Bilal Ashraf has been voted as Pakistan’s sexiest man.
British Pakistani showbiz reporter Asjad Nazir, who founded the list and compiles it annually, shared the news on his Twitter account. The list is based on votes from fans around the world.
At number seven, Bilal was the only Pakistani to feature on the top 10 list based on votes from fans around the world. Hrithik Roshan topped the list followed by Shahid Kapoor (2), Tiger Shroff (4), Zayn Malik (5), Harshad Chopda (6), Bilal (7), Mohsin Khan (8), Virat Kohli (9), and South Indian superstar Prabhas (10).
Speaking to the local media, the 39-year-old shared that he was surprised by the news and felt “beyond humbled.”
“I am beyond humbled to be featured as part of a list among such legendary gentlemen and that, year on year, has generated so much attention globally. This has come to me as an amazing surprise and such moments make the struggle and commitment we all put into our work all worth the while. This encourages me to try my best to further myself in my field. I’m extremely grateful for this recognition.”
Bilal from his latest film Superstar
Bilal, who is 39 years old (yes 39) was born in Karachi. He made his film debut in a cameo appearance in the 2014’s thriller O21. Two years later in 2016, Ashraf made his lead acting debut in Janaan, a romantic comedy, alongside Armeena Khan and Ali Rehman Khan. The next year he appeared in the war film Yalghaar and the romantic drama Rangreza. Bilal latest and most recent project was Superstar, with Mahira Khan, which propelled him into the spotlight and established him as an actor who is here to stay.
Meanwhile, Bilal, in an exclusive video with The Current, revealed how he achieved those abs, which contributed towards his sexiness.
“I think the first thing is to eat healthy. You are what you eat,” said the 39-year old. “If you eat clean, eat in moderation, apart from the occasional cheat meal [you’re good to go].”
Watch him share all the details in this video:
Other Pakistanis to feature on the list included Ali Zafar at number 12, Fawad Khan at 14, Ali Rehman Khan at number 29, Sheheryar Munawar at number 43 and Azfar Rehman at number 49.
A showbiz decade marked by the emergence of the #MeToo movement, drama at Oscar time and a clutch of star-studded royal weddings is drawing to a close.
Here are the highlights from the decade.
2010
Kathryn Bigelow becomes the first woman to win best director at the Oscars for The Hurt Locker, a low-budget Iraq war drama that also beats blockbuster Avatar, directed by ex-husband James Cameron, to the best picture award.
Kathryn Bigelow
Model Naomi Campbell testifies at former Liberian leader Charles Taylor’s war crimes trial, saying she was given “dirty looking pebbles” but did not know if they were blood diamonds.
Fashion designer Alexander McQueen and actors Dennis Hopper and Tony Curtis die.
2011
Britain’s Prince William marries Kate Middleton.
Michael Jackson’s personal doctor, Conrad Murray, is convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the singer’s 2009 death from a fatal dose of the powerful anaesthetic propofol.
Actress Elizabeth Taylor and singer Amy Winehouse die.
2012
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie get engaged.
Beyonce and rapper Jay-Z welcome their first child, daughter Blue Ivy.
Actress Katie Holmes files for divorce from Tom Cruise after nearly six years of marriage.
Singers Whitney Houston and Robin Gibb die.
2013
William and Kate welcome their first child, son George, as do reality TV star Kim Kardashian and rapper Kanye West, who name their daughter North.
Paul Walker dies.
2014
Jolie and Pitt tie the knot in France, George Clooney marries human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin in Venice and Kardashian and West wed in Florence.
George Clooney, Amal Clooney
Robin Williams passes away.
2015
Comedian Bill Cosby is criminally charged with indecent assault against one woman after dozens accuse him of sexual misconduct dating back decades. He denies the allegations.
Former Olympic athlete Bruce Jenner, stepfather of Kim Kardashian, becomes the most high-profile American to publicly come out as a transgender woman, taking the new name Caitlyn Jenner.
Johnny Depp marries Amber Heard.
Actors Omar Sharif and Leonard Nimoy and director Wes Craven die.
