Tag: Anwar Maqsood

  • Comedy shows are taking off in Pakistan: what you need to know

    Comedy shows are taking off in Pakistan: what you need to know

    After watching tons of videos of standup comedians online from all across the globe, getting hold of tickets of a show in Pakistan, No Offence was such a pleasant surprise. Expectations were high and excitement was going through the roof.

    First and foremost, we need to have more standup shows in the country to give a boost to the comedy landscape of Pakistani entertainment. It was thoroughly refreshing to see a live comedy show. Many in the audience, especially uncles, found most jokes relatable and laughed their lungs out.

    The show was held in Ali Auditorium on Ferozpur Road on a foggy winter night in Lahore. Expected to get defrosted by the warmth and hysteria of jokes, we were introduced to Mohsin Ejaz performing for the first half. His set literally was the music to the ears. The situations he created with old classic songs had some really good laugh-out-loud moments. The way he compared the nineties music of Bollywood and Pakistan and how he made Mehdi Hassan the pioneer of stalkers because of his song “Zindagi mein to sabhee” is one such example. He proved the power of his vocal chords and the audience appreciated him by singing along. His set did take a dramatic turn towards the end which hit the right chord and made us all emotional (you’ll have to go and see to understand). The use of dark humor was done in the right proportion.

    The audience was charged up when we were introduced to Dawar Mehmood, the man of the hour. He started off by acknowledging his association and training by the legendary Anwar Maqsood. The stakes were high now. He started off nicely by doing a set about PIA air hostesses and how Punjabi humour does not appeal to a Karachiite. One could sense a hint of Moin Akhtar in them. His mention of the jokes shared by Anwar Maqsood were legit taking a dig at the current political landscape had a healthy amount of sarcasm in them. The way he relayed the story of his show getting cancelled because of Lahore’s obsession with Imran Khan during the days of his arrest was indeed funny. It would have been great had he just remained there because even though, the show was meant to be inoffensive, the jokes about cheating men, the Me Too movement, and feminism were archaic if not offensive. In today’s day and age, we are past these jokes, aren’t we?

    In a nutshell, it is a great attempt for a start and Kopykats deserve all the applause for initiating this.

  • ‘Put my abbu’s life in danger’: Bilal Maqsood slams fake social media accounts of Anwar Maqsood

    ‘Put my abbu’s life in danger’: Bilal Maqsood slams fake social media accounts of Anwar Maqsood

    Former ‘String’s singer Bilal Maqsood had taken to Twitter today to slam users for making social media accounts of his father, veteran playwright and host Anwar Maqsood. He requested his followers to block such accounts as they could put his father’s life in danger.

    “These kinds of fake tweets only put my Abbu’s life in danger. This guy has already blocked me. Please can you all report this account. Abbu does not post anything on social media. His actual account has only 3 posts. We made that account so we can report all the fake ones.”

    The celebrated screenwriter had clarified in 2020 with a video to prove that he only had one Twitter account.

    “My name is Anwar Maqsood and because of circumstances, I had to make this video to tell you that this is my official Twitter account,” he was seen saying in the video.

  • Twitter users, activists condemn Mahira Khan, Anwar Maqsood’s sexist remarks about Maryam Nawaz, Marriyum Aurangzeb

    Social media was enraged yesterday at the comments made by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senator Afnan Ullah Khan who remarked that Mahira Khan had mental health problems and Anwar Maqsood was a drunkard, in a tweet which celebrities and feminist activists slammed as sexist.

    What had prompted this reaction? It was a conversation at a session titled ‘An Evening With Mahira Khan’ held at the Arts Council of Pakistan in Karachi. In a clip that went viral, Mahira Khan was seen commenting about two females fighting and poisoning each other. To which Maqsood responded by saying that these two women were PML-N leaders Marriyum Aurangzeb and Maryam Nawaz.

    “I am restricted from talking about politics, I can’t say anything about anyone. Hopefully the situation will get better soon. What you said about poisoning, abusing each other so I gave an example, it is also happening in real life. Also both are actors, not character actors.”

