Best entertainment news in the industry, we break entertainment stories as soon as celebrities post on their social media and do Pakistani drama reviews.
Anushka Sharma has shared the first glimpse and revealed the name of her newborn daughter.
Sharing a family picture, Anushka said: “We have lived together with love, presence and gratitude as a way of life but this little one, Vamika has taken it to a whole new level!”
“Tears, laughter, worry, bliss – emotions that have been experienced in a span of minutes sometimes!” said the actor further, adding: “Sleep is elusive but our hearts are SO full.”
“Thanking you all for your wishes, prayers and good energy,” she added.
The picture of the couple along with the newborn went viral on social media garnering more than 2.6 million likes within an hour of being shared by Anushka.
Anushka and Virat Kohli welcomed their bundle of joy on January 11, 2020. At the time of the birth, the power couple had requested the paparazzi to respect their privacy and not click pictures of their newborn. They had also sent gifts to the media with their request.
Meanwhile, before her daughter’s birth, Anushka while speaking to Vogue Magazine had said that she wants to raise her child away from media attention as she does not want to “raise brats”.
“We’ve thought about it a lot. We definitely do not want to raise a child in the public eye—we don’t plan on engaging our child in social media,” the actor had said. “I think it’s a decision your child should be able to take. No kid should be made to be more special than the other. It’s hard enough for adults to deal with it. It’s going to be difficult, but we intend to follow through.”
Zeb Bangash is disappointed with Bollywood’s version of Bibi Sanam. Performed originally by Zeb and Haniya on Coke Studio, the international hit landed up in the Hindi film Cabaret, where it was sung by Usha Uthup.
In an opinion piece published on Scroll India, Bangash wrote: “From the moment my cousin Haniya and I released our version of Bibi Sanam on Coke Studio, it resonated with people from Kabul to Kolkata and beyond, becoming one of our most-loved and celebrated numbers. Its success spawned many other versions on YouTube and it was a delight to see and hear people from all over the world engaging with the song with so much love.”
She continued: “In time, many classic versions were uploaded. In 2013, inspired by Ustaad Shamsuddin Masrur’s performance of the song in the 1960s, I recorded an entirely fresh version of Bibi Sanam with my Brooklyn-based band SANDARAA. Not surprisingly, this version became a crowd-pleaser on SANDARAA tours even to predominantly Western audiences in North America.”
Zeb further wrote: “I came across a recently uploaded Bibi Sanam video from a Bollywood film. The film was completed a few years ago, but I hadn’t heard of or seen it. I was eager to see what space had been carved out for this beautiful folk classic by the multi-billion dollar industry we all follow and participate in so actively. The names attached to the project heightened my excitement. Usha Uthup, whose beautiful spirit and voice has inspired me since childhood, and Richa Chadha, an actor I respect as someone who stood up against objectification of women on the silver screen.”
However, the song left the singer disappointed.
“I finally heard the song, I was unsettled, disappointed by its re-imagining. I could not find Richa’s spirit or Usha’s voice in the song, neither could I find the soul of Qandahar, Tajqurghan, Kabul jaan, or Sisstaan — all the places the song has referenced,” wrote Zeb while expressing her thoughts on the rendition.
“Instead, the song was forcibly put in a place it was never meant for. I must admit it deeply disturbed me to see a cover of our loving tribute/rendition juxtaposed against the general ongoings of a forgettable Bollywood item song. What was infused into the innocence, the freshness, and sweetness of Sistaan is unwanted aggressive sexuality. Sadly, it felt perhaps for the first time a version has compromised the beauty of an ancient poetic, musical and spiritual tradition.”
Zeb said that the Bollywood version depicting gyrating women dancing around poles raises a stream of uncomfortable questions for her.
The singer further wrote: “The past 12 months, we saw social movements promoting inclusion and equality, we participated in them virtually and created a real global social impact. Social media provides an opportunity for authentic and discerning collaborations. In the context of this hyper-connected environment, I need to ask whether we as artists and content creators are making lazy and uninformed artistic choices?”
“When you sing a song in a new language, you acquire an intimacy not only with the music, but also its people, as you gain access to its stories and histories. You then suffuse it with your own histories and culture – if done right, it is always a process of inclusion. This is especially true for rich spiritual soundscapes. Is it too much to hope that this can culminate in evolution beyond the item number?” she questioned.
