Current Final

Category: Entertainment

  • Award-winning Pakistani short film ‘One Last Shot’ enthrals viewers worldwide

    Award-winning Pakistani short film ‘One Last Shot’ enthrals viewers worldwide

    The demand for new and dynamic content in the entertainment industry continues to grow relentlessly mainly caused by the easy access and rise of online streaming platforms. This has consequently led to an increase in the amount of Film/TV Series productions on a global spectrum.

    As the popularity of the entertainment industry continues to grow and film/TV series are now more in demand than ever before in the past, film festivals have become a vital and an indispensable platform for content acquisition for Broadcast Networks and Streaming platforms. They have also become the flag bearer of giving rise and recognition to emerging talent, providing an opportunity for them to compete against up and coming and seasoned filmmakers worldwide.

    In the competitive and zealous International Film Festivals Circuit consisting of thousands of films from many different parts of the world, actor/filmmaker Saram Jaffery from Lahore, Pakistan has made waves in the industry and put Pakistan on the map by winning multiple awards for his acclaimed short film One Last Shot in the US at New York Film Awards 2020, Los Angeles Film Awards 2020 for Best Acting, Best Drama and Best Narrative.

    The film has also won Best Canadian Short Film and Viewers Choice Award at the Toronto International Nollywood Film Festival and Best Romantic Drama in India at Calcutta International Cult Film Festival and in Italy at Oniros Film Awards.

    Competing against a vast list of many acclaimed film submissions worldwide, One Last Shot is based on a struggling musician’s life who comes from a South Asian background.

    The film is inspired by real life stories where Saram Jaffery essays the lead role of a struggling musician who is trying to make ends meet and makes bad choices along the way, which puts his relationship with his loved ones in jeopardy.

    One Last Shot was a debut for Aniqa Khwaja, the female lead in the film. The Canadian-based Pakistani model has done theatre work in the past. However, this was her first film.

    Zuhair Raza Jaffery played the antagonist in the film. He is a renowned veteran Pakistani actor who has appeared in countless dramas during the 80s and 90s. His most popular work includes ‘Ainak Wala Jinn’ and ‘Zameen’.

    Jaffery has always been immensely passionate about acting and filmmaking and embarked on his acting journey quite early. He was a child star and appeared in a few drama serials on PTV. From there his passion grew and he ventured to theatre.

    He got his formal training from Humber College Toronto while he continued to appear in several independent short films and theatre. In 2018, Jaffery got his first commercial break with Pakistani feature film ‘Na Band Na Baraati’.

    One Last Shot marks Saram Jaffery’s first leading role and also his digital debut in the streaming platform market. The film is available to watch in the USA and UK on Amazon Prime Video.

    Jaffery is currently working on a web series that revolves around immigrants’ issues and challenges and another feature film that focuses on mental health issues.

    ‘One Last Shot’ has given the Pakistani film industry notable exposure globally, however Saram wants to continue contributing towards introducing Pakistani Cinema and to build a positive image of the country through the medium of art.

    Check out the trailer here:

  • Teaser of Mahira Khan’s first production ‘Baarwan Khiladi’ is out

    Mahira Khan took to her Instagram to share the teaser of her first production-project, Baarwan Khiladi, with the caption ‘Bismillah’, and tagged the cast and crew of the project in the post.

    The teaser suggests that Baarwan Khiladi is a cricket themed web-series. It will be released on Pakistan’s leading on-demand video streaming platform Tapmad.

    Earlier, in an interview with Gulf News, Mahira opened up about trying her hand at production.

    She said that the reason why she is getting into production is because it is something she always wanted.

    “To be honest, I’ve always been inclined to getting behind the camera,” she said.

    The series has been written by Shahid Dogar and directed by Adnan Sarwar, the man behind Motorcycle Girl. The cast of the web-series includes Danyal Zafar, Shahveer Jafry and Kinza Hashmi, Saba Faisal, Sarmad Khoosat and Khaqan Shahnawaz.

    Baarwaan Khiladi has reportedly been shot inside the Walled City of Lahore and Shahveer in an Instagram story revealed that shooting lasted a month and a half. While a release date has not yet been announced, the series will stream on Tapmad, a South Asian streaming service.

  • Zoya Nasir says ‘yes’ to Christian Betzmann

    Zoya Nasir and Christian Betzmann are engaged after the Pakistani actor said “yes” to the German Vlogger. The news of their engagement comes just a few days after Christian announced that he has converted to Islam.

    Read more – Zoya Nasir slams troll for giving Christian Betzmann ‘criminal advice’

    Sharing pictures of himself and Zoya standing on a beach in the Bahamas, Betzmann revealed the big news, saying: “SHE SAID YESSSSS! The best day of my life.”

    “I love you Zoya Nasir,” he added.

    Zoya also shared similar pictures with the caption: “He asked and I said yes. Thank you for being my light in the darkest hours and showing me the true meaning of happiness.”

    “Here’s to a forever with you, my soulmate,” she added.

