Roy Recovery

On July 30, singer and social worker Shehzad Roy took to social media to tell his fans that he and his family had been infected with the coronavirus but that, by the grace of God, they were now doing fine. He also put up a little video about how to fight the disease, stressing the importance of masks and social distancing using humour and animation. We hope and pray that Shehzad R and his family have a full recovery from Covid-19. After all, who else can one say ‘laga reh…’ to?

Married Again

On Aug 1, Hollywood A-lister Sean Penn got married to actress Leila George, daughter of Greta Scacchi and Vincent D’Onofrio. The two-time Oscar winning actor is 59 years of age and his bride, 28. This is the third time that he’s tied the knot; he has previously been married to Madonna and Robin Wright, after which he was romantically linked to Scarlet Johansson and Charlize Theron. The women in his lives… wow! And yet, it seems Jeff “All I need are some tasty waves” Spicolli is still trying to be third time lucky.

Kashyap’s Churrails

Ever since the trailer for Asim Abbasi’s Churrails came out, people can’t seem to stop talking about the web series. The expectation is not just sky high in Pakistan; across the border too, they’re anticipating something special. Check out ace Indian filmmaker Anurag ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’ Kashyap’s exclamatory statement after watching the trailer: “Had no clue this was directed by Asim Abbasi. Adding to my watchlist.” Cool! So, he believes in churrails as well.

Further Degenerate

The plot thickens. After a good number of former employees of the Ellen DeGeneres Show revealed how the host and makers of the programme had misbehaved with them, causing quite a stir in the media — leading to Ellen DeG issuing an apology — on July 30 a story published in an online magazine disclosed that dozens of them have also complained about sexual misconduct and harassment at the hands of the executive producers of the show. They say it was particularly ‘common for one producer to make sexually explicit comments in the office’. The producer, whose name was not disclosed at the time of filing this item, had this to say in reply: “I’m horrified that some of my attempts at humour may have caused offense.” Watch your words, comedian.

Shaan the Sage

You can’t keep film star Shaan Shahid away from the limelight, can you! He tries to be as socially and politically aware a man as any of us. Recently, Karachi’s administration came under severe attack for mishandling (or non-handling) the situation that arose after the heavy monsoon rains. Expressing his views on Twitter, Shaan wrote: “Politics is a game played by the powerful on the powerless … the suffering of the people of Karachi should be felt and dealt with unity. No matter what political party we belong to, humanity should always come first.” Spot on, Shaan S! Come to think of it, politics is a game that’s played in every arena of life, including showbiz.

Living Apart?

Hollywood is abuzz with the news that Kim Kardashian and Kanye West have been living separately for the past one year. To boot, the reality show star is even entertaining the idea of divorcing him. Well, on Aug 1, Kim K’s representative cleared the air, or so they think, by denying the reports calling them ‘absolutely not true’. Still, sources close to both of them claim that their differences are increasingly becoming irreconcilable and the only thing that is stopping her from calling it quits is their four children. Well, for the children’s sake, we hope things don’t go sourer between them. And for Kanye W’s sake, if he still feels up to running for US president, he should start looking for a new First Lady.

Published in Dawn, ICON, August 9th, 2020