Sunita Kapoor, mother of Bollywood actres Sonam Kapoor, took to Instagram to express her happiness as her daughter delivered a “spoken word performance” at King Charles III’s Coronation Concert.
The concert was organised to celebrate the monarch a day after the historic coronation held at Westminster Abbey. Sonam Kapoor introduced various choir performers from the Commonwealth and took the center stage at the event. Sunita Kapoor shared a video of her daughter’s speech on Instagram along with a note, “So proud! Such an honour.”
Sonam Kapoor began her speech with “Namaste”. She said that the Commonwealth is a union. “Together we are one-third of the world’s people. One-third of the world’s ocean. One-quarter of the world’s land. Each of our countries is unique, and each of our people is special, but we choose to stand as one, learning from our history. Blessed by our diversity, driven by our values, and determined to build a more peaceful, sustainable, and prosperous future for everyone, where every voice is heard.”
Sonam Kapoor’s dress was designed by Anamika Khanna and Emilia Wickstead.
Turkish actor Burak Deniz is currently in India to attend the 23rd edition of FICCI Frames in Mumbai. Deniz, a Bollywood fan, has expressed admiration for Indian celebrities in different interviews.
During a talk with India Today he was asked if he has watched Indian movies. Burak Deniz expressed admiration for Aamir Khan and said that he has watched PK and 3 Idiots. “Who doesn’t love Aamir Khan? He is an actor but more than that he is involved in a lot of other activities. He is very impressive and the greatest actor in the world! I have a lot of respect for him,” he said, adding that he would love to act in a Bollywood film. “I’ll need to learn Hindi first and how to sing and dance,” he jokingly said.
Burak Deniz was also captured on video mimicking Shah Rukh Khan’s renowned hand gesture, known as his signature pose. The video shows a host instructing Burak on how to execute the pose, but before he could finish the lesson, Burak seemed to grasp the reference and effortlessly performed the gesture.
In an Instagram story, actor Yasir Hussain has said that Pakistanis have become too cool to appreciate their own artists, referring to singer Ali Sethi not being appreciated enough for his performance at Coachella.
“Diljit too went to Coachella and everyone in India was appreciating him. This is also a big achievement for a Pakistani artist. But, as usual, we did not appreciate it,” wrote Yasir.
Ali Sethi performed at this year’s Coachella festival on April 16. Sethi sang his smash hit Coke Studio song Pasoori.
Last year, Pasoori became the most Googled ‘hum to search’ song of 2022. Ali Sethi and Shae Gill’s iconic track left behind chartbusters like BTS’ Butter, Siravali and Chaand Baaliyan.
Nadia Jamil has penned down a touching tribute to her father Abdul Jalil Jamil one day after his death in Lahore.
Jamil passed away in a private hospital on Wednesday after suffering a massive heart attack.
Calling her father an angel, the veteran actress wrote on Twitter that she and her family were grateful to have had him for as long as they did.
“Abu has transitioned.Please pray 4 his peaceful transition & 4 my family & me.We celebrate his life & are in the deepest gratitude that we had an Angel like him w us 4 as long as we did.We miss him,bt he lives on in his lessons 2 is,in the blood in our cells,in beautiful memories”.
Nadia Jamil also wrote that her father, who was a cancer survivor, was ready since a while to “move beyond this world.”
Jalil, who was buried on Wednesday, is survived by his wife Nuscie, daughter Nadia Jamil, son Omar Jamil and three siblings.
Abdul Jalil Jamil was one of Lahore’s most renowned businessmen.
ead Nadia’s tweets here:
Abu has transitioned.Please pray 4 his peaceful transition & 4 my family & me.We celebrate his life & are in the deepest gratitude that we had an Angel like him w us 4 as long as we did.We miss him,bt he lives on in his lessons 2 is,in the blood in our cells,in beautiful memories pic.twitter.com/NxzJmfI1FY
He loved life,his wife,family,dogs, poetry,movies,philosophy,sufi kalaam. His Faith in Allah ws profound & disciplined. He never raised his voice 2 anyone.He forgave those who hurt him open heartedly & never held a grudge. He was incredibly funny & always had a twinkle in his eye
Activist and actress Jameela Jamil took to Instagram to publicly slam the celebrities who attended this year’s Met Gala, where late German fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld- who was a controversial figure for his many sexist and racist comments- was honoured.
