2019 was unarguably a very good year for the television as well as the big screen. Annually, the best films and TV series are honoured and celebrated at the Golden Globe Awards.
This year, hosted by Ricky Gervais, the 77th Golden Globe Awards was held at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California.
Here is the complete winners’ list of Golden Globes 2020.
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Stellan Skarsgård (Chernobyl)
This year’s Golden Globes did not go as it was mostly predicted. The critics’ favourites surely were held on higher standards than the mass people’s hyped choices, except for in a couple of categories.
These results bring more hype for the Oscars. Let’s see what happens in the 92nd Academy Awards in February 2020.
For any book-lover Bengali, from this side of the border or the other, the name Satyajit Ray is one that’s very close to the heart. His short stories, novels, horrors, thrillers- they’ve all been a huge part of all our childhood. And the largest of them all is the hero we all looked up to growing up, Pradosh Chandra Mitra, or who we know him more as, Feluda.
Soumitra Chatterjee was the very first portrayal of Feluda on the silver screens
Sharp wit, an even sharper tongue, piercing eyes, tall, mysterious- this enigmatic character has been attempted to be portrayed by generations after generations. The list of visionaries who had their own vision for Feluda includes Satyajit Ray himself, his son Sandeep Ray and also many other writers and directors. The latest and most intriguing addition to this list is our very own Tauquir Ahmed, who’s shooting a web series on Feluda from 21st April, in various locations of Dhaka and Chittagong.
Sabyasachi has played the character for the longest period of time
Even after decades of Feluda’s arrival, there have never been any attempts at large to create and show his persona in our cultural sphere. All the dramas, plays that have been made, have been at a small scale, never adding much justice to this stellar character of Bengali literature.
The latest series about Feluda saw an Indian Feluda solving cases in Bangladesh’s context. It was still not our own Feluda.
The closest we came to presenting this iconic series was the Feluda series in bioscope- but even in that series, the titular characters of Feluda, Topshe and Laalmohan Babu were played by prominent actors from West Bengal, with Bangladesh providing with the background and Bangladeshi actors portraying only minor parts.
Hopefully, we’ll be able to rectify the situation a bit with a Bangladeshi actor playing the main part and the web series being produced solely in Bangladesh.
Stellar cast and crew
Considering the situation at hand, Tauquir Ahmed has enough awards and recognition under his belt to reassure the avid fans on the project’s success. His different outlook on Bangla cinema and TV has helped the industry gain a lot of the international acclamation it has today.
The entire cast has not been announced yet, only who’s going to portray Feluda and its Ahmed Rubel. We do see Abul Kalam Azad and Abul Hayat in some latest stills but details have not been divulged yet.
Ahmed Rubel, our own Feluda at last?
Given
the performer and the character, so far it seems to be the most understandable
match. For those of you who can’t place Ahmed Rubel, he is mainly a theatre and
television actor, who also has proved his acting chops in films like “Bachelor:
the circle”, “Guerilla”, “Chandrokoktha”, “The last Thakur” etc which are far
from mainstream. Now the production house claims to have some sort of surprise
in store for the two sidekicks- Topshe and Laalmohon Babu, and we hope its more
Bangladeshi actor, with the originality of the character preserved.
In a country full of intense Bengali readers, it’s been a shame to not have our own version of Feluda, Topshe, Laalmohon and Maganlal Meghraj. About time we walk in the right direction.
You know the
weekend is just around the corner when you’re mindlessly staring at that
desktop calendar and daydreaming about what to binge-watch on Netflix or getting
that much-needed good night’s sleep when Friday strikes.
Speaking of
Netflix, when was the last time you saw a good horror film with your friends?
It’s not
surprising that some of us are afraid to watch horror movies, especially at
night when we get this sudden burst of paranoia and last minute jitters as soon
as the lights darken in the hall and our anxiety levels peak right before that
first jump scare.
That being said,
this particular genre is not for the faint-hearted. If you’re new to the world
of horror I suggest we balance out the “fear metre” by starting out with the
nail-biting popcorn flicks and then gradually moving on to the grittier stuff
that causes trauma-inducing nightmares.
1.The Shining
If you’re
fascinated with the occult and supernatural themes then this timeless classic
should be #1 on your watchlist!
Adapted from the
best-selling novel by Stephen King, The Shining tells the story of Jack
Torrance (Jack Nicholson), an aspiring writer and recovering alcoholic who
becomes mentally unstable after moving in with his family to an isolated hotel
that is seemingly haunted.
As Jack grows more
psychotic, his wife and son desperately try to escape the hotel while fleeing
from a murderous Jack who relentlessly chases after them.
Watch this
cinematic masterpiece at your own risk! Or better yet be smart and don’t watch
it at all.
2. The Sixth Sense
If you felt The Shining wasn’t supernatural enough for
you then this pick will definitely make your skin crawl!
The Sixth Sense is a nerve-racking movie that’ll
leave you feeling more disturbed than scared.
This nostalgic classic from the 90’s tells the story
of a gifted, but troubled boy named Cole Sears (Haley Joel Osment) who has the
ability to see and converse with the dead and an equally troubled child
psychologist Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis) who tries his best to help him.
If ghosts give you the creeps then I recommend you
stick with this movie till the very end and spoiler alert! There’s more than
one twist to this story.
3. The Ring (2002)
Since we’re moving along with the supernatural horror
category, I’d say it’s only fair we add The
Ring to the list.
When I mentioned earlier that horror is not for the
faint-hearted I really meant it! If this film doesn’t send chills down your
spine then the scream of the person sitting next to you will.
