Current Final

Category: Entertainment

  • Eras tour in Karachi? Twitter hilariously reimagines Taylor Swift’s visit to Pakistan

    Eras tour in Karachi? Twitter hilariously reimagines Taylor Swift’s visit to Pakistan

    Taylor Swift is taking her super successful Eras tour around the globe, with four sold out shows in Mexico City while more will follow in Germany, Singapore, Japan and other countries.

    As usual hum Pakistanis were left out of the planning. So X user Yusra Amjad imagined a hilarious twist on how everything would pan out if the Eras tour came to Karachi.

    “The only place in Pakistan that the Eras Tour could take place is the National Stadium in Karachi, btw. It has a capacity of 50k (Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore is 29k only),” the poet wrote.

    There were some witty responses with people imagining how the concert in Karachi would turn out.

    https://twitter.com/hdralt_/status/1695817995853963410?s=20

    OUR WORST NIGHTMARE

    Maybe Karsaz ki dulhan can give her some company?

    Lahore na lana concert none of us can wait for the surprise songs while stuck in traffic on Liberty Chowk

    Either ways guys, livestreams par dehaan rakho. Koi aisa waisay khwaab sach nahi ajatay.

  • Nadia Afghan, Nadia Jamil slam ‘disgusting’ dialogue from ‘Hadsa’

    Nadia Afghan, Nadia Jamil slam ‘disgusting’ dialogue from ‘Hadsa’

    Trigger warning: mention of rape, violence

    After the controversial drama ‘Hadsa’ was slammed by social media users for allegedly depicting without consent the ordeal of the motorway rape case that happened in 2020, several social media users slammed lead actress Hadiqa Kiani for her ‘tone-deaf’ statement, as well as writer Zanjabeel Asim Shah, and demanded that PEMRA take down the show.

    Now, a controversial dialogue from the drama has made rounds on social media, where the main character, Taskeen, can be heard saying “Jaisay murday ke jism mein rooh waapis nahi aati..waisay hee khoi hui izzat waapis nahi aati.” The clip was shared by Geo’s official Instagram account, as can be seen below.

    The dialogue was spoken in episode 5, after Taskeen is recovering in the hospital from her wounds after the violence.

    The controversial dialogue has launched more uproar on social media, with users demanding to know how it got approved by Hadiqa, who’s repertoire includes feminist dramas that empowered women.

    Activist Leena Ghani pointed out:

    ‘What excuse is Hadiqa Kiani going to give us now? That she didn’t read the dialogues? Was she forced to say ‘Khoi huwi izzat..’ Izzat victims nahi hotey balkay rapists ki koi izzat nahi hoti. Is this how @harpalgeotv wants to spread awareness by victim blaming and gaslighting survivors of sexual abuse? Why doesn’t anyone in the industry have a backbone and why can’t they ever do the right thing?”

    Actress Nadia Jamil slammed the dialogue as “disgusting”, and said no survivor of rape has her honor robbed.

    “Firstly NO HONOUR OF MINE WAS ROBBED WHEN I WAS RAPED. NO HONOUR OF ANY RAPE SURVIVOR IS ROBBED. THOSE WHO RAPED HAD AND HAVE NO HONOUR. THEY are the ones who should feel and be in shame. Not the victim.”

    The actress called out PEMRA and GEO for encouraging the ugly narrative of shame that would further marginalise survivors of rape, and said it took her years of therapy and coaching to come to a place where she herself- as a survivor of child abuse- could not feel ashamed about her trama.

    “The narrative of SHAME that is dumped on rape survivors is horrible. It’s a burden we carry through our lives. It took me years of therapy, prayer and coaching to come to a place of solid self worth and self respect within myself. Today movements like #notmyshame Shatter the Shame that survivors of abuse and rape have carried. Allowing us to belong to a tribe that recognises, the shame was never ours to carry, or suffer, to begin with. People like @ejtayloruk work hard to build a community where survivors feel empowered and safe. Please do not encourage this ugly narrative of shame for survivors @GeoTvNews @reportpemra you have a responsibility that comes with your power. Many men and women watching this may have been raped and it’s the last thing they need to hear AND it’s a lie.”

    Nadia Afghan also criticised content heads for their “insensitive and callous” approach towards sensitive topics like rape, and their only motive is to make more money out of it, saying that she was “disgusted and heartbroken.”

