The musician, renowned for his fluid, mellifluent solos and roaring riffs, was one of the core contributors to Artcell’s seminal albums “Onno Shomoy” and “Oniket Prantor”. After periodically releasing singles like “Fight Back”, “Shobdahoron”, and “Haranor Gaan”, he is now embarking on a new journey with his band EZ, composed of young and energetic musicians.
It is rather telling of the people when the army has to show up because of how people behave at a concert. “They brought an international band to a mall to perform,” said Sakib, who had attended the concert with high hopes. “It was a total joke. Organisers started taking selfies with the band mid-show, while Jal had to ask 20 times for a light to be turned off.”
Dhrubo Hasan’s “Fatima” is an ambitious undertaking, with the director’s passion clearly visible in the script – the aspects of our Liberation War and how we are all fighting our own inner wars, the torment that women still go through for being a woman, the extent to which a close one’s betrayal could be delusionally overlooked.
On May 5, Toronto’s Hamilton saw what was the largest audience for a band in decades. To everyone’s surprise, it was not a North American band, but a Bangladeshi one, celebrating 25 years of their glorious music on tour.
On a day when the rain gods smiled favorably upon the hopes of about ten thousand people, barricades were broken, a stampede nearly ensued, and some logistical issues nearly ruined the experience for those holding general tickets at "Rock N’ Rhythm 4.0" in the capital’s International Convention City Bashundhara. However, for five men who have dedicated their entire lives to music, none of this could dampen the emotional reunion of Black's original lineup.
“I could have bought a very nice phone with the money I bought this guitar with,” said Joy Shahriar in The Daily Star’s canteen, proudly flaunting his baby Taylor guitar. “But I chose this expensive guitar. I don’t have unlimited funds, but I know my priorities.” In a way, this sums up the “Shotti Bolchi” singer’s entire career – a story of passion, strife, and street smarts.
Music in Bangladesh was never the same after Black launched “Amar Prithibi” in 2002. Taking off the much harder edge brought in by the rock bands of the ‘90s, it was Black who arguably popularised alternative rock in the country, along with acts like Nemesis and Stentorian.
So, what is the artiste looking for in a partner? “Well, she has to be a good, honest person, and that’s pretty much it.” While we are yet to have found the lucky woman with a lifetime of free passes to Minar’s concerts, here’s to hoping that we can finally write ‘original’ news about his wedding.
This Eid-Ul-Adha, Raihan Rafi directorial “Poran” is up against the BDT 100 crore mammoth production, Ananta Jalil’s “Din: The Day”. While both films have gathered considerable hype ahead of release, the difference in budget and halls released in means that “Poran” will only have to do a fraction of the business to be deemed “successful”.
“All these years, the love that I have received from fans and fellow artistes is unparalleled. I feel proud and emotional when my co-actors call me Maa,” Sharmili Ahmed had said in her last interview with The Daily Star in May.
No one in showbiz can hold their place forever – especially if you’re a leading lady. The showbiz industry can be ruthless to both veterans and newcomers, with the latter coming up from time to time, vying for their own space in the world of glam and glitz.
Let us address the elephant in the room first: Coke Studio Bangla is obviously an elaborate advert for Coca Cola. It does not take a genius to come to that conclusion, the enormous Coca Cola logo on top of the stage at Army Stadium yesterday should be enough of a ‘hint’. That being said, what the platform has done to re-ignite interest in our local scene is admirable, only exemplified by thousands of people showing up in droves in Bangladesh Army Stadium yesterday, despite an entire day of incessant rain.
Both of the songs were conceptualized and executed by Team Pritom – a robust group of talented artistes that now act as the think-tank for Pritom Hasan’s unorthodox ideas. “A lot of questions will be answered in the last chapter,” says the singer.
When KK was singing these lines at Kolkata’s Nazrul Mancha on Tuesday, no one could foresee the irony of these words.
India’s history of remaking Hollywood films is shabby at best –the first offenders that come to mind are Jim Carrey’s fantastic performance in “Bruce Almighty” being turned into Salman Khan’s rancid “God Tussi Great Ho”, and the sheer audacity of using the premise of “The Italian Job” to make “Players”.
The image of legendary artistes Runa Laila and Sabina Yasmin being given Lifetime Achievement Awards by an emotional Ferdausi Rahman -- will be immortalised as one of the most meaningful, significant and iconic moments in the history of the Meril-Prothom Alo Awards.
In a line-up full of hard-hitters like Artcell, Black, Cryptic Fate, Arbovirus, Nemesis, AvoidRafa, Mechanix, and Dreek, the most memorable moment was Shakib Al Hasan gingerly singing “Amra Korbo Joy”, much to the elation of the crowd.
As “Chiltey Roud” headed towards its majestic outro, pairing Boga Taleb’s resounding, celestial vocals with Shayan Chowdhury Arnob’s calming delivery – the shehnai playing in the background almost brought me to tears.
