Renowned vocalist and anchor Alif Alauddin has released Opekkha, a song which incidentally had wo wait 5 years to reach the listeners. “In 2015, Niaz Ahmed Aungshu sent me the lyric for Opekkha. I was enamoured with how beautiful it was, and wanted to do justice to it.” The music was eventually composed by industry veteran Ridwan Nabi Pancham. “Since the lyricist is a renowned figure from the 90’s, I wanted someone like Pancham compose it. He did it in only two days!” The music video, available on Alif’s YouTube channel, was directed and edited at home by Kazi Faisal Ahmed.

Marking the 121st birth anniversary of our National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam, national celebrations will take place on May 25. BTV and other TV channels will air performances, recorded prior to the coronavirus outbreak in the country, by the Dance Department of Nazrul Institute. The performances are directed by renowned Manipuri dancer and choreographer Warda Rehab.

Gems of Nazrul will pay their homage to the National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam marking his 121st birth anniversary on May 25. BTV and other channels will air the 12th production of Gems of Nazrul – a prayer song ‘Jago Amrito Piyashi Chito’, along with a spirited song, ‘Tora Shob Joyoddhwani Kor’ in the morning of the day. The online videos of both the songs will also be on YouTube.

The television industry of Bangladesh is facing massive losses amid the coronavirus pandemic. TV shoots had resumed from May 17, with certain conditions, to compensate for the losses to some extent. However, the decision to resume shooting has been suspended for the time being.

No new episode of the popular magazine show, Ityadi, hosted by Hanif Sanket, will be released during the festive season of Eid this year. Hanif Sanket and his team were unable to record a new episode, due to the nationwide shutdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Hồ Chí Minh himself had chosen his name, which means bringer of light. Let us all conquer our selfish self and shine together with our own light as we celebrate Hồ Chí Minh’s life.

Eminent television actor Ajmeri Zaman Reshma has passed away, her son Rahber Khan and daughter-in-law Farhana Mithu say.

As early Eid gifts, popular singer Shwapnil Shojib provided new clothes to 20 street children in his locality in the first week of March, before any case of the coronavirus was reported in the nation. He also distributed clothes among 40 orphaned children in Uttara around the same time. “Being an artiste, it is my responsibility to share my happiness with the less fortunate,” he said.

Ekushey Padak-winning singer Subir Nandi charmed the audiences for decades with his melodious voice. He passed away a year ago, leaving a glorious legacy behind.

Today marks the 8th death anniversary of Shilpaguru Safiuddin Ahmed. As a pioneer of printmaking in Bangladesh and a modernist painter of the first generation, he remained reclusive in his life and his art. The underrated artist lived and worked in both the twentieth century and the new millennium. His individual style was known as indigenous modernism. Besides his experimentation with artworks, what remains majorly unknown is his skill and passion for photography. His photographs are resourceful in knowing him more intimately as well as in understanding the socio-cultural conditions of his time. His son, Ahmed Nazir, talks about the artist in a recent conversation with The Daily Star.

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Since 2015, Sisimpur has been producing a special programme to celebrate the Eid festivities. Their three-episode show, Ghore Ghore Eid, Ghore Theke Eid, will start airing on BTV from the first day of Eid, at 5:30 pm.

Deepto TV will telecast the seven-day Eid special travel show, Elizah's Travel Diary, hosted by avid traveller Elizah Binte Elahi. As of yet, Elizah, who is a teacher by profession, has travelled 49 countries around the world and all 64 districts in Bangladesh.

Actor, model, anchor and television personality Sonia Hossain has garnered immense popularity over the years, after stepping into the limelight with You Got the Look in 2003. Since then, she has appeared on numerous television commercials, projects and even a film.

Noted singer Sabbir Nasir has come up with a new song for the upcoming Eid. Composed by Fuad Al Muqtadir, the song, Poka, is penned by Sharmin Sultana Sumi. The music video of the song is directed by Tanim Rahman Angshu.

Sadarang Uchchanga Sangeet Parishad Bangladesh has arranged an online-based International Classical Music Conference 2020. Classical vocalists, instrumentalists and dance artistes from Bangladesh India, Nepal, USA, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany and China will take part in the conference.

Amid the coronavirus crisis, the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) recently launched the song, United We Fight, bringing composers, musicians and singers from across India together.

The current President of Television and Digital Programme Producers Association Bangladesh Iresh Zaker, and General Secretary of the association, Saju Muntasher, are set to resign from their respective positions. According to officials from the association, the decisions were declared on their WhatsApp group. However, the announcement has not yet taken effect. “I have submitted my resignation,” stated Iresh. “The rest is up to the committee. They will take the final decisions. We have been working together for a long time. In the past two months, we have worked really hard to help cast and crew members, who are financially struggling in these critical times. Together, we have decided to start shootings under special conditions, which will start from today.”

All TV shoots were halted due to the coronavirus pandemic from March 22. The television associations, including Actors’ Equity Bangladesh, Directors’ Guild and Television and Digital Programme Producers Association Bangladesh, have unanimously decided to resume shootings of all productions from today.

Bangladesh celebrated the World Intellectual Property Day 2020 on April 26 virtually. The programme was jointly organised by the Copyright Office Bangladesh, Ministry of Cultural Affairs, Government of Bangladesh and Center for Policy Research, Bangladesh.