Changing Narrative

In the wake of the tide of sexual crimes being perpetrated against young women, actress Mehwish Hayat feels that there’s no use making just a hue and cry about the situation over social media anymore. We agree with her. In a tweet she’s articulated, “Time for hashtags and slogans is over, we demand to know what the government is going to do about changing the system. Sexual and gender violence and other forms of discrimination cannot be eliminated in a society without society changing itself…Time for women to define our own narrative. We will not be bullied into silence. We will accept no one’s definition of our life, but our own. But men also have an important role to play in sending out the message that real men do not hurt or abuse their partners.” No one could’ve said it better, Mehwish H.

The Certificate

When Ayeza Khan shared her vaccination certificate on the internet, it irked some trolls. They thought she was being showy. Not true. The actress was wise enough to put sense into one of them who asked whether it was necessary to let the whole world know about it, by replying, “Yes, because this is our responsibility as a citizen to get vaccinated and as an influencer I have to show the world that, yes, our lives matter and we have to keep reminding everyone to get themselves vaccinated.” That’s a good jab to the naysayers, gal!

Abhi Nahin

It was an emotional moment for the makers of the web series Abhi Nahin when it was launched on July 31 at the Karachi Press Club — because none other than the late Haseena Moin wrote it. During the event, held to introduce the series to the media, the director of the series Misbah Khalid couldn’t control her tears, remembering the great writer who died on March 26. She had known her ever since she had worked with her in the play Ankahi in 1982. Indeed, in Haseena Moin’s death Pakistan has lost one of its finest playwrights. We hope that Abhi Nahin will prove to be a drama that will keep her memory fresh in her admirers’ hearts and minds.

Missing Him

It seems that Alia Bhatt is not just Ranbir Kapoor’s girlfriend; she is in love with him. Why do we say that? Well, last week he was away from Mumbai, in Delhi shooting for an unnamed forthcoming film with Shraddha Kapoor. (Perhaps he is still there, we don’t know, anything is possible with Ranbir K.) As soon as he flew out, Alia B put on her BF’s cap, took quite a few selfies and posted them on her Instagram page with the caption, “When you miss him, you steal his belongings — and make sure you take many selfies.” Hmmm… Girl, more than belongings, what needs to be stolen is that vital human organ which supplies blood to the rest of the body… dil.

Handling Fame

Billie Eilish is barely 19 years of age and has already bagged seven Grammy awards. Her new studio album, Happier Than Ever, came out on July 30 and is getting rave reviews. Surely, getting her head round that fickle thing called ‘popularity’ must be tricky. It seems not. In an interview, the pop star has said that none other than Justin Bieber, her good friend, has been helping her deal with fame by calling her sometimes and making her “feel heard, and like there’s somebody else going through the same stuff.” Isn’t that wonderful! We’re sure, in the case of his better half Hailey, Justin B himself feels heard… and quite often, at that.

Hollywood Families

The nepotism debate has now reached Hollywood. It all started in the last week of July, when news about Destry Spielberg, daughter of Steven Spielberg, making a short film — The Rightway — started doing the rounds on social media. It’s written by Owen King, son of Stephen King and stars, among others, Hooper Penn, son of Sean Penn. This prompted producer Franklin Leonard to sarcastically tweet, “Hollywood’s a meritocracy, right?” The tweet did not go down well with Ben Stiller (son of actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara) who responded, “Too easy Franklin. People, working, creating. Everyone has their path. Wish them all the best.” What ensued was a pretty heated debate between the two. As far as we’re concerned, we’re with Franklin L.

Published in Dawn, ICON, August 8th, 2021