Best entertainment news in the industry, we break entertainment stories as soon as celebrities post on their social media and do Pakistani drama reviews.
After a long hiatus from the screen as an actor, Nida Yasir is all set to return with an Eid telefilm titled Uff Yeh Biwiyaan. Yasir will be sharing the screen with husband Yasir Nawaz, Shaista Lodhi, Hammad Shoaib and Nazish Jahangir in the film.
The short one-minute trailer shows that the telefilm will revolve around a man, played by Nawaz, who has two wives, played by Nida and Shaista. The two women will fight over him and he tries to please them both.
Written by Misbah Ali Syed and directed by Kashif Saleem, Uff Yeh Biwiyaan is expected to air over the Eid weekend.
Earlier, in an interview, Nida shared that she gave up acting to focus on her family life and children as she felt her son was being “neglected.” However, after her daughter was born, she stopped working altogether.
“For nearly two years I was doing nothing,” said Nida.
It was after that she decided to work again, doing a sitcom first before venturing into hosting and morning shows.
“Though I prefer acting, I chose hosting as it pays more,” Nida, who is currently hosting Good Morning Pakistan on ARY Digital, had said.
Pakistani short film Darya Kay Iss Paar has bagged three major awards at the New York City International Film Festival. The short film won awards including Best Short Film, Best Director and Best Leading Actress (Khaba Aziz). The film is based on the stigma attached to mental health.
Proud moment for Pakistan. 30 min Short Film Darya Kay Iss Paar (This Bank of The River) won three major awards in world prestigious New York City International Film Festival 2021. Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress. Produced by Nighat and directed by debutant Shoaib Sultan. pic.twitter.com/yFVAZQYCry
As per the description available on YouTube, Darya Kay Iss Paar (On this side of the river) is the story of a young girl named Gull Zareen, who lives in the Northern areas of Pakistan. The plot of the film revolves around the life of Zareen who has “nothing but alienation in her life.”
“The aloofness in the air of the mountainous area is adding more depression in her life. There is a gradual increase in her mental stress starting from school life to the married life. No one is ready to bother about her feelings and thoughts,” reads the official description.
“Rigid social values and norms further add fuel to the fire. Resultantly, the increasing mental stress compels her to commit suicide. The story depicts the stereotypical behavior of society towards mental illness. Certainly, it is a roller-coaster ride of strong emotions inspired from real events where the story can force a viewer to, at least, think about the issue,” it adds.
The film has been produced by Nighat Akbar Shah and directed by Shoaib Sultan.
New York City International Film Festival was founded in 2009 to celebrate the arts of film.
Asim Azhar, Shahid Afridi and Farhan Saeed have raised their voice against Israel and their atrocities against the people of Palestine. They spoke up after reports came in that more than 200 Palestinians were wounded late on Friday outside the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem. Israeli police fired rubber-coated metal bullets and stun grenades at innocent Palestinians.
“I am sickened and disgusted,” wrote Asim on Twitter. “How can you attack a place of worship and attack defenceless worshippers?”
“And yet again, the world will stay silent on Israel’s continuous oppression on Palestine. Ya Allah reham,” he added.
I am sickened & disgusted. How can you attack a place of a worship & attack defenceless worshippers? And yet again, the world will stay silent on Israel’s continuous oppression on Palestine. Ya Allah reham! #IsraeliAttackonAlAqsa#PalestiniansLivesMatter
Former Pakistan Cricket team captain Shahid Afridi also condemned the atrocities and said that the walls of Al-Aqsa Mosque are on the floor, with Palestinian blood, and my eyes are red with tears of helplessness.
“The global conscience is sleeping wrapped in a blanket of indifference. Perhaps the blood of Muslims is so disrespectful that no voice will be raised and no campaign will be launched, he added.
“First Qibla [Al-Aqsa Mosque], we are unable to pay off the debt of your sanctity.
