Kudos, Pak Showbiz Stars

It was so heartwarming to see Pakistani showbiz community act like a bunch of sane and peace-loving people when tensions between India and Pakistan spiked, and the spectre of war was looming large on the subcontinent.

Unlike their Indian counterparts (such as Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgan and Karan Johar) who praised on social media their air force for flying into Pakistani territory and, in a manner of speaking, egged them on for a battle — let’s not even mention the ditzy statements by Kangana Ranaut — actors and singers on our side of the divide constantly advocated peace and restraint. They included, among others, Hadiqa Kiani, Sanam Saeed and Osman Khalid Butt. We are so proud of our showbiz peeps! Artists, no matter what part of the world they come from, are meant to promote harmony among human beings. Something that Indian artists need to realise.

Shehzori As Theatre

Rumour has it that eminent writer Haseena Moin’s classic television play Shehzori is now going to be produced for stage. The playwright is working on the script these days.

And who’s going to direct it?

Well, it’s the veteran theatre director Sohail Malik. Now that’s a lethal combo.

Sohail M is known for his distinct style of direction and has many successful comedies to his credit. There’s likelihood that the play is going to be a blast. Not from the past, hopefully.

Contemporariness must, of course, be kept in mind.

Tips For Husband

Ranveer Singh absolutely adores his wife Deepika Padukone. So he wants to be an exemplary husband. In that pursuit, he requested Kareena Kapoor-Khan to give him tips on how to become a good hubby.

The actress replied that he doesn’t need any tips because he’s already head-over-heels in love with his better half. The only piece of mashwara that she gave him was that ‘give each other space’. Just like Saif Ali Khan and Amrita Singh did?

Sethi’s Raat

Ali Sethi received quite a bit of criticism for singing the ghazal Ranjish hi sahi on Coke Studio. It seems, this time round, he has made amends. His rendition of Saifuddin Saif’s matla (the first two rhyming lines of a ghazal) Chandni raat barri der ke baad aayi hai / Lab pe ik baat barri der ke baad aayi hai is pretty good.

However, it would be unjust not to mention the beautifully shot video for the track by Sarmad Khoosat and Awais Gohar. The visuals can be interpreted in multiple ways, one of which is that it depicts the pain of immigrants stranded or stuck in various parts of the world. There could be other ways to construe them, but the bottom-line is that it is a thought-provoking video. Well done!

The Bradley-Gaga Show

Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga’s noteworthy (in every sense of the word) performance at the Oscars, where they sang Shallow from their movie A Star is Born, had many tongues wagging. The two crooned the lyrics with a lot of heart, and the way the ended the piece by looking into each other’s eyes made everyone feel that there’s more to it than meets the eye.

Things got a bit foggier when it was reported that Bradley C’s girlfriend Irina Shayk has unfollowed Lady G on Instagram. Some say, both girls have never followed each other on Instagram or Twitter. The speculation prompted

Lady G to remark that social media is “the toilet of the internet.” Uff! That’s nasty, girl. But not many people would disagree with her.

Sheeran Hitched

It’s official folks, singer Ed Sheeran is married to his long-time girlfriend Cherry Seaborn! Give him some credit, though, for not letting this important nugget of info (for his fans, of course) leak out when it happened, which was a couple of days before Christmas.

Sheeran broke the news recently to one of his reporter friends, adding that the ceremony was a private affair that took place at his country estate in Suffolk to which no A-list celebrity was invited. In case you’re wondering about the bride, well, she’s a molecular biologist and a hockey player. This means she’s scored the most vital goal of her life. Must be in her DNA.

Published in Dawn, ICON, March 10th, 2019