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Dowel Biswas

Dowel is always thinking about a million things at once and writes to make sense of it all. Feel free to send her your thoughts at ddowelbiswas@gmail.com

Rezauddin Stalin Photo Sheikh Mehedi Morshed

Rezauddin Stalin’s Shilpakala and its unfinished reform

13 August 2026
Nearly a year into his tenure, Stalin says much of the disorder has been addressed through tolerance, discipline and greater engagement. But his account of a functioning and increasingly accessible institution raises a larger question: has Shilpakala’s internal culture actually changed, or has its structural dependence on political and bureaucratic authority simply acquired a different face?
13 August 2026
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The changing climate of political satire

5 August 2026
Censorship, political labelling and organised backlash have shadowed the profession for decades. The latest example came when one of the country's most prominent political satirists, Mehedi Haque, found himself at the centre of coordinated criticism for doing what political cartoonists are expected to do: draw satire in response to the national conscience.
5 August 2026
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‘The scarcity of actors forced me back on stage’

4 August 2026
There is a particular irony in watching Syed Jamil Ahmed return to the stage after more than four decades as an actor. One of Bangladesh’s most influential theatre directors, who has spent much of his career shaping actors from the other side of the performance, is suddenly subject to the same conditions he has long asked performers to navigate.
4 August 2026
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Golmatha Ar Chokhamatha / The heads we are taught to hate: A poignant adaptation fit for our political climate

27 July 2026
Staged from July 23 to 25 at the Nilima Ibrahim Auditorium of Bangladesh Mohila Samity, "Golmatha Ar Chokhamatha" felt particularly relevant to Bangladesh's present political moment.
27 July 2026
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Reclaiming the cultural meaning of monsoon

16 July 2026
Alongside celebrating the monsoon through dance, the organisers will raise funds for people affected by the recent floods in the Chattogram Hill Tracts through a donation campaign in partnership with the JAAGO Foundation.
16 July 2026
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300 dancers, aged from 3 to 70, to enthrall Charukala tomorrow

16 July 2026
Alongside celebrating the monsoon through dance, the organisers will raise funds for people affected by the recent floods in the Chattogram Hill Tracts through a donation campaign in partnership with the JAAGO Foundation.
16 July 2026
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The stories we choose not to see

10 July 2026
Bangladeshi-American storyteller, novelist, and screenwriter Sharbari Ahmed has little interest in familiar, formulaic narratives. Instead, she is drawn to stories that exist at the margins—stories that reveal themselves quietly, carrying all the complexity and contradictions of real life.
10 July 2026
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Fifty years without Zainul Abedin / The artist who documented collapse and endurance

28 May 2026
Fifty years after he died in 1976, Zainul Abedin no longer exists as a living presence. What remains is a body of work that has hardened into history, layer by layer: famine sketches, rural labour scenes, scrolls of catastrophe, and figures that still appear to look back at us with unsettling calm.
28 May 2026
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Celebrating the legacy of SD Burman

Thanks to timeless melodies like “Ke Jash Re”, and “Tumi Aar Nei Se Tumi”, the name Sachin Dev Burman needs no introduction to Bangla song lovers.
9 September 2023
Akira Kurosawa and his extended views on humanity

Akira Kurosawa and his extended views on humanity

As one of the most influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, Akira Kurosawa is most popularly known for his films based on stories about samurais, but his greatest accomplishment is perhaps his exploration of the metamorphosis of flawed humanity against nature.
6 September 2023
Drik honours Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury on 34th founding anniversary

Drik honours Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury on 34th founding anniversary

Drik Gallery celebrated its 34th founding anniversary by honouring the extraordinary Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury and his contribution to ensuring equal access to healthcare for all.
6 September 2023
Rajib Ashraf: A wordsmith’s journey and legacy