ادھر مسجد اقصی کی دیواریں فرش، فلسطینی خون سے اور ادھر، میری آنکھیں بے بسی کے آنسوؤں سے سرخ ہیں۔ عالمی ضمیر بے حسی کی چادر میں لپٹا سو رہا ہے۔ شائد مسلمانوں کا لہو اس قدر بےتوقیر ہے کہ اس پہ نہ کوئی آواز اٹھے گی اور نہ مہم چلے گی. قبلہ اول، ہم تیری تقدیس کا قرض اتارنے سے قاصر ہیں
Israeli police fired rubber bullets and stun grenades toward rock-hurling Palestinian youth at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque amid growing anger over the potential eviction of Palestinians from homes on land claimed by Jewish settlers https://t.co/YQ87lXaMmxpic.twitter.com/2ho8r1vRjY
Tens of thousands of worshippers had earlier packed Islam’s third-holiest site on the final Friday of Ramzan and many stayed on to protest against Israeli plans to evict Palestinian families from their homes on land claimed by Jewish settlers in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of East Jerusalem.
Meanwhile, Palestinians have also staged a series of sit-ins in the area in recent days denouncing Israeli orders for them to vacate their homes. Israeli security forces have attacked the sit-ins using skunk water, tear gas, rubber-coated bullets and shock grenades. Dozens of Palestinians have been arrested.
Violence erupted on Friday when Israeli police deployed heavily as Muslims were performing evening prayers at Al-Aqsa during the holy month of Ramzan.
Sheikh Jarrah’s residents are overwhelmingly Palestinian, but the neighbourhood also contains a site revered by religious Jews. The site is known to be the tomb of an ancient high priest, Simeon the Just.
As per details, the Sheikh Jarrah cause has escalated over the past week but it is not a new issue.
Jewish settler organisations filed a lawsuit in the 1970s claiming the area belonged to Jews originally, and seeking the expulsion of Palestinian families living there since 1956.
These families, refugees from the 1948 Nakba, eventually settled in Sheikh Jarrah under an agreement between Jordan and the UN refugee agency.
The Israeli district court ruled that four families – al-Kurd, Iskafi, Qassim and Jaouni – must leave their homes for settlers to take over, or reach an agreement with these settler organisations by paying rent and recognising them as landlords.
The families refused and the court postponed the final verdict to Monday.
Saheefa Jabbar Khattak has called out Ramzan Transmissions for having problematic content and not following COVID-19 SOPs.
The model-turned-actor, in a series of Instagram stories, said that on one hand, the government and the public are trying their best to follow SOPs, make compromises on their luxurious lifestyle and give up all activities to contain the spread of the virus. But on other, the Ramzan transmissions are allowing large people gathering which will be a serious threat to the life of people.
“COVID is at its peak. Cricket leagues are getting cancelled, countries in the subcontinent are going into lockdown and strict curfews are imposed on peoples everywhere — we are well in the middle of this horrendous and treacherous third wave,” said Saheefa urging everyone to follow SOPs and wear a mask at all times.
Khattak then pointed out how she read somewhere how social distancing was a privilege.
“It means you live in a house large enough to practice it. Hand washing is a privilege too. It means you have access to water. Hand sanitisers are a privilege. It means you have the money to buy them,” she said.
Saheefa also took the opportunity to highlight the problematic content in Ramazan transmissions.
“They do not follow protocols and are filmed on sets where crews as large as 60 to 70 people are not quarantined and don’t operate inside a bio secure environment. This is a blatant breach of government policy and just shows our inherent insensitivity to the situation,” protested Khattak.
“Rather, they seem hellbent on ridiculing and insulting human beings in the name of entertainment and profit. It’s crass, rude, and has zero respect for human dignity. I’m sorry but this frustrates me a lot!” she added.
Khattak also presented a solution to the problem, suggesting that the airtime can be used to “spread awareness about COVID and enforce message sent out by the government.”
“There was no better time to do it in Ramazan, but no, how would people win a Corolla then?” she sighed, reminding people to take the pandemic seriously.
“Spend Eid while practicing social distancing, recognise your privilege and try to see through the lies we consume through the magic box!” concluded Saheefa.
Meanwhile, according to the latest statistics by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), 4,109 cases of COVID-19 and 120 deaths were recorded in past 24 hours. The positivity ratio in the country is at 8.54 percent.
