Rickshaw Ride

Here’s how Anoushay Ashraf described her experience during a rickshaw ride in a tweet which got many tongues to wag: “I got offered a sympathy ride when someone saw me getting into a rickshaw today. I thought it’d be an adventure, was close to home, relatively safe (you can jump out) and cheap. But seeing a ‘well off’ person in a rick[shaw] can really worry people here! Normalise public transport for all.” The words that some objected to were, ‘adventure’ and ‘well off’. Hmmm… here’s the thing, the word ‘normalise’ also needs to be revisited.

Pak Film Industry

Last year was terrific for the Pakistani film industry. Two films did exceedingly well in terms of critical acclaim (Kamli and Joyland) and another was a huge box office hit, The Legend of Maula Jatt. Now the bar is set high. Both cine-goers and film pundits are expecting that this year things will go a notch or two up. But there’s a certain section of experts who believe that 2022 was a flash in the pan, and since ours is not a mega industry, we will keep moving at snail’s pace. Who are we siding with? Well, depends if you are an optimist or a realist.

Satish Kaushik, RIP

Popular Indian filmmaker, writer and comedian Satish Kaushik died of a heart attack on March 9. He was 66. After working on stage as an actor in the early part of his career, he shot to prominence by co-writing the script for the iconic film Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro. Subsequently, he acted in a number of films as a comedian, which fetched him two Filmfare awards (Ram Lakhan and Sajan Chalay Sasural). He also directed quite a few successful films, including Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehtay Hain and Tere Naam. May he rest in peace.

The Comparison

Comparisons aren’t always drawn to highlight similarities between two distinct individuals. Sometimes they can highlight the opposite as well. Take the example of Bollywood actress Jhanvi Kapoor, who has done a photo shoot in which she’s assumed the garb of a village gal. As soon as the pictures were uploaded, many commented that she looked like the late Smita Patel in them. Well, we won’t entirely disagree. However, we will say that physical closeness and being equally talented are entirely different kettles of fish. In the talent department, Jhanvi K has a long way to go.

Bhaiyya Dear

Even a month after their marriage, Kiara Advani and Sidharth Malhotra are still the talk of tinseltown. One of the reasons is that both are very good friends with the current crop of actors and actresses. Last week, Kiara A’s friend Varun Dhawan ran into her at an event where she wasn’t accompanied by hubby dear. Varun D wasted no time in calling her Bhabiji [sister-in-law] asking her, “Bhaiyya kaise hain? [How’s Brother Dear doing?]. To this, Kiara A did not reply. She just gave him a smile, like a good Indian wife.

Not So Nepo Baby

For the uninitiated, nepo babies are those famous peeps that owe their fame to nepotism. Supermodel Gigi Hadid — whose mother is a former model and TV celeb and father is a real estate agent — has come up with her own two cents on the topic. She says, “Technically I’m a nepotism baby. I’ve always acknowledged that I come from privilege.” That said, she added, “My parents have taught me not to solely rely on family background.” Yep, true that. To be fair, Gigi H is far more famous than either of her parents ever were. And privilege is different from nepotism. It’s unlikely either of the parents could have forced people to hire her or become famous as a model.

Published in Dawn, ICON, March 19th, 2023