Rahat-less Dabangg

It is hard to imagine the Dabangg franchise starring Salman Khan without a Rahat Fateh Ali Khan song — Tere mast mast do nain (Dabangg) and Daghabaaz re (Dabangg 2).

The soon-to-be-released Dabangg 3 was also supposed to have two songs sung by the ace Pakistani vocalist. But with the never-ending tense border situation between Pakistan and India, the producers of the movie have decided to drop the Rahat FK tracks and have had someone else sing them. Sad. It won’t sound like a dabangg soundtrack anymore.

Ambassador Mahira

Congratulations to our very own Mahira Khan for becoming a goodwill ambassador in Pakistan for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The wise girl that she is, the actress accepted the position by uttering the right words: “Proud to be born to a motherland that has opened its arms to refugees for over 40 years.” Spot on, Mahira K! Once you retire from acting (we hope you don’t) you could always serve the motherland by becoming a politician. You’d be good at it.

Beware the Churails

Asim Abbasi impressed everyone with his thoughtfully and slickly made film Cake. Ever since, fans had been eagerly waiting for his next project. Well, it’s on. The director has come up with a web series called Churails which will soon grace cyberspace. Interestingly, announcing the series on social media, Asim A has given a hint of the plot by highlighting that a ‘few rangeen churrailein [colourful witches] are coming to bash your deep-rooted misogyny.’ We certainly need that, guys! Especially, the actors and writers who are going through middle-age crises.

Polanski in the News, Again

Filmmaker Roman Polanski has once again made headlines for all the wrong reasons. Remember that he is accused of raping a 13-year-old girl in the 1970s, because of which he can’t land in the US? Well, it seems that things might get tricky in France for the Polish-French dual national as well. On November 8, a French woman/actress/photographer Valentine Monnier accused the director of raping her in 1975 when she was 18 years of age. In an interview she claimed, “I had no connection to him, personal or professional, and barely knew him. This was an extreme act of violence, after we went skiing at his chalet in Gstaad.” Hair-raising stuff. Of course, Roman P’s lawyer has denied the report and has threatened to sue and has said it is timed to damage the release of the director’s latest film, An Officer and a Spy. Ms Monnier has admitted that the release of the film — about a miscarriage of justice in French history — is what triggered her to speak out.

The Money Factor

People think choreographer and director Farah Khan tells it like it is. We don’t think so. We all know how she hobnobs with the high and mighty in Bollywood. Check out her latest attempt to keep rubbing shoulders with the bigwigs. She thinks, nay believes, the Indian film industry is not male-dominated and that, rather, it’s all about who brings in the money. Farah K dear: how much moolah have Shah Rukh Khan and Sanjay Dutt brought in, in recent times? Come on! Speaking the truth will still keep you in their good books.

Fear for Charlize

Every top-notch actor has their individual method to pick and choose a part that they feel will challenge their ability and talent. For the stunning Charlize Theron, it’s, wait for it... fear.

Yes, talking to a Hollywood journo, the Oscar winner said, “There’s something pure that happens when you read material that you know nothing about and something just clicks for you. It’s not necessarily a switch that says, ‘Yes, I should do this.’ It’s usually a switch that says, ‘This is scary. I don’t know about this,’ and you can’t stop thinking about it. The fear is really what drives it. I love that feeling.” For a moment we thought she was talking about relationships. Wink.

Published in Dawn, ICON, November 17th, 2019