Best entertainment news in the industry, we break entertainment stories as soon as celebrities post on their social media and do Pakistani drama reviews.
The wedding was an intimate affair with only close friends and family of the couple present. Meera also shared a lovely picture of herself with her children on her big day.
Naseer Turabi is a poet who wrote Woh Humsafar Tha in 1971 to express his sadness on East Pakistan’s separation.
Naseer Turabi
He was born in Hyderabad, Hyderabad State which was then, Deccan.
Naseer came to Pakistan after the independence of Pakistan in 1947. He did his M.A. in Mass Communications from University of Karachi in 1968. The poet now lives in Karachi.
He began writing poetry in 1962. His first collection of Poetry Aks-e-Faryadi was published in 2000.
After the East Pakistan Separation, he wrote a Ghazal Woh Humsafar Tha expressing the sadness at the great tragedy of separation of East Pakistan.
The same Ghazal was later used as a theme song for the Humsafar drama series. He also wrote lyrics for the theme song Dil Ka Jo Mol Chukatay Honge of Mol and Zindagi Gulzar Hai drama series. He has also written the lyrics of Dil Aitebaar for Khwab Saraye and for Yaqeen Ka Safar OST.
The ghazal is top-notch, Abida Parveen has also sung it. But for the newer generation, the Quratulain Baloch version of the song for Pakistani drama Hamsafar on modern instruments and rhythm is more engaging.
2020’s super hit drama serial Meray Paas Tum Ho, which broke viewership records in the country, has been nominated in five categories in the 19th edition of the Lux Style Awards (LSAs).
Thanking Lux for the nominations, Humayun, who has also been nominated in the Best Actor category, said that the project was a very special one.
“This project is very close to all our hearts not only because it broke all viewership records in the history of Pakistani television but because it was able to truly entertain audiences across the world,” said Humayun in the caption.
He also gave a big shout-out to all those who were part of the project including his production house Six Sigma Plus, ARY Digital as well as the entire cast and crew of the drama.
“It always feels great to be recognised so the biggest thank you to all of you, the viewers, for all your love and continuous support,” concluded the actor.
Starring Humayun Saeed, Ayeza Khan, Adnan Siddiqui and Hira Mani in the lead Meray Paas Tum Ho went onto becoming television’s highest-rated dramas of all time. The final episode of the drama was also aired in cinemas where it broke box-office records. At the same time, the drama also drew the irk of some viewers who criticised it for promoting misogyny and sexism.
The State Bank of Pakistan has ordered all banks to block Pakistani users from subscribing to Indian streaming platform Zee5 with immediate effect, according to a notification issued this week.
While it is unclear as to why this action was taken, reports have suggested that the reason behind this is Asim Abbasi’s web series Churails, which riled up the moral brigade in Pakistan prompting authorities to take this decision.
Responding to the notification, Churails director Asim Abbasi tweeted the title of a poem penned by Pakistani poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz to protest the oppressive regime of dictator General Zia-ul-Haq.
It is pertinent to mention here that Churails was earlier also banned for Pakistani audiences. However, it was restored in less than 48 hours. According to Abbasi, the show was taken off after the streaming platform received complaints from authorities here.
Featuring Sarwat, Yasra Rizvi, Nimra Bucha, Meher Bano and Omair Rana among others, Churails is the story of four self-proclaimed ‘Churails’ who come together to open a covert detective agency to expose cheating husbands amongst the city’s elite. As their operations expand, they come to be saviours of abused, harassed and mistreated women. The 10-episode series covers a myriad of issues such as child abuse, sexism, the domination of class and race and aims to challenge the hypocrisy of patriarchal societies.
Meanwhile, Mehreen Jabbar, who directed Eik Jhoothi Love Story – another original web series for the platform – expressed her disappointment over the ban.
“Don’t do anything yourself, just keep banning,” commented the director.
Mehreen’s directorial, featuring Bilal Abbas Khan and Madiha Imam, in the lead, is a quintessential Pakistani love story, starkly different from Churails. It released on October 30.
Zee5 had commissioned five original web series from Pakistan. While two of them have released, three more are in the pipeline.
Bollywood actor Asif Basra, who was recognised for his roles in Jab We Met, Koi Po Che! and Ek Villian was found hanging at a private guest house in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh. He was 53.
According to reports, Basra’s body was discovered by the police and a team of forensic experts is on the spot to investigate the death. Initial investigation has revealed that Basra committed suicide by hanging himself with the leash of his pet dog. As per the police, Basra had returned from a stroll in the locality along with his dog, just before the alleged suicide.
It is also being reported that the actor had a property on lease in the area for the past five-six years and often visited it. Some reports have also suggested that the actor, who was under depression, was staying there with a British woman. However, no suicide note has been recovered from the place.
Basra was born in Maharashtra’s Amravati in 1967. He moved to Mumbai in 1989 to pursue a career in acting. In a career that spanned over two-decades, Basra played supporting parts in many popular films including Once Upon a Time in Mumbai, Krrish 3, Hichki as well as the Hollywood film Outsourced.
The actor’s most recent outing was Amazon Prime Video’s smash-hit series Paatal Lok.
Basra’s suicide comes almost five months after his Kai Po Che! co-star Sushant Singh Rajput was found dead in his apartment on June 14.
Several Bollywood stars including Emran Hashmi, Manoj Bajpayee and Raees director Rahul Dholakia expressed their shock over his sudden death.
