Get Well Soon

On April 3, actress Nadia Jamil took to social media to inform her friends and admirers that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Thankfully the disease had been caught at an early stage (Stage one, Grade three), and when she broke the news to her fans, she had already begun her treatment, followed soon after by a surgery. Nadia J used the opportunity to stress that all women should regularly monitor any lumps and have them checked out by doctors without any shame. While the news worried all of us, we hope and pray Nadia J makes a swift and complete recovery. We can’t wait to see her display her tremendous acting talent again.

Amrita’s Tribute

Wow is the word that instantly springs to mind (and heart). We all know that pretty and petite Amrita Rao can act (Main Hoon Na, Vivah) but we never knew she could sing so beautifully. On April 3 she put up a video of hers on Instagram in which she paid tribute to none other than the legendary Lata Mangeshkar, by singing the opening lines of the latter’s famous song Baanhon mein chaley aao. Not only did she sing in sur but also cutely managed the naughty little voice modulations that Lataji did for the track. No wonder the video went crazy viral. No wonder everyone’s now clamouring, ‘Amrita gao!’.

The Grapevine Correction

Because of a layout error last week, in The Grapevine item on Abdul Qadir Junejo, the iconic writer who recently passed away and is pictured here, his image was substituted by a photograph of the equally iconic artist Zafar Kazmi, who had passed away in 2007. Icon regrets the error.

Spot on, FQ

Tough times reveal many a thing, one of which is some people’s opportunist attitude to life. Ever since the coronavirus outbreak has hit the world, scores of people have come out in aid of the underprivileged, but some of them are obviously doing it just for self-projection. Seeing evidence of it on the Pakistani media, actor Faysal Quraishi was courageous enough to point that out in a message, the essence of which is: do not take photos and make videos while helping someone, and do not turn their financially challenged position into a publicity stunt. Absolutely right Faysal Q! Such people overshadow the work of those who do charity out of sheer compassion and love of humanity.

Lindsay on the Go

The show goes on. This seems to be the mantra that Lindsay Lohan is adhering to. In the midst of the coronavirus hullabaloo she’s come out with a brand new song called Back to Me. To be honest, people, especially the young ones, are loving it, calling it a ‘good move’. Some news reports suggest that they’re dancing to it (in their homes, of course). Cool! So acting’s loss is music’s gain. Wait. It was never acting’s great loss.

Bill Withers, RIP

There would hardly be a music lover in the world who is not familiar with the songs Ain’t no sunshine and Lean on me. Sadly, their singer, and renowned music producer, Bill Withers, passed away on April 3. He was 81. He was the recipient of three Grammy Awards. Five years ago, in 2015, he was inducted into the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame. May he rest in peace.

Published in Dawn, ICON, April 12th, 2020