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  • Hamza Ali Abbasi has interviewed PM Imran and we all can’t stop talking

    Hamza Ali Abbasi has interviewed PM Imran and we all can’t stop talking

    Parwaaz Hai Junoon actor Hamza Ali Abbasi is trending on social media after his interview with the Prime Minister of Pakistan on Hum News, in which he covered a myriad of topics including the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) upcoming rally in Lahore on December 13, PM’s own spiritual journey and his thoughts on Western culture.

    It was reported that the PM has handpicked actor Hamza Ali Abbasi to interview him.

    The interview was appreciated by some while others had a lot to say against the selection of Abbasi for the interview, considering his support for the ruling party.

    https://twitter.com/FarmanKhanVlogs/status/1335235083607961622?s=20

    https://twitter.com/HassanTheTruman/status/1335318685397946369?s=20

    Here’s what others had to say about the interview:

    The interview has also generated some quality memes for all the meme-lovers out there:

    https://twitter.com/HoorimaK/status/1335153988778463232?s=20

    It is pertinent to mention here that Hamza has been a loyal and vocal supporter of Prime Minister Imran Khan and has even served as the Cultural Secretary of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for a short while. He is also taking a break from acting these days, and last week he announced that he is writing a book about God and religion which he hopes to finish by June 2021.

  • Newsletter – 6th December 2020, Sunday

    Newsletter – 6th December 2020, Sunday









    *|MC:SUBJECT|*

    December 6, 2020

    NO NEWS WEEKEND

    I’ve met Federal Minister of Education, Shafqat Mahmood many times before. He laughed and told me that he still has my name saved as “Marium Lekin” in reference to the show I used to produce ten years ago. So he was rather nice when I really tried to get him to rank the crazy cool memes that were going the rounds about him closing down educational institutions. He didn’t want to and said he wasn’t happy that schools were closed. But I did manage to get him to talk about a few. Watch the interview tonight on YouTube. YouTube se yaad aaya, I could not stop watching “The Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives” on Netflix this past week. It is a terrible show, full of really fake lives of C-list bollywood celebs but you know the show, jo itne buray hotay hain that you can’t stop watching it? Yehi hua meray saath. Saman, our entertainment editor, made a list of Pakistani dramas that the Prime Minister should watch, since he has been recommending shows that the public should be watching and I have to admit, I do like the feel good family ones she has mentioned. Family se yaad aaya, this week’s Sunday Superstar is the vet, Dr. Amir Khalil who took care of  Kaavan the elephant for 35 years before Cher took him to Cambodia to meet others like him. A real haathi meray saathi. Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari nay apne bhai Bilawal ka saath dia, when Bilawal was unable to attend the Multan jalsa (he’s got coronavirus). People were raving about Aseefa’s speech literally like “kaun hai yeh jisne murr kar mujhe nahi dekha” but we thought, what do we really know about Aseefa? Check out what she’s been upto until now in this week’s “Know your politician” and before I go, I have a question. Who should we interview next? And I know most of you will ask for PTI’s Murad Saeed’s interview since that is quite literally the most requested one. Koshish poori hai, waiting for him to accept our request. Let us know and see you next week!

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  • Dowry culture

    According to a recent survey conducted by Pulse Consultants, more than 50 per cent Pakistanis believe that a girl’s family should give dowry when she is getting married. Around 61 per cent respondents were of the view that dowry should be allowed in the Pakistani system while 36 per cent were against it. Almost 73 per cent women believed that dowry should be allowed whereas 24 per cent were against it.

    This survey’s results should not be surprising given that dowry has become an unfortunate reality in our region.

