The Marathi girl from Maharashtra on the west coast of India has captivated the world, not just South Asia, but the enchanting magic of Kinnar's voice. Lata and her sister Asha's song waves are also admired in the homes of Bengal far away from their birthplace. Music empress Lata Mungeshkar is an example of a musician who has become popular by singing in Bengali without being a Bengali. Being not Bengali music emperor Mohammad Rafi, Suman Kalyanpur, Kabita Krishnamurti, Alka Yagnik, Sadhna Sargam and many other artists became famous by singing Bengali songs. However, in the subcontinent, there were only two equivalents, the Lata of India and the Nurjahan of Pakistan.

No other non-Bengali artist like Lata Mangeshkar has come so close to Bengali. It started in 1948. Bengali director Shashadhar Mukherjee made his mark in Bombay at that time. He was directing movies and also taking the responsibility of production. He has set up a famous studio called 'Filmistan' in Gurgaon. Famous writers Sadat Hasan Manto, Ismat Chughtai, Ashok Kumar - who was not there!

At such a time, famous music director Golam Haider appeared before Shashadhar babu. He brought with him a young girl of 19 years, who was born in a Marathi family in Indore of Madhya Pradesh. The girl has already sung in several Marathi and Hindi movies. Fascinated, Golam Haider brought the girl with him to Shashadhar Mukherjee.

But their mood was not fulfilled that day. Shashadhar babu did not agree to take the girl at all. He said, 'The singer's throat is very thin. As a result, she will not be able to work. On hearing this, Golam Haider became very angry. He took it as a challenge that day. He knew this girl had come to win everyone's heart. One day, the directors will be standing outside her house. One day the world will be her. Golam Haider was a pure jeweler; he did not make a mistake in recognizing diamonds. The name of that nineteen year old girl of that day is Lata Mungeshkar.

Then in 1948 the movie 'Majboor' was made. Lata's 'thin throat' sang 'Dil mera tora, mujhe kahi ka na chora'. Then history witnessed the rise of a legend. Lata Mungeshkar herself became an ongoing history, who, not with a pen or a fight, but with her own throat, with a melody, became the creator of creation, immersing everyone in the nectar of melody.

Lata was a true devotee. She herself said that in order to understand her life, one has to understand and listen to her pursuit. Mete was with music all his life. She has spent a lifetime in the melody of music. Ninety years later, she was still a young analog of melody.

Although she was initially turned away by a Bengali director after stepping into the world of music, Lata sang Bangla songs openly. Lata had a lasting relationship with Bengal. She made a bridge of music between Bombay and Bengal.

There is a lot of controversy about when Lata first sang in a Bengali movie. However, it is believed that she entered the world of Bengali music in 1956 with the film 'Asampta', in which she sang two songs. Then Lata sang a timeless Bengali song one after another. Sometimes Salil Chowdhury, Sachin Dev Barman, Hemant Mukherjee, sometimes Rahul Dev Barman, Bappi Lahiri have mesmerized the music world of Bengal.

Lata was not a Bengali by birth and did not understand Bengali. But she fell in love with the language. If you want to sing in a language, even if you don't know that language, you have to be able to feel that language. Otherwise the song itself cannot be touched. Therefore, Lata Mungeshkar kept a teacher at home just to learn Bengali. Basu Bhattacharya became the teacher. She tried her best to read and write, not in a benevolent way. Lata was an aquatic proof of how bold an artist can be to take such a bold step.

Lata saw in the middle of her career the triumph of Bengali language, culture and Bengali director-composers in the art, literature, music and film of the subcontinent. In her personal life, Lata Mangeshkar also became involved with a Bengali family. That is how she got acquainted with the proverbial artist Hemant Mukherjee. Once upon a time there was a good relationship between the two families.

Exactly how close Hemantada was to Lata is known from several incidents. For example, in 1951, director Hemen Gupta summoned Hemanta to Bombay. He wants to be in charge of the melody of the next movie 'Anandamath'. After completing his work in Bengal, Hemanta left for Bombay. He appeared at Filmistan Studios. Shashadhar Mukherjee gave him the job of music director. He will sing the song 'Bande Mataram' with Lata Mangeshkar. As soon as he told Shashadhar babu, he said, Lata may not come. Did she remember the old words?

Meanwhile, Hemanta has decided not to sing this song to anyone except Lata. So once he tried, he wanted to. Shashadhar Mukherjee agreed somehow. After going to Lata Mungeshkar, he said only one thing. ‘I decided not to sing there, but only for you’. And money? Lata said, no, I don't want money. She just wants to work with Hemanta Mukherjee. She even went straight to Hemanta's house to rehearse, which was against Lata's nature. Such was the depth of respect and human touch towards the relationship.

