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Category: Entertainment

  • Netflix India announces star-studded lineup for 2021

    Netflix India has announced that it would release 41 shows and films in India this year, calling the move its “next big leap” in the world’s second-most populous nation India, where video streaming services have become more popular.

    According to details, Netflix’s new roster includes 41 titles featuring Bollywood actors, stand-up comedy shows and original series. Most shows will be in the Hindi language.

    The upcoming content will feature top Bollywood actors including Madhuri Dixit, Kartik Aryan, Sonakshi Sinha, Karan Johar, Manoj Bajpayee, R. Madhavan, and Raveena Tandon.

    “We are taking our next big leap in India,” said Netflix while announcing the news, adding that the upcoming lineup “features more variety and diversity than we have seen before”.

    India, whose Bollywood film industry makes more productions each year than Hollywood, remains a challenging market for the streaming services.

    Amazon’s Prime Video has become embroiled in legal cases and police complaints over a political drama Tandav deemed offensive to Hindu religious sentiments. The streaming platform apologised to viewers over some scenes.

    Earlier this year, Netflix announced that it will release more than 70 movies this year across comedy, drama, family and other genres, a lineup that underscores the streaming service’s growing prominence in the film business. It added that it plans to release a new movie every week for the entire year of 2021.

  • Meghan Markle alleges Palace ‘perpetuating falsehoods’ about her, Harry

    Meghan Markle alleges Palace ‘perpetuating falsehoods’ about her, Harry

    Meghan Markle has suggested that Buckingham Palace was “perpetuating falsehoods” about her and her husband Prince Harry, in a clip from an upcoming interview with Oprah Winfrey released by CBS late Wednesday.

    When asked by Winfrey how she felt about the Palace hearing her speak out, Markle replied: “I don’t know how they could expect that after all of this time we would still just be silent if there’s an active role that The Firm is playing in perpetuating falsehoods about us.”

    “And, if that comes with risk of losing things, I mean, I … there is a lot that has been lost already,” she says in another scene.

    The clip was released after Buckingham Palace said it would investigate newspaper reports that Markle faces a bullying complaint from her time living in Kensington Palace — although the interview was recorded before the allegations were made public.

    “We are clearly very concerned about allegations in The Times following claims made by former staff of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Our HR team will look into the circumstances,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement.

    “Members of staff involved at the time, including those who have left the Household, will be invited to participate to see if lessons can be learned,” said the palace. “The Royal Household…does not and will not tolerate bullying or harassment in the workplace.”

    Markle had earlier denied the report with her spokesman saying “The duchess is saddened by this latest attack on her character, particularly as someone who has been the target of bullying herself.

    Meghan and Harry’s “explosive tell-all” interview with Oprah is due to air on Sunday. They are expected to lift the lid on life inside the royal family following their fairytale wedding and the reasons for their split.

    It comes as Harry’s grandfather, the queen’s husband Prince Philip, has been in the hospital for several weeks under treatment for an undisclosed infection, sparking fears for his health. The 99-year-old Duke of Edinburgh was transferred to a specialist cardiac unit on Monday for tests on a pre-existing heart condition.

  • IN PICTURES: Saboor Aly’s intimate birthday bash

    Saboor Aly celebrated her birthday Wednesday night with close friends Aiman Khan, Minal Khan, Tara Mahmood, Raza Talish and Muneeb Butt. ‘Pawri Girl‘ Dananeerr Mobeen was also part of the celebrations.

    Saboor stunned in a velvet navy blue dress on her birthday.

    Check out the pictures below:

    Saboor Aly thanked everyone on her Instagram account for ‘making her feel special’.

    “Thank you all for the for the wonderful birthday wishes,” wrote Saboor.


    She further added: “I had a great day, and hearing from all of you was one of the best parts of it!”

    “I’m nothing without my Family, Friends and Fans, I love you all,” She concluded.

