Lollywood actress Veena Malik is all set to make a comeback on our screens, but in a very different format.
The actress and controversial social media personality has announced the launch of her YouTube channel in a video she shared on Instagram, revealing that her upcoming channel will be named ‘Showbazian.’
Malik elaborates that the channel will feature performances by various comedians. In her hey day, Malik, a gifted mimic, was known for the Geo News superhit program ‘Hum Sub Umeed Se Hain’.
Even though she’s done well in both places, the actress, who is now a mom of two, is being more careful about the work she chooses. After her divorce, she spends a lot of time with her kids. This means she’s more thoughtful and focused on her job compared to how she used to be.
Lollywood superstar Meera was recently a guest on the celebrity talk show ‘Hasna Mana Hai’. While speaking about her career and the challenges she faced, the ‘Baji’ actress revealed that not one, but two A-list actors had wanted to star her in their movies! It was Shah Rukh Khan, the actress claimed, who wanted to cast her in the film ‘Jab tak Hai Jaan’ before he eventually went with Katrina Kaif. However, the offer couldn’t work out because Meera wasn’t able to secure a visa to London.
Then the other A-lister was the ‘365 days’ Italian actor Michele Morrone, who had reached out to Meera to do a film together.She confirmed on the show that the two are planning to do a film together once his current projects finish:
“Yes, for work…He said, ‘Let’s work together.’ Once his current projects finish, we will work together professionally, God willing.”
Meera has been the butt of misogynist and elitist jokes in the past because of her limited English speaking skills, among other absurd reasons, but the actress revealed she doesn’t let this backlash shatter her self-confidence or her resilience:
“If you wish to be successful or live a peaceful life, you must forget about what people will say…If you love me, what does my age, personal life, or past have to do with it?” she declared.
However, the actress said after living a public life, she now prefers to remain out of the news, humorously answering a question from an audience member:
“When I was in the news, people had objections that I’m constantly in the news, always on television. Now that I’m not in the news, how do you feel now?” She continued, “Those in print media would write, ‘Learn the talent of staying in the news from Meera Jee.’”
Actor Kubra Khan announced on her social media page on Thursday that she was officially filing a case against Adil Farooq Raja, who runs the twitter and Youtube account @soliderspeaks. In her post, Khan revealed that these past four days were incredibly difficult for her and her family, after she suffered from ferocious bullying and watched her pictures being used inappropriately.
The actress further elaborated that she was exercising her constitutional rights as a Pakistani and relying on the law to protect her own dignity, as well as other hard working, independent women who were facing the same slander. Here is her full statement:
“The past four days.. have been so difficult for me and my family that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to explain in words. I couldn’t wrap my head around as to why anyone would do this to me.. even after it was clarified that my name or initials were misinterpreted why was I still getting bullied so ferociously. Even before I reacted.. why were my pictures being used in such a inappropriate manner.. and then I realized.. because no one’s ever put a stop to it. Because we’re so used to being quiet. Until this story die, another arises to do the same damage just because we didn’t speak up. But enough is enough So This is me, exercising my constitutional rights as a Pakistani and relying on our law to protect my dignity and this is me saying what I want to say for all the hard working independent woman out there who are insulted daily. I’m not gonna stand here and say I stood up for every woman out there but I will say that I stood up so that from now on if a situation like this arises, every woman and man out there knows that standing up for yourself is your RIGHT!
So now.. I leave it in your hands, Our law Implementors and God’s Hands. I rest my case.”
The actress had also posted a picture of the order of Sindh High Court to PTA and FIA to remove the offensive content and pictures related to Khan.
On her Instagram account, other Lollywood actors like Usman Mukhtar, who had previously worked with Khan in Hum Kahan Kay Sachay Thay, and celebrities like Osman Khalid Butt, Yumna Ziadi and Aima Baig sent their love and support to the actress.
New York magazine cover story “The Year of the Nepo Baby” broke the internet, providing audiences with an in-depth investigation in to how nepotism thrives within Hollywood. The article explored how young stars with connections within the acting industry because of their famous parents or relatives, were able to quickly cement a career for themselves in comparison to anyone else with limited networking.
The article and it’s implications have now made its way to Pakistani Twitter, where one user decided to ask her followers about Pakistani entertainment figures who were able to break into the industry because of their familial connections. And the numbers are extraordinarily large.
We need to do a vulture inspired nepo chart for Pakistani celebrities too! To start off: Sethi siblings Shafi siblings Asim Azhar Danyal Zafar Ahad Raza Mir Azaan Sami Khan Haroon Kadwani Zaviyar Ejaz
Meesha Shafi and Faris Shafi are the children of veteran actress Saba Hameed. In February, Meesha defended her brother against academic Nida Kirmani’s complaints that he was an “elite rapper” by saying that both had been raised by a financially stressed single-mother, and had worked hard to arrive where they are now.
