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‘Janmabhumi’ a film of dream for Saira
A H Murad, Rtv online
14 Dec 2018, 00:00
Photo: Collected
Full name Saira Akter Jahan. Popularly known as Saira in the showbiz arena. She stepped into the media through modeling in 2014. She was seen in music videos and some dramas. But the target of this model-actress was to act in film. From her heart she wanted to act in films. Saira enjoyed different type films from across the world including Bangladesh. She wished to act in a film based on story.
But the glamour girl never thought that her dream would be real so hurriedly. Prasoon Rahman, the film maker of ‘Sutopar Thikana’ was looking for a heroine for his new film. The director wanted for a less renowned one for his film ‘Janmabhumi-The Birth Land’. To make the character realistic to the audience the director thought so.
One day over mobile phone he told Saira that he is looking for a heroine for his new film. The character is about a pregnant woman who came to Bangladesh from Myanmar.
Saira, much discussed for her music video ‘Chhip Nouko’ agreed to work for the film after hearing the story of ‘Janmabhumi-The Birth Land’ from the director. She said that she is a fan of Prasoon Rahman’s writings. She also enjoyed the film ‘Sutopar Thikana’ made by the director. Considering all she did not hesitate to take the decision.
Prasoon Rahman said, Saira hails from Chattogram. There is little similarity between the languages of Chattogram with the language of Myanmar. I thought it would be easy for her (Saira).
Burt Saira said, though I am an inhabitant of Chattogram but nobody talk to me over that language. For that I am not efficient in the language. However, Prasoon vai had casted me giving importance to that matter (laugh).
She also said, ‘Janmabhumi’ film is based on an international issue. So it was like a dream to take the opportunity of central role there. One thing influenced me that if I would perform my acting with my best then it would create imagination among the refugees after release of the film. It is the significance of my life.
Career’s first film with an important issue, so how much satisfied you are about your acting? In reply Saira said, I like realistic story and character. Every person has a story in his or her life. As a result there was a challenge at one end, again after acting it seemed that I had done something.
Popular actor Rawnak Hasan played his role against the character of Saira in ‘Janmabhumi’. About the co-artist she said, Rawnak vai is a good actor that I have understood while working. He is a very cooperative person. There is much more to learn from him. We all worked like a family during our shooting.
To the audience Saira said, to uphold a story to you we have acted in Rohingya camps, hills, under the sun and rain. It is being showed in the Star Cineplex from Friday. I hope you all will watch the film after going to the hall. Our hard work will succeed if you watch the film.
The film ‘Janmabhumi’ produced by Bengal Multimedia is being showed in the Star Cineplex in the capital from Friday (December 14). Apart from Saira and Rawnak the film is also acted by Sangeeta Chowdhury, Angkan Chakma, Joynal Jack, Pamela Ketcher, Nasir Uddin and others.
Translated By Aleem Al Hasan
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Ed Sheeran performs for Shah Rukh Khan
Ed Sheeran has been spotted hobnobbing with Bollywood celebrities like Shah Rukh Khan, Gauri Khan, Ayushmann Khurrana, Huma Qureshi and Malaika Arora, among others, over the past week. Farah Khan, who hosted the British singer-songwriter, on Sunday (March 17), shared a heartwarming Instagram video of Ed singing “Perfect” as Shah Rukh sat back and listened to the “private concert”. The video was later deleted by Farah.
Days after their now-viral moment recreating SRK’s signature pose, this video of Ed crooning the track for the superstar is receiving a lot of love online. This intimate rendition of “Perfect” for SRK shows a relaxed and cheerful “Shape of You” singer with a guitar in his hand, pouring his heart into the song as a captivated Shah Rukh listens intently. “Best of 2 concerts! Guess which was my favourite (black heart emoji) #voiceofanangel,” she had captioned the post.
The video has sparked excitement amongst fans. Could a collaboration between these two stars be on the horizon? After all, in an interview with Zoom, Ed Sheeran expressed his desire to work with Shah Rukh Khan, calling him the “biggest superstar”.
