Kareena Kapoor Khan is all set to pen her first book titled Kareena Kapoor Khan’s Pregnancy Bible, which is being described as a comprehensive guide to pregnancy. The book is scheduled to come out next year.
Kareena made the announcement on her son Taimur Ali Khan’s fourth birthday on December 20.
“Today is the perfect day to announce my book — Kareena Kapoor Khan’s Pregnancy Bible for all you moms-to-be. I’ll talk about everything from morning sickness to diet and fitness and being a mom-on-the-go! I can’t wait for you to read it. To be published by Juggernaut Books in 2021,” she wrote in a post on Instagram.
Kapoor is married to Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan. The two, who are fondly referred to as Saifeena by their fans, tied the knot in 2012. She gave birth to their firstborn, Taimur, in 2016.
She is currently expecting her second baby with Khan and often shares photographs of her baby bump on social media.
The duo had announced on August 12 that they are expecting their second child. The actress recently completed her shoot for the upcoming film Laal Singh Chaddha co-starring Aamir Khan in Delhi.
Neelam Muneer Khan has recovered from the novel coronavirus after a two-week battle.
In a video posted to Instagram, Neelam said: “I am doing fine after recovering from the virus. I will make another video soon to tell people about the diet I was on during the two weeks I remained in self-isolation.”
She also thanked everyone for their prayers and encouragement.
“This has been one of the most challenging and difficult things that personally me and my family have ever had to endure,” Neelam had shared at the time.
Sarwat Gilani celebrated her birthday with husband Fahad Mirza and close friends this weekend.
Pictures of the celebrations were shared by those in attendance on social media. Among those present were designers Nomi Ansari and Asim Jofa, stylist Khojii, model Fouzia Aman, Shazia Naz Khan and Hasan Rizvi.
‘Tis the season of Christmas romances and feel-good movies. In the past couple of months, Netflix has released several romcoms to celebrate the holiday season including Holidate (which I thoroughly enjoyed) and The Princess Switch 2: Switched Again which was also a fun watch. The latest addition to their holiday lineup is A California Christmas set in a ranch in California. Featuring real-life couple Lauren Swickard and Josh Swickard, the holiday rom-com, unfortunately, misses the mark.
The story revolves around Callie (Lauren), the owner of a ranch in Sonoma County, a small town south of San Francisco. She runs her family farm business, which is close to being bankrupt. Her father passed away in a car crash along with her fiancé three years ago, while her mother is currently battling cancer. She has one younger sister, which means she is responsible for the family. Given how many blows life has given her, Callie is bitter and aggrieved.
On the other hand, Joseph Van Aston (Josh) is a rich, spoiled womanizer who is tasked by his business tycoon mother to take a trip to Petaluma and charm Callie into selling her farm to Van Aston Enterprises before the big company’s Christmas party.
Joseph, who is touted to be someone who can “charm any female” walks into Callie’s farm where he is assumed to be new the ranch hand Manny. Joseph does not make any effort to convince them otherwise after he finds out that Callie is in no mood to sell the land and is ready to put up a fight with a representative of the Van Astons. Joseph’s loyal butler and chauffeur ends up running into the real Manny and bribes him into not going to farm.
Joseph is so casual and slips into the role of a ranch hand with such ease that it is hard to imagine that just a few hours ago he was living the high life in San Fransisco. The first half an hour is a complete drag as we along with Joseph learn how to do farm chores. Once you make it past that, things get better.
As Joseph settles into his role and Callie warms up to him, sparks fly between the two and a romance begins to brew, though I do feel that for a Christmas romance film it was not enough. Instead of showing up Joseph farming, it would have been nicer if they had shown some more romantic scenes between Joseph and Callie. I have to add here that Joseph labouring away on the farm shirtless was perhaps the only good thing about those scenes.
Callie’s character was also very underdeveloped. Considering she was one of the main protagonists, her screen time was less as compared to Joseph. Lauren also gave a bland performance and came across as someone very dull, which is perhaps why her scenes weren’t very engaging. On the contrary, Josh managed to breathe life into his character, carrying the weight of the entire film on his shoulders. The two leads also shared great chemistry – their real-life relationship reflected on the screen.
Meanwhile, the real Manny and Leo (Ali Afshar) provide much-needed comic relief and are a breath of fresh air in the film. Their scenes are some of the most entertaining and the only ones with comedy in them.
Barring the final scene, there is little reference to Christmas and the lack of snow does not help – the movie might have sold better as a summer romance.
A California Christmaswould not rank very high on my list of rom-com recommendations. But if you a hardcore fan of the genre like me you might enjoy it somewhat.
