Time out for celebrities

slide showBadhonNusrat Jahan Pritom

Eid is a festival of joy. While most people were hooked on to their televisions, audio sets, radios or other forms of entertainment, what about the media personalities themselves? The Daily Star went behind the scenes to discover what some of these celebrities did on this special day:

Badhon spent Eid in her hometown Kurigram. "This Eid I could breathe freely, as usually every year at this time, I have my exams coming up. Now I'm a full-fledged dentist, and that brings an end to my academic life, " she said happily. Badhon had a live interview on Eid day along with programmes on various channels throughout Eid. On the fifth day of Eid she will be appearing in ‘Chhaya’ with Partho, the singer."

Nobel usually reserves this special day for his family. "If I do appear on any drama, it is one drama on one Eid in one year". He spends the rest of the time with his family. "This Eid was pretty special for my eight-year-old son. This is the first time he came to buy the cow with me. He was so earnest that he walked the cow all the way.” Although Nobel resolves to spend his entire Eid with his family , he did appear in 'Black November', a tele-film on Channel i. "The rest of the day on my third Eid, I was busy answering calls about the film with Eid greetings pouring in-so my Eid continued all the three days."

Arfin Rumey also spent this special day with family. This Eid his 'Shadamara' album grooved the crowds. The album features him and Kazi Shuvo. "My biggest friend is the PC. It helps me get connected with all my friends." Arfin is also doing an album with Habib where he is the co-composer. " On the second day of Eid, Arfin was himself in a hangout with family from where he gave a telephonic interview.

Black had a rocking Eid. While the band members dispersed at various parts of the city with their own circles, they finally reunited on the second day of Eid. Jahan spent his day with family "Half of the day I was in Punjabi and the other half in boots and jeans" "Basically we are full-time rockers, but at the same time family guys. So we have to combine both roles, " said Tony. Jon however spent most of his time playing games on his PC. " My bit was only to purchase various items, and then it was back to home time. " Jon will be appearing in a reality TV show'' Uttaradhikar".

Pop singer Mehreen spent the Eid day with family. "I usually dedicate this day for family but that day I had a four hour live show in Radio today. As this was not possible, we finally brought it down to one hour and that was it. I got free for the rest of the day to spend Eid the way I do every year. We have a tradition in my relatives home of cooking the Khichuri with fresh kidneys on that afternoon. Lunch was served just at 12 noon, and we dug in. From there I went to my uncle's home where we were served more dishes. Then at night we had a family dinner -- not much diet control. On the second day it was my relatives turn to visit my place. Finally from the third day, work began. Strangely I was longing for the working days as I had a lot of pending work. I began texting from the second day!." Mehreen had several shows on various channels this Eid.

Nancy spent her Eid under a cosy blanket at her rustic hometown of Netrokona. "The whole day I ate and I watched TV. This Eid brought in just comfort and joy. Of course I helped around with the meat thing-co-ordinated this and that. But then it was back to my lounging again. This Eid I was at my mom's so it was pretty easy for me-I didn't have to get into elaborate preparations."

Topu has his own music video coming up this Eid from December 1 (World AIDS Day) onwards. The video is about cursed life of addicts. It will be aired on various channels. "Basically it is a song of Yaatri-Amra Shopne Baachi'' that has been remixed. It's a solo video of mine called 'A song of hope"’. How was Eid for Topu? "It was fun while it lasted! I went to my friend's place, met family, had food. Now I am back to work. " Topu will appear in the film "Third Person Singular'', releasing on December11.

This correspondent also talked to one of the first RJs of radio Foorti-RJ Apu.

"…Eid is as usual -hectic. Traditionally, I pray, help with the meat and talk a lot-with family and live in the studio. This Eid I had a three-hour show from 9pm to 12 am-Rock live. On the second day of Eid,I had it as well. It's fun in a way. But this Eid, I missed out on a lot of my colleagues as our timings are different. As my mom is performing Hajj, I am missing her. Well, my Eid was over on the very second day."

The writer is a freelance contributor.