Muneeb Butt, a beloved actor in Pakistan known for his versatile roles and self-made journey, recently had a memorable meeting with renowned Bollywood star Manoj Bajpayee in Dubai.
The younger actor expressed his long-standing admiration for Manoj’s craft and his desire to meet him. Manoj responded warmly, and they both had a pleasant interaction.
Here is the meetup video :
Indian TV actor Vivian Dsena, who announced his conversion to Islam in 2019, has explained why Ramazan is important to him, narrating that he’s been fasting for the entire month for six years now.
The actor said, “Ramadan is very special to me because I embraced Islam during this month. This year is my sixth Ramadan, and by God’s grace, I’ve been fasting every year. Fasting for the whole month is important in Islam, it’s one of the five main things we do. I fast for 30 days unless I have a reason like being sick, then I can skip a day.” he explained.
Dsena added, “At first, I was really worried about fasting, especially since water and coffee are important for me. Even my family and friends wondered how I could go without water or caffeine for 13 or 14 hours. But God has been kind to me, and fasting has been going quite smoothly.”
The actor spends Ramazan with his family in Bahrain where he enjoys Iftar meals, especially the ones his wife cooks at home. His favorite Middle Eastern desserts are Basbousa and Kunafa.
Vivian Dsena had confirmed his marriage to Nouran Aly when he announced he accepted Islam. They have a daughter who is one year old.
Pakistani TV shows are getting more and more popular worldwide, and especially across the border in India. All our hit shows are not just avidly followed here but also across the border. Indian TV channels and media might just be fretting that their own shows aren’t as popular as they used to be.
Indian actor Sushant Singh recently talked to the media about this. “Our neighbouring country, Pakistan, who we usually see as our enemy, is making amazing TV shows. Just look at their shows and then look at ours. What are we giving to the people? Why are we making low-quality shows? When people criticize our shows, why aren’t we trying to improve? Are we going to keep making the same kind of shows? What message are we sending to actors and viewers — to watch our shows or to stop watching because we won’t change? Don’t we want to get better? We’ve made great shows despite tough conditions, and we should keep striving for better quality,” he said.
He also stressed the importance of actors’ voices being heard.
Sima Taparia of Indian Matchmaking fame is back with the second season of her show on Netflix. While several original cast members returned to the show, such as Pradhyuman Maloo, Aparna Shewakramani and Nadia Jagessar, the highlight of the season was the matchmaker rejecting Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas’ pair.
In the second episode of the latest season, Taparia asks Jagessar about how her relationship with Shekhar, the bachelor she set her up with, is going. She told the matchmaker that despite giving multiple hints, she doesn’t feel he has the same feelings for her as she does for him. But Taparia knew the truth that Jagessar had flirted with another single at a party and she had not told Shekhar about it. The person whom she flirted with, Vishal, was seven years younger than her.
To prove that Jagessar’s relationship could work, Taparia jokingly gave the example of Chopra and Jonas who have an 11-year age gap. “But I don’t feel it’s a good match, sorry to tell them,” Sima said. She added, “Just they have married, but it’s not a good match. He looks so small and petite in front of her, and she looks elder.” Jagessar let out a shocked laugh in response to what the matchmaking aunty said on the show.
Chopra and Jonas tied the knot in 2018 in a grand Indian wedding after a whirlwind romance. Earlier this year the couple welcomed their first child via surrogate, a baby girl whom they named Malti Marie Chopra Jonas. Clearly, they’re doing just fine, regardless of what a random matchmaker says.
Netizens are calling out Sima for her ageist remarks.
Last year Indian television actress Nausheen Ali Sardar, known for her role in Kkusum, revealed that Sima refused to find her a match because she’s Muslim.
In a recent interview, Nausheen said that she was “blatantly” told by Taparia that she doesn’t cater to Muslims or Catholics.
Speaking to Pinkvilla, Sardar said: “My family was insisting on getting me enrolled on a matrimonial site since the lockdown was going on, and I wasn’t even going on dates or anything as such. So they thought of approaching Sima Aunty, the famous marriage maker from the show Indian Matchmaking.”
“We were in for a shock when she blatantly told us on our face that she did not cater to Muslims or Catholics,” continued the actor.
“I mean it’s 2021! Yes, I am a Muslim, so what? I have an equal right too in society…I had gotten so annoyed at this that I put this entire bitter experience on her social media page where I had asked her to broaden her mindset,” said Sardar further, adding that she later took down the post on her family’s insistence as they feared that someone would try to hurt Nausheen.
In the same interview, Nausheen shared that this wasn’t the first time she had to face discrimination on the basis of her religion.
The actor shared that she was rejected by housing societies because ‘they do not give houses or flats in their building to Muslims.’
“I was shocked! It’s so important to respect every religion and if any society is going to be so rigid in their thoughts, it will be extremely difficult to survive there,” lamented Sardar.
Nausheen made her television debut with Ekta Kapoor’s hit soap opera, Kkusum in 2001.
Alia Bhatt’s latest love ballad Kesariya has taken over the music charts in India. The song was recently in hot waters when called out for copying Pakistani band Call’s Laree Chootee, but while that’s contested, Bhatt came to defend her song by claiming that Kesariya has dethroned the global favourite Coke Studio song Pasoori.
Amidst a promotional interview for her Netflix’s debut film, Darlings, Bhatt was directed with a question that asked how she feels after the massive critique Kesariya, which she calls her and husband Ranbir Kapoor’s love song, has gotten for including the phrase “love storiyan”.
Defending the lyrics, Bhatt shared she believes its “great” however the song got attention from people. “I don’t think people are having issues with the song. I think it’s great. I think it’s lovely that there is so much given to even two words in a song. I think there was so much anticipation with the song that the ones who weren’t liking those two words just wanted the song to be so perfect.”