    Can we condemn the disparaging comment made by the PML-N senator, whose party is currently under the leadership of a woman, and is also the one ruling the country? Absolutely, because how a politician comments about their critics reveals how thin-skinned and shallow-minded they are, especially when the critic is a woman.

    But to completely sideline the fact that Khan, who has been outspoken about gender inequality and the need to improve the way media represents women on screens, especially sitting next to a renowned leftist screen writer, could resort to making sexist jokes about female politicians whose views she doesn’t agree with? Twitter users could not over look this fact, and criticised Khan’s sexist behavior for directly targeting female politicians of the opposite party as a way to score points.

    Feminist activist Leena Ghani mentioned that it was male politicians who are consistently over-emotional, and behave in a horrible manner, but it’s astounding why Khan chose to overlook them and target Aurangzeb and Nawaz

    The Twitter page of Aurat March condemned Khan’s and Maqsood’s comments as ‘cringe’

    Twitter users like journalist Gharidah Farooqi criticised these comments as ‘shameful’:

    Zebunnisa Burki criticised both Khan and Maqsood for making such disgusting comments

    Another user wrote that it wasn’t proper for a woman to mock another woman politician in this manner

  • ‘Jahil’: Celebrities, activists slam Senator Afnan Ullah Khan for horrifying remarks about Mahira Khan, Anwar Maqsood

    Yesterday, a clip from a session named An Evening With Mahira Khan went viral on social media, featuring Anwar Maqsood. The renowned writer made a disparaging comment about two female Pakistan Muslim League -Nawaz (PML-N) leaders, Maryam Aurangzeb and Maryam Nawaz.

    In the clip, Khan was seen asking about two women who are fighting and shouting with each other, to which Maqsood responded that these women are Maryam Nawaz and Maryam Aurangzeb,

    “I am restricted from talking about politics, I can’t say anything about anyone. Hopefully the situation will get better soon. What you said about poisoning, abusing each other so I gave an example, it is also happening in real life. Also both are actors, not character actors.”

    This comment was rightfully criticized because of how it chose to directly target the female politicians through the same misogynist stereotypes Khan was condemning in her session. Twitter users also slammed Khan for her selective morality, urging the actor to reflect on the feminist morals she is presenting because repeatedly calling out misogynist slurs used to put down women, but in the same breath applauding this way of publicly targeting female politicians and humiliating them? Baffling.

    https://twitter.com/Bubbleskhanum/status/1637942268773519367?s=20

    “I don’t expect anything good from him, because he is a man, but it’s so baffling to see Mahira Khan applauding over this incitement of misogyny and sexism, she literally made a brand by capitalizing over feminism, but is not consious about how harmful this is for Pakistani women,” one user wrote.

    This is the proper manner of responding to an opinion you disagree with, by pointing out mistakes and urging the other person to reflect and correct themselves. Because after all, celebrities have a public platform through which they can influence other people to follow their actions.

    What is the most vile, awful way to counteract? By using abelist, abusive language and making personal remarks like the way Senator Afnan Ullah Khan did on Twitter

    “Mahira Khan has mental health problems and Anwar Maqsood has become a drunkard at this stage of life. Both of them are shameless characters and the public should condemn them for it. There are books written about Mahira Khan’s character, and she is known for even flattering Indian actors for the sake of money and Anwar Maqsood is filled with hatred at this point of his life,” wrote the PML-N senator on Twitter.

    To condemn a misogynist remark is the right of any politician, but to go even lower and make personal, completely distorted and abusive comments about someone is completely not acceptable.

    Targetting Khan and Maqsood with such awful comments from the politician whose party is currently ruling the country proves how deep misogyny runs in this country. Celebrities like Atiqa Odho and Farhan Saeed openly condemned these comments for showcasing Dr Ullah Khan’s misogynist state of mind.

    Farhan Saeed retweeted this comment and condemned the way free speech in Pakistan has been suppressed

    “This is the mentality that doesn’t let #Pakistan grow , this is what they do when someone just gives an opinion or has a political preference . They get personal so people stop giving their opinion . Senator ? Zuban jahilon wali,” he wrote.

    Odho shared a picture of both Khan and Maqsood on her Instagram account and in the caption she condemned the PML-N politician for using such foul language against two “hard working and committed people.”

