It appears that Prime Minister Imran Khan is a big fan of Turkish cinema because Senator Faisal Javed Khan has revealed that the premier wants Yunus Emre: Aşkin Yolculuğu to be telecast in Pakistan.
In a Twitter update, Khan shared that PM Khan wants Pakistanis to watch this drama because it highlights Islamic history.
….for unity. Yet another hit created by Mehmet Bozdag is a Journey of Transformation. Yunus Emre was well versed in mystical philosophy, esp that of the 13th-century poet and mystic Jalaluddin Rumi. Serial is a great example of a meticulous attention to detail work @trtworldpic.twitter.com/svDX4Z2M2L
— Faisal Javed Khan (@FaisalJavedKhan) May 4, 2020
Yunus Emre: Aşkın Yolculuğu is a Turkish biographical historical television series created by Mehmet Bozdağ, the man behind Diriliş: Ertuğrul. It starres Gökhan Atalay in the lead role. According to Faisal, the series is a journey of transformation. It centres around the life of Yunus Emre, the 14th century Anatolian Sufi poet, who greatly influenced the Anatolian culture.
The first episode of the series was released on June 18, 2015 and over the years it has become a favourite among the Turkish audiences. It has an IMDb rating of 7.8.
Meanwhile, on the recommendation of PM Imran, PTV has started airing Diriliş: Ertuğrul with Urdu dubbing. The drama has proven to be a big hit among Pakistani audiences.
Indian police congratulated a couple by playing a Bollywood song and clapping who got married at home without violating any lockdown rules.
A video, doing the rounds on social media, shows a group of policemen in Nashik city giving a heart-warming reception to a newlywed couple. Cops can be seen congratulating the newlyweds on a loudspeaker. Dressed in traditional wedding attire, the couple is standing in the balcony of their house looking down at the celebration.
The policemen then play a song from a Bollywood movie as a group of policemen clap for the newlyweds.
The couple even received a shoutout from the Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
Amid government’s efforts to amend the 18th Amendment that turned Pakistan from a semi-presidential to a parliamentary republic, which the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) cannot do without the support of opposition parties owing to its strength within the parliament, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in collaboration with Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has prepared a draft of proposed changes in NAB Ordinance and shared it with power brokers which, if incorporated, will undo the conviction of former Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz for now.
According to The News, a Lahore-based businessman who was in the custody of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) until recently, is a go-between in this process as he is equally close with the power brokers. In a meeting arranged at his place on April 24, a draft was prepared. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi represented PML-N and Farooq H Naek was from the PPP side.
While Abbasi says he did not attend any such meeting, a picture of the same showed him present there. It has also been learnt that Nawaz is not up for amendments and insists on scrapping the anti-graft body altogether.
Former premier Abbasi has not only confirmed the preparation of a new draft, but also said that he offered a set of recommendations aimed to reform NAB and they were incorporated in the draft. However, he dispelled the impression that the draft has either been shared with apolitical players or is being used as a bargaining ploy on the 18th Amendment.
A PML-N leader, however, was quoted as saying that Abbasi has been given the task at his own desire to mend the fences through a common friend as the channel used during the amendment to the Army Act had now become dysfunctional.
According to reports, the draft indicates that it will be beneficial for the entire political class in general and for Nawaz in particular — Nawaz, who was thrown out as the country’s chief executive through the instrument of disqualification. The proposed amendment under question is related to section 15 of the ordinance dealing with disqualification. In sub-section (a), reads the proposed change, the words “forthwith cease to hold public office” shall be omitted and substituted by “cease to hold public office after the appeal process against his conviction has been exhausted”.
Presently, disqualification comes into effect with conviction from a trial court whereas the proposed change suggests it be actualised only after the entire appeal process is exhausted.
In addition, the burden of proof has been proposed to be shifted on NAB, unlike the present practice where the accused has to prove that the allegations leveled against him or her are untrue. Likewise, the proposed change requires that an offence should form part of NAB jurisdiction only when public money equivalent to Rs1 billion or above is involved. Remand duration has been proposed to be limited to 14 days instead of making it extendable up to 90 days.
Among other proposed rules, NAB chairman’s power has also significantly been curtailed in the proposed draft. His term has also been cut to three years from four.
