Khumariyaan is an instrumental band which hails from Peshawar. The music and tunes consist of their native tunes which represent and highlight their rich Pushtoon culture.
Since they are an instrumental band, their aim is to break the tradition of the South Asian vocal based musical culture. The 4 band members bring forward their musical magic with instruments like the guitar, rubab and the native Pushto instrument called the Zeer Baghali.
Their music will give you all the right feels, it is soulful as well revolutionary. And as the band’s aim is to “entice musical ‘goose bumps’ “, we agree that they do an amazing job in getting that done.
Hence, today, we bring you 3 of their most favorite tracks to you.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai has revealed that she has an offer to study at a UK university.
She has received a conditional offer of a place to study Politics, Philosophy and Economics if she achieves three As.
The A-level student is set to study her degree at Oxford University, the Telegraph reported.
She was speaking to a conference organised by the Association of School and College Leaders and said:
“I’m studying right now. I’m in year 13, I have my A-Level exams coming and I have received a conditional offer which is three As, so I need to get the three As, that’s what my focus is right now, and I hope to continue my work and also continue my studies.”
“And I’m really thankful to you all for you support for encouraging me for my mission. That’s what makes me and keeps me so strong so thank you so much for that, and thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak.”
The Malala Fund, the charity set up by her works to secure girls’ rights to a minimum of 12 years of education.
Muzna Ebrahim is a famous Pakistani celebrity who is very vocal about animal rights and often shares her love for animals on social media. Recently, KMC poisoned her adopted stray dogs and she took the matter to social media.
She posted heart-wrenching photos of the dying dog. She also posted a video and other statuses to ask for justice for these animals and to encourage others to raise their voice against this inhumane act.
In a country like Pakistan where men and women are killed without any consequences, people who still manage to raise their voice for the voiceless animals are amazing and remarkable human beings just like Muzna.
Animal activists are often criticized for not raising their voice for humans but the truth is they are raising their voice for the voiceless and their efforts are commendable.
If there’s one Pakistani actress who knows how to stay in the limelight, it has to be Mawra Hocane. Most of the time it’s not due to her work, but rather her social media presence, which keeps everyone guessing what she’s up to. Mawra is currently seen in Sammi and her performance is widely appreciated and one cannot deny the fact that her popularity after Sammi has grown tenfold.
Speaking exclusively to Something Haute, the diva reveals how the show has not only gone beyond her expectations but also helped her to stop underestimating herself when people compared her work to other shows like Udaari.
“If you knew the people around me, you’d know that I always underestimate myself. It may not look like that from my social media but I do. Always with my projects, I am really scared. I always work hard, but you know, the fate of a project is something no one in the world has figured out yet. How can anyone calculate the fate of a project? I might have underestimated myself, but Sammi went far beyond my expectations,” the actress said.
The diva feels that one needs to have a different outlook to understand the realities of those who live on the peripheries.
“One must realize that Sammi is not about people like you or I. We might find this regressive because we live in another world of ours, where we may not even come across such a problem but when we go and shoot in a village and see where such problems happen, or simply just search it online and see the number of wani cases that happen, we’ll realize that it’s not regressive but the truth that we close our eyes to intentionally or unintentionally,” Hocane asserted.
Differentiating between the problems faced in metropolitan cities like Karachi versus those in villages, the actress added,
“It’s not about a girl living in Karachi, who woke up to face an electricity outage or a water shortage; it’s about someone living in a village that isn’t allowed to take a single decision herself. She’s stuck with the fear that someone will make a decision for her and she has to abide by it because she has no other option.”
While the show focuses on the harrowing topic of wani, its continuous comparison to sister Urwa Hocane’s Udaari has also turned into a topic of importance for Mawra. Although there is no surprise about the comparisons, the diva feels that it’s for all the right reasons, as Urwa has remained her innate inspiration.
“I may not have done a social issue project if it wasn’t for Urwa doing Udaari and it getting the success it received. Perhaps, I would have asked for a love-story coming from the influence I came from, doing all love stories,” the actress told Something Haute. “Picking up something like Sammi was because of Udaari, and Urwa has always set precedents for me since I was born. The only thing that I have done where I haven’t followed my sister’s footsteps is Sanam Teri Kasam. But, I do believe things would have been easier for me if I had followed her because I would have had her example to follow,” she added.
