ওয়াশিংটন বাংলা রেডিও Washington Bangla Radio USA

Calcutta, July 1, 2012 (Washington Bangla Radio) Celebrated Bengali singer, song-writer and composer Rupam Islam wrote the lyrics and composed music for the song Dhulo Dhulo Hoye Jachhe Amar for Shatabdi Roy directed 2012 new Kolkata Bangla movie "Om Shanti".

Sovan Chatterjee (left), Sougata Roy, Samiksha, Bappi Lahiri, Rupan Islam, Satabdi Roy, Samidh Mukherjee, Tapas Pal

Washington, DC, June 1, 2012 (Washington Bangla Radio) The beautiful young actress Megha Burman who played the role of Razia in Hollywood 3D film DAM 999 directed by Sohan Roy returns to WBRi to chat with Minakshi Bajpai about her first Bangla movie LATTU (2012) where she plays a female lead opposite acting powerhouse Subrata Dutta. She tells us about her happy journey while shooting for Lattoo which is releasing soon, and hints at her upcoming projects.

Lattoo is a commercial Tollywood movie with all necessary elements for box office success. Being brought up in Kolkata - her "matri bhumi" - Megha is quite comfortable with her Bengali lines. Lattoo was mainly shot in Shantiniketan and Kolkata, once again in Megha's comfort zones being a Kolkatan - and Megha had a lot of fun while shooting for the film. Also she is quite excited to work with some of the leading actors and actress from the Tollywood industry.

Listen to actress Megha Burman on WBRi.

Washington, DC, June 30, 2012 (Washington Bangla Radio) Life! Camera Action..., the internationally acclaimed feature film written, directed and produced by Rohit Gupta which continues to receive numerous awards, has unearthed considerable acting talents of many fresh young actors and serves as an inspiration for newcomers to cinema. ‘Best Supporting Actress’ Award Nominee Swati Kapila is one such personality who has proven herself to be one of the brightest new stars on the block. WBRi’s Gurjeet Singh caught up with this lovely young actress where the latter reveals a lot about her early career, her stint at working with the Life! Camera Action... team, her views on acting and plenty more.

Listen to the exclusive interview via WBRi on-demand audio broadcast service.

Washington, DC, June 30, 2012 (Washington Bangla Radio) American actress Suneet Kochar chat's with Minakshi Bajpai on WBRi about her background, her role and experience in the internationally acclaimed, muti-award winning feature film "Life! Camera Action…" and much more. Chicago born Suneet grew up in Philadelphia. Suneet was born into south Asian heritage to parents who migrated to the USA from India.

Suneet plays ‘Lisa’ in the film - an ambitious and talented actress in pursuit of her big break. ‘Lisa’ represents many aspiring actors looking for the opportunity to prove and establish themselves in the industry. “It shows how actors may sometimes lose sight of their path of pursuing their passion”, says Suneet. The authenticity of her performance has been applauded in every screening of Life! Camera Action ... around the world.

Listen to the interview via WBRi on-demand audio broadcast service.

By Meenakshi Sharma

Mumbai, June 30, 2012 (Washington Bangla Radio) “Our aim is not only entertainment but also educating public”, says director Alok Nath Dixit about his new venture “Kul Ki Jyoti Kanya”. The man of versatility has been in the television industry for more than 20 years now and has directed many TV serials, tele-films, short films and feature films. We spoke to Alok Nath about this new serial which is currently being aired on DD from Monday to Friday at 12:00 PM. Following are some excerpts.

Tell us something about the serial “Kul Ki Jyoti Kanya”

In this serial, I have tried to bring the sensitive issues like female foeticide in the limelight which was the very first topic that Aamir Khan put forth in Satyamev Jayate. In this serial also I have put forth the importance of a girl child. How a father who hopes for a son kicks his wife and two daughters out of the house and remarries another woman. His second wife does give birth to sons but these sons later in become a major misery in the father’s life. In such a situation his daughters take care of him and it is then that he realizes the true gender that enlightens our life by burning herself every minute! 

Is this serial inspired by Satyamev Jayate?

