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River and rural people, women and moonlit night, festival and freedom fighters are among the subjects of the senior artist Nurul Islam’s fourth solo painting exhibition titled ‘Pathajatra’.
   Through the paintings the artist is presenting mostly the natural bounty of Bangladesh and the rural women in different moods in the semi-abstract way. But his drawings are rather different in expressing his views.
   The artist has cut the human figures into pieces and rearranged the parts of the body in his own style.
   Using the medium of tempera, Islam presents women in moonlit night in the piece titled ‘Moon Light’.
   His women may look similar to the women of Jamini Roy, Nandalal, Quamrul and others but Islam’s individuality lies in his using of forms, lines and colours.
   Islam’s ‘Dressing’ in tempera also creates the same impression. The dressing of a rural woman by another woman presents a usual depiction of the lifestyle of the people of our ‘shashwata Bangla’.
   Another painting titled ‘The Tour’ (tempera) presents the journey by a bullock cart. The ‘Cock Fight’ (colour and outline), ‘Riverside’ (acrylic), ‘Landscape’ (acrylic) and others are among the paintings on this line.
   Particularly, the ‘Landscape’ presents the natural view of rural Bengal, featuring a river, boat, kingfisher, hut, trees and other objects.
   The artist has used blue, green and orange; and the vast horizon of the painting brings the viewers far away from their urban setting and creates a nostalgic feeling as this kind of spectacle is gradually disappearing due to the aggression of urbanisation.
   The series of ‘Light in Darkness’ (oil on canvas) presenting women, owl, the traditional musical instrument called ‘dotara’ and others, creates thoughts in the mind of the visitors. The artist has used the objects as symbols of light.
   The shades of blue in the painting titled ‘The Night’ also ushers the visitors into a dreamy world.
   Islam has also brought the festive mood of the freedom fighters and the villagers in the painting titled ‘Joy of Freedom’ in tempera.
   Talking about his painting life, Islam said that he had taken to the life of an artist being self-inspired. ‘My parents did not allow me to be a painter, and for some time I was a student of medical science’ he said.
   Using the title of the exhibition, ‘Pathajatra’ or ‘way faring’ the artist has given an answer about his painting life. He said, ‘This is a journey that I think, have just started.’
   All the art pieces of the exhibition are put on sale priced from Taka 5,000 to Taka 25,000.
   The exhibition, which was inaugurated on August 4 at the gallery of Shilpangan, will remain open from 10:00am to 1:00pm and from 5:00pm to 8:00pm till August 14.

Bollywood is set to take a big leap this week with the opening of a blockbuster set around marital tensions, a brave departure by an industry known more for showcasing marriage as the heart of Indian family values.
   ‘Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna’ (Never Say Goodbye), an extra-marital pot-boiler which opens on Friday, is one of the most eagerly awaited releases of the year.
   The story begins where most traditional Bollywood plots end–––after a couple hold hands and walk happily into the sunset––and explores what happens to relationships after marriage.
   ‘The alarming statistics of failing marriages in recent times often made me wonder about the relevance of the institution to our society today,’ said director Karan Johar.
   ‘Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna’ is not bereft of Bollywood’s song and dance staple, but critics say it has handled the theme in a refreshingly new manner.
   The film is about two seemingly happy couples who meet their soul-mates outside marriage, forcing them to look at their relationships from a new perspective.
   ‘There are many dimensions to a relationship. We don't say this or that dimension is right,’ Shah Rukh Khan, Bollywood's hottest star and the film's lead actor, told Reuters.
   ‘Kabhi Alvida’ has several reputations riding on it -- Khan, the iconic Amitabh Bachchan, his son Abhishek, and 34-year-old Johar -- considered a Bollywood whizkid who has so far made syrupy romances that became super hits.
   ‘Kabhi Alvida’ is set in New York and revolves around the lives of a set of rich Indian immigrants, something that some critics say Indian audiences may not be able relate to.
   ‘Seemingly simple bonds between people can amount to so much and cause such upheaval that lives change drastically with a minute change in these equations,’ he said.
   ‘Especially in the fast-changing world of today, such changes seem magnified hundred fold forcing us to question our age old definitions of relationships and commitment.’

Spectacled boy wizard Harry Potter will return to US theatres in July 2007 and again in November 2008 with the newest installments of the hit movies which have earned more than 3.5 billion dollars worldwide, the Hollywood press reported.
   Warner Bros. Studios will release the fifth Potter film in mid-summer next year, with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
   The studio will time the following movie, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, for the lucrative Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday seasons at the end of 2008, the daily said.
   Warner Bros. officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

Music band called Poizon Green’s maiden album ‘PG’ released recently at the showroom of G-Series at Basundhara in the city.
   The proprietor of G-Series, Nazmul Haque Bhuiyan unveiled the cover of the album. The members of the band and Sumon from Arthahin, another band group were also present at the function.
   Earlier, the members of the band, established in 2002, sang songs in two mixed albums titled ‘Agantuk’ and ‘Din Badal’.
   The Poizon Green members hope that the music lovers will enjoy the songs of the album.

The premier of Swapna Samadhi, a short film will be held at the Alliance Francaise at 10:00am on Friday. The film based on the War of Independence of Bangladesh is scripted and directed by Syed Rezaur Rahman.
   Commissioner of anti-corruption commission Professor M Maniruzzaman Mia will be present as chief guest while Chashi Nazrul Islam and M Laurent Jalicous will be present as special guests, said a press release.

The Bangladesh Film Censor Board has suspended the censor certificate of Dam Care. The film was seized with objectionable scenes from Jhalmal cinema hall at Shibaloy, Manikganj. Directives have been issued for not screening the film at any cinema hall, said a release.