    Dowry is used as a measure of worth for the bride; it is used as a bargaining tool or as a price tag when marrying off girls. This is rooted in the patriarchal and misogynist belief that daughters are a burden when they are born and so to marry them off, a price must be attached to them to ‘lure’ a groom. Despite laws against dowry in the country, this ‘tradition’ continues. Underage girls are often married so that the family gives less dowry in comparison to an adult bride. Many women are left unmarried because their families cannot afford to give a sizeable dowry. This tradition is one that perpetuates violence against women. Pakistan has a high rate of dowry-related deaths. Many women are tortured and even killed for not meeting the dowry requirements of their in-laws. Laws can only do so much. Not many people would report that the other party is demanding dowry for their daughter’s hand in marriage. Dowry transcends all classes. A lot of people would say what they are giving to their daughter is a ‘gift’ when actually it is more like ‘ransom’. Sometimes it is also used to deny a woman her inheritance rights – once dowry is given, the family says they have no rights in their inheritance any more. In a patriarchal society, women are treated like a property or objects instead of human beings with any rights. Dowry is a custom that encourages such thinking.

    The need of the hour is a public awareness campaign against dowry and why this cultural tradition must end. Both the government and the media need to do their part to educate the masses that there are laws against dowry in the country and also why this custom is a social evil. The acceptability of dowry will not end overnight. It will take years of education and awareness for the masses to eradicate this menace.

  • ‘The Fab Lives of Bolly Wives’ falls flat despite the glam and starry special appearances

    ‘The Fab Lives of Bolly Wives’ falls flat despite the glam and starry special appearances

    What are the three things you look for in a reality tv series? Drama, drama and more drama. Unfortunately, Netflix’s latest reality television series The Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives has everything to offer besides that. You have glitz, glam, a fancy holiday, discussions on plastic surgery and the cherry on top – lots, and I mean lots, of starry special appearances. But all this fails to add to the oomph factor and you end up watching the show only because of your love for Bollywood.

    The Fab Lives of Bolly Wives (let’s just call it FLBW) centres around four Bollywood wives – Maheep Kapoor, wife of Sanjay Kapoor, Seema Khan, wife of Sohail Khan, Bhavana Pandey, wife of Chunkey Pandey, and Neelum Kothari, wife of Samir Soni. Maheep is the queen bee of the gang which has been together for 25 years. Mind you, this has been repeated a gazillion times in the entire show, lest we forget. Seema is the one with the wit and sarcasm, while Bhavana is the superstitious one. And Neelum, throughout the series is just worried about one thing: should she make a comeback to films.

    While each woman has her own distinct personality and they are interesting to see in the first episode, the problem with the show is that there is just no drama. The girls are chill with one another and no one gets pissed at the other, except in one episode. Even then, their ‘showdown’ was just very dry. What is this relationship? Where is the spark? The fire? Twice Karan Johar had to come in and be the phoppo he is so that he can instigate them. Unfortunately, the fire never really lights – they really should have taken classes from our favourite Sima Taparia from Indian Matchmaking on how to say the most outrageous things and still not be hated for it. Most of the stuff we saw in the series was all that the paparazzi have already shown to us or they have posted on their Instagram feeds. Even their conversations were terribly safe as if they were scared to give viewers a sneak peek into who they are behind the facades. Just goes on to show that reality tv is not everyone’s piece of cake.

    The two things I did find interesting was that one Maheep is a stalker. An actual stalker. She observes people through her binoculars and she apparently caught glimpses of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan’s wedding through her binoculars. And secondly, Seema and Sohail, despite being married don’t live in the same house. They live across the street from one another and are very happy with this arrangement.

    Interestingly the show is called FLBW, but we barely get to see them as wives. We end up watching them as mothers mostly because my God they are obsessed with their kids. Even the series opens with Maheep fretting over her daughter Shanaya’s Le Bal debut.

    The biggest takeaways from the show had NOTHING to do with the wives. For me, there were two major ones. SPOILERS AHEAD. One that Janhvi Kapoor got a wish from Kylie Jenner on her birthday and second which fascinated me the most – on their trips abroad, Shah Rukh Khan would be the one to babysit all the children when the wives would go party. In fact, my favourite episode from the season was the one which had SRK. Damn that man can charm even a cactus. His witty one-liners and dry humour had me smiling throughout the episode. Gauri Khan in an Instagram post has said that she will be gatecrashing the second season and I do hope that if there is a second season, I’d like to see more of Shah Rukh in it than anyone else.