T2F has launched its bookstore with the facilitation of a bookshop called Mr Old Books on Saturday evening.
The event was two day long and it began at 6 pm on Saturday.
Famous bookstores such as Thomas and Thomas at Regal Chowk in Saddar were included. The owner of the shop, it was shown, was given multiple offers to move his establishment so that a fast-food outlet could be built in its place.
Similarly, it was shown that many bookstores were closed down either under pressure by other businesses or due to sharp decline in sales.
An interview of Dawn images with one such shop owner revealed that people no longer visit bookshops and if in case a bookseller dies, there is no one who could replace him or take responsibility of running the bookshop. This is where T2F comes in.
Speaking to Dawn, director of T2F Ellia Khan said that the idea behind the bookstore launch was to provide space to bookstall and bookstore owners to present their books.
“The whole idea is to revive the number of projects at T2F. We are working very closely with Mr Old Books at Boat Basin, a lot of the collection that we curated has been provided by them. Some books have been exchanged with Mr Old Books. They saw our collection and liked our books and in exchange we got a number of new books as well. This is how we are working together,” she added.
Explaining the concept of a monthly book bazaar, Ms Khan said that books donated to T2F by donors were presented at the bazaar.
Fiza Khatri and Asad Alvi have been hired respectively to look after the art collections at the Faraar Shop and to curate, fix and standardise the bookstore. The bookshelf includes books belonging to English, Russian and Urdu literature. Urdu translations of English and Russian literature are also kept, says Asad Alvi.
We salute the efforts of the T2f team in order to revive a book reading culture.
Sounds of Kolachi’s first album called Elhaam is here. The album covers theme of frustration and passion complementing the city life of Karachi. The symbolism between the music and the name of the band is intriguing and interesting.
In all honesty, their sounds remind us of legendary rockstars like Kurt Cobain.
Chakardaar and Laakh Jatan would speak to the angry part of your soul or the part which is just ready to take a step and bring its thoughts and words into action. It might just bring out the hidden revolutionary within you with its powerful tune and overpowering tones.
However, Laakh Jatan is more on the sweeter side.
Man Mora will remind you of sad winter evening remembering a lost memory or person.
Allah Hi Dayga, Nain Laagay Ray and Aey Ri Sakhi are very soft songs and are perfect for a peaceful lonely night.
All in all, the soulful tunes mixed with drums and other heavy instruments have made a perfect end product and we can’t help pressing the replay button.
Ohkay so, I am not sure how I feel about this episode, like I do understand that they tried to make it as convincing as possible but as the truth about Isaac was revealed & later when I saw his & Hammad’s confrontation, I found myself thinking that the exact same thing would’ve been so convincing if they had stayed true to the novel & had shown Isaac’s family to be Jewish. I do understand that they made some changes in the novel to fit the dramatization & also, may be because they didn’t want to bring any other religion into the spotlight but then again, I am not convinced, not because of what is being shown but because of the way Isaac is treating Hammad as now everything is looking forceful like as if Isaac has nothing better to do, no other activity to spent his time on, so he is tailing Hammad to kill his boredom. I definitely have no complains when it comes to Hammad & Sarah’s characters because to be honest, I am watching this drama because of them, but then again, seeing the coverage Isaac gets compels me to stare at the ceiling of my TV Lounge because I am neither interested nor convinced with how Isaac’s character & story has been dished out & this is something that makes me a little disappointed because this is not how I was expecting Khuda Aur Mohabbat would turn out to be.
So, Hammad left Sarah’s place on a bitter note but he obviously understood that it wasn’t Jenny or Sarah’s mistake that Isaac was such a paranoid. The news of Hammad visiting Sarah’s place didn’t sit well with Rebecca because she obviously has her reasons. For the first time Rebecca has told Kamran how she feels about Hammad but then I found Kamran’s response quite reasonable where he reminded her about the hardships that Hammad has been through, so she should take it easy & shouldn’t impose her thought process on him. To be honest, every time I see that bechari look pasted on Rebecca’s face with the title music playing in the background when she spots Hammad & Sarah together, I find myself smiling from ear to ear, lol! Also, I don’t understand what makes Rebecca think that Hammad will fall for her now when he never fell for her when he was in the US before leaving for Pakistan & before meeting Imaan? Rebecca should accept the fact that Hammad has friend-zoned her ages ago, so she shouldn’t bother!