The arrest of an accused has been linked with his/ her non-cooperation and it has been proposed that the chairman’s power to order arrest should be delegated to the court along with prescribed criteria as to when arrests can be ordered by a judge. NAB is required to formally inform an accused about the nature of charges along with a set of questions the investigators want him/ her to answer, according to the proposal.
Likewise, entire interrogation shall be video-recorded and the accused is entitled to have an attorney of choice during the course of interrogation, according to the proposed amendment. NAB is required to focus on the charges it leveled instead of opening new fronts and there must be no supplementary challan unlike the present practice, the draft revealed.
Public office holders have also been proposed to be redefined as this definition should be limited to those holding executive powers; parliamentary secretaries and lawmakers must not fall in this jurisdiction. As per the proposal, decisions made by the cabinet or a statutory policy-making body can’t be called into question by NAB that would also be required to complete any investigation within a period no longer than six months.
Likewise, NAB can’t recommend placing anyone on the no-fly list once the accused has been granted bail.
The Rawalpindi district administration on Monday said that 104 passengers who were flown in from Abu Dhabi have tested positive for coronavirus.
“Out of 209 passengers, 104 tested positive for COVID-19,” the district administration said, adding that the flight carrying the passengers had arrived in Islamabad on April 28.
Following the SOPs prepared by the government, all the passengers were screened at the airport and were shifted to the quarantine centre at Fatima Jinnah Women University.
With the country having blocked all international commercial flights since mid-March — a ban that’s now set to continue for an indefinite period of time — many of the country’s residents have struggled to find a path back to their homeland, making government repatriation flights a necessity.
On the other hand, Pakistan has reported 22 more fatalities from novel coronavirus as the death toll in the country has reached 471. The nationwide tally of COVID-19 patients jumped to 20,725 while over a thousand cases were reported in 24 hours.
According to the latest figures by the National Command and Operation Center, Sindh remains the worst-hit province by the pandemic followed by Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan.
Till now 7,882 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Sindh, 7,646 in Punjab, 3,129 in KP, 1,218 in Balochistan, 415 in Islamabad, 364 in Gilgit-Baltistan and 71 in Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK).
Earlier in the day, it was reported that three crew members of a special PIA flight from Australia had also tested positive for COVID-19.
The PIA staffers had performed duties on the flight from Melbourne to Lahore.
We’ve seen Adnan Siddiqui essay a lot of roles on our TV screens but we never thought we’d see him as Wolverine from X-Men.
Adnan’s son Zayd recently dressed up his father as Wolverine and the actor couldn’t resist showing off his son’s skills on social media.
“This is the best time we can spend with our kids, how about letting them use their creativity on you,” wrote the actor.
“Here’s Zayd’s depiction of Wolverine (X-Men) on yours truly. Master Zayd, making his debut in direction, styling, hair and photography,” he further said. “Liked his debut?”
Last week, Adnan was involved in a controversy after television show host Aamir Liaquat made a callous remark on the deaths of Irrfan Khan and Sri Devi. After the clip of their exchange went viral on social media, Adnan regretted being on the show and apologised to the families of both the late actors for Liaquat’s remarks. Later, Aamir also apologised for his comments and said that he didn’t realise he was being insensitive.
One pilot and three flight attendants of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), who had performed duties on a special flight from Melbourne to Lahore, have tested positive for the new coronavirus — COVID-19.
As per the details, the national carrier last month ran a one-off flight from Melbourne to Lahore to help hundreds of Pakistanis return home from Australia.
With the country having blocked all international commercial flights since mid-March — a ban that’s now set to continue for an indefinite period of time — many of the country’s residents have struggled to find a path back to their homeland, making government repatriation flights a necessity.
A PIA Boeing 777-200LR first flew from Lahore to Melbourne on Friday, April 24. PK8962 departed Pakistan at 5 pm local time, reaching Melbourne the next day at 10:30 am after a journey of 12 hours and 30 minutes.
Allowing time for the crew to rest before the return leg, the Melbourne-Lahore flight, PK8972, departed at 1 pm on April 26, reaching the provincial capital of Punjab at 9 pm the same day, 13 hours after wheels-up.
PIA’s Boeing 777-200LR jets can normally accommodate up to 310 passengers, but this repatriation service from Melbourne was capped at 250 passengers.
Over a week on, reports say that three crew members of the special flight have tested positive for coronavirus.
The crew members of PIA were earlier awaiting their COVID-19 test results and have now been shifted to Combined Military Hospital (CMH) Lahore. Among them are flight attendants Waqar Farooqui, Sofia Shaikh and Ahmed Ammad as well as first officer Shakil Akram.
