Renowned playwright and writer behind the very popular TV serial ‘Mere Paas Tum Ho’, Khalilur Rehman Qamar has been owned by journalist Owais Tauheed and social activist Tahira Abdullah, who argued with Qamar over gender issues and accused him of relating a woman’s reticence, in his dramas, to her dress.
As per the details, Qamar, whose views from some TV and social media appearances have greatly irked a segment of the society, was invited for a show on SAMAA TV Sunday night. The other two panelists on Barrister Ehtisham’s show were Tauheed and Abdullah.
With the journalist and activist calling Qamar out for his portrayal of women, the writer strongly denied it, saying that he was not in favour of measuring a woman’s reticence from what she wore. Tauheed also raised the point that Qamar always portrayed women as oppressed and needy beings.
At this, the playwright remarked that Tauheed had not even seen the dramas written by him.
WATCH VIDEO:
Speaking on the show, Abdullah said they were tired of listening to the taunts of “western culture” and “privilege”. She added that systematic hatred of women was taught in the society. Heated arguments also marred the discussion.
Advance bookings for the finale of Meray Paas Tum Ho have hit a record high. Tickets for the the last mega episode of the drama which will be screened in cinemas across the country on January 25 are selling out fast as fans purchase them in large numbers.
According to reports, advance sales hit a phenomenal 3.6 million (36 lakh) rupees till the close of business on Saturday.
Given the response to the drama, cinemas are hosting multiple shows of the finale to cash on the drama as much as possible.
It is also being reported that the episode will not be uploaded on YouTube as per the norm. This is likely to push the sales even more as people rush to book their tickets so that they do not miss out.
Starring Ayeza Khan, Humayun Saeed, Adnan Siddiqui and Hira Mani, Meray Paas Tum Ho has been directed by Nadeem Baig and written by the critically acclaimed Khalil-ur-Rehman Qamar. It follows the story of a married couple whose life falls apart after the woman has an affair.
A man was sentenced to jail for 55 years a day before his wedding.
According to reports, the bridegroom Mohammad Atif was among the 86 people sentenced by a Rawalpindi anti-terrorism court (ATC) for holding protests over the arrest of Tehreek Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) chief Khadim Hussain Rizvi two years ago.
Family members of the bridegroom said that Atif’s mehndi function was to be held on Friday at 3pm in Pindigheb while the baraat was planned for Saturday. A marriage hall had been booked and all arrangements were made for Valima reception on Sunday.
However, he, and 85 others, were sentenced to 55 years in prison by the ATC on Thursday night in a case related to holding of protests, destroying property and interfering with the police duties in Pindigheb, the hometown of the TLP chief, in 2018.
The case had been registered by the Pindigheb police of Attock on November 24, 2018.
Former DG ISPR, Major General Asif Ghafoor, who was a key figure in the liasons between the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) and the entertainment industry has bid goodbye to his post. He has been transferred to the 40th Infantry Division (Okara), where he will serve as the general officer commanding (GOC). Gen Asif Ghafoor has been replaced by Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar.
“Thanks to everyone I have remained associated with during the tenure,” Maj Gen Ghafoor wrote on Twitter as news of his transfer broke.
Alhamdulillah. Thanks to everyone I have remained associated with during the tenure. My very special thanks to Media all across. Can’t thank enough fellow Pakistanis for their love and support. Best wishes to new DG ISPR for his success.#PakArmedForcesZindabad#PakistanZindabad
Following his transfer, members of the film and sports fraternity including Humayun Saeed, Shahid Afridi, Reema and Shaan took to social media to appreciate the officer and his services.
Thank you Major General Asif Ghafoor for your service. Your humility, honesty and passion made for an exemplary tenure of yours as DG ISPR. Wish you good luck for your new assignment with prayers that may you continue to excel at whatever you do @peaceforchangepic.twitter.com/yQCztojUQK
Huge respect for Major General Asif sir for all you have done for our country and our people specially with your humbleness, it’s inspiring ❤️ @peaceforchangepic.twitter.com/5pA3lGFPco
Quoting Dr Arfa, Hira further wrote, “Kaamiyabi khush ikhalqi main hai Acha bolnay main hai Acha Sochnay main hai. kamiyabi ilm main hai or ilm paise Se nahi ilm mohabbat main hai (success is hidden in education that will come from love and not from money)
Veteran Bollywood actor Shabana Azmi on Saturday sustained serious injuries after meeting with a car accident on Mumbai-Pune Expressway, Press Trust of India tweeted.
Actor Shabana Azmi injured in car accident on Mumbai- Pune Expressway: Police
Reportedly, her car hit a truck from behind near Khalapur toll plaza. The actor has been admitted to MGM Hospital Panvel, Maharashtra.
According to hospital staff, Azmi sustained injuries on her nose. “No other visible injuries till now. She is right now in state of shock. Treatment going on. Condition stable,” read a statement issued by the hospital.
Police officials say the actor with her husband and renowned lyricist, Javed Akhtar, and her driver was travelling from Pune to Mumbai when the accident took place.
Ghalti will make you cringe and even feel a little angry. Typical, typical, typical Pakistani drama re-enforcing the stereotypes we are trying to change in our society push through in the first five episodes of ARY Digital’s Ghalti.