Well, as much as Sarah is getting to know Hammad, she is finding herself getting more & more inclined towards him, that is the reason why she felt sorry for the way her father treated Hammad at the dinner. So, finally, the truth was revealed that Isaac/Ishaaq used to be a staunch practicing Muslim as well but just because he was imprisoned because of his friend due to 9/11, he grew out of all those feelings & emotions that he had regarding his religion, his ethnicity & his identity. Well, to be honest, as much as I wasn’t convinced with Isaac’s past, one thing that definitely made sense was that may be after getting imprisoned, Isaac lost half of his senses & sanity, that is why he has turned out to be one unreasonable soul whose only motive in life is to create trouble for Hammad otherwise who would tail a university student disguised as a man in black looking like an FBI agent? LOL! Seriously, the only emotion I am feeling right now for Isaac’s character is that of pity, because he has unwillingly turned into a lunatic & he still is oblivious about it!
As far as they were trying to show that Isaac had his inhibitions when it came to Hammad, it was fine but to see him recording Hammad’s conversation with Behzaad & trying to use it against him just because he visits Masjid regularly & gives Azaan over there was pretty unconvincing, like at that moment I felt that it would’ve been so much better if they had shown Isaac to be a non-Muslim by birth because these sort of accusations coming from a Muslim made things look amusing rather than serious or worrisome. To see an ex-practicing Muslim associating someone with fundamentalism just because he gives a call for Fajr prayer made him look stupid rather than racist or Islamophobic, only because he himself has all the knowledge when it comes to religion so some logic & sense was definitely expected from Isaac. Yes, I do understand that Isaac is just insecure & he is concerned for his daughter but then again, now that the truth has been revealed that he himself is a Muslim, I am not sure if all this makes as much sense as it would have if they had shown him as a non-Muslim right from the start.
Anyways, the only good bits of this episode came from Hammad & Sarah. I can’t wait to see how Sarah will once again try to protect Hammad from her lunatic father. I am wondering just like how she took out those books & notes from Hammad’s bag, will she be able to delete the video from her father’s cell-phone when he’ll be asleep, lol!!! Another sight that made me actually giggle was when I saw Isaac in black suit, black sunglasses, acting like an FBI agent, while completely being oblivious of the fact that he looked like those paid-actors who dress themselves up to scare someone. Now that the cat’s rather Isaac’s out of the bag, I can’t wait to see how Hammad will tackle him & change his perspective but I seriously wish that they don’t shift the entire focus on Isaac’s character like they did in this episode & keep it more on Hammad & Sarah’s developing understanding & relationship because that is far more important & interesting. Some amazing acting there by Imran Abbas & Kubra Khan & some really thought-provoking dialogues by the writer there. While looking at Isaac as a villain of this half of the drama, I was forced to remember how convincing Molvi Aleemuddin was as the villain of the first half, like there’s a drastic difference between the two halves of this drama but the only thing that thankfully & fortunately has remained consistent & has kept the interest of the viewers alive in the show is the character of Hammad, so I’m so much thankful for him! Please share your thoughts about this episode of Khuda Aur Mohabbat.
Shiraz Uppal is a famous playback singer, a pop star and a music composer. Recently, he gave an interview to Dawn Images and we bring you the most interesting bits.
Upon being asked that how did he manage to pull of such successes when it comes to movies like Bol, Bin Roye, 3 Bahadur, Lahore Se Aagey and Dobara phir se, he said:
“It just happens,I am really happy that the film industry is back on its feet and people are recognising the film songs, something we lacked in the past. Indian musicians learned from our pop music while we looked down on it. Our music was much superior to theirs and if we want to revive the music industry, we must make good, listenable songs.”
Uppal doesn’t agree that his song Kalabaz was inspired by the Indian song, Ghagra, as he said:
“It’s a mujra kind of a song, which is the same in India and Pakistan. It belongs to the same genre as ‘Ghagra’ and ‘Kajre Re’ but isn’t the rip-off of any other song. We have made it a fast-track so that it’s both appealing and danceable.”