Lagerfeld had been outspoken against allowing curvy women to pose for magazines or model, in response to women’s magazine ‘Bridgette’ when the publication announced that they would only publish pictures of real women instead of models:
“You’ve got fat mothers with their bags of chips sitting in front of the television and saying that thin models are ugly. The world of beautiful clothing is about ‘dreams and illusions’.”
Lagerfeld had also been a vocal opponent of the #MeToo movement, speaking to Numero in 2018 after three models accused the creative director of Chanel of sexual harassment:
“If you don’t want your pants pulled about, don’t become a model! Join a nunnery, there’ll always be a place for you in the convent.”
Jamil criticised the celebrities who had been vocal about social issues like #MeToo movement and body positivity for refusing to call out the controversial legacy of the late ‘Chanel’ fashion designer:
“Last night Hollywood and fashion said the quiet part out loud when a lot of famous feminists chose to celebrate at the highest level, a man who was so publicly cruel to women, to fat people, to immigrants and to sexual assault survivors. And all the women’s publications, and spectators online, chose to gleefully ignore it. Suddenly your appetite to find someone’s tweets from when they were 12, has gone.”
The ‘Good Place’ actor went on to share that the selective cancel culture within liberal politics needs to stop, because it further erodes the trust people have in progressive politics that it will actually make a difference in the world:
“This isn’t about cancel culture. Its not even about Karl. It’s about showing how selective cancel culture is within liberal politics, in the most blatant way so far. It’s about showing why people don’t trust liberals. Because of slippery tactics and double standards like this.”
Veteran actor Shaan Shahid has been criticised by social media users when his Facebook comment went viral where he had slammed the director of ‘Money Back Guarantee’ Faisal Qureshi, saying that Ufone commerical directors should not be allowed to direct films:
“Ufone commercials are 45 seconds… producers should be held responsible for getting directors who have no experience when it comes to films.”
When Shaan Shahid's Arth flopped, he blamed "KaRaChi BaSeD CriTiCs" for its failure. Now that a film is seeing success and generating better numbers in one week than the total collections of Shaan Shahid's last three films combined – this is what he's doing. So disappointing! pic.twitter.com/swYKBbGLEw
The Current spoke to the ‘Waar’ actor about the controversy. He defended his comment by saying that it was not directed targeted towards anyone, in particular, towards Pakistani films because he supports them.
“This was an exchange between two colleagues. I had made this comment under a Facebook post by Rashid Khawaja, who is the CEO of Entertainment Pakistan.”
Shahid added that he hoped that the film did well, adding that this was his own personal comment which everyone is allowed to express.
The central argument made by most social media users was that with an industry that already has limited support, veteran actors like Shahid were further harming it by making such comments about ‘Money Back Guarantee’.
When we asked Shahid about this, he responded:
“My comment wouldn’t come across as degrading, because the film is already playing in cinemas and people are watching it. I feel that as a professional actor, you have to be good at executing what you are doing.”
He further added that this was not only his sole opinion, but the cinema reviews coming out show people also have mixed responses to the film.
The ‘Khuda Kay Liye’ actor further added that the filmmakers did not make a wise choice to release the film in these timings due to ongoing political instability, especially due to the curfew imposed by the government because of which cinemas shut down at 10 pm, calling it a ‘poor choice’.
Met Gala is considered as fashion’s biggest night of the year, with celebrities coming out in droves wearing the most elaborate costumes.
The event is hosted by the Editor-in-Chief of Vogue, Anna Wintour, and is actually a fundraiser benefit for the Metropolitan Museum Of Art’s Costume Institute. Each year a new theme is decided upon for invitees to adhere to.
This year, the Met Gala theme was ‘Karl Lagerfeld: A Line Of Beauty’ which was a celebration of the life and career of the late German fashion designer, who was the head of Chanel.
Celebrities from all over the world came to celebrate the occasion with wild and creative choices that definitely ensured that the biggest night of fashion lives up to its name. We had some old faces making a comeback, Bollywood stars who graced the red carpet and even some of Lagerfeld’s own muses who made an appearance.
Let’s go through all the biggest stars of the night and what they had worn to celebrate the occasion:
Bollywood starlet Alia Bhatt made her debut wearing a dreamy white gown designed by Prabal Gurung, which was embroidered with pearls. In her Instagram post, the ‘Gangubai’ actor wrote that her look was inspired by supermodel Claudia Schiffer’s 1992 Chanel bridal look.
The ruler of the fictional lanf of Genovia and queen of our hearts, Anne Hathaway, was the star of the evening with a stunning Versace gown, which was decorated with swarovski crystals and paired with a coin necklace by Bulgari.
