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Event: Gunijon Sangbordhona 2008: Shilpakala Academy honours 7 renowned artistes

Entertainment Report

Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy honoured seven renowned artistes to recognise their contribution to music and dance at a reception at the Sangeet O Nrityakala Academy Auditorium of the Shilpakala Academy on June 25. The artistes were Shah Abdul Karim, Runa Laila, Sabina Yasmin, Shahanaz Rahmatullah, Niaz Muhammad Chowdhury, Subal Dutta and Zeenat Barkatullah. The Department of Dance and Music of Shilpakala Academy organised the ceremony titled 'Gunijon Sangbordhona 2008.' Rasheda K Chowdhury, Adviser to the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, was present as chief guest at the function.

Mohammad Sharful Alam, Secretary to the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, was present as special guest, while Sunil Chandra Das, Director of the Department of Dance and Music of Shilpakala Academy, was also present on the occasion.

The function was divided in two sessions. In the first part, the felicitation ceremony was presided over by Bhuiyan Shafiqul Islam, Director General of Shailpakala Academy, while in the second part a cultural programme was held.

Each honoured artiste received a crest and a cheque for Tk 10,000. The award-giving ceremony started after receiving first award by Shah Abdul Karim, It is mentioned that the elderly folk music icon couldn't attend at the programme due to his illness. Shah Noor Jalal, his son, took the award on his behalf. Umena Anzalin, daughter of artiste Anjuman Ara Begum, took the award of Runa Laila on her behalf.

Sabina Yasmin was the third artiste who was awarded.

While taking her award she said, "Awards are recognitions of an artiste's hard work and they inspire the artiste to work harder and give more."

Then Shahanaz Rahmatullah came and "An award means a lot to an artiste, but it very important that s/he receives the recognition in his/her lifetime. Artistes receiving posthumous awards are quite common nowadays. This is not a good trend."

Niaz Mohammad Chowdhury's award was taken by his son Faiyaz Muhammad Chowdhury. In the second part, the cultural programme was started with a dance presentation with the Rabindra Sangeet 'Anandadhara bohichhey bhuboney,' performed by artistes of Shilpakala Academy. Deepa Khondokar directed it. Artistes Fahmida Nabi, Munir Khan, Nabid Shafiullah and baul Kala Mian rendered songs at the programme.

Then a duet dance was performed by Farhana Chowdhury and Abdur Rashid.

Celebrity News: Maidservant Tanima

Tanima Hamid

Entertainment Desk

TV actress Tanima Hamid has been performed as a maidservant in a drama for the first time. The name of the drama was 'Ebong Rohossher Golpo.' Shakhawat Hossain has made the drama. In the drama, Tanima talked in the native language of Mymensingh. She had to take enough betel leaf to express her character in the drama and also burnt her mouth. Anisur Rahman Milon was her co-artist. Tanima has tried her best to express the character. How much she succeed, the audiences will say that.

Hollywood: Oscar season kicks off

Los Angeles, Agencies

With Pixar's newest blue-chip animated movie 'Wall-E' hitting theatres Friday, the 2008 Oscar race is finally off and running.

It's an unofficial starting gun, of course. Technically, any movie that's had a commercial release of at least a week in Los Angeles County since the start of the year is eligible to compete. But the first half of the year rarely yields much in the way of Oscar fodder, and this year has been no exception.

May's Cannes Film Festival didn't do much to clarify the situation, either: Several promising foreign films aside, only Clint Eastwood's 'Changeling,' starring Angelina Jolie, emerged as a mainstream contender. Most of the remaining summer popcorn fare isn't generally regarded as Oscar worthy, though if critics and fans applaud Heath Ledger's turn as the Joker in 'The Dark Knight' when it is released July 18, Warner Bros. is ready to support a campaign on his behalf. Only one acting Oscar has been bestowed posthumously - to Peter Finch for 1976's 'Network' - but five others have been nominated in the wake of their deaths, including James Dean, who earned nominations for 'East of Eden' and 'Giant.'

