Tag: Hollywood

  • Ali Rehman thinks being compared to THIS Hollywood heartthrob is a compliment

    Ali Rehman thinks being compared to THIS Hollywood heartthrob is a compliment

    In a recent interview with Independent Urdu, Pakistani actor Ali Rehman Khan expressed his surprise and admiration after being compared to a Hollywood heartthrob for the first time.

    Ali Rehman, known for his role in ‘Bebasi,’ was pleasantly surprised and flattered when he was compared to Ryan Gosling. He praised Gosling’s ability to handle serious roles and excel in comedy. “It’s a big compliment to be compared to him. He’s a very big actor,” Ali said.
    “Personally, I have never felt a resemblance… He is one of my favorite actors because I think that Ryan Gosling does serious roles with finesse but his comedic timing, too, is extraordinary. His film ‘Bad Guys’ is one of my favorites. His performance in it is just amazing,” he added.

    Talking about his life, Ali, originally from Islamabad but now living in Karachi since six years, described Karachi as a busy metropolitan city compared to the more laid-back Islamabad. “Karachi is a bustling metropolitan city where day and night merge into one. In Islamabad, you feel the difference between day and night very strongly,” he explained.

    Ali loves Karachi, highlighting its dynamic atmosphere and delicious food, especially the famous dishes of Burns Road. “I love the food on Burns Road. As actors, we can’t eat a lot because we have to watch our diets, but you can find great food anywhere in Karachi,” he said.

    Looking ahead, Ali said he wants to work with leading actresses of Pakistani cinema like Mahira Khan, Sanam Saeed, and Sajal Ali, praising their talent and the potential for diverse opportunities such collaborations could bring.

  • Director’s first choice for ‘Raj’ in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge was Tom Cruise

    Director’s first choice for ‘Raj’ in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge was Tom Cruise

    Renowned Bollywood filmmaker Aditya Chopra wanted to cast Hollywood star Tom Cruise for the main role of Raj Malhotra in his debut movie ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge.’
    Indian media reports revealed that Chopra had planned to on casting the Hollywood superstar for the role eventually immortalised by Shah Rukh Khan.

    The project aimed to be unique, with the heroine portrayed in a traditional Indian style and the hero in a Western style, which is why Aditya considered Tom Cruise for the part.

    However, according to Indian media, Cruise demanded a large sum of money, which the production house couldn’t afford at that time.
    As a result, Chopra’s father, renowned filmmaker Yash Chopra, suggested a change in the story to focus on a Hindu family settling abroad.
    Following this advice, the blockbuster movie ended up starring Shah Rukh Khan in the lead role.
    Released in 1995, “Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge” became one of the most successful films of Yash Raj Films and Bollywood, featuring Shah Rukh Khan alongside Kajol.

  • Hollywood star Will Smith is reading the Holy Quran

    Hollywood star Will Smith is reading the Holy Quran

    Hollywood superstar and Oscar winner has talked about finding comfort in spirituality and reading the Quran during tough times in the last two years. In a recent interview, the 55-year-old A-lidter shared that he’s fond of spiritual practices and faced challenges that made him reflect on his inner self.

    During this tough period, Smith explored various holy books, including the Quran.
    He said, “I read the Quran from cover to cover during the month of Ramazan this year.” Smith expressed admiration for the Quran’s simplicity and clarity, finding it easy to understand without confusion.
    He was particularly moved by the stories of Prophet Musa mentioned in the Quran. Smith highlighted the common thread running through different holy books, from the Torah to the Bible to the Quran, emphasizing their connection.
    Asked about how he raises his children, the American actor said, “My youngest son is now 23-years-old, and yet I am still working on raising them.

    “I thought that raising children would end at the age of 21, but it has just begun. All of my children are in their twenties, except for the eldest, who is 31.
    Their relationships have become more serious, and therefore they always need advice and help more than ever before.”
    Smith emphasized the importance of the concept that “every soul is responsible for itself” in the Quran, which he believes helps in raising his children and understanding them, as they will ultimately be responsible for themselves.
    Furthermore, Smith added that reading the Holy Book relieved him of his worries.

    Smith also expressed his love for Saudi Arabia. “I went on a tour of the NEOM project, saw the city of Jeddah, and made two trips to Riyadh and this was my third visit to Saudi Arabia. I enjoy my life here and feel like I belong here.”

  • Call for ceasefire at the Oscars

    Call for ceasefire at the Oscars

    Celebrities at the 96th Academy Awards were seen wearing red pins symbolising the call for a ceasefire in Gaza.

    These pins represent the stars’ support to Artists4Ceasefire — an open letter signed by celebrities and people from the entertainment industry, urging US President Biden to call for a ceasefire.

    The signatories near 400 which include Bradley Cooper and America Ferrera, who are both Oscar nominees this year, as well as Cate Blanchett, Drake, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez.

