Pakistani actor Sadia Imam is not planning to quit the showbiz instead, she is all set for her comeback with a drama serial.
As per reports, the actress expressed her displeasure over people spreading rumors about her that she is retiring from showbiz upon the request of her husband. She said that people have been making assumptions about her family.
She said, “I haven’t announced that I am leaving showbiz, all such reports are nothing but rumors. My husband has never objected over my career choices and he is my major support.”
Reports further reveal that she is gearing up for a drama serial that will be aired soon.
“Due to the recordings of my upcoming drama, my husband would take breaks from work and come to Pakistan so that our daughter was not alone,” said Imam. “After my parents, my husband is my biggest support.”
She said that she did take a break from acting after her marriage as she wanted to give time to this new relationship, adding that she doesn’t plan on retiring soon.
Sadia Imam got married in 2012 with a German-Pakistani, Adnan Haider and had moved to Germany after marriage. In August 2014, the couple was blessed with a baby girl. After returning to Pakistan in 2015, she started hosting shows on TV.
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information Firdous Ashiq Awan has said that Sarmad Khoosat’s Zindagi Tamasha will be critically reviewed by the Council of Islamic Ideology on the request of the Central Board of Film Censors. The film’s producer was also directed to postpone the release of his film for the time being.
مرکزی فلم سنسر بورڈ نے فلم “زندگی تماشہ” کا تنقیدی جائزہ لینے کے لئے فوری طور پر اسلامی نظریاتی کونسل سے رجوع کرنے کا فیصلہ کیا ہے۔ پروڈیوسر کو فلم کی ریلیز مؤخر کرنے کی ہدایت بھی جاری کر دی گئی۔
Awan’s announcement came hours after censor boards in Punjab and Sindh stopped the film’s release.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Government of Punjab through its Information and Culture Department barred filmmaker Sarmad from releasing Zindagi Tamasha “in wake of persistent complaints received from different quarters”. Following this, the Sindh Government also placed a ban on the film as it may create unrest within the religious segment of the society and disrupt peace.
According to a notification issued by the provincial government, the film will be re-examined and the film’s makers have been directed to arrange a show in this regard “in any cinema house” on February 3 at 3pm, so it may be reviewed. The film’s team has also been told to ensure the presence of a representative “for personal hearing, if required by the committee”.
Meanwhile, the director has also been instructed not to release the film “till final decision of the committee”.
Notification by the Punjab Government
Notification by the Sindh Government
It is pertinent to mention here that the censor boards of Punjab and Sindh had earlier cleared the film.
It is also being reported that the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) will once again hold a board members meeting to review the film in which a representative of the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) and a representative of the ministry will also participate.
“Film will only be cleared if the members of the religious party and government officials approve of the content,” said the report.
Following the temporary ban on the film, the TLP has cancelled its protest against the film that was scheduled to be held Wednesday.
Many people are criticising the government decision especially considering that earlier this month, Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar had announced the formation of a task force on Art and Culture, in accordance with the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
According to the notification, the initiative was taken to promote and revive performing arts, culture, heritage and the film industry. Shaan, Resham, Ali Zafar, Yousaf Salahuddin and Vasay Chaudhry are among the members of the task force.
Written by Nirmal Bano and directed by Sarmad Khoosat, Zindagi Tamasha starres Arif Hassan, Samiya Mumtaz, Eman Suleman and Ali Qureshi in the lead. The film is centred around a naat khwan Rahat Khawaja (played by Hassan) and his family who are outcast from the society when a secret of Khawaja’s is leaked.
The official synopsis states: “The film is an intimate portrait of a family as well as a scorching political commentary on little gods on this earth who police our private passions.”
The film premiered at the Busan International Film Festival held in October 2019 where it also won the prestigious Kim Ji Seok Award.
Petition filed against TLP for hindering the release of Zindagi Tamasha
A few hours before the Punjab Government’s notification, a Lahore Civil Court heard the petition filed by Sarmad’s father Irfan Ali Khoosat against the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) for “trying to interfere into the smooth running, public screening/releasing” of Zindagi Tamasha. Judge Ziaur Rehman heard the petition and issued notices to all respondents to appear before the court on Wednesday to present their arguments.
According to reports, Irfan who serves as the director of Khoosat Films Private Limited, appealed to the court to “[restrain] the defendant permanently from interfering into the peaceful releasing/public screening of above-named film on big screen/cinema in all over Pakistan illegally, unlawfully”.
