Fundraiser for Flood Victims

To raise funds for the survivors of the recent floods in Pakistan, artist Suhaee Abro and her husband Andrea Maffi organised a show in Lodi, Italy. The event, called Nella Piena — Serata Benefit per il Pakistan [In the Full — a Fundraiser Night for Pakistan], aimed to provide an insight into Pakistani and Sindhi culture through the premiere of the documentary film, Still Standing, directed by Mirko Pincelli, produced by Pinch Media and a performance from Suhaee A. It was a well-attended programme. Congratulations to the team for putting up the show with such a noble spirit. Flood affectees need all the support they can get.

Pasoori All the Way

There’s no stopping Pasoori, the Coke Studio song that has taken the world by storm. Literally as well as figuratively! Another huge feather in the cap of its producer Xulfi and its singers Ali Sethi and Shae Gill is that the track has now topped Google’s list of songs most hummed to search in 2022 — for the uninitiated, it means that it is the tune that people hummed to find it. Isn’t that cool? Trust us, it’s no humdrum achievement.

Jutt Unwanted

Many of us were happy that Pakistani blockbuster The Legend of Maula Jatt is likely to have its release in India for which efforts were being made on both sides of the Wagah border. Well, here comes the dampener. A Hindu extremist leader Ameya Khopkar, who belongs to the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), has said that anyone who will try to screen the film in his country will face serious consequences. He has also branded the movie’s hero Fawad Khan’s fans ‘traitors’. What a sorry state of affairs! These bigoted politicians don’t realise the importance of having a ‘legend’ amongst them.

Neighbourly Collaboration

If, on the one hand, extremist groups want India and Pakistan to stay as far away from each other as possible, on the other hand the artist community appears to be adamant on bringing the two closer. Last week, Indian and Pakistani actors took part in the Red Sea Film Festival in Saudi Arabia, where our very own Mahira Khan had a nice little chat with Hrithik Roshan. Not just that, Ranbir Kapoor in response to a question remarked, “Art knows no borders and I definitely would [work with Pakistani artists]. In fact, I would like to congratulate Pakistani cinema on the huge success of Maula Jatt.” Good gesture, Ranbir K! Perhaps he doesn’t know that there used to be a TV series in Pakistan Jutt and Bond featuring Fawad Khan. If it’s now made in India with Ranbir K and his wife Aalia Bhatt in the lead, it can be titled, Bhatt and Bond.

Celine’s Health Issues

Celine Dion is a truly international singing superstar. Her song My Heart Will Go On, from the movie Titanic, is one of the most heard and sung tracks in the history of music. Since the beginning of this year, however, the vocalist has been off the radar. On December 8, she told her fans on social media the reason for it. She said she’s been suffering from an extremely rare neurological disease called Stiff-Person Syndrome, which causes muscle spasms. “Unfortunately, the spasms affect every aspect of my daily life. Sometimes causing difficulties when I walk and not allowing me to use my vocal chords to sing the way I’m used to.” Celine D, we wish you a full and speedy recovery. Our hearts will go on for you.

Writer Son

You would have expected that Bollywood king Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan would make his film debut as an actor. Nope. He has apparently rolled up his sleeves to become a writer, working on his first yet-to-be-named film project, produced by SRK’s company Red Chillies Entertainment. He announced that on Instagram by saying, “Wrapped in the writing… can’t wait to say action.” It whipped up a euphoric response from his admirers, including some from the showbiz fraternity, congratulating him in advance. We wish him luck, and hope it’s not a script about his experience behind bars after he was trapped in a scandal. We mean chocolate bars.

Published in Dawn, ICON, December 18th, 2022