  • ‘I asked is this related to the motorway incident’: Hadiqa Kiani on motorway rape survivor statement

    ‘I asked is this related to the motorway incident’: Hadiqa Kiani on motorway rape survivor statement

    Intense backlash rose on Monday when journalist Fereeha Idress revealed how the drama ‘Hadsa’ was similar to the horrific motorway rape crime, stressing that the survivor was traumatised after seeing her ordeal being depicted online without her consent. Now actress Hadiqa Kiani has responded to the backlash with a lengthy statement where she clarified that initially while reading the script, she had found a lot of similarities between the crime and the storyline, but agreed to do the project after several discussions with the writer.

    “When I was asked to do the role of Taskeen for Hadsa my first question was ‘Is this related to the motorway incident?’ ‘Is this based off the true incident?’ – I made it clear that I would not do the project if it was based off anyone’s story. The team behind the project explicitly told me ‘No’. After many conversations with the team and only after reading the script I understood that Hadsa was not related to or based off on the motorway story.”

    The ‘Janaan’ singer then shared how necessary she felt it was to do a project like Hadsa which was about how rape was a reality of the world that we live in.

    “These are the realities of the world we live in. I have sadly been exposed to so many stories like this one but I can say that Hadsa is not based off on any one’s story, but based off on a sickly common part of our reality.”

    While we appreciate the fact that Hadiqa recognised the reason behind the backlash and came forward to give her side of the story in, the reality remains that the team behind ‘Hadsa’ should have done a better job in executing such a sensitive topic. If the actress had felt in the beginning while reading the script that it was quite similar to the 2020 crime, it should have been her duty right away to step away from a project that was profitting off from the misery and trauma of a survivor, or even chosen to consult her to keep them in the loop.

    Also, ‘Hadsa’ team should have consulted with experts about depicting sensitive topics- such as calling rape a “misfortune”‘, or displaying acts of violence and sexual abuse so graphically, so that rape and sexual abuse survivors are not forced to relive their trauma.

    Actress Hadiqa Kiani is starring in a new drama series ‘Hadsa’ which depicts the life of a headstrong woman, who is raped while travelling with her son on an empty highway. Many users since the drama began airing, pointed out how the drama’s storyline was similar to the horrifying motorway rape case of 2021, when a woman travelling on motorway with her two children was assaulted and raped by two men infront of her two children. The drama is written by Zanjabeel Asim Shah, and directed by Wajahat Rauf, and stars Aly Khan, Romaisa Khan, Khaqan Shahnawaz.

    Journalist Fereeha Idress, who reported the account of the anonymous survivor, has now taken to X, formerly Twitter, to slam the makers behind ‘Hadsa’ for violating the privacy of the lone survivor, who revealed that the makers, nor the star-studded cast and crew, had approached her for consent on making a drama about a horrifying ordeal she had undergone.

    In a lengthy statement, Fereeha said the survivor, Z, had tried to keep her and her family’s identity protected, after undergoing the trauma, but was once more triggered by the depictions in the show.

    “They have made a drama on my life,” Fereeha tweeted Z told her. “As if I am nothing, no one asked me, it’s same, they are showing the same things, oh my God! Why didn’t I die before reliving this again? You know , I didn’t sleep after the incident for many many nights and it’s all back now, I haven’t slept a wink since I saw this terrible, horrendous depiction of the most terrible moments of my life which I so want to forget. It’s unbearable, I start shivering every day at 5 pm because I know the drama is coming at 7 pm. Why are they doing this to me?”.

    The journalist slammed the creators for forcing the survivor to re-live the trauma and not taking into consideration the ordeal she, her loved ones, including the children had gone through. Rather than allowing her to heal and tell the incident on her own choice, they made a drama out of it.-

    “The moment the drama episode goes on air, all comments start talking about motorway incident. Can’t they let me forget about this? They have followed my life. Isn’t this harassment? How they traced things in my life when I was so clear of keeping everything so private? My in laws must be watching it, my brother in law, my mother, my neighbours, oh my God! No one even cared to ask me? I am not dead yet! Do they want me dead? Can’t I just forget about this and move on?”

    In the next tweet, Fereeha wrote that Z, the survivor, was in extreme distress, speaking to the journalist on the phone. The drama had forced her to re-live the ordeal all over again.

    “My question is when everyone knew I never wanted to come in the limelight, why was I thrown into it again and again? So many known people, celebrities, politicians etc wanted to come and meet me or talk to me post incident, but I always declined because I wanted my privacy and didn’t want anything else but the culprits punished. Is it all about making money? Does no one care what I am going through by this triggered trauma? What my kids and husband will be going through? Do they even know how I am spending my life? Everyday is a struggle. I am being thick skinned and staying alive only for my children. They didn’t even care for my children. Do you know my kids have not forgotten..”