Statistics 8 May 21: Total Tests in Last 24 Hours: 48,103 Positive Cases: 4109 Positivity % : 8.54% Deaths : 120
Mahira Khan is all set to be seen again on Indian screens with Yaar Julahay, a series of dramatic readings that will air on Zee Theatre.
According to reports in the Indian media, Mahira will feature in the opening episode of the 12-part Zee Theatre series, which will be airing next week. She will be reading Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi’s classic story, Guriya.
Guriya follows two best friends Mehra and Bano. Bano has a doll (Guriya) that resembles Mehra, but the latter doesn’t like that doll at all. With time, their fondness and hate for the doll grows. Towards the end comes an unexpected twist that unfolds the mystery around the doll.
Yaar Julahay also brings to life stories of legendary Urdu and Hindi writers such as Gulzar, Saadat Hasan Manto, Ismat Chughtai, Munshi Premchand, Amrita Pritam, Qurratulain Haider, Balwant Singh, Asad Muhammad Khan, Ghulam Abbas, Rajinder Singh Bedi and Intezar Hussain.
Other readers who are part of the series include Sarmad Khoosat, Sarwat Gilani, Nimra Bucha, Yasra Rizvi, Fawad Khan, Sania Saeed, Irfan Khoosat, Samiya Mumtaz, and Faisal Qureshi.
Humsafar maker Sarmad Khoosat, who is directing as well as reading, said in a statement that the series is inspired by ‘Dastangoi‘, a tradition of creating and telling stories that defines South Asia.
“We have interpreted Dastangoi in a contemporary way and there is also live and recorded music along with suggestive details articulating the theme of the story. For instance, when I directed Mahira Khan for Guriya, the set was strewn with dolls. They created an eerie atmosphere that augmented the narration and enhanced the mood of the reading”, he added.
Chief Creative Officer Special Projects ZEE Shailja Kejriwal, while speaking about the project said: “Each episode of Yaar Julahay features the immersive reading of a remarkable story that is as unique and complex as the subcontinent we live in. Each one of the featured writers has processed reality through characters that we can still identify with.”
“It was a joy to work on these classic tales with Kanwal and Sarmad Khoosat because we have collaborated with them before and they always approach a project with a certain artistic sensitivity and deep respect for the material they are working with. Their sensibility was needed for a project as unique as this,” she added.
The first episode of the series featuring Mahira is expected to air on May 15, 2021.
Chupke Chupke’s Aadi Khan aka Kaddu (Waleed) called out media outlets for spreading misinformation about his family.
In a note posted on social media, Khan said: “I just want to make sure everyone that me and Sami Khan [DJ from Suno Chanda] are brothers Alhamdulillah.”
“We don’t have any sister. Please please aap bhi zaleel na ho or humein bhi na karein, biography likhne se pehly rabta kr liya karein. Kabhi apne comments parha karein to aap logo ko he galiyan par rhi hoti hai,” he added.
Aadi is a young actor and elder brother of Sami Khan, who is famous for his role as DJ in Suno Chanda and it’s sequel.
Aadi has worked in several Pakistani dramas including Nibah, Aye Muhabbat, Kam Zarf and Lamhay. He is currently part of Hum TV’s Ramzan special Chupke Chupke, in which audiences are loving his character.
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) May 5, 2021
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge launched their YouTube channel with a 25-second video of the couple at various destinations, philanthropic events and galas. The video even features a shot of the couple at the Badshahi Masjid in Lahore as well as an inside shot of the rickshaw they took for a dinner in Islamabad.
In the video, William warns a chuckling Kate: “By the way, you have to be careful what you say now because these guys, they’re filming everything.”
“I know!” she exclaims.
The compilation ends with Kate candidly telling her husband, “You didn’t need to roll your r’s.”
“Do I not?” says William in response.
Fans also catch a glimpse of other members of the royal family including Queen Elizabeth II and William and Kate’s three children: Prince George, 7, Princess Charlotte, 6, and Prince Louis, 3 in the video.
The cover photo of the royal couple’s YouTube channel features a pictures from their visit to Chitral in 2019.
Meanwhile, William and Kate celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary on April 29 with a sweet video that also included their three children.
2021 sure seems to be full of surprises. Who would have thought that one day the royal family would join YouTube?
