The New Nation - Internet Edition

Exhibition: Amman’s ornament making show to be ended July 31

Entertainment Desk

Westin Dhaka's unwind for this month with designer and artist Amman Rashid enters the last week as the programme has already succeeded to draw much appreciation and applause from the visitors and foreign guests at the five-star hotel in Gulshan in the city.

As a global signatory treat offered to the guests for a refreshing transition during the evening time, Westin Dhaka has been hosting this month long, except Saturday and Friday, event on ornament making.

Amman Rashid displays making of his own brand Aadi's items during the two-hour period around sunset at the Westin lobby with some special arrangements for the guests to attend. Every session took place till now, drew a good amount of onlookers, both guests and visitors who enjoyed watching the designer working on the unique ornaments in front of them. Guests liked the ornaments and collected those during the demonstrations, as they were welcome to watch Amman's exclusive artworks, each item is a specimen one, at least five days a week from around 6:00pm to 8:00pm.

The event launched on July 1 at the Level 1 of the Westin Dhaka. It will continue to July 31. Westin authority decided to initiate the programme to uphold the indigenous trend of Bangladeshi ornament making.

Amman's artworks are unique in the sense that each item is different to others. The ornaments meant for the delight of all age brackets for daily attiring, made of different types of thread, dry seed and fruits, shells, snails, mud or leftover natural materials. Considered as a Westin ritual, all unwinds programmes include interactive activity on food or beverage demonstration, cultural, educational or game show. Usually the activity is free of charge to the guests.

TV Watch: Mega serial Swapnamongal on ATN Bangla tonight

Prova in Swapnamongal

Entertainment Desk

The 32nd episode of mega serial Swapnamongal will be aired on ATN Bangla at 8:00pm today.

The story of the drama was written by Saiful Bari and Nasir Ahmed made the script. Kamal Khan gave direction of the serial.

Zahid Hasan, Fazlur Rahman Babu, Rumana, Shams Sumon, Sajal, Prova, Nisho, Saberi Alam, Zahid Hossain Shovon, Nushrat Yasmin Tisha, Mishti, Rahi, Russell O'Neel, Tushar Mahmud, Daud Rony, Mahmud Sajjad, Khaleda Akhter Kalpana, maong others, performed in different roles in the serial.

Story of Swapnamongal:

Our society is moving with two opposite socio-economic realities. Even in cultural field this movement is clearly identified.

In one hand, a higher class of people who are passing days without any moral value and they are following the western culture, which is not appropriate to our real life.

Young generation is facing trouble with this culture. But we have our own culture.

With the realities between these two cultural lives the story of the mega serial Swapnamongal continues.

Event: Rodela Chattar inaugurated

Entertainment Report

Rodela Chattar, a cultural organisation, was inaugurated at Uttara in the city recently.

Eminent actress Shampa Reza is head of the organisation.

Noted artistes, a group of children, among others, were present at the inauguration.

"The aim of the organisation will be to nurture the hidden talent of the children through cultural activities. I had a long cherished dream to form an organisation, which would work with the children. My team will be able to prepare the children as significant citizens of country. It will provide training on music and pre-school facility to the children. It will also have a children's club," said Shampa Reza. The music school will provide lessons on the songs of 'Pancha Kobi'- Tagore, Nazrul, Rajanikanta, DL Roy and Atul Prasad. Classes will be held on every Friday and Saturday in two shifts from 10:00am to 1:00pm and from 4:00pm to 6:00pm, said the organisers.

The pre-school activities will begin on Sunday and will continue till Thursday. It will remain open from 9:00am to 12:00pm and children aged between two and three years can enrol their names in this category, they added.

Advertisement: Leading singers in TV commercials

Folk singer Momtaz in shooting of a TV commercial

Entertainment Desk

Country's singers are now getting popularity in TV commercials.

Recently modern singer and music composer Habib and his father musician Ferdous Wahid performed in an advertisement for a bank.

Three other stars of the music industry have performed in another commercials. They are Ayub Bacchu, Kumar Biswajit and Momtaz.

Ayub Bacchu and Momtaz performed in two advertisements of soft drinks - Ayub Bacchu in Tiger Energy Drink and Momtaz in Promi Powder Drinks.

Meanwhile, recently popular musician Kumar Biswajit also performed in a TV commercial of a mobile phone company. He also gave jingle for the advertisement.

All of them (singers) are hopeful about their performances.

Bollywood: Abhishek promises Aishwarya a baby!

Abhishek Bachchan has fulfilled his 5-year old promise to take Ash on a world tour with his 'Unforgettable show' but also made a new one at a press conference after their show in Trinidad.

Well, the story goes that after a splendid audience response to their show at the Caribbean Islands the duo and pa Amitabh Bachchan held a press conference along with stars like Preity and Riteish.

And just like paparazzi across the globe, those at Trinidad looked too curious as well. But what stumped everyone was a candid and unusual question from a certain gentleman that made Ash blush. He asked her if Abhishek had promised her a baby.

Before Ash could reply or dodge the question, the protective pa Amitabh, who was sitting alongside, gave a prompt reply: "Every husband promises his wife a baby."

But that was not it. Just then Abhishek Bach-chan dropped the bomb by holding Ash's hand and saying softly, "I Promise!"

No one in the hall could manage to suppress their laughter including the often reserved Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

- SantaBanta.com

Lennon childhood film gets grant

BBC Online

A film about John Lennon's early life is among seven projects to be given lottery-funded development grants by the UK Film Council.

Nowhere Boy, based on a book by his half-sister, is being developed by Matt Greenhalgh who wrote Control, a biopic of Joy Division's Ian Curtis. It will get £35,500 of £322,000 being awarded to established filmmakers.

The Edge of Love director John Maybury's latest film, about US photographer Lee Miller, gets £116,500. Greenhalgh said Julia Baird's book Imagine This: Growing Up With My Brother John Lennon had taken him 'into a world that illuminated so much about this legendary genius'.

'I could see the drama and film immediately - the women in his life, the men who weren't, the birth of rock and roll, all imposing on a brilliantly complicated adolescent mind.' He added: 'Without this story, we would never have heard The Beatles - can you imagine that?' Tamara Drewe, a film adaptation of the Posy Simmonds novel about a woman who brings chaos to a countryside writer's retreat, will receive £48,375. That project and half of a Yellow Sun, which will receive £39,375, are both being funded in partnership with BBC Films.

Playwright Biyi Bandele will adapt Half of a Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Orange Prize-winning novel.

Hyde Park on Hudson, an account of a 1939 visit to the US by King George VI being developed by Notting Hill director Roger Michel, will get £47,540.

Development fund head Tanya Seghatchian said all the filmmakers had already 'made their mark' in the UK.

'For UK film-makers, development support can be critical at this early stage and, without new ideas and the money, time and space to develop them and take risks, you can't create a healthy film culture,' she added.

'Our objective is to make the development fund a home for talent and, by extension, the UK a place where the most talented film-makers want to come and make films.'

Promised Land, which will receive £25,000, is the new project of The Road to Guantanamo director Michael Winterbottom. Documentary The Pervert's Guide to Ideology is Sophie Fiennes and Slavoj Zizek's follow-up to their guide to filmmaking - The Pervert's Guide to Cinema. Their project has been awarded £10,000.