Lata's relationship with Bengal and Bengalis did not stop there. Hemanta Mukherjee's wife was then pregnant. Lata Mungeshkar was her best friend. At this time Bengali Hindus have a tradition of feeding 'sadh'. Lata did that with responsibility. She took her to the hotel and fed her.

No one will forget that autumn evening at the Netaji Indoor Stadium in Kolkata. Fifty years of Hemanta Mukherjee's musical life. A special function was organized to mark the occasion. Hemanta called Lata hesitantly. If you can come. From the side of the phone, the queen of melody became excited by herself. Fifty years of his song 'Hemantada', and she will not come, what happens! Three days before the ceremony, Lata became very ill. Maybe not. But that is what Hemanta Mukherjee is talking about. Lata could not, but came.

The song has taken her to the ends of the earth. Even though she passed away in her eternal sleep, she has left the story resounding with thousands of songs, which reminds us of an extraordinary artist who loved Bengali, sang in Bengali, with her heart.

Ajmeri Haque Badhan is a known face in the entertainment world. After the movie 'Rehana Mariam Noor', she was seen in the movie 'Rabindranath Ekhane Kokhono Khete Aseni’ directed by Srijit Mukharjee of West Bengal. She entered Tollywood through this movie. But this time she is not limited only to Dhallywood and Tollywood movies.

Recently she worked in Bollywood director Vishal Bharadwaj's film 'Khupiya'. She will be seen as a Bangladeshi woman in the movie 'Khupiya'. It is also known that she will be seen in a very important role even if she does not have much screen time.

The movie 'Khufia' is releasing on October 5 this year. The trailer of the movie 'Khupiya' was released last Monday (September 18) at noon. The 2 minute 39 seconds long trailer had mystery, action and romance.

While acting in this movie, she developed a good relationship with everyone. Although not friends with Tabu, who acted in the movie, a close relationship has developed. The actress also said that Tabu used to cook food for them and everyone enjoyed eating it.

Badhan said, those who like me and my work in Bangladesh will be interested in it. So they are excited after seeing the trailer. After watching the film, this love will hopefully increase. I am happy with the response I got in Bangladesh after watching the trailer. My many Kolkata fans also wished. It is a lovely place.

It is to be noted that she went to Mumbai to do a look test on September 26, 2021. The shooting started in Delhi the following month. That was the first lot of shooting of the movie. The shooting of the film was completed in 2022.

Everyone remembers Michael Jackson's 'Moonwalk' dance. The black hat Jackson wore during that dance is going up for auction. News NDTV.

According to NDTV report, Michael Jackson's hat will be put up for auction at Hotel Drouot in Paris on September 26. It can be procured there for 60 thousand to 1 lakh Euro (about 7 million 86 thousand to 1 crore 18 lakh in Bangladeshi currency).

 The hat was worn by the pop superstar when he performed 'Billie Jean' at a 1983 Motown concert. The concert was televised. Jackson was at the height of his fame. Jackson started the 'moonwalk' dance during a performance of the song 'Billie Jean' in the concert. He wore the hat at that dance.

This auction is organized by ArtPages and Lemon Auctions. Apart from Michael Jackson's hat, US singer T Bone Walker's guitar, British singer Martin Gore's suit and a gold medal of American singer Madonna will also be up for auction. About 200 memorabilia from the world of music will be raised in this auction.

It should be noted that it has been 14 years since the death of Pop Emperor Michael Jackson. He was not just a singing star; He was a singer, dancer and actor.

In 2020, “Zindagi Tamasha,” a film by acclaimed Pakistani director Sarmad Khoosat, was the Pakistani Oscar nominee for the 93rd Academy Awards. Yet, Pakistanis cannot see it in theaters. Last month, after years of failed negotiations and court cases, the director gave up and decided to release the film online only. He said it would not be the same as seeing it on large screens in theaters, but at least Pakistani citizens (and anybody else) can finally access it.

Basically, this is yet another instance in which the authorities are scared enough by the extremist movement Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan, which had proved that it is capable of paralyzing the country with long riots, that they decide to humor it rather than risking a confrontation. The government surrendered to Tehreek-e-Labbaik on the admittedly more deadly matter of a stricter enforcement of anti-blasphemy laws. It is not surprising that it surrenders again when “only” a film is under attack.

Why the attack against “Zindagi Tamasha”? The beautiful film, whose title has been translated in English as “Circus of Life,” is about an elderly man, who is a pious Sunni Muslim and a respected real estate agent. One day, he attends a wedding and decides to engage in a humorous dance. A guest captures the dance on video and uploads it on social media.

Netizens start attacking the man as “effeminate,” claiming he is probably gay (he is not, as his bedridden wife can testify). The video goes viral and is even discussed on television. The old man’s life and career are ruined. He is attacked and threatened by local fundamentalists, and shunned even by relatives and friends.

