Main Page «
Front Page «
Metro «
Business «
International «
Sports «
National «
Editorial «
Op-Ed «
Home «
Letters «

Archive «
Launch Supplement «
Special Supplements «

Some film artistes, directors and producers are concerned about the crude use of female figures, which they think degrade women to be mere commodity for profit maximisation.
   They believe it is high time the industry people made concerted efforts to rid the film industry of such money-makers and upheld the dignity of women.
   There are some directors and producers who use women as raw materials for commercial venture, said Kabari Sarwar, one of the senior actresses.
   ‘The directors who shoot vulgar scenes are not directors at all. They are just members of a mafia clique,’ said Kabari.
   Many producers are only concerned about the return on their investments in films, she said. ‘They want directors to shoot scenes with some sexual bearings to pull cinema-goers,’ she said.
   Kabari believed healthy development of the film industry is impossible if the present trend of exposing women as bait continues, ‘All who are involved, directly or indirectly, in the industry should work to change the situation.’
   She said it is ‘the government’s responsibility to stop vulgarity in films.’ The people involved in the industry should also come forward.
   The Bangladesh Film Directors’ Association president, Chashi Nazrul Islam, echoed Kabari.
   ‘The female artistes should be considered artistes, and not lumps of flesh. There are some directors who use female figures as ingredients for commercial success,’ he said. ‘Some such films have been banned by the censor board. But the measures are still inadequate.’
   In the 1980s, he said, if any film was banned, the director and the produced had 90 days to appeal with a revised version. The board used to make a decision in 120 days. The appeal period has now been reduced to 60 days, he said.
   The directors’ association submitted a proposal to the censor board to stop vulgarity in films, The proposal suggested that a film, once banned, should not have a second chance of revision, said Chashi Nazrul.
   Nargis Aktar, a producer and director, said for her, use of female figures should be reasonably consistent with the demand of the script. ‘But that too has to be used artistically.’
   ‘There are many directors who present female figures in various ways and are acclaimed by viewers. They portray the figures according to the plot,’ Nargis said. ‘In Bangladesh, some directors, basically paid directors, shoot female figures as mere objects. It is time that things were changed.’

Nazia Andaleeb Preema is guided by her impulses and on canvas she just allows her inner mind to motivate her works of art. The result is a startling mixture of digital works with oil and water and the message the artist sends is unambiguous: ‘this is the digital age. We cannot move without relying on technology, so I have deliberately taken in elements of modernism and blended them with my paintings,’ says Preema and adds, ‘you see I have reservations about pure art that does not want to vary and as I believe that every piece of art is influenced by the age which it represents, I felt that it was necessary to combine conventional form of art with the obsession of this age.’
   Well, looking at the explosion of colours and their rejuvenating effect on the viewer one cannot but acknowledge Preema’s works.
   But though she has always been a lover of abstract works, this time Preema has gone for a few subjective works that look at women of the new era in a new light. ‘I have decided to paint women not in the traditional way that emphasises on seduction, but through a certain degree of intelligence. See, I want to break this Barbie doll image of women and include a look of capability that asserts a position, not through sympathy but through ability.’
   Most of the artist’s pieces are abstract but once one senses the touch of contemporary culture the compositions open up without perplexing the mind. ‘The rat-race, our dependence on technology, position of children, transforming faces of society – the subjects covered are varied and each one of them finds a link to the present state of things,’ observes Nazia Andaleeb.
   ‘The main attraction of her works is that they appear so animated. Usually, abstract works tend to be subdues but here with the symbiosis between digital effects and colour Preema has presented a zest for life,’ commented Insaan, a photographer. ‘However, personally I think the mixture between digital and painting dilutes a work’s authenticity,’ he added.
   Be that as it may, the exhibition titled, ‘Paint and Pixel’ offers to bring aestheticism draped in modern visions and perhaps in this age of fast thinking, it will stir the audience, at least with the theme of the staring eyes with kohl. The show will run at the Alliance Francaise till 15th of March.

