Best entertainment news in the industry, we break entertainment stories as soon as celebrities post on their social media and do Pakistani drama reviews.
Sajal Aly is all set to share the screen with top Hollywood stars in Jemima Goldsmith’s upcoming project What’s Love Got To Do With It?.
According to reports, the Mom actress will essay a groundbreaking role in Goldsmith’s production, for which she is currently shooting in London. The news was confirmed by BBC Asian Network journalist Haroon Rashid.
Besides Aly, the film will also feature Emma Thompson, Lily James and Shazad Latif in key roles.
CONFIRMED: Sajal Ali has joined the cast of What’s Love Got To Do With It, directed by @shekharkapur and produced & written by @Jemima_Khan. The rom-com stars Emma Thompson, Lily James & Shazad Latif and is currently being shot in London. Confirmed by Sajal’s agent Hamid Hussain.
As per details, the film will be directed by Shekhar Kapur of Mr India and Dil Se fame and produced by Goldsmith under the banner of her production house Instinct Productions. The film has been written by Jemima herself and is set between London and South Asia, exploring cross-cultural conflicts of love and marriage.
A release date is not yet been announced.
Meanwhile, Sajal’s fellow colleagues congratulated her for the achievement.
Later, Jemima herself confirmed the news in a Tweet by sharing the names of Veteran Bollywood actress, Shabana Azmi and Sajal.
Looks like we’re geared up for another romantic saga! The Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson has landed a book deal with romantic fiction publisher Mills & Boon.
According to a report in The Guardian, Ferguson’s debut novel, Her Heart for a Compass, will hit shelves in August and tells a fictional account of the life and love story of her great-great-aunt, Lady Margaret Montagu Douglas Scott. The Duchess revealed that she “drew on many parallels from my life” for the historical tale.
On the other hand, Mills & Boon has described the novel as an “immersive historical saga” that “sweeps the reader from the drawing rooms of Victoria’s court and the grand country houses of Scotland and Ireland to the slums of London and the mercantile bustle of 1870s New York”.
It follows Margaret, “who desires to break the mould, follow her internal compass – her heart – and discover her raison d’être – falling in love along the way”.
Sarah shared that she came across Margaret after researching her ancestry and became fascinated with her because Margaret is her middle name.
The Duchess has spoken of how she took inspiration from her own experiences when writing the novel. She was pictured in a Victorian-style floor-length outfit, complete with a high-necked blouse, jacket and gloves, sitting on a stone bench gazing at a compass she held out in front of her, to promote the work.
She said: “Although her parents, the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch, were close friends with Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, I was unable to discover much about my namesake’s early life, and so was born the idea which became Her Heart for a Compass.
“With real historical events and facts to hand, my imagination took over. I invented a history for her that incorporated real people and events, including some of my other ancestors.
“I created a friendship between my heroine and Princess Louise, Queen Victoria’s sixth child, and I drew on many parallels from my life for Lady Margaret’s journey.”
For the unacquainted, Ferguson is the Duke of York’s Prince Andrew’s former wife and the Queen’s former daughter-in-law. She was cast out from the royals amid her “toe-sucking” scandal in the 1990s, and fell deeply into debt, owing millions.
She once confessed: “I was hopeless from the start … they could never make me the perfect princess.”
The Duchess, who has previously written her memoirs, is the author of numerous children’s books including the Little Red and Budgie the Little Helicopter series.
She has been reading children’s books throughout the pandemic on her YouTube channel, Storytime with Fergie and Friends.
Sarah added: “I have long held a passion for historical research and telling the stories of strong women in history through film and television. I am proud to bring my personal brand of historical fiction to the publishing world.”
Mills & Boon, the UK’s leading publisher of romantic fiction, was established in 1908. Its books are written by women for women and range from historical romance to rom-com and erotica, and one is sold every 10 seconds in the UK.
Farhan Saeed has lauded polio workers for their dedication and hard work.
