BOLLYWOOD NO

They say it’s easier to be wiser in hindsight. In Farhan Saeed’s case, he claims his decision, taken in the past, turned out to be the right one. In an interview, the singer/actor has claimed that, when things were cordial between India and Pakistan and his band used to play across the border, he got offers to act in films. One of them, with Urvashi Rautela as his co-star, he almost signed, in which he was asked to play the part of a musician. “Urvashi and I were supposed to debut with the movie. Both of us backed out together from the project, after having a conversation. We were, like, we don’t think we should take on this project.” The movie, made without them, tanked at the box office. Farhan S is convinced he made the correct move. Or did he?

STRANGEST THING

A video of Netflix series Stranger Things’ actor Noah Schnapp (who plays Will Byers) was posted on X in which he’s seen distributing stickers carrying the slogan, ‘Zionism is sexy’. Author Fatima Bhutto took immediate notice of it and wrote: “It would be hard to find an unsexier group of people to advertise a less sexy cause. Premature babies are being pulled from incubators thanks to Israel. Zionists are shameless and grotesque in their celebration of genocide.” Spot on, Fatima B!

STILL HOT OR NOT

Kareena Kapoor Khan is (in)famous as the gossip star of the Indian film fraternity. When it comes to her own life and well-being, she projects a hunky-dory image of herself. Take for example her recent statement, in which she has exclaimed that after getting married, having two children and going past 43 years of life, she is still “hot” and that… “I’ve still got it.” Well, we’re all for female self-confidence, but we also wish for a bit of humility and realism from celebrities. Perhaps Kareena K K should watch her own close-ups from her last released film Jaane Jaan for a corrective.

A THOUSAND APOLOGIES

We are confused and annoyed in equal measure. What cricketer Abdul Razzaq said about Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan during a press meet doesn’t even deserve to be recalled. The fact that he apologised later, calling it a slip of the tongue, suggests someone put some sense into his head afterwards. Shahid Afridi, who was sitting next to him when he uttered those words and laughed, also later on said that he didn’t get what his colleague had remarked. Now, we can talk about the importance of education here, but we won’t, because it’s not about education. It’s about what is called tehzeeb and basic ideas of humanity.

HOST AND HOSTESS

The 96th Academy Awards will be held on March 10, 2024. Last year’s host, Jimmy Kimmel, has been roped in to anchor the event for the second time in a row. This will be his fourth stint as the host of the Oscars, the previous three being in 2017, 2018 and 2023. Not just that, Jimmy K’s wife Molly McNearney has been asked to produce the show, which she did in 2023 as well. Hmmm… Are we missing anything here or does the couple know some important people in Hollywood?

LEO THE RAPPER

On November 11, Hollywood A-lister Leonardo DiCaprio celebrated his 49th birthday in style. The invitees to his Beverly Hills house for the big bash included the likes of Salma Hayek, Chris Rock, Kim Kardashian and Olivia Wilde. Not only did he emcee the party well but at one point joined Gang Starr to rap along to his song DWYCK. Those who were there believed Leo D did a nice job as a rapper. Cool! Now we know that if his acting career takes a dip, he has something rappin’ good to fall back on.

Published in Dawn, ICON, November 26th, 2023