Sajal Aly, Ahad Raza Mir and Adnan Siddiqui’s romantic thriller Ye Dil Merawrapped up Wednesday night with a bittersweet ending. While fans are devastated that Amaan (Mir) and Aina (Aly) did not end up together, others are satisfied with the way the drama ended.
Adnan, who played the suave but manipulative Mir Farooq Zaman, in an Instagram post, bid goodbye to his character and thanked his fans for appreciating his work.
“The character of Mir Farooq Zaman was a tricky one. It was also sensitive and negative in its own way but am glad you all liked and appreciated my work,” wrote Adnan.
The actor also shared some fun moments from the sets of the drama.
Atif Aslam has expressed that he wishes to recite the Azaan at the Holy Kaaba in Makkah.
“It is my biggest wish to recite the Azaan at the Holy Kaaba. I hope it will come true one day Insha’Allah” said Atif, in a recent interview with Hamid Mir.
Hamza Ali Abbasi, with whom Atif Aslam performed Hajj in 2019, said that he hopes Allah accepts his dua.
The award-winning singer also shared why he decided to recite and record the Azaan.
“I had heard that in Prophet Muhammad (S)’s time when things used to be tough, people used to go to their roofs and recite the Azaan. That is where the idea came from and without any hesitation or second thoughts, I went ahead with it,” said the singer.
“A day before recording it, I couldn’t sleep at night and couldn’t contain my excitement. The feeling was beyond words. I never thought I’d be blessed enough to get a chance like this,” he added. Atif’s recitation of the Azaan received acclaim from across the world.
Atif also talked about his rendition of Asma ul’ Husna [the 99 names of Allah] for Coke Studio.
“In life, we do a lot of things, some good, some bad. Just like I ended up performing Tajdar-e-Haram, Asma ul’ Husna also came my way and I consider myself very lucky to have gotten a chance to perform it. I cannot explain my feelings at the point when I was recording it.”
Atif also shared that Al Mu’izz (The Honourer, The Bestower), Al Muzil (The Dishonourer, The Humiliator) were his favourite names.
Meanwhile, Atif denounced and shut down all rumours and reports that he is quitting the music industry, like Junaid Jamshed.
“This is a very personal matter,” said Atif. “I want to keep my religion and my profession together as I move in life. I won’t say I will be giving up on music entirely, but I want to highlight important aspects of religion like the 99 names of Allah and Tajdar-e-Haram.”
“I feel very happy when young people tell me that they are listening to Allah’s names or Tajdar-e-Haram through my music. So, no I am still not quitting music.”
Atif also revealed that his all-time favourite musician is Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
“NFAK’s qawwalis and compositions have always been my favourite,” said Atif. “I feel sad that we did not appreciate him enough back then. And I wish he was alive so that I could have met him.”
Aslam also shared that when he was young, he wanted to be a cricketer and even pursued it in the U-19’s as a fast bowler. However, his parents advised him to focus on his studies instead.
“I wouldn’t be here without my parent’s blessings,” he remarked.
Researchers from Vital Strategies and Imperial College, London have found that people, including children, are exposed to a high and frequent volume of tobacco, alcohol and branded fast-food product placement while watching Bollywood films.
According to reports, of the 300 films analysed from the time period 1994-2013, 93 per cent of the films had at least one occurrence of alcohol, 70 percent had at least one occurrence of tobacco, and 21 per cent films had at least one occurrence of branded fast food. Tobacco and alcohol occurrences were more common in films rated for older audiences (A-rated films) whereas fast-food depiction was prominent in movies targeted for all audiences (U and U/A rated films).
On average, tobacco products or usage was depicted four times per film, alcohol was shown or used seven times per film, and branded fast food was shown or used 0.4 time per film. Although the depiction of tobacco in these films fell during the 20-year period of analysis, the placement of alcohol and branded fast food products significantly increased. Researchers assume that the downward trend in tobacco promotion from the year 2004 could be attributed to the regulations related to tobacco advertising, promotions and sponsorships under Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) and WHO Framework Convention of Tobacco Control (FCTC).
“Our study suggests that Bollywood films are contributing to promoting unhealthy behaviours in their audience, particularly children,” said Dr Nandita Murukutla, Vice President, Global Policy and Research, Policy, Advocacy and Communication, Vital Strategies.
“We hope that this study offers evidence and support to reduce the marketing of these products in films given the known health problems they cause, including obesity, heart disease and cancer.”
While research in other parts of the world has shown an association with these products being used in films and audience members also initiating use, the extent of such imagery in Bollywood cinema has been less clear.
Fresh off the success of her new song Te Quiero with Haadi Uppal, Aima Baig, in a recent social media, commented that in the last three to four years of her career the one thing she learned is that the “most difficult thing to pull off in this industry is to satisfy our society. According to how they want us to look like or what they want us to wear, what they want us to sing or what they want us to say.”
