Laila O Laila

Heartwarming, endearing, sweet. These are the words that sprang to mind (and heart) when we got to listen to the newest version of the famous Balochi song, Laila O Laila.

Kudos to Ali Zafar for singing it with the 12-year-old Urooj Fatima, who we hear is from Balochistan, because it has lent the track a touch of innocence which is absolutely essential for the times we live in. The girl’s voice has the kind of purity that can enrich modern-day Pakistani music. To the naysayers, here’s a piece of advice: art is to be felt, not to be understood.

Award for Zindagi Tamasha

Sarmad Khoosat’s much-awaited film Zindagi Tamasha (aka Circus of Life) has done Pakistan proud. The movie bagged the Kim Ji-seok award at the Busan International Film Festival in South Korea on Oct 6. The award — which is given to the two best Asian films premiering at the festival — is named after the fest’s co-founder and longtime director who passed away in 2017.

Sarmad K shared the prize with Pradip Kurbah, the Indian director of Market. Kudos to Zindagi Tamasha! Meanwhile, back at home, a religious political party has written to the censor board to have the film banned in Pakistan because it feels it touches on sensitive issues. Let’s see if freedom of expression wins out over obscurantist control in Naya Pakistan.

Unfair Careers

No, Deepika Padukone is not in the family way. So what if she and Ranveer Singh have been married for 11 months? The fact is that while both of them love kids, right now they don’t want lil’ ones of their own.

The reason Deepika P has given to quash pregnancy rumours is that if they had kids now, it would be unfair for them because the couple is focused on their careers. Career! That fancy word that grows old in the blink of an eye.

Straight Shooter

The star of Laal Kabootar Ahmed Ali Akbar appears to be someone who doesn’t like to beat around the bush. In a recent interview given to an American media outlet, the actor gave us a glimpse of his inner self. Apparently, he does not approve of using cyberspace to talk about his mental health or to express patriotism.

According to him, those who try to be patriotic on social media do so to gain followers. Interesting. We’re not sure whether by saying this he has lessened his followers … in the showbiz community, that is.

Comments Out

The hottest Friend Jennifer Aniston is not a fan of too much technology. After echoing what director Martin Scorsese has said about Marvel movies (that they’re more like theme parks than cinema), she has taken a dig at social media and its “effects on younger people figuring out their identity.” That’s not all. She says, “I also think we need to take out the comment sections.” Hmmm … she may be on to something but all we can offer is no comments.

Not Average Joe

Wanna keep your wife happy? Be careful how you word things.

On October 9, Joe Jonas put up a picture of himself on Instagram with his musician brothers with whom he is these days working on an album. He sounded super happy which is why he qualified the photo as ‘best day ever’.

This did not go down well with his better half, actress Sophie Turner (aka Lady Sansa), who instantly trolled him by asking, “Really?” Joe J was quick on the uptake and corrected himself by writing, “True. This is the second best ever.” In case, anyone didn’t get it, the wifey wanted him to say that his best day was their wedding day. Ah, the life of a married guy.

Published in Dawn, ICON, October 20th, 2019