    Z requested the journalist to get the drama stopped, so that she would stopped being approached by public figures or being recognised as the ‘motorway wali’.

    “Can you pls get this drama stopped? Can Pak pls help me stop this? It’s like whole world is watching my misery and pain as I am reliving it. Pls tell them to make this once I am dead, I am alive right now or did they think I would have died? And pls not even after my death as I have children, they can make this after we have all died”

    There has been no response from the makers behind the drama, or from the lead star Hadiqa Kiani and the rest of the actors on this accusation.

    This is not the first time Pakistani dramas have been accused of ripping of the trials and ordeals of survivors, without taking consent from the family members or giving them a portion of the profits earned. Previously, it was Bhaagi, starring Saba Qamar, which was accused for depicting the life of the social media star Qandeel Baloch, without the consent of her family members. As Nighat Dad tweeted the father of the murdered star, Azeem Baba, was informed by other villagers that a drama was made on his daughter’s life.

    https://twitter.com/nighatdad/status/1696026916078199180?s=20
  • ‘Hadsa’ writer Zanjabeel Asim Shah refutes allegations from motorway rape survivor

    ‘Hadsa’ writer Zanjabeel Asim Shah refutes allegations from motorway rape survivor

    After Hadiqa Kiani, the writer behind the controversial drama ‘Hadsa’ has come forward to address allegations that the script is based on the horrific motorway rape case, in which a woman was gang-raped in 2020 in front of her young children. Episode 5 of the drama shows the female lead, Taskeen, and her son driving down a highway at night when their car suddenly stops. Soon after, a group of men arrive who subject the female lead to torture and rape. Journalist Fereeha Idrees called the story a serious violation of privacy, and demanded that PEMRA shut down the show for exploiting a survivor’s trauma for ratings, without her or her family’s approval.

    Now, in a conversation with BBC Urdu, the writer has denied these allegations, pointing out that every woman, regardless of her background, can suffer from rape:

    “The similarity is just a coincidence. Every woman who goes through this incident, whether she is rich or poor, or whether she comes from an educated family or not, will get affected. Our dramas speak about our sufferings and our situations.”

    ‘When you fight this war, you’re also getting your catharsis,” he said.

    Zanjabeel went on to discuss writing on other topics like child sexual abuse and said that sometimes, drama scripts can bear resemblance to real life cases.

    “I have shown a young son who was getting married. We often say that a woman is going out alone, but she would still be helpless even if her husband went with her.”

    Since the allegations by Idrees went viral, on X, formerly Twitter, the hashtag #banhadsa began trending, with social media users criticing the cast and crew behind for violating the privacy of the rape survivor, and called for PEMRA to ban the drama. To which, Zanjabeel had responded:

    “PEMRA had banned my drama ‘Pyaar Ke Sadqaay’ too. But does this mean girls are not abused inside their homes? PEMRA had annoyed even Bee Gul so much over her drama ‘Darr Si Jaati Hai’. If they keep doing this, then should we only make dramas about saas-bahu conflicts? If we can’t make dramas about sensitive topics, then should we only make romance dramas,” he asked.

    Hadiqa Kiani released a statement on her social media account, saying that when she first read the script there were similarities with the motorway rape case, but after discussions with the writer and team, she understood that the drama was entirely different.

    Her statement was slammed by social media users, who demanded that she stop gaslighting survivors of rape and trauma.

  • Miley dedicates song to Sinead O’Connor, ending dispute with late singer

    Miley dedicates song to Sinead O’Connor, ending dispute with late singer

    Pop star Miley Cyrus has dedicated her song ‘Wonder Woman’ to Sinead O’Connor during an ABC concert special ‘Endless Summer Vacation: Continued (Backyard Sessions), ending a decade long dispute with the late Irish singer.

    In 2013, the two songstresses engaged in a public clash when Miley’s ‘Wrecking Ball’ video came out. O’Connor wrote an open letter to Miley advising her not to “obscure your talent by allowing yourself to be pimped” by the industry. “None of the men ogling you give a s*** about you either, do not be fooled,” she wrote.

    In response, Miley shared a list of tweets by the late singer, and compared her to the actress Amanda Bynes, who was publicly struggling with her mental health at the same time. O’Connor had been open about mental health struggles, especially the time she spent in psychiatric hospitals. The late singer slammed Cyrus for the response, writing:

    “You have posted today tweets of mine which are two years old, which were posted by me when I was unwell and seeking help so as to make them look like they are recent… In doing so you mock myself and Amanda Bynes for having suffered with mental health issues and for having sought help. I mean really really… who advises you?”