Sindh Film Censor Board, Punjab Film Censor Board and Markazi Film Censor Board were also named as though it was clarified that the censor boards were “mere [proforma] defendants and the plaintiff has not claim (sic) any relief against them”.
Irfan had also filed for interim injunction from the court under Rules 1 (cases in which temporary injunction may be granted) and 2 (injunction to restrain repetition or continuance of breach) of Order 39 read with Section 151 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
Last week, the filmmaker had appealed to the Prime Minister, President, Chief Justice of Pakistan and Chief of Army Staff to facilitate his film’s release explaining that he was receiving threats. Sarmad shared that there were attempts to stop his film from releasing despite it being cleared by the central censor board
In his letter, Sarmad clarified that “As a law-abiding citizen and with full conviction that there is nothing offensive or malicious in the film, in response I submitted the film for another review to the censor board. It was cleared once again with a few cuts to appease the complainants.”
Following that he penned another letter, this time addressed to “my beloved Pakistan and Pakistanis” detailing that he is getting dozens of threatening phone calls forcing him to reconsider the release of his film.
Prince Harry doesn’t want Netflix’s ‘The Crown’ to cover his life and has said that he will stop the production of the series before they cover his life. According to the Daily Express, Royal biographer Angela Levin revealed that Harry had told her about his plans when she had met him at Buckingham Palace.
“Well Harry, when I went to interview him at the palace, the first thing he said to me when he shook my hand was ‘Are you watching The Crown?’… “And I had been at the time and I felt very embarrassed,” she added.
“I got up and he said, ‘I’m going to make sure I stop it before they get to me,” she said.
Prince Harry and his wife Meghan and son Archie are no longer working members of the Royal Family
There are rumours that Netflix would be interested in working with Harry and Meghan. According to The Daily Mail, when Netflix’s chief content officer, Ted Sarando was asked if they would be interested in working with the couple, he said, “Who wouldn’t be interested?”
On the other hand, there are also reports that Netflix will not be covering present day royals. According to The Sun, Suzanne Mackie the executive producer of ‘The Crown’ said it’s unlikely it will ever cover today’s royals. She said: “To be honest, whatever the life of The Crown is after where we are now, I doubt we’ll ever go as far into the present day.”
The Crown is currently chronicling Prince Charles life, who is Harry’s father
‘The Crown’ is a Netflix series that chronicles the life of Queen Elizabeth II and is in it’s third season.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have given up their royal titles to live an independent life in Canada. Latest pictures show Meghan hiking with baby Archie and Harry recently attended an event where he said that he was ‘sad‘ about the way things turned out.
Meghan Markle, all smiles as she hikes in Canada with her son and dogs
Harry returns to Canada after two weeks of being in England for the last of his royal engagements
Deepika Padukone is on a mission to make the world a better place.
After standing in solidarity with students of New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) who were protesting after masked assailants wielding batons and iron rods attacked the university leaving more than two dozen injured, she delivered a powerful speech on mental health at the the World Economic Forum in Davos. The actor received the Crystal Award at the annual event for her work on spreading awareness about mental health.
The actor spoke about her mental illness journey at the event saying she had a love-hate relationship with it, and highlighted that depression and anxiety were common illnesses that could be treated.
“My love and hate relationship with this has taught me a lot and I want to tell everyone suffering from this that you are not alone.”
“Depression is a common, yet serious illness. It is important to understand that anxiety and depression is like any other illness and treatable. It was experience with this illness that encouraged me to set up Live Love Laugh,” she said, while speaking about her foundation. Deepika was diagnosed with depression in 2014.
Highlighting the impact mental illnesses have people and on the economy, she said, “One trillion dollars is the estimated impact of depression and mental illness on the world economy. In the time it has taken me to accept this award, the world has lost one more person to suicide”.
As #wef20 gets underway, @deepikapadukone stresses the importance of addressing mental health issues when building a more sustainable and inclusive world.@TLLLFoundation
Padukone, who received the award on Martin Luther King Jr Day, also quoted the civil rights activist in her acceptance speech.
“For in the words of Martin Luther King, everything that is done in this world is done with hope,” she said.
Padukone started voicing her opinion on the importance of mental health through her foundation The Live Love Laugh Foundation in June 2015.
Through the program, the actor launches nationwide awareness as well as destigmatisation campaigns. The foundation raises awareness about adolescent mental health disorders and organises training sessions, research and lecture series that feature some of the best known thinkers and achievers.