    The makers of the show tried to create a desi version of Keeping up with the Kardashians meets Sex and the City, but they somehow forgot to add the main ingredient – drama. In this review, I am not even going to recommend or not recommend the show. Because I know that if you’re a Bolly freak like myself, you will still sit and spend five hours watching the eight episodes. All I’m going to say is keep your expectations low.

  • Hadiqa Kiani responds to allegations of ‘distorting’ customer’s appearance

    Hadiqa Kiani responds to allegations of ‘distorting’ customer’s appearance

    Hadiqa Kiani has responded to accusations by a woman Zahida, who claimed that she suffered drastic hair loss after she visited a franchise outlet of the musician’s beauty salon for a straightening treatment. Zahida alleged that the use of harmful creams caused her hair to fall out, distorting her appearance.

    Zahida has also claimed Rs 2 crores in damages from the singer.

    While reports have suggested that a local court has summoned Kiani, the salon’s franchise owner, Deputy Commissioner Faisalabad and the district health officer on December 16, Kiani has denied all allegations.

    In a series of tweets, Kiani said the allegations were false and assured her customers that “Hadiqa Kiani Salon franchises across the country continue to operate with the highest quality products and according to proper SOPs.”

    “My lawyers and local franchise team are fully prepared to address these malicious and baseless claims,” she said further.

    Hadiqa added that in these testing times we should focus on “uplifting each other instead of tearing down honest businesses”.

  • ‘PDM on mind’: Firdous breaks tiles with a punch

    ‘PDM on mind’: Firdous breaks tiles with a punch

    Punjab Chief Minister’s Special Assistant on Information Firdous Ashiq Awan recently broke a stack of tiles with a punch.

    Firdous, who participated in a ceremony organised by Mashal-e-Rah Foundation in Lahore, said she broke these tiles with the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) on her mind. According to the CM’s aide, the PDM has been throwing punches at Imran Khan’s government, so now this was her response to them.

    As she broke the tiles to pieces, she was applauded by the host and the people who had gathered to watch Firdous’s feat of strength.

    Firdous is not the one to shy away from a fight. Last month, she had an altercation with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Azma Bukhari on a TV show. The argument between the two politicians lasted well after the show and Firdous almost hit Bukhari. But, the staffers intervened to placate the CM’s aide and cooled things down.

    Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan was appointed as the Punjab CM’s aide months after she was removed from the federal cabinet as PM Imran’s aide on information. She replaced Fayyazul Hassan Chohan in the Punjab cabinet.

  • Gippy Grewal calls out Bollywood for ignoring farmers’ plight

    Gippy Grewal calls out Bollywood for ignoring farmers’ plight

    Punjab star Gippy Grewal has lashed out at Bollywood for not standing up for Punjab at a time when the state needs their support for the ongoing farmers’ protest.

    Read more – Ahmed Ali Butt to share the screen with Gippi Grewal in upcoming Punjabi film

    Rupinder Singh Grewal, popular by his stage name Gippy Grewal, took to Twitter and wrote that for years Punjab had welcomed Bollywood with open arms but its silence over the issue was painful.

    “Dear Bollywood, Every now and then your movies have been shot in Punjab and every time you have been welcomed with open heart. But today when Punjab needs you the most, you didn’t show up and speak a word. Disappointed,” the 37-year-old singer tweeted.

    In response to Gippy’s tweet, Taapsee Pannu said that there are artistes in Bollywood who have always been vocal about contentious issues, including the farmers’ protests, and she found his generalised comment “demotivating”.

    Replying to the actor, Grewal said his tweet wasn’t for Pannu and others who are supporting the farmers, but for those who call themselves Punjabi.