Spectra Convention Centre arranged the premiere of its twenty two minute long programme, Spectra TV Show at the centre in the evening on March 6.
   The programme, jointly made by Channel-i, is designed to uphold the cultural heritage, political history, economical condition, scientific inventions as well as military prowess of the past.
   The organisers will telecast two episodes of the show at 9:30pm on March 27 and on April 15 on Channel-i.
   The first episode, is made to portray the Independence Day of Bangladesh; it also presents Latin America.
   The role of MN Roy, a Bengali politician, who liberated the countries in that region, has also been presented.
   The invasion by Prince Bijoy Singha of Sri Lanka, and
   his bravery is depicted in the show.
   The great Bangla epic, based on the patriotic war of Ravana Meghnad Bad by Michael Madhusudan Dutt is presented with a stage performance.
    The presentation of a stage performance in the second episode of the programme, is on the scientific inventions and the contribution of Satyen Bose in the development of Einstein’s theories, is narrated by the presenter of the programme Major MH Khan (Rtd.).
   In the episode the richness of Bangla folksongs, particularly, the baul is also presented.
   Some shots of Tagore’s ‘Chitrangada’ and Alamgir Kabir’s ‘Simana Periye’ are also included to show the cultural activities in the country.
   The organisers hope that the expatriate Bengali children as well as foreigners will enjoy the programme narrated in English.
   The next episodes of the show will also include other information and rare footages on the cultural activities and historical documents of the country.
   The natural beauty of Bangladesh will also be highlighted through this programme.

10:00pm — 10:30pm, Animal Planet
   Wild and dangerous takes viewers up close and personal with the wild, the dangerous and the utterly captivating creatures of the animal kingdom.
   Rhino Patrol showcases India’s premiere wildlife sanctuary, the Kaziranga National Park, situated in the heart of Assam, and the home to the Great One Horned Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis). Name any Indian species that is large in size and you are likely to find it here.
   Elephants, rhinos, tigers, wild buffaloes, tigers, swamp deer, sambar deer, hoolock gibbons, golden langurs, adjutants, floricans, fish eagles, pelicans, hornbills & storks, Kaziranga National Park is the abode to all.
   This episode follows Partha Das and his team of forest guards in India’s Kaziranga National Park as they risk their lives to protect the endangered wildlife.
   Today, Kaziranga is one of the biggest success stories of wildlife protection in the country. From twelve rhinos in 1908, Kaziranga had a whopping rhino population of 1200 plus by the turn of the century.

11:00pm - 12:00am
   Discovery
   Why were all the truly great Gothic horror stories - Frankenstein, Dracula, Jekyll & Hyde and The Hound of the Baskervilles -written in the Victorian Age, and how do they maintain this popularity till date?
   With blood-curdling archival, atmospheric recreations, location filming, original written extracts, a mass of fascinating detail, and a large chunk of which has been revealed for the first time on television, Nightmare explores the world of the macabre.
   The birth of Horror (Dracula) introduces viewers to the renowned blood sucking vampire and the legend behind this extraordinary tale of terror and fear.
   How did bats become so associated with Count Dracula that the poor maligned creatures are forced to lurk in the recesses of twentieth-century popular culture?

This remake of the celebrated cult British TV series retains all the elements that made the original so popular —- the beautiful, high-kicking scientist, Emma Peel (Golden Globe® winner Thurman): the urbane and immaculately tailored British agent, John Steed (Fiennes); and a villain who set his sights no lower than world domination! Thrown together to investigate unusual worldwide climatic change, Steed and Mrs Peel are led to the door of the diabolical Sir August de Wynter (Academy Award® and Golden Globe® winner Connery). In a race against time and the weather, the duo fight to stop the meteorological havoc that Sir August is about to wreak.
   The Avengers
   HBO
   9:30pm
   Starring
   Uma Thurman, Ralph Fiennes, Sean Connery
   Genre: Action/Adventure