It warms our heart to see that Uppal survived the bad days of our pop industry as he himself said:
“The end of pop music didn’t end my career. I went to Bollywood and came up with ‘Roya Ray’ which was praised by many. ‘Rabba’ was included in three separate albums, including Best of 2009 (as introducing Shiraz Uppal), Unkahi (his fourth album) and as one of the promotional songs for Aashayen. The song also won me a trophy at the Mirchi Awards too, for which I thank the listeners and those who believed in me.”
The third edition of the two-day Lahore Music Meet started at Alhamra Art Centre, The mall, on Saturday.
The turn out was good enough at the festival and the evening consisted of various discussions and performances.
The discussions at the festival with Sajjad Ali, Ali Azmat, Momina Mustehsan and Uzair Jaswal were interesting and informative.
Sajjad talked about producing new songs and music:
“There was no music industry in Pakistan but only the music scene,” he said and criticised singers who were taking music as fun instead of seriously learning the art.
Ali Azmat said he had given his first music performance at Alhamra. He said all artistes were insecure at the start; however, this insecurity drove their float and at the end of the day, they became established singers. He threw light on his life and difficulties he faced through his professional career. Mentioning one of his famous songs ‘Garj Baras’, he shared with the audience that he had composed song at Nathia Gali. He was of the view that the singers should not live in the past glory and should come up with new tracks.
The LMM had panel discussions, music and a visual art exhibition. Performances by Abdulah Siddiqui, Ehl-e-Rock, Janoobi Khargosh, Kashmir, Keeray Makoray, TMPST, Wooly and The Uke and Shorbanoor were included.
For its third edition, the LMM received over 250 applications from across the country for live performances which were then shortlisted by co-founders, Natasha Noorani and Zahra Paracha.
For his last project, Atif Aslam collaborated with the Bollywood beauty, Ileana D’Cruz for his song. But this time, the singing sensation has raised his game by roping in the Brazilian beauty, Nicolli Dela Nina for his latest single called ‘Younhi’.
Previously, pictures of Nicolli Dela and singer Atif Aslam shooting for a project made rounds on the internet, leaving fans speculating what they had been up to. Well, the wait is finally over because the video of Atif Aslam’s latest single Younhi is out.
Earlier this week, Atif took to Instagram to unveil the first look of the song, followed by a striking teaser of the single and it sure looked spectacular.
Speaking to ARY News, Asad said, “I speak to Veena almost every hour and Mufti Naeem will help us solve our issues and everything will be fine INSHALLAH.”
Asad was all praises for Veena, “I will never want anything like this to happen because we (Asad & Veena) both have two beautiful kids and i love and respect Veena a lot. She is a good wife, a good mother and a good friend,” adding that “ALHAMDULILLAH we’re still husband and wife, there are a few misunderstandings and we’ll sort them out.”
“I met her yesterday only and everything is fine and we’ll soon come for an interview together,” he closed.
Actress Veena Malik tied knot with Asad Khattak in 2013, and they have parted ways after a little more than 3 years. They have two children together and the whole process regarding divorce was kept under wraps until recently.
However, Veena is still mum about the whole issue but her husband has expressed that he loves her and hopes that the situation will get better. We hope for the best for the couple and their kids.
There were quite a few scenes in this episode which were intense and Noor/Sania track was wrapped up intelligently. Noor’s emotional outburst and later on showing him admit his mistake not just in front of his mother and Mikael but also Sania was the most endearing part of this episode. The fact that he realized his mistake although this wasn’t entirely his fault went to show that Mahi and Mikael had raised him well. I did feel however that Mikael and Mahi were being too harsh with him but Mahi’s reaction was definitely more spontaneous than anything else. This was a big step forward for Noor because with this latest development he faced another huge shortcoming in his life and decided that he could still make the most of the situation by ensuring that Sania stayed in his life as a friend. Noor’s character is a very difficult one to translate on screen. The scene in tonight’s episode which covered Noor’s reaction to everything that happened required tons of confidence and Furqan Qureshi definitely did complete justice to this scene. Although his voice keeps on fluctuating but otherwise he has breathed life into Noor’s character which is why I have always been able to connect to his character. The actress playing Sania’s character is also nice looking and she acts well too, I am certain we will be watching her in more dramas soon.
