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Category: Entertainment

  • ‘Spread love not hate’: AP Dhillon supports Shubhneet Singh

    ‘Spread love not hate’: AP Dhillon supports Shubhneet Singh

    Canadian-Indian rapper Shubhneet Singh is facing backlash from conservative politicians and social media users accusing him of being a Khalistan supporter, after the rapper’s post from March recirculated around social media. Several cricket players like Virat Kohli, Hardick Panday and KL Rahul had unfollowed the rapper on Instagram following the controversy.

    Singh’s tour in India in September was cancelled, after sponsor BoAt announced they were no longer sponsoring the tour as they announced in a post on their X, formerly Twitter, account.

    “At boAt, while our commitment to the incredible music community runs deep, we are first and foremost a true Indian brand. Therefore, when we became aware of the remarks made by artist Shubh earlier this year, we chose to withdraw our sponsorship from the tour.”

    BookMyShow, the online ticket portal confirmed on their X account that they were refunding customers who had purchased ticket’s for Shubh’s concert in Mumbai and other cities.

    In light of these accusations, Indian rapper AP Dhillon released a lengthy statement on his Instagram stories where he publicly sided with the ‘We Rollin’ rapper, condemning the way artists are targeted by special interest and political groups.

    “As an artist it has become almost impossible to stay focused on your craft and do what you love. I try to be mindful of everyone’s sentiments but it has gotten to a point where we have to second and triple guess our every move due to the fear of unintentionally fueling even more division.”

    “Spread love, not hate,” wrote the ‘Brown Munde’ rapper. “Let’s start thinking for ourselves and not let hateful influences program our beliefs. We are ALL one. Let’s not let man made social constructs divide us. Division has gotten us to this point but unity is the key to the future.”

    Shubhneet Singh addressed the backlash in a lengthy statement posted on his Instagram account and said he found the allegations “extremely disheartening.”

    “My intent in resharing that post on my story was only to pray for Punjab as there were reports of electricity and internet shutdowns throughout the state. There was no other thought behind it, and I definitely didn’t intend to hurt anyone’s sentiments.”

    The backlash to Shubh arrives after relations between India and Canada took a sour turn when Justin Trudeau publicly accused the Indian government for being involved in the death of the Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who had been a vocal supporter of setting up a separate state for Sikhs living in India.

    “Any involvement of a foreign government in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty,” said Trudeau.

    “In the strongest possible terms, I continue to urge the government of India to cooperate with Canada to get to the bottom of this matter.”

    READ MORE: Canadian Punjabi rapper’s India tour cancelled as diplomatic row continues

    After the Instagram post by Shubhneet went viral, the youth wing of the BJP party in India BJYMP filed an FIR against the rapper with the Mumbai Police, calling Singh a Khalistan supporter.

    “Shubh is openly a Khalistani supporter,” the complaint read. “And if he is allowed to hold a concert here, he will be influencing a lot of youth in Mumbai and our country to support his agenda…He has evidently proven that he is a pro-Khalistani activist and openly supports their agenda and [he] is also influencing the youth of the country to do the same and wage a war against the Government of India by posting such absurd and derogatory post about Government of India.”

  • Here are all the celebrities who attended Shaheen Afridi’s valima

    Here are all the celebrities who attended Shaheen Afridi’s valima

    Fast bowler Shaheen Afridi’s valima to Ansha Afridi was held on Thursday in a lavish ceremony in Islamabad, where several A-list celebrities and sports stars were present to celebrate the occasion. Check out some pictures of all the big names who were at the event.

    Former cricket star Shahid Afridi shared several pictures, posing along with members of the cricket team including Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Imam ul Haq, Shadab Khan, and with former pacer Shoaib Akhtar. He thanked his friends for gracing his daughter’s valima with their presence.

    “I would like to Thank Team Pakistan, My former team mates, diplomats and dignitaries from different walk of life for gracing my daughter’s Valima. Their presence made me feel loved and honored. I am grateful that we got to celebrate this moment together.”

    Javelin champion Arshad Nadeem was also among the attendees, smiling along with the groom and the rest of the cricket team.

    Geo reports there the scrumptious menu featured biryani, lamb korma, chicken reshmi kebab, tandoori lamb chops and prawns.

    Shaheen and Ansha’s nikah was held in February at a daytime ceremony. Shaheen shared pictures on his Instagram account, requesting fans to respect the privacy of his wife and the rest of his family members, after a picture of Ansha’s face was leaked on social media.

