Idol Conjectures

Finally, following prolonged conjecture about whether Pakistan Idol Season 2 would ever resume after being abruptly discontinued in the middle of its new and affectionately watched set of episodes, the news is that the music reality show will continue from where it had left off — in July, that is. Pre-production and planning for post-production have begun for the remaining episodes of the popular programme. We’re assuming there will be a few changes to the technical staff, but the judges will remain the same. Some might wish it were the other way around.

Reshared Moments

Yumna Zaidi has been saving her Instagram stories — which usually disappear from view after a day — for a while. There’s a reason for it. The actress has re-shared some of them and told her admirers: “Sharing some of the reels on my stories… I saved them in the lowest and happiest moments of my life.” Although she did not go into the details of the ‘lowest’ and ‘happiest’ moments, she offered the following nugget of wisdom: “Be the reason why people believe in beautiful souls, kind hearts, and good energy. Never stop being a good person.” Sounds like a piece of advice for her showbiz colleagues, doesn’t it?

Professor Blanchett

Two-time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett will teach at one of the world’s most prestigious universities. It was announced on June 16 that she is now a new visiting professor at the University of Oxford. What will she teach? Well, Cate B will share her knowledge and experience of contemporary theatre at St Catherine’s College throughout the 2026-27 academic year. This is surely one of the best decisions that Oxford has taken in recent times. Instead of holding inconsequential ‘union debates’, it should rope in great artists to talk about art. Our conflict-driven world needs that.

Funny? Fired!

Here’s an unusual story told last week on a podcast by The Usual Suspects actor Stephen Baldwin. He said that, in 1998, he started working with Jennifer Aniston on a movie titled The Object of My Affection. After two days of filming, one of the producers of the project came to his trailer and said, “There’s a problem. You can’t be funnier than Jennifer…” He then fired Stephen B. We don’t get it. Anyone can be funnier than her. She was funny in Friends because there were funny actors around her. The producer must have been kidding with Stephen B.

Nigam’s Nerves

No one can escape the vagaries of, and the ups and downs in, life — the artist community included. Take the example of Indian playback singer Sonu Nigam. Who would have thought that the man with a soft, melodious voice would one day be suffering from a serious ailment? The artist has revealed to his fans that he has a serious ‘nerve-related’ condition, which is having a terrible effect on his neck and throat and has been having extensive treatment for a few weeks. And yet, the true artist that he is, the vocalist remains committed to his upcoming live stage assignments. Sonu N, we wish you a full, speedy and melodious recovery.

Janus-Faced

Indian filmmaker Imtiaz Ali’s latest offering, Main Waapis Aaunga, has been garnering praise lately for its Partition-era story that some have felt echoes the trauma of those displaced around the world but particularly Palestinian refugees forced to flee their homeland. The filmmaker has been happy to lap up that praise. Unfortunately, that would have been more convincing had people not pointed out online that Imtiaz A had gone on an Israeli government-funded visit to the apartheid state in 2017 as part of a move to use Bollywood to counter the pro-Palestinian Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement. Images of Imtiaz A posing with the architect of the Gazan genocide Benjamin Netanyahu and his statements praising Israel also were dredged out. Turns out Imtiaz A is more of an actor than a director.

Published in Dawn, ICON, June 28th, 2026