Mere Paas Ertuğrul (Nahin) Hai

We will not comment on the Turkish drama series Diriliş: Ertuğrul because there has already been too much brouhaha about it. However, it attracted our attention when rumour-mongers said that Humayun Saeed intends to make a local version of it. The actor/producer was quick to deny it, emphatically at that. Instead, he informed the media that he is thinking of producing a historical drama with Khalilur Rehman Qamar as its writer. Okay, that’s drama enough already... with a bit of history.

Meera in Quarantine

On May 13, our very own Meera told her fans via an Instagram video that she’s back in Pakistan after being stranded in the US for quite some time due to the coronavirus situation. She was all praise for the Pakistani government for facilitating her return. She then went into a 14-day quarantine, after which, it is expected, she will self-isolate herself at her home. Brace yourself for some Meerasolation videos.

Rishi’s Hope

Rishi Kapoor’s death has left a great many things unsaid as far as members of his family are concerned. Meena Iyer, who wrote the late actor’s biography Khullam Khulla, has said that Rishi K was keen on his son’s wedding to Alia Bhatt and was fine with Ranbir K’s idea of a not-so-extravagant ceremony with no more than 45 guests. He had also intended to take his son and his girlfriend out to dinner, but that was never to be. Sad. Death is such a cruel thing.

Sonakshi’s Sunday

Ah, these trolls and their inability to understand a smartly written line! On May 13, a Wednesday, Sonakshi Sinha uploaded a picture of herself on social media calling it a ‘Sunday selfie’ because she felt: “I don’t know what day it is anymore.” Obviously the reference was to life in a lockdown. It did not go down well with some of her followers and they started trolling her for a variety of reasons, such as ‘she’s depressed’ or ‘she doesn’t see the calendar’. Sonakshi S was cool enough to deflect each asinine objection without paying much heed to it because for her every day is… Sunday.

Lost It

An understatement: Rihanna has a tremendous voice. But the last time she released an album was four years ago. So despite her foray into the glitzy world of fashion and accessories, her avid listeners keep asking her when she’s going to put out the next album.

On May 13, when someone on Twitter insisted that she give an answer to the question, the vocalist replied: “I lost it.” Obviously, she was kidding, and rumour has it that she is working on a new set of songs. It might be called Lost and Found.

The Lookalike

Pop star Adele is always in the news, not necessarily for good reasons. This time round she has made the headlines a bit vicariously. Last week, actress Sarah Paulson (The American Horror Story), to her surprise, found herself trending on Twitter when her followers told her that she looks a lot like Adele. She was pretty okay with it. “I mean, what I wish they were comparing was my talent to her talent and saying that mine was as great as hers, which quite honestly they can’t say because no one’s talent is as great as hers, which is really irritating. But I’ll take looking like her. Man, she’s a beauty. So, sure. Great. Give it to me. I’ll take it.” Hmmm...after her recent makeover, not sure if the singer shares your enthusiasm, gal.

Published in Dawn, ICON, May 24th, 2020