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Category: Entertainment

  • Is Barbie banned in Pakistan? We investigate

    Is Barbie banned in Pakistan? We investigate

    Everything was fine and handy dandy on the internet when suddenly fire started spewing on the bird app that the upcoming film ‘Barbie’ is banned in Pakistan

    https://twitter.com/meerabhassannn/status/1672350099618562048?s=20
    https://twitter.com/notbabyze/status/1673642005820317696?s=20
    https://twitter.com/garbajjj/status/1676269902347345926?s=20
    https://twitter.com/olivescoil/status/1672895133354979331?s=20

    This has to be a joke pulled by the Oppenheimer marketing team, because when it comes to Barbie and the sacred Greta Gerwig, our claws are out.

    Since our occupation is journalism, we got out our pink notebooks and glittery pen, and investigated this nonsense rumor to tell you guys that there is no such thing happenening. From the major cinemas we have spoken to in Lahore and Karachi, we can confidently say Barbie is not banned in Pakistan.

    In Lahore, here are some of the places where it is confirmed that the film will release on July 21:

    Xinhua Mall

    Emporium Mall

    Cue Cinema

    Chalo Cinema at Fortress Stadium is only showing Oppenheimer. When we spoke to an employee of the organisation, they said that there was no current confirmation about whether or not Barbie will be playing in their theatre.

    Whereas in Karachi, we had reached out to Nueplex Cinemas where although Barbie and Oppenheimer are grouped under the category of movies coming soon, but two employees at the cinema said that currently there was no confirmation about whether the movie will play in their cinema or not. Fans of the film can call them three days before the release to confirm.

    But there you have it folks. This Barbie has proven that the film was not banned in Pakistan.

  • Pakistani dramas, stop treating topics like sexual harassment so lightly

    Pakistani dramas, stop treating topics like sexual harassment so lightly

    Ab ye hi reh gaya tha?

    Pakistani dramas have a strict formula. To make sure that a drama turns into a hit. They try not to even think about emphasising the understanding of social issues or for once making a drama that is not about sass bahu jhagray. The problem is that they include scenes like women being abused, exploited, and even flip the narrative by trying to justify that women make up harassment scandals just to entrap men.

    ‘Mujhay Pyaar Hua Tha’ decided to take the cake after showing two cousins getting married, a weird love triangle, father getting paralysed after daughter tries to rebel, now the good-at-heart male lead is getting trapped by another woman, who falsely accuses him of harassing her, because obviously women don’t get sexual harassed or assaulted in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. They just make up stories, right? So wrong.

    https://twitter.com/eliteclownn/status/1675888756648464386?s=20

    In this scene, a woman shows up to Saad’s office, threatening him that she has personal pictures of his wife Maheer (played by Hania Amir) and her ex-lover Areeb (Zaviyaar Nauman Ijaz), which she will leak on social media unless Saad visits her house. When he arrives there, she hands him coffee which she had drugged with something that makes him unconscious. When Saad awakens, the woman calls the police and re-arranges the scene to make it look like she was sexually assaulted, and Saad is arrested and taken away.

    We hope that the makers of ‘Mujhay Pyaar Hua Tha’, its writer and the lead actors understand that sexual harassment is a serious crime, and not a made up fantasy that women endorse just to make money and trap innocent men. If it’s so hard for the lead actors to understand why being well aware about social issues is important when working in dramas, take an example from Mawra Hocane when she revealed that she refused to work in the drama ‘Qisa Meherbano Ka’ which was depicting marital rape, that after discussing this issue with the producer Momina Duraid and the director Iqbal Hussain, they all agreed to re-write the scene and then shot it.

    Twitter users had to condemn Pakistani dramas for once more proving that we could take one step forward, but in exchange we’ll go several steps back.

    “It’s extremely irresponsible to show false rape allegations in countries with rape culture,” one user wrote. “I hope makers realise they are feeding victim complex of Desi men for lukewarm twists.”

  • Shah Rukh Khan underwent surgery after suffering injury during shoot

    Shah Rukh Khan underwent surgery after suffering injury during shoot

    Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has reportedly suffered an injury that left his nose bleeding, according to E Times.