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He breathed his last at 7:15 pm on Monday (March 18) at a hospital in the capital's Green Road. The news of Khalid's death was confirmed by band singer Isha Khan Durrey.
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An experiential cinema exhibition to celebrate the centenary of Raj Kapoor and Dev Anand is being set up in the Rose Garden Underpass in collaboration with National Film Archives (NFDC) and students of Chandigarh College of Architecture.
For five days, films from across the world and the country will absorb Chandigarh’s film lovers, as Cinevesture International Film Festival (CIFF), the first international film festival, is all set to open here from March 27 to March 31.
The festival will showcase 24 award-winning international features in the World Cinema section, 17 Indie gems in the India Unveiled, 27 shorts in Brief Encounters, a curated section of children’s films and timeless classics.
Nina Lath, founder and CEO of Cinevesture, says, “The festival is envisaged as a platform for audiences and producers. Its various verticals have been designed keeping the same in mind.”
Chandigarh first international film festivalThe opening film of the festival is Cannes Award-winning French film ‘The Taste of Things’ starring Juliette Binoche.
For five days, films from across the world and the country will absorb Chandigarh’s film lovers, as Cinevesture International Film Festival (CIFF), the first international film festival, is all set to open here from March 27 to March 31.
The festival will showcase 24 award-winning international features in the World Cinema section, 17 Indie gems in the India Unveiled, 27 shorts in Brief Encounters, a curated section of children’s films and timeless classics.
Nina Lath, founder and CEO of Cinevesture, says, “The festival is envisaged as a platform for audiences and producers. Its various verticals have been designed keeping the same in mind.”
VS Kundu, a retired civil servant and former head of the National Films Division of India, has come aboard as the director of the film festival and industry veteran Bina Paul is the artistic director of CIFF. According to V S Kundu, the festival is the first global-scale cinema event to ever happen in Chandigarh.
An experiential cinema exhibition to celebrate the centenary of Raj Kapoor and Dev Anand is being set up in the Rose Garden Underpass in collaboration with National Film Archives (NFDC) and students of Chandigarh College of Architecture. A screening of Children’s films is open to all children from the ages of 10-17 years at 9 am each day from March 27-31 at Cinepolis Jagat.
The opening film of the festival is Cannes Award-winning French film ‘The Taste of Things’ starring Juliette Binoche. The closing film is South Korea’s highest grossing film of 2024 to date — the Horror-Mystery-Thriller Exhuma (Pamyo) which premiered at 2024 Berlinale.
Programming highlights include internationally acclaimed films like The Zone of Interest, Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Monster, 2023 Academy Award-winner, The Whale, Seven Winters in Tehran, Breaking Ice, Paradise, and the animation feature Sultana’s Dreams among others.
Award-winning Indian features and docs such as Marathi film Sthal, Venice Film Festival film Stolen, Rima Das’ Assamese film Tora’s Husband, Deepa Mehta’s TIFF film, I am Sirat, auteur filmmaker Gurvinder Singh’s Punjabi feature Adh Chanani Raat, Harjit Singh’s documentary on the late Punjabi painter and writer Imroz-A Walk Down The Memory Lane, Lijo Jose Pellissery’s Malayalam film Malaikottai Vaaliban, Sreemoyee Singh’s documentary, And, Towards Happy Alleys, will be screened.
Source: Indian Express
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With their 2020 hit, the group has joined another K-pop and global sensation, BTS, who have two tracks, Dynamite and Butter, listed in the Billions Club. While this is the first time that BLACKPINK has made it to the prestigious list, the group member, Lisa, has individually broken the record with her solo track Money. Moreover, Jennie has also received over a billion views on YouTube for the music video of her track, Solo.