  • ‘Divorce is not a stigma, fix the drama scripts’: Ushna Shah

    ‘Divorce is not a stigma, fix the drama scripts’: Ushna Shah

    Actress Ushna Shah took to her Twitter account to condemn drama scripts for stigmatising divorced women- and treat the topic like a taboo. The actress reflected on her own upbringing with a divorced mother, who had worked three jobs to bring her up, and said she would like to be a part of stories that refuse to resort to toxic stereotypes:

    “Many scripts I work on perpetuate shame around divorce. While I can’t reshape the conventions of scriptwriting or opt for unemployment, I stand by a vision. As the child of a divorcee who hustled with three jobs to raise us, the stigma on divorced characters feels deeply personal. I’m eager to be part of a story that addresses the stigma of divorce and combats the shame of being single after, celebrating the journey to independence and joy. Convincing producers to back such a risqué script, which may face societal backlash, is very challenging.”

    Many users on Twitter shared the opinion, stating that they wanted a stop to narratives that actively discourage divorce.

  • Sophie Turner sues Joe Jonas for custody of their daughters, says she found out about divorce through media

    Sophie Turner sues Joe Jonas for custody of their daughters, says she found out about divorce through media

    Yesterday, TMZ reported actress Sophie Turner has sued her ex-husband Joe Jonas for custody of their two daughters. According to the lawsuit filled in a Manhattan court, the legal team of the ‘Game Of Thrones’ star said that the couple had planned on moving to England to make it their “forever home”. Turner said the couple had sold their Miami home and were in the process of purchasing a home in the English countryside in April, and in the summer Sophie began working on ‘Joan’, a miniseries. During this time, documents reveal, Joe begun touring with his band ‘The Jonas Brothers’ in the summer, and the couple decided their children would stay with the father as he had more daytime hours available than Sophie who was filming, but shared the actress was “hesitant” about the agreement.

    The most shocking part of the documents was that Sophie found out about the divorce from media reports, after Joe filed for divorce on September 5 when the couple had an argument on August 15.

    On the issue of custody, the documents state that when the couple met to discuss the next step after their split, Joe was found to have a change of heart and rejected the plan to move to England. Turner says Joe’s legal team confirmed with Sophie’s that the children would not be returning to England and did not provide their passports.

    “The Father has possession of the children’s passports. He refuses to return the passports to the Mother and refuses to send the children home to England with the Mother.”

    Joe’s PR team has responded to the lawsuit and in a statement to People magazine, a representative for the singer says Sophie was aware about the divorce proceedings.

    “After multiple conversations with Sophie, Joe initiated divorce proceedings in Florida, as Florida is the appropriate jurisdiction for the case. Sophie was aware that Joe was going to file for divorce.”

    “Joe and Sophie had a cordial meeting this past Sunday in New York, when Sophie came to New York to be with the kids. They have been with her since that meeting. Joe’s impression of the meeting was that they had reached an understanding that they would work together towards an amicable co-parenting setup,” the statement added.

    Joe and Sophie Turner tied the knot in 2019 in a small ceremony in Vegas, and later in Paris, with their family and friends present. Reports of their divorce showed up on September 6 when sources told TMZ that Sophie was to blame for the breakdown of the marriage, claiming the actress was a drinker and partied a lot while the singer was the opposite. The reports were slammed by social media users who criticised the misogynist narrative used by Joe and his PR team to frame Sophie as a bad mother.

  • ‘Every actor has the right to protect themselves’: Anil Kapoor wins landmark case against AI

    ‘Every actor has the right to protect themselves’: Anil Kapoor wins landmark case against AI

    Veteran Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor has won a landmark case preventing his image from being used in any manner by Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology.

    The actor filed a case with the Delhi High Court, after numerous morphed videos and emojis featuring his iconic phrase ‘jhakas’ from the 1985 film ‘Yudh’ went viral on social media.

    The suit had asked for protection for the actor’s personality rights including his name, image, likeness, voice against any misuse on social media, and listed various instances of how the actor’s attributes were being misused. After a detailed hearing, the court sided with Anil Kapoor by acknowledging his personality rights, and restrained users from misusing the attributes without his permission or consent.

    Speaking to Variety, Anil Kapoor said he was happy with the order.

    “I’m very happy with this court order, which has come in my favor, and I think it’s very progressive and great for not only me but for other actors also. Because of the way technology and the AI technology, which is which is evolving every day [and] which can completely take advantage of and be misused commercially, as well as where my image, voice, morphing, GIFs and deep fakes are concerned, I can straight away, if that happens, send a court order and injunction and they have to pull it down.”

    “It’s not only for me,” the ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ actor stressed. “Today, I’m there to protect myself, but when I’m not there, the family should have the right to protect my [personality] and gain from it in future.”

    “My intention is not to interfere with anyone’s freedom of expression or to penalize anyone. My intent was to seek protection of my personality rights and prevent any misuse for commercial gains, particularly in the current scenario with rapid changes in technology and tools like artificial intelligence.”

    AI is a central element to the SAG-AFTRA strikes in Hollywood. Anil Kapoor expressed solidarity with the ongoing strike.

