Category: Entertainment

  • Veteran actor Akbar Khan passes away

    Veteran actor Akbar Khan passes away

    Inna Lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un

    Actor Akbar Khan, known for portraying character roles, has passed away in Karachi on Tuesday after suffering from an undisclosed illness.

    He was a painter and a sculptor of note, with acting credits that include critically acclaimed dramas like ‘Parizaad’, ‘Dil Ruba’ and the popular sitcom ‘Bulbulay’.

    Hum TV sent condolences to the late actor’s friends and family members on Instagram.

    Adnan Siddiqui remembered Akbar Khan for his contributions to the entertainment industry:

    “May Allah grant him higher place in Jannah . Aameen.”

    Actors like Yashma Gill and Yasir Hussain posted condolences for the late actor’s passing on their Instagram stories.

  • Koyi bacha hai? Star stuffed cast for Pakistan’s first Netflix series

    Koyi bacha hai? Star stuffed cast for Pakistan’s first Netflix series

    Its now official that Pakistan is about to get it’s first ever Netflix drama, starring our own actors. In July journalist Hassan Kazmi broke the news on social media, announcing that Lollywood’s A-list celebrities like Fawad Khan, Mahira Khan and Hamza Ali Abbasi are set to star in a Netflix adaptation of Farhat Ishtiaq’s novel ‘Jo Bachay Hain Sang Samiat Lo’, with director Momina Duraid on board.

    Now, Variety has revealed kay waqai mein the drama will live up to its name by leaving no actor behind, as the cast is chockfull of Pakistani A-listers like Sanam Saeed, Ahad Raza Mir, Bilal Ashraf, Maya Ali , Iqra Aziz , Hania Aamir , Khushaal Khan, Nadia Jamil , Omair Rana and Samina Ahmed.

    According to the publication, Momina Duraid will serve as the show runner, and her firm Momina Duraid Films FZ, will be producing the series. The show is currently being shot in US, Italy and Pakistan.

    The novel revolves around Sikandar, a Harvard law student who undergoes an incident that compels him to keep people away. He then comes across Lisa when he’s travelling to Italy, an energetic artist with a troubled past.

    Ishtiaq’s other novels ‘Humsafar’ was adapted into the critically acclaimed 2011 drama, starring Mahira and Fawad. Her other novels have also been turned into screen fare, including ‘Bin Roye’ which was adapted into a 2015 film starring Humayun Saeed and Mahira, and ‘Yakeen Ka Safar’ which was adapted in 2017 into a drama starring Sajal Aly and Ahad Raza Mir.

    Fawad is riding high on the blockbuster ‘The Legend Of Maula Jatt’ which also starred Mahira Khan and Hamza. He is set to come back to television screens with the series ‘Barzakh’ starring Sanam Saeed, and directed/ written by Asim Abbas.

  • ‘I can’t even boil water’: Kareena Kapoor says Saif Ali Khan is the cook of the family

    ‘I can’t even boil water’: Kareena Kapoor says Saif Ali Khan is the cook of the family

    Once a diva, always a diva

    Is there anyone who has embodied the Queen Bee persona more than the Bollywood beauty Kareena Kapoor? The actress recently gave an interview at an event in New Delhi where she hilariously revealed that she can’t cook, and it is her husband, actor Saif Ali Khan, who handles that department.

    “I can’t even boil water,” the actress joked. “I am a Swiggy and Zomato person. I have a husband and a cook who make the food in this household.”

    The ‘Don’ actress went on to praise her husband, whom she married in 2012 and shares two kids with.

     “Saif is an amazing cook. He cooks everything. He cooks all types of cuisine, including Italian, like pasta, and pizza. We go through a recipe together and then try to cook it.”

    The ‘Veer Di Wedding’ actor also opened up about how the couple are actually home birds, despite being A-list power couple. The two are more fond of cooking at home rather than eating out at restaurants. Kareena said the two spend more time at home during weekends to spend time with their children.

     “We try not to work. We try to be at home on weekends. Taimur often says I want to be with my friends”. This is proof that he is growing up fast. We like to cook meals, play games, and play UNO. We also love to cuddle up and be together.”

  • Shah Rukh Khan’s handwritten college essay about childhood has moved Twitter to tears

    Shah Rukh Khan’s handwritten college essay about childhood has moved Twitter to tears

    It turns out Shah Rukh Khan was fated to become an entertainer because even when he wasn’t famous, he could move people with his wit and charm. An X (formerly Twitter) user posted an essay written by the Bollywood Badshah when he was in college.