    “We’re all calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza. We’re calling for the safety of everyone involved. We really want lasting justice and peace for the Palestinian people,” Guardian quotes Ramy Youssef from an interview at the red carpet. “We really just want to say, ‘let’s just stop killing children.’ There’s so much there to process and it feels like the easiest way to have the conversations that people want to have is when they’re isn’t an active bombing campaign happening.”

  • Jennifer Garner, Ben Affleck’s daughter Violet shows support for Palestine; fans applaud her

    Jennifer Garner, Ben Affleck’s daughter Violet shows support for Palestine; fans applaud her

    Hollywood stars Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck’s daughter, Violet, subtly demonstrated her support for Palestine while she was out shopping with her mother.

    The two were captured at the Chanel Store in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, on Tuesday where Violet wore a black “freedom melon crewneck” from Wear The Peace ($38) with an image of a watermelon.

    Watermelons usually symbolise solidarity with Palestine, especially as Israel has launched operations against Gaza.

    According to Page Six, the clothing company’s website claims that 100 percent of the profits from the sweater purchase goes to aid for Gaza.

    After the picture went viral on the internet, people have been commending the mother-daughter duo under Jennifer Garner’s post.

  • Angelina Jolie slams global hypocrisy on human rights

    Hollywood A-lister and human rights activist Angelina Jolie, has talked about the hypocrisy in the world when it comes to human rights application.

    “The world is suffering from ambivalence on the issue of human rights,” she remarked in a recent interview.

    Jolie lamented the duplicity and discrimination of the world regarding human rights, saying that the scale of human rights is different for everyone, the fact is that the world works on business interests. Her comments come on the heels of her unequivocal demand for a ceasefire of Israeli attacks on Gaza.

    “Human rights can be for some people and some people can never be. Accountability for some people’s crime and not at all for some people, this is the ugly face of the world.”
    The actress said that she does not know of any country in the world which is free from these things.

    “Some people think that the colonial system has ended but the fact is that the control and exploitation of developing countries is still going on,” the actress observed.

    In her statement about Gaza, the Hollywood actress said that what happened in Israel cannot be a justification for bombing the civilian population of Gaza, pointing out that a few trucks cannot meet the aid needs of the besieged population, more than 20,000 of whom have been killed by Israel while the rest are at risk of starvation and disease.

    Angelina Jolie added that Gaza has a total population of two million, half of whom are children, who have been living under siege for two decades.

  • Social media users criticize Kim Kardashian over Christmas gift wrapping choice

    Social media users criticize Kim Kardashian over Christmas gift wrapping choice

    In a recent Instagram post, reality TV star Kim Kardashian, 43, ignited a controversy surrounding her Christmas gift-wrapping choices.

    Kardashian showcased her gifts wrapped in cotton jersey fabric T-shirts from her brand SKIMS, highlighting their potential for reuse.

    Kim Kardashian posted, “Wrapping gifts in our family is always such a fun family tradition to see what each family member did and their vibe for the year. Each represents us so well! I did all-white SKIMS cotton jersey t-shirt fabric. I’m excited to reuse it and make other things.”

    However, social media users were quick to point out the striking similarity between the packaging style and Muslim funeral shrouds.

    The controversy gained momentum when users pointed out the striking resemblance between Kardashian’s wrapped gifts and the traditional Muslim practice of wrapping dead bodies in white cloth.

    This practice is a significant aspect of Muslim burial rites, and users were quick to express their disapproval of Kardashian seemingly mimicking this solemn tradition for festive gift wrapping in light of the aggression Palestinians are undergoing.

    Palestinians mourn relatives killed in the Israeli bombardment of Gaza in front of the morgue in Deir al Balah on October 31. Fatima Shbair/AP

    A social media user said on X (former Twitter) “first the zombie football jerseys to mock little palestinian injured kids and now wrapping her christmas gifts in a a white cloth to mock dead palestinians. @KimKardashian has constantly proven that she’s inhumane. this is not a mere coincidence. Cancel her.”

    https://twitter.com/e_crimina1/status/1738437969277792563?s=20

    Another user said, “Kim Kardashian hosting a Coke sponsored Christmas party. You can’t convince me this sh*t isn’t deliberate. You’re a billionaire, maybe pay for your own parties. Ones that aren’t funding a ge-no-cide.”

    https://twitter.com/ZunairaInam/status/1739216258372182463?s=20

    This is not the first time Kardashian has faced criticism for her choices related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Previously, she had attracted negative attention for her children’s Halloween costumes resembling injured Gaza children.

    In addition to cultural insensitivity, critics also highlighted the perceived incongruity of Kardashian’s sustainability efforts, contrasting her eco-friendly gift wrapping with her frequent use of private jets and the resulting environmental impact.

    It’s worth noting that Kardashian publicly expressed her support for Israel in the aftermath of the October 7 attack, issuing a statement that has not been revisited since.