    Sources revealed to the news outlet that the Badshah of Bollywood was in Los Angeles in the US shooting a scene for a film when he suffered an injury and was immediately taken to a hospital.

    Reports have revealed that the injury was minor, requiring Khan to undergo a small surgery after which he was back at his home resting:

    “Post the operation, SRK was spotted with a bandage on his nose and is now back in the country, recuperating at home,” the source revealed to E Times.

    The Bollywood Badshah is set to make share space on the big screen with his daughter Suhana next year in a film that he is also co-producing.

  • Shoaib Akhtar secures stay order against filming, release of biopic 

    Shoaib Akhtar secures stay order against filming, release of biopic 

    Former cricketer Shoaib Akhtar took to his Instagram account to announce that he has secured a stay order against the makers of his biopic ‘Rawalpindi Express’. The stay orders will prevent the crew from filming the movie.


    Akhtar warned that any person involved in the production process of the film will 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.”

    In the legal notice, it was mentioned that anyone associated with the film would be held responsible, and the police will raid any future filming with a court order.

    Previously, Akhtar announced his departure from the film, citing “failure to resolve disagreements amicably and constant contractual violations finally resulted in us cutting ties with them,” after which the former cricketer revealed he completed all legal protocols and revoked the rights to the story of his life.

    Actor Umair Jaswal, who had been selected to portray the cricket star in the project, also announced back in January in an Instagram post that he was stepping away from the film due to “personal and creative reasons”:

    “Due to creative and personal reasons, I have decided to step away from the Shoaib Akhtar biopic project RAWALPINDI EXPRESS. I will no longer be associated with any media or news related to this project.”

  • Feroze Khan thinks the cure to depression is women obeying men

    Feroze Khan thinks the cure to depression is women obeying men

    Feroze Khan is once more going viral on the internet for all the wrong reasons. The actor is now promoting the most absurd ways to help women overcome depression.

    In a viral now-deleted post, a person had asked the actor how she could cure depression about her future, to which Khan responded:

    “Obey your men. Give them your responsibility and sit back and enjoy grapes. I’d do that if I was a woman. Be a queen.”

    Sir, how is this even proper advice? Cure your depression by completely submitting yourself to the men in your life?

    Once more, Feroze jee proves how undefeatable his critical thinking skills are, when a fan questioned him about his misogynist views by reminding him that it was due to the struggles and hard work of his sister, ‘Maula Jatt’ actress Humaima Malick, that Khan was able to achieve such monumental fame, which brings into question why he holds such misogynist views.

    To this Feroze had to respond:

    1 , I’m gonna be loud.
    2, will have no fear.
    3, do you think she would’ve achieved this without my dad and us brothers backing her up ?
    *mic drop*

    Classy behavior, putting down the hard work of your sister just to boost up your ego.

    Twitter users obviously did not have the time or the fortitude to put up with Khan’s misogynist views and were ready to shut him down.

    https://twitter.com/udharmarro/status/1675391704310882304?s=20
  • ‘He’s the smoothest talker’: Kajol thinks Shah Rukh Khan can be her defence lawyer

    ‘He’s the smoothest talker’: Kajol thinks Shah Rukh Khan can be her defence lawyer

    Every 90s kid went through a phase in their lives when they thought that Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol were married. Though they are not, the perception is on point. After all, their chemistry is still undefeatable, even if you are Ranveer Singh and Alia.

    Speaking about her upcoming show ‘The Trial-Pyaar, Kanoon, Dhoka’ on Netflix, actress Kajol gave an interview to Bollywood Bubble where she was asked which actor could play her lawyer in a film. She immediately replied that no one but Shah Rukh would succeed at the job:

    “Shah Rukh. Hands down I will choose Shah Rukh. He is the smoothest talker ever.”

    “And he will be standing over there and be like ‘lines ki jaroorat nahi hai, mein bol sakta hu’ (laughs). He will stand there and he will talk me out of anything that I’ve gotten myself into. So, definitely hands-down Shah Rukh.”

    Someone convince Karan Johar to get these two back in a film again, we’re still not over DDLJ.

