Tag: controversy

  • ‘Never let others dictate, you only get one life, Enjoy it’: Ahsan Mohsin hits back at Shaniera Wasim

    ‘Never let others dictate, you only get one life, Enjoy it’: Ahsan Mohsin hits back at Shaniera Wasim

    Activist and Wasim Akram’s better half, Shaneira Akram recently schooled actress Minal Khan for not wearing a seat belt. Shaneira shared a screenshot from Minal Khan’s recent video in which she can be seen travelling without wearing a seat belt wrote with her beau Ahsan Mohsin Ikram, the Australian diva captioned her post as, “Come on guys you are famous, and have millions of followers, is it too hard to be a little more responsible?”

    She added, “Put your seat belt and eyes on the road, I’m sorry to say but that song won’t be as cute if she is singing it in hospital.

    The Pyar Ke Sadqay actor posted a picture of himself with a cryptic caption on Instagram stating, ‘Live the life you want to live and never let others dictate how you should live your life. You only get one life. Enjoy it, cherish it because the most expensive thing in this world is time and the time you lose will never come back to you”.

    On the work front, Minal is currently featuring in ARY’s Ishq Hai opposite Danish Taimoor.

  • Zoya Nasir shuts down trolls criticising Saba Qamar’s outfit

    Saba Qamar has ended up on the moral brigade’s radar after pictures from her birthday celebrations went viral on social media. Saba, who wore a blue off-shoulder dress to her party, has irked some social media users who then harshly criticised the actor for her choice of outfit.

    While Saba did not bother with the trolls, Zoya Nasir, who is very vocal about her opinions, shut them down, saying: “These are the same men (and women) who, if run into Saba Qamar, would shamelessly beg for a selfie with her and would take pride in showing to their peers that they had the honour of meeting her.”

    Zoya, who is often at the receiving end of criticism for her outfit and life choices, earlier also defended a bride after former actor Noor Bukhari criticised her outfit on her wedding day.

  • Kriti Sanon breaks silence on Sushant Singh Rajput’s death

    Kriti Sanon breaks silence on Sushant Singh Rajput’s death

    Kriti Sanon who shared the screen with Sushant Singh Rajput in 2017’s Raabta, has opened up about the actor’s death and revealed why she chose to remain silent on the matter.

    Sanon, who was also rumoured to have dated the late actor, chose to step away from the spotlight following Rajput’s alleged suicide, even as people reportedly used his death to claim their five minutes of fame in the media.

    Speaking to an Indian media outlet, Sanon shared why she decided to stay silent on the matter.

    “At one point, there was so much noise around that I didn’t want to be a part of it,” said Kriti. “It reached a point where people stopped being sensitive, and there was too much negativity around. I didn’t want to be a part of that negativity.”

    “I knew what I felt about the situation and I wanted to keep that to myself. I didn’t feel the need to talk to anyone about anything that I was feeling. Also, what you want to say, you can always say it on social media. You can write and express yourself instead of talking out loud.”

    Two days after Sushant’s death, Kriti had penned a heartbreaking note for her late co-star, writing: “Sush…I knew that your brilliant mind was your best friend and your worst enemy…but it has broken me completely to know that you had a moment in your life where dying felt easier or better than living.”

    “A part of my heart has gone with you, and a part will always keep you alive,” Kriti had written in her note.

    On June 14, 2020, Singh was found dead at his home in Mumbai. While the police initially reported Rajput’s death as suicide, the federal police agency later began to investigate foul play after fans of the actors expressed outrage on social media and his family filed an FIR against his alleged girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty. Chakraborty was also investigated and arrested in the case.

  • Noor Bukhari apologises to Zoya Nasir for criticising bride’s dress

    Noor Bukhari recently expressed her reservations over a local bride’s outfit.

    “Where are we heading? Is this our tradition?,” said Noor while talking about the bride’s dress.

    Noor’s comments irked Zoya Nasir who jumped in to defend the bride.

    “It’s her wedding day. It’s her dream day,” said the actor. “The bride is not enforcing her beliefs or lifestyle on anyone and no one has the right to publicly disgrace her very personal choice with their own two cents.”

    “Lest no forget what the person in objection has done in the past,” she continued. “She had pretty good role to play where we are headed. If Ms Noor was free to do what she did, same goes for everyone else.”

    “It’s good that she had a calling and is following her faith but that doesn’t give her the authority to name and shame,” she added.

    Responding to Zoya’s outrage, Noor apologised to her.

    “I apologise Ma’am Zoya Nasir. I did very wrong in past and I regret what I did,” said the former actor.

    “It concerns me because there use to be a time dulhan looked so pretty in haya,” said Noor. “But still I realised my mistake and took down the post.”

    “Where is the freedom of speech? Why [does] it [have] to become news whenever I post anything on my post or page?” questioned Noor.

    “Still I apologise for my mistake. Ab me chup hi rahun gi,” she added.