“When a dominant cultural machine imposes its careless vulgarity upon lesser-known spiritual traditions, it can undermine the culture and ultimately re-form and warp an identity from sacred to profane.”
“Bibi Sanam has always possessed a mesmerising quality, magic kept alive for centuries, by artists and audiences, meshed with their personal memory, experience, and history. For me the Bollywood version is a disservice to the song’s meaning and the culture it comes from,” she concluded.
Zebunisa Bangash is a Pakistani singer-songwriter from Lahore. Her family originally hails from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Given her prolific career and her ability to sing in various languages and appeal to audiences of all ages across cultures and continents, it is no wonder that Zeb has a huge international fan following around the world.
After Emma Corrin’s brilliant performance in the fourth season of Netflix’s The Crown, Hollywood star Kristen Stewart is all set to step into the role of the ‘People’s Princess’, Diana, in an upcoming film titled Spencer.
As per details, Stewart was roped in for the role in June 2020. The film is helmed by Pablo Larraín.
In a first look unveiled on Wednesday, January 27, the Twilight actress embodies Princess Diana in a red blazer and a black hat with a veil. Stewart is also sporting Di’s signature short blonde hair.
Here’s a first look at Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana in #Spencer, Pablo Larraín’s imagining of the weekend Princess Diana decides to leave her marriage to Prince Charles. pic.twitter.com/LSn4C7cF0h
According to Deadline, the film will be “a drama that shapes up to be a hot package for the virtual Cannes Market. The Steven Knight-scripted film covers a critical weekend in the early ‘90s when Diana decided her marriage to Prince Charles wasn’t working, and that she needed to veer from a path that put her in line to one day be queen.”
“The drama takes place over three days, in one of her final Christmas holidays in the House of Windsor in their Sandringham estate in Norfolk, England.”
Timothy Spall, Sally Hawkins and Sean Harris are also part of the cast.
Spencer has begun principal photography. It will be shot in both Germany and the UK. Spencer is scheduled to release in Fall 2021, ahead of Diana’s 25th death anniversary in 2022.
The High Court of Kerala has issued notices to Indian skipper Virat Kohli, along with actors Tamannaah Bhatia, Aju Vargheese, and the state government in a plea seeking a ban on online gambling in the state.
According to reports, the court plea alleges that as brand ambassadors of online rummy games they are getting the youth of India addicted to gambling after victims claimed the three celebrities have played a role in tempting them.
The petition also seeks a ban on the game.
The petitioner had complained to the high court that several people have lost their lives in the country after losing huge amounts of money by playing rummy online. A 27-year-old had reportedly committed suicide two weeks ago after losing Rs2.1 million in the online game.
Sajesh, 32, who had lost a huge amount playing online rummy said: “The intervention of the honourable high court is welcome as I know that several people have lost huge amount of money playing this online game and I myself have lost more than Rs 6 lakh.
“The brand ambassadors indeed play a big role in attracting the gullible youth in playing this game which soon turns into an addiction. I had to seek professional medical help to come out of this addiction and the court must ban this game in India.”
No statements have been issued by the three celebrities yet, with Kohli currently on paternity leave while he spends time with his newborn daughter and wife Anushka Sharma.
Kohli and Anushka Sharma were blessed with a baby girl earlier this month. On the other hand, Tamannah recently wrapped up the shoot for her upcoming web show November Story, which she described as a ‘nail-biting series’. The series will release on Disney+ Hotstar soon.
Priyanka Chopra-Jonas has said that she has expressed her deep remorse for promoting skin-whitening creams in her upcoming memoir Unfinished. The book is scheduled to release on February 9 and will chronicle Priyanka’s childhood, facing racism during her teenage years in the US, winning Miss India and Miss World, and the challenges she faced while navigating a career in Bollywood and Hollywood.
Speaking to Marie Claire, Chopra-Jonas, said: [Skin lightening] was so normalized in South Asia; it’s such a large industry that everyone was doing it. In fact, doing it is still a check [mark] when you are a female actor, but it’s awful.”
“And it was awful for me, for a little girl who used to put talcum-powder cream on my face because I believed that dark skin was not pretty,” she said, adding that she hated being described as “dusky” by industry influencers and the media.
