Male chauvinist

James Cameron has waded in where angels fear to tread. He’s a great director, no doubt. But it’s beyond any sane man to know why he said what he said about Wonder Woman in an interview to a British newspaper. These were his words: “All of the self-congratulatory back-patting Hollywood’s been doing over Wonder Woman has been so misguided. She’s an objectified icon, and it’s just male Hollywood doing the same old thing! I’m not saying I didn’t like the movie but, to me, it’s a step backwards.”

In response, the director of the film Patty Jenkins argued: “James Cameron’s inability to understand what Wonder Woman is, or stands for, to women all over the world is unsurprising as, though he is a great filmmaker, he is not a woman.” Good point Patty J. Even Superman can have gender biases.

The broken heart of an actor

Artists are a sensitive lot. Check out what Nawazuddin Siddiqui has just revealed about himself. Well, he became an actor because a girl in his village, for whom he had great fondness, refused to talk to him.

Here’s the story: the village had only one television placed at a certain vantage point and villagers used to gather there to watch TV programmes. Nawaz S and that girl also did that for four years, but instead of watching the telly, they used to look at each other from the corner of their eyes. After four years, when he tried to make conversation with her, she gave him a cold look and went away. This made him angry and he decided that one day he’d appear on every TV set of the country so that she couldn’t take her eyes off him.

Interesting na! Hmm … what if that girl doesn’t watch TV at all?

Don’t judge her

The pretty-as-a-picture Jacqueline Fernandez is miffed. She doesn’t like it when people call her a ‘glamorous’ actor because she usually does chic, rich-girl roles on celluloid.

She warns them no one has the right to point fingers at her choice of movies. The actor is not convinced that she should do an ‘indie’ project under such pressures for it would mean that she’s doing it for the wrong reasons. She feels it should come from ‘within’. Right on, girl! That said, try and wake up your ‘within’ as soon as possible please.

Court decision praised

Fifteen years ago, a complaint was filed in an Indian court against self-proclaimed spiritual guru Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh for sexually exploiting two of his women followers.

Last week, the court gave the verdict against him, finding him guilty of rape. This infuriated his disciples and they took to the streets, as a result of which more than two dozen lives were lost. Bollywood celebs, who these days have no qualms in airing their views on sensitive subjects, lauded the court’s decision on social media.

They included, among several others, Raveena Tandon, Anupam Kher, Farhan Akhtar and Bhumi Padnekar. Raveena T’s comments were the most poignant in which she criticised the hooliganism suggesting it proved what Singh’s cult was all about. Spot on, madam! These idiots, like their guru, need to be taught a lesson and reined in, and your voice, the voices of the people who wield influence in society can contribute in doing that.

Message on the T-shirt

Kareena Kapoor is sharp as a whip. Now that she’s a married woman with a child, the perception is that not many film offers will come her way. This may or may not be true. What’s true is that the woman knows how to attract attention.

The Jab We Met gal was recently spotted in Mumbai wearing a T-shirt on which ‘If you want to talk to me, talk to my agency’ was written in bold letters. Clearly she was putting across at least a couple of messages. One, she is still working and is in demand; two, she is just as sassy and carefree as she used to be when she was single. Next: Jab We Talk.

Song for Malala

The film Gul Makai being made on the life and work of our very own Nobel Prize winner Malala Yousufzai is on the fast track now. An interesting nugget of information regarding the movie has recently been divulged to the media.

Indian actor Om Puri, who died early this year in strange circumstances, is also part of the project and had already recorded his part before his death. Not just that, he had also sung a song in Gul Makai. How cool is that! Come to think of it, we, in Pakistan, should also come up with a similar project for our Malala.

Published in Dawn, ICON, September 1st, 2017