NO HARM, PLEASE

The violence-stric­ken situation that arose in the country after former Prime Mini­ster Imran Khan’s arrest worried the entire nation. Like everyone else, the showbiz community was pretty divided on the matter. But it was thoughtful of actress Maya Ali who, in her message, requested Imran K’s followers to “protest sensibly”. Whether they listened to her is a different story, because in our nook of the world, protests seldom happen in a sensible way. Nonetheless, kudos to Maya A.

YES, FOREIGN MINISTER

Political affiliations sometimes blind us to the truth. Even if you’re not an admirer of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), the way Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari conducted himself in India during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meet and the astute manner with which he gave an interview to the seasoned journalist Rajdeep Sardesai merits praise. Unfortunately, there were netizens who badmouthed his sartorial sense and some even went to the extent of body-shaming him. Sad is the word that pops to mind. Grow up people, and smell the apolitical coffee.

DETOX ETC

Ayesha Omar has had enough of being online. Or so it seems. Not that she’s going to go off of it for good. The gal has announced that she will disconnect from the digital world to have a two-week social media sabbatical. In her message, the actress, nay film star, said, “Hello my dearest lovers and haters. Going off the grid for two weeks, starting tonight. No phone, no internet, no WhatsApp/social media, no technology and no contact.” Hmmm… Thanks, but no thanks.

WAKA WAKA (THIS TIME FOR ROMANCE)

This is the news of the week, sort of! It seems that Hollywood A-lister Tom Cruise and Colombian pop star Shakira are an item! Recently, the two were spotted at the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix (2023) comfortable in each other’s company and sporting beaming smiles... even for the shutterbugs. Insiders say that it’s not an act. The two have been meeting — if not seeing — each other for some time, and have now decided to face the cameras. We say, for the two mega stars, it for sure is a mission possible.

DADDY AGAIN

Last week, Oscar winner and one of the finest actors the world has ever seen, Robert De Niro, revealed to a journo that he’s become a father for the seventh time! He is 79 years of age. Wow! So, he hasn’t just portrayed virile characters on screen. The child is from his fourth relationship and the mother’s name is Tiffany Chen. The age difference between his first and seventh offspring is 51 years. They say an empty mind is the devil’s workshop. It appears that there’s no room for emptiness in Robert D N’s life; he keeps himself busy professionally and privately.

NOT BOTHERED

These days Priyanka Chopra oozes confi­dence. Why shouldn’t she! Her career is on an upward swing, she is in a (thus-far) successful marriage and has a child. So when a pen-pusher asked her about her hubby Nick Jonas’ ex-girlfriends, that is, whether it bothers her, she replied that she doesn’t give a hoot (she used a different word) about them. Carrying on with the line of reasoning she articulated, “I don’t read my book backwards.” The thing is, Priyanka C, it’s not exactly about your book.

Published in Dawn, ICON, May 21st, 2023