But what makes the Met Gala live up to it’s name is that there is no strict dress code demanding beautiful gowns and polished appearances, with attendees allowed to go as wild as they want with the theme.
Actor Jared Leto decided to wear a full animal suit, honoring Lagerfeld’s beloved cat, Choupette.
Rapper Lil Nas X took a creative spin on the theme with his bold look: wearing a metallic colored thong and covering his body with silver paint, along with embellished jewels and pearls on his face and neck.
Among the A-listers were also some of the iconic super models of the 90’s, who had opened and closed for the late German designer’s fashion shows. Super model Naomi Campbell, who had began working with the late German designer when she was 16 years old, chose to wear a salmon pink silk sari from Chanel’s spring/summer 2010 collection.
Iconic 90’s supermodel and actresss Devon Aoki made her debut at the Met Gala along side with designer Jeremy Scott, wearing a custom Moschino designed by him.
Aoki had been famously hand-picked by Lagerfeld to be the ‘Chanel bride’, his choice ‘it girl’ who would close out Chanel couture shows.
Famous sports figures had also shown up dressed to the nines to celebrate the glamorous night.
Tennis legend Serena Williams attended the Met Gala alongside her husband Alex Ohanian, wearing a custom Gucci gown, where she also announced that she was expecting her second baby.
Tennis champion Roger Federer, who was also one of the co-hosts of the night, made a stunning comeback after attending last in 2017. He had worn a sleek black tuxedo paired with black sunglasses, and posed at the event with his wife, Mirka.
Thousands of Hollywood movie and television writers are participating in a nation-wide strike, protesting for better wages and shares of the profits from streaming platforms.
Members of the Writers’ Guild Of America (WGA)- which represents 11,500 writers working in film, television and other forms of entertainment, had been in negotiations for six weeks after which the strike was announced on May 2, in a letter written to The Alliance Of Motion Pictures and Television Producers (AMPTP):
“Though we negotiated intent on making a fair deal — and though your strike vote gave us the leverage to make some gains — the studios’ responses to our proposals have been wholly insufficient, given the existential crisis writers are facing. The companies’ behavior has created a gig economy inside a union workforce, and their immovable stance in this negotiation has betrayed a commitment to further devaluing the profession of writing.”
A report shared in March by WGA stated that while the number of jobs has soared in the entertainment industry, budget allocations towards television and film writers has largely reduced by 4% in the last decade. Vox reported that as television shows have begun shortening their seasons by going for 8-10 episodes in comparison to 22 episodes per season, writers are paid less for their jobs. Adding that for movie screenwriters, their salary has not increased since 2018, which means that during inflation, their salaries have reduced by 14%.
The guild demanded that studio owners address the rise of the ‘mini-room’, a practice in which two or three writers are hired to work on a show rather than the usual seven, before it is even picked up for production. The letter highlighted that with this practice, writers are paid less than they generally receive for a regular writer’s room, and are usually disposed off when production begins.
What does this mean for all of our favorite shows? The last time a strike happened was in 2007, causing several hit shows like ‘The Office’ and ‘Breaking Bad’ to delay production and cut down several episodes.
This time, the popular shows whose production is under threat include Netflix’s monster hit ‘Stranger Things’. Los Angeles Times reports that although writing for the 5th season began last year in August, Netflix did not confirm that the scripts had been completed.
Showtime’s hit comedy series ‘Abbott Elementary’ has already put its Season 3 on hold with several writers participating in the protest to improve their wages. Speaking to Democracy Now, writer Brittani Nichols demanded that the studio start prioritizing their workers, rather than Wall Street.
Hollywood screenwriters of @WGAWest are going on strike. They are fighting for a living wage in the streaming era, says Abbott Elementary writer @BisHilarious, who calls the industry a "gig economy," where studios prioritize Wall Street, not workers. pic.twitter.com/GDxWvfi5ZJ
Critically acclaimed thriller series ‘Yellowjackets’ has also announced a halt in production, as confirmed by the co-creator Ashley Lye. In a tweet, she revealed that work on Season 3 has stopped until a fair deal is negotiated with WGA
Well, we had exactly one day in the #YellowJackets S3 writers’ room. It was amazing, and creatively invigorating, and so much fun, and I’m very excited to get back to it as soon as the #WGA gets a fair deal. #1u#unionstrong ✊🐝
Popular late-night talk shows like ‘The Late Show’ and ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ have already shut down production and popular television host Seth Meyers addressing the strike during a segment and sent solidarity to the writers:
“I love writing. I love writing for TV. I love writing this show. I love that we get to come in with an idea for what we want to do every day and we get to work on it all afternoon and then I have the pleasure of coming out here. No one is entitled to a job in show business. But for those people who have a job, they are entitled to fair compensation. They are entitled to make a living. I think it’s a very reasonable demand that’s being set out by the guild. And I support those demands.”