Padukone was last seen in biographical drama Chhapaak, which she also produced. Directed by Meghna Gulzar, the movie is based on real-life acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal, who was attacked in 2005 at the age of 15.
Indian actor and singer Rupinder Singh ‘Gippy’ Grewal whose work spans over the Punjabi and Hindi film industry recently visited Gurdwara Nankana Sahib to pay homage.
Pictures and videos of the singer at the holy site were widely circulated on social media with Grewal himself publicising his trip.
Speaking to APP, Grewal said that this trip was long due and he had been planning to come to Pakistan for a while now. The singer said that he was very happy to be here and specially thanked Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis Zulfi Bukhari for his efforts to make this trip possible.
Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Youth Affairs Usman Dar also welcomed Grewal by sending him a message on Twitter.
Welcome to Pakistan. We hope that you have a great time. You will surely find a lot of your Punjabi fans on this side of the border as well. https://t.co/wmsm6us7jd
According to the Times of India, Gippy will also be visiting Gurdwara Panja Sahib in Hasan Abdal during his trip. His itinerary also includes a tour of Lahore and Islamabad and the place of his forefathers, which they bid goodbye to in 1947.
Ayesha Omar, while wishing her mother a happy birthday, opened up about her childhood struggles and how her mom fought through the years after her father passed away.
In an Instagram post, Ayesha detailed her mother’s struggles writing, “A woman was widowed with two tiny children and not a penny to her or her husband’s name. Her siblings were all married and assumed that the well-to-do family she got married into, would take care of her, financially and emotionally. Her in-laws dissolved the family company when her husband (the major shareholder of the company) died and divided all the money amongst themselves.”
Ayesha also gave an insight into her early years in the industry and how she worked jobs to make ends meet.
Ayesha attached videos of herself and the cast of Bulbulay cutting a cake for her mother.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B7gd9KFDUnP/
Ayesha is all set to appear in multiple films this year including Rehbra with Ahsan Khan and Dhai Chaal alongside Shamoon Abbasi.
Pakistani cricketer Bilal Asif is releasing a music video. He not only sang the song but also wrote it’s lyrics.
Sharing a poster of his upcoming song Akhiyan, Bilal said that he was “super thrilled” about it and that he hopes everyone will like it.
Super thrilled for my upcoming song. Guys please like, comment & share. I’m super excited to get you my very own single for the 1st time ever. It’s written & sung by myself. I’m very hopeful that you all will like it. #pakistancricket#music#musicvideo#musicloverspic.twitter.com/310guW8KKD
Britain’s Prince Harry expressed his sadness at being forced to give up his royal duties in a deal with Queen Elizabeth and senior Windsors that will see him and Meghan exit official roles to seek an independent future.
Buckingham Palace and the queen announced on Saturday that Harry and Meghan would no longer be working members of Britain’s monarchy, no longer use their “Royal Highness” titles and would now pay their own way in life, freeing them to forge new careers.
In a speech to the Sentebale charity on Sunday, a clearly upset Harry said the final outcome was not what he and Meghan had wanted.
“Our hope was to continue serving the queen, the Commonwealth and my military associations without public funding. Sadly that wasn’t possible,” the prince, the sixth-in-line to the throne, said.
“I’ve accepted this knowing it doesn’t change who I am, or how committed I am. But I hope that helps you understand what it had come to, that I would step back from all I have ever known to take a step forward into what I hope can be a more peaceful life.”
Under the arrangement, Harry will remain a prince and the couple will keep their titles of Duke and Duchess of Sussex as they begin a new life split between Britain and North America where they will spend the majority of their time. But they will not take part in any future ceremonial events or royal tours.
Royal commentators said it amounted to an “abdication” from the “firm” — as the royals are known — and showed that, under the warm words in which she said Harry and Meghan were much loved, the queen had taken a firm and decisive line by insisting on a clean break.
“It brings me great sadness that it has come to this,” said Harry. He said the decision to step back had followed months of talks and had not been a decision he had come to lightly. They were not walking away, he explained.
“As far as this goes, there really was no other option,” he added.
He told the audience at the charity he founded to help children with HIV in Africa that he wanted them to hear the truth from him “not as a Prince, or a Duke, but as Harry, the same person that many of you have watched grow up over the last 35 years but with a clearer perspective”.
“The UK is my home and a place that I love. That will never change,” he said.
Meghan is currently in Canada with their son Archie and Harry is expected to join her soon.