Source: Hindustan Times
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Nora says to not be typecast and to find work, one needs to work on themselves. She said, “It is hard to say. It is not a one-dimensional answer because you can’t blame them, that’s all they know. It’s to typecast people and that’s it. It’s also like people don’t have time to discover you and explore you. People are too busy trying to make their next big hit, trying to mingle with the big stars, trying to do things. So, I don’t blame anybody but it is on me. It is my job to prove to people time and time again that ‘hey, I am multifaceted, I can do this, I can do that, give me the chance’ so, that’s my problem and I took that head on. For that you have to work on yourself also, because no actor, no artiste is perfect.”
Nora judges dance reality shows, makes music videos and acts in films. Explaining why she does several things all at once, she says, “I consider myself an artiste because I do a lot of things — I dance, I sing, I produce, I judge — I am a personality, a public figure. I don’t expect people to wake up one morning and go like, ‘haan, Nora can do it all’. I have to show it to them. For that, I need to have my eggs in different baskets, not in just one basket. This has helped me avoid the zone of depression, darkness and negativity, specially if work is not happening. These phases happen to actors, I see my actor friends go through that.”
Opening up further how she has seen her actor friends going through depression when things don’t work out for them, she says, “For example if the box office doesn’t happen, one bad Friday, they break down; if for six to eight months they don’t have another project, like a cycle of back-to-back projects, they break down. When I used to see some of my actor friends go through that, they are big stars by the way, I never want to be that person. This life is too short, you have to have an aura about you, you have to have positivity about you. I can’t allow the industry to break me like that, so I developed thicker skin because social media can kill you. I decided that, hey I want to act, yes, I love cinema that’s why I came here, however I like to do other things too. That’s what allowed me to be this positive person in the industry and be kind of relevant. Through that journey, you get people who go, ‘oh, she can do that, let me try her for this film, let me call her for this.’ It takes time, you have to be resilient, you have to be patient.”
Talking about Madgaon Express, an out-and-out comedy, Nora says, “I always wanted to do comedy. Inherently I’m a funny person, or at least that’s what I would like to think. I did a lot of funny skits and content on social media before I became relevant in the industry. It’s something I really enjoyed and I got to connect with people a lot through that. People got to see that I have a certain personality. I really enjoyed doing that. To be able to do that, come back into the comedy space, it felt so good. I am not only challenging myself as a performer, but also enjoying myself. The whole environment, the situation, the whole vibe is just so funny.”
Source: Indian Express
Puja Cherry’s mother passes away
Film actress Puja Cherry's mother Jharna Roy passes away. She breathed her last at his home in Mirpur on Sunday (24 March) at around 11 am.
According to some sources, Jharna Roy was suffering from illness. Abdul Aziz, the chief executive officer of Jaaz Multimedia, confirmed the news of the death of the actress's mother.
Abdul Aziz said that Jharna Roy had been suffering from illness for a long time from various medical conditions. She was a diabetic patient and her diabetes level had increased as well. A few weeks ago, her physical condition started deteriorating. As a result, she was taken to a hospital in Mirpur. There she underwent treatment for 15 days with seven days in an ICU. When she recovered, she was taken home when her condition improved.
However, Pooja made her debut in film as a child artist in the movie 'Bhalobashar Rong'. Later in 2018, she made her debut as a heroine on the big screen with 'Noor Jahan'.
What's behind South Korea's K-pop crisis?
The biggest names in K-pop have sought out new markets overseas. But they've left a hole in their home market that no other acts have been able to fill yet.
South Korea's hugely popular K-pop and the broader "hallyu" or "Korean Wave" genre of popular culture are experiencing something of a crisis, with domestic sales declining, new bands failing to whip up the same frenzy as their predecessors, and shares in the top K-pop agencies plummeting, suggesting that investors are jittery that the bubble may be about to burst.
The domestic slump coincides with those same performers — BlackPink, BTS, and the irascible Psy, who unleashed "Gangnam Style" on an unsuspecting world back in 2012 — growing in popularity on the international music scene.
The suggestion is that by attempting to broaden its appeal to a global audience — performing in foreign languages, topping the music charts in key markets around the world and being hyped on the chat shows — those bands have forgotten their roots and are in danger of alienating the very people who launched their careers.
