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  • Did you know Sarwat Gilani has royal roots?

    Did you know Sarwat Gilani has royal roots?

    Sarwat Gilani, in an exclusive interview with The Current, has revealed that she has royal roots.

    “My maternal grandfather was the Nawab of the princely state of Manavadar, which included 70 villages in India,” shared Sarwat in the interview.

    “Junagarh and Manavadar were two princely states. Junagarh was his brother’s and Manavadar was his [Sarwat’s Nana’s] own state,” she continued. “And they chose to come to Pakistan at the time of Partition.”

    “So they left everything over there: their palaces, their cars, guns, everything. They left all their treasure over there in love for Pakistan,” she added.

    Sarwat then said: “When people ask me how I feel about being such a big star, they come to my mind. Because they are real stars who left everything for Pakistan and spent a very simple life after migrating.”

    The actor had earlier revealed that her family did not approve of her career choice. When asked how she managed to convince them, Sarwat said: “I convinced them by being consistent at being decent. For me, convincing my maternal grandmother, my mother and her family was very hard. So I thought if I do well, and constantly do well, they will someday be convinced on their own.”

    “And I think, I did that,” she added.

    The actor in the interview also talked about her infamous kiss with husband Fahad Mirza, meeting Karan Johar, her Whatsapp group with Mahira Khan and Sanam Saeed and how she feels that the “government has nothing better to do, [other than being] busy with banning things and [getting involved] in petty issues.”

    Watch the full interview below:

  • Ayesha Omar gets emotional as she recounts opening up about sexual harassment

    Ayesha Omar gets emotional as she recounts opening up about sexual harassment

    Ayesha Omar, in a recent interview with Waseem Badami, opened up about being sexually harassed at the age of 22 by a powerful person in the industry. The actor has shared her experience of being harassed on several occasions but has never named her perpetrator. However, while recounting the experience on Badami’s Masoomana Sawaal, Ayesha got emotional and started crying on live television.

    During the interview, the actor said that she has never cried while talking about this incident before.

    “Maybe it was your question,” said Ayesha, while explaining why she felt emotional.

    “Nobody said it was easy,” said Ayesha later, in an Instagram post, while referring to the interview.

    “Not sure if I’ve ever cried on live television before,” said the actor. “To be able to let your guard down and be vulnerable…to be able to talk about your painful, difficult experiences from an honest place…to relive and recall traumatic times…to describe your feelings and talk to your younger self…it’s not easy.”

    “It’s not even easy doing it one on one with someone trained to ask the right questions, in private, let alone publicly on live television,” she continued. “But I hope by doing so, I was able to make other humans who have had painful experiences or faced sexual/verbal/physical harassment at any point in their lives, feel a little less alone and a little more hopeful…to try to let go of self-blame and self-deprecation and hold their perpetrators responsible.”

    Read more – Ayesha Omar opens up about her childhood struggles

    On the show, Ayesha, while sharing her experience, had said: “I had just joined the industry, I was hardly 22 years old. He was a man in power and I was scared to go against him. I did not have the courage to tell anyone about it. I’m sorry about that.”

    “I am sorry to the person I was; had I shared it then, I would have been a stronger person today. A lot of other girls also suffered at the hands of the same person. Had I spoken up against him then, maybe he might have stopped.”

    Meanwhile, fellow female stars supported her in the comment section of her post.

  • Mariyam Nafees tests positive for COVID-19 days after attending Rabab Hashim’s mehndi

    Mariyam Nafees tests positive for COVID-19 days after attending Rabab Hashim’s mehndi

    Mariyam Nafees has announced that she has tested positive, days after attending Rabab Hashim’s mehndi. The actor shared that she is isolating at home.

    “Greetings from isolation,” wrote Mariyam on social media. “Unfortunately, I’ve added to the COVID count by testing positive.”

    “Harsh symptoms and away from home, so here’s requesting lots and lots of prayers,” she added.

    Nafees also urged people to protect themselves, wear mask and take the necessary precautionary measures.

    The actor was last spotted at Rabab’s mehndi.

    Mariyam with Rabab on her Mehndi

    Mariyam shared a screenshot on her Instagram story of co-actor Usman Khalid Butt texting to know about her health but he made a big blunder. Instead of writing How are you doing, he wrote, “How are you dying?”

    Rabab, who is famous for her roles in Qarrar and Piya Mann Bhaye, got hitched to Sohaib Shamshad in an intimate wedding. Pictures from her nikkah and rukhsati are being widely circulated on social media.

    Rabab looked ethereal in a cream and pale peach outfit paired with emerald jewellery, while the groom looked dapper in an off-white sherwani.

    Wishing Rabab all the best for the new chapter in her life.

  • PICTURES: Bakhtawar Bhutto’s Magical Engagement

    PICTURES: Bakhtawar Bhutto’s Magical Engagement

    Former President Zardari’s daughter Bakhtawar Bhutto-Zardari got engaged at a day event in Karachi.