Pretty sure, all female actors will be agreeing with Aima on this.
“Whereas I thought it is a free country, where men and women both have been given the right to follow their heart and live their own life,” she added.
Aima then went to recall when she started her career as part of Mazaaq Raat’s team, before adding how blessed she feels to have achieved the success she has.
Ushna Shah is in the spotlight again for sharing an “unpopular opinion” related to female singers in Pakistan. In a now-deleted tweet, Ushna shared how she felt that Aima Baig and Quratul Ain Balouch are the “only incredible female vocalists” that we have.
She later also commented on Sahir Ali Bagga’s track which he composed with Hadiqa Kiani, saying, “Putting this on record, should’ve taken Aiman Khan for the vocals,” adding that the current track “ruined my visuals.”
Social media assumes that Shah wanted to tag Aima Baig instead of actor Aiman Khan.
However, when Hadiqa Kiani found out about it, she responded to it by making a list of all the legendary female singers of Pakistan.
Aima Baig also jumped in to share her opinion and said that new talented girls should also be given a chance to fulfill their dreams.
Following the backlash, Ushna apologised to Kiani and said that she is “delirious and opinionated late night”.
The teaser poster of Mahira Khan and Fahad Mustafa’s upcoming film Quaid-e-Azam Zindabad is out.
The lead cast of the film including Mahira and Fahad as well as the director of the film Nabeel Qureshi and producer Fizza Ali Meerza shared the poster on social media with the caption “Kabhi socha hai note per Quaid-e-Azam ki tasveer kyun hai (Ever thought why there is a picture of Quaid-e-Azam on the [rupee] note?”
Kabhi socha hai note per Quaid-e-Azam ki tasveer kyun hai ?
While the makers of the film did not share further details, Quaid-e-Azam Zindabad is expected to hit theatres on Eid ul Azha but given the current situation, it is unclear if the film will be releasing as per schedule. However, the shoot for the film has wrapped up and it is currently in the post-processing phase. Qureshi, while speaking to various media outlets, had earlier said that the team of the film is working on the film from home and they hope to release it as per schedule.
As to what the film will be about, Qureshi had shared that the film will be a satirical action-comedy – something along the lines of their previous film Actor in Law.
Ever since Diriliş: Ertuğrul aired in Pakistan on the directives of Prime Minister Imran Khan, the nation has been obsessed with the drama series and its cast. There has been a lot of heartwarming (and not so heartwarming) exchange between people of Pakistan and the actors of the series, many of who have sent their love to the country and its people.
Set in 13th century Anatolia and based on the struggle of Ertuğrul Gazi, father of Osman I – the founder of the Ottoman dynasty, Diriliş: Ertuğrul has been trending in the country ever since its first episode aired on PTV Home. Pakistanis are loving the drama series and it has become a sensation in the country. According to PTV, 133.38 million people have watched the drama series from April 25- May 14. PTV’s YouTube channel has also registered an exponential rise in its viewership with 5.3 million subscribers and episodes trending every day on the social media platform.
In an exclusive interview with The Current, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Faisal Javed Khan revealed that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had gifted the drama series to Pakistan as a goodwill gesture.
Despite a blanket ban on Indian films in Pakistan, our love affair with Bollywood films continues. Because every time a new Bolly film releases on Netflix, it instantly starts trending. And I don’t understand that because as of late, Bollywood films have become trashy, for lack of a better word. I can’t remember the last time I saw a decent Bollywood film and thought to myself, ‘Oh this was nice’.
Nevertheless, this weekend, the top film on Netflix Pakistan is Aditya Roy Kapur and Disha Patani’s Malang – a story about love and revenge. Advait Thakur (Kapur) and Sara (Patani) are two free-spirited (read: aimless) souls who meet in Goa and instantly hit it off. They spend their days enjoying the beachside and their nights attending rave parties featuring a lot of drugs. From ecstasy to cocaine, the film has it all. When I initially saw the scenes involving drugs, I found them to be a bit strange because audiences across the world are calling filmmakers to be more careful about the message they give out to the world. However, the makers of Malang really don’t give a s*** about that because there are no warnings or disclaimers either.
Soon enough Disha gets pregnant, bringing an unexpected twist into the couple’s life. While Advait runs away, Sara chooses to stay in Goa and raise her child. However, Advait soon realises his mistake and comes back to Goa only to discover that a police officer Micheal (Kunal Khemu) is attempting to rape Sara, thinking she is someone else. After a lot of bloodshed and marr dhaar (fighting) – which also seems to be a central theme in the film – Advait is sent to jail while Sara is killed. The rest of the film follows Advait get revenge from the police officers who covered up their colleague’s crime and assisted Micheal in Sara’s murder.
