Tag: Actors

  • ‘We are actors, not social activists,’ says Sohai Ali Abro

    ‘We are actors, not social activists,’ says Sohai Ali Abro

    Nowadays, many celebrities seem to treat activism as a trend rather than a true commitment, but actress Sohai Ali Abro firmly believes in the important role actors play in society.

    Recently, Sohai appeared as a guest on Gup Shab hosted by Vasay Chaundhry, where she talked about celebrity activism.

    A fan from the audience asked, “What motivates you to bring change in our society?”

    Sohai replied, “You may want to bring about a change in society, but sometimes the motivation is just not there. I believe in maintaining personal integrity in whatever you do, whether you’re an actor or not.”

    While acknowledging that a social message can be important, she stressed that actors should not be viewed as activists.

    “One thing I’ve realized is that sometimes we give actors too much credit and forget that we are not social activists; we are actors at the end of the day. We do try to bring a positive impact or highlight socially relevant issues through the stories we tell and the characters we play. But if I only look at it from that perspective, I may not be able to entertain. My job is entertainment, and if something good comes out of it along the way, then that’s great, but that is not my sole reason,” the Gentlemen actress added.

    Sohai careful attitude shows that she wants to be real in a word where many celebrities jump on popular issues without really caring about them, “I’ve seen how celebrities jump on a bandwagon and talk about something they forget the next day. I am not for this activism that lasts only till an issue is trending, and therefore I am careful about what I say about any issue.”

    Sohai last starred in drama serial Gentlemen written by controversial writer Khalil Ur Rehman Qamar and directed by Haissam Hussain.

  • Rajeev Khandelwal speaks out against banning Pakistani actors in India

    Rajeev Khandelwal speaks out against banning Pakistani actors in India

    Rajeev Khandelwal speaks out against banning Pakistani actors in India

    At a time when cross-border collaborations between Indian and Pakistani artists have dwindled down to almost zero, Rajeev Khandelwal, the actor famous for drama Kahin To Hoga, has spoken up against the ban.

    In a recent interview with Bollywood Bubble, Rajeev talked about his experience working with Humayun Saeed’s production and recalled the warm reception he received from Pakistani fans. “The Pakistani audience has always shown me so much love and respect. I remember loving the kind gifts I received and the wonderful conversations.” Khandelwal said.

    He then said, “No artist, whether from Pakistan or anywhere else, should face a ban based on political factors. Such decisions should not dictate the career paths of actors.”

    Rajeev Khandelwal also worked in the Pakistani drama Sun Leyna (2006), which was written by Seema Ghazal and produced by Humayun Saeed.

  • KRQ says kidnappers named two VERY famous actors

    KRQ says kidnappers named two VERY famous actors

    Controversial writer Khalilur Rehman Qamar has claimed that his kidnappers named actors Noman Ijaz and Saba Qamar during his abduction.

    In a podcast interview, Qamar recounted his kidnapping, explaining that he hesitated to file a report because the kidnappers had named Noman Ijaz and Saba Qamar.

    “I dislike Noman Ijaz, but he is an outstanding actor. Despite my differences with Saba Qamar, I admire her acting. These are not the kind of people who would do such a thing,” Qamar said, implying that the kidnappers were trying to confuse him.

    Qamar expressed surprise at the support he received from Indian fans during the ordeal, noting the contrast with the hostility and mockery he faced in Pakistan. “I didn’t know the kidnappers’ motives. I was just worried about my wife and daughters. When they tortured me, I told them to kill me if they wanted,” he added.

    He shared that his wife now wants to leave Pakistan due to the distress caused by the incident, but he remains deeply attached to his homeland and has no plans to emigrate.

    The kidnapping and robbery took place last week in Lahore. According to the police, a woman called Qamar on his phone and invited him to her house to discuss a drama project. When he arrived, armed men abducted him and carried out the robbery.

    The internet had little sympathy for the misogynistic writer, who is known for misbehaving with many women. He has also said that he is waging a war against feminists.

