Category: Entertainment

Indian film legend Shabana Azmi has one of the best Urdu dictions in Bollywood. After all, the thespian is the daughter of Urdu poet Kaifi Azmi and the wife of lyricist Javed Akhtar.

She recently made headlines when she corrected the pronunciation of a makeup artist during a fun glam session.

Aafreen makeup artist shared their experience on social media, highlighting Azmi’s gentle correction. Azmi humorously remarked, “Fool nahi hota, phool hota hai,” and added, “Fir nahi, phir hota hai. Kash main tum logo ki Urdu theek kar pati” (It’s not ‘fool’ but ‘phool,’ and not ‘fir’ but ‘phir.’ I wish I could fix your Urdu).
Aafreen from Mumbai expressed admiration for Azmi in a post, calling her the “OG Queen” and writing, “I learned so much from her and am in awe of the knowledge she has to share with us.”

Azmi is often referred to as the “Urdu Queen” for her eloquence.

Rekhta-Foundation, an Indian platform that works to promote Urdu literature and poetry, also shared the video.

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Bollywood actor Ishaan Khatter is gaining attention with his latest Netflix series, ‘The Perfect Couple,’ a murder mystery led by Nicole Kidman.

Known for choosing diverse roles to break away from the “nepo baby” label, Khatter shared how this experience was groundbreaking for him as a brown actor in Western media.

In an interview with BBC Asia’s Haroon Rashid, he spoke about being objectified as a South Asian man in the series.

In The Perfect Couple, Khatter plays Shooter, the richest Indian man who is portrayed as attractive — a rare representation of South Asian men in global cinema.

Rashid pointed out that while Indian women, like Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone, have been cast in glamorous roles, men from the region are not often shown as desirable.

Khatter agreed, saying, “Yes, I was objectified. It was one of the things that made the character unique and appealing to me.”

“It was a stepping stone and a moment in history in that sense. I just thought it was a cool character. It was fun to play into that, and I haven’t played a role like this even back home,” he added.

While Khatter’s role is admired for his looks, the actor also brought depth to the role. He explained that even though objectification was part of it, Shooter is a complex role, something often missing in Western portrayals of South Asian men.

“I never felt like I was playing a token diversity role,” Khatter said. “They were casting widely, and I saw the chance to dive into a three-dimensional character. And what a role it was.”

Khatter’s performance in The Perfect Couple marks a shift in how Hollywood portrays South Asian men.

Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan revealed that he almost fainted when he first saw world-famous American pop singer Michael Jackson in the flesh.

According to Indian media, Amitabh Bachchan told the story of his meeting with singer Michael Jackson during a recent episode of his show ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’.

He said, “Many years ago, I was staying in a hotel in New York and one day there was a knock on the door of my room. When I opened the door, Michael Jackson was standing outside.”

He added, “I was stunned to see Michael Jackson in front of me for the first time and I almost fainted because I couldn’t believe that Michael Jackson was standing before me, but then I calmed down.”

Bachchan continued, “Michael Jackson asked me if this was my (Michael Jackson’s) room. When I told them that it was not his but mine, he realized that he had mistakenly entered the wrong room.”

Bachchan said, “Later, Michael Jackson went to his room and sent me a message for a meeting, then we sat down and talked a lot.”
Bachchan praised Michael Jackson, adding that despite his immense fame, he had an incredibly humble and kind personality.

Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009, but his songs still captivate fans.