    This controversy echoes recent incidents involving fashion brands such as Zara and Marks and Spencer, where insensitivity to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict sparked public outrage.

    Zara faced backlash for a campaign featuring a model draped in fabric resembling shrouded bodies, while Marks and Spencer drew criticism for an advertisement depicting the burning of Palestinian flag-colored papers.

  • ‘Anti hero’ Taylor Swift sparks outrage for befriending allegedassaulter Jackson Mahomes

    ‘Anti hero’ Taylor Swift sparks outrage for befriending allegedassaulter Jackson Mahomes

    ‘It must be exhausting always rooting for the Anti Hero’? Not for Taylor Swift it seems so.

    Taylor Swift has garnered backlash from fans because of the singer’s silence on the ongoing genocide of Gaza, and several videos showed Israeli fans dancing to the screening of ‘Eras tour’ movie. Now, fans are outraged after the singer who wrote ‘Mad Woman’ was spotted laughing along side the younger brother of NFL player Patrick Mahomes, Jackson Mahomes, who is accused of sexual assault.

    A twitter thread by a Swiftie, detailing the charges filed against Jackson, who was seen in a video grabbing a woman and forcibly kissing her, is going viral. Jackson was arrested and charged with three counts of sexual battery and misdemeanour. But he was released on $100,000 bail.

    The thread further revealed reports that alleged Jackson had tried to bribe the victim to force her to withdraw the case, which had attracted further outrage.

    Taylor Swift attended a football game where her boyfriend Travis Kelce was playing, and several videos showed her high fiving Jackson, attracting intense backlash. Many criticised the singer as a hypocrite, for speaking up against sexual assault and rape but refusing to defend others who do the same thing.

    Swifties were also taken aback when Taylor’s best friend and wife to Patrick, Brittany Mahomes, defended her brother-in-law in an Instagram story by writing “He’s just a human trying to live his own life”, when a fan asked her about the sexual assault allegations.

    Many slammed Taylor Swift for failing to live up to her political beliefs and the feminist stance she had reaffirmed with songs like ‘Dear John’, ‘All Too Well’ or ‘Would’ve Could’ve Should’ve’ where Taylor has publicly discussed surviving abusive relationships and sexual harassment.

    Others were shocked that Taylor continued to remain silent about her friendship with Brittany Mahomes, when she was named as Time Magazine’s Silence Breakers in the 2017 issue, when the singer had gone to court after her abuser sued her.

    The Boycott, Divest Sanctions Movement (BDS) also called out Taylor Swift and Beyonce for allowing their films to play in an apartheid state where the genocide of Gaza is still going on. On their official Instagram account, the movement acknowledged that the two singers had refused multiple offers to play in Israel, but urged them to pull their films and music from playing in the country.

  • While bombs rain down on Gaza, viral videos show Israelis dancing to Beyonce’s ‘Renaissance tour’ film

    While bombs rain down on Gaza, viral videos show Israelis dancing to Beyonce’s ‘Renaissance tour’ film

    Social media has been outraged after several videos went viral on the internet where Israelis can be seen dancing to Beyonce’s ‘Renaissance Film’, playing in theatres this week. At the same time, Gaza is being bombarded with severe airstrikes.

    In the videos, Israelis can be seen dancing to ‘Break My Soul’, claiming it was the IDF’s new fight song against the Hamas. Twitter users expressed outrage at Beyonce’s silence on the on-going genocide, after several X (formerly Twitter) users have pleaded with her to pull the film from Israel.

    “THIS is why Beyonce not allowing her film to screen in Israel mattered . This is why- even if the location of screenings was out of her control (debatable) she should have at LEAST made a Pro-Palestine statement. Now a song about Black liberation is tied to a GENOCIDE.”

    Many expressed outrage on how Beyonce had the power to refuse this, but chose to let this happen.

  • You will never guess which actor is going to play Donald Trump in biopic

    You will never guess which actor is going to play Donald Trump in biopic

    Bad day for fans of hot actors, me thinks.

    An upcoming biopic titled ‘The Apprentice’ is set to explore the life of controversial real estate businessman and former president Donald Trump, tracing the rise of his business empire in the 70’s and 80’s. The film will also star ‘Succession’ alum Jeremy Strong and Oscar nominee Maria Bakalov as the late Ivana, Trump’s first wife.

    There were big questions about who will play Trump, and we couldn’t have been more surprised that the final name is…… Sebastian Stan.

    Y’all see the resemblance? Yeah, me neither.

    The film was announced in 2018, with Iranian filmmaker Ali Abbasi set to direct and co-write the project along with Gabriel Sherman. Abbasi’s previous credits including directing the last two episodes of HBO original series ‘The Last Of Us’. He has also received the Un Certain Regard from the Cannes Film Festival for ‘Border’ (2018).