  • ‘Abhi’ and ‘Na Baligh Afraad’ get positive response on Eid

    ‘Abhi’ and ‘Na Baligh Afraad’ get positive response on Eid

    During this year’s Eid-ul-Azha , Pakistani cinema enthusiasts celebrated as ‘Abhi’ and ‘Na Baligh Afraad’ emerged as standout hits, capturing the hearts of audiences across the country. With the much-anticipated release of five Pakistani films, which included ‘Umro Ayyar: A New Beginning’ and ‘Bhediya’, there was an overwhelming feeling of excitement and expectation throughout the movie industry. The following films were released to excited audiences, but ‘Manju Maria’ unfortunately had a setback with the Censor Board.

    Leading the charge, ‘Umro Ayyar’ dominated the box office, marking a promising start to the Eid weekend for local filmmakers and actors.

    Umro Ayyar: A New Beginning
    ‘Umro Ayyar: Ayyar: A New Beginning’ topped the box office over the Eid holidays.Box office experts estimate that during a period of seven days, the movie earned over eight crore rupess. After exceeding the lifetime sales of ‘Money Back Guarantee’ (2023), the Usman Mukhtar film is anticipated to earn more over the next few weeks.

    ‘Abhi’ & ‘Na Baligh Afraad’

    The official pages of ‘Abhi’ and ‘Na Baligh Afraad’ have posted their collections. The Kubra Khan and Goher Mumtaz starrer ‘Abhi’ has collected 4.2 crore PKR while Nabeel Qureshi and Fizza Ali Meerza’s film ‘Na Baligh Afraad’ has collected 3 crore PKR over the seven days period.

  • Behroze Sabzwari, Nadia Afgan slam unprofessionalism among young actors

    Behroze Sabzwari, Nadia Afgan slam unprofessionalism among young actors

     

    Veteran actor Behroze Sabzwari and long-time star Nadia Afgan recently appeared on Suno TV’s show ‘Showtime with Ramiz’.
    The host Hina questioned Behroze, “When we talk about new actors, we’re talking about the youth; there are abundant facilities, and they also receive good pay. Do you think the standard of acting now is the same as it was during your time?”
     
    Behroze Sabzwari said, “Pakistan’s standards are generally low, so how can actors be expected to excel? Education teaches basic ethics, but they’re lacking everywhere.’
    Nadia Afgan added, “Discipline, hard work, and dedication are essential. Practice makes perfect, but today’s actors seem lost when it comes to their lines and refuse to rehearse. They even ask us for help with their lines.”

  • Mohammad Ahmed, Shamim Hilaly say you might regret waiting until 45 to find love

    Mohammad Ahmed, Shamim Hilaly say you might regret waiting until 45 to find love

    Veteran actors Mohammad Ahmed and Shamim Hilaly, known for their brilliant performances, recently spoke to Fuchsia about the changing dynamics of marriages, discussing disparities between modern marital unions and those of the past.
    “People often think they don’t need anyone in their life and they’ll always be young, but things change,” both stars emphasized. “When you turn 45, you start to realize the importance of having a life partner.”

    Ahmed pointed towards rising divorce rates and said, “Couples nowadays are unwilling to compromise on anything and fail to give each other enough time to understand and adjust. Television plays a role in normalizing divorces, portraying the idea that one can easily divorce and marry someone else the next day, which is not realistic. Recently, many showbiz couples have divorced, and this trend is increasing.”

  • Teaser of ‘Let’s Try Mohabbat’ starring Mawra Hocane, Danyal Zafar is out

    Teaser of ‘Let’s Try Mohabbat’ starring Mawra Hocane, Danyal Zafar is out

    Green Entertainment is producing an upcoming mini drama series called ‘Let’s Try Mohabbat,’ starring the talented Mawra Hocane. Danyal Zafar, known for his role in Stand up Girl, will also appear in the drama along with talent powerhouse Gohar Rasheed and Shahzad Nawaz.
    This is the first time Mawra and Danyal Zafar are working together on a project. It is directed by Angeline Malik and written by Zeeshan Junaid.

    The teaser showcased the main actors Mawra and Danyal. The melodious OST of the drama played in the background, adding to the teaser’s allure.
    Check out the teaser below:

  • ‘Actors are not prostitutes’: Mariyam Nafees slams stalker sending vulgar messages

    ‘Actors are not prostitutes’: Mariyam Nafees slams stalker sending vulgar messages

    Actress Mariyam Nafees has had enough with stalkers assuming it’s their right to be lewd to actresses.