Mahi and Zain’s chance meeting suggested that even today they had feelings for each other. While it is easy to understand why Zain was never able to move on, I can’t relate to Mahi’s feelings for him. Zain wronged Mahi in more ways than one therefore deep inside he must feel guilty but Zain gave Mahi tons of reasons to get over him and move on. In my opinion the writer and the director still want viewers to think that Zain might come back to Mahi. I would love to see Zain apologizing to Mahi and accepting Noor but Mikael deserves to be with Mahi more than Zain. In this episode Zain finally realized that his mother never wanted his happiness but she only wanted to control his life. For the first time the viewers also watched Arshi accepting her mistakes and realizing that she did not deserve to be loved! Better late than never! I have to admit that I am not too impressed with Irsa Ghazal’s acting in this drama because there are times when it seems like she is trying too hard. I absolutely love Hassan sb’s character, it is refreshing watching a man stand by his woman even though she has so many flaws. He loves his wife unconditionally and has always been there for her.
I am not sure how the latest developments in Sona’s track are going to effect the story but the drama should end next week because even though this was a much better episode Of Khuda Mera Bhi Hai but none of the tracks have anything new to offer at this point. Mahi and Mikael’s nikkah should be the perfect ending to Mahi’s track and Zain should accept Noor, this is something which will give him even more confidence.
The preview of the next episode showed Zain thinking about ending his marriage with Kashmala and he will try to get in touch with Mahi which means that the next episode might not be the last one!
How many of you watched this latest episode? Do share your thoughts about it.
Last year, we lost the voice of Pakistan’s youth, Junaid Jamshed, the man our generation grew up listening to. The singer turned preacher died in an unfortunate plane crash along with other people on-board. His sudden demise had left us appalled.
But what happened recently has shocked us once again, Junaid Jamshed’s former Vital Signs band member Salman Ahmed revealed something, which is highly disappointing.
Level of corruption in Pakistan is absolutely staggering.Officials demanded a bribe to hand over #JunaidJamshed's death certificate 2 family
So, Junaid Jamshed’s family was forced to pay bribe just to get his death certificate and that too after 2 and a half months. Is this what he deserved? This is surely something really very disappointing and the level of corruption in Pakistan is cringe-worthy. The government really needs to take an action!
He’s the man who gave us Dil Dil Pakistan and painted a beautiful image of Pakistan with his preaching. With the memories of the tragic incident still fresh in our minds, something like this has truly left us heart broken.
Javed Sheikh who is a man of many talents, has been an integral part of the industry for several decades. He has been working in local and Indian films simultaneously for years and has a long list of big screen projects to his credit.
Ever since the revival of Pakistani cinema, Javed Sheikh has appeared in a number of films. The most recent addition to the list of films he’s directing as well as producing is ‘Wujood’.
Speaking to Instep, Javed Sheikh said, “I’m making a film called Wajood. Half of the film has already been shot while the remaining part will be shot in Turkey starting from next month. It’ll be ready by June and I plan to release it on Eid-ul-Azha.”
Wajood stars Danish Taimoor in the lead role while some of industry’s most prominent names are also attached to the project. It features Ali Saleem, Nadeem Baig and Frieha Altaf in pivotal roles while Javed too will make an appearance in the film.
Sheikh attends almost all of the films’ premieres as well as trailer and music launches to show his support for local cinema. Sharing his thoughts on the subject, he noted, “I’ve been supporting all the newcomers for so many years. I’m a part of the revival. I started that revival in 2002 when I made Yeh Dil Apka Huwa almost 15 years back.”
Mehwish Hayat is a very talented and versatile actress. Thank the heavens, our home girl has a very active social media presence hence we are updated with all her looks and outfits.
Therefore, today, we bring you 5 times when the diva simply rocked black outfits.
When she wore a casual black tee paired with dark blue jeans in New York and proved that the simpler, the better.
Cornetto Pop Rock released it’s 2nd song today called ‘Turn Up The Music Dj’. Mr DJ is the second of six music videos to be released in Season 2 of Cornetto Pop Rock. The first was “Yeh Kya Hua” by Komal Rizvi.
The singer of ‘Turn Up The Music Dj’ is Qurram Hussain. In the video, he can be seen shaking a leg with the gorgeous Ayesha Omar, and famed dance choreographer Hasan Rizvi. The music video is a light-hearted party song directed by filmmaker Wajahat Rauf, and shot in Karachi with a group of dancers.
