Maisha Islam Monamee | The Daily Star
Skip to main content
Home
Thursday, August 20, 2026
Pay scale: When will govt employees get a pay hike?
Sheikh Hasina's extradition: What will India consider, and who will decide?
LNG terminal operational, but where is the gas?
বাংলা

Main navigation

  • News
    • Politics
    • Governance
    • Crime and Justice
    • Accidents and Fires
    • Technology
    • Education
    • Healthcare
    • Environment
    • World
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Views
    • Interviews
    • Tribute
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Agriculture
    • Industry
    • Startups
    • Global Economy
  • Sports
    • Cricket
    • Football
    • Tennis
    • More Sports
  • Lifestyle
    • Fashion
    • Relationships
    • Health and Wellness
    • Food and Recipe
    • Travel and Leisure
  • Culture
    • Entertainment
    • Books and Literature
    • Heritage
    • TV & Film
    • Music
    • Theatre & Arts
  • Slow Reads
    • In Focus
    • Geopolitical Insights
    • Big Picture
    • Unheard Voices
  • Youth
    • Academics
    • Career and Skills
    • Campus Life
    • Off Campus
    • Pop Culture
  • Ds+
    • Business +
    • Investigative Stories
    • Roundtables
    • Supplements
    • Law & Our Rights
    • My Dhaka
  • বাংলা
  • E-paper
  • Today’s News
Thursday, August 20, 2026
  • E-paper
  • Today’s News
  • News
    • Politics
    • Governance
    • Crime and Justice
    • Accidents and Fires
    • Technology
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Healthcare
    • World
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Views
    • Interviews
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Agriculture
    • Industry
    • Startups
    • Global Economy
  • Sports
    • Cricket
    • Football
    • More Sports
    • Tennis
  • Lifestyle
    • Fashion
    • Relationships
    • Heath and Wellness
    • Food and Recipe
    • Travelogue
  • Culture
    • Entertainment
    • Books and Literature
    • Heritage
    • Tv & Film
    • Music
    • Theatre & Arts
  • Slow Reads
    • In Focus
    • Geopolitical Insights
    • Big Picture
    • Unheard Voices
  • Youth
    • Academics
    • Career and Skills
    • Campus Life
    • Off Campus
    • Pop Culture
  • Ds+
    • Business +
    • Investigative Stories
    • Roundtables
    • Supplements
    • Law & Our Rights
    • My Dhaka

Footer

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Comment policy
  • Apps
  • Archive
  • Advertisement
  • Conference Hall
© 2026 thedailystar.net | Powered by: RSI Lab

Copyright: Any unauthorized use or reproduction of The Daily Star content for commercial purposes
is strictly prohibited and constitutes copyright infringement liable to legal action.

Maisha Islam Monamee

The author graduated from Institute of Business Administration (IBA), University of Dhaka and is a contributor at The Daily Star. Find her @monameereads on Instagram.

Why Spider-Man feels like Gen Z's superhero

Why Spider-Man feels like Gen Z's superhero

5 August 2026
"Brand New Day" succeeds for a different reason. Beneath the web-slinging and skyline chases lies a story that feels surprisingly familiar to the generation filling the theatres.
5 August 2026
how AI affects critical thinking

I spent two years learning AI, then another year unlearning it

27 July 2026
Like many people working close to technology, I believed AI would become the defining aspect for our generation.
27 July 2026
‘Beyond the Brief’ explores the intersection of art and design

‘Beyond the Brief’ explores the intersection of art and design

26 July 2026
Every colour, typeface and composition is ultimately expected to solve a problem. “Beyond the Brief”, currently underway at Bengal Shilpalay in Dhanmondi, asks a deceptively simple question: what happens when those problems disappear?
26 July 2026
Christopher Nolan revisits glory, guilt and the ghosts of war in ‘The Odyssey’

Christopher Nolan revisits glory, guilt and the ghosts of war in ‘The Odyssey’

22 July 2026
It is an adaptation of one of humanity’s oldest stories, an epic that has shaped the language of adventure, heroism and homecoming for nearly three millennia.
22 July 2026
July uprising memories in Bangladesh

July then and now: Remembering the month that changed us

17 July 2026
Sometimes I find myself wondering what it must feel like to have July arrive without something tightening in one’s chest.
17 July 2026
15 years later, ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’ still finds new meaning

15 years later, ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’ still finds new meaning

15 July 2026
The scenery still takes my breath away, the playlist still makes me want to pack a bag, and Farhan Akhtar’s poetry still lands exactly where it should. Yet every rewatch feels like a different film.
15 July 2026
_DSC5585.JPG

‘Urban Images’ turns art into an act of solidarity

11 July 2026
Art has always found ways to document cities through the rhythms, fractures and quiet resilience that define urban life. Veteran artist Kazi Salahuddin Ahmed’s latest solo exhibition, “Urban Images”, does exactly that. Yet beyond the abstract compositions and layered cityscapes lies another, more immediate story—one of artists standing beside one another when it matters most.
11 July 2026
Why we keep falling for fictional boyfriends

