Long before the arrival of Uttam Kumar (1926-80), actor-director-screenwriter Pramathesh Barua (1903-51) was the first male heartthrob of Bangla cinema. His movie version of Devdas (1935) was most authentic. Like the Cumilla-born and raised, Victoria College-educated singer-musician Sachin Dev Burm

In early 1940s, the folk song composer and singer Abbas Uddin Ahmed (1901-59) met a young man named Hemanta Mukherjee (1920-89) at a Kolkata radio station.  After listening to him singing, Abbas praised Hemanta profusely. “Please bless me,” Hemanta beseeched him.  Abbas’