  • Riz Ahmed’s ‘Nimona’ hailed by critics as a unique queer fantasy

    Riz Ahmed’s ‘Nimona’ hailed by critics as a unique queer fantasy

    On Friday, Netflix dropped the highly anticipated animated fantasy film ‘Nimona’ which stars Pakistani-British actor Riz Ahmed, Chloe Grace Montez, Eugene Lee Yang as the main leads, and is adapted from the comics of the same name by ‘She-Ra’ creator ND Stevenson.

    Since its release, critics have hailed the film as a gorgeous queer fantasy that calls for acceptance and equality for the LGBTQ+ community, but mostly critics have hailed Ahmed’s and Mortez’s performances, as Entertainment Weekly praised it for the casual queer representation as the main lead Nimona is a gender non-conforming being, and the romantic relationship between two male knights.

    Speaking on the queer representation, Ahmed had said:

    “I understand this is a big win and a big moment representation-wise, and we’re all so proud of that. But I think those moments only feel like real wins when they’re not tokenized, when they are actually there because of the emotional truth of the character. When we are honoring these characters as human, that’s when it feels real, you know?”  

    Writing on the powerful vocal performance by Mortez as Nimona, Polygon hailed her for creating the duality between the rebellious side of the vibrant shape shifter, but also exploring her vulnerable side as an outcast who doesn’t feel like she can belong anywhere.

    Coming on the themes of queer representation, Mashable praised Nimona for being speaking on empowering the queer community:

    “Along with its unique animation and rollicking action sequences, Nimona digs into themes of individuality, identity, and acceptance that aim to speak directly and warmly to the queer community. At a time when LGBTQ rights and spaces continue to come under attack from bigoted legislation(opens in a new tab), Nimona cements itself not just as a great fantasy film, but as an important one as well.”

    Calling it a film that takes aim at the post 9/11 surveillance state, IGN praised Nimona for being “a tender and bold tale about challenging institutions, being a good ally, and the need to live as your true self.”

    Nimona takes place in a science fantasy world where Ballister Boldheart (played by Riz) is the first commoner to be enlisted in the presitigous Institute of Elite Knights, when an accident takes place during the knighting ceremony after which he is forced to flee for his life. Partnered with the rebellious Nimona (voiced by Chloe Grace Montez) a shape-shifter who has a desire to do something evil, they team up to clear his name and investigate the perpetuators behind the accident.

  • Babar, Khusshaal: Celebrities who went viral with hilarious memes

    Babar, Khusshaal: Celebrities who went viral with hilarious memes

    We know our celebrities are incredibly talented, but you have to be talented at a whole other level to be able to go viral because someone has made memes out of your performance. And hum Pakistanis ki tou baat hee kya hai, we’re miserable because of, well, everything, but our meme game is undefeatable.

    From Babar Azam’s shock to Hira Mani, here are some hilarious moments that changed pop culture and the phrases you have been hearing to death.

    1 Hira Mani went viral when she said “Mard ko bhi tou samjho” in her interview with Samina Peerzada and launched a string of memes.

    2 We salute Khushhal Khan for his services to the meme game. Really sir, no one does it like you.

    https://twitter.com/peachcrisis/status/1675636350203359233?s=20

    3 Never change Babar Azam, please never change.

    https://twitter.com/inabaabelfaroqi/status/1612466551571070976?s=20

    4 Aye Musht-e-Khaak ended eons ago but this meme of Feroze Khan remains frozen on the internet.

  • Creative and intriguing, here are four reasons why you should go watch ‘Teri Meri Kahaniyaan’

    Creative and intriguing, here are four reasons why you should go watch ‘Teri Meri Kahaniyaan’

    ‘Teri Meri Kahaniyaan’ has been hailed by critics and filmmakers as a progressive step, citing its three unique stories with stellar performances by actors like Wahaj Ali and Mehwish Hayat.

    The anthology film comprising of three stories directed by Nadeem Baig, Marina Khan and Nabeel Qureshi, is at heart an ode to celebrating creativity and the complexity of human nature, with plenty of twists and turns to keep you hooked till the credits roll.