    Bukhari turned to religion to seek contentment after her fourth divorce. She has often used social media to share her religious experiences and spread spiritual awareness. In January 2020, she reportedly remarried ex-husband and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Awn Chaudhry. The couple has two daughters together.

  • PCB defends Naseebo Lal, ‘Groove Mera’

    PCB defends Naseebo Lal, ‘Groove Mera’

    The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday defended its decision to hire Naseebo Lal, Aima Baig and Young Stunners to perform the anthem of the sixth edition of Pakistan Super League (PSL).

    According to a report, a PCB spokesperson said that the three artists were chosen to do the song as the board wanted to feature voices that were new and had not sung any PSL anthem before.

    “Naseebo Lal is an extremely talented, underutilised vocalist whose voice has the strength to carry this cricket anthem,” the official is reported to have said. He further added that Aima gave young energy to the anthem. 

    The spokesperson said that Young Stunners were a “natural choice” to be a part of the anthem as they are leaders in the country’s hip-hop scene.

    “Cricket and music have always formed a natural union in Pakistan. The thought process was to pave the way for a new sound of cricket in Pakistan that appeals to the multi-dimensional audience that comes with Pakistan’s biggest cricketing event,” added the spokesperson.

    Meanwhile, PSL also shared a behind the scenes (BTS) video of the song’s shoot in which the singers spoke about the song and their role in it.

    “It feels so good because this is the first time I’ve done a project which is making me happy,” said Naseebo in the video.

    “My groove is my beloved Pakistan and the camera is also my groove,” added the singer.

    On the other hand, the song’s producer Zulfiqar Jabbar (Xulfi) while talking about cricket and music, said: “There is one thing common in cricket and music, which is rhythm. You might have heard commentators talking about a bowler’s rhythm and rhythm is excitingly called as ‘groove’.”

    Elaborating further, Xulfi said: “We usually say that if Shaheen Afridi has taken 4 wickets in a match, then on that day, he’s in groove.”

    “Groove Mera is everyone’s groove in PSL. This can be anyone’s groove – a commentator’s groove or a cricketer, batsman, baller or we all musicians and artists’ groove, who are singing or it may be yours [public] as well,” he continued.

    Xulfi further said that he “could feel Naseebo’s voice echoing in the stadium.”

    “We knew how to get the balance among Naseebo, Aima and the Young Stunners. We exactly knew what their vibe is separately and we then made a connecting melody, which is basically the hook of the song,” he added.

    “It is the hybrid of all the personalities of the singers, who are in this song,” he concluded.

    Meanwhile, Aima speaking about the song said: “The anthem’s vibe is pretty street and I really like it because our public really like street songs and music and it is very festive EDM. Overall I love the vibe.”

    Groove Mera has created a stir with social media divided on the song. While many including Shoaib Akhtar slammed the song, other celebrities including Mehwish Hayat, Adnan Siddiqui, Faysal Quraishi, Haroon Shahid and Farhan Saeed praised the anthem and its composition.

    Special Assistant to the Chief Minister on Information Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan also criticised the song. Talking to media, Dr Awan said that she did not like it at all, adding that it “could have been improved further”.

    Referring to Naseebo as Pakistan’s ‘laal,’ or beloved, Dr Awan said: “Here we were representing the league in front of international players. This is not district-level league. The Lal should have been presented as a jewel and voice of the nation.”

    “If there is any chance of improvement, then we should go for it,” she concluded.

  • Gauhar Khan responds to Indian SC’s refusal to grant ‘Tandav’ makers protection from arrest

    Gauhar Khan responds to Indian SC’s refusal to grant ‘Tandav’ makers protection from arrest

    Gauhar Khan has responded to the Indian Supreme Court’s refusal to grant the makers and actors of the controversial Amazon Prime Video series Tandav protection from arrest. According to reports, the top court has denied relief to director Ali Abbas Zafar and others seeking quashing of FIRs against them for allegedly hurting religious sentiments of Hindus. The top court has also issued notices to Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and other states on their pleas.

    As per details, the bench hearing the case said that the “right to freedom of speech is not absolute”.

    “Your right to freedom of speech is not absolute. You cannot play the role of character that hurts the sentiments of a community,” said the bench.

    When Mohammad Zeeshan Ayyub’s lawyer argued that he was just an actor under contract and that the views expressed by his character could not be attributed to him, Justice MR Shah said, “You accepted the contract after reading the script. You cannot hurt religious sentiments.”

    Responding to the bench’s comment, a Twitter user said: “Excellent. Next people playing murderers on screen might be tried for the same. After all, they read the script.”

    Gauahar retweeted the tweet along with three ‘face with monocle’ emojis.

    Tandav has been accused of disrespecting Hindu deities, with several political leaders including Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya demanding legal action against the team.

