Mahira and Tu

Azan Sami Khan’s newly released song Tu, featuring Mahira Khan, is a pretty cool track. It’s snappy, its lyrics are playful and the melody is not bad. That he or his PR team opted to take a star such as Mahira K in the video is a bit confusing. Notwithstanding her beauty and talent, the song has the strength to become a hit on its own. We guess he wanted to jazz up a bit the story of a boy and a girl who is a little bit older than him. Whatever may be the reason, Tu is a very listenable track!

Koyla Fun

They say children say the darndest things. Well, Bollywood diva Madhuri Dixit’s sons are not that young anymore, they’re teenagers. However, what she recently told a friend about their reaction to her 1997 film Koyla (co-starring Shah Rukh Khan) — and which was picked up by the media — is pretty interesting. The kids were watching the movie on TV when the actress was leaving for an assignment. When she returned home in the evening, they looked at her and asked, “Why were you acting so funny in the film?” This left her bamboozled, because it’s not a funny movie — not intentionally anyway. Madhuri D, actually there’s nothing to be surprised about here. Some of us also asked the same question when we first saw Koyla.

Palestine O’ Palestine!

What’s happening in Palestine is heart-wrenching, to say the least. In the last few weeks, many Palestinians, including children, have lost their lives. This has provoked a strong reaction from the showbiz fraternity all across the world. In Pakistan, the likes of Asim Azhar, Feroze Khan and Sami Khan have raised their voices for the Palestinians while globally the Hadid sisters (supermodels Gigi and Bella), singer Dua Lipa and actor Mark Ruffalo (among others) have done the same. There have been contrary noises coming from the likes of Gal Gadot and Kangana Ranaut, but what can we say about those who are wearing blinkers made out of moral ambivalence and bigotry? Humanity should be the first and foremost priority and point of reference for anyone.

Curtains!

Ellen DeGeneres has had a fairly long run as a television talk show host. In terms of numbers, it’s 19 seasons; and by 2022 it will be 19 years, too. Why have we brought this up? The celeb has called it a day. She made an announcement to that effect while talking to a magazine, saying that next year will be the last for her famed daytime programme. The reason that she’s give is: “It’s not a challenge anymore.” Good for you Ellen D. Tell you what, though — after reports of your bullying attitude towards your co-workers came out in the press, the real challenge must’ve been to salvage your reputation.

Malala’s Friends

How cool is this! Our very own Nobel laureate Malala Yousufzai is going to be one of the 15 celebrities making a guest appearance on the much-awaited ‘reunion’ episode of the iconic sitcom Friends. In case anyone’s wondering when it’s going to be aired, well, the date is May 27. Apart from Malala Y, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber and Korean heartthrobs BTS will also be seen on the show. You go girl! Show them how peace lovers make friends.

Pandemic Lesson

The svelte and sassy Disha Patani, who is dating Tiger Shroff and was recently in the news for flying out to the Maldives in these difficult times, has oodles of acting talent. She also speaks well. She is one of those actresses who don’t shy away from giving interviews. In one such chat with a newspaper she has articulated, “The pandemic has taught us to be emotionally strong and take charge of things.” Spot on, Disha P! Why didn’t you take charge of things while signing Radhe? Oh, that was pre-pandemic and you must have been emotionally weak at the time.

Published in Dawn, ICON, May 23rd, 2021