Tooba Siddiqui, famous model and actress always dresses to impress. She has a drama coming up and she also recently won our hearts with her acting in the film, Dobara Phir Se.
The diva looks stylish all the time but today, we bring you 4 times her sunglasses enhanced her whole look even further.
When she carried these big shades with a casual winter attire.
Apart from being an amazing and melodious singer, Ali Zafar is also blessed with a great sense of style.
One thing we love about this man’s style is how he carries leather jackets. Hence, today we bring you 5 times where he simply slayed in leather jackets.
When he paired a black leather jacket with leather gloves too and reminded us of some undercover superhero.
Ever since we found out that Khalil-ur-Rehman Qamar is collaborating with 7th sky productions, we have been very excited and with the teaser of ‘Mohabbat Tumse Nafrat Hai’ releasing today, our excitement has only doubled because the teasers are everything we had hoped for.
Geo TV released two teasers of Mohabbat Tumse Nafrat Hai. The first teaser opens up with Ayeza Khan dressed as a bride and is shot beautifully. The second teaser reveals the main plot of the drama as Shehzad sheikh runs behind Ayeza Khan, and we can see the love and happiness these two share. However, there’s more to it because as soon as Ayeza turns, she sees Imran Abbas instead of Shehzad sheikh and what more, her expressions said it all!
The drama promises to be an unusual love story with some surprising twists and of course, KRQ’s amazing dialogues. It stars Ayeza Khan and Imran Abbas in the lead roles while Shehzad sheikh will be seen essaying a pivotal role. Written by Khalil-ur-Rehman Qamar and a 7th Sky Productions “Mohabbat Tumse Nafrat Hai’ is expected to hit our screens very soon.
The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday struck down provisions of the Rules of Competitive Examination 2014 which barred the Central Superior Services (CSS) qualified persons with disability from joining the Foreign Service of Pakistan (FSP).
Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah on Friday directed the federal government to allocate two seats to the two visually-impaired petitioners in the FSP at the earliest.
He said if no such posts were available then the concerned quarters should create two new posts to adjust the petitioners in order to uphold their fundamental rights and to redress the unconstitutional deprivation they have been facing since 2014 after being compelled to join the Information Group.
The chief justice ruled that while Rule 9(ii) of the CSS rules 2014 has been struck down, the government should formulate rules to offer all or any occupational services to disabled persons in the All Pakistan Service, after thoroughly assessing possibility of providing reasonable accommodation before the next CSS exam.
The court passed this order on a petition of Muhammad Yousaf and Faisal Majeed – visually impaired persons – who appeared in 2014 CSS examination.
Abbas Ali Khan thinks that we need to stop getting influenced from Bollywood.
He told Something Haute at the trailer launch of Chalay Thay Saath:
“It’s not impossible to have our own individual style.”
Abbas has created the musical score for CTS and it sounds like he has done a great job.
“I wanted the music to sound Pakistani so we made sure to use instruments that are used in Pakistan. For example, since the film has been shot in Hunza, we used instruments such as the rubab. We have also incorporated traditional Chinese instruments specially made in China, as some of the film is shot in China. What’s interesting is that the raag of Pakistan’s mountainous regions is very similar to the raag used in China. It’s beautiful how the two sounds came together.”
It seems like Abbas put lot of planning in order to come up with a great musical score.
“Nowadays film music sounds too similar to Bollywood music. I love Bollywood and I regularly watch their films, but we need to get out from under their shadow and create something that’s ours.”
“Mooroo is a perfect example of original Pakistani pop music. He has a unique sound; his music doesn’t sound like Bollywood or Hollywood or anything else we’ve heard lately.”
Abbas also talked about ‘Chitta Chola’, the song he worked on for Patari Tabeer:
“When I first heard the song, I started working on the music using traditional instruments like the tabla and the dholak. But that was creating a sound that has been done to death now. So I decided to go down a completely different route. That’s why the music is very electronic and it falls under dream pop, a new music genre. I’m really thankful to Patari that they trusted me and gave me a chance to experiment.”
Shabman, the senior actress who was the poster girl of Lollywood in the 1970s broke into tears while she talked about leaving Pakistani and its film industry in the late 1990s.
