The popularity of Michael Jackson in the outbacks of Manikganj echoed an entertainment revolution in this region. Youth on the streets of Peshawar said they watched MTV in secret, youth in Nepal reported MTVisation in their very lifestyle, while the elite youth in Karachi and Mumbai said they watched MTV mesmerised.

Three months down the line when we sat down to edit the hour-long documentary with over 30 hours of footage, my team and I had no doubt about how we would start the film - it would be the Manikganj episode where the TV set arrives as dowry and Michael Jackson pops out as the chosen favourite.

The documentary derived an appropriate name "Michael Jackson Comes to Manikganj" and was received well in screenings from Mumbai, Karachi, Colombo, New Delhi, Dhaka ,Oxford, London and Toronto.

The audience would ask me many times - did Michael Jackson really go to Manikganj? I would just smile then.

But today, as a tribute to the King of Pop, I do want to answer that question. Yes, indeed, Michael Jackson did more than come to Manikganj...he ruled over the hearts and minds of people in Manikganj and indeed the rest of Bangladesh and all of South Asia.