Hania’s Dhaka diaries: Nawabbari secrets, street food thrills, a surprise star connection

Dhaka has rarely witnessed such a stir around a celebrity arrival. When Pakistani actress Hania Aamir touched down late Thursday night at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, there was already a quiet sense that her visit would be different. Within hours, that hunch was confirmed. Hania had barely unpacked when she logged into Facebook, greeted fans with a warm “Assalamualaikum, Bangladesh, how are you?” written in Bengali, and then followed it up with a heartfelt post adorned with Bangladeshi and Pakistani flags sprinkled with love emojis. The reaction was immediate. Bangladeshi netizens, often wary of visiting stars keeping a calculated distance, melted at her openness. Comments poured in by the thousands: “She already feels like one of us,” wrote one admirer,...