Well done Ali Aftab

That’s how you do it! Singer Ali Aftab Saeed of Bayghairat Brigade fame has started doing a vlog (that’s a video blog for the noobs) in Urdu for the BBC.

Its first episode in which he’s seen cutting veggies in his kitchen has been widely appreciated primarily because of the intelligent way he talked about some of the important current affairs issues with the feathery touch of satire. He said what he wanted to say without hammering his point home, using witty lines that brought a smile to viewers’ faces. Ali AS, keep chopping them fine.

Zakoota, no more

Actor Munna Lahori (real name Matloobur Rehman) passed away on Feb 16. He was famous for his remarkable portrayal of the character Zakoota in the play Ainak Wala Jinn, an iconic PTV offering from the 1990s.

AWJ was supposedly a play made for children, but its popularity cut across all age brackets. Munna had a catchphrase: ‘Mujhe kaam batao main kis ko khaon’ [Tell me who do you want me to eat!] which was extremely popular among kids. May he rest in peace.

Sued

Here’s another cogent example of how women in the entertainment industry are fast gaining confidence and fighting the fights that they might not have, let’s say, 10 years ago.

Priyanka Chopra, who is now a global star, has sued Nirav Modi, the head of a jewellery brand currently under investigation in India for an alleged multi-million dollar bank fraud, for not paying her dues after the actress appeared in an advert for his product.

Not just her, actor Sidharth Malhotra, who appeared alongside her in the commercial, has also decided to sever his ties with the brand. You go girl! And you too Sidharth M!

The thoughtful split?

To be honest, it looked inevitable the moment Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie parted ways.

In case you’re wondering what was inevitable, well, last week Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux separated after a marital relationship that lasted for a little more than two years. The moment the news of their split came out, rumour mills went overboard (and overtime) speculating whether the actress has done it to get back with her former lover Brad P. Not sure if there’s truth to this. Not sure if it’s entirely untrue.

His energy

Believe it or not, Tiger Shroff has a girlfriend. Her name is Disha Patani. And she is working with him in Baghi 2, the sequel to the film by the same name.

Though Disha P knows Tiger S pretty well, she still finds it hard to match his moves step-for-step in the film. Talking to a journo, the pretty young thing has revealed that it is difficult to “cope with his energy levels.” Dear Disha, you’re dealing with a tiger here, and he is not made of paper.

A Foxxy walk off

Boy oh boy! Love can make the coolest guy in the world lose his temper at the drop of a hat.

Check this: Jamie Foxx recently appeared in a live telecast of the NBA-All Star Celebrity Game (basketball match, for the uninitiated) where he was all set to give an interview to ESPN’s Michael Smith. Things got awkward when the host asked him whether Jamie F and Katie Holmes (his alleged girlfriend) played basketball for Valentine’s Day. The Oscar-winning actor gave the interviewer a strange look, took off his microphone and headphones and walked out of the interview without saying anything.

Hmmm … they say actions speak louder than love, sorry, words.

Published in Dawn, ICON, February 25th, 2018