But while Oscar strategists are marking time, waiting for the fall festival circuit to launch a wave of hopefuls, the animation race has begun to take shape.

The critics are just beginning to weigh in on 'Wall-E' - the Village Voice's Robert Wilonsky has already called it "both breathtakingly majestic and heartbreakingly intimate" -but the buzz surrounding the film about a lovelorn robot already is so heady, there's no doubt it will be the movie to beat for best animated film. The bigger question is whether it might become a candidate for a best picture slot.

At one point last year, director Brad Bird wanted to position his 'Ratatouille' in the best picture heat, but he was convinced to focus on the best-animated film category, which it handily won while also picking up nominations in four other categories. But if today's moviegoers warm to 'Wall-E' the way an earlier generation embraced 'ET the Extra-Terrestrial,' then the latest Pixar effort could find itself competing with the big boys for best picture.

In any event, the photo-real, computer-animated 'Wall-E' should dominate the animation arena, which given the number of films expected to be released this year should yield three Oscar nominees.

Fox and Blue Sky Studios' 'Horton Hears a Who' looks like a strong contender for bringing Dr Seuss' illustrations into the CG realm. DreamWorks Animation will have two hopefuls with "Kung Fu Panda" and the upcoming 'Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa.'

Other titles that could figure prominently are 'Waltz With Bashir,' an Israeli film set amid the Lebanon War that Sony Pictures Classics plans to promote in multiple categories, and the stop-motion 'Coraline,' Henry Selick's adaptation of Neil Gaiman's book, which Focus has slated for a late-December release.

On the live-action front, the picture is much murkier.

Bollywood: 'Astrologer told me not to invest in IPL’

Preity Zinta

Entertainment Desk

Exuberant, chirpy, happy-go-lucky Bollywood actress Preity Zinta, who has now turned into a businesswoman, says she invested in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in spite of warnings from an astrologer friend.

'In spite of the warning from my astrologer friend, I went for the deal as I had a gut feeling that it is the future. I told my friend that if it doesn't work for me then I would become the 50th wife of the Sultan of Brunei, ' Preity, who co-owns the IPL Mohali team, told.

The star of hits like 'Salaam Namastey' and 'Kal Ho Naa Ho,' Preity said it was only in a developing country like India that one could think of buying a sports team. 'The scenario is going to change after 10 years. One can never dream of buying a team like Manchester United or Arsenal today in a country like England.'

Preity bought Kings XI Punjab in partnership with her boyfriend Ness Wadia and Karan Paul of Apeejay Surrendra Group and Mohit Burman of Dabur. They paid $76 million for the franchise. Although Preity's team failed to reach the final, she is not complaining.

She said, "My team performed well and I am happy with all the team members and will continue my support for the team." As far as book balancing was concerned, she said this had not been a profitable year but was optimistic they would do better next time. How long will her association with the team last?

"I am there for life. I am not there just for the sake of it. First people took me as a brand ambassador and then as a face value, but I wanted to make people take me seriously in the game and I did my best to prove myself. 'I think I was successful (in this)," the actor added.

"I do things which I believe in and am passionate about, be it the IPL or films. I give my heart and soul to them," Preity said. Now that IPL is over, Preity is concentrating on her films and the 'Unforgettable' world tour with the Bachchans starting July 18. She will be touring the US, Britain and Canada with Amitabh Bachchan, his son Abhishek and daughter-in-law Aishwarya. Riteish Deshmukh and music directors Vishal-Shekhar are also a part of the tour. 'I am very excited to go with them as Abhishek and Ash are my great friends. Besides, the participation of guest stars like Akshay Kumar, who is joining us in Canada, Madhuri (Dixit) in the US and Shilpa Shetty in London, will add to the excitement. 'This is the first time when we will be joined by performers from different parts. The audiences will be huge and we are expecting an overwhelming response.' Apart from this she will be busy with 'Harr Pal', 'Heroes', a cameo in the Salman-Kareena Kapoor starrer 'Main Aur Mrs Khanna' and Deepa Mehta's Punjabi film 'Heaven On Earth'.