Folk Pasoori

Without a shadow of doubt, the Coke Studio track Pasoori, sung by Ali Sethi and Shae Gill, is the biggest — in terms international recognition — song that has come out of Pakistan in the last decade or so. Last week, its new version went crazy viral when a group of folk artists from Sadiqabad performed it. The video was watched across the globe by countless people and even garnered praise from the song’s producer Xulfi. We have a sneaky feeling that the group might get a chance in the next edition of the Studio.

Maternity Matter

Actress Sarwat Gilani just gave birth to a baby girl. Congratulations to her and her hubby! But these trolls, what can you do about them? The Joyland actor had a photo shoot for a media outlet with her baby bump showing and they went after her. They went after her as if pregnancy is an unusual thing. What’s wrong with these people? The good thing is that Sarwat G didn’t get flustered by it. She shouldn’t. She’s an intelligent young mother.

Fahad’s Drama

It has taken nine years for Fahad Mustafa to work in a TV drama serial. The last time he was seen in a television project was in 2015, in the play titled Doosri Biwi. Now he will be seen flexing his acting muscles (come on, he does have them, you doubters!) alongside Hania Aamir in a project called Teri Meri Kahani,to be aired in 2024. It’s good for Fahad M because he has, over the years, developed a reputation of being a movie star in a movie industry that’s… struggling… and that’s putting it mildly.

Chahat in Politics

The quirky internet star Chahat Fateh Ali Khan (the not-so-lookalike of vocalist Rahat Fateh Ali Khan) is again in the news, but this time it is for non-artistic reasons. He had decided to enter the political arena. According to a report, Chahat F A had filed his nomination papers as an independent candidate for a National Assembly (NA) seat from Lahore but they were rejected due to his dual nationality. If he had gotten elected, then parliament would have been suffused with a great deal of chahat.

Love Etc

Vikrant Massey, whose performance in 12th Fail has been critically acclaimed, had a photo session with Kareena Kapoor-Khan on December 28. After that he uploaded the pictures on social media in which he can be seen gushing with a combination of affection and gratitude standing next to her. The caption that he wrote to accompany the images was: “I have always loved her. But this day, I fell in love all over again.” Hmmm… steady boy! The woman is married with two kids. V Massey, it can get very messy.

Beyonce’s Heat

Anyone who has seen Renaissance: A Film by Beyonce will know that the pop diva’s childhood home is/was Houston’s Rosedale Street. On Christmas day, December 25, that home (which Beyonce left when she was five years old) was engulfed in fire for reasons that are still unknown. Although the fire was put out in 10 minutes, it caused quite a bit of damage to the house. Thankfully, those who now live there remained unhurt. We think the singer should stop being so hot.

Published in Dawn, ICON, January 7th, 2024