A remake of the 1998 Japanese movie of the same name, the story of The Ring is about a mysterious videotape that leaves a deadly curse hanging onto whoever watches it, eventually causing that person to brutally die within 7 days.
Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts) is a journalist who
attempts to uncover the truth behind the video and in the process ends up
fighting for her own life and her son’s.
If you’re bored on a Friday night and got nothing else
planned then you can trust this film to liven the atmosphere. But be warned
though! You might get more than what you asked for.
4. Get Out
Coming back to the more grounded and realistic movies, here’s an off-beat story that’ll certainly give newcomers a few goosebumps.
While ghosts and haunted houses are recurring themes
in the horror universe they aren’t necessarily the most frightening.
Sometimes the best dread comes from psychological
horror and that’s exactly what Get Out is
all about.
The film centers around a young African-American named
Chris Washington (Daniel Kaluuya) as he accompanies his Caucasian girlfriend to
meet her parents at a secluded estate in a remote countryside. But Chris soon
encounters unusual occurrences within the isolated community; particularly the
strange behavior he receives from her parents.
This movie isn’t your typical screamer; it’s a weird
mix between satire and psychological thriller infused with some old school
horror clichés but with a storyline that’ll keep you invested at all times.
5. Hush
Now let’s take a look at a film that takes horror back
to its basics: “blood and gore”
If there’s one film that today’s generation can relate
to on a personal level it might as well be Hush.
This heart-pounding slasher pick will raise your
anxiety levels to unexpected heights as you struggle to keep your eyes open
without gasping every few minutes.
The plot follows a young female author named Maddie
Young (Kate Siegel) who retreats to an isolated cabin in the woods after a
failed corrective surgery resulted in the loss of her ability to both hear and
speak.
As night falls, a masked figure quietly stalks Maddie
from outside the cabin, stealing her phone and threatening her by sending
photos of her typing on the computer using her own social media account.
Once Maddie realizes she’s in danger it quickly
becomes a cat-and-mouse game, as she attempts to survive the night by searching
ways to outwit and ultimately escape her potential killer.
If you want the full jump scare experience then this
is it! But that’s only half the horror the other half is realizing the fact
that sometimes the best person to protect you is yourself.
6. The Conjuring
Warning! Don’t watch this movie alone unless you’re
planning on getting a series of panic attacks.
Circling back one last time to the supernatural theme
leads us to The Conjuring.
Loosely based on historical events, this sinister tale
follows paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren as they attempt to help
the Perron family understand the increasingly disturbing incidents which plague
their rural farmhouse in Rhode Island.
As the story unfolds, more light is shed on the
history of the house and the gruesome details concerning the previous family
who resided there.
RECAP
All
things considered, the horror genre is pretty unique in the sense that you
never know what to expect.
Follow
this guide and take the baby steps or puff your chest and go straight for all
the A-list titles if you think you’re strong enough to survive one heart attack
after another.
‘Yesterday’,
the Danny Boyle movie due this June, is about a world where ‘The Beatles’
doesn’t exist. By the looks of its first trailer, the musical-comedy promises
to rock.
Directed by Danny Boyle, from a screenplay by Richard Curtis and a story by Jack Barth, ‘Yesterday’ centres around a guy named Jack Malik. Jack is a run of the mill musician. He fails as a performer, but his girlfriend comforts him assuring ‘miracles’ do happen. One fateful night, a global power outage occurs. Following the worldwide load-shedding, Jack succumbs to a road accident. He survives but loses a pair of front teeth. As soon as he recovers and returns to normal life, he realizes nobody in this world recognizes ‘The Beatles’ anymore, except him. The Fab Four is completely erased from history, even from the internet. But Jack remembers all of their songs and can play them as well!
Jack is bewitched to see
that John, Paul, Ringo and George are completely forgotten, but he also
unleashes opportunity to reintroduce Beatlemania
to the new generation. Willingly or not, Jack becomes a superstar by singing
songs of ‘The Beatles’. His fans and critics commend his godsend songwriting
ability (!) which Jack denies to be credited for. Meanwhile, he soars to
stardom and eventually gets alienated from Ellie, his love interest.
What happens next can only
be known when ‘Yesterday’ releases in June 28th. Jack Malik is played by Himesh
Patel. Ed Sheeran makes a guest appearance as well.
Chris Hemsworth released photos and videos straight from the set of “Dhaka” on his Instagram account recently. The Australia-born star has apparently wrapped up filming his parts in the movie.
No, you probably will not run into Chris this week
To clarify, he was never in Dhaka, the city itself. The movie was filmed in Thailand and India. Those who ventured into Chris and the rest of the crew’s Instagram saw rickshaws and trucks with Bangla written on them. That was just part of a great set building.
An action thriller
In “Dhaka”, Hemsworth plays a mercenary called Tyler Rake. His character is hired by an Indian businessman to retrieve said businessman’s kidnapped son, who is held in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh in the action thriller. Hemsworth’s character is described as a physically competent man of vulnerable emotional state. And Hemsworth isn’t the only familiar face from the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise in the movie. Sam Hargrave makes his feature directorial debut with this film. For those unaware, Hargrave is MCU character Captain America’s stunt double. Stranger things star David Harbour is also one of the supporting casts in the movie.
The “Marvel” factor?
The Russo brothers, directors of several MCU movies including Captain America: Winter Soldier and Avengers: Infinity war, are producing “Dhaka” through their independent production house. Although Hemsworth’s parts in the movie have been wrapped up, the production is expected to continue at least until March. We don’t have a concrete release date as of right now. So we’ll just have to wait and see how a depiction of our capital city pans out in a Hollywood film.
If you think about it, Dhaka is a character in the film too, since it’s being portrayed by some other, flashier, perhaps better looking city.