Why we keep falling for fictional boyfriends

7 July 2026
Then someone inevitably resurrects Mr Darcy, Jim Halpert or Aditya Kashyap to remind everyone that the blueprint existed long before TikTok edits.
7 July 2026
Celebrating Bollywood’s progressive father figures

Celebrating Bollywood’s progressive father figures

Bollywood has long been fascinated with father figures; stern, stoic, often feared, and rarely understood. But with time, the lenses and stories have softened. Over the last decade, a quiet evolution has been brewing on the big screen, one where the father is no longer just the breadwinner, disciplinarian or an almost antihero. He is a confidant, a co-conspirator, and, in many ways, a student of love, learning to grow with his children. This Father’s Day, we look at some iconic characters who challenged the rigid moulds of patriarchy, through their presence, patience, and a willingness to change. These are not heroes in capes, but fathers who became heroic simply by listening, learning, and loving better.
15 June 2025
Chartered Financial Analyst

Is the CFA the right choice for you? 

The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) program is administered by the CFA Institute and is often considered one of the most prestigious credentials in the finance industry. While it is ideal for finance professionals, not all functions require it and hence, the CFA journey is not worth it for everyone. This guide explores who should consider the CFA, what value it adds to a career in finance, and what alternative qualifications might be worth considering.
4 June 2025
‘Final Destination Bloodlines’ and the chaos of control

‘Final Destination Bloodlines’ and the chaos of control

The "Final Destination" franchise has always had a sick sense of humour. Somewhere between the hairspray fireball of 2006 and the acupuncture impalement of 2011, it found a rhythm: ordinary objects, operating according to the most banal physics, and conspiring to kill one in the most humiliating way possible. "Final Destination Bloodlines", the sixth and arguably most coherent instalment in the series, refines this formula while also taking a jab at our belief in logic and order. Directed with unhinged precision by Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein, and scripted by Guy Busick and Lori Evans Taylor, "Bloodlines" is a prequel-slash-sequel with both feet planted firmly in absurdity and emotional gravitas.
27 May 2025
Focus Group Discussion

From chaos to cohesion: winning at FGDs the smart way

If you have ever sat in a group of ten nervous candidates, all trying to out-charm, out-smart, and out-volume one another for a single job, you have likely been a gladiator in the corporate coliseum known as the Focus Group Discussion (FGD). Welcome to the recruiter’s favourite social experiment: where intellect meets improvisation, diplomacy clashes with dominance, and someone always starts with, “Hi everyone, let me begin by…”.
27 May 2025
Zabeer Zarif Akhter

Zabeer wins back-to-back Stockholm Junior Water Prize Bangladesh

Zabeer Zarif Akhter, a student from St. Joseph Higher Secondary School, Dhaka, has been awarded the Stockholm Junior Water Prize Bangladesh 2025. Having won the same national title last year, Zabeer will once again represent Bangladesh at the global finals in Stockholm during World Water Week, competing against national champions from other countries.
25 May 2025
autorickshaw

Rickshaws, rights, and the rulebook

Battery-operated rickshaws, by law, are not allowed on major roads of DNCC.
20 May 2025
Forbes 30 under 30 Asia 2025

Three Bangladeshis featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2025

Three entrepreneurs from Bangladesh have been named in the latest Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list for 2025: Arefin Zaman in the 'Healthcare & Science' category, Sakib Hossain in the 'Industry, Manufacturing & Energy' category, and Sayed Zubaer Hasan in the 'Social Impact' category. 
18 May 2025
‘The Royals’ on Netflix: Crown, couture, and confusion

‘The Royals’ on Netflix: Crown, couture, and confusion

At a time when OTT platforms are overflowing with gritty thrillers and intense dramas, Netflix’s “The Royals” offers a much-needed escape into a world of luxury, romance, and family dynamics. At its heart, the series is a maximalist rom-com built on the most classic of tropes — opposites attract, rich boy meets self-made girl, palace intrigue meets pitch decks — dressed in some of our favourite buzzwords: feminist, queer-friendly, and unapologetically fashionable. It is refreshing to see a desi series embrace froth and flamboyance without constantly apologising for it. Then again, being aware of one’s aesthetic does not excuse narrative shortcuts. While "The Royals" delivers big on styling and spectacle, its storytelling often trips on its own heels.
13 May 2025
Revisiting the most unforgettable moms of Bollywood

Revisiting the most unforgettable moms of Bollywood

Mothers on screen are often reduced to clichés — the sacrificial, saintly figure or the melodramatic martyr. Then again, Bollywood notably holds a growing archive of stories where mothers are full-bodied characters: flawed, funny, brave, and deeply human. These women love fiercely, fight quietly, and exist beyond the frame of just being someone’s parent. From fighting governments to challenging their children, they show that real motherhood is messy, resilient, and worth watching not just for sentiment, but for substance.
11 May 2025
10 years of ‘Piku’: A soothing classic that still hits home

