Sisters Square!

Ever since the Sabri Sisters emerged on the music scene a few years ago, they’ve been doing a tremendous job. Now the duo has gone global. Last month, they were featured on Spotify’s Times Square billboard in New York. One of the reasons for the achievement was that they were recently announced as this year’s Spotify Equal Pakistan ambassadors for Q2. For those who still don’t know the background of the Meri Zindagi Hai Tu OST singers, they are the nieces of the late Amjad Sabri, a man with an exceptional voice. Take forward the legacy, girls!

Got Talent?

If you’ve got talent and you’re Pakistani, try to get on the TV show Pakistan’s Got Talent, which is about to go on air. Yes, it’s following the format of the internationally renowned UK-based talent hunt project that is now produced in nearly six dozen countries. The judges for the Pakistani version have been announced as well. They are actress Mehwish Hayat, singer Ali Zafar and TV host Tabish Hashmi. Hmmm… at least one of the judges is somewhat talented… You figure out the other two.

Like Mother, Like Daughter?

Hollywood hottie Salma Hayek did not attract as much spotlight when she appeared in the opening ceremony of the football World Cup 2026 in Mexico City as when she arrived at the Serpentine Summer Party in London a week ago… because of someone who accompanied her at the latter event. That person was her 18-year-old daughter Valentina Paloma Pinault. The bash was arranged to raise funds for the Serpentine Galleries and the daughter-mother duo had fun taking pictures with the likes of A-list filmmakers Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu and Alfonso Cuarón. Can we infer that Salma H has launched her offspring and the young gal might soon join the world of acting like mommy dear? Mamma mia!

Sania Says…

Seasoned actress Sania Saeed isn’t satisfied with the way women are portrayed in television plays. In an interview, she has rejected the line of reasoning that TV dramas only portray what viewers want. She argues it weakens their ability to engage intellectually. She points out that characters in such plays are so simple that, whether you watch the first or the eighth episode, it doesn’t make a difference, because you understand everything the moment you start watching. While we agree with Sania S, given she herself has been part of showbiz for more than three decades, we wonder how her arguments will be perceived by drama producers.

What’s in a Name?

If you thought that actor Tom Holland addresses his better-half, the uber-talented and beautiful Zendaya, with her nickname Z, think again. During the premiere in Rome of their latest film, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the actor who plays Spider-Man called her ‘Maree’. Nice, no? Here’s why: the actress’s full name is Zendaya Maree Stoermer Coleman. Tom H prefers to call his wife by her middle name. We think it’s alright. The last name would have been a mouthful.

Flopping on Purpose?

A new Indian comedy film, Welcome to the Jungle, starring Akshay Kumar, Suneil Shetty, Arshad Warsi, Farida Jalal, Paresh Rawal, Disha Patani, Jacqueline Fernandez, Lara Dutta and Jackie Shroff, has hit cinema screens on June 26. According to Akshay K, the central idea of the movie helmed by Ahmed Khan is that Rs2,000 crore are given to make a flop film. He adds, “I am making fun of myself. The character has to put me down because he doesn’t like me in the film. And that is how the whole thing has gone.” Wait a sec: making a flop film? Must come naturally to a lot of people in Bollywood.

Published in Dawn, ICON, July 5th, 2026