    Read more – India’s Karni Sena announces INR 1 crore award to whoever cuts tongue of ‘Tandav’ makers

    Following the backlash and outrage, Tandav creator Ali Abbas Zafar issued an “unconditional apology” on behalf of the team. Calling any resemblance to real-life persons and incidents coincidental, he wrote in a statement, “The cast and crew did not have any intention to offend the sentiments of any individual, caste, community, race, religion or religious beliefs or insult or outrage any institution, political party or person, living or dead. The cast and crew of Tandav take cognizance of the concerns expressed by the people and unconditionally apologize if it has unintentionally hurt anybody’s sentiments.”

    Later, Ali issued another statement, in which he said that the makers decided to ‘implement changes’ to the web series after concerns were raised. At least two scenes were removed from the show.

    Tandav is a nine-episode series that takes viewers inside the corridors of power and politics. It was released on Amazon Prime Video on January 15.

  • ‘Tandav’ makers issue ‘unconditional apology’ after series sparks outrage

    ‘Tandav’ makers issue ‘unconditional apology’ after series sparks outrage

    The cast and crew of Amazon Prime show Tandav have offered an “unconditional apology” after the political drama was accused of hurting Hindu sentiments. The official apology was tweeted by the creator of the show Ali Abbas Zafar.

    “Our sincere apologies,” read the statement. “We have been closely monitoring viewer reactions to the web series Tandav and today during a discussion, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has informed us regarding a large number of grievances and petitions received on various facets of the web series with serious concerns and apprehensions regarding its content hurting the sentiments of the people.”

    “Tandav is a work of fiction and any resemblance to acts and persons and events is purely coincidental. The cast and crew did not have any intention to offend the sentiments of any individual, caste, community, race, religion, or religious beliefs or insult or outrage any institution, political party, or person, living or dead.”

    “The cast and crew of Tandav take cognizance of the concerns expressed by the people and unconditionally apologise if it has unintentionally hurt anybody’s sentiments,” it added.

    In a follow-up tweet, Zafar said: “We just want to share a quick update with everybody. We are in further engagement with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to resolve concerns that have been raised.”

    He added that they “should have a solution shortly”.

    Directed by Zafar, the political drama stars Saif Ali Khan, Sunil Grover, Dimple Kapadia, Sarah-Jane Dias, Gauahar Khan, Kritika Kamra, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, and Dino Morea in lead roles.

    Khan and the makers of Tandav have been at the receiving end of backlash and outrage after a local official from India’s ruling Hindu nationalist party registered a police complaint against Amazon Prime’s latest web series alleging it insults Hindu gods and goddesses.

    Following the outrage and backlash, Saif was given police security. A set of policemen were seen guarding his building to ensure all the safety required to the star and his family.

    Meanwhile, Kangana Ranaut has been having a field day on Twitter, lashing out at the actors and web series and demanding strict action against them.

    In a now-deleted tweet, Ranaut even said: “Because even Lord Krishna forgave 99 mistakes of Sheshupala…. pehle Shanti phir Kranti (First calm, then revolution)…. time to take their heads off.”

  • Power and privilege trumps all?

    Power and privilege trumps all?

    Last week, we witnessed how power and privilege can make people go blind as they think they can break the law and get away with it.

    Videos of armed guards and three women breaking and entering the house of actor Uzma Khan went viral on social media.

    The three women belong to the family of all-powerful property tycoon Malik Riaz. Two are said to be his daughters while the third is related to his wife. Pakistani media, with a couple of honourable exceptions, did not even air the news.

    We can well imagine why.

    The clout Malik holds over those running the affairs of the state is quite evident so it is inevitable that the media, which is already going through a financial crunch, will not alienate him.

    There are many angles to the story. Many in our society latched on to the ‘cheating husband’ and ‘gold digger’ narrative about Usman Malik and Uzma Khan. What they failed to acknowledge was the criminal and vile aspect of this whole incident.

    Those videos were made to humiliate Uzma Khan and this is why they were released and circulated by the very women who broke the law. How can someone enter another’s house with armed guards, breaking and vandalising everything in sight, asking one of the guards to sexually assault Uzma, threatening the girls that ‘we’ will get you picked up by the ISI, throwing alcohol or some other liquid on them (we don’t know yet what exactly was thrown on them) and threatening to burn them, taking away their clothes/bags/shoes and other valuables, beating them up, breaching their privacy and much more?

    Usman Malik’s wife, Aamna Usman, had the audacity to make another video where she is admitting to the crime but says she did it because she had no other choice. Well, she did have a choice: she had the choice of confronting her husband and if he did not want to end the relationship, leaving him should have been her obvious choice. And if she did not want to leave him, even then the family should have resolved the issue among themselves instead of bringing Uzma into disrepute. What Aamna Usman chose to do was not a choice. It was a decision taken because she knew she wields more power, has more money and more privilege than an actor/model in this society.

    We hope that justice will be served. These three women and their armed guards should not be allowed to get away scot-free. Some say an out-of-court settlement is possible. We cannot rule it out but we would still like to say kudos to Uzma Khan and her sister Huma Khan for braving this out and standing up to privileged brats. Our society hardly ever does it. More power to Uzma and Huma!