The drama is full of the more than typical saas-bahu drama, the word talaaq thrown in for good affect and the jealous nunday, Ghalti left nothing behind. All that’s left now is someone planning kaala jadu and all the ills of our society will be complete. What’s more shocking is that someone as brilliant an actress as Saba Hamid is acting and directing this incredibly regressive drama. Even if the moral of the story is for the good, the fact that the drama indulges in such barbaric stereotypes is disturbing in itself.
Brilliantly regressive acting by the incredibly progressive Saba Hamid
The story revolves around Zaira (Hira Mani), a happy, single daughter belonging to a wealthy family and nikkahed to her cousin Saad (Affan Waheed). Saad’s family, including his widowed mother Zaitoon (Saba Hamid) and sisters live in a house provided by Zaira’s father. Zaira’s father faces some financial issues and asks Zaitoon to vacate the house that belongs to him so he can pay off his debts. Zaitoon is enraged that she now has to return to her small little house (which is not in Defence) and plots revenge. Revenge plotting includes trying to break off Zaira’s marriage to her son, accepting the marriage and hoping that once Zaira is ruksatied her father will give them another house and when that doesn’t happen, plotting and scheming to make Zaira’s life miserable.
This is how Hira Mani looks in almost every scene of the drama
Only someone who has as blank an expression as Hira Mani could play the helpless, sad, little Zaira. So helpless that the viewer doesn’t get angry at Zaitoon for treating her daughter-in-law like trash, but more at this Zaira; an educated girl who should be able to stand up for herself but oh ho, her love for her incredibly mediocre husband Saad drives her to cook, clean, be treated like trash by her in laws because she must live with what’s been handed to her and suffer because she loves her husband.
Cleaning when her cool mother walks in to find her daughter suffering and blubbering
Woh bhi choro, Saad’s big ghalti is that he divorces Zaira once in a fit of anger and it’s like the worst thing that could happen, right? Wrong. Zaira is perfectly fine with Saad once he gets her imported flowers and they get on with their happy lives.
Listen up ladies, if you get divorced, Ghalti says these flowers and a card should make it all okay
People need to be educated that this concept of uttering talaaq once and the process that has to be followed by law is completely different than what is shown in our dramas. Talaaq at three different times, with proper methods to reconcile, are done to protect the woman and the couple and the way they are thrown around in our dramas, especially this one, is irresponsible and criminal.
Hira Mani looking the same at the moment she is divorced
What’s worse is the way the word talaaq is treated like a joke and reason to gossip. The defence of this drama would be that aisa tou hota hai and women can relate to their lives being as terrible as Zaira’s but really? Is that what we want people to watch and feel? That this happens to everyone, so it’s perfectly fine if it’s happening to them? Why do we constantly push this terrible narrative of saas bahu dramasto gain ratings?
Because it gets ratings. The five episodes on YouTube have more than a million views each so we can keep expecting that such dramas will be created and actors like Hira Mani and Affan Waheed and director Saba Hamid will keep doing such roles.
After Sarmad Khoosat came forward and revealed that “a few troublemakers” were creating hurdles “for their political ends” in the release of his film Zindagi Tamasha, several industry A-listers have stepped forward to support the filmmaker and demanded the government to facilitate the release of the film. Sarmad had also appealed to the Prime Minister, President and Chief Justice of Pakistan to help release his film.
Mahira Khan, Humayun Saeed and Ali Zafar were among those who requested the government to facilitate filmmakers and make things easier for them.
The government must address this at the earliest. Filmmaking in Pakistan is already a tough challenge; those who dare to venture into it need to be encouraged and appreciated https://t.co/H2ZP1Wjd8H
Having produced a film myself, i can very well relate to the difficulties/challenges one has to face to make and release a feature film in a country with no real infrastructure. The government should facilitate all such endeavours otherwise our cinema will die before emerging. https://t.co/EZKW6D6DeE
In an open letter addressed to Prime Minister Imran Khan, President Dr Arif Alvi, Chief Justice of Pakistan, Chief of the Army Staff and Minister for Information, Khoosat detailed the problems his film was facing in its release.
Along with that, he 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.”
Meesha Shafi, Mira Sethi and Ali Gul Pir had also extended their support to the film and its team.
The state of Pakistan needs to stop censoring art to appease a few troublemakers. If your art is not free, the minds of your people will stay enslaved and never evolve. I hope #zindagitamasha gets released in it’s true form #art#freedom#NoToTLPBullyinghttps://t.co/NZK0odHyqm
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 centered 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.
After teasing us for like forever, Shaan has revealed that his action-thriller Zarrar will finally hit the screens in 2020. According to our research, the film was supposed to hit the screens in 2017 and then August 2019 but kept delaying for one reason or another.
The film has been written and directed by Shaan, who also plays the lead role in the film. The action-thriller also features Kiran Malik, Nadeem Baig and Adnan Butt among others.
In an earlier interview, speaking about the film, Shaan has shared that “Zarrar is an action-drama which shows the current circumstances of the country.”
According to Shaan, Zarrar is based on 90% true events and captures fifth generation warfare and other threats that should be highlighted in mainstream media but are ignored.
He also added that Zarrar shows a patriotic man who loves his country and wants to eliminate those elements which facilitate terrorists and terrorism in the country.
“It’s like a Bond Film with a true story. Not a fauji sort like we have been seeing on our screens in past. It’s not like Waar or Yalghar. It’s a new breed of a spy thriller action genre, and we are planning sequels and prequel to the film in the future if things go well,” Shaan had further shared.
Meanwhile, here’s is a look back at Zarrar’s shoot diaries.