    Guests at the event

    Guests had been asked to get tested for coronavirus before they attended the event.

    Bakhtawar wore a pink outfit and looked radiant as she walked in.

    RELATED:These are not my videos, says Bakhtawar

    The venue was beautifully decorated with pink and white flowers. Aseefa, Bakhtawar’s sister wore a purple and beige outfit and is that Bilawal we spy on the IPad?

    Bilawal Bhutto was unable to attend the event since he tested positive for coronavirus and is now in quarantine. We are absolutely in love with Bakhtawar’s shawl, and its true: the happiest brides are the prettiest brides.

    Bakhtawar also tweeted a picture of her and her fiance, Mahmoud Choudhry.

    RELATED: Everything we know about Bakhtawar Bhutto-Zardari’s fiancé

    Bilawal took to Instagram to post a picture of him ‘at’ his sister’s engagement.

  • Adnan Siddiqui opens up on how ‘Mom’ left him ’emotionally drained’

    Adnan Siddiqui opens up on how ‘Mom’ left him ’emotionally drained’

    Adnan Siddiqui has often opened up about the challenges that come with being an actor. In a recent Instagram post, the actor recalled how his Bollywood film Mom left him emotionally exhausted and drained.

    “I have always felt that acting tests you emotionally,” said the actor. “Whether it’s a deliberate call by the script or of a wily director to bring out the best of his/her actors.”

    “I have often been confronted with situations in dramas and movies which I would rather not happen to me in real life. We are never comfortable with our fears and insecurities, on-screen or off it. It can be quite taxing emotionally, and never a pleasant experience to film such scenes,” he continued.

    “I remember being thrown into a very poignant moment while shooting a scene of the movie Mom. The director, Ravi Udyawar briefed me that my character Anand Sabarwal, who is seeking justice for his daughter Arya, has his back to the wall.”

    He further shared: “’Adnan, Anand the man is still fighting gallantly but Anand the father feels defeated.’ I can still recall his brief. I nodded and thought to myself, ‘It’s easy’, till the cameras rolled and I started with the shot.”

    Read more – ‘A portion of my life I will never forget’: Sajal Aly celebrates three years of ‘Mom’

    “Being a father of two beautiful daughters, I could relate to the severity of Anand’s pain. I almost lived his frustration, anger, helplessness and fear of losing the battle for his daughter’s justice. I was completely numb and emotionally drained by the end of the shoot. In fact, I still shudder at the thought of Anand’s anguish,” he wrote.

    “Nothing breaks you as much as your child’s suffering and your inability to alleviate it. I pray to Allah that no parent gets to live the reality fictional Anand had to. May Allah keep everyone’s children safe and healthy,” he concluded.

    Mom is a crime thriller film directed by Ravi Udyawar. It is centred around a mother (Sridevi) who sets out to avenge the rape of her stepdaughter (Sajal Aly). Adnan played Sri Devi’s husband and Sajal’s father in the film. The film also stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Akshaye Khanna in supporting roles. The movie marked Sridevi’s 300th and final major film appearance before her sudden demise on February 24 2018.

    Upon its release, the film was a critical and commercial success with critics and audiences lauding the performances.

    Earlier, in 2017 when the film released, Adnan had shared his experience of working with the team.

    Posting pictures from the sets of the film, the actor had written: “It would have been impossible if it wasn’t for people like Boney Kapoor sahab, the man who taught me quite a few things about filmmaking.”

    “Sri Devi jee, who proved why she was and is one of the best the world will ever see. And undoubtedly, our home-grown bundle of exceptional talent Sajal Aly, who didn’t allow a single scene to be ordinary. These were my beacons throughout this project. The man who didn’t give up on anyone of us, the captain of the ship – our director Ravi Udyawar was an iceberg when it came to tackling petty to big issues and guided us all to victory.”

    Mom is available to stream on Netflix Pakistan.

  • We can’t show a woman being assaulted and falling in love with the same man, says Mahira Khan

    We can’t show a woman being assaulted and falling in love with the same man, says Mahira Khan

    Mahira Khan, who was recently listed in BBC’s ‘100 women of 2020′ for being outspoken about social issues, in a recent interview said that the media, including actors, filmmakers and drama makers, need to take responsibility to change the narrative.

    In a recent interview, the actor said: “Something happens, there is a lot of noise about it. Everybody gets on the streets, everybody talks about it on the media, and then what? And then it dies out. Another news comes out, another story comes out or another rape happens! Then that is just another name or another hashtag attached to it. The problem is that we are not ready to educate our public, create programs that educate children, we are not ready to talk about it openly and I think we need to change that narrative.”

    She continued: “I also take responsibility for it. I am a big part of the media of this country. I feel that our films, our television serials, we have to change the narrative.”

    “We can’t just show a woman being assaulted (by a man) and then falling in love with him and show him to be the hero. A hero cannot be someone who is abusive. So, I think somewhere even we have to take that initiative.”