10 years of ‘Piku’: A soothing classic that still hits home

Ten years ago, a film about bowel movements, a road trip, and a Bengali father’s hypochondria quietly slipped into theatres. Then, like that one relative who would not stop talking about their digestion at family dinners, it stayed in our collective memory far longer than expected. Perhaps more than a film, "Piku" became a prolonged sigh shared across generations, smelling faintly of home and unresolved emotional constipation.
8 May 2025
Four contemporary Tagore adaptations that are a must watch

Four contemporary Tagore adaptations that are a must watch

Rabindranath Tagore’s works continue to amaze literary enthusiasts even today and the Nobel laureate has been a major source of inspiration for several filmmakers, who have developed their own unique touch by traversing his works. On his birth anniversary, we look back at four such adaptations that make Tagore’s works truly immortal.
8 May 2025
‘You’ keeps us watching one last time

‘You’ Season 5: He keeps us watching one last time

It may safely be said that few characters in contemporary television have managed to disturb and captivate audiences in equal measure, the way Joe Goldberg has. Across five seasons of Netflix’s psychological thriller "You", Joe – played with eerie precision by Penn Badgley – has stalked, manipulated, and murdered his way through several dream cities. From the literary enclaves of New York to the sunlit superficiality of Los Angeles, and from suburban chaos to the gothic eeriness of London, his journey has been as much about place as it has been about pathology. In the final season, the show returns to its original setting, New York City, and in doing so, reclaims the sharpness and thematic coherence that initially made it a breakout success.
3 May 2025
How K-dramas became our favourite form of emotional escapism

How K-dramas became our favourite form of emotional escapism

There are few things as consistent as our unstable Wi-Fi, existential dread, and a go-to playlist of Korean dramas to cushion reality’s blows—especially for Gen Z, myself included. To love K-dramas is to willingly suspend disbelief, bask in a world where minor inconveniences spiral into grand epiphanies, and where misunderstandings are solved with monologues. The question is not why we watch K-dramas, but why, in a country that has its fair share of daily drama, we still crave more — and from 5,000 kilometres away, no less.
1 May 2025
Shahen Shah

Bangladeshi researcher invents drone-based disaster communication system

A. F. M. Shahen Shah, a Bangladeshi researcher based in Turkey, has developed drone-based technology that could significantly improve emergency communication during natural disasters. His work, which has gained notable coverage in Turkish media, addresses the critical problem of the collapse of communication networks following disasters such as earthquakes and floods.
27 April 2025
Understanding Gen Z’s newfound obsession with Pakistani dramas

Understanding Gen Z’s newfound obsession with Pakistani dramas

Pakistani dramas, once a peripheral cultural product in this region, have seemingly surged in popularity among Gen Z viewers in Bangladesh. Not in a nostalgically indulgent way, but with the kind of fervent devotion that leads to 1-billion-view YouTube milestones, fan edits on Instagram, and TikTok videos that reimagine tearful climaxes as memes. The real question is no longer whether this trend is genuine, it is, but rather why now?
17 April 2025
fa1411869707928841760f6a92a7e848.jpeg

Bangladeshi founders raise $2.6M to launch world’s first self-driving AI CRM

Bangladeshi-led startup Octolane secures $2.6M to launch the world’s first self-driving AI CRM, transforming how sales teams engage with customers.
15 April 2025
‘When Life Gives You Tangerines’: A love letter to endurance, memory, and the women of Jeju

‘When Life Gives You Tangerines’: A love letter to endurance, memory, and the women of Jeju

"When Life Gives You Tangerines" has sparked a frenzy on social media, quickly becoming one of the most talked-about K-dramas of the year. It is not just the powerhouse performances of IU and Park Bo-gum or its beautifully shot cinematography that have captured the audience’s attention but the way the series lingers, offering a meditation on love, family, and time that feels both universal and deeply rooted in Korean culture. The show, which takes its time to unfold, has become a viral sensation, with fans and critics alike drawn to its emotional depth and understated storytelling. But beyond the buzz, this show’s quiet power lies in the way it draws you in, inviting you to reflect on the intricacies of life, love, and the enduring bonds that shape us.
8 April 2025
Business competitions

The ultimate guide to acing business competitions

Business competitions are among the most rewarding experiences a BBA student can have. Participating in these competitions provides exposure to real corporate problems often presented by leading companies.
8 April 2025
Digital Eid

How Eid nostalgia thrives in a tech-driven world

The world has changed, and with it, so has Eid. Yet, paradoxically, technology is bringing back the very elements we thought we had lost.
31 March 2025
Netflix UGC

How Netflix’s UGC is a masterclass in brand loyalty

Netflix has long been at the forefront of digital entertainment, leading the shift from DVD rentals to streaming dominance. But its latest move—integrating user-generated content (UGC) into its platform—is perhaps one of its most ingenious strategies so far.
30 March 2025

Pagination

  • Show more
Home
Journalism without fear or favour
Follow Us

Footer

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Comment policy
  • Apps
  • Archive
  • Advertisement
  • Conference Hall
© 2026 thedailystar.net | Powered by: RSI Lab

Copyright: Any unauthorized use or reproduction of The Daily Star content for commercial purposes
is strictly prohibited and constitutes copyright infringement liable to legal action.