    Nafees shared a screenshot on her Instagram stories of a message she recieved from an unknown person, who was trying to solicit a meeting with her after seeing her at the Lux Style Awards. The stalker tried to persuade Mariyam to hold a meeting, and asked her to name an amount.

    To which she had responded: “Bet your mom is ashamed to have a child like you. Not every woman is ‘bought-able’ you s****. Good luck dealing with my ‘friends’!”

    Mariyam shared the screenshot of the conversation and wrote in the caption: “Married or not- this never stops! Actors are not prostitutes!”

    In her next post, Nafees shared the complete contact information of the stalker, writing that she plans to expose the harassers this way.

    Another woman messaged Mariyam, whose conversation screenshots the actress shared in her Instagram stories. In the conversation, the woman solicited the actress to agree to take a photoshoot with a Pakistani magazine which innvolved “political level parties and bold shoots.”

    In 2021, Mariyam shared pictures of the indecent messages she recieved on Instagram from a man who asked her to visit his friend for a few hours and in return she’d recieve three lacs. Sharing the messages, the actress wrote in the caption:

    “The point of putting this up is because I truly want to put a stop to this.
    I don’t know who’s responsible for these morons to think this way and who’s entertaining them but no! Absolutely not! I and my esteemed co-actresses respectfully work for twelve hours (sometimes more) everyday and we refuse to tolerate this mentality. We come from educated backgrounds to make a name for ourselves, nobody and I mean NOT A SINGLE PERSON is allowed to disrespect us.

    Actresses are not prostitutes!”

    Her outspoken message was applauded by Adnan Siddiqui who defended her in a tweet, pointing out that actors were professionals like everyone else and were not for sale.

    “For those who think otherwise, let me put the record straight. Actors are NOT for sale. We work hard and work honestly as much as any other professional. No one’s allowed to disrespect us. Atta girl MariyamNafees”, Adnan tweeted.

  • Rise of the machines: AI spells danger for Hollywood stunt workers

    Rise of the machines: AI spells danger for Hollywood stunt workers

    By Andrew MARSZAL

    Hollywood’s striking actors fear that artificial intelligence is coming for their jobs — but for many stunt performers, that dystopian danger is already a reality.

    From “Game of Thrones” to the latest Marvel superhero movies, cost-slashing studios have long used computer-generated background figures to reduce the number of actors needed for battle scenes.

    Now, the rise of AI means cheaper and more powerful techniques are being explored to create highly elaborate action sequences such as car chases and shootouts — without those pesky (and expensive) humans.

    Stunt work, a time-honored Hollywood tradition that has spanned from silent epics through to Tom Cruise’s latest “Mission Impossible,” is at risk of rapidly shrinking.

    “The technology is exponentially getting faster and better,” said Freddy Bouciegues, stunt coordinator for movies like “Free Guy” and “Terminator: Dark Fate.”

    “It’s really a scary time right now.”

    Studios are already requiring stunt and background performers to take part in high-tech 3D “body scans” on set, often without explaining how or when the images will be used.

    Advancements in AI mean these likenesses could be used to create detailed, eerily realistic “digital replicas,” which can perform any action or speak any dialogue its creators wish.

    Bouciegues fears producers could use these virtual avatars to replace “nondescript” stunt performers — such as those playing pedestrians leaping out of the way of a car chase.

    “There could be a world where they said, ‘No, we don’t want to bring these 10 guys in… we’ll just add them in later via effects and AI. Now those guys are out of the job.”

    But according to director Neill Blomkamp, whose new film “Gran Turismo” hits theaters August 25, even that scenario only scratches the surface.

    The role AI will soon play in generating images from scratch is “hard to compute,” he told AFP.

    “Gran Turismo” primarily uses stunt performers driving real cars on actual racetracks, with some computer-generated effects added on top for one particularly complex and dangerous scene.

    But Blomkamp predicts that, in as soon as six or 12 months, AI will reach a point where it can generate photo-realistic footage like high-speed crashes based on a director’s instructions alone.