  • ‘We cannot make saas-bahu dramas only,’ Yumna Zaidi tells PEMRA

    ‘We cannot make saas-bahu dramas only,’ Yumna Zaidi tells PEMRA

    Yumna Zaidi has hit back at the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) for their notice on Dil Na Umeed Toh Nahi (DNUTN), saying “we cannot make saas-bahu dramas only.”

    Speaking to BBC Urdu, Yumna said that she doesn’t understand why PEMRA would take notice on her ongoing drama’s content.

    “I was very disappointed [with PEMRA’s notice],” said Yumna. “I don’t understand what they want to promote [or show on television].”

    “If we don’t talk about problems faced by people in government schools, gali mohallas or in the villages, then we’re only going to listen to bad news. If we force society to think about [such issues] through such content, then at least let it through instead of holding it back.”

    “We cannot make saas-bahu dramas only,” lamented the actor further. “We make romantic dramas also. Different genres are given space [on television]. So this [DNUTN] should also be given a small space.”

    Directing her comments towards PEMRA, Zaidi said: “I just want to ask PEMRA: ‘How can you do this?’”

    The actor further said: “Other projects of mine have also previously received notices from PEMRA [Pyaar Ke Sadkay] but this one hurt more. It should not have happened. I was not happy with that.”

    “Matlab kyun?,” she questioned, referring to the drama as a “very special project”.

    Featuring Yasra Rizvi, Wahaj Ali, Nadia Afgan, Naumaan Ijaz, Omair Rana and Samiya Mumtaz besides Zaidi in the lead, Dil Na Umeed Toh Nahi is a harrowing tale of child abuse and human trafficking in Pakistan. The drama has been written by Amna Mufti and directed by Kashif Nisar and is a Kashf Foundation Presentation.

    According to a press release issued earlier, Dil Na Umeed Toh Nahi will “bring some of the most heinous and deeply sensitive issues to light – while showing how humanity can still prevail in even the most insurmountable of situations.

    The press release further said: “With three parallel stories on prostitution, human trafficking, and child abuse, the drama exposes the lowest ebb of our society.”

    Read more – Omair Rana responds to PEMRA’s notice on ‘Dil Na Umeed Toh Nahi’

    Meanwhile, while talking about her character in the drama, Yumna said that she plays a prostitute and while shooting for the party scenes, she was very grateful that this wasn’t her “real life”.

    “The feeling was so haunting. And I felt so sorry for those women who are entrapped in such lives,” said the actor. “But I am happy that I am portraying the character of such a woman, who fights the system and breaks free.”

  • Meghan Markle accused of ‘bullying’ two senior members of royal staff

    Meghan Markle accused of ‘bullying’ two senior members of royal staff

    Days before Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey is scheduled to go on air, a report has accused Meghan of bullying two senior members of her staff during the time she was staying at Britain’s Kensington Palace.

    The news publication has claimed to have seen an email sent by Meghan’s former Kensington Palace communications secretary raising concerns about Meghan’s “bullying” behaviour.

    In one alleged incident, a royal aide who had been anticipating a confrontation with Markle told a colleague: “I can’t stop shaking.”

    Responding to the allegations, Markle’s spokesperson said: “The Duchess is saddened by this latest attack on her character, particularly as someone who has been the target of bullying herself.”

    “She is determined to continue her work building compassion around the world and will keep striving to set an example for doing what is right,” the statement add.

    The couple also accused the publication of “peddling a wholly false narrative” before the television interview, which is being touted as shocking and explosive.

    There was no immediate comment from Buckingham Palace nor Kensington Palace on the issue.

    Meanwhile, Meghan has also stirred controversy for wearing earrings gifted to her by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, just three weeks after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. According to details, the pair of drop earrings which Meghan wore to a formal state dinner in Fiji were a wedding gift from MBS. At the time, Kensington Palace said the earrings had been “borrowed” but did not reveal from whom.