“It was very painful for me but I did it for my family, especially my father, who suffered from a heart attack in Bangladesh while I was in Pakistan,” said the film star at the literary festival organised by Old Ravians Union (ORU) at Government College University (GCU), Lahore.
Shabnam had a whole session dedicated to her named: ‘An interaction with Shabnam Ghosh’.
“I lived and worked for almost three decades in Pakistan, how could I forget the people who gave me so much love and respect,” said she.
When she was asked about the Bangladeshi cinema, she said:
“It is in the same condition as Pakistani cinema nowadays.”
She said the actors were not very demanding when she worked in the film industry, adding that “they were no concept of five-star hotels as they used to stay in tents most of the time during outdoor shooting.”
She also mentioned that her husband, music director Robin Ghosh was very supportive and understanding of her film life and never asked questions when she came home late from work.
The festival opened with a session which paid glowing tributes to Bano Qudisa. Poet Yasmeen Hameed, Anees Ahmed, the son of Bano Qudsia, Prof Dr Saadat Saeed and Dr Khalid Sinjarni talked about the late writer.
In the third session, Usman Peerzada, Feryal Gauhar and Sarmad Khoosat deliberated on cinema in Pakistan. Yasmin Tahir, Editor Rashid Rehman and Navid Shahzad shed light on the life and works of Syed Imtaiz Ali Taj and chief justice SA Rehman.
Pakistani actress Veena Malik has ended her three-year-old marriage with Asad Khattak after a family court granted them divorce.
The 33 year old star filed for divorce in January this year. “There were issues between Veena and Asad but no one knew about it. Asad is still in shock after she filed for divorce. Asad will try his best to continue the marriage because he does not think it is a practical decision, especially now that there are kids involved,” a source close to Asad told The Express Tribune.
The insider further revealed, the differences between the two started when Veena resumed working in showbiz. “They started fighting a lot when she began participating in the entertainment industry again,” added the source.
However, earlier this month Asad tweeted some candid pictures with Veena and wrote, “A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person. I LOVE U my world,”
“A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.” I LOVE U my world @iVeenaKhan ???❤️❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/KYJ66kKSTG
According to sources, Veena filed a plea in a Lahore court on January 6, 2017 for a khula (dissolution of marriage) from her husband, which was issued in favour of the actress on January 31, 2017.
In conversation with Images, Veena’s lawyer revealed, “According to the court, three notices are sent to the defendant to present himself before the court, if he fails to do so (which Asad did in this case) then the court issues an order in favour of the plaintiff (Veena).”
“Veena’s reason for the dissolution of marriage is that Asad changed after marriage, his personality became ‘complicated’ and his demeanour became negative,” he added.
The court has given a unilateral decision because of Khattak’s unavailability. “The couple have 90 days to reconcile and if the defendant still fails to show up in court the divorce will not be reversible,” shared the lawyer.
Veena’s father, Malik Aslam revealed to Images, that even though Asad was a partner in his business, “he was not as financially stable and the couple had a lot of problems.”
“We all tried for three years to make things right, including Veena. When controversies regarding her shoot in an Indian publication came out, I was the first one to support her and stand up against what was being said to her and this time I am with her, the decision (for a khula) she made was right and I stand by her.”
He added further, “Even though their marriage has ended, my relation with Asad will remain the way it was, like a son and a business partner.”
Speaking to Samaa News, Veena’s father revealed more details.
Summing up the whole conversation: Veena’s father revealed that they tried to solve the issues but the marriage failed and he’s satisfied with his daughter’s decision. He further shared that Veena was bearing all household expenses.
Veena Malik married Dubai based businessman Asad Khattak in Dubai on December 25, 2013. They have two children and according to the father, Veena will have custody of the children as she is the mother.
Popular film actor Veena Malik has parted ways with husband Asad Khattak after 3 years of marriage.
According to sources, Veena Malik had filed a plea seeking divorce in the Lahore family court in January as the couple had developed differences. The court in Lahore accepted Veena’s ‘khula’ (divorce) application and ruled in her favour after non-pursuance of the case by Asad Khattak. Veena will be returning 25 per cent of the ‘haq mehr’ (dower money) to Asad Khattak and will get an alimony of 0.5 million dirham.