    The “Badshah” actor began the essay by hilariously writing that without going into details about his “bed-pan habits” or other interesting facts about his “urinating styles”, he could safely say he had a happy childhood.

    The actor reminiscences about how cheeky he was as a child: “My actions at the age of 5 years were of those of any other kid down the block-winking at girls of the Manavsthali School, throwing flying kisses at aunts 6-7 times my age, and dancing to the tune of Chakke pe Chakka.”

    The essay also talks about the actor’s interest in sports, including football, hockey and cricket. The ‘Pathaan’ actor wrote about how he was chosen to be a wicket keeper for cricket matches, played centre, forward for hockey and also received the ‘Best Player Award’ at the All Delhi Schools Hockey Competition. In football, Shah Rukh says he was the captain of the school team for the Youth Review Soccer Tournament.

    The essay went viral on Twitter, moving social media users with its wit and elegant prose

    https://twitter.com/deewana_man/status/1467110660211417095?s=20
    https://twitter.com/fsharkz/status/1466995391321149440?s=20
  • Amidst legal conflicts, teaser for the upcoming Shoaib Akhtar biopic ‘Rawalpindi Express’ released

    Amidst legal conflicts, teaser for the upcoming Shoaib Akhtar biopic ‘Rawalpindi Express’ released

    In an unexpected surprise, the trailer for the Shoaib Akhtar biopic ‘Rawalpindi Express’ has been released online, with Mirza Gohar Rasheed replacing Uzair Jaswal to play the legendary cricket star. The film, directed by Muhammad Faraq Qaiser, and written by Qiaser Nawaz, will explore the struggles through which Shoaib Akhtar went from a small town boy to becoming one of the biggest cricket stars Pakistan has ever seen.

    The cast comprises of Faran Tahir, Usman Peerzada, Adnan Shah Tipu, Rahim Pardesi, Hammad Siddique, Baatin Farouqi, Saleem Mairaj, Raheela Agha, Salman Shahid and Shafqat Cheema.

    The film’s production was mired with numerous controversies, as Shoaib Akhtar had announced he had left the pre-production, citing “failure to resolve disagreements amicably and constant contractual violations finally resulted in us cutting ties with them,” as the reason. In his detailed Instagram post, the former cricket legend said he completed all legal protocols and revoked the rights to the story of his life.

    In July, Shoaib shared a screenshot of the legal notice issued against the filmmakers behind ‘Rawalpindi Express’ warning that anyone innvolved in the production would be held responsible by authorities.

    “I have issued a stay order against the filming and release of the supposed biopic being made on my life by a certain group of people. I had to do this because they had threatened in writing of continuing filming regardless of the legal termination of the agreement. Any person involved in the project should know that its completely illegal and they will be responsible for any reputational loss.”

  • Karma is a queen: Swifties rejoice after Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato part ways with Scooter Braun

    Karma is a queen: Swifties rejoice after Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato part ways with Scooter Braun

    Look what you made her do

    If anything has been proved by history time and time again: Taylor Swift gets the last word, always.

    In 2019, the singer made international headlines when she publicly called out the owner of her former record label Big Machine Records, Scott Borchetta, for selling the masters of her first six albums to Scooter Braun. In a long Tumbler post, the singer detailed how she had pleaded for a chance to own her original work, but it was sold to a man who she described as an “incessant, manipulative bully”. Her musical legacy was about to “lie in the hands of someone who tried to dismantle it.”

    “Like when Kim Kardashian orchestrated an illegally recorded snippet of a phone call to be leaked and then Scooter got his two clients together to bully me online about it. (See photo) Or when his client, Kanye West, organized a revenge porn music video which strips my body naked. Now Scooter has stripped me of my life’s work, that I wasn’t given an opportunity to buy. Essentially, my musical legacy is about to lie in the hands of someone who tried to dismantle it.”

    The disagreements surrounding the masters between Taylor and her former record label and Scooter led on for a while, and the ‘Vigilante S***” singer was banned from playing her old music at the 2019 American Music Awards, and then from her Netflix documentary ‘Miss Americana’ (2019).

    Afterwards, in October 2020 Swift publicly expressed her distaste at Scooter selling her masters once more to Shamrock Holdings for $405 million without her approval. She later announced that she would be rerecording all six albums in order to gain complete ownership over them, and has so far released three of the six albums including Fearless (Taylor’s Version), Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), Red (Taylor’s Version) and 1989 (Taylor’s Version) to release in October.