HBO has released the official first images from Game of Thrones spinoff House of the Dragon. The images feature series stars Emma D’Arcy, Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Rhys Ifans and Steve Toussaint.
The upcoming series, which began production last month is set 300 years before the original Thrones series. It will tell the story of the Targaryen family, ancestors of Mother of Dragons Daenerys Targaryen (played by Emilia Clarke), as House Targaryen begins its historic downfall.
The cast so far includes Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, Paddy Considine as King Viserys, Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower, Emma D’Arcy as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, Sonoya Mizuno as Prince Daemons’ unlikely ally Mysaria, Rhys Ifans as Hand of the King Otto Hightower, Steve Touissant as Lord Corlys Velaryon aka a legendary Westerosi seafarer known as The Sea Snake, Fabien Frankel as the knight Ser Criston Cole and Eve Best as Lord Corlys’ wife Princess Rhaenys Velaryon.
Earlier, in an interview, HBO/HBO Max chief content officer Casey Bloys had said that showrunners Miguel Sapochnik and Ryan J. Condal are “prepping” and “have been writing for a long time”. He added that they have drafts of all 10 Season 1 episodes “in various stages.”
The series is one of several spinoff Game of Thrones projects in the works, including a Broadway show and the Dunk and Egg novellas and planned TV adaptation. A prequel starring Naomi Watts has already been killed by HBO.
House of the Dragon is based on author George R R Martin’s 2018 novel Fire & Blood. The series will premiere on HBO and HBO Max in 2022.
Television host and actor Fakhar-e-Alam has escaped a fatal car accident unhurt.
Sharing the horrific experience on social media, Alam said: “Without question, Allah is the greatest protector of them all. I have just survived what could have been easily a fatal accident while on my [way] to to Hum News Pakistan for filming.”
“These trucks become killing machines in the hands of unlicensed drivers,” said Alam further, adding that Islamabad Capital Territory Police is handling the case.
Without question Allah is the greatest protector of them all. I have just survived what could have been easily a fatal accident while on my to to @humnewspakistan for filming.These trucks become killing machines in the hands of unlicensed drivers. @ICT_Police is handling the case pic.twitter.com/BmGwQSgpkq
Later, in a series of tweets, the 45-year-old actor detailed the entire incident.
“It was a close call to what would have been most certainly a fatal accident. This milk truck from Chiniot without indication made a U-turn from the far out lane forcing our vehicle to take evasive measure missing the truck, hitting the divider and ending up on the other side,” said Alam.
1/5 It was a close call to what would have been most certainly a fatal accident. This milk truck from Chiniot without indication made a U turn from the far out lane forcing our vehicle to take evasive measure missing the truck, hitting the divider & ending up on the other side. pic.twitter.com/f7bLDzXdQ0
“Once tossed to the other side we narrowly missed oncoming traffic,” he shared further. “The fact that the driver and I have walked away alive is nothing short of a miracle. These truck operators without proper training are allowed on our roads endangering all of us and our loved ones.”
“I am grateful to Allah that I will once again get to see my children but there are many who have never returned home because of extremely poor road safety & dangerous drivers. Tonight I followed up with Islamabad Police to do whatever was possible legally to stop this driver,” Alam added.
3/5 I am grateful to Allah that I will once again get to see my children but there are many who have never returned home because of extremely poor road safety & dangerous drivers. Tonight I followed up wid @ICT_Police to do whatever was possible legally to stop this driver
Alam shared that the traffic warden, who was an eye witness stated that the truck driver was wrong. “The driver had no ID card, no license. All I want is for Islamabad Police to make sure he never drives again & endanger anyone else’s life. He wrote a confession & maafinama, I just don’t want any family to be a victim of his,” Alam said.
He also urged people to report such drivers, saying: “Please report dangerous drivers, please wear a belt, it saved my life today and above all the law enforcement must not allow for such irresponsible people to drive on our roads. The truck is now at Aabpara police station. What happens next we will all be watching.”
5/5 Please report dangerous drivers, please wear a belt, it saved my life today and above all the law enforcement must not allow for such irresponsible people to drive on our roads. The truck is now at Aabpara police station. What happens next we will all be watching.