Javed Sheikh, in a recent interview, has revealed that former president Asif Ali Zardari was part of Shamim Ara and Waheed Murad’s film Salgirah.
While replying to a question about getting a call from the President House, Sheikh replied that he has “old ties with Asif Ali Zardari,” before going on to share that Zardari played the child version of Murad’s character in the film.
Sheikh further added that Zardari was fond of acting.
https://youtu.be/KOADz3-rq4I
Salgirah was released in 1969. Apart from Murad and Shamim Ara, the film also featured Tariq Aziz, Santosh Rissal, Nirala, Nighat Sultana and Talish. The film also included Noor Jahan’s iconic song Lay Aaye Phir Kahan Par Qismat Hamay Kahan Se.
Sheheryar Munawar has had tough year and he is not afraid to talk about.
Posting a shirtless picture of himself from an upcoming commercial, Munawar said: “It’s not special because it’s a shirtless shot; it’s special because for me it’s a celebration of this year’s personal journey.”
Sheheryar then went onto talk about his brush with COVID-19, his motorbike accident and how everything resulted in him going into depression.
“A few months back, life came to a standstill and being a workaholic, the stagnation took a huge toll on me emotionally,” shared Sheheryar, adding that he also suffered severe depression, but “won’t go into the details of it”.
“To make things worse I tested positive for COVID and had to go into isolation, a few weeks out of that terrible experience, I got into a motorbike accident and had to undergo surgery,” continued Munawar. “Mobility was completely restricted and relying on others to help me do the most basic tasks was emotionally traumatic, to say the least.”
He further divulged that even after the recovery, his worries were far from over.
“I had strict restrictions on body movements and I’m still not allowed to lift weights. I hadn’t worked in a long time and I had bills/salaries to pay, was in no shape, both physically or mentally, to go in front of the camera.”
However, he decided to fight back and gain back his mental, emotional and physical strength by doing light workouts, eating healthy, fixing his sleep cycle, meditating, seeking therapy and actively working on “having a positive outlook on life”.
Sheheryar also said that the support of his friends and family also helped him through his dark time.
“It’s taking a lot of courage out of me to be able to share the second picture with all of you. I want to do it to let you all know that we’re all in it together. We all go through highs and lows and we’re all vulnerable. Not sometime today, not tomorrow, not the day after, now is the time to change your outlook. Tell yourself nothing is impossible. Because nothing is,” he concluded.
Munawar last appeared in his home production Parey Hut Love alongside Maya Ali. The duo has paired up again for a television drama Pehli Si Mohabbat which will air on ARY Digital. The drama will mark Munawar’s return to the small screen after a gap of almost seven years. The actor has also done a number of steamy photoshoots recently which have sent the temperatures soaring.
Special Assistant to Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar on Information, Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan has announced that the Government of Punjab will issue health cards to all artists across the province. In a press conference, Dr Firdous said that the provincial government will also bear all health-related expenses of deserving artists.
Explaining the scheme, Dr Firdous said that a biometric system will be introduced through social protection authority which will ensure a transparent system of providing the fund. All the funds will be transferred through the banking channel.
The SAPM told media that 1600 artists who were affected by the coronavirus were given relief by the Punjab government under the artist support fund, while 1500 deserving artists in Punjab received financial assistance worth Rs. 5000 each.
Dr Firdous made these comments outside the residence of famous singer Shaukat Ali. She also presented Ali a cheque worth Rs 200,000 on behalf of CM Buzdar, adding that the Punjab government has already given him Rs 300,000.
Ali reportedly has multiple medical issues, including diabetes and liver problem. He is famous for the patriotic songs he sang during the wars of 1965 and 1971. He is also the recipient of the Pride of Performance award.
وزیر اعلیٰ پنجاب عثمان بزدار کی جانب سے معروف گلوکار شوکت علی کی مدد کے لیے 2 لاکھ روپے کا چیک ان کو پیش کیا ہے۔ ان کو 3 لاکھ روپے کا چیک پہلے بھی دیا جاچکا ہے۔
It is pertinent to add here that Ali was treated at a Sindh government facility on special instructions of PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari after reports of his ailment and inability to afford treatment were circulated on social media.
Commenting on this Dr Awan said that she was sorry to learn that the singer had to go outside the province for his treatment while the Punjab government was distributing health cards across the province.
Hina Khawaja Bayat stole the show with an electric and charged solo performance on Dola Re on her daughter designer Natasha Kamal’s wedding.
The senior actor shared the video on social media much to the delight of her fans who praised her in the comments section of her post.