    Now, in the concert special, the former ‘Hannah Montana’ star reflected on the feud, confessing that she wasn’t prepared to be publicly humiliated by another woman, especially one who had been in her position before- but also apologised because she wasn’t aware of Sinead’s fragile mental health state:

    “I was expecting there to be controversy and backlash, but I don’t think I expected other women to put me down or turn on me, especially women that had been in my position before,” said the ‘Flowers’ singer. “This is when I’d received an open letter from Sinead O’Connor, and I had no idea about the fragile mental state that she was in, and I was also only 20 years old, so I could really only wrap my head around mental illness so much. All that I saw was that another woman had told me that this idea was not my idea.”

    “Our younger childhood triggers and traumas come up in weird and odd ways, and I think I’d just been judged for so long for my own choices that I was just exhausted, and I was in this place where I finally was making my own choices and my own decisions, and to have that taken away from me deeply upset me,” she continued. “God bless Sinead O’Connor, for real, in all seriousness.”

  • With ‘Midsummer Chaos’ Season Two returning, here are some meme-worthy moments from Season One

    With ‘Midsummer Chaos’ Season Two returning, here are some meme-worthy moments from Season One

    After a hilarious season one, Ahmed Sarym has announced that his web series ‘Midsummer Chaos’ is set to return once more on September 9 for the second season. This time, the show will feature a whole new cast. The short series revolves around the lives of teenagers in high school dealing with mental health, depression, parental relationships and social media influence. The trailer for the second season released online yesterday and already has 1.9k likes on YouTube.

    But since some of y’all might need to recall all of the hilarious moments from the previous season before sitting down to binge a new one, you must remember how the internet broke when the series was released in 2021

    We’ll take charge and share some of our favorite moments from the previous season, which featured actors like Khushhal Khan, Meher Bano and Mamia Shahjaffer.

    1 Episode One will remain iconic in Pakistani pop culture history because of the hilarious phadda between Harris and Sameer.

    2. Gossip girl but set in Islamabad’s upper class circles.

    3. Everyone, even your five year old brother, was quoting ‘Alyna I love you’ after this episode.

    4. This entire dance sequence in the end of episode 2 was memed to infinity the second the internet got a hold of it.

  • ‘Psychiatrist told me I had manic depression’, Mahira opens up about mental health

    ‘Psychiatrist told me I had manic depression’, Mahira opens up about mental health

    Superstar Mahira Khan was a guest on Frieha Altaf’s podcast where she opened up about learning to face her mental health struggles, especially after stepping into Bollywood with the Shah Rukh Khan starrer ‘Raees’, and the 2017 incident where pictures of her smoking with Ranbir Kapoor emerged online. She also talked about the 2016 Uri attack, after which Pakistani actors were banned from working in Bollywood.

    Reflecting on that time, the actress revealed she dealt with immense backlash, calling it “unexpected”.

    Mahira said she was getting scary calls, hateful messages to the point that she couldn’t travel to India to promote ‘Raees’, which was heartbreaking and it began creating anxiety and depression. The ‘Hum Kahan Kay Sachay Thay’ actress revealed she was constantly seeing her image on television screens, and getting hateful messages telling her to leave India, and it escalated to the point that her faith broke.

    “I developed severe anxiety to the point that one day I had a panic attack and fainted’ recalled Mahira. “That’s the first time I went for therapy.”

    “But that didn’t work out, as I went to several therapists. But either I was not opening up, or the therapist sitting across me would be looking at me with awe thinking ‘what would she have to complain about’?”

    Raees released in 2017, the same year Mahira’s Pakistani film ‘Verna’ released across Pakistan, and at the same time, the picture scandal happened.

    “I couldn’t sleep, my hands would shake,” the ‘Bin Roye’ actress confessed.

    Mahira said she eventually visited a psychiatric hospital, where she was informed that she had manic depression. The actress said for the past six or seven years she has been on anti-depressants. She once tried quitting the meds in the middle which put her in a dark hole.

    “I did understand that there is something beyond me. Beyond the prayers i will do, beyond the friends that will cheer me up, beyond work and success. There is something not right, and it’s okay.”

    The ‘Superstar’ actress said that by talking about her mental health struggles and breaking the stigma surrounding the topic, she hoped more people would learn to approach others for help rather than treat it with shame.

    “I talk it every chance I get. This is the first time I’m opening up about the fact that I’ve been taking medicine for so many years. And when I tried leaving it like I said it was bad… And I was again in and out of hospitals trying to get help. But yes, everybody has ups and downs, bad times and happy times, but clinical depression is real like any other mental illness or physical illness.”

