Music For a Cause

In the last few years, countless children have died and suffered in conflict-ridden zones such as Gaza, Sudan and Yemen and, most recently, Iran. In 1995, the British and Irish artists’ album Help highlighted the plight of children in war-stricken areas such as Bosnia and Herzegovina and aimed to raise funds for them. Help 2 has been released recently with a similar admirable goal. It has around 24 tracks and features musicians from all over the world, including Arctic Monkeys, Oasis, Olivia Rodrigo, Depeche Mode and Damon Albarn. One of the tracks, Lilac Wine, features our very own Arooj Aftab, who collaborated with Beck. We pray that children and the rest of humanity are spared the horrors of war unleashed by savages.

A Sour Split

Recently, YouTuber Rajab Butt announced that he is ending his marriage to social media influencer Emaan Fatima and has sent her divorce papers. The couple tied the knot in 2024 and the split has taken place on a sour note. Rajab B said that Emaan F accused his mother of stealing, made fun of his friends, and that there were even more factors that led to their parting ways, which he cannot share. He also said that no one can stop him from meeting his only son, Kivan. Emaan F responded on Instagram: “I have stayed silent to save this relationship. But first, the false allegations… and now his legal notice… what is the fault of my son and me in all of this?” We hope that both can move forward and find happiness eventually.

Minnelli’s Scandals

Actress and vocalist Liza Minnelli’s memoir, Kids,Wait Till You Hear This!, is out, and, boy, is it making tongues wag and jaws drop! Among the many celebs that Minnelli recounts stories about in the book, one is acclaimed filmmaker Martin Scorsese. According to Minnelli, she cheated on her husband, director and producer Jack Haley Jr with Martin S, during the shooting of the film New York, New York in the 1970s. “Our love affair had more layers than lasagne. We were both Italian. Passionate. Intense. Committed to our craft. We both had volcanic tempers… He was a diabolically handsome man who shared my love for film.” Martin S’ PR team hasn’t responded to Liza M’s passionate, intense and volcanic claims so far.

Rihanna Under Fire

On March 9, a woman called Ivanna Lisette Ortiz opened fire on pop star Rihanna’s Beverly Hills home. The 35-year-old had an AR-15-style weapon that she used in an alleged attempt to murder Rihanna. The singer was in her mansion at the time, along with her boyfriend, rapper and record producer A$AP Rocky, and their three children. Luckily, no one was hurt. When the police reached Rihanna’s house, they arrested Ivanna L O and booked her for attempted murder, and her bail is set at $10.2m. In hindsight, it seems that Ivanna L O was completely off-track. After all, it was Rihanna’s house she was attacking. Didn’t she realise that she has a security Umbrella-aa-aa-aa?

A Pulpy Riposte

A few weeks ago, actress Rosanna Arquette criticised filmmaker Quentin Tarantino — with whom she worked in Pulp Fiction — for using the ‘N’ word frequently in his films and said, “It’s not art, it’s just racist and creepy.” The director recently responded, “I hope the publicity you’re getting from 132 different media outlets writing your name and printing your picture was worth disrespecting me and a film I remember quite clearly you were thrilled to be a part of… After I gave you a job, and you took the money, to trash it for what I suspect [are] very cynical reasons, shows a decided lack of class.” Quentin T, now that was a pulpy riposte. But we didn’t expect anything more from you!

Break Time

A significant number of cine-goers disliked Varun Dhawan’s performance in Border 2, despite the film being a box office hit. Apparently, he was seen smiling in scenes where he wasn’t supposed to, among other blunders. (While on the subject of Varun D, who can forget his repeating his character’s proclamation that “This time, we will not just cross the border — we will change the border itself”, which earned the wrath of Pakistanis.) The latest news is that he has decided to take a break from acting to spend some quality time with his family. We think it’s a wise decision on Varun D’s part. It will give everyone a respite from his bad acting too.

Published in Dawn, ICON, March 19th, 2026