Meanwhile, in one of his tweets, Alam had revealed that he will be sharing studios with five gold medalists of Cambrian Patrol Britain, world’s toughest & largest military competition with 140 teams each year.
He said: “I will be bringing you the story of this league of extra ordinary gentlemen very soon with Hum Network.”
Had the honor of sharing studios with 5 gold medalists of Cambrian Patrol Britain, world’s toughest & largest military competition with 140 teams each year. I will be bringing you the story of this league of extra ordinary gentlemen very soon with @humnewspakistan@Humtvnetworkpic.twitter.com/1L8XQ7NWaU
According to him, this will be a “very special project” and “a big filming project,” presumably airing on Hum News/Hum Network.
Islamabad pre production meeting on a very special project into late night….a big filming spell starts tonight…Next few days will be awesome, tiring and entertaining…. pic.twitter.com/0LsenLtEm6
Netflix’s latest horror film Things Heard and Seen, featuring Amanda Seyfried and James Norton, is reportedly based on a true story of a murder that took place in 1982.
According to a report in NY Post, the film based on Elizabeth Brundage’s novel All Things Cease To Appear was partly inspired by the gruesome death of Cathleen Krauseneck in 1982 in Brighton, New York. Cathleen’s murder is better know as “the Brighton Ax Murder.”
On February 19, 1982, James Krauseneck Jr. returned to his new house on Del Rio Drive near Rochester from his job as an economist at Eastman Kodak Co., when he spotted broken glass inside from a window and called the police. He had found his 29-year-old wife, Cathleen, dead in bed with an ax lodged in her head and their 3-year-old daughter seated calmly in her own bedroom, dressed to go out.
In a statement to the police, James had said: “She [his daughter] had a red sweater over a pink sweater with blue ABC corduroy pants and two pairs of socks. She looked dazed to me. I picked her up from her bed and ran downstairs and out the front door with her.”
James, who was considered to be one of the key suspects, said he had been at work all day. The next day he reportedly took his daughter Sara and fled to Michigan, where he grew up. Brighton Police Chief Eugene Shaw opted not to question the daughter a month later because “too much time has gone by.”
James Krauseneck Jr.
Meanwhile, Cathleen’s murder case, which had gone unresolved for almost 39 years, finally made a breakthrough in November 2019 when James was indicted by a grand jury on a second-degree murder charge. He pleaded not guilty.
The Brighton Police Chief attributed the delayed charges to improved forensic technology that’s clarified the timeline of the murder — calling James’ alibi into question — and has shed more light on the crime scene.
“I understand people want a singular piece of evidence that can directly point to James Krauseneck Jr.,” the current Brighton Police Chief David Catholdi had told a local media out. “This is not one of those cases.”
It is pertinent to add that at the scene of the crime no other DNA was found other than the family’s. It was also reported that shortly before her death, Cathleen found that James had not completed his doctorate and lied to his employers.
After Michigan, James moved to Gig Harbor in Washington, where he worked as a vice president of sales for a timberland company called Weyerhaeuser. When he was charged, James was living in Peoria, Arizona, with his fourth wife.
To add another twist, serial rapist Ed Laraby, right before he died in 2014 claimed that he killed Cathleen and committed at least a dozen more crimes.
“Ed Laraby is a notorious self-described sociopathic killer of women,” Krauseneck’s defense attorney said. “The issue is he lived really within basically a half mile, or less than a half mile, and has confessed to this murder as he lay dying in prison.”
Unlike the ending of the movie, which had a comprehensive end, Cathleen Krauseneck’s murder remains unsolved. James, now 69, was freed on $100,000 bail and is awaiting a trial that was delayed by the pandemic — the next pretrial hearing is set for June.
Things Heard and Seen follows an unhappy young mother (Seyfried), who is brutally murdered with an ax while her child is found eerily seated on the couch downstairs. Her studious husband (Norton) leaves shortly after the crime. The film gives the real-life characters different names, changes up their circumstances (they have a son and live in the Hudson Valley) and adds some ghosts for some more horror.
The film is currently trending in the top ten on Netflix Pakistan.