Sharing a video of female polio workers walking in blankets of snow to deliver the vaccine to the children of Azad Kashmir, Saeed said: “All heroes don’t wear capes, some wear yellow vest[s].”
Pakistan’s first polio vaccination campaign for 2021 started on Monday, January 11. The national polio immunization drive will last for five days and aims to vaccinate over 40 million children under the age of five across Pakistan.
A Turkish delegation comprising of Diriliş: Ertuğrul executive producer Kamal Tekdin and actor Celal Al recently visited Pakistan where they met Prime Minister Imran Khan, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shibli Faraz, Shehryar Afridi, Humayun Saeed and Adnan Siddiqui. According to details, the two countries are working together on a joint production to strengthen ties and people-to-people contact.
Sharing pictures from their visit on social media, Humayun wrote that “it was an absolute pleasure to host our Turkish guests”, adding that he and his “friend Adnan Siddiqui are absolutely thrilled to be bringing to you the biggest project ever in collaboration with Kashif Bhai and our Turkish brothers.”
The Jawani Phir Nahi Ani actor then thanked the authorities responsible for making this collaboration possible.
“I would like to especially thank Prime Minister Imran Khan, President Arif Alvi as well as our esteemed ministers Mr Shibli Faraz and Mr Shehryar Afridi who have pledged their full support in bringing this historic project to life.”
Saeed reinstated that the upcoming venture “will be shot in and feature actors from both countries.”
“Here’s to the beginning of a new chapter in Pak-Turkey friendship,” he concluded.
According to a press release by the PM’s office, the meeting between the two parties discussed in detail the proposed television series being created in collaboration between Pakistan and Turkey on the Khilafat Movement among other future projects and the lost glory of the Pakistani entertainment industry.
PM Khan, during the meeting, emphasized on showcasing the golden era of Muslims’ Rule in the subcontinent in dramas and films to apprise the youth about that golden age and to foil negative propaganda and designs.
The PM said that the Pakistani film and drama industry needed to work for the promotion of local culture to apprise western-influenced youth of their indigenous values and to protect them from social evils, adding that the Pakistani film and drama industry will flourish by producing quality content. This will also provide a substitute for the superficial and glamourized broadcast content to the youth.
Meanwhile, producer Tekdin said that the Turkish team is very happy over Pakistan’s cooperation in this project, which will highlight cultural commonalities between the two countries.
The Prime Minister assured the Turkish team that his government will provide full cooperation in this regard.
Meanwhile, Diriliş: Ertuğrul’s Nurettin Sönmez (Bamsı Beyrek) and Ayberk Pekcan (Artuk Bey) also arrived in Pakistan on Wednesday along with a 20-member delegation including Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma, who welcomed their baby girl on Monday, have sent gifts to photographers along with a personalised note in which they requested them not to take pictures of their little one.
According to photographer Viral Bhayani, Anushka and Virat sent a box of goodies which includes sweets, dry fruits and chocolates to him and his team. The gift box also included a message for the photographers, written in Hindi and English which read: “We want to protect the privacy of our child and we need your help and support.”
“While we will always ensure that you get all the content you need us featuring us, we would request you to kindly not take or carry any content that has our child,” it added.
Earlier, Anushka had slammed a photographer and publication for capturing and posting her Virat’s private moment.
Taking to Instagram, Sharma had posted the picture taken by the photographer and wrote, “Despite requesting the said photographer and publication, they still continue to invade our privacy.”
“Guys! Stop this right now,” she had added.
Speaking to Vogue Magazine, Anushka 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.”
Meanwhile, veteran Bollywood actress Raveena Tandon has praised the photographers for accepting and respecting the couple’s request, adding that the photographers had been very kind to her also when her children were younger.
Veena Malik has filed an Rs1 billion defamation suit against ex-husband Asad Khattak for running a “smear campaign against her” which has damaged her reputation. The suit was filed under Defamation Ordinance 2002 in the Session Court through advocate Anjum Hameed.