    “This [the court order] should be great positive news for all of them to a certain extent. And I am always, completely with them in every which way, and I feel their rights should be protected, because everybody, big, small, popular, not popular, every actor has the right to protect themselves and their rights.”

  • Canadian Punjabi rapper’s India tour cancelled as diplomatic row continues

    Canadian Punjabi rapper’s India tour cancelled as diplomatic row continues

    Canadian Punjabi rapper Shubhneet Singh has been targeted by right wing politicians after sharing a cryptic post on his Instagram stories, leading to allegations that he supported the notion of setting up a separate state for Sikhs in India. On Thursday, ticketing platform Book My Show announced on X (formerly Twitter) that they had cancelled bookings for the Punjabi rapper’s shows in cities like Delhi and Kolkata, refunded money to the customers.

    “Singer Shubhneet Singh’s Still Rollin Tour for India stands cancelled. To that end, BookMyShow has initiated a complete refund of the ticket amount for all consumers who had purchased tickets for the show. The refund will be reflected within 7-10 working days in the customer’s source account of the original transaction.”

    This development came after members of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM)- the youth wing of the right wing party BJP, launched protests against Shubhneet. On March 23, the rapper had shared a map of India on his Instagram stories, which didn’t show Punjab or occupied Jammu and Kashmir as part of the country, along with the hashtag #prayforpunjab.

    Members of the BJYM wrote to the Mumbai Police, calling for an FIR to be registered against Shubhneet “for waging war against Government of India and posting anti-government posts”.

    “Shubh is openly a Khalistani supporter,” the complaint read. “And if he is allowed to hold a concert here, he will be influencing a lot of youth in Mumbai and our country to support his agenda…He has evidently proven that he is a pro-Khalistani activist and openly supports their agenda and [he] is also influencing the youth of the country to do the same and wage a war against the Government of India by posting such absurd and derogatory post about Government of India.”

    The tensions arrive after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gave a strongly worded statement about the murder of Canadian Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Monday, stating that there was credible evidence of the connection between the murderers and the Indian government.

    “Any involvement of a foreign government in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty,” said Trudeau.

    “In the strongest possible terms, I continue to urge the government of India to cooperate with Canada to get to the bottom of this matter.”

    READ MORE: ‘Credible allegations’; Trudeau blames Indian govt agents for Nijjar murder

    Nijjar was a vocal supporter of the creation of Khalistan- a separate state for Sikhs living in India. He was branded as a terrorist by the Indian government, which maintained that he was wanted by the state for his active involvement with the Khalistan Tiger Force (KLF) an organisation declared as a terrorist group by the country. Nijjar was shot outside a Sikh temple on June 18 in Surrey, which was deemed as a targeted attack by the police.

  • Here’s why Shahid Afridi is angry at fans

    Here’s why Shahid Afridi is angry at fans

    While we love the fact that Pakistani celebrities are respected and valued by their fans-especially cricket stars- it’s important to remember that it doesn’t mean fans are allowed to invade anyone’s privacy. Former cricket captain Shahid Afridi addressed this issue as a guest on Vasay Chaudhry’s show ‘Gup Shab’ where he opened up about his distaste for fans who have crossed boundaries and invaded the privacy of his family. Boom Boom Afridi said he finds it unpleasant that fans make videos of him and his family when they go out.

    But, Shahid said, it was disappointing to watch his family’s privacy further invaded when they were in Makkah for Umrah, sharing that it was disrespectful even for the people claiming to be a fan of the cricket player.

    “When you’re going for your Umrah or Hajj with your family, your privacy is completely breached over,” Shahid noted.

    “My wife does pardah. During Tawaaf, I have snatched phones from several people who were making videos. Even though I apologised to them afterwards, I have asked several times to stop making videos during that moment.”

    The topic of fans crossing their limits and invading the privacy of celebrities, especially when they’re with their family members, is not new.

    Cricket player Imam ul Haq spoke on Daniyal Sheikh’s podcast about an occasion when he was at a restaurant with his family. A few people shouted ‘parchi’ at him. This bullying has gone to the point that his family members no longer attend his matches, in fear of being heckled by the attendants.

    “They really want to come and watch me play, but I’m just scared- this is the first time I’m talking about this. But when I’m standing on the boundary, I don’t want my mother to listen to the taunt ‘parchi’ in the stadium. If I was batting and I was out, it wouldn’t matter if I had played better before or not, while going back I would hear taunts of ‘parchi’.”

    READ MORE: Here’s why cricketer Imam ul Haq’s parents don’t go to his matches

    Previously, actress Romaisa Khan slammed nurses who approached the ‘John’ actress for photos when she was in tears and praying for her mother’s recovery in the ICU, an act she recalled as “insensitive” in a detailed post on Threads.

