Crorepati JATT

There’s no stopping The Legend of Maula Jatt. Screened all across the world, not to mention that it’s been watched and praised by known Indian filmmakers as well, the Bilal Lashari-directed venture has so far raked in 150 crore rupees worldwide… and counting. It is for sure a mammoth achievement and an extremely positive sign for Pakistan’s film fraternity. Not just that, it is the first Pakistani movie to have hit the 150 crore mark. So kudos to team TLMJ! One word: more of such legends.

It’s Arrived

Simi Raheal is a seasoned actress and also someone who weighs her words before uttering them. When she speaks, we listen. So when she says that, with the critical and commercial success this year of three locally made films — Kamli, Joyland and The Legend of Maula Jatt directed by Sarmad Khoosat, Saim Sadiq and Bilal Lashari, respectively — Pakistani cinema is finally here to stay, we must believe her. However, she hasn’t mentioned how long it intends to stay. Kidding. Hopefully, for a long time, of course.

Tips For SRK

King of Bollywood Shah Rukh Khan has turned 57 and is in pretty good nick. We thought that the pandemic might have made some of the not-so-young actors lazy and a little heavy. That’s not the case. How so? Well, he has revealed, “I didn’t know what to do. In the morning I went for 45 minutes to the gym where no trainer was allowed, due to quarantine. I would Google workout routines and would ask bigger stars, Salman bhai, Tiger Shroff and Hrithik Roshan and put something together.” Good to know that SRK. We hope, however, you have not been taking acting tips from them, sir.

Ali’s Award

Ali Junejo is a known theatre person and now a film star. He has been performing on stage for many years without the recognition that he deserves. At last, and we are glad, his talent has now been recognised on a bigger platform. The actor has won an Honourable Mention award at the 46th Sao Paulo International Film Festival for his remarkable performance in the film Joyland. Congratulations, Ali J! Enjoy the newfound fame.

Musky Twitter

Ever since one of the richest men in the world, Elon Musk, has taken over the ownership of Twitter, netizens have been talking about it incessantly. He himself is giving them enough reasons to wag their tongues. Or is he? On November 4, actress and his former girlfriend Amber Heard’s account vanished from the social networking website. The handle read: ‘The account doesn’t exist.’ Now, we don’t exactly know whether Elon M is behind the removal or it’s Amber H who has decided to say goodbye to Twitter. Either way, it’s not good news for Twitter’s future.

Name Game

Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence has revealed the name of her son that was born earlier this year: Cy. Sounds good. The name issue, by the way, is a big one for her. The actress claims that, in 2019, when she got married to art gallerist Cooke Maroney… “I had such a feminist meltdown about changing my name because it’s my identity. It’s the first thing I’m given.” Wait, she’s changed her name? Or felt pressure to do so? In this day and age? JLaw is good enough for us. In any case, hope she gives her son a surname as soon as possible as well, whatever she wants.

Published in Dawn, ICON, November 13th, 2022