Shocked to hear about Basra!! What a wonderful actor and a jovial fellow – I mean why would he ?? Very Sad – Had directed him in Parzania ( Chagan) , in Lamhaa ( the Darzee ) – and also in society – Very sad to hear about his passing !! #asifbasra Hope you are at peace.
A new short film by YouTube channel See Prime titled Ab Buss starring Sanam Saeed in the lead takes inspiration from the horrible Lahore Motorway gang-rape incident that shook the nation earlier this year.
The short film, written by Shahid Dogar and directed by Mohsin Talat, sends out a strong message on the subject. The plot of the film revolves around a woman who is taking extreme precautions while preparing for a trip to visit her father.
“She knows she’s done it before and she can do it again – Maya packs for an unexpected trip as she gets a phone call,” reads the film’s official synopsis.
Sanam has been a vocal advocate for women’s safety and empowerment. Earlier in September, the actor also took Twitter to demand castration as punishment for rapists.
“Why hang them when we can castrate them? Why let them go so easily when they can live with the pain, shame, and guilt without their genitals,” she had written.
Why hang them when we can castrate them? Why let them go so easily when they can live with the pain, shame and guilt without their genitals? Why wait to make this the law till God forbid it happens too close to home? No counseling or rehabilitation needed here. #cuttheirweapon.
She had further asserted that there should be zero tolerance for such heinous acts.
Shukkar. May justice prevail. May this case set the tone from now on. Zero tolerance for such heinous acts. Whatever punishment is decided it must aim to be a major deterrent. May this case prove to be more effectively dealt with than cases in the past. https://t.co/3HKkjpgITb
A post shared by Umair Jaswal (@umairjaswalofficial) on
Umair, who recently travelled across Pakistan on his bike, has been very open about his love for the machines. In fact, the musician was even riding his bike on his engagement day and got into a lot of trouble for it.
Ken Spears, who co-created the character of ‘Scooby-Doo’ passed away at the age of 82 on Friday.
After Gene Deitch’s (creator of Tom & Jerry and Popeye the Sailor) death, Spears’ death is something every 90s kid can relate to, given how addicted they were to Cartoon Network and watching Tom and Jerry and Scooby-Doo.
Spears also created Saturday Morning Kids programming at CBS and ABC, all with his longtime creative partner, Joe Ruby. He is a four-time Daytime Emmy nominee as well.
RIP Ken Spears, co-creator of Scooby-Doo and co-founder of Ruby-Spears Productions. He died last Friday at the age of 82. https://t.co/zqCVsg3Mh8
According to details, Ken died in Brea, California, of complications from Lewy body dementia, his son, Kevin confirmed. His passing comes less than three months after Scooby-Doo’s other co-creator Ruby died on August 26.
In a statement, his son Kevin said: “Ken will forever be remembered for his wit, his storytelling, his loyalty to family and his strong work ethic.”
“Ken has not only made a lasting impression on his family, but he has touched the lives of many as co-creator of Scooby-Doo. Ken has been a role model for us throughout his life and he will continue to live on in our hearts,” he went on to say.
In a statement to USA TODAY, Sam Register, president of Warner Bros. Animation called Spears “a true innovator in the industry.”
Our childhood’s favorite Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! was first aired on CBS in September 1969.
Farwa Hussain has finally opened up and revealed how she and Haroon met and fell in love and how Haroon proposed to her only after a couple of meet ups.
Sharing pictures from their nikkah, which was held earlier this year, Farwa said: “In 2014, Haroon and I met for the first time. We were introduced to each other through a cousin of mine.”
While things didn’t work out then, sparks flew when they met again a few years later.
“We finally got to hang out earlier this year”, she revealed. “We met a couple of times and there was an immediate connection. We started to get to know each other better. Just a couple of weeks later, he surprised me with a proposal and confessed that he had liked me all along. I was pretty shocked and surprised in a happy way and said YES! The connection and understanding that I felt with him, I had never felt anything like that before in my life.”
“So we decided not to waste time and got married within a few weeks.”
Farwa also shared that she liked that Haroon asked her to marry him instead of asking her to be in a relationship with him.
Earlier, Haroon had said that he “never had the desire to marry in the past” and was “happily living a single life”, until he met his wife and “everything changed”.
Salman Ahmed, in a recent interview, opened up and shared his thoughts on the Bollywood version of his hit song Sayonee.
“I composed Sayonee in 1998. It’s been 22 years and it has been such a hit since. The song itself has been re-sung and composed thousands of times,” said Salman.
“This isn’t the first time someone asked me to give them permission to make their own version of the song. Arijit himself had been requesting me for five years to sing Sayonee.”
“I told him that I wouldn’t have a problem as long as two conditions were met – one, that no sentiments were hurt and another that it should be a message of love,” he said.
Salman shared that he gave Singh the permission and assured him that he will not face any issue regarding the copyrights.
Salman said that the essence of the real song is never lost and that the “original song is original”.
“A newer version cannot beat the essence of real song,” stated the musician.
The Beatles have been the most covered band in history. It’s a badge of honor for any band to stay relevant & musically potent across genres & generations. It’s a huge compliment. https://t.co/5db2IjhjUxhttps://t.co/O4qx6g8drD
Salman further said that he always sang from his heart.
The rock guitarist mentioned how the past 70 years were proof that Pakistan’s television dramas, urdu poetry and music were legendary. He pleaded to the government to facilitate the upcoming stars and make their journey worthwhile.
