Jashn-e-Rekhta, the famous Urdu literary festival, is coming to Dubai on 27 and 28 January, 2024. It’s a two-day celebration of the Urdu language with poetry, talk shows, ghazals, and storytelling. The festival starts at Zabeel Park with a panel discussion called ‘Urdu Tehzeeb aur Rishton ki Lazzat’.
(The Delight of Urdu Culture and Relationships), featuring Javed Akhtar and Arfa Sayeda Zehra.The event will also feature a stage play, a Sufi concert by Ustad Shafqat Ali Khan, and a performance about the life of Noor Jehan. Don’t miss the enchanting session of Sufi music called ‘Shab-e Rafta’ from 9 pm to 11 pm.
There’s a talk show with Sameena Peerzada and Usmaan Peerzada, followed by an interactive session with Mahira Khan, Shabana Azmi, and Shekhar Kapur. And let’s not forget about ‘Main Koi Aisa Geet Gaau’n,’ a project combining poetry, songs, narration, and music with Javed Akhtar, Meiyang Chang, and Jahnvi Shrimankar. The grand international mushaira ‘Gehan aur Dhoop’ will showcase amazing poets like Anwar Shaoor, Farhat Ehsad, Zehra Nigah, Shakeel Azmi, and Abbas Tabish. It’s going to be a cultural fusion like no other. And with delicious food at Aiwan-e-Zaiqa Food Bazaar and an Urdu Bazaar with art, handicrafts, and books, it’s going to be a fantastic experience.
Israel forces bombed the Jabaliya refugee camp in Northern Gaza on Tuesday afternoon, leaving at least 50 dead, bringing the death toll to 8,525, including 3000 children. According to a report by the New York Times, Israeli officials justified the bombing to US counterparts by citing the 1945 Atomic bombs dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. Israeli officials further explained that the mass civilian casualties were an “acceptable price” in its campaign against Hamas.
Bollywood lyricist and screenwriter Javed Akhtar expressed outrage over Gaza’s comparison to Hiroshima, tweeting:
“So now Israel is justifying its indiscriminate round the clock bombing on helpless civilians of Gaza by giving example of Hiroshima and Nagasaki . !!! .. and the so-called civilised world is listening . They are the same people who teach us human rights .”
So now Israel is justifying its indiscriminate round the clock bombing on helpless civilians of Gaza by giving example of Hiroshima and Nagasaki . !!! .. and the so-called civilised world is listening . They are the same people who teach us human rights .
A few days ago Bollywood actress Bipasha Basu lent her voice in calling out the atrocities taking place over Gaza by sharing a screenshot of two Palestinian children crying over their dead mother. In the caption she begged her followers to understand that children should be sparred during wars.
Zoya Akhtar has been long criticised by social media users for the manner in which Muslims are represented in her films and dramas. The critically acclaimed series ‘Made In Heaven’, airing on Amazon Prime, prompted several users to criticise the director, who is the sister of actor Farhan Akhtar and daughter of Javed Akhtar, for episode 6. The criticism focused on the aspect that only polygamy marriages among Muslims are depicted rather the oppression or violence the community suffers from in India. The episode focuses on a woman Shehnaz, who attempts to kill herself after her husband gets married for the second time.
So much so for being ‘progressive’ when Made in Heaven peddles the stereotypes of adaab, shararas, roohafza and polygamy for the Muslim couple. Your entire attempt at being socially woke is performative and hypocritical if you throw an already maligned community under the bus.
I did not like the polygamy plot they with in made in heaven there’s so many other issues in the muslim community they could have chosen to show but they went with that
On Instagram, Zoya finally responded by responding to a commentator who asked her to show positive Muslim characters, and stop relying on regressive stereotypes.
The ‘Dil Dhadhakne Do’ director answered by listing several films where she had Muslim characters like Gully Boy, ‘Zindagi Milegi Na Dobara’, ‘Luck By Chance’:
“Zaffar Khan and Tanveer in Luck By Chance. Imran and Laila in ZNMD. Farah Ali in Dil Dhadakne Do. Practically everyone in Gully Boy. Sarfaraz Khan and Leila Shirazi, Kabir, Faiza and Nawab have in Made In Heaven.”
Two days ago, when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived at the US White House, a video went viral of the all-Indian acapella group Penn Masala sang ‘Jashn-e-Bahara’ in celebration of his arrival. Many Twitter users interpreted this as a clever diss to the controversial politician over his Islamophobic government, and also as a direct response to Biden who revealed that he will not talk to the Indian Prime Minister about human right violations during his visit.
‘Jashn-e-Bahara’ is an Urdu song written by the Muslim artists A.R Rehman and Javed Akhtar, and was sung by Javed Ali. The song was featured in the film ‘Jodhaa Akbar’, a movie about the marriage between the Mughal Emperor Akbar and his Hindu wife Jodha.