She further added, “Like we dethroned, which I want to say very proudly, Pasoori which is one of my favourite songs but it’s been number one for 85 days and Kesariya went straight to number one. I proudly want to scream on the rooftop and say this because any kind of attention to a creative unit, good bad, is attention at the end of the day and it adds on people knowing more about the film that’s about to release and it just shows that they care that much.”
Bhatt recently added her name to the list of Indian actors who opted for Pakistani designer Faraz Manan’s couture collection for a public event.
The Highway star recently shared pictures of her on Instagram in which the actor could be seen wearing Faraz’s dress.
The designer also shared pictures of the Udta Punjab diva on the official Instagram handle.
Deepika also opted for a dress designed by Faraz Manan.
Earlier, this year in October, Shah Rukh Khan donned Faraz Manan’s white royal jacket on a shalwar kameez. The jacket was customised for the Don 2 star with detailed embroidery work.
Faraz has alo collaborated with India’s top actors like Sridevi, Jacqueline Fernandez and Karishma Kapoor.
On the work front, Alia is gearing up for the release of Darlings and Brahmastra.
Bollywood director and actor Farhan Akhtar penned a long statement of gratitude for the crew of Ms Marvel, including Pakistani director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy for her ‘guidance’.
Akhtar, whose role in Ms Marvel is yet to be revealed, started his tweet off by writing: “The post is in appreciation of the creators, the directors and all those in front and behind the camera, who collaborated to make Ms Marvel what it is.”
The Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara star gave a shout out to Chinoy, saying: “It is in appreciation of Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy for her guidance through my days of working on it.”
He then went on to share his appreciation for Marvel itself, writing: “It is in appreciation of Marvel. I’m proud to be part of their conscious inclusiveness.”
“This show is a celebration of diversity and it certainly will bring joy and pride of self-identity to millions of young girls and boys of the sub-continent.”
Akhtar then moved to conclude his note, saying: “And last but not least, it is in appreciation of the wonderfully talented Iman Vellani. Be prepared to be thoroughly entertained and effortlessly charmed by her. Thank you and good luck, team Ms Marvel.”
Every year, politician Baba Siddique holds an Iftar party that witnesses the royalty of showbiz marked their presence including Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Sanjay Dutt Shilpa Shetty, Shehnaaz Gill, Zareen Khan and Karan Kundra were amongst others who graced the red carpet.
Shah Rukh Khan checked his co-star Sayani Gupta’s phone while enjoying cold drinks at the star-studded event.
The Don 2 star’s fans are delighted to see their much loved King Khan back in spotlight again as he made his first public appearance after a long time.
Another highlight of the event was Salman and Shehnaaz’s bonding. The Bigg Boss 13 star donned a beautiful silver traditional piece.
Reportedly, the duo spoke to each other for hours and even had food together. The Dabangg star made the Bhula Dunga diva sit next to him and ensured she was comfortable during the entire bash. They were talking to each other non-stop and the beauty was visibly happy.
Salman was quite concerned about Shehnaaz and was continuously seen taking care of her. Many people came to his table to meet him but Gill was a part of the conversations like any family member.
Indian actor Naseeruddin Shah has asked the Modi government to stop genocide of Muslims and warned that oppression could lead to civil war.
In an interview to Karan Thapar for The Wire, Shah said if attempts are made for Muslim genocide and ethnic cleansing, India’s 200 million Muslims are going to fight back.
He said that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not care but ethnic cleansing of Muslims will trigger a civil war in India.
While talking about the Mughals in India, he said that they “contributed” in the country and “came here to make this their homeland”.
“The so-called atrocities of the Mughals are being highlighted all the time. We forget that the Mughals are people who have contributed to the country. They are people who have left lasting monuments in the country…who have left the tradition of dancing, music, painting, literature. Mughals came here to make this their homeland. You can call them refugees if you like,” he said.
Shah, after this statement, earned a lot of backlash from the Indian social media, especially Indian Twitter. In a clip circulating on social media, the actor is seen talking during Thapar’s show on his YouTube channel. However, the clip omitted a few lines he said about the real marauders.
These lines from the original video were omitted in the clip: “No one talks about Taimur, no one talks about Mahmud of Ghazni, no one talks about Nadir Shah. I don’t think these people are conversant with that history. Those were the marauders who came, looted and left.”
The clip is being circulated widely in India and has made ‘Mughals’ trend on Indian Twitter.
Bollywood’s star couple Katrina Kaif and Vicky Kaushal made their first public appearance after the couple tied the knot last week. The duo got married in a traditional Indian wedding ceremony in Rajasthan and shared the official pictures on their social media handles.
Vicky Kaushal and Katrina Kaif were spotted in Mumbai. The couple posed for the media outside of an airport.
One of the reports also presented a bouquet to Katrina. Reporters also did not miss the chance to ask Vicky, “How’s the Josh.” Vicky responded with a smile.
The dialogue “How’s the josh?” is from blockbuster film Uri: The Surgical Strike, director.
Earlier today, the couple shared pictures from pre wedding festivities.
Bollywood actor Rajkummar Rao has tied the knot with actress Patralekhaa, after 11 years of friendship. The intimate wedding ceremony took place in Chandigarh, and was attended by the close friends and family of the couple.
“Finally after 11 years of love, romance, friendship and fun, I got married to my everything today, my soulmate, my best friend, my family. Today there is no greater happiness for me than being called your husband Patralekhaa. Here’s to forever .. and beyond.”
The Love games diva wrote in her post: “I got married to my everything today; my boyfriend, my partner in crime, my family, my soulmate…My best friend for the last 11 years! There is no greater feeling than to be your wife! Here’s to our forever…”
Have a look at the pictures and videos :
Pictures from wedding reception: