Shah Sahib’s Resolve

Iconic Indian actor Naseeruddin Shah wrote a strong note on social media in favour of Diljit Dosanjh after India banned the latter’s film Sardarji 3 — starring, apart from Diljit D, our very own Hania Aamir. “What these goons want,” he wrote referring to Hindutva protests against Hania A’s casting, “is to put an end to personal interaction between the people of India and Pakistan.” Soon the post disappeared, making people think that Shah sahib had deleted it, in order to stay away from the backlash. But the actor later said Facebook had taken it down and he still firmly stands with Diljit D. “I have NOT deleted my post about Diljit Dosanjh. I don’t care a fiddler’s fart for backlash.” At least there are still a few people left with a backbone in Bollywood.

Ticket Prices

After Love Guru had attracted a huge amount of footfall in the country’s multiplexes, its male lead and co-producer Humayun Saeed came to the Karachi Press Club (KPC) for a conversation with the media. Talking to journalists, he claimed that he was thinking of bringing down the ticket price of the film to a reasonable level in order to enable those who couldn’t afford expensive multiplex tickets to watch the movie. We don’t know if that’s been implemented, which would, of course, require cinema owners to also be on board. If yes, then good. If not, then a big question mark will keep hovering over the phrase ‘film industry.’

Glitch Land

We thought something positive had happened when India reopened social media accounts and YouTube channels of some Pakistani artists they had shut down in that country after the four-day war with Pakistan in May [Yumna Zaidi, Ahad Raza Mir and Marwa Hocane are among them]. We thought wrong. It didn’t take more than a couple of hours for the Indian government to block those accounts again. What was the reason that it gave for the strange activity? Answer: technical glitch. Hmmm… To be honest, whatever India has been doing since May — politically, militarily, diplomatically, culturally and on the information level — all appears to be a huge glitch.

Guilty, Not Guilty

As a result of months of arguments and counter-arguments, a New York jury on July 2 found rapper Sean Diddy Combs ‘guilty on two counts’ and ‘not guilty on three’. He was found not guilty on the major charges of and racketeering conspiracy and sex-trafficking [of former girlfriends Casandra Ventura and another woman identified only as ‘Jane’], but guilty of lesser charges involving “transportation to engage in prostitution” of the two women. However, the judge, Arun Subramanian, denied the musician’s request for bail until sentencing in October. Sean DC’s lawyers are calling the verdict a victory, but he still may face up to five years behind bars on the lesser charges. So, it’s no clear cut victory.

Walking Star

Deepika Padukone has come a long way. Apart from her formidable Bollywood career, she has also done a Hollywood movie with Vin Diesel. But this is huge, some think. It has been announced that the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce will honor the actress with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for the class of 2026 in the Motion Pictures category. She is the first from her country to get a star on the Walk of Fame. Wait! The likes of Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan haven’t got that star! And if it’s about Hollywood films, even Deepika P has only done a small role in a Fast and the Furious franchise. Tsk, tsk… That should be a walk of shame for Hollywood.

Michael Madsen, RIP

One of the most critically acclaimed character actors in Hollywood, Michael Madsen, died on July 4 in Los Angeles. He was 67. Although he became internationally renowned after playing the toughie Mr Blonde in Quentin Tarantino’s first film as director, the heist drama Reservoir Dogs (and later in Quentin T’s Kill Bill Vol 1 & 2), his work in classics such as Thelma & Louise and Donnie Brasco was also widely appreciated. May he rest in peace.

Published in Dawn, ICON, July 13th, 2025