According to Malik, Khattak is involved in “propaganda against her reputation which is causing her loss of goodwill, loss to business opportunities and mental torture.”
On January 5,Asad arrived in Pakistan to obtain custody of his children, who he claims have been kidnapped by his former wife. Asad claimed that he has evidence to prove that Veena has kidnapped his children from the UAE. Addressing a press conference in Peshawar, Asad had said that Veena abducted their children from Dubai and that Pakistan’s consulate general in Dubai was involved in the kidnapping.
Asad further added that Veena threatens him by claiming she has state institutions on her back.
Meanwhile, earlier in November, Veena had sent a legal notice worth Rs500 million to Khattak. According todetails, the legal notice was sent by the actor a few days after an audio clip started doing the rounds on the internet in which Malik allegedly threatened her former husband Khattak. In the notice, Veena alleged that Khattak is “deliberately trying to defame” her and that she had lawfully brought her children to Pakistan.
Frieha, on Monday, had shared that her Whatsapp account has been hacked.
“Seriously upset! My WhatsApp got hacked and the person is messaging my friends!”, said Frieha, warning her friends to “watch out”.
“If someone, even a friend’s number, asks you for codes, call your friend to verify if it’s them,” said Altaf. “They just want data. It happened to my buddy in Dubai and I got hacked.”
WhatsApp has recently been under fire for announcing new terms asking users to agree to let owner Facebook Inc and its subsidiaries collect user data, including their phone number and location. After WhatsApp’s new terms sparked debate on social media, other messaging apps like Telegram and Signal are witnessing a surge in demand.
In response to the backlash, WhatsApp released an official statement clearing all speculations surrounding the new terms of service and policies.
We want to address some rumors and be 100% clear we continue to protect your private messages with end-to-end encryption. pic.twitter.com/6qDnzQ98MP
Jawad Ahmad has expressed that Pakistan also needs a farmers’ movement like the one happening in India.
Speaking to the Times of India about his new song Kisana, the singer-turned-politician compared the conditions of farmers in India and Pakistan saying: “The third-world economies are still largely based on primitive methods and tools of agriculture and we need a peasant’s rights movement all over the world, including Pakistan.”
He added that he made the song after seeing how India’s farmer movement is being recognised by the farmer community across the world.
Kisana, which was released in the last week of December has already gathered thousands of views and is making waves across the border. The music of the song has been composed by Sahar Ali Bagga.
The song’s description states: “Kisana is a revolutionary song for peasants of the world, to inspire and motivate them to struggle for their rights. It is a dedication by Jawad Ahmad to all the global peasant movements.”
Meanwhile, the song calls peasants the providers of the world, saying that the farmers are the ones who give food to judges and police officers, so they should be respected.
Ahmad, who entered politics a few years ago with his ‘Barabri Party Pakistan’ is very vocal about the rights of marginalized groups. The vision of his party is “To establish a truly democratic state based on equitable distribution of wealth, equality of right over resources so that whatever is found, grown and produced in this country is equally accessible to all and equal access to opportunities regardless of race, religion, gender, and ethnicity.”
Farmer’s Protest
Thousands of farmers have gathered at Delhi’s gateways to demand a repeal of the Centre’s three new farm laws. The protesting farmers, mainly from Punjab and Haryana as well as Uttar Pradesh, are worried the new laws will eliminate the safety cushion of a Minimum Support Price and procurement system while rendering ineffective the mandi system that ensures earnings for various stakeholders in the farm sector.
70 people have reportedly died during the ongoing protests and though several rounds of talks have happened between farmer unions and the government, a solution has not yet been reached.
After it was reported that renowned Bollywood filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s next project Heera Mandi would explore the hidden culture of Lahore’s red-light area, Mansha Pasha has shared her thoughts on the matter and expressed her dissatisfaction with the news.