Indian director Sudipto Sen’s upcoming film ‘The Kerala Story’ has attracted widespread backlash for claiming to represent the stories of 32,000 women from the state who were lured into converting to Islam by Muslim men and then taken to Afghanistan to join militant outfit Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
The trailer for the movie debuted online on November 3 last year. It opens with the story of Fathima Ba (played by Adah Sharma), who is a Hindu Malayali nurse and claimed to be one of the 32,000 Hindu and Christian women who were abducted and sent to Afghanistan. Since then, the film has been criticized by Indian politicians such as Congress leader and Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan for spreading misinformation that would only further marginalise the Muslims living in India:
“The film is a bundle of lies. It says 32,000 women were converted and sent to Islamic State-held areas. Its trailer gave enough hints of its content. It is intended to defame the state and community and Sangh Parivar outfits are behind this.”
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan released a statement on 30 April where he slammed Sen for pushing the so-called claim of ‘love-jihad’ through the film, a conspiracy theory pushed by Hindutva members which alleges that Muslim men lure Hindu and Christian women through seduction or kidnapping to convert them into Islam. He further accused the filmmaker of threatening religious harmony by “sowing the seeds of communalism” through the debunked claim that 32,000 women were kidnapped from India and handed over to ISIS.
“In the movie trailer, we see a hoax that 32,000 women in Kerala were converted and became members of the Islamic State. This bogus story is a product of the Sangh Parivar’s lie factory.”
The central controversy surrounding the film was it’s claim that 32,000 women were forcibly converted to Islam in Kerala and were sent to ISIS, which has been debunked by several credible publications to be untrue. But speaking to India Today, the producer of the film, Vipul Shah, said that the focus was not the numbers, but the fact that forced conversions are still happening throughout India:
“We don’t want to get into the debate on the numbers, we want to talk about the issue. We want to bring notice to the human tragedy happening in Kerala and in India.”
Actor Adah Sharma also defended the movie’s false pretext, by telling India Today that she had spoken to the women who inspired the story:
“I spoke to some of these women. There will be testimony from those who will be brave enough to come in front of cameras.”
Politicians like Shashi Tharoor have also slammed the filmmakers for spreading misinformation regarding the 32,000 figure, and addressed it in a lengthy Twitter post where he also said that his 2021 tweet was not proof that the allegations of the filmmakers were real:
“Many are spreading this 2021 tweet of mine as if it undermines my present objections to the trailer & publicity for “The Kerala Story”. Yes, I was approached then by three Kerala mothers and was aware of a fourth, and I was open about my concerns about their daughters’ radicalisation. But four cases are a far cry from the 32,000 that the film-makers are alleging. If there really were so many ISIS female members from Kerala, that would mean double the number when you count their husbands, whereas even Western intelligence sources says the number of ALL Indians in ISIS does not approach three figures. This gross exaggeration and distortion of the Kerala reality is what I am objecting to.”
Many are spreading this 2021 tweet of mine as if it undermines my present objections to the trailer & publicity for "The Kerala Story". Yes, I was approached then by three Kerala mothers and was aware of a fourth, and I was open about my concerns about their daughters'… https://t.co/R8Vn1RsfpU
In a tweet posted on Monday, Tharoor offered Rs1 crore to anyone who would be able to prove that 32,000 women had been forcibly converted and sent to ISIS.
Now there’s an opportunity for all those hyping the alleged conversions of 32,000 women on Kerala to Islamism — to prove their case and make some money. Will they be up to the challenge or is there simply no proof because none exists? #NotOurKeralaStorypic.twitter.com/SrwaMx556H
ALT News, in an investigative piece, revealed that the director Sudipto Sen had first mentioned the figure on a Youtube channel ‘The Festival Of Bharat” where he talked about how he calculated the final number, with the help of a speech delivered by the former Kerala CM Oommen Chandy:
“In 2010, former Kerala CM Oommen Chandy put a report in front of Kerala assembly. In front of my camera, he denied that anything had happened. But in 2010, I documented a case where he (Chandy) said that every year approximately 2,800 to 3,200 girls were taking up Islam. Just calculate it for the following 10 years, and the number is around 32,000.”