The couple’s plans for independence, announced after a long break over the Christmas period in Canada, caught the rest of the royal family by surprise earlier this month and left the queen and other senior members hurt and disappointed, according to royal sources.
Buckingham Palace have said the couple would no longer receive public money and that they would repay the cost of refurbishing their cottage in Windsor, which official figures show amounted to $3.1 million.
But certain details, such as their future security arrangements or whether the couple could continue to use the “Sussex Royal” title for their website and branding, have either not been finalised or publicly revealed.
Following an appeal to the Prime Minister, President, Chief Justice of Pakistan and Chief of Army Staff to help facilitate the release of his film, award-winning filmmaker Sarmad Khoosat has now penned a letter to his “beloved Pakistan and Pakistanis.”
In his letter, Sarmad shared that he is getting dozens of threatening phone calls forcing him to reconsider the release of his film. Zindagi Tamasha was scheduled to release on January 24.
“I did not make Zindagi Tamasha to hurt, offend or malign anyone. It’s a story about a ‘good enough Muslim,” wrote the filmmaker in his letter.
“There was/is no mention of a sect, party or faction of any sort. Neither in the uncensored nor the censored version.”
“As an artist, the last thing I’d ever want to achieve through my artistic expression is anarchy or hatred. No! That’s not what an artist does. Or at least I don’t,” he asserted.
Sarmad said that he doesn’t want any trouble over his film especially since it has been cleared by the censor boards.
“I don’t want anyone to have the pleasure of banning my film because legally, officially and morally, no one can…As a good, responsible citizen, I do not want my cities’ roads being blocked, people’s businesses and everyday routines disrupted or any other form of unnecessary trouble and chaos in the name of ‘just a film’.”
Sarmad concluded the four page note saying that he has left the matter to his Allah.
Following Sarmad’s letter, celebrities and politicians took to social media to extend their support to the director.
Time and again we are made to realise our power and our influence. A film ( that people haven’t seen) can make some this scared. Mushkil ko bata ke tera Allah kitna bara hai @KhoosatSarmad https://t.co/AGVeTl8Dfh
Terribly sad, threatening calls are made to withdraw 'Zindagi Tamasha', despite the film cleared multiple times by censor boards. Shows there are dejure and de-facto govts. De-facto is driving the vehicle from the rear seat. Sooner or later such a vehicle fated to meet accident. https://t.co/qZJxCbwHKb
Written by Nirmal Bano and directed by Sarmad Khoosat, Zindagi Tamasha starres Arif Hassan, Samiya Mumtaz, Eman Suleman and Ali Qureshi in the lead. The film is centred around a naat khwan Rahat Khawaja (played by Hassan) and his family who are outcast from the society when a secret of Khawaja’s is leaked.
The official synopsis states: “The film is an intimate portrait of a family as well as a scorching political commentary on little gods on this earth who police our private passions.”
The film premiered at the Busan International Film Festival held in October 2019 where it also won the prestigious Kim Ji Seok Award.
The one celebrity couple, no one is ever getting over is Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston.
The two sent hearts racing after they were caught being adorable on camera backstage at the SAG Awards 2020 on Sunday night. Fans had been waiting for this moment at the Golden Globes held earlier this month but the two just exchanged pleasantries leaving fans wanting more.
The couple — who split in 2005 after Pitt had an affair with co-star Angelina Jolie — was snapped going in for a hug and smiling at each other. Pitt, 54, and Jolie, 44, married in 2014, split in 2016 and their divorce was finalized in 2019. Since then, fans have been rooting for Brad and Jen to get back together.
While Pitt took home the award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role for Once Upon a Time in … Hollywood, Jen won the award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series for The Morning Show.
In his acceptance speech, Brad poked fun at his lackluster love life.
Taking about his winning role as Cliff Booth in Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, Brad said, “It was a difficult part. The guy who gets high, takes his shirt off, and doesn’t get on with his wife? It’s a big stretch.”
At this point, the cameras cut to Aniston, who ― while not appearing too enthused at the remark ― clapped.
Meanwhile, when Jen was onstage accepting her award, Brad was caught on camera watching her.
‼️ EXCLUSIVE ‼️ Brad Pitt stopped everything backstage to watch Jennifer Aniston's acceptance speech at the #SAGAwards. Wow guys—it really has been our day, our week, our month, and even our year. https://t.co/m7r01pojsCpic.twitter.com/th9sm1js4D
