Kachrachi on tour

It is heartening to see more and more Pakistani filmmakers showcasing their talent on a global scale. The latest in that regard is the short ‘satirical’ film Kachrachi directed by Ali Mehdi and produced by Shamoon Khatri. The small but significant venture has been screened at several international events, including at festivals in Toronto, Pune and Washington DC.

On Sept 22, Kachrachi was also shown at the Chicago South Asian Film Festival to rave reviews. Good on you guys! Now it’s time to go big: make a full-length feature.

Cake for Oscars

The Pakistani Academy Selection Committee headed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy has selected the Asim Abbasi-directed Cake as this year’s submission from Pakistan for Oscar consideration in the Foreign Language Film Award category. Congratulations to the makers of the movie! If any film released in 2018 deserved the Oscar nod from our committee, it was Cake.

We hope and pray that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will deem it worthy of being shortlisted. If that happens, Pakistan will not only have its cake but eat it too.

Riverdale Romance

Riverdale is one of the most talked-about comic-based TV series of modern times. Charles Melton and Camila Mendes are two of its young actors, essaying the roles of Reggie and Veronica, respectively, in the series.

News is that they are seeing each other. Last week, the two were in Vancouver where they were seen ‘stealing a kiss’. That’s not it: prior to that, Charles M and Camila M were also spotted by a fireside, pretty late in the night, without other cast members of the show. All the best to the both of you! Should you guys decide to tie the knot, ask Archie (actor KJ Apa) to lend his jalopy to take you guys to church.

Tiger in Hollywood

‘Tiger, tiger burning bright’ is the line from a famous William Blake poem. This is also true for Tiger Shroff whose popularity has now transcended his native Indian soil.

The latest in that regard is that the actor has been offered the lead role in a Hollywood film. Yes, folks, it’s true. The producer of the Mortal Kombat series Lawrence Kasanoff along with the writer of the Batman series Sean Catharine Derek recently met with Tiger S in Mumbai and offered him the part. Sources say Sanjay Grover (son of Gulshan Grover), who is involved in the project, set up the meeting, and the Bollywood star nodded in the affirmative.

Good going Tiger S, time to roar louder than you usually do.

Richa and Racism

We live in difficult times. The artist community feels it more than anyone else. Indian actress Richa Chadha was in Tbilisi, Georgia for the recording of a web show, also starring Vivek Oberoi and Angad Bedi. Once done with her work, when she was coming back to India, the actress faced an incident which she couldn’t help tweeting about. “… Met a racist... officer at the passport control while exiting Georgia. Slammed my passport on the desk twice … muttered under her breath in Georgian, yelled and asked me to hurry. Sad, people like her are the last ones we perhaps see exiting the country …”

Hmmm … Richa C, perhaps it had nothing to do with you, the officer was simply a disgruntled fan of Bollywood and had caught Hate Story 4 the day before.

Rapper, Actor, Comedian

Wow! It seems Will Smith can pull off anything under the sun.

The man began his showbiz career as a rapper, achieved great success; switched to acting and did so well that he earned two Oscar nominations; and on Sept 19, as if all of that weren’t enough, he became a stand-up comedian. How? Answer: he went up on the stage of the Peppermint Club in Los Angeles during a comedy gig organised by Dave Chappelle and did a proper stand-up act for nearly half an hour.

The audience, which included his wife Jada and daughter Willow, loved his act and were in stitches. Cool! If a guy can make his wife laugh after 21 years of marriage, he must be good. Then again, maybe that’s why he’s become a comedian.

Published in Dawn, ICON, September 30th, 2018