That’s a bit flat and problematic as a general perspective. Faris and I were raised by an extremely hard working, very financially stressed single mother. We do not come from money. Are you suggesting, just because she put her sweat and tears into
Asim Azhar is the son of veteran actress Gul-e-Rana and musician father , and had spoken in an interview with Dawn Images in 2018 about how nepotism allegations did not take account of how hard he had worked in order to establish his career:
. I have put in a lot of hard work into my career. For about three years, I was just spending money on music that I would put out on the net and earn nothing back from it. And yes, I managed to get popular with a niche, mostly female, crowd but there were many more people who hated me and they were very vocal about it.”
Singer Danyal Zafar is the brother of singer and actor Ali Zafar, and has also addressed nepotism privileges. In an interview withDawn Imagesin 2017, he stated that he had a different style from his brother, so he won’t be using his sibling for connections. “I just feel the shoes are not in the same spot. One thing that he made sure I knew was that my struggle and journey will be my own. I will use my own style to mark my own space in the industry,” Danyal had stated at the time.
Ahad Raza Mir, the son of famed veteran actor Asif Raza Mir, during a talk show with Anas Bukhash, pointed out that no one bats an eye on nepotism in fields like medicine or military, not in the same way everyone criticizes children of actors for following their parents footsteps. “I was doing well so people said it’s because I’m a star kid. But there are doctors whose kids are doctors, there are generations in the army and generations in politics, no one bats an eye. But as soon as there’s a child of an actor who starts doing well, everyone starts yelling ‘nepotism’,” he said of his critics.
Azaan Sami Khan is the son of acclaimed singer Adnan Sami Khan and famous actress Zeba Bakhtyar. The actor was accused of nepotism when he was cast for the Hum TV drama Ishq-e-Laa with Sajal Aly and Yumna Zaidi. However, the director of the series had addressed the controversy on an interview with Fuchsia magazine, and revealed that Azaan had been cast in the role only after he had passed a screen test.
Haroon Kadwani is the son of actor and founder of Pakistan’s leading production house, 7th Sky Entertainment, _. He was accused of nepotism after he was cast in the drama “Ruposh”. but he rejected these claims in an interview with Fuchsia Magazine, saying that being the child of a star parent means a lot of expectations are placed on you. “People think it is easy to be a star kid but instead it is very hard for me. Being a star kid has its pros and cons. My father can give me one or two roles but after that it depends on talent. If your audience accepts you then you don’t need to be afraid of anything. However, if you are not talented, your audience will reject you and you will surely be aware of it,” Haroon emphasized.
Soon other users began naming famous celebrities within the Pakistani entertainment industry who have benefited from having famous parents and connections in the industry.
Ammar Khan is the daughter of veteran actress Fariha Jabeen. The actress had been questioned about the existence of nepotism in the industry last month in an interview at the show “Hasna Mana Hai” and simply said she was not a by-product of nepotism.
Zara Noor Abbass is the daughter of powerhouse actor Asma Abbas and is the niece of superstar Bushra Ansari. In the show Time Out with Ahsan Khan, Abbas and her husband Asad Siddiqui discussed the topic of nepotism with the actress sharing that she had stopped asking her aunt from picking her up from school after realizing how famous she was:
“Bushra Ansari was always just my khala to me. It’s only when I grew up that I realized the level of her popularity and would ask her not to pick me up from school. That’s when I really understood,” she said.
Ushna Shah is the daughter of radio and television actress Ismat Tahira, and had previously addressed the pressence of nepotism and the casting couch in the entertainment industry in an interview with The News, stating that she saw a lot of girls exploited in the business. “It is not necessarily by the top level people but the lower tier that these girls have to go through to get to the meetings and auditions,” she revealed, then went on to detail the sexism that actresses have to deal with. “Men like to pass comments that at some point were considered funny by our society. But it is not funny anymore.”
Several musicians like Bilal Maqsood and Jaffer Ziadi also made an appearance on the list. Bilal Maqsood is the son of veteran television scriptwriter and presenter Anwar Maqsood, while Jaffer is the son of lehendary singer Nayyar Noor and actor Shehryar Zaidi.
Nepotism doesn’t define a person’s career as a whole as a Twitter user wrote in reply to the thread that people like Bilal Maqsood and the Shafi siblings had worked hard and created their own career without the press linking them to their famous parent. However, it is also a shocking fact how the demand for connections lead to adults from ordinary families to be pushed to the sides. Last year, it was actress Saba Bukhari who had shed light on the prevailing discrimination based on family background in the entertainment industry. In an interview with BBC Urdu, the actress revealed instances of bullying she had encountered from actresses who demanded that she leave acting because of her limited connections. “There are some actors who make film sets a quite difficult place. I remember this accomplished actress was sitting right in front of me and she began insulting my face, and complained ‘where do they even pick up these useless girls from’. She said it directly to my face that I should leave acting, because I will never be able to make it here,” Saba revealed.