Hallyu has, of course, undergone ups and downs in its popularity in the past but has always found a way to reinvent itself or evolve, analysts point out.
The challenge, they suggest, is for the industry to pull off that same trick to keep the home-grown fans coming back, buying the music and attending concerts.
Domestic versus international popularity
"I would suggest there are absolutely no signs of K-pop declining in popularity abroad and that it is difficult to directly correlate the stock market value of K-pop agencies with the popularity of their bands," said Park Saing-in, an economist at Seoul National University.
"But we can say that stock prices reflect the market's future expectations and while hit bands like BTS and BlackPink are still performing, it is fair to ask where their successors are," Park told DW.
In recent months, new band Baby Monster has failed to make a significant dent in the Melon Top 100, the South Korean ranking for music sales, while ITZY and NMIXX saw their latest releases sink dramatically in their second week, The Korean Times reported earlier this month.
Similarly, sales of the latest mini-album released by girl-group Le Sserafim shrank 20% in the second week of its release.
Uncertainty over the bankability of performers at home has hurt the four biggest management agencies, with stocks in YG Entertainment down by 15% in mid-March from the turn of the year. HYBE was down 19%, while industry giant SM Entertainment fell 22% and JYP Entertainment lost a worrying 33% of its share value in the same period, according to the ChosunIlbo newspaper.
In response to the slump in sales, which account for a major slice of total revenue, agencies are attempting to launch an array of new artistes, with YG Entertainment unveiling the boy-band Treasure, HYBE introducing TWS and Katseye and SM Entertainment pushing NCT Wish.
But it is not at all clear if any of these bands, plus others that are in the pipeline, have what it takes to take over the mantle of super-groups such as BTS.
Scandal and disruption
Other problems have also dogged the industry, with the members of BTS presently carrying out their national service, forcing the band into a year-long hiatus, while other stars have been struck down by scandal.
Karina, a 24-year-old singer with girl-group Aespa, provoked a storm of protest from fans after it was revealed in late February that she was in a relationship with actor Lee Jae-wook.
Agencies encourage their performers not to have boyfriends or girlfriends as that destroys the daydream that they like to promote among fans that these idols are single, and therefore potentially available as a romantic partner, however fanciful that notion might be.
There is a sub-set of fanatical followers who turn up at concerts waving signs that read "my husband" or "my wife" – and revelations that the target of their affections is actually involved in a real relationship is a betrayal that too often leads to anger and accusations on social media.
Whatever the cause of consumers' anguish, that is being reflected in falling popularity at home.
"A lot of hallyu culture reached its peak during the COVID pandemic," said David Tizzard, an assistant professor of education at Seoul Women's University and a columnist for a Korean daily focusing on social affairs. Hallyu is a Chinese term that translates to “Korean Wave” and refers to Korean popular culture, everything from music to movies, food and gaming.
"With people stuck indoors or isolated from others, they turned to the high production values of South Korean music and dramas to get them through it," he said.
"Hallyu is also more than just content, there's a surrounding community and culture which draws people in. They can do more than just watch a drama, they can learn about the actors, read fan fiction, communicate on Twitter and Tik-Tok," he told DW.
Post-pandemic shift
When the pandemic ended, some people "moved on," Tizzard said.
"It served a purpose. It was a genuine culture, with visible high points of the movie 'Parasite' at the Oscars and Black Pink and BTS achieving great success, but now that culture has shifted and people are looking for something new."
Tizzard believes that while hallyu culture may not be as wide as it was a couple of years ago, it remains deep and "the fans who engage in it are still as passionate as they always were."
But Park is not convinced that will be enough.
"In the past, South Korea produced a lot of hit television dramas that were hugely popular here and around the world," he pointed out. "But that is no longer the case and the television sector has lost its momentum. The same thing can happen with Korean movies or music," Park added.
"I would say that K-pop appears to be structurally sound at the moment, but the future remains uncertain."
