THE GRAPEVINE

Published April 1, 2018

PSL and the stars

It was nice to see Pakistani showbiz celebs turning up in a decent number at the Pakistan Super League (PSL) final in Karachi last Sunday, adding more colour to the festive atmosphere. From Fawad Khan to Aaminah Sheikh and from Adnan Malik to Ali Zafar, they were there to entertain the large crowd and spoke to the electronic and print media about the gala event.

One thing though: while one understands the hazards of live music in such a big programme, the performances by Strings and Ali Zafar could have had more zing to them if they didn’t seem and sound a bit pre-recorded. Perhaps they were not. But they definitely sounded so.

7DMI Poster

The poster for Mahira Khan’s upcoming film 7 Din Mohabbat In is out, and one has to admit that it looks pretty jazzy.

Actually there are two posters: one shows Mahira K in a mischievous mood lowering a pair of sunglasses down her nose rather coquettishly, and the other has the bespectacled Shehreyar Munawar looking through a magnifying glass with his right eye.

Directed by Meenu Gaur and Farjad Nabi, 7DMI is slated to be released on Eidul Fitr and promises to be a fun film because the protagonists look pretty glassy, sorry, classy, in it.

Birthday Trees

The feisty Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut celebrated her 31st birthday on March 23. No, she didn’t do it by throwing a lavish party for her friends. Instead, she planted 31 trees in Mumbai in the locality where she lives.

The idea is to show her admirers that she cares for planet Earth and wants it green and clean. Nice gesture, Kangana R! It’s good that you’ve started planting trees. It will eliminate the notion that you are only fond of planting stories against your co-actors ... which, of course, is not true.

No selfies, please

Good on you, Thierry Fremaux! Who is he, you might ask? Well, he is the director of the Cannes Film Festival and the reason he is being lauded here is that for this year’s edition of the festival he has banned selfies taken on the red carpet.

Thierry F has been trying to do that for a few years, but has now finally put his foot down. Giving an interview to a magazine he reasoned, “On the red carpet, the trivial aspect and the slowing down provoked by the disorder which these selfies create tarnishes the quality of [the red carpet experience] and of the festival as a whole.”

Spot on, sir! We hope someone in our nook of the world emulates you and slaps a ban on the countless and mindless selfies taken during film premieres.

The Geneva Intention

Folks, insiders say, it’s decided. The slim and sassy Sonam Kapoor will marry her businessman, super-rich boyfriend Anand Ahuja on May 11.

In fact, the ceremony will last for a couple of days with sangeet and mehndi festivities followed by the wedding ceremony. And the city that the two have chosen to tie the knot in is ... Geneva. Apparently, there was an argument whether to do it in Jaipur or abroad, and Geneva was given the final nod. It’s a good idea. If anything goes wrong with the marriage, the Geneva Conventions might apply.

Flues blues

Here’s another example of the fact that artists are no different human beings than the rest of us mortal lot.

Pop icon Pink was to do a gig at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on March 25. But three days prior to that, she posted a message on her social media page saying the show has been postponed because her entire family, including the singer, has been battling “this awful flu” for the last two weeks. She promised that the concert would be rescheduled.

We hope that Pink will be in the pink of health soon so that those who had bought tickets for the March 25 show don’t get red-faced.

Published in Dawn, ICON, April 1st, 2018

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