For the third time, a photographer from Pathshala South Asian Media Institute has been selected out of 198 participants, for Joop Swart Masterclass, organised by World Press Photo. The platform enables and encourages new and diverse approaches to documentary photography, visual journalism and visual storytelling. Ashfika Rahman was the first Bangladeshi female photographer to participate in this esteemed international programme, in 2018. The following year, Shahria Sharmin was selected. This year, Salma Abedin Prithi has been selected for this programme.

Aditarians, known for their excellence in fusion, is a band helmed by renowned music composer Adit Rahman and talented singer Aditi Rahman Dola. The brother-sister duo has delivered many memorable songs over the years, including Tumi Chara and Jochona. After some absence, Aditarians have come back with Jolobhrom, their latest composition. They have dedicated it to the late playback legend, Andrew Kishore. Written by Abdar Rahman, the song has been tuned jointly by Dola and Muttaque Hasib. The rap parts were created by Towfique Ahmed. The lyrics highlight the destruction that occurs when human beings fight each other for seemingly resolvable issues. The song is available on all major streaming sites, including Spotify and iTunes, as well as the band’s YouTube channel.

Being the only child of an actor, I have been used to the smell of film scripts stacked in a room, the smell of betel leaves munched by dance and music directors and the smell of food laid out on the table during drama or film rehearsals at my house. Yet, amongst all of that, the smell of my mother, Ajmeri Zaman Reshma, was the most significant. Others may have deemed it as the smell of a superstar passing by, but to me, she carried the warm scent of motherhood.

Shusmita Anis’ new music video will be released on her YouTube channel tomorrow. The song, Ghum Hote Chai, is a light-hearted and romantic number, written by Suhrid Sufian and composed by Joy Sarkar. It is from her album, Chena Shohor, and will be released under the banner of New Music Paradigm Company. The music video, directed by Taneem Rahman Angshu, was shot in Kolkata. “We’re all craving human connection nowadays. I hope this song will allow people to forget these tough times for a while, and recall the happier times of connection and love,” shares Anis.

Playback legend Andrew Kishore was laid to rest today at 12:30 pm at the cemetery of Church of Bangladesh in Rajshahi. His funeral was held at the church alter at 9 am. He was kept at the church alter for his fans, family members and friends to pay their last respect, informs his niece, Dr Ipshita Biswas. The actor breathed his last on July 6 after battling cancer for a while.

Eminent actor Bulbul Ahmed breathed his last on this day in 2010. Marking the tenth death anniversary of the National Film Award-winning actor, here are some of his greatest works and memories from his co artistes. Known for his charm and excellent acting skills, Ahmed was born on September 15, 1941. He had stamped a hallmark with his brilliant performance in the film based on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s classic novel, Devdas directed by Chashi Nazrul Islam. Kobori featured as Parboti opposite him. “He was very good at heart. He proved his acting prowess in Devdas,” said Kobori. “I can't explain how kind he was! A true gentleman and a great co artiste,” shared Anwara, who played the role of Chandramukhi in the film.

Two full-length feature films, a short film and a documentary from Bangladesh, were selected in the Delhi based Indus Valley International Film Festival (IVIFF).

De | Real, A digital collaborative project created by 26 multidisciplinary Bangladeshi collaborators from different parts of the globe, will reflect and question the ethos of our new realities. Organised from July 15 to 28, this exhibition is a part of an ongoing curatorial research by Kehkasha Sabah, an Independent curator and researcher from Bangladesh.

“I’ve been through a lot in life,” said an adamant Alif Alauddin over the phone. The artiste, a guardian for young musicians and arguably the face of musical anchoring, has been silently fighting sever kidney issues over the last 10 years. Now, eighty percent of her kidney is damaged. However, outside of her family, no one knew about it, until recently.

A body recovered from a lake in California is that of missing “Glee” actress Naya Rivera, officials said on Monday. “We are confident the body we found is that of Naya Rivera,” Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub told a news conference on the shore of Lake Piru near Los Angeles.

Dhaka based artists Amirul Rajiv, Bashir Ahmed Sujan and Naim Ul Hasan were invited by the Swiss artists Anna Gallati, Oscar Lussi and Julian Blum to participate in a joint project, in which they took twenty photographs daily for seven days. The result of their collaboration was the group photo exhibition, ‘Dhaka_Lucerne’, which opened on July 10 at Teiggi Studio and Exhibition Space in Kriens, Lucerne, Switzerland.

While 'genre-free' bands have existed for quite a while, it is Grooveyard-- a project by Ashifur Rahman Chowdhury, Zunayed Sabbir Ahmed and Dewan Anamul Hasan – that truly solidified its merit in the context of this country.

American actress Kelly Preston who has appeared in films including “Jerry Maguire” and “Twins”, has died aged 57 after battling breast cancer for nearly two years, her husband, John Travolta, announced in an Instagram post late on Sunday.

Celebrated actor Jaya Ahsan has won multiple awards, both at home and abroad, over the years. Recently, she won the Films and Frames Digital Film Award (Bangla) for ‘Trendsetting Performance of the Year’ for her role as speech therapist Dr Romilla Chowdhury, in Konttho.

The music app Shadhin is set to launch Patalpur, a first of its kind audio crime thriller series, in August. An official teaser of the series was released on July 10 on Shadin’s social media platforms. The crime thriller podcast will feature one-hour episodes, weekly.

The Bulbul Ahmed Award was established by the Bulbul Ahmed Foundation Trust (BAFT) in 2016 in fond memory of renowned actor Bulbul Ahmed, who passed away on July 15, 2010. Veteran actor Mirana Zaman received the Bulbul Ahmed Award this year.

The third installment of the weekly contest, Cartoon People Gaan-Toon Caricature Challenge, organised by Cartoon People, was held online recently. Young and established artists from all over the nation submitted caricatures of renowned singer and journalist Elita Karim.

The third and fourth floors of the Bangladesh Film Development Corporation (BFDC) are set to be demolished to make way for a new, fifteen-storeyed building.

Hanif Sanket remembers eminent singer Andrew Kishore as a humble person, who never acted like the superstar that he was.

We recently lost one of Bangladesh’s most recognisable voices with the demise of Andrew Kishore. Having started his playback singing career with the 1977 film Mail Train, Kishore went on to lend his voice to thousands of songs, in the span of over four decades.