    Later, in a video posted to her YouTube channel, Zoya shared her friends and family’s reaction to the news. In the video, Zoya video-calls her family and friends including Ushna Shah, Zaid Ali T, Shahveer Jafry, Hajra Yameen and Zara Noor Abbas and reveals the big news to them. Needless to say, all her friends were shocked yet ecstatic over the news of their engagement.

    Zoya and Christian have often made the news with pictures of their trips going viral on social media. The couple is currently in the Bahamas after travelling across the United States in the past couple of months.

    To know how Chris proposed Zoya, check out in the video below:

    https://youtu.be/23ch1JoMp5k

  • Javed Afridi welcomes Esra Bilgiç in Zalmi family

    Turkish actress Esra Bilgiç has joined Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise as brand ambassador.

    This was announced by Peshawar Zalmi owner Javed Afridi in a social media post.

    “WELCOME ESRA BILGIC TO THE ZALMI FAMILY,” he captioned a picture of the Dirilis: Ertugrul actress.

    Earlier, the actress had hinted about the new begginings in a tweet, tagging the Peshawar Zalmi owner and the team’s Twitter handles.

    https://twitter.com/esbilgic/status/1359574689643921409?s=20

    In response, the owner of Peshawar Zalmi’s franchise Afridi also tweeted: “New Beginning” and tagged the Turkish actress.

    Afridi also shared in a tweet that the PZ official anthem, Zalmi Kingdom, will be released tonight with all the ambassadors in it.

    The PSL 6 will kick start from tomorrow at National Stadium Karachi. The first half of the tournament will be played in Karachi while the second half will be played in Lahore at Gaddafi stadium.

  • Model Alyzeh Gabol ties the knot

    Model Alyzeh Gabol ties the knot

    Pakistani model Alyzeh Gabol has officially tied the knot.

    Taking to Instagram, the stunner shared gorgeous photos from the simple yet elegant event.

    The mother-of-one can be seen signing her nikkah papers in one photo whereas in the other photo her husband placed a ring on her left hand.

    “New beginnings. Alhamdullilah,” the caption read.

    While it is currently unknown who the mystery man is, the photos exude couple goals.

    Many people in the industry congratulated the model on her new life as a married woman.

    “Congratulations,” actress Aiman Khan wrote.

    “Awww Congrats,” singer Aima Baig said.

    “Mubarak Mubarak,” singer Yasir Jaswal commented.

    Model Neha Rajpoot wrote, “MA MA.”

    Actress Areeba Habib said, “Bohat Mubarak. Alizay so happy for you.”

  • Nida Yasir reacts to backlash over inviting ‘Pawri Girl’

    Nida Yasir reacts to backlash over inviting ‘Pawri Girl’

    Nida Yasir received backlash over inviting Pawri Girl’, Dananeerr Mobeen to her morning show and Nida hit back at trolls who were criticising her.

    Sharing a video of herself recreating the viral video with Mobeen and ACCA topper, Zara Naeem, she wrote: “Pawri hori he. proud of you girls”. An Instagram user commented and wrote: “Qsmy ap kisi ko ni chortii,” on which Nida responded, “I take it as a compliment.”

    Another Instagram user commented: “Nida baji ap bht nhi intahai farig hai, matlab isay bhi bula lia?” to which she replied, “Alhamdulillah ap se kam farig hu logo ko zaleel ni karti.”

    In another video, posted by Nida, she thanked Mobeen for bringing a smile to her face. “Thanx Dananeerr for bringing a smile on my face after 2 weeks, loved the show today.”

    It is pertinent to mention here that Nida’s mother Fehmida Nasreen passed away a few days back. Confirming the news on social media and sharing a throwback family photo with her mother, Nida wrote, “Our lovely strong and fighter mother left us alone.”

  • Mahira Khan, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor join ‘Pawri Ho Rai Hai’ bandwagon

    Bollywood Queen Deepika Padukone joined ‘Pawri Ho Rahi Hai’ bandwagon by posting her childhood pictures edited by one of her fans and Pakistani superstar, Mahira Khan also recreated the video in an epic way.

    The picture shows Deepika Padukone sitting on a toy horse ride with the text, “Yeh hum hain, yeh humara ghoda hain, Aur yeh humari pawri ho rahi hain.”

    Deepika shared the picture-meme on her Instagram account with the laughing emoji and wrote, “Who made this?”

    Sharing a video of her pajama party on her Instagram, Mahira wrote: “Myyyy new jam.”

    “You’re suppaaa [super] my love Dananeerr, may your future be bright bright. Shine on! Ameen,” she added.

    The trend began after the maker of the video, Dananeerr Mobeen posted a clip of herself with her friends. In the video, she was heard saying: “yeh humari car hai, yeh hum hain, aur yeh humari pawri ho rai hai” (This is our car, this is us, and this is our pawri going on).

    As ‘Pawri Ho Rai Hai’ became a major memes trend in Pakistan, the fever caught on in India after Yashraj Mukhate of Rasode Me Kaun Tha-fame dropped a funky mash-up of the viral video.

