When we were kids and used to rent cassettes to watch movies on VCRs, we never needed to ask anyone how a particular movie was. The reason was simple—back then, we watched only a handful of movies, and the ones we did watch were already well-known in the market. Songs from the movies would be playing in audio-video shops on street corners, and the storylines would spread through word of mouth. Needless to say, most of the movies we watched were Hindi films. Even the occasional Hollywood action flicks were familiar. So, there wasn’t much hassle in choosing a movie based on someone’s recommendation.

The allure of fame often comes with a darker side that many celebrities struggle to navigate. Amid the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, the pressures of maintaining a public image, relentless media scrutiny, and the demands of the entertainment industry usually lead some stars down to a path of substance abuse.

Will the winds of change reshape Bangladeshi cinema in 2024?"

No need to weep for the poet’s passing

Song of the New Man, new life of the Baul

Durga is dead. Harihar's family is leaving the village of Nischindipur. Leaving the village filled with memories, Apu will go far away, to Kolkata. All the belongings are being loaded onto a bullock cart. Mother and father are busy. Apu thought to check what secret items he should take with him. While moving a clay pitcher from the top shelf, something rolled down. Apu saw a golden box, the very same one that had been stolen from Sej Thakurun's house the previous year.

2024 literature laureate Han Kang had just finished dinner with her son at her home in Seoul when she received the news. In this interview, she reflects on being the first South Korean literature laureate and talks about how writers as a collective have influenced her: “All their efforts and strengths have been my inspiration.” Han Kang also talks about her writing process on the international hit The Vegetarian, and recommends her most recent book We Do Not Part for anyone who’s curious to start reading her books.

Ekushey Padak winner and eminent actor Jamaluddin Hussain has been laid to rest in Calgary, Canada.

Even in the 1990s, we used to write letters to our loved ones. Those handwritten letters were filled with our joys, sorrows, emotions, and love. The wait for a letter felt like an eternity—when would the letter carrier arrive? The anticipation made it hard to sleep. But in this modern era, our ways of waiting and living have changed. We no longer wait for letters or the postmaster, whom our ancestors called the "mail runner" or "runner." They too have faded into the depths of history.

If you are familiar with African cinema, you might know that Senegalese filmmaker and novelist Ousmane Sembène is considered the father of African cinema. You may also be aware of his contemporaries, like Mali's Souleymane Cissé, Nigeria's Umaru Ganda, and Mauritania's Med Hondo—each a luminary in their own right. Yet, among them, Djibril Diop Mambéty, a filmmaker and poet from Senegal, stands out as uniquely different. He is often called the "Jean-Luc Godard of Africa" despite having never met Godard himself.

When we were kids and used to rent cassettes to watch movies on VCRs, we never needed to ask anyone how a particular movie was. The reason was simple—back then, we watched only a handful of movies, and the ones we did watch were already well-known in the market. Songs from the movies would be playing in audio-video shops on street corners, and the storylines would spread through word of mouth. Needless to say, most of the movies we watched were Hindi films. Even the occasional Hollywood action flicks were familiar. So, there wasn’t much hassle in choosing a movie based on someone’s recommendation.

The allure of fame often comes with a darker side that many celebrities struggle to navigate. Amid the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, the pressures of maintaining a public image, relentless media scrutiny, and the demands of the entertainment industry usually lead some stars down to a path of substance abuse.