Saba Qamar, who had the honour of working with Irrfan Khan in the film Hindi Medium, in a recent interview opened up on her time with the actor on set and shared that he sang a song for her the first time they met.
“I’ve learned a lot from Irrfan,” said Saba. “Working with him was nothing less than a fan moment for me throughout. As an actor, I believe that acting is actually behaving truthfully under imaginary circumstances. And I actually saw that in him.”
Saba said that her on-set memories with the late actor were all about “fun conversations.”
“There was never a dull moment when he was around. We used to crack jokes with each other all the time. He always used to make me learn new things and give pro tips on life,” she said, adding that he was also very philosophical.
Recalling one her fondest memories with him, Saba shared that on their first meeting, Irrfan sang a song for her.
“When I entered the room where he was sitting, he started singing the song Badan Pe Sitaray…for me. I’ll always cherish the entire time I’ve spent with him.”
Saba further said that she wished that “things were better between our countries.”
“I am of the belief that acting is a form of blended art that shouldn’t be restricted to a particular type or even a country. It should be assorted in such a way that even we enjoy it and so do our fans and audiences. It is this assortment which I miss. I’d love to do more movies for my fans if I get any opportunity.”
The total number of coronavirus cases in Pakistan, by the time this was written, stood at 19,854 and the same is likely to reach the 20,000 mark some time today or by tomorrow morning.
Every ten days, the number of COVID-19 cases in Pakistan double. Just look at the month of April and how many cases increased, especially after easing down the lockdown. The government, however, thinks that coronavirus has not been “as fatal in Pakistan as it has been in many other countries”, especially the west.
Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar recently said, “Coronavirus has caused 58 per cent more deaths in the United States (US), 207 per cent more in Spain and 124 per cent more in the United Kingdom (UK) as compared to Pakistan in the same period.” Even if we think the mortality rate is lower when compared to other countries, it does not mean we have to be lax about it. Official projections predict 150,000 cases by the end of this month.
What was even more surprising was how, in a recent speech, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan shifted the blame of the lockdown to the “elite”. He said the decision to impose a lockdown was taken by the elite and the rich, without thinking of the poor. PM Imran tweeted to that effect also while felicitating Muslims for Ramzan.
Ramazan Mubarak to Muslims across the world. We in Pakistan must use this holy month to ask Allah for forgiveness for neglecting the poor & vulnerable in our society. We as a nation have been elite-centric in our policies, with no thought for these people, incl in the pandemic
The premier blames the elite and rich for taking this decision when it was indeed he and his government that imposed the lockdown. Granted that Imran himself was against the lockdown and finally gave in due to the health emergency but blaming the elite, in this case, is quite misplaced. The World Health Organization (WHO) and others who are dealing with the coronavirus pandemic have recommended lockdowns and aggressive testing apart from social distancing and other measures that we have to take in order to avoid falling prey to this pandemic.
China went for a lockdown and PM Imran doesn’t tire of giving China’s example so why blame the rich and the elite for a lockdown in Pakistan — a lockdown that is now not much of a lockdown either. Traffic has increased, more shops are open, and except for Sindh, mosques are open as well during Ramzan.
While we acknowledge that self-isolation is a privilege that isn’t afforded by many, especially the poor, we do not have the answer to how we will cope with an outbreak if cases start to rise exponentially. Doctors have recently warned that Pakistan’s healthcare system will collapse if this happens. So where will the poor go if lockdown is relaxed and they get coronavirus?
The rich and elite and privileged will go to private hospitals but what about the poor? We have to choose between struggle and death, and can only hope that the cases in Pakistan remain low.
To make decision-making easier for their users, Netflix has recently started sharing a list of ‘Top 10’ movies or seasons which are trending in different countries. According to a blog post from the company, the Top 10 row will be updated every day with “the most popular titles within a subscriber’s country, and the position of the row will also change depending on how relevant the shows and movies in the list are to their interests.”
As of Friday (May 1) night, the top three things trending on Netflix are Diriliş: Ertuğrul, Love Aaj Kal and Extraction, while the two films are also the top two in the Movie Category. While we all know that Diriliş: Ertuğrul is a hit among Pakistani audiences, Extraction and Love Aaj Kal are new additions to the streaming service.