Rajib Ashraf: A wordsmith’s journey and legacy

"Hok Kolorob" and his other renowned lyrics in musical genius Shayan Chowdhury Arnob's songs, such as, "Naam Chilo Na", "Prokrito Jol", "Ghum", "Dhushor Megh", "Rod Boleche Hobe", "Protiddhoni", and "Mon Kharaper Ekta Bikel", offer merely a glimpse of the actual man Rajib was, said Abdullah Juberee, a journalist and an admirer of the poet.
5 September 2023
A traveling storyteller of a living culture

A traveling storyteller of a living culture

On his 12th death anniversary, The Daily Star looks back at the life of this fascinating filmmaker.
13 August 2023
A tribute to the avant-garde artist behind Bengal’s ‘Renaissance’

103 years of SM Sultan

Even after being acclaimed and acknowledged all over the world, including India, Pakistan, the USA, Britain, and Europe, SM Sultan’s artworks before the 1950s remain a mystery as most of these could not be traced due to his nomadic nature.
10 August 2023
The forever debt to Rabindranath Tagore

The forever debt to Rabindranath Tagore

From children’s books to internationally applauded films, from lyrical ballads to Netflix series, wherever we put our senses, they are filled with the legacy of the “Bard of Bengal”, Rabindranath Tagore. Do we ever ask ourselves what we would do without him? Do we wonder how the entire culture of the Indian subcontinent is wrapped around his existence?
6 August 2023
Tauquir Ahmed’s theatrical comeback ‘Tirthojatra’ takes centre stage at Shilpakala

Tauquir Ahmed’s ‘Tirthojatri’ is a stellar theatrical comeback

The play, “Tirthojatri” is adapted from popular writer Humayun Kabir’s philosophical fiction “Tirthojatri Tinjon Tarkik.” The play is co-written by the fiction's original author, and Tauquir himself.
5 August 2023
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Remembering the Mahanayak

Today marks the 43rd death anniversary of legendary actor Uttam Kumar.
24 July 2023
The artiste behind ‘Udd Gaye’: Ritviz’s rise to fame

The artiste behind ‘Udd Gaye’: Ritviz’s rise to fame

With his breakthrough song, “Udd Gaye” released in 2017, the singer produced hit bangers like “Sage,” “Liggi,” “Barso,” “Jeet,”
11 July 2023
'Life Through Rohingya Eyes' sheds light on life of Rohingya refugees

'Life Through Rohingya Eyes' sheds light on life of Rohingya refugees

Documented by 19 bright Rohingya photographers, the exhibition–a joint endeavor of UNHCR and the Bangladesh Liberation War Museum under the Rohingyatographer Collective–tells a tale of oppression, pain, resilience, and hope.
25 June 2023
Picasso: An Actor on the Stage of History

Picasso: An actor on the stage of history

On his 50th death anniversary today, The Daily Star looks into the complex psyche of the renowned artiste, which goes beyond his individuality.
8 April 2023
World Theater Day: When ‘Art’ becomes ubiquitous

World Theater Day: When ‘Art’ becomes ubiquitous

Yasmina Reza’s screenplay and Open Space Theatre’s adaptation continue with brisk intelligence and wit. The audience remained faithful, engaged, enthralled and deliberate in their interpretation of the play.
28 March 2023
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‘Nishwas’: Raihan Rafi’s compelling crime-thriller is a must-watch

After “Taan”, “Floor Number 7”, and “Khachar Bhitor Ochin Pakhi”, Raihan Rafi has now brought forth another experimental production, “Nishwas”, to the popular OTT platform, Chorki on Thursday.
16 September 2022
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Indigo Giant: A poetic tale of oppression and rebellion

“Do you ever feel that there is something inside you? Something ancient, that will come out one day?” -- Naila Azad Nupur asks this exact question in “Indigo Giant”, her brilliant rendition of the story written by Dinabandhu Mitra in his epic play, “Nil Darpan”. The play, written by Ben Musgrave and translated by Leesa Gazi, was staged at the Bangladesh Mahila Samity’s Nilima Ibrahim Auditorium on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday with four shows. 
11 September 2022
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