With Celebs Like These

Never before in the history of the country has the Pakistani nation been more politically polarised than these days. We are not sure if the ‘holier than thou’ attitude is right at this point in time. Take, for example, actor Shehroz Sabzwari’s statement: “If you have the tiniest bit of honour, you can’t follow anyone other than Imran Khan.” So, anyone who doesn’t follow the former prime minister doesn’t have honour? That’s rich coming from someone who was supporting the violent Tehrik-i-Labbaik protests against the previous government.

Twinkle Twinkle Big Star!

Former actress and now writer Twinkle Khanna, wife of Bollywood bigwig Akshay Kumar, is riding the wave of success in a big way. The latest feather in her cap is that a film based on her short story Salaam Noni Appa, from her book The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad, is going to be made with renowned advertising exec Sonal Dabral in the director’s seat. The shooting dates haven’t yet been finalised, but casting for the project has begun. And Twinkle K is over the moon with stars in her eyes.

That Monroe Look

Reality TV star Kim Kardashian and surprises go hand in hand. Last week, she once again surprised everyone by turning up at the Met Gala wearing Marilyn Monroe’s famous ‘Happy Birthday Mr President’ dress. Not a replica, the actual dress! When someone asked her what prompted her to adopt that look, she replied, “The idea really came to me after the gala in September last year. I thought to myself, what would I have done for the American theme if it had not been the Balenciaga look? What’s the most American thing you can think of? And that’s Marilyn Monroe.” Hmmm… Well, the stunt has certainly drawn a lot of American flak — not only from conservationists opposed to loaning out museum pieces but from those who criticised the drastic weight loss Kim K had to go through to fit in the dress.

Order Disorder

It’s abundantly clear now, particularly after witnessing the Depp-Heard saga unfolding in a court of law, that the lives of showbiz stars are not diametrically opposed to their admirers’. Sophie Turner (Game of Thrones) has come out with a serious admission about her health. She’s said she was sick for a long time with an eating disorder after “struggling with her body image.” The situation became so bad that she had to hire a live-in therapist for treatment. Sad. We hope that Sophie T has now completely recovered from the ailment and is ready to take part in some more on-set games, not necessarily of thrones.

Cruise Going Gaga

The sequel to the 1980s’ classic Top Gun, starring Tom Cruise as Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell, is one of the most eagerly awaited movies of this year. Lady Gaga has sung an original song, Hold my hand, for the film’s OST, which is very good. Tom C can be seen and heard showering praise on Lady G’s art and personality at different events. In one interview he’s enthused, “I just was entertained, and she just blew us all away. I have so much respect for her. Hold my hand matches and brings a level of cinematic emotion to this. When I heard it, I was like, ‘You’re over there, we’re over here, and somehow, we are telling the same story here’, and it just works in a way that took those moments and they became more transcendent. So, I just think she’s a force of nature, and I love Gaga.” Wow. These words sound the verbal equivalent of Tom C jumping up and down on Oprah’s sofa.

Smell the Koffee

The new season of Bollywood director/producer Karan Johar’s talk show Koffee With Karan will soon go on air — but not on free-to-air television, which used to be its usual viewing spot. Recently, the popular celeb took to social media to announce that the next season of the programme would stream on the subscription-based Disney+ Hotstar. K-Jo added that “there will be games, there will be rumours put to rest, and there will be conversations that go deep into love and loss…” We guess Star network’s loss will be Disney’s new love. But K-Jo must have been enticed to switch by a hefty pay cheque. Wonder if those rumours will be laid to rest.

Published in Dawn, ICON, May 15th, 2022