Hareem Harassed

What can we say but feel sad about it. Hareem Shah, the TikTok star who shot to nationwide fame and notoreity when she filmed inside Pakistan’s Foreign Office, was last week asked to take part in the opening ceremony of a mall in Dubai. There she was hounded by dozens of men who abused her and even pushed her around. She somehow managed to move out of their way. This is a disturbing trend. Everyone has the right to their opinion, but to harass a woman like this is uncalled for and should be condemned.

Engaged

On December 11, social activist Jibran Nasir and Mansha Pasha, the girl who earned accolades from critics and audiences in equal measure for her mature acting in the film Laal Kabootar, got engaged. They were seeing each for some time, and it was a ‘secret’ known to all those who follow showbiz stars. The engagement ceremony took place at a hotel in Karachi, and a good number of friends and colleagues of the couple attended it to shower them with their blessings. Congratulations to Jibran N and Mansha P. Activism and acting make a lethal combo, though it’s not always mutually exclusive.

Jennifer Knows What to Say

These days Jennifer Garner is in great spirits. Nothing can stop this mother of three children from being happy, not even cruel and callous Instagram users. On December 19, she posted a video on her Insta page of a performance from the ballet Nutcracker which she had gone to see and felt good about. Instead of sticking to the subject, one of her followers wrote, “What do you call a movie star who makes no movies?” Jennifer G was quick to rebut with, “A mom.” Now that’s what you call beauty with brains ... and kids.

Editor’s Choice

Now this is super interesting. Eastern Eye, a UK-based magazine, has been coming up with a list of the sexiest Asian men and women for the last 16 years. This time round, the women’s list included the name of our very own Mehwish Hayat (5th) along with Mahira Khan (9th), Katrina Kaif (6th), Priyanka Chopra (10th) and the top of the pile, Alia Bhatt. This prompted a strange reaction from Mehwish H who objected to her inclusion in a statement arguing that EE should judge people on talent not on their physical attributes. The reply from the founder of the list, Asjad Nazir, was even more interesting. He claimed no one had actually voted for her, and she had made the cut mainly because of her philanthropic work, adding “she was there as an editor’s choice.” The EE editor was also miffed at Mehwish H using what he termed a “vulgar comment” to characterise the list which he says has redefined ‘sexiness’. Of course, all publicity is good, eh Mehwish H?

Twinkle and Tenet

On December 18, moviegoers were super excited to see the trailer for Christopher Nolan’s much-awaited film Tenet. The project has a stellar cast including John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Michael Caine and Bollywood A-lister Dimple Kapadia who appears in the trailer for a second or so. Her daughter Twinkle Khanna sounded cock-a-hoop about her mum as she immediately took to her Twitter account complimenting Dimple K by tweaking an iconic Hollywood line, “Look up in the sky. It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s superwoman!” Chill out Twinkle K. It’s just your mum in a foreign film.

Channing, Again

Perhaps Hollywood heartthrob Channing Tatum needs to do some introspection. It has only been a month since his divorce from actress Jenna Dewan reached the final stages. Ever since his relationship with her went sour, Channing T had been going out with singer/songwriter Jessie J. But on December 21, news came that these two have broken up last month as well. Apparently, Jessie J seems not to be too bothered by the severing of ties with him. Could it be that Channing T has relationship issues which he needs to sort out as soon as possible? Is that why he says he’d rather focus on his career than on romance?

Published in Dawn, ICON, December 29th, 2019