Meanwhile, Anil Kapoor plays a crazy cop Agashte with a tragic past who only knows how to serve justice by killing criminals in encounters. Think the Bollywood version of Rao Anwar. Despite a solid performance, Kapoor’s character is poorly written and there is not much he can do with it except laugh creepily in an attempt to provide comic relief.
To be very honest, a lot of the scenes in Malang reminded me of Siddharth Malhotra and Shraddha Kapoor’s Ek Villian. The plot was not original and the film had nothing new to offer in terms of content. But to ensure that his audiences leave the cinema halls satisfied and forget about the nonsense the rest of the film was, the film’s makers added a twist in the end to give that shock and thriller factor.
Malang has been directed by Mohit Suri of Aashiqui 2 fame, which means that the music of the film is definitely satisfactory. The songs are soulful and melodious and you will catch yourself humming them long after the film ends. In case you missed it, our very own Asim Azhar composed one of the songs Humraah, though it does not feature in his voice in the film.
The only good thing the film had to offer was lots of eye candy and spectacular views of the beach. Aditya Roy Kapur has toned his abs to perfect and missed no opportunity to show them off. Add to that an incredibly good-looking face and that is probably what will get you through the almost three-hour-long film.
The Lovebirds
Similarly, The Lovebirds, starring Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani has nothing new to offer in terms of an original plot or storyline. However, it will keep you entertained throughout its 90-minute run-time.
Jibran (Nanjiani) and Leilani (Rae) are a couple, who are on the brink of a breakup when they are unintentionally embroiled in a murder mystery. The two spend the night dodging the police and trying to find evidence to prove their innocence. Along the way they get into hilarious messes, which can get a little lame and cliched, but Rae and Nanjiani’s comic timing, charm and chemistry more than makeup for that. This is the first time I’ve seen either of their work and I thoroughly enjoyed their performance.
The film is a light, mindless comedy, something you can watch with your family or on Netflix Party with your friends. It’s easy, doesn’t require much thinking and offers that break from reality we so need in these testing times. If you’ve enjoyed watching comic capers like Date Night or Game Night, chances are that you will enjoy this film as well. You might even catch yourself laughing out loud at some points.
The murder of a black man George Floyd, allegedly by a police officer, in Minneapolis has sparked protests and outrage all over the world. While in the United States, people are taking to the streets to protest, in other parts of the world people are expressing their anger on social media. Celebrities and prominent personalities across the world are also raising their voice on the matter.
The incident has also started a debate on the obsession with fair skin, especially in South Asia and the use of skin lightening products. Celebrities who have endorsed fairness products – like Sajal Aly, Mawra Hocane, Priyanka Chopra, Disha Patani – are being called out for doing so.
Following the debate, journalist Haroon Rashid asked his followers to name “Pakistani/Bollywood celebrities who have never endorsed a skin lightening product.” Several Pakistani female actors, including Mahira Khan, Hareem Farooq, Sanam Saeed, Ayesha Omar and Momina Mustehsan responded to Rashid’s tweet and said that they had never endorsed skin lightening products, despite multiple offers.
Been refusing ever since I was a VJ till now. Never endorsed a skin lightening product. https://t.co/uGB1vPyaGX
Me! 🙋🏻♀️ been refusing offers to endorse various skin whitening products since 12 years. Have a very strong stance against it. https://t.co/UcMJ32L2Do
Same here 🙋🏻♀️ Always turned down all fairness product endorsements. The amount of melanin in your skin has nothing to do with how beautiful you are. If we ALL responsibly refuse whitening endorsements, it might cause a shift in the market. We have the power to change the narrative https://t.co/KSKh1XZ0yB
— Momina Mustehsan (@MominaMustehsan) June 5, 2020
Long before this debate, Yasir Hussain had publicly lauded his wife Iqra Aziz for rejecting an advertisement for a whitening cream. He said that even though a lot of money was being offered, Iqra stood her ground and rejected the offer.
Later when Haroon asked if those, who have in the past endorsed such products and later apologised for doing so, should be used as examples in a bad light, Mahira said they shouldn’t be.
“We are quick to cancel, not to converse,” said Mahira.
No they should not be used as examples in a bad light. We are quick to cancel, not to converse.
Not Prime Minister Imran Khan, neither Wasim Akram, nor Shahid Afridi – Mehwish Hayat’s favourite cricket captain is Inzamam-ul-Haq.
Sharing a picture of herself standing in front of the Wall of Fame at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, Mehwish said that she felt a” great sense of pride” seeing the cricketing legends through the ages. The actor added that her personal favourite cricket captain was Inzamam-ul-Haq.
A prolific batsman, Inzamam ul Haq was the captain of the Pakistan national cricket team from 2003–2007.
