He’s Back, Manwa

Just as we thought and predicted about pop star Ali Noor that he’s a resilient lad and will recover strongly from the illness that had made all his admirers worry no end, the chap has come out with a redux version of the song Manwa Re that catapulted him to fame more than a decade back.

It’s a delectable effort with an acappella touch to it — which is why it is much more groovier, and keeping with the times that’s right up the millennial street. Keep ’em coming, dude.

Domestic Violence

What Fatima Sohail, wife of actor/singer Mohsin Abbas Haider, has disclosed after four years of silence about how brutally her husband treated her when they were together has shocked the entire nation. Mohsin’s press conference a couple of days later followed by Fatima’s indicated that their relationship has always been an unsteady one.

Since the issue is now going to be sorted in a court of law, we shouldn’t be commenting on it. All we can say is that abuse, physical or psychological, cannot and should not be tolerated. Period.

Nickname for Nick’s Wife

This is downright cute and worth cheek-pulling.

Priyanka Chopra’s mum-in-law Denise Miller-Jonas has a nickname for her daughter-in-law — Dil — which in Urdu and Hindi means, the heart. How do we know?

On July 18, Priyanka C celebrated her 37th birthday in style (man, she ain’t a spring chicken anymore), and Denise MJ posted on Instagram a nice little picture of the two of them with the caption, “Gorgeous birthday for a gorgeous girl. I love you, Dil.” Cool. Wait a minute: dil in Urdu is a masculine noun. So what? It would sound good if saasu maan started using Urdu or Hindi uttering phrases such as dil hai ke manti nahin ...

Friends without Benefits

Those who know Salman Khan well claim he has had many A-list girlfriends (from Sangeeta Bijlani to Aishwarya Rai to Katrina Kaif) with whom he spent pretty decent quality time. Now the 52-year-old single Indian film industry big shot doesn’t feel the need for a steady relationship in his life. That being said, he hasn’t completely severed ties with his past GFs.

In fact, the actor has recently been quoted, with a fair degree of appreciation, to have said that “being friends with your ex is the most beautiful thing.” Wow! Isn’t that lovely? But Sallu mian, spare a thought for their current boyfriends (or husbands).

Unkind Hollywood

Here’s a heartbreaking story. Sharon Stone was a Hollywood heartthrob in the 1990s (Basic Instinct, Casino etc); every noteworthy producer and director wanted to work with her. Then she suffered a stroke in 2001, and the entire entertainment industry turned its back on her.

Giving an interview to a British newspaper, Sharon S has revealed that after she had a stroke, she was forgotten like Princess Diana, and during her seven-year recovery Hollywood treated her with “brutal unkindness.” Shame. Bitter truth of the world of glitz and glamour.

She, Black Bond

This is the coolest piece of info you’ll hear in a long time. News is that Lashana Lynch, a black British actress, will be the new 007. While people on social media are cock-a-hoop about it, details of this khabar are a tad hazy. Some suggest that her character will inherit the 007 code name in the upcoming action-packed film but her mission is to ‘persuade Daniel Craig’s Bond to come out of retirement’.

Alrighty then! We’d like Daniel C to bequeath his responsibilities to her. That will be fun.

It will also open doors for our Asian actors to become that beloved secret agent.

Published in Dawn, ICON, July 28th, 2019