    Mahira also talked about her stance on fairness creams and why she refuses to endorse them.

    “I’ve been approached from the beginning of my career, not just as an actor – even when I was a VJ – I was approached to do a lot of fairness cream products, skin whitening products,” shared the actor. “It doesn’t make sense to me, it never made sense to me. So, I am endorsing the idea that a darker girl, a man is not as attractive as someone with a fairer complexion? It just didn’t make sense to me.”

    Mahira also took a moment to recall her first award as an actor. In the interview, she said that though she has received many awards over the years, the award – Lux Style Award for Best Actress – she received for Humsafar is her most special.

    “This is my first award as an actor, for a drama that really launched me, in the year that I was launched,” said Mahira. “I won many awards after that but this remains very, very special.”

  • Firdous Ashiq destroyed for saying Sharifs ‘parceling mother’s body to Pakistan through cargo’

    Twitterati are training guns at Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Sardar Usman Buzdar’s aide Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan for saying that the Sharifs were “parceling the body of their mother back to Pakistan through cargo”.

    Begum Shamim Akhtar, 90, breathed her last in London on Sunday and her dead body is being brought back to Pakistan. According to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Information Secretary Marriyum Aurangzeb, her funeral prayers will be offered on Saturday at the Sharif Medical City in Raiwind.

    “It is painful to see how those who used chartered flights to transfer cuisines are now parceling their mother’s body back to the country through cargo,” she was heard as saying during an informal media talk.

    With the government spokesperson also tweeting the same, her statement didn’t set very well with a number of netizens, who said:

    Meanwhile, Qul would be held on November 29 which would be attended only by members of the Sharif family.

    PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and President Shehbaz Sharif have appealed to the people and workers to offer Fateha for their mother on the day of Qul in their respective areas.

  • Charles & Camilla restrict Twitter account after being trolled over ‘The Crown’

    Prince Charles and his wife Camilla have restricted replies on their official Twitter account Clarence House after being trolled by Twitter users over the latest season of The Crown.

    The ‘Clarence House’ Twitter account of the royal couple is now limited, and only those who are followed by the account or mentioned in one of the tweets can reply.

    As per details, the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall first restricted Twitter replies on November 24 to avoid hateful comments. Since then, the account has posted four more tweets with the same restrictions.

    The decision to restrict comments came after people started leaving hateful comments under their posts in the wake of the latest season of The Crown, which follows Charles and Princess Diana’s rocky married life. The Charles-Diana-Camilla love triangle is one of the main storylines in the fourth season, which covers the late 1970s and the 1980s. Though the creators of the show have clarified that creative liberty has been taken while making the show, fans of Princess Diana are lashing out at Charles and Camilla for “ruining” Diana’s life.

    While Clarence House has taken measures to defend itself from vitriol on Twitter, the couple’s Instagram page is still open for comments.

  • Pakistan becomes founding member of Digital Cooperation Organization

    Pakistan has joined the Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO) as a founding member.

    The organisation has been established under an initiative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that has also invited other countries to join as founding members, including Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait and the UAE.

    The organisation was launched at a virtual event on Thursday, hosted by Saudi Arabia Minister of Communication and Information Technology Abdullah Al-Swaha. Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi participated with a video statement.

    The foreign minister noted that the creation of DCO would cater to the growing need for international cooperation and collaboration in the digital domain at a time when the digital economy is estimated to be worth over $11 trillion and set to expand further in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The organisation will offer a platform to promote the global digital agenda in the scientific, health, educational, commercial, social, agricultural, investment and security spheres.

  • Friends’ star Matthew Perry engaged to the ‘greatest woman on the planet’

    Friends’ star Matthew Perry engaged to the ‘greatest woman on the planet’

    Chandler put a ring on it!

    Matthew Perry, best recognised for his role as Chandler in the popular 90s sitcom Friends, has gotten engaged to his longtime girlfriend Molly Hurwitz.

    Speaking to PEOPLE Magazine, Perry said: “I decided to get engaged. Luckily, I happened to be dating the greatest woman on the face of the planet at this time.”

    Matthew, 51, was first seen out with Molly, 29, in December 2019 at a restaurant in West Hollywood. Later, the two spent the holidays together.

    Hurwitz, who works as a literary manager, has posted about her relationship with Perry on social media several times over the last couple of years.

    She shared a photo of herself and Perry spending the holidays together last year, and later posted a sweet tribute to him on Valentine’s Day.

    “Second year being my valentine, but his first as an Instagram influencer,” she wrote on her private Instagram account. “HVD to my favorite.”

    According to some reports, the couple split for a brief period of time this year in May. But they later made amends and are now happily engaged.

    This will be Matthew’s first marriage. The actor previously dated Lizzy Caplan for six years before splitting in 2012. He has also reportedly dated Yasmine Bleeth and Julia Roberts.