Well done Mahira!

Merits of the Shoaib Mansoor-directed film Verna aside, one must acknowledge the way the star of the movie Mahira Khan has been highlighting the scourge of sexual harassment and rape on different forums. Her interview given to BBC News on the issue can be quoted as a cogent case against the problem about which our society tends not to speak. The actress in her interview stressed the need for accountability of the culprits and education on the subject. She dismissed the notion that it has anything to do with the ‘conduct’ of girls. Bravo Mahira K! Keep holding up that hazy mirror to society.

New Miss World

It has taken 17 years for another Indian girl to win the Miss World pageant for her country. The last one was none other than Priyanka Chopra, and this time around it’s the girl with a cherubic smile, Manushi Chhillar, who won the title on Nov 18 in Sanya City Arena, China. She hails from Haryana and is studying medicine. To her advantage, she doesn’t have to be a doctor to treat people’s illnesses. She can just smile and they will feel better already.

Padmavati’s predicament continues

Spare a thought for filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali and his team of actors and technicians who worked hard on the film Padmavati. They have been under tremendous pressure for quite a few months from Hindu Rajput groups who do not want the film to be screened. Last week India’s censor board, succumbing to the pressure from those groups, sent the movie back to its producers for cuts. To boot, the release of the project has been postponed. As if that weren’t enough, a leader of Karni Sena threatened the star of Padmavati, Deepika Padukone, and the director with physical harm (that they will cut off her nose and chop off his head). This is a dangerous development. It is sad and infuriating that no one from the Indian government wants to take on these ruffians. It hints at complicity with the goons at some level. Deepika and Sanjay should be given security. They are remarkable artists and sensitive human beings, like all artists worth their salt.

Tiff with trolls

The talented Taapsee Pannu is trying to find her feet on the slippery floor of Bollywood. But recently she got to learn about the callous world of social media the hard way when she put up a picture of herself in a skimpy dress on Twitter with a fair degree of pride. Contrary to her expectation, she received a plethora of comments criticising her sartorial sense and teasing her for not caring two hoots about her culture. The wise girl that Taapsee P is, she didn’t get flustered by it and responded to those comments with mild sarcasm. One of her replies to a man was a zinger: “We are not finding protectors of the culture. I did this to find you, otherwise wouldn’t have found a diamond like you.” Spot on girl! Keep cutting those diamonds down to size.

KISS OF DEATH

So, it turns out that you can annoy Fox News! Check this out: musician Gene Simmons was to appear on the show Fox and Friends on Fox to promote his book On Power. But prior to that, the lead vocalist of the rock band Kiss stormed into a room where a staff meeting was taking place, bared his torso and screamed, “Hey chicks, sue me!” He did not stop there. He spoke vociferously about Michael Jackson and pedophilia. As a result, not only was his appearance on Fox and Friends cancelled, he’s been banned for life from appearing on the TV channel. What? They should have hired him instead. He looks and sounds like perfect Fox material.

Split and restrain

One more showbiz couple splits, like a walnut gets cracked with a gentle hammer tap. After a decade of an ostensibly solid relationship, Grammy winner Jennifer Hudson and former wrestler David Otunga have broken up. (They have an eight-year-old son.) By the way, that’s not the surprising part of the news item. On Nov 15, the singer obtained a protective order against him accusing him of “threatening and aggressive behaviour towards her and their son.” Of course, David O’s lawyer immediately denied the allegation. Well, now he might have to go back into the wrestling ring to work some of his aggression out. And he won’t need a lawyer to defend him there.

Published in Dawn, ICON, November 26th, 2017