2016
Director Spike Lee and actress Jada Pinkett Smith boycott the Oscars because no black actors are nominated for a second straight year. The ensuing uproar leads the Academy of Motion Pictures to expand membership to more women and people of colour.
Jolie and Pitt split; Heard files for divorce from Depp.
Kardashian is robbed of millions of dollars of jewelry at gunpoint in Paris.
Music stars David Bowie, Prince and George Michael, and actors Alan Rickman, Carrie Fisher and Gene Wilder die.
2017
A blunder overshadows the Oscars as La La Land is wrongly named best picture. African-American drama Moonlight is the actual winner. PricewaterhouseCoopers, which oversees the ballots, says presenter Warren Beatty had been given the wrong envelope.
The New York Times and the New Yorker publish accounts by numerous women accusing film producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual misconduct, fuelling the #MeToo movement across entertainment, politics and business. Weinstein denies any non-consensual sex.
Harvey Weinstein
A suicide bomber kills 22 people at the end of an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena. Grande later holds a benefit concert for the victims.
After winning six Grammys five years earlier for smash hit album 21, Adele triumphs again, taking five awards for follow-up 25.
2018
Cosby becomes the first celebrity to be convicted of sexual abuse since the #MeToo movement began.
Britain’s Prince Harry marries US actress Meghan Markle.
Singer Aretha Franklin, actor Burt Reynolds, comicbook supremo Stan Lee, designer Hubert de Givenchy and chef Anthony Bourdain die.
2019
Documentary Leaving Neverland, in which two men say they were abused as children by Michael Jackson, renews scrutiny of the singer’s legacy. Jackson’s estate calls it a “rehash of dated and discredited allegations”.
Prosecutors drop a sex assault case against Oscar winner Kevin Spacey after the alleged victim refuses to testify.
Harry and Meghan welcome their first child, Archie.
Hit medieval drama Game of Thrones wraps up after eight seasons. The ending divides fans.
Fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, actors Peter Fonda, Abid Ali and Luke Perry and Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison die.
Mehwish Hayat who has lately been actively voicing her political thoughts, in a recent tweet, defended former military dictator and President General (r) Pervez Musharraf.
“This man was our President and guided us through some very difficult times. Like him or loathe him, he deserves the opportunity to be heard,” she wrote in her tweet, asserting that he deserves dignity.
Let’s put politics aside for one moment. This man was our President & guided us through some every difficult times. Like him or loathe him, he deserves the opportunity to be heard. At least we can grant him that dignity.After all does the law not say”Innocent till proven guilty”? pic.twitter.com/ys2Sbyph64
When someone demanded that the former president Asif Ali Zardari also be given the same opportunity, Mehwish said, “Nobody is above the law, all that I am saying is give him a chance to be heard at least. Guilt or otherwise is the decision of the courts.”
Nobody is above the law, all that I am saying is give him a chance to be heard at least. Guilt or otherwise is the decision of the courts.
Designer Maheen Khan agreed with Mehwish’s point of view.
I firmly agree. We r a nation of haters & we find itdifficult2honor our heroes. Caseinpoint Nusrat F.A.K.Theonly timesinPakistans History I havebeena proudnational hasbeenduring Ayub khan P.Mussharaf &now Imran khan .All 3 r criticisedbrutally. Asforthe rest wedeservedwhatwe got
Meanwhile, Gen Musharraf, who is currently in the hospital for the treatment of an unknown ailment, released a video from his hospital saying that he has not been heard and is being “victimised.”
The former military dictator is facing a high treason case in Pakistan for implementing emergency rule and suspending the constitution in 2007. The verdict for the case will reportedly be announced by a special court in Islamabad on December 17 after hearing the arguments of the government’s new prosecution team.
In the video message, Musharraf had said, “As far as this [treason] case is concerned, this is absolutely baseless. I have served my country for 10 years. I have fought for my country. This [treason] is the case in which I have not been heard and I have been victimised.”
Previously, Khadija Shah of Élan had also tweeted out in favour of Gen Musharraf.
Humayun is currently trending as the number one star in Pakistan after his latest drama Meray Paas Tum Ho set new records in Pakistani television history.
British band Coldplay has released a new album titled Everyday Life and it features the late qawwal Amjad Sabri.
