Maisha Islam Monamee

In the early days of cinema, female friendships were like decorative wallpaper—always present but rarely integral to the narrative. They giggled in the background, shared screen time over shopping trips or heartbreaks, and usually vanished once the male lead arrived. Where men had bromances that drove plots, whether on a battlefield or a basketball court, women, even in the company of other women, were set up to compete, compare, and eventually capitulate to romance. They were often designed to orbit the male protagonist, and when more than one appeared, you could almost smell the narrative setup: one would be the virtuous angel, the other a scheming vamp.

"Bidrupe Bidroho", the six-day exhibition currently underway at La Gallerie, Alliance Française de Dhaka, revives the spirit of resistance. Organised by Earki, the exhibition has been organised to mark the first anniversary of the July 2024 uprising, the 36-day-long people’s movement that culminated in the overthrow of the Awami League regime.

Scroll through any beauty retailer or Instagram ad today, and chances are you will stumble across a celebrity-owned brand. From skincare and makeup to fragrance, supplements, and now even homeware and tea, the list keeps growing. Over the past few years, it feels like nearly every actor, singer, or influencer with a solid fan base has released a product line inspired by their personal journey.

Lately, I have found myself in conversations where people talk about ChatGPT and the productivity boost it has brought to their lives. I have used these models. And I have felt the shift; not in the speed of my sentences, but in the weight of them. They come faster, cleaner, and somehow emptier.

When "Squid Game" first dropped on Netflix in 2021, it became a viral hit. With its dystopian depiction of desperate, debt-ridden individuals playing twisted versions of childhood games for a life-changing cash prize, the Korean survival drama tapped into something raw. Set against the backdrop of global inequality, pandemic-era despair, and capitalism in overdrive, it was a modern parable disguised as a thriller. The tracksuits, the red light/green light doll, the piggy bank of blood money; everything became instantly iconic. But it was the emotional stakes, the betrayals, the unlikely friendships, and the slow unravelling of one man’s soul that made it unforgettable.

Tyler Perry’s "Straw", currently streaming on Netflix, is a volatile cocktail of social critique, melodrama, and searing urgency, propelled by Taraji P Henson’s powerhouse performance. The film plunges headlong into the merciless pressure cooker of systemic injustice and personal breakdown, following Janiyah, a single Black mother whose life unravels over the course of one catastrophically bad day.

When I think of July, I remember the silence. Not the kind that settles over a nation out of respect, but the kind that suffocates.

There is a peculiar charm to watching someone murder with the same poise they might use to frost a cake. That’s the Georgia Miller experience, which is equal parts molasses and menace. In its third season, Netflix’s "Ginny & Georgia" leans all the way into that contradiction, offering up a deliciously disorienting blend of teen angst, courtroom spectacle, and suburban noir. With a new showrunner in place and a fresh appetite for audacity, the show does not just continue its chaos, it weaponises it.

Bollywood has long been fascinated with father figures; stern, stoic, often feared, and rarely understood. But with time, the lenses and stories have softened. Over the last decade, a quiet evolution has been brewing on the big screen, one where the father is no longer just the breadwinner, disciplinarian or an almost antihero. He is a confidant, a co-conspirator, and, in many ways, a student of love, learning to grow with his children. This Father’s Day, we look at some iconic characters who challenged the rigid moulds of patriarchy, through their presence, patience, and a willingness to change. These are not heroes in capes, but fathers who became heroic simply by listening, learning, and loving better.

The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) program is administered by the CFA Institute and is often considered one of the most prestigious credentials in the finance industry. While it is ideal for finance professionals, not all functions require it and hence, the CFA journey is not worth it for everyone. This guide explores who should consider the CFA, what value it adds to a career in finance, and what alternative qualifications might be worth considering.

The "Final Destination" franchise has always had a sick sense of humour. Somewhere between the hairspray fireball of 2006 and the acupuncture impalement of 2011, it found a rhythm: ordinary objects, operating according to the most banal physics, and conspiring to kill one in the most humiliating way possible. "Final Destination Bloodlines", the sixth and arguably most coherent instalment in the series, refines this formula while also taking a jab at our belief in logic and order. Directed with unhinged precision by Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein, and scripted by Guy Busick and Lori Evans Taylor, "Bloodlines" is a prequel-slash-sequel with both feet planted firmly in absurdity and emotional gravitas.

If you have ever sat in a group of ten nervous candidates, all trying to out-charm, out-smart, and out-volume one another for a single job, you have likely been a gladiator in the corporate coliseum known as the Focus Group Discussion (FGD). Welcome to the recruiter’s favourite social experiment: where intellect meets improvisation, diplomacy clashes with dominance, and someone always starts with, “Hi everyone, let me begin by…”.

Zabeer Zarif Akhter, a student from St. Joseph Higher Secondary School, Dhaka, has been awarded the Stockholm Junior Water Prize Bangladesh 2025. Having won the same national title last year, Zabeer will once again represent Bangladesh at the global finals in Stockholm during World Water Week, competing against national champions from other countries.

Battery-operated rickshaws, by law, are not allowed on major roads of DNCC.

Three entrepreneurs from Bangladesh have been named in the latest Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list for 2025: Arefin Zaman in the 'Healthcare & Science' category, Sakib Hossain in the 'Industry, Manufacturing & Energy' category, and Sayed Zubaer Hasan in the 'Social Impact' category. 

At a time when OTT platforms are overflowing with gritty thrillers and intense dramas, Netflix’s “The Royals” offers a much-needed escape into a world of luxury, romance, and family dynamics. At its heart, the series is a maximalist rom-com built on the most classic of tropes — opposites attract, rich boy meets self-made girl, palace intrigue meets pitch decks — dressed in some of our favourite buzzwords: feminist, queer-friendly, and unapologetically fashionable. It is refreshing to see a desi series embrace froth and flamboyance without constantly apologising for it. Then again, being aware of one’s aesthetic does not excuse narrative shortcuts. While "The Royals" delivers big on styling and spectacle, its storytelling often trips on its own heels.

Mothers on screen are often reduced to clichés — the sacrificial, saintly figure or the melodramatic martyr. Then again, Bollywood notably holds a growing archive of stories where mothers are full-bodied characters: flawed, funny, brave, and deeply human. These women love fiercely, fight quietly, and exist beyond the frame of just being someone’s parent. From fighting governments to challenging their children, they show that real motherhood is messy, resilient, and worth watching not just for sentiment, but for substance.

Ten years ago, a film about bowel movements, a road trip, and a Bengali father’s hypochondria quietly slipped into theatres. Then, like that one relative who would not stop talking about their digestion at family dinners, it stayed in our collective memory far longer than expected. Perhaps more than a film, "Piku" became a prolonged sigh shared across generations, smelling faintly of home and unresolved emotional constipation.

Rabindranath Tagore’s works continue to amaze literary enthusiasts even today and the Nobel laureate has been a major source of inspiration for several filmmakers, who have developed their own unique touch by traversing his works. On his birth anniversary, we look back at four such adaptations that make Tagore’s works truly immortal.

It may safely be said that few characters in contemporary television have managed to disturb and captivate audiences in equal measure, the way Joe Goldberg has. Across five seasons of Netflix’s psychological thriller "You", Joe – played with eerie precision by Penn Badgley – has stalked, manipulated, and murdered his way through several dream cities. From the literary enclaves of New York to the sunlit superficiality of Los Angeles, and from suburban chaos to the gothic eeriness of London, his journey has been as much about place as it has been about pathology. In the final season, the show returns to its original setting, New York City, and in doing so, reclaims the sharpness and thematic coherence that initially made it a breakout success.