aladdin, Mulan, and The Princess and the Frog.
14 September 2022, 13:24 PM
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Anyone can be a hero: Why I love ‘Percy Jackson & The Olympians’

From mental health struggles to characters with different racial and LGBTQ+ backgrounds, the series shines a light on people—and heroes—of diverse identities.
11 September 2022, 13:00 PM
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Two upcoming Pinocchio films—why does he still resonate?

Zemeckis' version will likely be a comforting trip into nostalgia and sentiment, an ode to the power of the human heart to do the right thing despite life's many temptations. At the same time, del Toro's will be a dark fairytale with troubling implications, examining how we puppets can learn to think for ourselves.
26 August 2022, 15:02 PM
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‘Emily’ and creative freedom in literary biopics

It got me thinking that we are fascinated by the behind-the-scenes lives of our cultural obsessions, and the personal lives of authors can come to feel like public possessions just as much as their works. It is this sense of ownership that can risk conflict over films about literary icons. 
20 August 2022, 13:08 PM
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International Youth Day: Why I enjoy reading YA books as an adult

We are drawn to stories about first experiences, and YA literature is rich with it. First experiences draw us in because they are the crucible for change.
12 August 2022, 06:37 AM
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How BookTok motivated me to read again

It has made literary criticism—often regarded highbrow or excessively academic—feel accessible.
3 August 2022, 13:00 PM
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‘Persuasion’, ‘Bridgerton’, ‘Emma.’ What’s missing from these quirky period dramas?

Studios seem to think female characters need to be glossed with a “zany” and “feisty” persona in order to be relevant. 
27 July 2022, 18:00 PM
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Netflix’s ‘Persuasion’ misunderstands Jane Austen’s novel entirely

The problem with Netflix’s adaptation of Persuasion is that it doesn't know what it wants to be.
15 July 2022, 15:01 PM
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Could Ranbir Kapoor's 'Brahmastra' be the superhero film Bollywood needs?

 The teaser for "Brahmastra: Part One", starring real-life couple Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt as well as veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan and South Indian superstar Nagarjuna, was released today. It is one of the most anticipated Bollywood films of the year. 
31 May 2022, 11:05 AM
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Off to Cannes: Representing Bangladesh in the world’s biggest film fest

The star-studded Cannes Film Festival kicked off on May 17, 2022, celebrating all things international film and the actors, directors, and crew behind the scenes.
18 May 2022, 18:00 PM
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From the ramp to the screen: Shela is all set for challenges

Shirin Akter Shela is best known as the winner of Miss Universe Bangladesh 2019. Sporting a red jamdani shari with a model hood of Bangladeshi rickshaws and ornaments that emulated Bengali letters, she won hearts with her national costume at the beauty pageant’s final competition in the USA. 
21 April 2022, 18:00 PM
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An evening with Lata Mangeshkar’s timeless melodies

The musical programme, “Akash Pradeep Jale: A tribute to Lata Mangeshkar”, organised by HSBC Bangladesh, was held at Hotel Pan Pacific Sonargaon in Dhaka on April 1. The event was hosted by Tropa Majumdar. 
1 April 2022, 17:00 PM
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This is the best time to be an independent artiste - Sonia Hossain

Actress, model, activist, producer, and television personality Sonia Hossain stepped into the limelight with “You Got The Look” in 2003. She was a speaker at the Global SDG Summit 2022 in Delhi this February. We caught up with the multi- talented artiste to find out more about her recent projects.
11 March 2022, 18:00 PM
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The Fame Game: Madhuri Dixit deserved a better OTT debut

In recent years, not only did OTT platforms provide us with some fresh new talents, but also initiated comebacks of several popular Indian actresses of the 90s. 
4 March 2022, 18:00 PM
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Sheena Chohan’s ‘Fame Game’

A former Miss Universe participant, Indian actress Sheena Chohan has worked in six films, including Mostofa Sarwar Farooki’s “Pipra Bidda” (Ant Story).
25 February 2022, 18:00 PM
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The Father of the Nation through graphic novels

As I sifted through the pages of “Mujib”, the graphic novel series depicting the Father of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s life, I could not help but think of how many generations of children could have benefited from this remarkable portrayal of the Father of the Nation.
25 February 2022, 18:00 PM
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Animating the future

Although animation is only beginning to find its footing in Bangladesh, many have made significant strides in this field in recent years.
16 February 2022, 18:00 PM
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I lost weight for the film, only to gain it back again: Sabila Nur

Celebrated actress Sabila Nur is set to star in several Valentine’s Day tele-fictions this year, teaming up with Afran Nisho and Apurba, among others. In particular, her pairing with Apurba is a hit with viewers.
9 February 2022, 18:00 PM

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