INTOLERANT INDIA

Gone are the days of Indian secularism and Bollywood’s across-the-board broadmindedness! This is, sadly, the Modi era! The Indian government has put a ban on the Pakistani web series Sevak: The Confessions which touches upon the plight of minorities living in modern-day India. As per reports, the country’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting found the series to be “detrimental to national security, sovereignty and integrity alongside defence of India, security of the state, India’s friendly relations with foreign states, and public order in the country.” Uff! That’s a mouthful of complaints. Someone tell the ministry to take a breather first.

EYES ON THE ROAD

Seasoned actor Behroz Sabzwari is these days in the news not for his acting talent, which he has in spades, but for his comments that he’s been giving on social media. Take for example his remark on the attire of women in showbiz and in public. He believes that it’s an actor’s responsibility to dress up appropriately and that women riding on bikes should not be wearing tight clothes. Now the thing is, while Behroz S is right about dressing responsibly, we’re not quite sure why he’s fixating on the dress of female pillion riders who are usually just trying to hold on and stay alive in our chaotic traffic. Perhaps stay in your lane Behroz S?

MOM FAMOUS?

Pop singer Janet Jackson (younger sister of the late Michael Jackson, for the Gen Z readers who, arguably, don’t know her) was on a talk show last week where the host asked her whether her five-year-old son Eissa Al Mana knows that she’s famous. Her response was: “I think his friends are starting to put it together for him. I’ve kept him away from it all.” You shouldn’t have, Janet J. Sometimes even we, your fans, don’t remember whether you’re still popular.

HAPPY VIDYA

The issue of pay disparity between male and female actors all over the world hasn’t lost steam. However, there are voices which are trying to underplay it. Bollywood actress Vidya Balan, giving her two cents on the subject, has said that she does not have much idea about pay parity since she hardly works with the ‘big heroes’. And that, despite the fact that some mainstream stars demand ten times more than her, she feels she’s treated ‘fairly’. Hmmm… it seems that Vidya B is living by her own dictum “entertainment, entertainment, entertainment” … not equality, equality, equality.

THE TEXT

In one of the episodes of the documentary Meghan and Harry on Netflix, Meghan Markle reveals that, after the couple’s (in)famous interview with Oprah Winfrey — in which she badmouthed the royal family — Beyonce texted her, saying that she wanted her to feel safe and protected. Admiring her [Meghan’s] bravery, the pop Queen B was of the view that Meghan M was selected to break generational curses that need to be healed. Heavy stuff! For sure, after watching the documentary, many are trying to heal from it.

SIMPLE BRIDE

There’s nothing new in the report that Sonakshi Sinha is going steady with her partner Zaheer Iqbal. That is, they’ve been a couple for a long time and people are expecting them to take their relationship to the next level. Bearing this in mind, when she posted on Instagram her pictures in a wedding dress (which was for a product), tongues, including that of her beau’s, began to wag. In response, she wrote, “I feel I will be a very simple bride. Considering, for [fashion] shows I get to wear such ensembles so often that for my own wedding I would rather want to look very simple.” Okay, simple can be ‘dabangg’ too!

Published in Dawn, ICON, July 25th, 2022