Dear PM

Karachi has seen terrible days before. But August 27, 2020 will go down as one of the worst in history, when record rains paralysed the city. Roads were inundated with water, the electricity network collapsed (in some areas, power was restored after three days) and there was also no mobile phone network. Singer and actor Khaled Anam, in a video message, reminded Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan of his promise that he would not abandon Karachi. Well, it remains to be seen how the PM, who has yet to even tour Karachi, reacts to the message: will he leave it, considering it a well-pitched delivery, or play it on the up like a big-hearted batsman?

Not So Free Adnan

It seems that the Sushant Singh Rajput suicide case and the hullabaloo around it will take some time to end. We say this because everyone who has even a modicum of stake in Bollywood is weighing in on the topic. For example, Adnan Sami Khan (who was once a Pakistani, got all the fame from here and now lives in India) has said that the psychiatrists speaking about the late actor’s mental health are seeking free publicity. Just like you, Adnan SK, perhaps? Aren’t you too trying to get attention of the likes of bigoted TV anchor Arnab Goswami? Reminds us of your song, Thorri si tau lift kara de…

Chadwick Boseman, RIP

The star of Marvel’s Black Panther, Chadwick Boseman, died of cancer on August 29. He was 43. The news of his demise stunned the entire movie-loving world; it came as a complete shock because he was an actor whose career graph had only just begun to grow upwards, at a pretty rapid pace at that, and because he had never divulged his illness. He was apparently diagnosed with colon cancer four years ago and had undergone numerous surgeries and bouts of chemotherapy, but had managed successfully to keep it from the media. Like the fictional leader of Wakanda, he kept his dignity till the end. May he rest in peace.

Ain’t Easy

Of late, people had begun suggesting that Chris Hemsworth and Elsa Pataky (who’ve been married for 10 years and have an eight-year-old daughter) are the perfect showbiz couple. Well, that bubble has been pricked by Elsa P herself in an interview given to an Australian magazine. When asked about her apparently perfect marriage, she argued, “It’s funny that people think that way. No way, it’s been ups and downs, and we still keep working at the relationship… it’s not easy.” Most definitely, marriage is no cakewalk, girl. And you are Mrs Thor; he sometimes carries a hammer and sometimes an axe...

Family Way

Fans of Bollywood star Anushka Sharma and her hubby cricketer Virat Kohli felt elated when the actress posted a picture on her Twitter page last week, showing off her baby bump, with Virat K happy as a bee standing behind her. She captioned the photo ‘And then we were three’. This unleashed a host of comments, congratulating the couple on expecting their first child. Congrats the two of you! May the witty captions keep coming.

Covid Parties

You’ve got to be kidding us. While the entire world is still trying to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic scare, some are busy arranging non-socially distanced bashes. On August 28, TikTok stars Bryce Hall and Blake Gray were charged in Los Angeles with misdemeanour, for holding two big house parties in utter defiance of local health orders. (The orders were related to Covid-19, obviously.) They sound like the sort that, if they end up in jail, will turn the prison cell into a discotheque too.

Published in Dawn, ICON, September 6th, 2020