Priyanka further shared that her new sustainable beauty brand, ‘Anomaly’, is a metaphor for the self-acceptance she’s finally found. She is hopeful that men and women today don’t feel like they have to live up to the restrictive beauty standards that she used to.
“I’m an anomaly, and everyone else is in their own way,” says the actor.
Meanwhile, talking about her journey and accomplishments, Priyanka said: “For that girl who was so scared, I’m proud of the person that I evolved into. I dealt with a lot, and I came out thriving. I want little girls around the world to think about that. It doesn’t matter where you come from; it doesn’t matter what your circumstances are. Your grit matters, your ambition matters, your perseverance matters.”
Earlier on 2015, while talking to journalist Barkha Dutt about endorsing fairness creams, Priyanka had said: “I felt really bad about it, that’s why I stopped doing it.”
“All my cousins are gora-chitta (fair) I was the one who turned out dusky because my dad is dusky. Just for fun, my Punjabi family would call me ‘kaali, kaali, kaali’. At 13, I wanted to put fairness creams and wanted my complexion changed,” she shared further.
Later, sharing a screenshot of Priyanka’s statement on her Instagram story, Iqra Aziz wrote, “When will we [regret endorsing fairness creams]?”
It is pertinent to add here that Iqra is one of the few female Pakistani actors who has not endorsed a fairness product. Her husband Yasir Hussain had publicly lauded her for rejecting a lucrative offer to represent a fairness cream brand.
Faysal Quraishi has said that rape is a stigma for perpetrators, not the victims.
In a tweet, the actor said: “In light of recent news regarding a couple that kidnapped young girls, raped and recorded this heinous act – only one came forward and 45 didn’t for fear of society and stigma.”
“Humari society apna qibla sahi karay, stigma perpetrator kay liye and victim kay liye support honi chaiyae,” he added.
In light of recent news regarding a couple that kidnapped young girls, raped and recorded this heinous act -only 1 came forward and 45 didnt for fear of society and stigma.Humari society apna qibla sahi karay,stigma perpetrator kay liyae and victim kay liyae support honi chaiyae
According to details, a local court has convicted a couple from Rawalpindi for luring girls and filming their rape to blackmail them. They were arrested in 2019.
راولپنڈی پولیس کی اہم کامیابی، طالبہ کے اغواء، زیادتی اور ویڈیو بنانے کے مقدمہ میں ملوث ملزمان میاں بیوی کو معزز عدالت نے جرم ثابت ہونے سزا سنا دی۔ مجرم قاسم جہانگیرکو سزائے موت، عمرقید، 03سال قید اور جرمانہ جبکہ مجرمہ کرن محمود کو عمرقید، 03سال قید اور جرمانے کی سزا سنائی گئی۔ pic.twitter.com/mtmYWLlBd6
Additional District and Sessions Judge Jahangir Gondal awarded a death sentence to Qasim Jahangir over rape and recording explicit videos. Jahangir was also given a three-year prison sentence in addition to a life sentence and has to pay a fine of Rs2.5 million. His wife Kiran Mahmood has also been sentenced to life and has to pay a fine.
The couple was tracked and arrested following a complaint lodged by a girl with the CPO Rawalpindi.
According to the police, the girl, who was a student of MSc, in her statement said that the couple lured her into their car and took her to a house where she was raped and filmed. She shared that she was coming out of her college when a masked woman came to her and started talking to her. After introducing herself as a student at a local girls’ college, the two went for a walk before a car stopped near them and asked the two women to sit inside. The masked woman introduced the driver as her close relative and asked her to sit in the car.
As soon as the girl was inside the car, black curtains were drawn and the car was taken to a house located in Gulistan Colony, where the accused raped her at gunpoint, while his wife filmed the scene.
City Police Officer (CPO) Muhammad Faisal Rana said the couple had confessed to raping as many as 45 minors and filming their rape.
Keira Knightley has said that she is no longer interested in doing sex scenes just to appeal to men, adding that if there was a female director was behind the camera, she might consider it. The Pirates Of The Caribbean star also revealed that the ‘no-nudity’ clause in her contracts is partly because she now has two children.
In conversation with director Lulu Wang and writer-producer Diane Solway on the Chanel Connects podcast, Knightley said that the “male gaze” and her own personal vanity was the reason behind her decision.
