Queen Noor

On March 13, iconic singer Nayyara Noor who, for more than two decades, had stopped making public appearances or singing professionally, came to the National Academy of Performing Arts (Napa) to take part in a festival where young vocalists sang her famous songs composed by Arshad Mahmud. She engaged in conversation with sitar player Nafees Ahmad and Arshad M for a little more than an hour, to the delight of music lovers who had come to Napa in big numbers to listen to her.

Now a little birdie has told us that Nayyara N has picked up her harmonium and resumed her riyaaz, something she hadn’t done in a long, long time. This means we should brace ourselves for some quality music. Yay!

Birthday Gift

On March 15, the uber-talented actress Alia Bhatt turned 26. HBD messages from members of her family, friends and fans came pouring in from the midnight of March 14, but everybody was thinking about what gift Ranbir Kapoor, her alleged BF, would give her. Well, here it is: he has arranged for a holiday with Alia B at Aspen Mountains Ski Resort in Colorado.

The two will fly out to the US the moment she’s done with promoting her new film Kalank. Good luck, Ranbir K and Alia B. Just don’t resort to too much skiing, since both of you, we hear, are prone to injury.

Mehwish’s Distinction

Congratulations to film actor Mehwish Hayat for getting the Tamgha-i-Imtiaz in the recently announced national honours. She richly deserved it.

What she also deserved was the way her showbiz mates — Mahira Khan, Humayun Saeed and Osman Khalid Butt etc — backed her up when a website alleged that she had only got the award because of her connections with the ruling political party.

The way they came out on social media to pat her back was simply praiseworthy.

This imtiaz (distinction) is no less than the one bestowed on Mehwish H by the government.

Which is Which

To be honest, agreeing with a lot of showbiz fans, we also think that Hollywood A-lister Mark Ruffalo and the 22-year-old actor Noah Centineo look alike, meaning, the latter appears to be the younger version of the former.

When late night show host Jimmy Fallon asked the 51-year-old Mark R what his views on this topic are, the actor said, “I wish I was that good looking. He might be able to play my dad one day.” Interestingly, Noah C also receives similar comments from other people. He says casting directors always compare him to The Hulk actor, claiming they even sound the same. Hmmm … it would be more interesting if they get their DNA test done. I mean, you never know if they’re related and they don’t even know about it.

The Tatum-J Affair

Despite the fact that actor Channing Tatum and British singer Jessie J had tried their best to keep their relationship hush-hush from the media, we knew that they were up to some lovey-dovey thing. Well, the two have finally come out with the truth as they shopped their hearts out on March 14 in London. They were spotted holding hands and looking coquettishly into each other’s eyes. They weren’t even bothered when the paps took their pictures. So, will Jessie J be known as Jessie T soon?

Like Mother, Like Son

The words heartwarming, sweet and awww … come to mind. On March 14, something very special happened at the 2019 iHeart Radio Music Awards. Alicia Keys came to the stage for a performance. She sang two of her well-known songs, Raise a man and You don’t know my name.

During the performance she invited her eight-year-old son Egypt Dean to give her company. The boy appeared and played the piano like a dream. The combination proved so beautiful that the audience thought it was the best act of the award show. And indeed it was. Let’s see when Egypt D comes out with an album of his own. He knows how to tinkle the piano keys for sure.

Published in Dawn, ICON, March 24th, 2019