Tag: topent

  • The case of Ukhano

    The case of Ukhano

    If you’re an avid social media user, you must have come across several posts regarding a person, Ukhano who has been accused of sexual harassment and inappropriate behaviour by multiple women. If you’re reading this article, chances are that you’re trying to figure out what exactly is going on.

    Let’s start with the basics.

    Who is Ukhano?

    Ukhano, whose real name is Umar Khan is a video blogger, known for his quirky and fun content. A graduate of the National College of Arts, Umar is spotted at all the it events hanging out and sharing a laugh with all the A-list celebrities. Umar has been part of several notable projects and has also worked with Peshawar Zalmi as their official vlogger. His content is popular among the Millenials.

    What is the controversy?

    Earlier this week, several women came forward and accused Umar of sexual harassment. The first accusation was made in a Facebook post which has now been removed. But soon the allegations gained traction and hashtags such as #Ukhano, #UkhanoExposed began to trend on Twitter, following which multiple women came forward with their accounts and shared screenshots of Umar behaving inappropriately. The women claimed that Khan would send messages with sexual innuendos and ask them to send “bold” pictures of themselves to him.

    This thread has pretty much all the screenshot and harassment claims:

    https://twitter.com/teepusahab/status/1151246675677241344

    Umar’s response

    Soon after the allegations surfaced, Umar came forward with a video in which he said that all allegations against him are false and requested everyone to listen to his video at least once before making a judgment. In his video, he said that he’s worked with a lot of women in the course of his career and is sure that he did not make any one of them feel uncomfortable.

    He continued, “The reason I’m making this video is because I owe you guys the truth and the truth is that I know this person and I’ve worked with this person and that is it. Other than that, whatever allegations and claims have been made against me are lies.”

    He finished off saying that he has visual evidence to prove his innocence but he doesn’t want to use it because “someone’s life can get ruined because of it.”

    https://twitter.com/u_khano/status/1151581231336890369

    Support from peers

    Though social media continues to be divided over Umar, several well-known personalities stepped forward to support Umar. Among those was Polish travel blogger Eva Zu Beck, actor/host Anoushey Ashraf and vloggers Mooroo and Irfan Junejo.

    Eva Zu Beck

    Anoushey Ashraf

    Mooroo

    Mooroo asked everyone to wait for the full picture before making a judgment. He requested everyone to not be emotional.

    Irfan Junejo

    Irfan had more of a neutral stance.

    https://twitter.com/irfanjunejo/status/1151815694360752128

    The story doesn’t end there. Soon after the harassment allegations surfaced, Ahmad Butt, a singer came forward and alleged that Umar stole the music of a Pashtun music artist Naseer Afridi and sold it to a business called CPIC.

    As per Ahmad, “Ukhano had conveyed to the company that Naseer Afridi was aware of this when in reality, he wasn’t. Ukhano received a good sum of money for selling Naseers songs and kept it for himself. Later when Naseer found out from people about his music being used in the videos Ukhano made for that company, he talked to them.”

    Ahmad said that the company compensated Naseer for his work. However, the money Umar received is still with him.

    All details in this thread:

    https://twitter.com/itsthepianoguy/status/1152184979474014209

    Umar is yet to respond to these allegations.

  • If ‘The Lion King’ was made in Pakistan

    If ‘The Lion King’ was made in Pakistan

    The live-action remake of The Lion King has finally hit the cinema after a long, long wait. Two versions of the film were released here in Pakistan – English and Hindi. Some fans took to social media to suggest that an Urdu version of the film should also be released. If that was the case, here’s who we think would be best fit for the characters.

    Simba and Mufasa – Shaan Shahid

    Considering how dear to Shaan this film is, we decided to give both Simba and Mufasa to him.

    Scar – Ali Zafar

    It’s the hair.

    Nala – Mehwish Hayat

    Who better than Mehwish to play the fierce Nala?

    Timon – Mani

    The resemblance is uncanny.

    Pumba – Ahmed Ali Butt

    When you think witty, the only person from Pakistan’s film industry who comes to mind is without a doubt Ahmed Ali Butt.

    Rafiqi – Nadeem Baig

    Nadeem Baig is the perfect grandfatherly figure.

  • Hamza Ali Abbasi’s tweets land him in hot water, again

    Hamza Ali Abbasi’s tweets land him in hot water, again

    Think before you tweet.

    While Hamza Ali Abbasi is a talented actor, his social media needs some ‘monitoring’. Abbasi’s tweets land him in controversy every now and then, and it isn’t without reason.

    On July 18, following former prime minster Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s arrest, Hamza tweeted:

    A Twitter user chided him for using ‘rape’ in a political tweet.

