Tag: home-ent

  • Sarmad Khoosat begins shoot on ‘Kamli’ with Saba Qamar

    Sarmad Khoosat begins shoot on ‘Kamli’ with Saba Qamar

    High after the success of his film Zindagi Tamasha, which won a standing ovation at the Busan International Film Festival, ace filmmaker Sarmad Khoosat is all set to start shooting his next film Kamli at various locations in Pakistan. The film starres Saba Qamar in the lead.

    Speaking to Variety, Sarmad revealed: “A tragic love story at heart, the film is going to be a fresh mix of a rustic setting captured in a contemporary, universal sensibility.”

    “Unlike other films of the genre, Kamli is not only going to depict the vibrancy and humour of rural Punjab but also its poetic lyricism and love-lore in an international film aesthetic,” he added.

    The film which is expected to release in Summer 2020 will feature Sania Saeed and Hamza Khwaja along with Saba.

    Meanwhile, Khoosat’s Zindagi Tamasha had its world premiere at the Busan International Film Festival and was received positively. It will release in Pakistan in January 2020.

    Speaking about Zindagi Tamasha, Khoosat said, ”What was most important to me was exploring the idea of tolerance. Tolerance not just to others (to allow people to exist the way they are) but also tolerance to self – and this is where the concept of shame, need for approval, etc. come in to play,” said Khoosat. “I have been in situations where I have felt I should have been more tolerant of others and more accepting of my own self.”

    Sharing his thoughts on the evolving Pakistani film industry, Khoosat said, “The mainstream is governed by commerce, but very interesting parallel cinema has also made its space – films like Moor (which was also screened at Busan), Cake, Laal Kabootar, and even my first film Manto. The challenge remains financial support for genres beyond comedy or romance.”

    On the ban on Bollywood in Pakistan, Sarmad remarked, “The absence of Indian films has highlighted just how promising the Pakistani industry still is.”

  • Bewafa: Women come forward, relating to the storyline

    Bewafa: Women come forward, relating to the storyline

    Though only four episodes of ARY’s latest drama Bewafa have aired, it has created a huge stir in social media groups. Women are discussing how relevant and real the drama is.

    And it is.

    The drama is a great, and refreshing, watch after the ajeeb saas bahu dramas with unreal twists (the brother’s wife marrying another brother concept is just TOO MUCH). This one seems to stay true to its basic concept – why and how people cheat.

    Finding messages on her husband’s phone that shouldn’t be there

    Ahaan, played by the stellar Ali Rehman Khan, is a successful IT guy and his wife Kinza played by Naveen Waqar starts off not being the shakki sort but soon starts to seriously doubt her husband’s fidelity. And for good reason since Ahaan is becoming way too friendly with his co-worker Shireen played by Ushna Shah. Shireen proclaims her love for Ahaan in a voice note that Kinza hears and is OBVIOUSLY not happy about it. Ahaan tells Shireen off initially but then kind of likes talking to her too.

    Justification to Kinza and presents from Shireen

    Women are loving the drama because it shows, simply and starkly, how cheating can affect a family and how it, sometimes, begins. In groups, women are discussing how the same thing has happened with them or someone they know; men AND women first engaging in an emotional affair, which develops into something else. Women tend to blame the cunning and ambitious Shireen, who is developing a full game to get to Ahaan; but she isn’t the only one to blame. Ahaan is also changing her name on his phone to a guy’s name to talk to her so Kinza won’t get jealous. He is lying to Kinza to go out with Shireen on lunch dates. Kinza, with her incredibly jealous and controlling behaviour is also driving Ahaan away.

    The drama also shows how this issue can affect the mental health and well being of a child since Kinza and Ahaan have a son who is old enough to understand that something is not right. He asks his father if he is bringing another wife, showing how tough suspicion and an affair can be on a full family unit.

    Ushna and Ali have acted brilliantly in the drama, fully engaging with the realistic role they are playing. Naveen’s portrayal of the suspicious wife could be a lot better since she seems to exude only one emotion – distrust. Her acting is a little wooden at times, making the viewer wonder if she is even invested in the relationship.

