Running After…

Filmmaker Mehreen Jabbar has given an interview in which she has revealed some bitter facts (or truths) which many in showbiz already knew but weren’t brave enough to talk about. She says doing projects for the television industry is not an easy thing, especially when it comes to asking for the money that you’ve earned working for a TV channel. “We have to chase them like beggars.” When the interviewer asked whether that had happened to her, she replied ‘yes’. Seasoned actor and scriptwriter Mohammed Ahmed recently made a similar complaint in a video clip. Both Mehreen J and M Ahmed are veterans of the industry. It’s good that they have finally called out entertainment networks. But will they pay heed and mend their ways?

Acceptance!

Zara Noor Abbas has had enough of those who lament ageing or promote anti-ageing products. Rightly so. In an Instagram post, the actress has asserted: “Let’s please stop promoting anti-ageing. Ageing is going to happen. That’s the only natural and beautiful truth. Accept it. Let this be a process of life you don’t control.” Spot on, Zara N A! There are many things in life that we have no control over, such as achieving stardom. And yet we survive and sometimes prosper.

Wakey Wakey!

Hugh Grant went to see a quarterfinal match at the Wimbledon between Novak Djokovic and F Cobolli. Where exactly did he sit? Well, he was in Queen Camilla’s Royal Box and was sitting behind her. During a critical point in the match, the camera cut to the actor and found him asleep — he had just dosed off. One of the TV commentators on the occasion was tennis legend John McEnroe who quipped: “It’s a tie-breaker. Tell him. Long way to go.” Hmmm… It seems for tennis, Hugh G has no love, actually…

Humaira Asghar’s Death

On July 8, the police found the dead body of actress and model Humaira Asghar in a flat in the DHA area of Karachi. Investigations suggest that she’d been dead for nine months and it only came to light when the police entered the flat (after her landlord approached the court for the eviction process) because she hadn’t been paying rent since 2024. Initially it was claimed that her family in Lahore had refused to take the dead body for her last rites. However, they finally accepted and she was quietly buried in Lahore. In the span of a couple of weeks, two actresses (Ayesha Khan and Humaira Asghar) have been found dead with no one by their side. Far more shocking was their isolation and the time it took to discover them. Life can be sadder than tragic dramas.

Old Flames?

Rumour has it that Shah Rukh Khan and Priyanka Chopra (the pair once had a bit of real life fling, it is alleged) will make guest appearances in the upcoming Don 3, starring Ranveer Singh and Kriti Sanon. It may be mentioned here that both were in the original cast of Don and Don 2. There were news items claiming that both (SRK and Priyanka C) had briefly met at the Met Gala but their meeting was hush-hushed. If they appear in Don 3 together, this time around it won’t be a hush-hush affair, rest assured.

Bang Bang 4

The Big Bang Theory, with four science nerds as its central characters, is one of the most, if not the most, watched sitcoms of the 21st century. It has resulted in two offshoots — Young Sheldon and Georgie and Mandy’s First Marriage. Now another spin-off is on the anvil. It’s titled Stuart Fails to Save the Universe. It will focus on the character of the comic book store owner Stuart Bloom (Kevin Sussman) who accidentally breaks a device made by Sheldon (Jim Parsons) and Leonard (Johnny Galecki), resulting in “bringing about a multiverse Armageddon.” That sounds supernova interesting, doesn’t it?

Published in Dawn, ICON, July 20th, 2025