    She wrote: “#AnwerMaqsood a living legend and mentor and #MahiraKhan our beloved star. Both shine where ever they go and leave others way behind. Shameful when anyone dares to say anything against such hard working and committed people as these are national treasurers. PMLN should expel the senator who behaved so poorly from their party at once to teach him a lesson and show their sincerity towards our iconic soft image ambassadors. Such acts must not go unnoticed as these are not political people and as citizens have a right to an opinion within a true democracy. Hope action is taken and a public apology is given by #PMLN !”

    Actor and writer Mira Sethi tweeted that these remarks are ‘utterly shameful’.

    https://twitter.com/sethimirajee/status/1638106602828865539?s=20

    Actor Iffat Omar, who is critical of Imran Khan, also condemned the tweet and tagged Maryam Nawaz, urging her to take action against the senator.

    The twitter account of Aurat March called out the Senate of Pakistan to teach their politicians to refrain from using such abusive, sexist language against their critics, especially when it is a woman involved.

  • ‘Paancho judge (Sharif) hain’: Anwar Maqsood and son Bilal share sarcastic take on political scenario in viral video

    Veteran Pakistani scriptwriter, satirist, and humorist Anwar Maqsood has given his opinion on the Supreme Court (SC) verdict regarding the no-trust motion and dissolution of the National Assembly by saying that the ‘judges are also sharif’.

    An interesting video on social media was posted by his singer son Bilal Maqsood to get the father’s opinion on the current political crisis.

    Bilal Maqsood questioned his father, Anwar Maqsood to share some words on the top court’s ruling.

    Anwar replied, “I’m very happy. I was expecting the same verdict [from the Supreme Court]. Because it has to come this way. Because the respectable and honourable five judges are also sharif.”

    The 85-year-old legend was recently honoured at the Lux Style Awards with the Unilever Chairman’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

  • ‘There’s no place for me in the entertainment industry’: Anwar Maqsood expresses disappointment

    ‘There’s no place for me in the entertainment industry’: Anwar Maqsood expresses disappointment

    Legendary scriptwriter Anwar Maqsood who is famous for his cult projects like Fifty Fifty and Aangan Terha has expressed his dissapointment on the current content and scripts of drama seriels. He also cited it as a reason for not working actively in the entertainment industry.

    The veteran writer stated that, “I have stepped back [from writing] because what is happening on the television in the recent times, there is no place for me. Now that the rating has occupied a decisive place, the directors or producers have been left behind in every respect. The marketing department decides which actors are needed and which are not”.

    The industry veteran believes current television content is influenced by Indian soap operas, “When Indian dramas paved their way to the Pakistani screens, we thought that they would learn something from our dramas, but on the contrary, our writers started learning from them. It was then that our drama industry began its demise.” 

  • Anwar Maqsood reveals why he does not watch Pakistani Dramas

    Anwar Maqsood reveals why he does not watch Pakistani Dramas

    Veteran artist Anwar Maqsood revealed in a recent interview that he has stopped watching local television dramas due to the content being displayed. The Fifty Fifty writer expressed his disappointment in Pakistani dramas saying, “There are so many plays that even I can’t watch, ratings have ruined media freedom. The more shamelessness, pointless sentences and disrespect, the higher the rating.” 

    “Urdu literature doesn’t really have drama. We have a few, but strictly speaking, we can’t call them drama either. There are a few by Agha Hashar, there’s Anarkali by Taj Sahab, Khwaja Sahab’s dramas, but these dramas are such that if you’re watching them, on stage or on television, you enjoy them, but they don’t have a place in the library. We also don’t have much fiction in our literature. We had four to five people who’d write stories, who are all gone,” said Anwar in the interview.

    He went on to add, “New people aren’t coming in because these gadgets have taken away the love of reading and writing, people want everything from one single device. They don’t want to buy books.”

    The writer added, “No one is writing comedy anymore. Not one person. This is the case all over the world. You’ll find many serious writers, but not many who deal with comedy.”

  • The Current’s followers share their top 5 Strings songs

    The Current’s followers share their top 5 Strings songs

    After entertaining us for more than three decades, Strings called off their partnership as a band on March 25, leaving fans heartbroken across the world.