    The drama is definitely one to watch – and will be the one to discuss long after its finale.

    Are you watching the drama? How do you like it?

  • Here’s everything that happened at the Hum Awards

    Here’s everything that happened at the Hum Awards

    The annual Hum Awards took place in Houston and it was a glitzy affair, though we did feel a bit that the star quotient was less this year. There was no Fawad Khan, Ahad Raza Mir, Hamza Ali Abbasi, Osman Khalid Butt or Sajal Aly. In fact, the stars of Hum TV’s latest film Superstar – Mahira Khan and Bilal Ashraf – also didn’t make an appearance.

    Nonetheless, the night was lit and there were some fun performances and skits to keep viewers and those in attendance hooked.

    Starting with red carpet pictures of couples

    • Noman Ejaz & wife
    • Farhan Saeed & Urwa Hocane
    • Yasir Hussain & Iqra Aziz

    The divas

    • Kubra Khan
    • Mawra Hocane
    • Sanam Jung

    The show began with everyone reciting the National Anthem.

    After which Haroon performed his evergreen Dil Se Maine Dekha Pakistan.

    Mikaal Zulfiqar & Ali Rehman Khan hosted the show and entertained the audiences with their antics on stage, while Ahmed Ali Butt brought his quirkiness.

    Azaan Sami Khan and Hania Aamir gave a scintillating performance – perhaps a nod to their upcoming film.

    Asim Azhar paid a tribute to Alamgir.

    Abida Parveen mesmerised the crowds with her performance.

    Mehwish Hayat and Ahsan Khan wrapped up the event with a grand finale.

    Here’s a list of everyone who took home an award.

    Best Director

    Kashif Nisar for Dar si jati hai Sila

    Most Impactful Character

    Noman Ijaz for Dar si jati hai Sila – Winner

    Best Drama Writer

    Bee Gul for Dar si jati hai Sila & Saima Akram Chaudhry for Suno Chanda

    Best On-screen Couple

    Iqra Aziz and Farhan Saeed for Suno Chanda (Popular and Jury Winner)

    Best Drama Serial

    Suno Chanda – Popular Winner

    Best Actor, Male

    Jury – Noman Ijaz for Dar si jati hai Sila

    Popular – Farhan Saeed for Suno Chanda

    Best Actor, Female

    Jury – Yumna Zaidi for Dar si jati hai Sila

    Popular – Iqra Aziz for Suno Chanda

    Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Male

    Tipu Shah for Suno Chanda

    Yasir Hussain for Baandi

    Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Female

    Nadia Afgan – Suno Chanda

    Best Actor in a Negative Role

    Noman Ijaz for Dar si jati hai Sila

    Lifetime Achievement Award – Alamgir

  • Asim Azhar wants politicians to stop their ‘phaddas’

    Asim Azhar wants politicians to stop their ‘phaddas’

    Singer Asim Azhar thinks that
    Pakistan will progress if our politicians stop wasting time on Twitter fights
    and start working to fix issues.

    The artist took to Twitter and pointed out how political figures are busy in defaming each other and involving in petty fights on Twitter.

    Previously, singer-cum-actor praised Prime Minister Imran Khan’s speech at the United Nations General Assembly on the micro-blogging website.

  • Maleficent is ‘Pari Maa’ in Hindi version of the film

    Maleficent is ‘Pari Maa’ in Hindi version of the film

    Disney’s Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil is getting a Hindi makeover and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is doing the voiceover of Maleficent’s character played by Angelina Jolie.

    The film is the sequel of 2014’s superhit Maleficent, in which Jolie played an evil fairy who puts a curse on Princess Aurora and is based on the fairytale The Sleeping Beauty.

    In the Hindi trailer of the film, Aishwarya channels the wickedness of the evil fairy as she steps into the shoes of Maleficient. However, what is cringe-worthy about the Hindi version is the fact that Maleficent is being referred to as Pari Maa, which sounds very Star Plus.

    Disney India Head Bikram Duggal said that Aishwarya was chosen because her “persona, which is filled with elegance and poise, would be a perfect blend.”

    Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil is slated to release on October 18 worldwide. Apart from Angelina Jolie, it also stars Elle Fanning, Sam Riley, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, and Lesley Manville in the key roles.

    Previously, Shah Rukh Khan and his son Aryan Khan did the Hindi voiceover for the live-action remake of The Lion King.

    Watch the trailer here:

  • Duchess Kate wears Pakistani earrings worth Rs835, dress worth Rs87,000

    Duchess Kate wears Pakistani earrings worth Rs835, dress worth Rs87,000

    The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Kate Middleton, visited Prince Karim Aga Khan in London at the Aga Khan center. Her visit caused a stir since it is a prelude to her trip to Pakistan from October 14th to the 18th.

    William and Kate with Prince Karim Aga Khan

    Kate’s earrings were specifically chosen to match her dress and are from a Pakistani brand called Zeen, which is an affordable line of clothes and accessories, run by two sisters. The green and ceramic earrings are for 835 rupees and are currently sold out on their website (and the traffic generated by people visiting their website has caused it to slow down).

    Kate’s earrings are by Pakistani brand Zeen.

    Kate’s dress also created much talk in the foreign press as it cost 87,000 Rupees and was made by ARoss Girl x Soler by designer Amanda Ross and was touted as being too expensive.

    Kate’s dress by Amanda Ross

    Kate, who is usually seen re-wearing her clothes (her recent look was an Alexander McQueen coat she had worn four times), also shops for local affordable brands, which makes her a style icon for many.

    Kate has worn this Alexander McQueen coat four times since 2014

    People are anxiously waiting for Kate and William to visit Pakistan but this isn’t the first time Pakistan went royal-crazy. Queen Elizabeth visited Pakistan in 1961 and 1997, and Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, came in 2006.

  • The Current Exclusive: Pictures of D.G. ISPR and Zoro

    The Current Exclusive: Pictures of D.G. ISPR and Zoro

    The star of HUM TV and ISPR’s joint project, Ehd-e-Wafa is undoubtedly Director General of the Inter Services Public Relations, Major General Asif Ghafoor’s dog, Zoro.

    Not only did Zoro steal the show, but after The Current broke the news that he wasn’t just anyone’s dog, his pictures have gone viral.

    Here are a few exclusive pictures of Zoro that are too cute to handle.

    A pedigreed Thai Golden retriever, Zoro has more than 10.3K followers on Instagram

    After Zoro’s television debut, his followers on Instagram doubled and he now has 10.3K followers.

    A Champion, Zoro has taken part in dog competitions

    According to Zoro’s Instagram (@zoro_retriever) he has taken part in dog competitions in Islamabad and has taken home the prize.

    Exclusive picture of DG ISPR with Zoro

    D.G. ISPR Asif Ghafoor is also lucky enough to be the only person Zoro is following on Instagram, along with the official account of Ehd-e-Wafa.

    Zoro’s portrait photograph

    Zoro doesn’t have a Facebook page and everyone seems to be waiting for his YouTube channel to launch. But one things for sure: we are going to get to see a lot more of this beautiful dog on social media – and the silver screen.

    If you missed The Current’s exclusive video revealing the identity of Zoro, watch it here:

  • Censor board bans Shamoon Abbasi’s ‘Durj’ across the country

    Censor board bans Shamoon Abbasi’s ‘Durj’ across the country

    Actor-cum-producer Shamoon Abbasi’s upcoming film ‘Durj’, has
    been banned by censor boards across the country. The film is based on true
    events about the crime of cannibalism from Pakistan and various parts of the
    world.

    Reports are unclear about the reason why this film was banned.
    Some reports say that it was banned for showing cannibalism while other reports
    say that the Censor Boards have not issued any statement regarding the reason
    for the ban. 

    The actor had recently taken to social media to announce the release date of his film, saying that the film will hit cinemas worldwide on October 11 and in Pakistan it would be released on October 18.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B2UcAQJhaGv/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=dlfix

    The actor had also shared details on social media and said that many actors had turned down his offer to work in the films due to high temperatures in shoot locations.

