Bangladesh
A New Wave of Cinema in Bangladesh
A seismic shift has been taking place in Bangladeshi cinema thanks to local streaming platforms that have been producing a range of stories from social dramas and spy thrillers to historical fiction and adaptations of Shakespeare plays. At the same time, a host of Bangladeshi films are making waves on the international film festival circuit.
Celebrating Bangladeshi Music
Coke Studio Bangla mines the contributions of the culture shapers of Bangladesh, prioritizing the need to showcase the language that was the raison d’etre of the country's freedom movement. Fusing folk ballads, protest songs and patriotic anthems with contemporary music, it has created a mixtape for the youth and celebrated the nation’s rich culture.
Between Muhammad Ali and Me
Bangladesh’s independence was, and remains, a taboo topic in Pakistan, and much of it is blamed on the Cold War, Bhutto, and Indian political machinations. I had to reassess that post-independence propaganda I had been fed in later years. And, of course, the biggest shock was my discovery at 11 that Muhammad Ali was not Bengali!