Although no movement is named, fundamentalists such as the leaders of Tehreek-e-Labbaik can easily feel targeted. They do not understand that the film is not really about extremist Islam. It is about the obnoxious power of social media haters, who can destroy a life and a reputation, a problem that does not exist in Pakistan only.

What is peculiar to Pakistan, however, as a few independent voices have bravely noted, is that art and culture are not free, no matter how high is their quality and how respectful they are of the Islam (as the film is). Groups such as Tehreek-e-Labbaik are officially condemned, yet in fact they keep an entire country hostage, and the government is too weak to resist them.

Source: Bitter Winter

Pakistan as a state is almost spreading its apron to get funds from International Monetary Fund (IMF) and friendly states in the Gulf, but its military is minting money in ways unheard of in the annals of professional armies. Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), the communication wing of the military, is not merely limited to its job of briefing media and public of military’s various activities. It has established itself as the only arm of any military in the world that is producing, and controlling, the entertainment content in the country.

Be it Television series, movies, songs and advertisements and reality shows, the ISPR are producing all like a professional production house. Buried within its content, however, is hardcore propaganda that portrays military as saviour of Pakistan and the cause of Kashmir as a cherished humanitarian mission.

The entertainment industry has been collaborating with governments and the defence establishments world-over. The most glaring example is Hollywood enjoying long-standing relationship with the US Department of Defense. However, this association has largely been for the benefit of productions of movies dealing with wars and conflicts.

But, in case of the ISPR, it seems a matter of smoothening military’s image in the eyes of Pakistani public, selling patriotism and smartly peddling propaganda. As expected, the Kashmir cause is highlighted prominently in the ISPR productions.

Selling Patriotism, Spinning a Web of Propaganda
The ISPR has created or financed more than 60 patriotic anthems, 20 documentaries, and around ten television series and motion pictures apiece over the years. However, in the previous two years, there has been an increase in activity with an emphasis on establishing a favourable image of the nation and the military. When Major General Asif Ghafoor, then-Director General of the ISPR, spoke about the necessity for the media to raise public awareness and underlined its frontline position in fifth generation warfare a few years ago, he underscored this.

The involvement of the Army in Pakistan’s entertainment industry has evolved over the decades. During the dictatorship of General Zia-ul-Haq (1977-1988), severe censorship was imposed on the performing arts sector. Later, under President Pervez Musharraf (1999-2008), the sector was liberalised, resulting in the burgeoning of private television channels. Today, it is an active partner and co-creator of popular content.

One prominent recent production of the ISPR is a telefilm titled Aik Hai Nigaar, which is based on the life of Pakistan’s first female three-star general, Lieutenant General Nigar Johar, was released on August 14, 2021. It featured Mahira Khan, who is the country’s biggest star. She also wore the producer’s hat for the project (on behalf of the ISPR).

The film was released around the country’s Independence Day and the ISPR was tagged on various social media posts along with the teaser of the flick. The ISPR then made the teaser viral by sharing it widely in different linked networks, giving the project its stamp of approval though it was not credited as a producer or co-creator.

The telefilm was well-received by the audience and grossed considerable moolah for the producers. More importantly for the ISPR, it was successful to generate goodwill for the Army, especially among the women viewers.

Another ambitious recent project of the ISPR has been a women-oriented drama series named Sinf e Aahan (Women of Steel). Centred on young women from different Pakistani cities and ethnicities joining Pakistani military, it stars all leading ladies of the Pakistani cinema like Sajal Aly, Kubra Khan, Yumna Zaidi, Ramsha Khan and Syra Yousuf. The series broke records of popularity and became a huge hit – the purpose that the military had aspired to achieve with its production.

Besides attracting youth and women towards Army, the ISPR has used references to Kashmir and enmity with India in the contents of the productions it has been associated with. It was no surprise that Squadron Leader Abhinandan Varthaman, who was captured by the Pakistani Army during the 2019 Balakot air strike, found a place in the ISPR drama series Ehd-e-Wafa, which also went on to become hugely popular among the viewers.

The ISPR also conceived and hosted the first National Amateur Short Film Festival in June 2021 to promote young talent “to produce high quality short films projecting a positive image of Pakistan”, which was attended by then Prime Minister Imran Khan.

The ISPR also produced a 26-episode military reality series called 60 Hours to Glory, which was based on one of the most difficult military contests dubbed the “Pakistan Army Team Spirit” and included eight local and four international teams. According to the ISPR’s Instagram post, it will “demonstrate the rigours of the Pak Army’s training regime, portraying ‘Why We Are the Best’.”

The goal of the programme was to “stimulate the entertainment industry to produce an innovative stream of thrilling and adventurous content.”