    The actor has not commented on the ban
    yet.

  • Mehwish Hayat shares full version of ‘leaked’ video

    Mehwish Hayat shares full version of ‘leaked’ video

    Following the backlash that followed after a 15-second clip of Mehwish Hayat, refusing to comment on the Kashmir issue went viral, the actor has now shared a video in which is openly discussing the matter.

    The video which appears to be from the same charity event has Mehwish saying that the Kashmiris should be given their rights and that the curfew should be lifted immediately.

    Meanwhile, an eyewitness also stepped forward to defend Mehwish.

  • ‘Gul o Gulzar’ is intensely real

    ‘Gul o Gulzar’ is intensely real

    ARY’s on-going drama, Gul o Gulzaar, which has a few episodes left, drags a bit but hits a realistic note.

    Two besties, Gul, played by Saboor Aly and Gulzar played by Kinza Hashmi are inseparable. Gulzar’s father is a teacher while Gul’s father is a fruit seller. Gulzar is the prettier, richer, sweeter and the beychari one of the two.

    One day a creepy guy Adil, played my Omer Shahzad, sees Gulzar outside her school and gives her his number (and also a declaration of love). Gulzar is so shocked kay haw hai, dekho kaise number dia and Gul agrees – except Gul has ulterior motives and a plan to get with this loaded, “gari wala” guy herself. So she calls Adil and tells him how Gulzar is a terrible person, doesn’t like him, and is also getting engaged.

    Of course, Adil and Gul then get together and Gul decides to run away with him – the twist is that she doesn’t tell Gulzar about her plans. Not only that, she also steals Gulzar’s brother’s honay wali biwi’s wedding jewellery from Gulzar’s closet, the night before Gulzar’s brother’s wedding). So all hell breaks loose, with Gul’s father accusing Gulzar of making her daughter run away with some guy.

    So Gulzar’s reputation is also being ruined because she is best friends with a runaway woman, so her father and brother decide to get her married to a guy she hasn’t seen. The guy is the only child, good, sharif (obviously). She agrees and sees the guy’s picture the day of her mehndi and the guy, Jamal played by Paras Masroor, isn’t the best looking. It’s also really really uncomfortable HOW they portray this darker-skinned, not so bad looking guy as soo ugly that Gulzar cannot fathom marrying him.

    Gul has called Gulzar and told her how happy she is living her huge house with a hot husband who will take her to London. So Gulzar calls up Gul after she sees Jamal’s picture and asks her to help her run away. Gul jumps at the chance and says she’ll pick Gulzar up at dawn and when Gulzar is running away from her house, she hears the Azaan. So she goes back in and does the right thing and marries Jamal.

    Poor Gulzar and now-loaded Gul

    Gulzar soon realizes that money is not everything and sharif log and amazing saas are so much more important. Meanwhile, we find out that Gul’s life is not as rosy as she made it sound. Her husband has given her a lot of money and a huge house but hidden her from his family. In this time, Gul finds out that Adil is getting married to someone else and she’s the secret wife. So she goes over to his parent’s house and exposes the truth – and finds out that Adil was married to another girl before her and his parents had to pay off the first wife. Before they could do the same with Gul, Gul finds out she’s pregnant and there’s no way she will let Adil go (Adil is also a physically abusive husband, but that’s not as important as money right?)

    Adil gets married to another girl with Gul still living as the secret wife and Gulzar is still super conflicted about living a happy life on a motorbike or wanting the rich life.

    The drama is pretty dramatic at points and slightly cringe-worthy too but it does reflect key elements in our society – and any society; people will live in crappy marriages for money, best friends can betray each other and family values change from family to family. The episodes drag a lot and one is tempted (and does) forward a lot but the highlight of the whole drama is Gul. Saboor Aly’s acting in the drama is excellent (a little over at times) but overall, excellently done.

    There’s bound to be a twist – most likely between Adil and Gulzar since they were the original couple – and it’ll be interesting to see how the dynamics change when it comes to love or money.