    It seemed like Tay-voodo began getting after Scooter Braun right away because since 2021, he was hit with a $200 million lawsuit in June by Peter Comisar, the vice chairman of investment banking at Guggenheim Securities, accused the businessman of fraud and breach of contract. Afterwards, his divorce to wife of seven years, Yael Cohen, who also publicly supported Scooter during his feud with Taylor, and called the singer a bully. Some Swifties even theorised that the track ‘Mad Woman’ from Taylor’s album ‘Folklore’ indirectly addressed Scooter’s cheating on his wife.

    Now, speculations are rife that some of music executive’s biggest clients like Justin Bieber, had parted ways with him, although it was shut down by sources speaking to Page Six.

    However, on Tuesday BBC has reported that pop singers Ariana Grande and Demi Lovato have parted ways with Braun and are both seeking new managers, firmly shutting any one down who thinks the woman who wrote ‘Karma’ was even joking about it.

    Since this news hit social media, Swifties lauded the popstar for publicly revealing the truth about Scooter and his corrupt nature before anyone else had, remaining steadfast in her truth despite the bullying she had to endure.

  • ‘Pray for forgiveness’: The Nun is taking Warner Bros to court

    ‘Pray for forgiveness’: The Nun is taking Warner Bros to court

    Looks like The Nun doesn’t just haunt abandoned abbeys, she can also become a nightmare for film producers when they neglect to give her fair financial compensation.

    Bonnie Aarons, the actress who played the creepy demonic sister from the horror franchise ‘The Nun’, is taking Warner Bros to court for not providing her with the fair share of earnings from the film’s merchandise.

    According to the lawsuit filed on August 15 in Los Angeles, the contract signed between Aarons and Warner Bros stated she would receive $71,000 from the the film ‘The Nun’ which released in 2018, along with box office bonuses, but the studio missed out on a key part stated in the actor’s contract:  the right to receive “gross receipts from merchandise” featuring her likeness as the demon nun. 

    Aarons had featured in the film ‘The Conjuring’ where she played the demon Valak, then went on to reprise her role in the film ‘The Nun’ which became a box office hit, grossing around $365 million worldwide. A sequel, ‘The Nun 2’, is releasing across theatres in a few weeks.

    The suit has argued that Warner Bros exploited Aarons by refusing to give her the complete amount they had made from the merchandise of ‘The Nun’:

    “Instead of accounting and paying in a transparent fashion, Warner Bros. obscures and hides the true amount of Ms. Aarons’ rightful share of merchandising revenues, all while continuing to exploit her,” the suit reads.

    It noted that Aarons had not relied on prosthetics to don the role of the terrifying creature, but it was the actor’s particular features that boosted merchandise. A significant portion of the merchandise alludes to Valak, as she’s the most popular character from The Conjuring cinematic universe.

    The shocking revelations of actors exploited by studios has arrived in the light of the SAG-AFTRA strikes currently happening across Hollywood, as actors and writers have together protested against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers regarding contracts and low residuals offered despite how popular franchises had gotten. Actor Mara Wilson, who had been the lead of the popular movie ‘Matilda’ and then ‘Mrs Doubtfire’, took to Twitter to reveal she was never able to make enough to qualify for SAG-AFTRA healthcare.

    “I haven’t acted much as an adult, but I WAS on a recurring character on one of the most critically acclaimed animated shows of all time, as well playing an actual Disney villain. But thanks to streaming, I have never once made enough to qualify for SAG-AFTRA healthcare.”

    Actress Mandy Moore, who starred in the critically acclaimed series ‘This Is Us’ shocked social media users when she revealed her residuals amounted up to 81 cents only.

  • ‘World stop’: Fawad, Mahira’s photoshoot for Fawad’s wife’s brand mesmerises Twitter

    Aur kitni baar Mahira aur Fawad humara dil jeetain gay? The duo, who can make a simple seven second video exude more chemistry than all the high budget Bollywood love stories put together, has once more joined hands to win hearts again. Their recent photoshoot for the brand Sadaf Fawad Khan has won X (formerly Twitter) over.

    A few days ago, Mahira shared a seven-second video of her walking towards Fawad. The clip spread like wildfire across social media. Clearly the two know how much power they hold over the generation that loved Khirad and Ashar.