In an interview with Entercom, the band’s lead singer Chris Martin while talking about the second song in the album Church — released as a single — shared the inspiration behind it sharing that the band have incorporated samples from Sabri’s hit track Jaga Ji Laganay into it.
“There’s two cool other singers on that one. There’s this guy who was a Pakistani singer, called Amjad Sabri. He was sadly murdered by people who didn’t like what he stood for. Then there’s a friend of ours called Norah who is a guy from Jerusalem.”
Martin described Church as a love song that “fell through the sky,” referring to how the band received inspiration to make a song they think is great.
Whether Coldplay obtained permission from Sabri’s family to use the track is not known as of yet.
Meanwhile, Everyday Life has already made it to the top of the Official Album Charts.
Prime Minister Imran Khan has requested PTV to air famous Turkish historical fiction series Dirilis: Ertugrul. The drama is popularly referred to as the Turkish ‘Game of Thrones‘ by fans.
According to a report in Arab News, the drama will soon air on PTV after being dubbed in Urdu. PTV has gotten exclusive rights for dubbing and screening it in Pakistan and voice actors for the drama have been selected.
The report said that PM Khan had recommended the popular TV opera to all Pakistanis as promoting the true Islamic values.
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said that the initiative has been taken at the behest of the prime minister to protect “our social, cultural and religious norms.”
She said that the Muslim world has its own cultural heritage and values and that the drama can enlighten and broaden the understanding of the history of Islam, especially among younger generations.
“It is also PM Khan’s vision to share media content to counter Islamophobia and improve understanding of Islamic values,” Awan added.
Back in September PM Khan has shared that Pakistan, Turkey and Malaysia will jointly launch a TV channel to fight Islamophobia. PM Imran had said that the English language TV Channel will be like BBC which will also highlight the issues faced by the Muslim world.
Our meeting in which we decided to set up a BBC type English language TV Channel that, apart from highlighting Muslim issues, will also fight Islamophobia. pic.twitter.com/GA6o15oJFH
Dirilis: Ertugrul is set in 13th century Anatolia, before the establishment of the Ottoman Empire. It illustrates the struggle of Ertugrul Gazi, the father of Osman I – the founder of the Ottoman dynasty.
Since its premiere on state-run Turkish TV channel TRT 1 in November 2014, the serial has been telecasted in 60 countries.
Eleven episodes in, ISPR and Hum TV’s joint collaboration Ehd-e-Wafa has begun to gather momentum and is picking up pace.
Directed by Saifee Hassan, the drama follows the life of four friends – Shahzain (Osman Khalid Butt), Saad (Ahad Raza Mir), Sheheryar (Ahmed Ali Akbar) and Shariq (Wahaj Ali). The boys were together in Lawrence College Murree before they were expelled because of their shenanigans. While Saad went onto join the army, Shariq is pursuing a career and education in journalism. Sheheryar’s profession is still unclear and Shahzain, who belongs to a feudal family is incorporating himself into the family business.
All four boys also have their love interests, though the stories of Shariq and Sheheryar aren’t as well developed yet. Alizeh Shah as Dua plays Ahad’s love interests while Zara Noor Abbas as Rani is Osman’s.
While the premise and central plot of the story is the life of the four boys, there are several subplots running side by side because of which the episodes are a bit packed and muddled at some points. Instead of one scene flowing into the next, the episode tends jumps from scene to scene.
However, the acting of all the main characters is superb. Particularly note-worthy is Zara Noor Abbas as Rani, whose lively and colourful performance puts a smile on your face no matter what. Adnan Samad Khan, who is playing Gulzar Hussain from Basti Malook, Dera Ghazi Khan, is phenomenal in his character and has won the audiences with his strong performance. Ahad and Alizeh’s chemistry is very lit and their scenes together are very adorable.
Zara Noor Abbas as Rani
Adnan Samad Khan as Gulzar Hussain
Saad and Dua
The supporting cast of the drama including Vaneezah Ahmed and Syed Muhammad Ahmed are also doing a commendable job.
Last but not least, the background score and OST is very enjoyable – the upbeat tune perfectly complements the mood of the drama.