    Instead of acknowledging his mistake, Abbasi replied that his word is “apt for what they did.”

    We think Hamza was rightly schooled. Rape analogy is not something to be used lightly. Many people on social media use rape as an analogy in tweets related to sports or rivalries or politics. Not only is it in bad taste but it is also a disservice to rape survivors.

    As Lala Mustafa explained to Hamza, “Rape is about power. Rape is more of a psychological crime against a person whereby they are stripped of their power and agency.”

    https://twitter.com/LalaHawaa/status/1151959200219709440?s=20

    We hope Mr Abbasi will use his social media more responsibly in the future and think before tweeting.

  • Gossip Girl is getting a spin-off

    “Hello, Upper East Siders. Gossip Girl is coming back.”

    The show is on its way back to television, this time in a new series for upcoming streaming service HBO Max.

    HBO Max, owned by WarnerMedia, announced that it had ordered a new, 10-episode series that will be set eight years after Gossip Girl ended its original run in 2012, and will follow a new generation of private school kids. They added that the new series will explore how much social media and the landscape of New York has changed in recent years.

    It is currently unclear whether any of the original stars, including Blake Lively, Penn Badgely, Chace Crawford, Ed Westwick and Leighton Meester, will return.

    Gossip Girl was one of the most popular shows on television, winning 18 Teen Choice awards and inspiring fashion, hairstyles and beauty lines. You know you love me.

    Given that Friends will also be shifting from Netflix to HBO Max, where do we sign up?

  • World Emoji Day: If Pakistani politicians were emojis

    World Emoji Day: If Pakistani politicians were emojis

    Is a Whatsapp conversation even complete, if it doesn’t include at least one emoji? All of us use emojis while texting because not only do they make conversations fun, they are also useful where words fail. 

    On World Emoji Day, we match our politicians to emojis and who knew there are so many of them.

    Imran Khan

    No one cooler than our Prime Minister.

    Z.A Bhutto

    Hain? How does WhatsApp know keh aaj bhi Bhutto zinda hai?

    Fawad Chaudhry

    Bas unees bees ka faraq hai.

    Shehbaz Sharif

    This detective emoji is perfect for our ex-Khadim-e-Aala Punjab, Shehbaz Sharif.

    Shehryar Afridi

    Its the beard.

    Maryam Nawaz

    All hail to princess Maryam. If Maryam Nawaz was an emoji, she would definitely be the princess one.

    Sherry Rehman

    Ain’t no diva like Sherry Rehman.

    Khawaja Asif

    Momina Basit

    This is our favorite one because they resemble a lot. Momina Basit is one of the members of Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI).

  • Review: Is ‘Cheekh’ losing the plot?

    Review: Is ‘Cheekh’ losing the plot?

    ARY’s Cheekh began as an ambitious project. The drama centered around the theme of sexual harassment and abuse and the importance of raising your voice even if you have to go against your own family members. The first few episodes were gripping and had you on the edge but as the drama progressed, it became mundane the point that it almost became a chore to watch the drama.

    Though the characters were wonderfully written, especially Shayan, who we all agree was like a breath of fresh air in the Pakistani drama scene, the overall script of the drama weakened as the drama progressed. The storyline was also becoming depressing as Mannat continued to fight against her brother-in-law, Wajih and lost every time. However, as the drama heads towards its end, viewers got an unexpected twist and the drama caught our attention once again.

    SPOILER ALERT

    The last episode saw Shayan killed by his brother, Wajih after they get into a heated debate with each other. As soon as the accident happens, Wajih bolts from the crime scene while Mannat rushes him to the hospital. In her quest for justice for her friend, Mannat experiences her third loss. She first lost her child in a miscarriage caused by Wajih. Then she lost her mother and now her husband. In between all that Mannat was also admitted to a mental hospital after she lost her case to Wajih. While we agree and accept that the drama’s makers tried to be as realistic as possible, the question is did they become a little too realistic?

    Though I myself am of the opinion that the drama rightfully portrayed the situation of such cases in our society, my colleague appeared to have a dissenting view and argued that what was even the whole point of fighting the case, that too against her brother-in-law when in the end you’re left with nothing. He argued that the drama went overboard and situations like these don’t happen in real life. Whatever your opinion may be, the fact remains that women who dare to raise their voice are subjected to vilification by men who are more powerful than them. For example the case of Khadija Siddiqui.

    On the whole, Cheekh had its shares of highs and lows. The acting by the lead cast was brilliant. Saba Qamar, Bilal Abbas Khan, Emmad Irfani, Aijaz Aslam and Azekah Daniel all gave brilliant performances. The scenes which featured both Saba and Bilal were powerful, to say the least. Both the actors were phenomenal in their roles and deserve standing ovation.

