Wifely Whiffs?

These days, a discussion is raging among showbiz celebs on the roles of husbands and wives. The latest in that connection is the slightly bizarre conversation between actors Shahood Alvi, Laila Zuberi and Fahima Awan. Shahood A, giving his opinion on the matter, said that women who work outside the house wear perfumes to their offices, whereas those who stay at home smell of garlic and ginger, because of which “you will not feel like talking” to them. Okay. We’re not quite sure what’s going on in Shahood A’s life but maybe his wife might need to sit him down and have a talk with him. After all, he’d like to have dinner too, one assumes.

Getting Into The Habit

Ace vocalist Atif Aslam has given quite a few interviews in recent times. At least we’ve been seeing reels and reels of him on social media, where he waxes eloquent on a variety of topics related to his occupation. During one such chat, the singer unravelled the meaning of his first-ever hit song, ‘Aadat’. He says people thought that the track was about heartbreak but it wasn’t. “Originally, it was just about self-awareness, how you mould yourself according to the situation.” Interesting! Isn’t self-awareness what heartbreak teaches you?

Hayden Panettiere Dies

On August 16, the showbiz world was shocked to learn that Hollywood star Hayden Panettiere, who starred in the hugely successful TV shows Heroes and Nashville, had died. She was only 36. At the time of writing, no cause of death had been ascertained. Hayden P began her career as a child star, appearing in the film Remember the Titans and the TV movie Tiger Cruise. She shot to international fame at the age of 17 when she played Claire Bennet in the television series Heroes. She had also spoken publicly about her struggles with depression and substance abuse and had recently come out with her memoirs, titled This Is Me: A Reckoning. May she rest in peace.

Love Is Grande

A little over a decade ago, pop star Ariana Grande broke up with her footballer boyfriend Ricky Alvarez. They were together for almost a year. Two months ago, rumours of their reconciliation did the rounds in showbiz circles. Now it has been confirmed by the singer herself, who posted quite a few pictures on Instagram of them together in a lovey-dovey mood, the most prominent of which was a mirror selfie of the pair. This reminds us of the old line from a poem, ‘Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the loyalist of them all?’ No, it wasn’t the loyalist… it was the fairest of course. But it doesn’t matter, when you’re in love.

Bad Habits

Remember last month when actress Kangana Ranaut called Gen-Z in India the “gutter generation” when they were agitating against the education minister in Delhi? She thought she’d get away with that. She was wrong. The president of the Rajiv Gandhi Bar Association, Ramashankar Sharma, has filed a complaint against her in an Agra court, arguing that the actress-cum-politician “insulted the students and their parents with her choice of words” and that she has the “habit” of making such comments. Good on you, Ramashankar S. But tell you what, they say, bad habits die hard.

Published in Dawn, ICON, August 23rd, 2026