    The Duchess of Sussex had allegedly told aides who were prepping to brief the media about her outfit that the earrings were lent to her by a jeweller. But lawyers for Markle countered that she wasn’t aware then of rumours that the prince was involved in Khashoggi’s murder, and said that every relevant staffer knew whom the earrings were from.

    Earlier, the CBS broadcast network released two brief clips from Winfrey’s interview with the couple, which is scheduled to air on March 7. It is the first TV interview the couple, formally known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have given since quitting royal duties and moving to California.

    Last month, Buckingham Palace announced that the couple would not be returning to their lives as working members of the royal family, adding that Harry will give up his honorary military titles.

  • ‘I really like my skin’: Syra Yousuf hits back at trolls

    ‘I really like my skin’: Syra Yousuf hits back at trolls

    Syra Yousuf has responded and hit back at those who posted negative comments about her skin after her sister Palwasha Yousuf, a stylist, posted an unfiltered picture of the actor on social media. While many, especially women, lauded Syra for embracing her skin and putting down unrealistic beauty standards, others mocked her skin for being textured and not smooth.

    Responding to the backlash on social media over her skin, Syra posted a natural selfie of herself, writing: “I really like my skin.” She also used the hashtag “No Filter” to further get her point across.

    In a similar incident, Dubai-based beauty influencer Huda Kattan also opened up and discussed how edits make a person appear perfect, setting unrealistic beauty standards for the rest.

    Meanwhile, earlier in 2019, Hania Aamir in a social media post had opened up about her struggle with acne and talked about unrealistic beauty standards.

  • Indian politician requests Pakistani comic Akbar Chaudhry to mimic Imran Khan

    Indian politician requests Pakistani comic Akbar Chaudhry to mimic Imran Khan

    India’s Shashi Tharoor has requested Pakistani comedian Akbar Chaudhry to mimic Imran Khan after enjoying Chaudhry’s hilarious take on the politician’s oratory English skills.

    Read more – Shashi Tharoor all praise for PM Imran

    Tharoor, a member of the Indian National Congress, is known for using extensive English vocabulary during his speeches and interviews. Chaudhry had made a fun video on that and shared a few tips on how people can also speak fluent English like Tharoor.

    The video shows the comedian making a drink out of the Oxford Dictionary and then drinking it. The second tip is to get a ‘blood transfusion’ with the Oxford Dictionary on one side and Tharoor’s speech on the other.

    In the third step, Akbar crushes a dictionary and snorts it. According to the comedian, if these steps are followed, anyone can speak like Tharoor.

    Soon after the comedian’s video went viral on social media, the politician responded and requested him to mimic PM Khan. Tharoor shared the video with a laughing emoji and wrote: “Next one on Imran Khan please!?”

    Speaking about the video, Akbar told The News that his friends from India have told him that the video is a hit on Indian WhatsApp groups.

    When asked about the idea behind the video, Akbar said that he had earlier done a video on “How to Speak English Like a Burger” and had received a lot of positive response on it.

    Akbar said that when that video did very well, he thought about doing similar stuff.

    He shared that almost two weeks ago, he had seen a tweet which joked that this year’s English exam for the Civil Superior Services (CSS) was set by Shashi Tharoor given the extensive and difficult vocabulary used in it.

    “[That’s when] the idea came to me that I can do a video on ‘How to speak English like Shashi Tharoor’,” said Akbar.

    He shared that he has been a big fan of Shashi Tharoor’s usage of the words in the English language.

    The comedian from the improvisational comedy group ‘Lol Waalay’, said that he had been hopeful that his effort would reach Tharoor.

    “Obviously, I didn’t believe it would happen, but somehow lots of people tagged him [Tharoor] in it and he replied,” said Akbar, adding he was “very happy” with the response. 

  • Mahira Khan, Aiman Khan are done with the ‘pawri’

    Mahira Khan, Aiman Khan are done with the ‘pawri’

    After weeks of ‘pawri-ing it up’, it seems that Pakistan, including our favourite divas Mahira Khan and Aiman Khan, are done with the trend.