Like any other Pakistani who grew up on Bollywood films, I couldn’t resist watching Love Aaj Kal. I mean Imtiaz Ali, Sara Ali Khan and Kartik Aryan — bring it on. As for Extraction, because for the most part, my job does require me to keep up with the latest trends, I decided to step out of my usual romantic comedies/dramas zone and watch something different and see whether it was worth the Netflix hype.
Let’s start with Extraction. The Chris Hemsworth action-thriller has been creating a buzz since he went to India for its shoot. A day before its release, Hemsworth on social media had said that “making this film was one of the most exhausting but rewarding experiences I’ve ever had on a set.”
He further said: “We set out to make the most insane, intense action film and I couldn’t be prouder of what we’ve achieved.” Unfortunately, the film only made me insane with the amount of bloodshed it had it in. To be honest, I’m generally not a big fan of action films but I do enjoy them from time to time. The two-hour-long film, which I finished in three sittings, was just a Bollywood film on steroids given that a lot of actors [for example Randeep Hooda, Pankaj Tripathi] in the film were from India.
The film is focused around Tyler Rake (played by Hemsworth), a black-market mercenary and former Australian Special Air Service Regiment soldier with a troubled past. From Rake’s first scene in the film, one can tell that he is the sort of person who likes to challenge and see death in the eye. Except for a few glimpses from his past, Rake’s character isn’t adequately developed. Anyways, Rake is hired by a fellow mercenary Nik Khan (Golshifteh Farahani) to rescue Ovi Mahajan Jr. (Rudhraksh Jaiswal), the son of India’s biggest drug lord (Pankaj Tripathi), from Dhaka, Bangladesh who has been abducted by Bangladesh’s biggest drug lord, Amir Asif (Priyanshu Painyuli).
The film is just one, long and bloody action sequence. There are limited dialogues and the characters just run through the narrow streets of Dhaka as they try to escape Bangladesh’s most notorious drug lord. They jump from building to building, kill countless people on the way and lockdown an entire city. The ending is as abrupt as the beginning – there is no character development or plot development. So unless you want to see only action, I’d advice you to skip the film altogether.
Now onto Love Aaj Kal. If I had to sum up the film in one word, or two, I’d say half-baked. The story, the characters, the plot, everything about the film is half-baked. The film follows the same premise as Imtiaz Ali’s first Love Aaj Kal, which had two love stories running side by side.
Zoe (Sara Ali Khan) is a free-spirited but ambitious girl who wants to make a career. She is bold, speaks her mind and does what she feels like, which sometimes gets a bit over the top. Veer, on the other hand, is a sensitive guy who looks at life differently than Zoe. The two meet in a club and while Zoe just wants to have a one-night stand, Veer decides that it’s not right because Zoe is “special”. How he decided that within an hour is beyond my understanding. Zoe gets annoyed with this and leaves his house and goes back to her life. Except Veer starts stalking her, not in the 90s way by singing songs and all, but by getting a spot at the co-working space where she sits. Soon the two grow closer and get into a relationship but Zoe’s mother who wants her daughter to become independent first urges her to not give up on her career for marriage. This confuses Zoe who then breaks up with Veer. The breakup scene was so ridiculously cringed that you cannot help but wonder how Imtiaz Ali even came up with it. What follows afterwards is a typical Bollywood story of how two people who are meant to be together will find their way back to each other. In between all this, Raghuvendra “Raghu” Singh, who is the owner of the cafe where Zoe works, narrates his 20-year-old love story to Zoe to help her understand her own feelings and make her decisions.
What I did not like about the film was first Zoe’s character. It was highly irritating and Sara’s acting was also terrible. Especially the scenes in which she was drunk or crying. In fact, her own dialogue basically sums up her acting: “Tum mujhe tang karnay lagay ho“.
It appears that all the attention was paid to Zoe and Raj’s character because Veer’s character was highly underdeveloped. We don’t understand his profession, neither do we understand why he spends his days just buzzing around Sara – does he not have his own life. And to top it all, his insecurities deriving from his parent’s relationship are summed up in a rap song, which is more confusing than explanatory.
While the plot did have its heart in the right place, the film was not engaging enough. It lacked the humour [like in Jab We Met] or simplicity [Highway] which Imtiaz usually beautifully weaves into his films. Sorry, Imtiaz, I really did try my best to like the movie but it just wasn’t happening.