In a tweet, the Laal Kabootar star wrote: “India is making a film on Lahore and the infamous Heera Mandi of yesteryears. Because we live in a country where fictional narrative is often censored and everyone keeps arguing about what is or isn’t “morally acceptable” fiction, others make most of the opportunity taking up the stories that are native to our country, brand them and sell them to the rest of the world.”
“In the end what will be left will be our stories told from someone else’s mouth. Sad,” she added.
According to reports, Heera Mandi is Bhansali’s passion project. While the cast has not yet been confirmed, rumours are abuzz that other than Alia Bhatt, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit, Deepika Padukone, Parineeti Chopra, Manisha Koirala, and Vidya Balan are also being considered for the project.
Heera Mandi is expected to release on a digital platform. However, it is unclear whether the upcoming project will be a web series or a film.
Diriliş: Ertuğrul‘s Celal AL, who plays Abdur Rehman Alp in the superhit series, visited the Omair-Sana Foundation (OSF) and Children’s Hospital Karachi on Sunday, where he donated blood for children diagnosed with thalassemia.
“I’m donating my blood for Pakistani children suffering from thalassemia. This will not only strengthen the bond between Turkey and Pakistan but will also encourage others to donate blood for those who need blood donations for living normal lives,” said the actor during his visit on the invitation of administrations of both the health facilities.
Accompanied by the producer of the epic serial Kemal Tekdin, the Turkish actor during his visit also recited verses from the Holy Quran and raised slogans including “Jeevey Jeevey Pakistan“, “Pakistan-Turkey friendship zindabad” and vowed to visit Pakistan again.
The production team of Diriliş: Ertuğrul was invited to visit the Omair-Sana Foundation and Children Hospital Karachi by its founders Dr Kashif Ansari, a US-based oncologist, and Dr Saqib Ansari, an eminent pediatric hematologist who are striving to eliminate thalassemia and other blood disorders in Pakistan.
Emir Jamat-e-Islami Karachi Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman and dozens of fans of Ertuğrul’s cast and actors were also present on the occasion.
Dr Ansari said he was delighted that Celal AL and other team members of the Ertuğrul serial visited the hospitals and donated blood.
“Turkish blood is being donated for Pakistani children; this will further strengthen the bond between the two nations,” he said.
Speaking further on the occasion, Celal said he was delighted to visit Pakistan, especially the two wonderful health facilities where children suffering from genetic blood disorders were being treated and managed free of charge. He offered his complete support in the treatment of children with thalassemia and other blood disorders.
Celal, who spoke with the help of an interpreter, said Turks and Pakistanis are brothers but he was not expecting such love and affection for Turkey and its people in Pakistan.
He wished to continue visiting Pakistan whenever possible, saying mutual cooperation between the two countries and people should grow with each passing day.
Responding to a question, AL said he said he loved Pakistani food, especially biryani and lamb which he ate in Islamabad, adding that he wished to taste biryani in Karachi.
Later, in an Instagram post, AL wrote: “I’ve been lived most special moment of my life.”
Similarly, Kemal Tekdin said work was underway on two joint projects in Pakistan which were based on the lives of ‘Abdur Rehman Peshawari’ and ‘Babu Shah’. He said these plays would be produced both in Urdu and Turkish languages and would also be dubbed in English.
Oncologist Dr Kashif Ansari, who had invited the Turkish delegation to Pakistan said he wished to enhance cooperation in the field of media and entertainment industry between the two countries.
Ansari said that in the coming days, Pakistani children “instead of idolising Indian actors and film stars, will idolise Pakistani and Turkish stars and heroes in the history of Muslims”.
“We are working to produce a serial on the poetry and message of Allama Iqbal and Abdur Rehman Peshawari. Abdur Rehman Peshawari was a Muslim from the subcontinent who went to Turkey, fought along with Turkish brethren and also served as Turkey’s ambassador in Afghanistan. He got martyred there and now regarded as a hero in Turkey,” said the oncologist.
Meanwhile, later in the day, Celal attended a star-studded dinner hosted by Adnan Siddiqui and Humayun Saeed.