    Mahira expressed her feelings on the trend with a hilarious meme featuring Batman and Robin. In the meme, Batman can be seen slapping Robin who tries to recreate ‘Pawri Ho Rai Hai,’ asking him to shut up.

    However, fans were quick to criticise Mahira, saying she was among the first to recreate the Pawri video.

    While one social media user wrote: “Yeh pehly khudi dance kar rahi thi, ab chup karwa re. Ajeeb,” another thanked Mahira for asking for a stop on the trend, saying: “Thank you for being brave enough to speak about the things no one talks about!!”.

    Meanwhile, Aiman also shared the same meme on social media.

  • Amazon Prime offers rare apology ‘to anyone who felt hurt’ over ‘Tandav’

    In a rare move, Amazon Prime has issued an apology to its Indian viewers over the scenes in its political drama Tandav which sparked outrage and hurt religious sentiments, Reuters has reported.

    In a statement, the streaming said that it deeply regrets that viewers found certain scenes to be objectionable.

    Amazon apologises “unconditionally to anyone who felt hurt,” read the statement, adding that it will continue to “develop content while respecting the diversity of audiences’ culture and beliefs”.

    While Tandav controversy began in January, soon after the series released, it escalated last week when police in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh (UP) questioned one of Amazon’s top executives for hours in one case filed against the show.

    When asked about the company apology, a senior state police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said authorities would continue to investigate the matter.

    Read more – ‘Tandav’: A weak script saved by brilliant performances

    Featuring Saif Ali Khan, Dimple Kapadia, Sunil Grover, Gauahar Khan and Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub in key roles, Tandav has been accused of disrespecting Hindu deities, with several political leaders including Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya demanding legal action against the team. Karni Sena also announced a Rs 1 crore award to the person who will chop of the tongue of Tandav’s makers.

    Earlier, following the backlash and outrage, Tandav creator Ali Abbas Zafar issued an “unconditional apology” on behalf of the team and, clarified that “Tandav is a work of fiction and any resemblance to acts and persons and events is purely coincidental” and that’s how one should also take it. While the series does appear to have been inspired by real-life incidents, it is also imperative to keep in mind that creative liberty has been taken.”

    Later, Ali issued another statement, in which he said that the makers decided to “implement changes” to the web series after concerns were raised. At least two scenes were removed from the show.

  • ‘Incredible in every way’: Ejaz Durrani’s daughters pen emotional tributes for him

    Ejaz Durrani’s daughters Hina Durrani, Mina Hasan and granddaughter Natasha Ali Lakhani have penned emotional tributes for their father and veteran actor.

    Durrani’s daughter, Hina Durrani remembered her father by calling him “a kind-hearted, empathetic, gifted and incredible in every way”.

    “My heart is broken and you take a piece of me with you but how I love you,” she wrote. “Thank you for doing all that you did for me and all of us.”

    Hina also requested everyone to pray for her late father, saying: “I ask everyone reading this to pray for him today and always as I shall pray for you all and your families.”

    Similarly, Hina’s sister Mina Hasan, sharing a picture of herself with her father said: “Dad, my hero. You were an exemplary human being and excelled in all your relationships. You were the best in the truest sense of the word.”

    “Thank you for everything you did for me because of you I am who I am. I remember how proud you were of me and it always made me want to make you prouder,” she added.

    Meanwhile, Durrani’s granddaughter and Hina’s daughter Natasha also remembered her late grandfather with a video from her wedding in which he was walking her down the aisle.

    “Love you so much Nana and shall always miss you,” wrote Natasha in the caption.

    Durrani passed away early on Monday at the age of 88 after battling a long illness. He is fondly remembered for his role as Ranjha in the movie Heer Ranjha in which he shared the screen with Firdous.

    On the personal front, Durrani was married to Noor Jehan, and the two had three daughters together. However, they later parted ways after which he married his co-star Firdous. That marriage too ended in divorce.