    At that point, “you take all of your CG (computer graphics) and VFX (visual effects) computers and throw them out the window, and you get rid of stunts, and you get rid of cameras, and you don’t go to the racetrack,” he told AFP.

    “It’s that different.”

    – The human element –

    The lack of guarantees over the future use of AI is one of the major factors at stake in the ongoing strike by the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) and Hollywood’s writers, who have been on the picket lines 100 days.

    SAG-AFTRA last month warned that studios intend to create realistic digital replicas of performers, to use “for the rest of eternity, in any project they want” — all for the payment of one day’s work.

    The studios dispute this, and say they have offered rules including informed consent and compensation.

    But as well as the potential implications for thousands of lost jobs, Bouciegues warns that no matter how good the technology has become, “the audience can still tell” when the wool is being pulled over their eyes by computer-generated VFX.

    Even if AI can perfectly replicate a battle, explosion or crash, it cannot supplant the human element that is vital to any successful action film, he said, pointing to Cruise’s recent “Top Gun” and “Mission Impossible” sequels.

    “He uses real stunt people, and he does real stunts, and you can see it on the screen. For me, I feel like it subconsciously affects the viewer,” said Bouciegues.

    Current AI technology still gives “slightly unpredictable results,” agreed Blomkamp, who began his career in VFX, and directed Oscar-nominated “District 9.”

    “But it’s coming… It’s going to fundamentally change society, let alone Hollywood. The world is going to be different.”

    For stunt workers like Bouciegues, the best outcome now is to blend the use of human performers with VFX and AI to pull off sequences that would be too dangerous with old-fashioned techniques alone.

    “I don’t think this job will ever just cease to be,” said Bouciegues, of stunt work. “It just definitely is going to get smaller and more precise.”

    But even that is a sobering reality for stunt performers who are currently standing on picket lines outside Hollywood studios.

    “Every stunt guy is the alpha male type, and everybody wants to say, ‘Oh, we’re good,’” said Bouciegues.

    “But I personally have spoken to a lot of people that are freaked out and nervous.”

  • All projects put on hold as Hollywood actors go on strike

    All projects put on hold as Hollywood actors go on strike

    In an unprecedent move, 160,000 Hollywood actors represented by the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) joined writers in strike against Hollywood after negotiations between the union and major studio networks failed.

    Much of Hollywood had shut down in May after writers went on strike, protesting against low pay as studios shifted to streaming, and the incorporation of A.I into writing scripts.

    The demands made by the actors union include fairer working conditions, and protection of actors against digital replicas like A.I and computer generated faces and voices will not be used to replace actors. Another demand was that actors should receive better pay base and residuals- which are payments made to actors in television and films they have starred in.

    During the negotiations, network studios had offered what they called a ‘ground-breaking proposal’ that actors would be asked for consent when their digital replicas would be used in films, while background actors would be scanned and give one day’s pay for their digital image to be used on screen without their consent, which SAG said was unnacceptable:

    “They propose that our background performers should be able to be scanned, get paid for one day’s pay, and their company should own that scan of their image, their likeness, and should be able to use it for the rest of eternity,” the SAG chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said. “If you think that’s a ground-breaking proposal, I suggest you think again.”

    The cast of Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’ walked off the red carpet at the London premiere on Thursday, including A-list actors like Cillian Murphy, Florence Pugh, Emily Blunt and Matt Damon, when the strikes were announced in the US.

    Addressing the strike during a red carpet interview, Damon defended fellow actors who were protesting for studios to provide better pay, sharing that royalty payments are a way for working actors to survive:

    “We got to protect the people who are kind of on the margins. 26,000 bucks a year is what you have to make to get your health insurance. And there are a lot of people (for) who residual payments carry them across that threshold. If those residual payments dry up, so does their healthcare, and that’s absolutely unacceptable.”

    Announcing the SAG-AFTRA strike, President of the union Fran Drescher, called this a sad decision, which will greatly impact both writers and actors.

    “We are the victims here. We are being victimized by a very greedy entity. You are systematically trying to figure out ways to carve us out of what is due us. Shame on you!”