    With many Indian and Pakistani celebrities and even Hassan Ali with the Pakistan Cricket team joining in on the trend, Mobeen took the trend a notch higher after releasing a video of herself, grooving on Mukhate’s version of her clip.

    Earlier on Thursday, Shahid Kapoor had also shared a hilarious video of his team recreating the viral ‘pawri’ video.

    The video showed filmmaker Raj and DK and the team of their next online streaming project. The post read: “Faking feku… better words were never said.”

  • ‘Maya the Myth’, Pakistani horror movie releases on Amazon prime

    Made in Pakistan, ‘Maya the Myth’ a horror film has released on the online streaming service Amazon Prime. The movie is apparently based on real life events.

    The story is about a young Pakistani Hindu girl named Padmani, who would hear frightening noises underneath the floorboards of her room. One night these sounds took the form of an invisible creature and it asked for the sacrifice of Padmani’s unborn child.

    The trailer of the movie shows a girl dressed in red, who is supposedly Padmani, the leading character of the movie. A Pandit tells the girl in the trailer that Diwali will be auspicious for her and she will get anything she wishes for.

    The movie is directed by Shaquille Arslan Ali. The movie features M. Ashraf, Hadiya Khan, Maa and Faisal Junejo in lead roles, and it was released on February 16.

    Last year, Fawad Chaudhry requested Netflix and Amazon to look towards Pakistani content and invest in them because “we have immense talent and experience”. The minister asserted that Pakistani dramas have recently made a huge comeback and that he can assure the movie streaming website of successful partnerships.

  • Peshawar Zalmi’s owner Javed Afridi catching up with Esra Bilgiç

    Peshawar Zalmi’s owner Javed Afridi catching up with Esra Bilgiç

    PSL 6 is just around the corner and fans are excited to see all their favorite cricketers from different countries be together in one stadium. What makes PSL 2021 more exciting is that international celebrities will also be joining the franchises as brand ambassadors.

    Esra Bilgiç, who played the role of Halima Sultan in the famous Turkish drama series Dirilis: Ertugrul, had hinted that she would be working be PSL 6 franchise Peshawar Zalmi. Recently, in a tweet, she wrote “new beginnings” and tagged the franchise’s owner Javed Afridi.

    https://twitter.com/esbilgic/status/1359574689643921409?s=20

    In response, the owner of Peshawar Zalmi’s franchise Afridi also tweeted “New Beginning” and tagged the Turkish actress.

    To increase people’s excitement, Afridi has shared a new photo with the Turkish star on his Insta story. Both, Javed and Esra, can be seen talking via video chat and pose for a screenshot image. Afridi wrote, “Pleasure catching up with you Esra.”

    The actress had created suspense last year in July after she tweeted that she had some “good news” and tagged the Zalmi account as well as Javed Afridi.

    https://twitter.com/esbilgic/status/1279772401853702150?s=20

    Earlier in January, in an Instagram post, she posted a picture of Islamia University Peshawar with the caption “The City of Flowers”. This led to fans and followers speculating if the star was in Pakistan.

    It was being speculated that Esra will be visiting Pakistan soon as she has reportedly signed a contract with Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Peshawar Zalmi. While it is too early to say if Bilgiç will be coming to Pakistan.

    Meanwhile, Javed recently revealed that Mahira Khan will represent Pakistan Super League franchise Peshawar Zalmi in the sixth edition.

  • British-Pakistani-American Designer Tan France collaborates with shoe brand ‘Atoms’

    British-Pakistani-American fashion designer Tan France has collaborated with shoe brand Atoms to launch their signature collection, “Atoms x Tan France”.

    The story of the couple behind the brand, went viral few weeks ago after it was shared by Humans of New York. The couple hails from Okara.

    Sidra and Waqas started Atoms armed with ambition, curiosity, and a passion for making shoes. Despite coming from a modest, traditionally conservative upbringing, that drive took them from Okara, Pakistan, to Lahore, and then to Silicon Valley in the United States, and now in Brooklyn, New York where Atoms is currently based.

    As per details shared on the official website of the shoe brand, Atoms has joined forces with fashion designer and Queer Eye style expert Tan France for their latest limited-edition sneaker. “The collaboration is inspired by two of Tan’s favorite things — white sneakers and stripes.”

    “I am thrilled to introduce my very own Atoms — they fuse together stripes and white sneakers, two of my favorite things,” stated Tan France.

    The collection will be available for pre-order for one week only from February 23 to March 2, 2021 for $129 (21 thousand rupees).

    In a recent interview with a local media publication  Tan opened up about being a queer Pakistani-Muslim and shed light on his love for his home country.

    Talking about taking the burden of representation, Tan said, “I think the pressure on me is a little different – I am the only member of the LGBTQ community, who is also South Asian and very open about the fact that I am Muslim also. And so, I’m a few things in America – I’m an immigrant, I’m Muslim, I’m South Asian and I’m gay – and there hasn’t been anybody like that on TV in the US before, or entertainment in general, so the pressure is really, really great. It’s the hardest part of this job without a doubt.”