“I feel very uncomfortable now trying to portray the male gaze,” said Knightley. “Saying that, there’s times where I go, ‘Yeah, I completely see where this sex would be really good in this film and you basically just need somebody to look hot.’”
“So, therefore, you can use somebody else because I’m too vain and the body has had two children now and I’d just rather not stand in front of a group of men naked,” she continued.
The actor further said: “We all empathise with men hugely because, culturally, their experience is so explored. We know so many aspects of even male sexuality. But we don’t feel like men can say, ‘Yes, I understand what you’re talking about because I’ve got this wealth of art and film and theatre and TV from your point of view.’”
The British actress, 35, added a no-nudity clause to her contract after having children, saying she was more vocal now than she had been as a breakout star in her early 20s in movies like Pride And Prejudice and Atonement.
“If I was making a story that was about that journey of motherhood and body acceptance, I feel like, I’m sorry, but that would have to be with a female filmmaker,” Knightley said. “I don’t have an absolute ban, but I kind of do with men.”
“I don’t want it to be those horrible sex scenes where you’re all greased up and everybody is grunting. I’m not interested in doing that,” she added.
In the past, Knightley has spoken in the past of clashes with male directors, launching a broadside against male colleagues in a 2018 essay:
“They tell me what it is to be a woman. Be nice, be supportive, be pretty but not too pretty, be thin but not too thin, be sexy but not too sexy, be successful but not too successful. … But I don’t want to flirt and mother them, flirt and mother, flirt and mother. I don’t want to flirt with you because I don’t want to fuck you, and I don’t want to mother you because I am not your mother. … I just want to work, mate. Is that OK? Talk and be heard, be talked to, and listen.”
Amazon Prime’s Tandav continues to be mired in controversy despite an apology by the makers. In the latest development, India’s Karni Sena has announced a Rs 1 crore award to the person who will chop of the tongue of Tandav’s makers.
According to reports, Maharashtra Karni Sena chief Ajay Sengar has said: “We will give Rs 1 crore reward to anyone who slits tongue of those who insults Hindu gods and goddesses in the web-series.”
Sengar added that even though Tandav makers have apologised for hurting religious sentiments, it is not enough and it will not be accepted.
The political drama has been facing massive controversy ever since it released on Amazon Prime on January 15. An FIR was also lodged against the makers, for hurting religious sentiments.
Directed by Ali Abbas Zafar, Tandav stars Saif Ali Khan, Sunil Grover, Dimple Kapadia, Sarah-Jane Dias, Gauahar Khan, Kritika Kamra, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, and Dino Morea in lead roles.
Earlier, the team of Tandav had issued an unconditional apology, saying: “Tandav is a work of fiction, and any resemblance to acts and persons and events is purely coincidental. The cast and crew did not have any intention to offend the sentiments of any individual, caste, community, race, religion, or religious beliefs or insult or outrage any institution, political party or person, living or dead.”
“The cast and crew of Tandav take cognizance of the concerns expressed by the people and unconditionally apologize if it has unintentionally hurt anybody’s sentiments,” added the statement.
Yasir Hussain recently schooled a social media user over their comment regarding English language being a necessity, asking them to be proud of their language.
A social media user recently commented that though “Urdu is our language, English is the part of our education, and we need to learn English too instead of ignoring it.”
Responding to the comment, Yasir said: “Do you know anything about China? And Russia? And Spain? And the rest of Europe? They don’t speak English.”
“Apni zabaan pe fakhar karo [Feel proud of your own language],” added the actor.
Later, sharing his response, Yasir further remarked: “Ziada door na bi jayen, humein Pathan bhai sekha dein gay zaban ko kesey own kiya jaata ai [You don’t have to look far. Our own Pathan brothers can teach us how to own your language].
Earlier, Yasir had saidthat “we have made Urdu a symbol of illiteracy,” and the “English language cool”. Sharing his thoughts on the Cannoli incident and the criticism the owners received for humiliating their manager, Yasir said: “[The] interesting fact is that owner of Cannoli made fun of their manager’s English and everyone (including my actor fraternity) raised their voice in English.”
Meanwhile, ever since the video ofCannoli owners mocking their manager went viral on social media several celebrities including Adnan Siddiqui and Sheryar Munwar have come forward to condemn the incident and slam the women for their distasteful comments and behaviour.