    Bilal Maqsood and Faisal Kapadia’s thirty-year long journey, which hit a roadblock once before in 1992 as well, has blessed the Pakistani music scene with some timeless classics that generations have been grooving to for years.

    After their split, we (The Current) asked our followers to share their favourite songs of them. Here are the evergreen ones that topped the list:

    Duur

    Duur was the third album by Strings, first released on January 21, 2000, and then re-released on January 1, 2002. Singles from the album included Duur, Anjane, and Aankhain.

    Dhaani

    Dhaani was the fourth album by Strings, released in 2003. Singles from the album included Mera Bichara Yaar, Soniye, Chaaye Chaaye, Pal, Bolo Bolo, Dhaani, Najane Kyun, Hai Koi Hum Jaisa and Kahani Mohabbat Ki.

    Dhaani was Pakistan’s first record-breaking album with eight videos and five awards. All songs in the album were written by Anwar Maqsood and composed by Bilal Maqsood.

    Mera Bichraa Yaar

    Mera Bichra Yaar is a classic song from Dhaani.

    Hai Koi Hum Jaisa

    Hai Koi Hum Jaisa is a compilation album by Strings that was released in 2003. Soon after its release, the song became the favourite patriotic song of the year and was also the Cricket World Cup Anthem in the year 2003.

    Main Tou Dekhoonga

    Main Tou Dekhoonga, which released on April 4, 2011, is a sociopolitical song by the duo. The song was written and produced by Bilal himself while the music video was produced by Jamshed Mehmood (Jami).

    Special mention to Sarr Ki Yeh Pahar, which is also a classic by the band.

  • ‘Mera Bichra Yaar’: Strings split breaks hearts

    Let’s be honest. March 25 will be regarded as one of the saddest days in history, despite the fact that we won a cricket world cup on this day in 1992. This is because on this day Faisal Kapadia and Bilal Maqsood announced that they have parted ways and are ‘concluding’ Strings after producing music for 33 years.

    Announcing the news on social media, Strings said: “This post is a bit different from the usual. We have decided that today, 25/03/2021, is the day we graciously get to conclude Strings.”

    “The past 33 years have been incredible for both of us. It’s so rare to have the chance to be able to do things like this and we are infinitely grateful to all of our fans for making it possible,” read the announcement further. “We hope you found it worthwhile as well.”

    Bilal and Faisal also shared the announcement on their respective social media handles.

    Soon after the news broke, fans and followers of the band including Ahmed Ali Butt, Farhan Saeed, Gohar Rasheed and Haroon Shahid took to social media to express their “heartbreak” over the band’s split.

    https://twitter.com/Yeh_tu_hoga/status/1375112056249155585

    https://twitter.com/_narcissistniaa/status/1375117815041114118

    The duo has produced many iconic songs together including Durr Se Koyi Aaye, Mera Bichara Yaar, Dhaani, andChaaye Chaaye among others.

  • Anwar Masqood gets emotional while talking about Moin Akhtar

    Anwar Masqood gets emotional while talking about Moin Akhtar

    Anwar Maqsood, in a Q&A session hosted by his son Bilal Maqsood, got emotional while discussing the late Moin Akhtar. The renowned writer remarked that the two were inseparable, adding that people like him tend to live in the hearts forever.

    “Moin is like a vine wrapped around my heart,” said Maqsood when asked if he misses Moin. “32 years I wrote for Moin.”

    He went onto say, “Big people [like him] they might leave [our] sight but are here… Moin is here. He’s in every house, he’s in every heart.”

    “Often times when I’m writing something like Loose Talk, I write my name and instinctively start writing Moin’s,” he sighed.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CALM7JElI6t/

    In the Q&A session, Bilal asked his father ten questions sent in to him by his fans.

    Apart from his thoughts on Moin, Maqsood was also asked what advice he would give to young people to which the writer said, “Don’t chase money but goals.”

    He also didn’t leave a chance to criticise morning shows, which he has often spoken up against. When asked when Pakistan as a nation will ‘wake up’, Maqsood replied: “When all these morning shows will end, the nation will wake up from its sleep.”