    Though the drama became a drag in the middle with a lot of pointless scenes, the plot was intriguing and made you think about how unfair society is towards victims, especially those of sexual violence. The way the rich and influential are able to maneuver the law as per their liking and get away unaffected is food for thought and the drama portrayed that brilliantly. It also highlights how the law is not equal for everyone and anyone with an iota of influence can get away from being punished.

    With the latest development, it looks like viewers will be tuning into the series once again to see if Mannat will get finally get justice.

  • Female celebrities speak up against online abuse

    Female celebrities speak up against online abuse

    While scrolling through social media, you often come across abusive and vile comments, targeted at female celebrities, which make you shudder if they catch your eye for even a moment. Recently, several popular female celebrities have spoken up about being abused online and have called for a stop on it.

    Here are all those who have expressed their anger online.

    Mahira Khan

    This is not the first time Mahira Khan has opened up about online abuse and its repercussions.

    Hania Aamir

    Hania Aamir has spoken up on more than one occasion about being bullied online but her recent Instagram story was directed at Hina Altaf who commented that Muneeb Butt is a bad actor.

    Ayesha Omar

    Ayesha Omar is currently vacationing in Greece but it appears that Pakistani citizens are not having with her vacay style and are voicing their disapproval in the comments section. That propelled Ayesha to post this in her Instagram stories.

    Iqra Aziz

    In just the past week, Iqra Aziz has talked about cyber abuse twice. Once before her engagement to Yasir Hussain and once after. In her first post, Iqra talked about how it takes a few words to bring someone down and tell them that they aren’t good enough. In her second post, post-engagement, she said that she is shutting out all those who are spreading hate and vitriol online.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BzvWoBWgpAC/
    https://www.instagram.com/p/BzfvMttAOeA/
  • Imran Abbas defends himself after backlash on lion picture

    Imran Abbas defends himself after backlash on lion picture

    A recent report by AFP has revealed a growing trend in keeping lions as pets in Karachi and rough estimates show that 300 lions are being kept as pets.

    Recently, actor Imran Abbas posted a picture of himself posing with a lion and playing with it on the terrace of a house.

    Naturally, his picture invited tremendous backlash after which Imran took to Instagram to clarify that the lion is not “caged or malnutritioned.” He shared that the animal is kept in a natural habitat at a farmhouse and was brought to the house only for a day. Abbas added that the lion, named Simba, loves human beings and cannot be sent back to the jungle because he can’t live without the owner.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz0iyywnby2/

    In a follow-up post, Abbas also clarified that the lion was not on drugs and was in fact pampered. He also thanked everyone for their concern.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz0yPsin-X4/

    Further social media sleuthing revealed that the lion belonged to a social media influencer called Azlan Shah. Azlan, who calls himself an animal lover, has over time, shared lots of pictures of himself with his pet lion.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz1Dx3aFVNK/
    https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv30wKelAhw/

    Keeping wild animals as exotic pets has witnessed an upward trend in the past few years, especially in Karachi, where people have started keeping snakes, lions, tigers and giraffes as pets.

  • Mani thinks Momina Mustehsan’s performance at LSA 2019 was the ‘death of rap and dance’

    Mani thinks Momina Mustehsan’s performance at LSA 2019 was the ‘death of rap and dance’

    As much as this year’s Lux Style Awards tried to be politically and morally correct, in reality, the exact opposite happened. The awards continue to be in the headlines and not for the best of reasons. After the whole Iqra Aziz, Yasir Hussain drama, which frankly blew out of proportion, people are now turning their attention to the other things that happened at the award ceremony. Such as Momina Mustehsan’s performance.

    Momina, who was performing for the first time ever, opened the Lux Style Awards with Eva B, the cult classic rapper from Lyari. The entire segment, written, directed and produced by Mustehsan, raised more than just a few eyebrows and videos of her performing went viral on social media with people asking what exactly she was doing on stage.

    Salman Sheikh, better known as Mani, also had a few thoughts on the matter. Sharing the video on his Instagram, he remarked that Momina’s performance was the death of rap and dance.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BzyE3unhvHQ/

    Meanwhile, here’s what Twitter had to say on her performance.

    Signing off with a video of her performance. Enjoy.

    WhatsApp-Video-2019-07-10-at-01.06.45
  • VIDEO: How Iqra Aziz & Yasir Hussain fell in love

    VIDEO: How Iqra Aziz & Yasir Hussain fell in love

    We all know when and how they got engaged, but here’s how they fell in love.