    The duo look exquisite posing for the campaign ‘Phir Milenge’, with Mahira wearing a red blouse and matching lengha adorned with silver patterns, pairing it with silver jewelry. Her hair is pulled back in a bun. Fawad wears a grey kurta with matching pajamas.

    Since the photoshoot was released on social media, Twitter users are going wild. Fawad and Mahira continue to hold a place in our hearts and will do so for a long time ahead.

    They’ll forever be THAT couple.

  • ‘Shaadi kay din hi, I knew something was wrong’: Firdous Ashiq Awan addresses Sania-Shoaib Malik divorce rumors

    Cricketer Shoaib Malik and his wife, Indian tennis star Sania Mirza, have been one of the most popular public couples since they tied the knot in 2013. However, in recent months, rumours of the couple contemplating divorce have picked up pace. Previously, the rumor mill went into hyperdrive when Shoaib Malik removed Sania Mirza’s name from his Instagram bio, and now politician Firdous Ashiq Awan has added fuel to the fire.

    In a recent appearance on the show ‘Hasna Mana Hai’, the former Information Minister, who had attended the couple’s lavish wedding in Hyderabad, said that at the reception she got a gut feeling that the marriage won’t work out.

    Awan said that on the day she, along with the family, arrived in Hyderabad to meet Sania’s family, she had whispered in Shoaib’s ear “Puttar, bara bura phas gaya hai. [Son, you are badly stuck ]”

    Awan said her intuition was based on the situation she saw. Although the two had a love marriage, and had tried to make their marriage work by deciding to live in Dubai rather than Pakistan or India. But Awan said what she witnessed during the wedding made her realise the marriage won’t work.

    “Jab tak mohabbat ka bhoot sawar hai,” the politician joked. “Ye chalay ga.”

    The couple have not made any public announcements about separation or divorce, and are currently hosting ‘The Mirza Malik show’ on Express Entertainment.

  • ‘A patient revealed she was kicked out of her house by her husband because of her stretch marks’: Shaista Lodhi

    ‘A patient revealed she was kicked out of her house by her husband because of her stretch marks’: Shaista Lodhi

    Actress and aesthetic physician Shaista Lodhi appeared as a guest on the ‘The Talk Talk Show’ where she spoke about her career as an aesthetic physician, who provides cosmetic medical surgeries to celebrities, politicians and the general public. She spoke about the dark side of her career, revealing that young women and girls come to her after being bullied by men about their features.

    The ‘Samjhota’ actress said that many young girls and women visited her clinic led by insecurity about their features, after their husbands send them pictures.

    “Those pictures were given to them by their fiancés,” revealed Shahista. “Then I tell them that they should get rid of this man first. Can you imagine? It’s such an insult for a man to tell you to look like this woman.”

    Shahista shared another horrifying instance where a patient came with her husband, who jokingly asked the surgeon to make his wife look like her. The actress recalled feeling outraged and wanting to lash out at the man.

    “You can see the way women are treated in our society,” lamented the ‘Pardes’ actress. “That girl was sitting in a corner and politely laughing while I wanted to slap him right away. But that woman kept silent, even though it must be torturous for her to stay with such a man who keeps taunting her with things like ‘Tumharay baal hain’, ‘tumharay boaht ziada baal hain’..”

    Shahista Lodhi said women are consistently scrutinized and made to feel inferior because of their looks, and bullied by their in-laws over things like their skin coloror body type. She went on to point out that these things don’t prove that there is a problem with women, but it is men who have complexes.

    Shahista further stressed that if people want to get plastic surgery, they should, but never at the cost of their insecurities.

    When asked about she deals with women coming to her wanting to change features, Shahista spoke about the time a woman came to her clinic asking to remove her stretch marks because she was kicked out her house- which completely shocked the actress.

    “Three days ago a woman came to me and said she recently delivered a baby, and her husband kicked her out of the house because of her stretch marks. And the woman had been staying at her mother’s house for the past 20 days.

    “I tried in any way I could to console her and tell her she’s earned this. Allah made you a gift, and you’re not alone in this. How could a man tell you this!”

    Shahista re-called the woman begging her to fix her marks so she might save her marriage, and the actress said “If you think fixing your stretch marks would save your marriage, then its better such a union never happened!”

    Kudo’s to Shahista for taking such a powerful standard against imposing such beauty standards on women- and reminding them that its not worth fixing a marriage where you are imposed into taking such measures.