    “My tweet was for them who call themselves from Punjab and not utter even a single word. They all vanish,” the singer added.

    Earlier, Kangana Ranaut and Diljit Dosanjh were involved in a Twitter feud over the ongoing farmer’s protests in India in which Diljit gave Kangana a piece of his mind and called her out for propagating hate.

    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.

    The government has been in talks with farmer leaders to resolve the issue.

  • World can start dreaming of pandemic’s end, says UN health chief

    World can start dreaming of pandemic’s end, says UN health chief

    The UN health chief on Friday said that positive results from COVID-19 vaccine trials mean the world “can begin to dream about the end of the pandemic,” but he said rich and powerful nations must not ignore the poor and marginalized “in the stampede for vaccines.”

    In an address to the UN general assembly’s session on the pandemic, World Health Organisation Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus cautioned that while the virus can be stopped, “the path ahead remains deceitful.”

    The pandemic has shown humanity at “its best and worst,” he said, pointing to “inspiring acts of compassion and self-sacrifice, breathtaking feats of science and innovation, and heartwarming demonstrations of solidarity, but also disturbing signs of self-interest, blame-shifting and divisions.”

    Referring to the current increase in infections and deaths, Tedros, without naming any countries, said that “where science is drowned out by conspiracy theories, where solidarity is undermined by division, where sacrifice is substituted with self-interest, the virus thrives, the virus spreads.”

    In his virtual address, he warned that a vaccine “will not address the vulnerabilities that lie at its root” — poverty, hunger, inequality and climate change, which he said must be tackled once the pandemic ends.

    “We cannot and we must not go back to the same exploitative patterns of production and consumption, the same disregard for the planet that sustains all life, the same cycle of panic and meddling and the same divisive politics that fuelled this pandemic,” he said.

    On vaccines, Tedros said, “the light at the end of the tunnel is growing steadily brighter,” but vaccines “must be shared equally as global public goods, not as private commodities that widen inequalities and become yet another reason some people are left behind.”

    Earlier, WHO warned people ‘vaccines do not equal zero Covid’ and asked governments and citizens not to drop their guard over the pandemic and urged people to follow all the virus SOPs.

  • IN PICTURES: Hina Altaf throws a surprise party for husband Agha Ali

    IN PICTURES: Hina Altaf throws a surprise party for husband Agha Ali

    Hina Altaf threw an intimate surprise birthday for husband Agha Ali. Only close friends and family attended the birthday, which was Agha’s first after marriage.

    The happy couple looks radiant in this selfie.

    The theme of the party was black and gold with a rock star themed cake.

    Such an endearing photo of Agha and his mother and Hina and her mother-in-law.

    Hina and Agha tied the knot in a low-key ceremony on May 22, 2020.

  • COVID-positive employee booked for ‘forcibly kissing’ boss after suspension of pay

    COVID-positive employee booked for ‘forcibly kissing’ boss after suspension of pay

    An employee of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, who was suspended over corruption complaints, hugged and kissed Human Resource Director Jamil Farooqui and other senior staffers at the building before telling them that he tested positive for coronavirus.

    Shehzad Anwar, the KMC land assistant director posted in Landhi, was suspended on October 5 and his salary was being docked by the HR department after his failure to report to the HRM director following the suspension.

    Samaa quoted Farooqui saying that Anwar tried to get close to him by entering his office on a false pretext.

    After Anwar revealed that he had tested positive for the deadly virus, there was pandemonium at the secretariat, with people rushing out.

    Farooqui said he would take legal action against the KMC assistant director, Anwar, for his attempt to cause harm to him and other staffers. “I tested positive for COVID four months, but I will however retake the test following my interaction with Anwar,” he added.

    Subsequently, a case was filed against Anwar under sections 34 (common intention), 186 (obstructing a public servant) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Pakistan Penal Code at the City Court police station. According to the FIR, Anwar, who was a stenographer at the KMC, “[forcibly] hugged and kissed” him on his neck.