bengali new year

Veteran Bengali superstar Prosenjit Chatterjee was bestowed with the Padma Shri at the Padma Awards 2026 ceremony in New Delhi. President Droupadi Murmu presented the prestigious honour to the emotional actor at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Chatterjee, who has dedicated over four decades to Bengali cinema, expressed immense joy and attributed his success to audience appreciation and his mother's sacrifices.

India's Padma Awards 2026 will honour cinematic legends like the late Dharmendra with Padma Vibhushan, and Mammootty and Alka Yagnik with Padma Bhushan. R Madhavan, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Anil Kumar Rastogi, Arvind Vaidya, and the late Satish Shah are among the Padma Shri recipients, celebrating their significant contributions to arts and entertainment.

Aneet Padda's supernatural thriller 'Shakti Shalini' is reportedly shifting its release from December 24, 2026, to early January 2027. This strategic move aims to avoid direct competition with Shah Rukh Khan's 'King', ensuring better screen allocation and box office potential for the film inspired by Bengali folklore.

Hema Malini will accept the Padma Vibhushan on behalf of her late husband, Dharmendra, for his significant contributions to Indian cinema. This prestigious award, India's second-highest civilian honour, will be presented at the Padma Awards 2026 ceremony. The recognition celebrates Dharmendra's remarkable legacy in the film industry.

Actor Ishwak Singh is preparing for a busy phase with upcoming projects Janaadesh, Gandhari and What Remains. Calling it one of the most transformative periods of his career, the actor reveals that each role required extensive dialect and language preparation, including regional accents, Bengali inflections and a Pahadi dialect. Ishwak says getting the language right was important to fully inhabit each character. He has also begun shooting for another project in Lucknow, the details of which remain under wraps. The actor adds that collaborating with filmmakers like Prakash Jha and Devashish Makhija has been creatively enriching.

Once Mamata Banerjee’s strongest urban constituency, Bengal’s bhadralok were driven up the wall by corruption, job scams, civic decay and the handling of the RG Kar rape and murder, write Dwaipayan Ghosh & Dipawali Mitra

West Bengal's new cabinet, led by chief minister Suvendu Adhikari, has decided to end religious-based government aid from June. A new 'Annapurna' scheme will provide Rs 3,000 monthly to eligible women, who will also get free bus travel. The state will also review its OBC list and form a new Pay Commission.

Sixty years of leftism & quasi-leftism killed the city & state’s economic vitality. But a revival isn’t hard. Policy needs to build on moribund industrial bases & stock exchange. Plus, prioritise learning English

Just days after officially announcing their separation, Mouni Roy and Suraj Nambiar have once again started following each other on Instagram, hinting that the former couple is trying to maintain an amicable equation despite their split. On May 14, Mouni and Suraj officially confirmed their separation through a joint Instagram statement.

Ritwik Ghatak’s cinema remains profoundly relevant because his films speak to displacement, identity, memory, alienation, and the human cost of social upheaval — themes that continue to resonate deeply even today. Films likeMeghe Dhaka Tara,Komal Gandhar,Subarnarekha, andJukti Takko Aar Gappoare not just historical works; they are emotionally urgent reflections on fractured societies and personal resilience.

Those Who’ve Been Studying A Foreign Language Must Pick Up An Additional Indian One Just As Academic Pressure Builds Towards Boards