  • Shah Rukh Khan endorses a gaming app and protests erupt outside his home, security increased

    Shah Rukh Khan endorses a gaming app and protests erupt outside his home, security increased

    Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan’s recent endorsements were met with severe backlash from the public, including an NGO which felt the actor was encouraging younger minds to play online games. The actor recently endorsed a gaming app A23, an online platform, for which a commercial was released in which the ‘Pathaan’ actor said “Chalo saath khelein’.

    Protests followed and were led by the NGO Untouch Youth Foundation, which called for celebrities to be held accountable for promoting online gaming apps which could ‘corrupt their minds of the youth of India’. Demonstrations were held outside Mannat house, SRK’s residence, and police officials were deployed in case of security threats.

    In an official statement, the organisation said they were calling for a protest against gaming apps like Zuppee, Jungly Rummy, and called out actors who endorsed these products.

    “Famous actors and actresses work in these advertisements and they are working towards misguiding society. The protest will be held outside Shah Rukh Khan’s Mannat bungalow on behalf of Untouch India Foundation.”

    The president of Untouch India Foundation, Krishchandra Adal, said:

    “The new generation is involved in playing Junglee rummy. If someone is playing Junglee rummy or gambling outside, the police arrest them, but big Bollywood stars promoting online games are misleading the young generation. The Bollywood stars also know it is wrong, but they are getting money so they are promoting them. We make these stars famous by watching their movies and spending our money on them. We demand these advertisements to stop. These apps are illegal, we can not find them on Google, but these apps are uploaded on private websites.”

  • ‘No one was available’: Ali Rehman on why transgender actors weren’t hired for Guru

    ‘No one was available’: Ali Rehman on why transgender actors weren’t hired for Guru

    Actor Ali Rehman Khan is currently playing the role of a transgender woman in the Express Entertainment drama ‘Guru’. The drama is facing intense backlash from social media users, especially transgender activists like Shahzadi Rai, who condemned the limited spaces allowed to members of the transgender community within the entertainment industry to be able to tell their own stories.

    Speaking to The Current, the activist expressed her dismay at how cis men were constantly taking up roles about people belonging to the third gender, and used the incorrect term used to describe the community like ‘intersex’.

    “People who do not want to declare themselves as intersex, why are you pushing the label on them? And roles that are about the third gender, you should give them to people who identify under it. A man’s role would be played by a man, while a woman’s role would be played by a woman.”

    READ MORE: Transgender activist Shehzadi Rai, Twitter users criticise ‘Guru’ for hiring cis man to play intersex character

    Several social media users also pointed out that films like ‘Joyland’ which starred transgender actress Alina Khan were met with intense backlash and banned in the country, but it was dramas like ‘Guru’ which were not met with the same scrutiny since members of the transgender community aren’t involved in production.

    Speaking to BBC Urdu, the actor has come forward to address these allegations, saying that despite the studio’s best efforts, they couldn’t find transgender actors to take on the role, and encouraged more members of the community to come into the field.

    “We were planning that one or two of the chelas in the show should be members of the transgender community. But we did a lot of auditions and couldn’t find any actors. And with a huge production there is a lot at stake, since you have to shoot for 40-50 days. You can’t just rely on one actor: you have to have a cohesive list.”

    The actor went on to express his desire to see more transgender people coming into acting, who can play these kinds of roles even more efficiently than he has.

    The actor also elaborated on how he had prepared for the leading role, revealing the process involved. He spoke with members of the transgender community, along with watching documentaries and movies related to the topic.

  • Jubh hum sub ko pyaar hua tha: the KKKG scene we’ll never forget

    If we ask y’all when did your love affair with the superstar Shah Rukh Khan begin, we’d get a lot of different responses but mostly it is the cult classic ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Ghum’ that struck the hearts of fans. It is remembered as one of Karan Johar’s most iconic rom-com’s of all time, and the pairing of SRK with Kajol to be one that can outshine all the Hollywood romcoms ever created.

    But looking back at the song from the film ‘Shava Shava’ a scene continues to find its way back on Twitter once again, when Rahul dreams up Anjali dancing at his father’s party and then re-calls how he fell in love with her at first sight. You know which scene we’re talking about, and yes it completely set the bar for how superior the SRK-Kajol chemistry is.

    No matter how many rom-coms Bollywood will keep churning out, the beauty and simplicity of this heartfelt confession within 25 seconds will never ever be matched by any Bollywood films. Once more Twitter users began falling back in love with the film.