Healthy Flirting?
Actress Sabahat Bukhari is all for flirting with her co-actors on the sets of a drama. Before you start scratching your head, wait, let’s give you some context. Sabahat B revealed on a podcast that people have flirted with her many times on sets, and she feels that “healthy flirting can be a good thing.” Expanding on the idea, she deems it important to work in a comfortable atmosphere to develop chemistry between actors. Now isn’t that an interesting thought? The question, Sabahat B, is, what is the difference between healthy and unhealthy flirting? How and when do you know that what is coming across as healthy might have unhealthy undertones?
A Brazilian Affair
Gen Z (and some generations on either side of them) are wondering who pop star Shawn Mendes is going out with. Well, the answer to the question is: Bruna Marquezine. For the uninitiated, she’s a Brazilian actress who celebrated her 31st birthday on August 4. Shawn M, who himself turned 28 a few days later on August 8, wished her on Instagram this way: “Feliz aniversário [Happy birthday] my baby! You are a light and a mãe [mother] in every room you walk into. Not to be tooooo sappy but you’ve truly changed my life and I am so, so grateful for you.” For those who are interested in Bruna M’s private life, before the vocalist, she’s had two boyfriends, footballer Neymar and influencer João Guilherme. Hmmm… she seems to be interested in a variety of professionals, sorry, professions.
AI Unwelcome
This had to happen. The invasion of AI into creative fields has caused a great deal of concern among lovers and practitioners of all kinds of art. Indian actress Mrunal Thakur is, as far as her acting career goes, trying to nip the issue in the bud. In a statement, she warned that anyone who misuses her identity, through AI or deepfakes, will have to face legal action. She argues that sharing or creating fake content is illegal, and will not be tolerated. Well done, Mrunal T! You’ve taken a non-artificial intelligent step.
Love, Bake, Design
British-Pakistani actor Ahsan Khan has said husbands should support their wives, and should not feel threatened by their success. During a recent interview, he gave examples from his personal life. He told the interviewer that his wife, Fatima, is a Lums graduate and when she expressed her interest in baking, he got her equipment for it. Later, when she wanted to do an interior design course, he helped her get enrolled in a relevant course, and told her he could stay back at home with the kids. Hmmm… very commendable of Ahsan K. Of course it does also help to have a delectable variety of croissants and muffins in a living room decorated in the British or Pakistani… or some other… style.
Show Me The Money
The Brad Pitt-Angelina Jolie saga, it seems, will not end for a long, long time. Just when you start to think that both are divorced and have no more axes to grind, something new and bitter emerges. For example, the dispute over the ownership of the Château Miraval winery still isn’t over, despite a final settlement having allegedly been reached in 2024. Recently, Brad P has filed a motion in court seeking Angelina J’s financial records for 2017-19 that, he alleges, she’s been withholding. The latter’s lawyers are of the view that the motion invades the actress’ privacy and that she did supply the records for 2020-21. Alrighty then. What fun it would be if someone tried to make a sequel to Mr and Mrs Smith and asked both of them to be in it as husband and wife!
Driver Gets Into Crash
Earlier this month, actress Minnie Driver met with an accident in France, where she was vacationing with a friend, actor Ben Homewood. She let her fans know about the mishap in a social media message: “I got into a really bad car accident a few days ago with my friend, Ben, and we somehow walked out of it. Well, we didn’t walk out of it. We crawled out of it. But we did get out of it alive. To be very clear, it was not our fault. We were driving on a country road in the middle of France and a car didn’t stop at an intersection, and was going at speed and we just T-boned it. I’m fine. I’ve got a sprained neck.” Minnie D, we’re sure it wasn’t your fault, after all, your surname tells us this.
Published in Dawn, ICON, August 16th, 2026