“The precious moments when a daughter is getting married, to embark upon a new journey in her life,” wrote Hina in the caption. “May her life be blessed with every joy, health, wealth, success and happiness always.”
A dynamic persona, the 48-year-old has gathered a huge fanbase in her career. Starting her career as an anchor, Bayat proved her mettle in acting with a career span of 20 years. She is one of the industry’ most graceful actresses who has fascinated audiences with her performances in Humsafar, Baaghi, Zindagi Gulzar Hai, Aun Zara, Raaz-e-Ulfat, Daasi and Eik Jhoothi Love Story.
The actress is married to Roger Dawood Bayat and they have two children together.
Netflix India’s recent original series, the Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives has been in the news for multiple reasons. The show has been the talk of the town since it gave a glimpse into the lavish lives of these Bollywood wives.
Starring Maheep Kapoor, Bhavna Panday, Seema Khan and Neelam, the show had received mixed reviews. However, the guest appearances kept audiences engaged and on their toes. But you all might not know that these ladies were not the first choice of the makers.
According to reports, the original plan of the makers was to give fans a glimpse into the lives of some of the high-profile star wives namely Gauri Khan, Tahira Kashyap Khurrana, and Malaika Arora (Arbaaz Khan’s ex-wife).
After they turned down the offer, these four ladies were picked up to be a part of the show.
However, Malaika and Gauri did have special appearances in the show. Gauri’s husband Shah Rukh Khan also made a guest appearance much to the audience’s delight.
Karan Joahar, who happens to be the producer of the show also appeared in the series, was trolled and labelled the “Favourite Wife” of the show.
Coke Studio 2020 unveiled their third episode with three powerful songs featuring veterans Umair Jaswal and Sanam Marvi and budding artists Sehar Gul Khan and Zara Madani.
The first song of this episode is a powerful solo performance by Sehar Gul, written and composed by lyricist Asim Raza. Ishq da Kukkar has a spiritual message with a prayer of love towards God. The song is an early morning call to prayer being given by a bird deeply in love with the Almighty and in profound devotion, it beckons the believer to come to say a loving prayer alongside.
Speaking about how much the song touched her, Sehar said, “As I sang the song, with each verse, I felt like I was being transported, elevated into a completely different world. I’ve tried my best to share that experience through the song.”
Pardesiya, the second song of this episode is an eastern classical-inspired raga rock track performed by classically trained singer Zara Madani. The song is about one’s search for God and the longing for peace which one prays to the Almighty for in times of distress.
Explaining the concept of the song, Zara said: “In life, as humans, we are constantly in search of something. We await the arrival of something bigger, some form of an answer. This thirst for an answer or an impending destination is common to us all.”
This experimental song has a bluesy feel and has been sung in Raag Bhimpalasi in madh laya of eastern classical music. Raag Bhimpalasi has originated from thaat Kafi and is considered to be the Shanti Rasa (a conscious cultivation of inner balance, equilibrium, wisdom, and serenity) of Indian classical music.
The third song for the episode, Har Funn Maula, has been written by Shuja Haider and is a Sufi dhamaal power track with drums giving it a rock element. Har Funn Maula has been performed by Umair Jaswal and Sanam Marvi. Despite the upbeat music, this song curiously touches upon the chords of one’s soul with its spiritual message. It is man’s quest to make him better at everything he does, it is his prayer and longing for perfection.
While the song starts off in Jaswal’s rock musician voice, it borrows elements from the dhamaal, a devotional dance/music practice that honours qalandars or Sufi saints bringing in a Sufic flair to the message.
Talking about the song, Marvi said, “When you set foot on the first step of love, without even realising it, you take a step in the direction of Ishq-e-Haqqiqi (love for God Almighty). Somewhere along the way, you feel the pain of heartbreak, loss and you realise that only prayer can give you a sense of peace and calm.”
Coke Studio 2020 also marks the return of the house-band, with Asad Ahmed on the electric guitar, Kamran ‘Mannu’ Zafar on bass, Babar Khanna on eastern percussions, Shehroze Hussain on the sitar, Nawazish Nasri on rabab, and Abier ‘Veeru’ Shaan on percussions. On backing vocals, this season will feature Nimra Rafiq, Wajiha Naqvi, Kumail Jaffery, Shahab Hussain, and Zara Madani.
Given the new format and advantages of technology, this season has also collaborated with international musicians from across the world including Turkey, Nepal, Lebanon and Serbia. In fact, Turkish artist, Volkan Öktem, has also joined the house-band this season featuring on the drums.