Ehd-e-Wafa is no Alpha Bravo Charlie but the drama is a much-needed refresher in the list of dramas which are either tackling serious topics such as rape (Ruswai) or are the usual masala fest (Meray Paas Tum Ho). Moreso, it also qualifies as a great family entertainer.
Imran Ashraf and Adnan Siddiqui’s impromptu rendition of Meray Paas Tum Ho’s title track is pretty cool.
As the two got together at Evernew Studios to begin work on their upcoming project Dum Mastam, they made use of an old piano there to record their own version of the title track of Meray Paas Tum Ho.
Watch the video here:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B5hhsK0lWGd/
We all knew that Adnan Siddiqui was a pro at playing the flute but turns out he’s equally good with the piano as well.
Meanwhile, in case you missed it, Adnan Siddiqui is donning the producer’s hat and will be producing Imran’s debut film Dum Mustam. The film is being directed by Superstar director Ehteshamuddin and will also star Amar Khan and social media sensation Momin Saqib.
The versatile Mohsin Abbas – who can be a wife beater and a singer has cooked up something other than misogyny and violence this time. Please don’t watch or listen to this Abusers latest song. Don’t support abusers! There – fixed it for you Patari. No thanks needed! https://t.co/cCPAozR4kE
Unlike other names that may or may not have committed crimes against women, Mohsin Abbas Haider assaulted his pregnant wife, this is a fact. Reported, documented. Is there no accountability? Art is NOT separate from the person. Wake the fuck up and stop making excuses https://t.co/SlyMg5wwkC
Patari which is run by a man who harasses young women, features harassers like Ali Zafar (and caters to their whims) has added another feather to its (women-hating) hat by giving a platform to a man who physically assaulted his wife and cheated on her. https://t.co/rmz86Qrm5b
Not only Patari but several other celebrities including Abrarul Haq, Nausheen Shah, Mohib Mirza and Faakhir Mehmood have promoted Mohsin and sent him their best wishes.
In August 2019, Mohsin was found guilty of threatening his then-wife Fatema Sohail by a lower court in Lahore.
Fatema, in an explosive social media account posted on July 20 had alleged that Mohsin was domestically abusive and had hit her on multiple occasions. She later filed an FIR against Mohsin on grounds of abusive behaviour and that Mohsin extorted money from her.
While the court found Mohsin guilty of threatening his wife, he was found innocent of breach of trust and demanding money from his wife.
Meanwhile, it is also pertinent to mention here that in May 2018, Pataris’ CEO Khalid Bajwa was accused of misusing his power to extract sexual favors out of women. Though Bajwa initially resigned from his positon, he was later secretly rehired by the company. Six of Patari’s original team members resigned in July of the same team after it was clear that Bajwa was not stepping down.
In August 2018, Patari allegedly complied to a request made by Ali Zafar to change the ranking of a song released by Meesha Shafi’s brother Faris Shafi. Zafar, who at the time had been accused of sexual harassment by Meesha apparently felt that the promotion of Faris’ song made it seem that Patari was on Meesha’s side in their legal dispute.
In case you missed it, it is national heartthrob Fawad Khan’s 38th birthday today. Though the actor has been off the screen for a while now, he is still one of the most sought-after celebrities this country has.
And we’re not the only ones who miss him. Turns out he is being missed across the border as well.
Editor of Filmfare Magazine, Jitesh Pillaai, sharing pictures and clips of Fawad from his dramas, wrote a heartwarming note for the actor saying that he misses them.
“We carry a piece of you everywhere we go. I’m sure you carry a piece of us too,” wrote Pillaai.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B5aznuinWQh/
Jitesh also shared pictures of Fawad on his Instagram stories.
Fawad’s Khoobsurat co-star Sonam Kapoor also wished the actor.
Fawad’s career in Bollywood was just taking off when a ban on Pakistani actors was announced in 2016. Following that, Fawad had several projects lined up but the Pulwama attack in early 2019 put an end to all chances. The All Indian Cine Workers Association (AICWA) announced a blanket ban on Pakistani actors and artists working in the Indian film industry and vowed to take strict action against anyone who works with them.