VIDEO | South Asian a cappella group Penn Masala performs rendition of Bollywood song ‘Jashn-E-Bahaara’ from the film Jodhaa Akbar at the White House ahead of PM Modi’s arrival. #PMModiInUSpic.twitter.com/BcKUSJCYn9
Twitter users lauded this discreet but clever way to troll a secular and facist politcian, who has been criticised by American politicians like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, who announced that they were boycotting Modi’s address to Congress, citing the politician’s abysmal human right’s record, as well as his erosion of religious freedom in India.
Some also felt that the song was an indirect target towards the Indian government’s move to remove chapters from school textbooks on Mughal rulers.
ohh greaaat. good god. that sounds like… wow. if it was done to troll the very secular and very inclusive prime minister of india cuz it’s from a movie called jodhaa akbar & the music has been composed by a.r. rahman, great job, maybe. but now let’s listen to the original. https://t.co/2YF7lCt5uVpic.twitter.com/RK8rnRfSzg
Performance aside, love how ironic choice of music is to welcome fascist anti-Muslim Modi. Both songs are pinnacle of Urdu poetry in Bollywood, the characters in both are Muslim kings, & jashnebahara is a song questioning the festivities itself, humanity yeh dekh ke hairaan hai https://t.co/dlc7xSkp9t
The iconic Bollywood song ‘Tum Ko Dekha’ was the anthem for lovers for an entire generation. Our lives were never the same after the song debuted, ghum hour was coined and now Javed Akhtar, who wrote the song, has revealed that he wrote the lyrics in under nine freaking minutes.
Scoop Whoop revealed that while speaking at a recent FFCI event in Kolkata, Akhtar disclosed that he had been drinking a lot the night he received a phone call from late director Yash Chopra’s assistant, who forwarded the request to the lyricist to write a song for his upcoming film:
“Every evening, we’d drink and chit-chat and by 2 am, we’d decided that we would finish the song tomorrow. I kept delaying it, then one day, the poor guy asked again. This was past midnight, after the eighth or ninth peg, I asked for a piece of paper and a pen, and decided to get it over with. Jagjit Singh sang the song, it was ‘Tum Ko Dekha To Yeh Khayal Aaya’. It was written at perhaps 12:30 in the night, after eight or nine pegs, in nine minutes…”
Can you re-call a popular song that was only written in less than 10 minutes?
Indian poet Javed Akhtar’s comments about Mumbai attacks at the recent Faiz Festival circulated heavily on social media. Akhtar attacked Pakistan for refusing to hold accountable the terrorists behind 26/11 attacks. He also said that India had always honored and celebrated the legacies of Pakistani musicians like Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Mehdi Hassan, but Pakistan refused to do the same thing.
Why our media and so-called “elite” is mum over highly condemnable comments made by Javed Akhtar on our own soil? pic.twitter.com/tpLEswwt1x
Pakistani actors have slammed the Indian screen writer for his inappropriate comments and especially for misleading the audience into believing that Indian actors and musicians were not respected in Pakistan. Actor Ejaz Aslam criticized Akhtar for refusing to own up to the destruction India had done in Kashmir, instead of hating on the country that had invited him as a guest.
“Mr javed akhtar would you mind shedding some light on Kashmir issue ? You shouldn’t have come if you have so much hatred for pakistan, we still let u go back safely & thats our answer to your nonsense”
Mr javed akhtar would you mind shedding some light on Kashmir issue ? You shouldn’t have come if you have so much hatred for pakistan, we still let u go back safely & thats our answer to your nonsense #javedakhtar#goback#nonsense # pic.twitter.com/b7DCIdnH1o
Actress Saboor Aly reacted to the celebrities who were praising Javed Akhtar at the mehfil, and said she was ashamed that they refused to set professional boundaries towards someone who had disrespected them in this manner. She also felt that it was shameful how many local celebrities who are equally as talented are not given the honor and respect Akhtar was given for three days.
“These people were celebrating someone who had insulted them in their own home, and then sat at his feet and singing praises. What a shame! So-called educated people. You have never respected your own talent the same way. Some of the biggest stars in this country had passed away in severe circumstances when they didn’t even have any money to pay for their operation. Where were these people then who respected talent so much?”
Fashion designer Zara Shahjahan criticized the elite participants who had attended the conference where Javed Akhtar had said this, and also later had hosted a mehfil for him.
“He was not just allowed to come to Pakistan, he was allowed to shit on Pakistan and then the Lahori “fake” elite hosted a party for him where they cried on his knees.”