Kolkata, India, June 26, 2012 (Washington Bangla Radio) A video interview with Bengali actress and model Bidita Bag - a familiar face for her Fair and Lovely advertisements. Bidita debuted on the big screen with a lead role in award-winning film-maker Bidyut Kotoky's acclaimed bilingual Hindi / Assamese movie As The River Flows /Ekhon Nedekha Nadir Xipare with Sanjay Suri, Victor Banerjee, Nakul Vaid, Raj Zutshi, Naved Aslam, Priti Jhangiani and others. Her performance in her last Bengali movie Icche (2011) was spectacular and appreciated by critics and audience. In Icche directed by Nandita Roy and Shiboprosad Mukherjee, Bidita appeared with Sohini Sengupta, Samadarshi Dutta, Bratya Basu and Ruplekha Mitra.

Her next Bengali film Kagojer Nouka just went on floors yesterday. Kagojer Nouko is directed by Partho Sarathi Joardar and is a story of a state mangled with the vices of corruption and threatened by a grim situation of safety and security. A fresh face in Tollywood - Priyam - is the hero of the film. Bidita plays the lead female role in the film. Also in the star cast are Rajesh Sharma, Victor Banerjee and more.

Germantown, Maryland, June 26, 2012 (Washington Bangla Radio) On Sunday June 24, 2012, The Tagore Music Group of Greater Washington DC, lead by Bharati Mitra (interview) of Gaithersburg presented CHHOBI - A Musical to a mesmerized capacity audience at the BlackRock Center for the Arts in Germantown. The performance showcased an innovative collaboration between the Tagore Music Group and students of the Natyabhoomi School of Dance of Bethesda which is lead by Deepti Naville. Deepti teaches the Indian classical Bharatnatyam dance form while her sister Shruthi Mukund teaches fusion dance at Natyabhoomi.

Chhobi is adapted from a short story by iconic Bengali writer Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay set in Burma (Myanmar). The musical production stands out for successfully and seamlessly blending in songs by another Bengali icon - Rabindranath Tagore, and Burmese folk dances to the script as well as the general air of authenticity by using Burmese dresses and music. Shruthi Mukund of Natyabhoomi deserves kudos for successfully studying and learning Burmese folk dance from videos on the internet, choreographing and teaching her students all in a short time with impressive results on stage.

Washington, DC, June 25, 2012 (Washington Bangla Radio) Beautiful models from the cultural melting pot of the Washington DC area displayed remarkable Indian and western designs to a packed house on June the 23rd at the I Lounge of I, the Indian Experience in Washington, DC.

An exclusive report and watch a video on WBRi.

By Shoma A. Chatterji

The following is a sponsored article from Databazaar Media Ventures. Watch unlimited latest Bengali movies and TV shows in USA and Canada on your TV set via Databazaar Media. Laptop, Aparajita Tumi, Nobel Chor, Baishe Srabon, Katakuti and countless other quality superhit Bangla movies : click here for details >

Calcutta, June 20, 2012 (Databazaar Media Ventures) Mayookh Bhaumik looks as if he is fresh out of college. But looks are deceptive and the National Award for the Best Background Score he has received this year is the biggest example. The prize is for his score for Kaushik Ganguly’s film Laptop. Incidentally, Laptop is now accessible by Bengali NRIs settled across North America and Canada because Databazaar Media, the biggest entertainment distribution company within the Bengali film world abroad, has acquired the rights of distribution, screening, streaming and telecasting Laptop across these two countries. Over to Mayookh.

What brief did Kaushik give you when you were signed on for Laptop?

He told me that the film consisted of four different stories with different characters, interactions and resolutions. The only connecting link between and among the four stories was a laptop – the same laptop that gets into their lives and changes these lives in different ways. So, he said I had to create a theme and when I created it where music would spell out the bonding with the laptop and called it the laptop theme.

Washington, DC, June 19, 2012 (Washington Bangla Radio) In a recent interview with Gurjeet Singh of WBRi, the award winning actor Shaheed K Woods, who plays the role of Mike in the globe-trotting, awards sweeper feature film “LIFE! CAMERA, ACTION…”, produced and directed by Rohit Gupta, we learn of his passion for film, his experience on set and his take on the craft of acting.

He is one of the most memorable characters from the film and is talked about often among it’s audience. Shaheed won the Best Supporting actor award (his first) at the 28th Goldie Film Awards 2012 held in the US, where the film walked away with top 9 most popular and special board of directors award.

A simple and quick yes to be part on this film will change his destiny and put him on the global map, is far from what he ever imagined while working on this film. Sounds like a fairy tale, but real in every sense.

Shahid Woods, Dipti Mehta and Jyoti Singh at a press conference in Jersey City, NJ

Shaheed K Woods was born in Jersey city New Jersey. He grew up loving films and this passion has been evident in his performance on screen. At the young age of 7 years old, Shaheed decided to take on the vocation of acting. One film had a very large impact on this choice, “The Last Dragon”.  This film had an enormous impact on his style of acting as well, “ Telling a story that was truthful to me was something I really wanted to do, so I decided to do it through the medium of acting” Shaheed proudly exclaims. Becoming a stand-up comic was he decided as an adult, yet the ability to bring laughter to the people around him is also something that started in childhood. When asked why he chose stand-up, Shaheed told us “I really enjoy making people laugh… So I figured why not use this gift to further me in my career”. Shaheed has performed on the New York comedy circuit and has not lost his ability to make people laugh.

WBRi exclusive on-demand audio interview broadcast.

Washington, DC, June 18, 2012 (Washington Bangla Radio) Actress Nina Mehta plays a short but remarkably memorable and humorous role in Rohit Gupta’s multiple award-winning flick Life! Camera Action .... In an informal conversation with WBRi’s Gurjeet Singh, the bubbly actress reveals a lot about her early life, her experiences while shooting for Life! Camera Action ...,  her future plans and a whole lot more.

Nina Mehta comes across as a charming personality as she exchanges greetings with Gurjeet. The confidence of the young actress is apparent in her voice. Life! Camera Action... has been earning rave reviews at film festivals all round the world and has won over 60 awards so far.

An exclsuive WBRi on-demand audio broadcast.

Washington, DC, June 18, 2012 (Washington Bangla Radio) One of the most eagerly anticipated Bengali movies of the year is Srijit Mukherji’s third feature film "Hemlock Society" (2012). The Parambrata Chatterjee - Koel Mullick starrer is all set to hit the theaters on the 22nd of June. Arijit Chakraborty caught up once again with the ace filmmaker (at 2:30 am Kolkata time!) to chat with Srijit about the idea behind and making of his uniquely titled new movie, his expectations from Hemlock Society and a whole lot more.

Srijit had not initially planned to make Hemlock Society and had, in fact, been harboring ideas of another film. However, as fate would have it, he came across an interesting individual about four months back, a person having a very intriguing and inspiring perspective on life and death which appealed to Srijit no end. The character Ananda (Parambrata Chatterjee) is actually modeled on that person.

The seeds of the story of Hemlock Society, however, were sown in Srijit's mind around three years ago when he was researching for a play. During that time the filmmaker had come to know of several institutions and societies that taught people about the correct methods and technicalities of assisted suicide, like the Hemlock Society of Santa Monica, California (now a part of Compassion & Choices).

Listen to our interview with Srijit Mukherji via WBRi on-demand audio broadcast service.

Washington, DC, June 16, 2012 (Washington Bangla Radio) Fusion has always been held in high regard by anyone fond of classy experimentation with music. One of the finest contemporary Indian musical bands specializing in the genre of world music, rock and raga fusion is Mrigya. The internationally acclaimed band is currently on a tour of Canada and the United States. In a candid chat with Minakshi Bajpai, Sharat Chandra Srivastava - a founding member and the driving force, violinist and vocalist of Mrigya - shares his personal musical experiences, the nature of music his band is into, details about their North American tour and a whole lot more.

Washington, DC, June 14, 2012 (Washington Bangla Radio) Bharati Mitra is a well-known among lovers of Bengali cultural programs around Washington DC. Mitra heads the Tagore Music Group of Greater Washington DC who have been staging innovative musicals, dance dramas and plays across our country. They performed their production "Arupratan" at North American Bengali Conference ("Banga Sammelan") and are about to perform their new production "Chobi - A Musical". WBRi’s Arijit Chakrabarty caught up with the multi-talented lady as she spoke about "Chhobi" and her previous plays and a whole lot more.

After exchanging initial pleasantries, Bharati Mitra shared a brief introduction to the Tagore Musical Group of Greater Washington DC. While the association does have a formal name, it operates in a completely informal manner. There are no hard and fast rules about membership to the group and no fees are charged from members either. In fact, right from the group’s debut stage play ‘Arupratan’ (2009), to the following year when the same play had been staged at the Banga Sammelan, to 2011, when the production"Shammanya Kshati" had been staged, the cast and crew were a mixture of new members as well narrators and musicians from previous productions.