When the publication spoke to Sen on the phone, the author Shinjinee Majumder writes, the director claimed that he picked the number up from an article published by ‘The Times Of India”:
“This figure (32,000) is not mine. It was a piece of news in The Times of India… one thing I can tell you is that Oommen Chandy, the chief minister of Kerala, had placed this number in the state assembly. So this is not my number, I have got all the documents with me.”
However, no publication quoting such a large number has come to light. But ALT News reports that in 2012, India Today reported the Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy informing the state minister about how 2,667 young women had converted to Islam between 2006 to 2012. Especially, Chandy had said that there was no evidence of forced conversions in the state, and the fears of ‘love jihad’ were baseless.
When ANI news shared this report with Sen, his response was:
“Let the intolerance reach a crescendo. I’ll share my data after the film is released. Why should I defeat the cause of my film?”
Similarly, Kerala Police had also refuted the claims that 32,000 women had been sent to Syria as “totally baseless”.
While a report published in 2020 by the United States Department of State’s Country Reports on Terrorism said that there were only 66 known Indian-origin fighters associated with ISIS in 2020, of which 34 terrorism cases were related to ISIS and NIA arrested 160 people by the end of September.
Moreover, The Hindu reported in June 2021 that four Indian women were traced in an Afghanistani prison, who had travelled with their husbands to join the Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP), and it was unlikely that they would come back to India.
As a response to the growing backlash, the film trailer has now changed the title description from 32,000 women to just three young girls, as shared by several Twitter users.
From 'Heartbreaking and gut-wrenching stories of 32000 females in Kerala! Coming Soon!' TO 'True story of 3 young girls from different parts of Kerala'. Propaganda Movie teaser has NOW changed the description of 'The Kerala Story' on YouTube. pic.twitter.com/GIUAomaX5i
With the film set to release on 5 May and despite calls to authorities to ban the film on grounds of hate speech and misinformation, NDTV reported today that the Indian Supreme Court had refused to entertain a petition to seek a stay on the release of ‘The Kerala Story’ because it had been cleared by the censor board:
“There are varieties of hate speeches. This film has got certification and has been cleared by the board. It’s not like a person getting on the podium and starts giving uncontrolled speech. If you want to challenge the release of the movie, you should challenge the certification and through appropriate forum”.
You’ve probably heard this name to death on the internet: Hamza Sohail. Women are fangirling over the ‘Fairy Tale’ alum, sharing clips from his recent dramas, while the actor’s Instagram following soared from 60K to 251K in a matter of weeks. A lot of us are shocked because a Pakistani man being thirsted over by women is a rare thing. That there is a man out there without a problematic past, is actually humble, respectful and is also an incredibly good actor?
We found it difficult to believe as well but Hamza Sohail is currently the leading man of our hearts. With his limited but stellar performances in rom-coms like ‘Fairy Tale’ thrillers like ‘Badshah Begum’ and ‘Raqeeb Se’, he has cemented himself as a star to look out for, and we want our audiences to remember his name.
So if you have likely woken up from under a rock and are taken aback by this sudden take over of Hamza Sohail on the internet, let us guide you through a brief introduction of who he is and what he has done in his career so far.
1 He’s the son of renowned comedian, Sohail Ahmed
Being a Nepo Baby is not exactly something that would strike well with an audience that is longing for fresh faces, especially when it is clear how the entertainment industry tends to sideline people who are not from a well-connected background. But Hamza spoke about this issue in an interview with Fuchsia Magazine, sharing that he wanted to become an actor not because of his father, but of his own interests. He also shared that his parents were quite strict, hoping that he would complete CSS and go into the civil service like his grandfather, which is why they often shielded him from the spotlight and urged him to work hard in school. But Sohail developed a passion for acting from participating in theatre and school plays.
2 He made his debut in ‘Raqeeb Se’
His first drama was ‘Raqeeb Se’ where he played Abdul Rehman, the love interest of Insha (played by Faryal Mehmood).
3 He also played the dashing and sensitive Shahmir in ‘Badshah Begum’, which has now reincarnated on the internet despite airing almost two years ago.
‘Badshah Begum’ was a gripping story about politics and rivalry among siblings to claim the throne. It had a star-studded cast including Farhaan Saeed, Zara Noor Abbas and Yasir Hussain. Sohail played the youngest member of the Pir clan, Shahmir. A year later, fans are still in awe of his performance and the tragic love story between Shahmir and Gulnar (played by Hiba Aziz). We’re definitely joining in on the re-watch!