Yesterday, actress Mawra Hocane shared pictures of herself and her mother performing Umrah together at Makkah.
In the caption, Hocane revealed that this was her first Umrah and that she had wanted to do for a long time. Now she has gotten a chance to fulfill her wish.
21/12/22 marks the fulfilment of my biggest biggest wish ALHUMDULILLAH
We performed Umrah together, Mama & I.. twice.. what more could I possibly ask for now.. ALHUMDULILLAH ❤️ Life truly feels complete.. I have to think hard now to wish again for a long time… just so so grateful..
Thankyou.. all of you for all your prayers & best wishes.. I prayed for all of you as well.. my first Umrah will always be so so special for me.. a small little glimpse of my dreams coming true..
Pakistani classical singer Bilqees Khanum passed away yesterday in Karachi after a prolonged illness. Her prayers will be held today at Imam Bargah Khairul Amal.
Bilqees Khanum was a renowned classical singer famous for such hits as Anokha Ladla, Kuch din to baso, Lathay di chaddar and Chaap Tilak.
Bilqees had received musical training from her grandfather Inayat Ali Khan.
Khanum was previously married to Ustaad Raees Khan, the celebrated sitar performer, who passed away in 2017. She is survived by her four sons, two of whon are in India while the other two remain in Pakistan.
Actor Iqra Aziz in an Instagram post announced last month that she is retracting from a project with Feroze Khan after he was accused of domestic violence.
“To stay silent in the face of injustice is to side with the oppressor.’ In lieu of the situation regarding domestic violence, I have made the difficult but necessary decision to retract my project with Feroze Khan as a sign of support for victims of domestic abuse. I support Aliza Sultan for seeking justice, more strength and power to you,” she wrote in an Instagram post.
After Iqra’s announcement, her sister Sidra took to her social media handle to share details of Iqra’s decision-making process while opting out of the project.
Now Iqra has opened up on her decision in a chat show, the Ranjha Ranjha Kardi diva said she simply was not comfortable working with him after he was accused of domestic violence by his wife Aliza Sultan. She said everyone has the right to choose how they want to work and who they want to work with.
Aziz appeared on The Talk Talk Show and talked about her retraction. “For me, it was a very personal decision. I did what I thought was right for me and [it was] what I wanted to do, what according to me was the right choice. I took a decision — I wasn’t comfortable working with him, so I said no. I wasn’t waiting for anything to be proved to take action because, before that, there was a time in which we worked together (Khuda Aur Mohabbat 3) and I wasn’t comfortable with him during that so I said no this time.” she said.
The host summarised her point saying that the bottom line is it’s okay for an actor to have the liberty to say no if they’re uncomfortable working with someone. “Of course!” Aziz responded. “I think that we live in an era where, whether it’s a woman or a man, working in this industry or anywhere, other than the choice of career, they have the right to say yes or no to however they want to work according to their comfort level and to who they’re comfortable working with.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=votNCjjDXxI&t=1s
The interviewer then asked her if her take would be any different if in the future the allegations proved to be false in court. “I think we have to wait for that time then. We can only decide that then, we can’t decide before time thinking what if this happens, just based on assumptions,” replied the Suno Chanda actor.
When the host tried to dig into the matter some more, Aziz put a stop to it with an uncomfortable chuckle and asked him to leave it at that instead of delving deep into it.
Ayeza Khan is set to play a TikToker in her forthcoming big-budget drama Laapata costarring Ali Rehman Khan, Sarah Khan and Gohar Rasheed.
Her character Geeti makes musical and dance oriented videos including songs from some Bollywood chartbusters of Madhuri Dixit and late Sridevi. She will also be donning Mahira Khan’s Noori attires from her film Superstar.
The Meray Paas Tum Ho diva has now uploaded a video in which she is dancing elegantly on late Sridevi’s iconic song Mitwa from Chandni opposite Rishi Kapoor.
Mahira Khan is a bonafide superstar who is making her comeback on television after six years with HUM TV’s Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay. Based on Umera Ahmed’s novel, it features Usman Mukhtar and Kubra Khan alongside Mahira. The drama is directed by Pyar Ke Sadqay fame Farooq Rind.
Ghana Ali married Umair Gulzar in May 2021, the duo have been expressing their love for each other on social media. Ghana recently posted a romantic picture with her husband on her Instagram story. What made her post more interesting is the hilarious caption that she added.