He was not just allowed to come to Pakistan, he was allowed to shit on Pakistan and then the Lahori “fake” elite hosted a party for him where they cried on his knees. https://t.co/jUgDFVUtdP
Actress Resham, who had also shared video clips of attending the mehfil hosted by Ali Zafar where Akhtar was honored, gave her defence on her Instagram stories. She shared that she deeply respected her country and its people, and was not aware of the comments he had made.
“I hold my country Pakistan in deep respect, and was not aware of the type of comments Javed Akhtar had made at the conference on the Faiz Festival that day. I condemn his words. As per our customs of special treatment, we consider guests God’s mercy but Pakistan is more precious to us than our hearts and lives.”
Javed Akhtar and the Indian media are congratulating themselves for “dushman kay ghar mein ja kar usko marna” after his comments criticizing Pakistan for not taking strict action against the terrorists responsible for 26/11 Mumbai attacks went viral. In an interview with NDTV channel, Akhtar claimed that Pakistanis had clapped when he had made the remark, and agreed with him. “They all clapped. They agreed with me. There are many people who admire India, want to have a relationship with us. We tend to think of countries as monolith. That is not the case. How do we connect with millions of people, who want to connect with India,” he stated.
However, the statement is incorrect as according to the complete video of Javed Akhtar’s response to a question from an audience member, there was complete silence during his Mumbai comments.
Only after the host, Adeel Hashmi, asked another question can scattered applause be heard, signaling that the audience was applauding the end of a guest’s response to a question and not a specific comment like they had done before after Akhtar’s comment on Lata.
The audience did appreciate another comment by the Indian poet. Javed Akhtar had said that Indian musicians were not celebrated in Pakistan: “We [India] have held concerts for people like Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Mehdi Hassan, but your country has not held a concert for Lata.” This statement is also incorrect as Indian musicians and actors have been honored with some of the highest awards given by the Pakistani government and especially have been invited to talks in Pakistani cities. Journalist Yusra Askari shared pictures of the Bollywood actors and singers who had received accolades in Pakistan.
We might not have had the privilege of hosting the genius of Lata ji but talent from across the border has always been lauded, appreciated and celebrated on our shores.
Renowned Indian screenwriter and poet Javed Akhtar is set to attend the Faiz Festival in Lahore where he will be a part of two discussions with actor Adeel Hashmi, as well as a mushaira with other poets. The Current spoke to Hashmi about what their discussion will be about and he said: “Our first talk will be about his book ‘Jadunama’ which was released a few days ago, and will also be available for purchase at the event. Our second talk [taking place on Sunday, 19th Feb, is called ‘Talking Life’ which will be a discussion about life. In the next Mushaira, he will be reading out his poetry.” Along side Javed Akhtar, many prominent faces are expected to attend the event such as singer Shafqat Amanat Ali who will hold a performance on Friday, as well as Director and Screenwriter Sarmad Khoosat who will hold a conversation with Navid Shahzad. Faiz Festival is taking place from February 17 to 19 at Alhamra Center.
Pakistani and Indian celebrities had a wholesome interaction at a party held on Monday night. Pakistani actresses attended a party where Bollywood screenwriter and lyricist Javed Akhtar and his daughter filmmaker Zoya Akhtar were also in attendance. Sarwat Gillani posted pictures of the interaction, thanking Fauzai Kehar for hosting the event.
“Had the pleasure to meet the Master, Javed Akhtar Sahab and his brilliant filmmaker daughter Zoya Akhtar.
Thank you @fauzia_kehar for opening your heart and home to us, you’re a wonderful host to say the least.”
Indian lyricist and activist Javed Akhtar took to Twitter on Monday to criticise Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not taking action against Indian the app called “Bulli Bai”, which has been displaying pictures of more than 100 Muslim women for auction.
There is an online auction of hundred women There are so called Dharm Sansads , advising the army the police n the people to go for the genocide of almost 200 MLN Indians .I am appalled with every one ‘s silence including my own n particularly of The PM . Is this Sub ka saath ?
The musician expressed his anger and wrote: “There is an online auction of hundred women. There are so-called Dharm Sansads, advising the army the police n the people to go for the genocide of almost 200 MLN Indians. I am appalled with everyone‘s silence including my own n particularly of The PM. Is this Sub ka saath?”
The poet referred to the slogan “Sab ka saath, Sab ka vikas, Sab ka Vishwas, Sab ka prayaas” that was a part of Narendra Modi’s speech on India’s 75th Independence anniversary.
However, Javed was trolled by netizens as they started targeting and abusing his great grandfather who was a freedom fighter.
The moment I raised my voice against the online auction of women n those glorifying Godse n preaching genocide to the army police n people some bigots have started abusing my great great grand father a freedom fighter who died in kala pani in 1864 What do you say to such idiots
