Why we keep falling for the same rom-com tropes
Rom-coms tell us that even in the chaos of real life, some things are beautifully predictable. The same misunderstandings, the same meet-cutes, the same last-minute airport chases somehow never get old.
22 October 2025, 04:00 AM
Gods, graves, and gallery lighting: A love letter to looted civilizations
They say you cannot see the world in a day, but they clearly have not been to the British Museum. After five hours of exploration, I came out questioning three things: time, empire, and how exactly one steals a whole moment without anyone noticing.
19 October 2025, 13:17 PM
Next Step / The Gen Z guide to smarter learning
For Gen Z students who have grown up navigating both online classes and algorithmic chaos, learning smarter isn’t about working harder or longer. It is about using the right tools with the right mindset.
14 October 2025, 05:44 AM
The quiet rage beating beneath ‘Dhadak 2’
Despite flaws, this is a milestone in the reluctant evolution of Bollywood's conscience
10 October 2025, 09:02 AM
Review / ‘Alice in Borderland’ struggles to escape its own maze
The new season begins back in the mortal world, where Arisu and Usagi are living as a married couple, supposedly free of the horrors that nearly consumed them. Their peace, however, does not last. Usagi, still haunted by her father’s absence, becomes vulnerable to the manipulations of Ryuji Matsuyama, a researcher obsessed with proving Borderland’s existence.
5 October 2025, 04:00 AM
Finished ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’? Let’s find your next binge
Plenty of shows and movies capture the exact same feelings that hooked us on TSITP—so consider this a fan-to-fan guide to what to watch next. Each of these picks delivers a flavor of TSITP, whether it’s the romance, the setting, or the emotional gut punches we secretly live for.
3 October 2025, 05:54 AM
Festivities on-screen / The many faces of Durga Puja in cinema
What remains fascinating is how the aesthetics of Durga Puja on screen often mirror the aesthetics of cinema itself. Both are public spectacles designed to overwhelm the senses, to invite immersion and disbelief. A pandal is not unlike a film set, meticulously crafted, temporary, and destined to dissolve after a few days.
30 September 2025, 04:00 AM
Movie Review / "The Ba***ds of Bollywood": All shine, no spine
"The Ba***ds of Bollywood" arrives like a party that knows it is both entertaining and dangerous to attend. It is gleefully loud, crammed with cameos and inside jokes, and built out of the familiar ingredients of commercial Hindi cinema. At the same time, it repeatedly lets loose sharp, uncomfortable flashes that refuse to be smoothed over. Watch it as a satire and you will laugh often. Watch it as an indictment and you will feel the edges. The series wants to do both things at once, and that ambition is its central thrill and also its chief flaw.
28 September 2025, 04:00 AM
Government of UK recognises Dr Tasnim Jara as Vaccine Luminary
The UK government recognised Dr Tasnim Jara, a Bangladeshi, as a "Vaccine Luminary" during the G7 Global Vaccine Confidence Summit. Tasnim is an emergency medicine doctor at National Health Service, England, and a master's student of Evidence-based Healthcare at the University of Oxford. She is the only Bangladeshi to have earned this recognition.
3 June 2021, 14:21 PM
Reminiscing Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin’s legacy
Today marks the 45th death anniversary of renowned painter Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin. As the founding father of art education and culture in the country, he strived to create opportunities for local artists. He also played a key role in establishing the Government Institute of Arts and Crafts (now Faculty of Fine Arts) in 1948 at Dhaka University (DU), and was the founding principal of the institute.
27 May 2021, 18:09 PM
BUET’s Mars Rover Team wins Innovation Award at IPAS 2021
Team Interplanetar, BUET’s Mars Rover Team, has bagged the Innovation Award for devising the most innovative gas compression system at the International Planetary Aerial System Challenge (IPAS) 2021. The IPAS Challenge, organised by Mars Society South Asia, is a competition for university students, which asks them to design a fully equipped Mars Aerial System (Vehicle).
27 May 2021, 08:29 AM
Shat Takar Khabar: Ensuring a happy Ramadan
Jhilimili, a social organisation formed by students from Institute of Business Administration (IBA), University of Dhaka (DU), aims to support underprivileged children. This Ramadan, they have collaborated with Madchef, a fast food restaurant, and Give Bangladesh, an initiative under Social Work Platform Trust, to arrange iftar packets for those in need.
11 May 2021, 09:56 AM
DhakaYeah wins Alliance Française Pakistan - People’s Choice Award at Lahore Digital Arts Festival
Lahore Digital Arts Festival (LDF) celebrates Pakistan’s digital culture by gathering a community of artists and audiences to explore the convergence of art and technology. LDF intends to initiate conversations revolving around the accessibility of art and other mediums of creative exchange. The festival, organised last month, brought together people from different backgrounds with a hope to enhance digital creativity and diversify art in Pakistan and South-Asia.
10 May 2021, 08:02 AM
Rabindranath Tagore’s earnest letter to young fan Amina Mozahar
Rabindra Bhavan, part of the Visva-Bharati university campus in Shantiniketan, has thousands of manuscripts and letters, as the secretary kept copies of the letters Tagore wrote to his fans and admirers. “Tagore also preserved the letters he received, and I came across one such letter two decades ago,” shared Bhuiya Iqbal, a retired Bangla professor of Chittagong University.
8 May 2021, 10:49 AM
Portrayal of women through the eyes of Rabindranath Tagore
In many of his stories, Rabindranath Tagore brought strong and progressive women to the forefront, who defied conventional expectations, and questioned perceptions that challenged their freedom. On Tagore’s 160th birth anniversary, we look back at some of the most memorable female characters from his stories.
8 May 2021, 05:24 AM
Behind the wheel with young delivery agents
Delivery agents stand among the frontline workers keeping the country safe and running amidst the coronavirus pandemic. Beating the heat and other tough conditions every day, they do their work diligently, posing risks to their safety.
6 May 2021, 18:00 PM
Ramadan reading: Authors who write about Muslim lives
Away from the festivities and communal interactions that make Ramadan special, this year, books seem like a fitting avenue through which we can explore the lives of Muslims across the world. From biographies to novels, for children and for adults, these authors have penned stories that are both wholesome and enlightening.
6 May 2021, 07:24 AM
Celebrating Satyajit Ray’s birth centenary with my favourite Feluda stories
Today marks the birth centenary of renowned filmmaker and author Satyajit Ray. Among all his popular characters, Feluda holds a special place in the hearts of many young readers.
2 May 2021, 04:31 AM
Observing May Day with Movies
Starring Adarsh Gourav, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, and Rajkumar Rao, this Netflix movie traces the life of a driver who starts his own taxi service by outwitting his employers.
30 April 2021, 18:00 PM
Striving for an inclusive world: Empowering communities
To further uphold the legacy of Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, Brac joined social entrepreneurs’ global platform Ashoka, and launched this initiative named after the Brac founder to promote young changemakers.
29 April 2021, 18:00 PM
Making the nation proud, one record at a time
Konok Karmakar holds the highest Guinness World Records from Bangladesh. A freestyle footballer, Karmakar graduated from Feni Polytechnic Institute.
29 April 2021, 18:00 PM
Five new books I enjoyed reading this month
During the recent weeks of lockdown, these five books—ranging from historical fiction to memoirs to fantasy to romance—allowed me to disappear into stories, to live many lives, and they reminded me how vast the world was and will soon again be.
24 April 2021, 14:28 PM
Five ways to beat a reading slump
During these months of isolation, many of us have adapted to an indoor routine and found quality reading time where we can get it. However, sometimes, we just cannot get ourselves to start a new book. On World Book and Copyright Day, we take a look at five ways to beat a reading slump.
23 April 2021, 06:43 AM
Ahmed Imtiaz Jami on making it to Forbes 30 under 30 Asia list
Ahmed Imtiaz Jami has been named in the Forbes 30 under 30 Asia list 2021, under the category of Social Impact. Jami, a graduate of Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology, established OBHIZATRIK Foundation in 2010, to work with underprivileged children. So far, his foundation, with the help of 3,500 volunteers, has supported 1 million people on poverty elimination, education, health and nutrition, and human rights issues. Star Youth, The Daily Star, caught up with him to learn about his aspirations, and more.
22 April 2021, 18:00 PM
The auto rickshaw of hope
The movement restrictions induced by the surge in Covid-19 cases have rendered several families helpless. People living below the poverty line have been hit the hardest. In such tough times, Nafisa Anjum Khan, a graduate of University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh, announced that she would go around different streets in her father’s CNG-run auto rickshaw, providing free food packets to impoverished individuals and families.
19 April 2021, 08:36 AM
The father of tubular designs for skyscrapers
Dr Fazlur Rahman Khan was a Bangladeshi-American structural engineer and architect, who initiated important structural systems for skyscrapers.
15 April 2021, 18:00 PM
Making the most out of this Ramadan
Due to the ongoing second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, we are expecting to spend Ramadan indoors, away from the usual festivities and gatherings. Here are five things you can do at home, to make the most out of this holy month.
15 April 2021, 05:41 AM
Combating breast cancer with art
Project Maa is a social initiative to help breast cancer patients through fundraising. It was started by Mir Hosnay Tasnim, a student of Viqarunnisa Noon School and College, on International Women’s Day this year. It features five paintings, dedicated to breast cancer patients. Tasnim plans to sell 50 copies of the five paintings, and donate 20 percent of the proceeds to Shanti Foundation for the treatment of breast cancer patients. The idea behind Project Maa came from her personal experiences.
15 April 2021, 04:55 AM