    Here are four reasons why this film should definitely be on your watch list:

    1 Marina Khan knocks it out of the park with a wholesome rom com ‘Pasoori’

    We all remember Marina Khan from beloved classics like ‘Tanhaiyaan’ and ‘Dhoop Kinare’ but her powerful direction in helming this feminist comedy to life is something the Pakistani cinema truly needs, more women led movies that do not center around men. Pasoori revolves around the upcoming wedding of Salman (played by Shehryar Munawar) and Romaisa (Ramsha Khan), who receives an opportunity on her nikkah to perform at a talent show. With its hilarious side characters and Munawar’s ability to incite laughter and tears with his emotions, this was a well directed story.

    2. The hilarious comedy of ‘Jin Mahal’

    Jin Mahal, penned by Ali Abbas and Basit Naqvi and directed by Nabeel Qureshi, starts of with a tragedy as a couple is forced to live in an abandoned train after being forcefully evicted from their home. It still churns out golden moments thanks to stellar performances by Hira and Mani, as their characters Shehenshah and Mumtaz fight to keep their home by tricking others to believe a jinn resides there.

    3. Khalil ul Rehman’s engrossing ‘Aik Sau Taeeswan’

    A gripping tale about possessiveness, betrayal and the complex thing that is love, with gorgeous visuals and a powerful performance by the icon that is Mehwish Hayat, the third and final film is a masterstroke in why we need more films like ‘Teri Meri Kahaniyaan’. With a span of only 35 minutes, the tale dives into the glory of love, and its dark side as two married people sitting in a train confide their marriage woes to each other.

    4. The sizzling chemistry between Mehwish Hayat and Wahaj Ali

    When we spoke to Nadeem Baig, who directed ‘Aik Sau Taeeswan’, about why he picked Mehwish and Wahaj to star in his short film, he revealed that although the two had not shared the screen before, it was interesting to see how their chemistry would work out. In this film, their electrifying chemistry keeps the audience gripped. Hayat keeps the audience in control with her commanding performance as a married woman who is aware of her failing marriage, but refuses to let herself succumb to it. Equally compelling, Wahaj Ali keeps viewers engaged as the screen shifts from their playful flirting dynamics, to guilt and complete shock as the tables turn.

  • Karan Johar thinks Alia-Ranveer are the new SRK-Kajol: Twitter is like ‘Ya think?!’

    Karan Johar thinks Alia-Ranveer are the new SRK-Kajol: Twitter is like ‘Ya think?!’

    Karan Johar really knows how to mess with die-hard Bollywood fanatics and long time lovers of SRK. The filmmaker dropped the video for ‘Tum Kya Mile’ from his upcoming film ‘Rocky and Rani KiI Prem Kahani’. The visuals were awfully familiar to the classic song ‘Suraj Hua Maddham’, another Karan Johar classic which featured Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol.

    Karan Johar declared back in 2022 that Ranveer and Alia were the new Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, but Twitter stepped up with receipts to counteract his claim.

    A Twitter user Ria Chopra went viral on social media when she shared a screenshot from the music video to point out how Alia flipped her hair, but Ranveer was cringing back from her, completely destroying any potential romantic aspect the film was claiming to champion.

    “Exact second I realized this Rocky Rani song is NOT IT is this moment when Ranveer visibly cringes back to avoid Alia’s hair from hitting his face… in a true filmi romance the hero would allow her hair to hit him…. maybe even throw in a deep sniff… this is not my Bollywood.”

    Soon, other Twitter users roasted the video and seriously rest de do Karan bhaiya, no one can claim to be the King of Romance like SRK.

    https://twitter.com/notanaveragegal/status/1674068529841156096?s=20

    The 90s generation who grew up daydreaming that a guy would re-create the iconic ‘Suraj Hua Maddham’ have a bone to pick with the one responsible for this film.

    Someone petition SRK and Kajol to come back for another film because seriously this isn’t working out at all

    Yash Chopra, who invented the sari girl and highneck sweater guy in the snow fantasy, is rolling in his grave.

    https://twitter.com/kookykarthik/status/1674065746048040962?s=20