Joyland Views

Here are two contrasting things that took place last week vis-à-vis Pakistan’s official Oscar entry this year, Joyland, directed by Saim Sadiq. First, actor Feroze Khan demanded that its screening should be banned in Pakistan because it “promotes homosexuality” (the film is about transgenders, actually). Then news came that our very own Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai has become the honorary executive producer of the film. We think if Malala Y has put her weight behind it, for sure, there would be more to the story of the film than what Feroze K thinks it’s about. In any case, shouldn’t Feroze K worry about his own work?

Antisocial Media

Former supermodel and actress Vaneeza Ahmed appeared on a talk show hosted by Naumaan Ijaz and poured her heart out against social media. She said she doesn’t understand the point of posting pictures of first-class flights, fancy cars and lavish vacations by people in general. She argued that social media should not simply be about frivolous pursuits and self-promotion and should reflect thought and contribution to society. Unfortunately, her laudable points were lost in a silly controversy that erupted from a promo clip of the show soon after it aired. While she was talking about some random Tiktok star with a huge following who only posts pictures of herself, the host assumed she meant actress Ayeza Khan, which led to a huge number of Ayeza K’s fans trolling Vaneeza A online, despite her clarification. Only goes to show there’s weight to what she was saying, eh?

South, North, Gone

Rumour has it that the two new sensations of Indian cinema, Rashmika Madanna and Vijay Deverakonda, are going out — they haven’t, as is usually the case, admitted to it. They have worked together in two movies made in the south — Geetha Govindam and Dear Comrade — in 2018 and 2019, respectively. Now that both have earned a decent fan-base in the north, reports about their personal lives are more forthcoming, one of which is that they are an item. On the morning of October 7, Rashmika M was seen at Mumbai airport leaving for the Maldives for a vacay. Not too many minutes before that, Vijay D was also captured by the shutterbugs heading to the departure lounge. Hmmm… south, north… south-west!

Sport and Showbiz

Gajraj Rao is a seasoned actor who garnered a lot of praise for his understated performance in the movie Badhaai Ho. His recent release is Maja Ma alongside none other than Madhuri Dixit-Nene. Talking to a newsman while praising his co-star in the project, the senior actor exclaimed, “Madhuri Dixit is to films what Sachin Tendulkar is to cricket.” Excuse us! We don’t diss the analogy, but Gajraj sir, Madhuri D has a very expressive face which makes her performances a delight to watch, whereas Sachin T as a batsman used to make strange faces while facing the Rawalpindi Express.

Pitt Bull?

The divorced couple are at it again. Recently, Brad Pitt filed a case against Angelina Jolie over a French winery that the two once jointly owned and Brad P is upset because his ex-wife sold her shares without telling him. In response, on October 4, Angelina J filed a cross complaint alleging that, in 2016, while on a flight from France to California, Brad P was abusive to her and their children. To quote her lawyers, “Pitt choked one of the children and struck another in the face and grabbed Jolie by the head and shook her.” If it’s true, to say that it’s bad wouldn’t even begin to describe Brad P’s behaviour. Strange. Well, who can precisely tell what happened in Hollywood once upon a time!

Mr and Mrs Smith

Jada Pinkett-Smith, wife of Will Smith, is writing a book, a memoir that will come out in the fall of 2023. Insiders say that it’s a no-holds-barred, tell-all tale of her private and personal lives. One source revealed, “It chronicles lessons learned in the course of a difficult but riveting journey — a rollercoaster ride from the depths of suicidal depression to the heights of personal rediscovery and the celebration of authentic feminine power.” Alrighty then. We hope that the book will contain nothing which would provoke Will S to get up from his bed and take a swing at someone.

Published in Dawn, ICON, October 16th, 2022