Flood and Artists

We wholeheartedly appreciate Azfar Rehman’s decision to pull out of a TV awards show held abroad recently. The issue had become the talk of the town because many thought that it was tone deaf to arrange an awards show when our fellow countrymen were faced with a catastrophe so massive as the recent floods. Azfar R requested the organisers to donate the money that they were supposed to spend on his travel and stay abroad to the flood victims. Great gesture.

Joy in Pakistan

Great news for those who were itching to watch Joyland directed by Saim Sadiq, the film which has won many accolades all across the globe but was unavailable so far in Pakistan. The movie is going to be released in our very own land on November 18. So, brace yourself for a joyride with a stellar cast, and get ready to see what promises to be a story very well told.

Magic Studio

To highlight the unity in diversity in the world and to launch Coke Studio Global, the show has redone the iconic Queen song It’s A Kinda Magic, featuring the very talented Pakistani rock band Karokaram and rapper Eva B. To be honest, it’s a nice track, pretty listenable, but lacks the wow factor. Perhaps CS should realise that rap music doesn’t necessarily make a happening, contemporary song. Still, keep up the good work.

Don Kaun

Fans are eagerly awaiting the release of Don 3, starring Shah Rukh Khan, in which he plays the role that was originally played by the great Amitabh Bachchan in 1978. News is that the director of the film, Farhan Akhtar, has roped in Amitabh B for a significant role. But the story doesn’t end here — he has also cast Ranveer Singh in a cameo, and Ranveer S is apparently going to essay the role of the Don for the next few instalments. Hmmm… Best, better, good…

Ex and New

We know that we have been writing a lot about Leonardo DiCaprio’s love affairs lately, but what can we do? They are all over the media. On September 23, at the Versace Fashion Show, Gigi Hadid, Leo D’s current squeeze walked the ramp in all her pomp and glory. Interestingly, his ex-girlfriend Camila Morrone was sitting in the front row, looking at Gigi H in a blasé manner, as if she didn’t mean anything to her. As if…

The Nameshake

This is, for want of a better phrase, next level cheating, a negative benchmark of sorts. Adam Levine, the lead singer of the pop band Maroon 5, allegedly had a year-long affair with a social media influencer by the name of Sumner Stroh. Just a few days after the vocalist’s Victoria’s Secret model wife Behati Prinsloo announced that she is pregnant with the couple’s third child, Sumner S broke the news of their fling. Not only that, she also revealed that Adam L had asked her if he could name his child after her. What was going through his mind? Some kind of Freudian interpretation of an affair? More like, Fraudian interpretation.

Published in Dawn, ICON, October 2nd, 2022