    READ MORE: ‘So unethical’: Actress Romaisa Khan slams fans for requesting selfies in ICU

    “Some people are so insensitive,” lamented the ‘John’ actress on her Threads account. “I know we are public figures but not public properties, so it’s unethical that my mom is in the ICU screaming in pain almost fighting for her life and where I am crying and praying outside and nurses literally making videos and asking for a selfie.”

    So please remember that while it is natural to have immense respect for a public figure’s talent and skills, fans should also remember to respect the privacy. Celebrities are only in the public spotlight as a job, and it doesn’t give any fan the right to treat their entire existence as a public affair.

  • Taylor Swift sends the internet in frenzy after she steps out with Joe Jonas’s ex- Sophie Turner

    Taylor Swift sends the internet in frenzy after she steps out with Joe Jonas’s ex- Sophie Turner

    Taylor Swift was not joking around when she wrote, “Karma’s on your scent like a bounty hunter”.

    Media organisations and social media users sent their sleep and work commitments to the devil on Wednesday when the ‘Anti Hero’ singer was spotted at a girl’s night out with none other than Sophie Turner, actress and estranged wife of Joe Jonas.

    Taylor had famously dated Joe back in 2008, later publicly accusing him of breaking up with her in a cruel manner. She revealed on The Ellen Show that the band member of the Jonas Brothers broke up with her on the phone in 25 seconds. The ‘Mastermind’ singer went on to write ‘Forever and Always’, ‘Last Kiss’ and ‘Mr Perfectly Fine’ about the ‘Burnin Up’ singer, however the two reconciled over the years and become close friends after Joe dated model and close friend Gigi Hadid in 2015.

    Recently, Joe and Sophie announced their divorce after four years of marriage. Several reports allegeded that the ‘This Is Me’ singer’s PR team blamed the ‘Game Of Thrones’ actress for the failure of the relationship, with sources alleging the singer was an absent mother, working on projects in the UK. The internet slammed this as a terrible attempt to pin the home wrecker narrative on the woman while refusing to hold the man accountable.

    Now that Sophie has decided to play the game and was spotted partying with Taylor Swift in New York, Twitter users are applauding how vicious of a move this was.

    “Joe Jonas tried with every PR strategy he could to turn the public against Sophie but Sophie was like hold my purse and played her biggest card,” wrote a user.

  • K-Dramas we’re excited to watch this October

    K-Dramas we’re excited to watch this October

    October is shaping up to be an exciting month for K-drama fans with projects featuring big names like Cha Eun-Woo, Bae Suzy and Kim Ro-Woon. Scroll through this list to check out what your favorite star’s next show is all about.

    1. A Good Day to be a Dog

    If you loved Cha Eun-Woo in ‘True Beauty’ and ‘Rookie Historian’, you will be happy to watch him back in another romantic comedy. Starring Park Gyu-Young, the serial revolves around a woman who is cursed to turn into a dog every midnight, and she must find the man who can help her break this spell, but it turns out that he is also deeply terrified of dogs. The series is set to stream on Netflix from October 11.

    1. The Wedding Battle

    K-Drama fans who can’t get enough of Kim Ro-Woon in ‘Destined With You’ are in for a treat with his upcoming rom-com. In this historical drama, the heart throb plays a widow, who teams up with a rival matchmaker to marry off four young maidens. But circumstances change when the two matchmakers realise they’re falling for each other. The series is set to premier from October 30.

    1. Doona!

    ‘Alchemy of Souls’ actress Bae Suzy is set to come back after a year with ‘Doona!’ where she plays a singer in a band, who shocks audiences by announcing her retirement, and begins living in a shared home with a college student. The nine-episode series will release on Netflix on October 20.

    1. Doctor Slump

    Starring Park Hyung Sik (Strong Girl Bong-Soon) and Park Shin-Hye (The Inheritors), the drama is a slice of life focusing on four doctors who are burned out from their profession. The two meet at the time they’re at the lowest point of their lives and are trying to rediscover themselves after quitting their jobs.

  • Pakistanis may soon get to watch Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘Jawan’

    Pakistanis may soon get to watch Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘Jawan’

    For fans in Pakistan who are bummed out on missing the opportunity to watch Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘Jawan’ in theatres, there is finally a chance to see the film because the action thriller is coming to OTT platforms quite soon. According to India Today, the film is set to release on streaming platforms with a special twist: it will include scenes that were omitted from the theatrical release.

    While the film was approximately two hours and 45 minutes long, the OTT release is expected to be 3 hours and 15 minutes with the extra scenes.

    There is no release date confirmed yet by the team or Netflix.

    ‘Jawan’ has recently broken records, becoming one of the fastest Bollywood films to join the 500 crore club, beating Shah Rukh Khan’s previous film ‘Pathaan’ and Sunny Deol’s ‘Gadar 2’ according to Bollywood Hungama.