Veena and Asad tied the knot in December 2013 in a court in Dubai and have two children.
Chalay Thay Saath is an upcoming Pakistani movie which has been shot in the northern areas of Pakistan. With its amazing trailer recently out, we decided to bring you 5 of the most beautiful BTS shots of the film.
The movie stars Syra Shahroz, Kent S.Leung, Zhalay Sarhadi, Mansha Pasha, Behroze Sabzwari, Faris Khalid, Sherbaaz Kaleem, Shamim Halai and Osama Tahir.
The photo amidst the grand mountains as a chirpy yellow van passes by.
Titli continues to be a typical yet entertaining play which has so far been quite fast paced which could be one of the reasons why it keeps you glued to your television screens. It reminds me of dramas like Tum Kon Piya, Mohabbat Ab Nahi Ho Gi and even season 1 of Malaka-e-Aaliya. All these dramas also did not have anything grand to offer but the best thing about them was that they were entertaining and logical. I must add that it is great watching a drama which shows that sometimes men also face situations after marriage which require a lot of compromise and women don’t always compromise and can be quite unreasonable too. Also, not all the women in this play are like Nayla therefore we are not watching stereotypes. Nayla’s mother’s support for her pretty much sums up why she is so used to getting away with everything. Now that she has a husband who is compromising and does not believe in playing games, she knows that she does not need to change in order to stay in this marriage. All the scenarios in this drama are also very realistic probably because the story of the play is based on true events, which is why it is easier to connect to all the happening and the characters.
So far Ahmed has played a major role in making sure that his marriage stays intact. He talked about leaving Nayla in the previous episode but his parents made it clear that it was not an option. Nayla is a clever woman who knows how to control her husband which is why every time he demands something from her or protests in any way she gives him a reason to change his attitude towards her. This time around she faked the pain in order to get the kind of attention she wanted and to make her husband feel guilty. The scene in which Ahmed looked at Nayla first when they are lying down and later on she looked at him thinking he was sleeping was remarkable because it was one of those scenes which say a great deal even when there are no dialogues involved. Ahmed feels nothing but admiration for Nayla even with all her flaws and Nayla cannot look beyond Ahmed’s dark complexion!
Nayla’s mother has more in common with her than she has with Zara. She did not think that it was important to ask Zara what she wanted because she knew that she didn’t want to go ahead with this engagement. She was not willing to taking a stand for Zara but she always puts Nayla’s happiness before everything else even if she wants something which is highly unacceptable. Nayla’s mother is also materialistic which is why she got Nayla married to Ahmed and accepted this proposal as well. Nayla’s refusal to stay in her parents house and watching her acknowledge the fact that she was too used to living a luxurious life definitely was an interesting addition. It made it pretty clear why Nayla wasn’t just going to walk out of that marriage. She had a lavish lifestyle and not much was expected from her in return therefore she had no reason to leave Ahmed. At the same time she finds it impossible to respect Ahmed and takes him for granted.
I enjoyed watching this episode of Titli and am waiting to see how the story progresses in the upcoming episodes. All the leading actors gave solid performances in this episode as well but I can’t help noticing that the supporting actors (actor who played Nayla’s boyfriend and her friends in tonight’s episode) in Titli and in fact in most of Urdu1 dramas are not the least bit impressive.
How many of you watched this latest episode? Do share your thoughts about it.
In the Neelum Valley, a tourist slipped off a few rocks and drowned into the Neelum River on Thursday according to the police.
Humayun was a resident of the Gulberg area of Karachi who was visiting the valley with his family.
Travelling to the Neelum Valley, the family stopped their car by the roadside near Sathriyan in Athmuqam, some 80 kilometres from Muzaffarabad.
They decided to take some photos by the banks of the Neelum River.
Police said that Humayun had climbed on top of a large rock to take pictures of his daughters with the river in the background. But he lost his footing, slipped and fell into the raging river.
Locals rushed to the spot to help fish him out but failed to save him.
This is an important reminder for everyone that safety comes first.
The Suleman Dawood School of Business (SDSB) of Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) has made it to the list of top 300 Business schools in the world.
The rankings have been determined by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings by Subject 2017.
It is indeed a very proud moment for our country to have LUMS stand among these top schools.
The Business School has been recognized under the category of “Business and Management Studies.”
QS rankings are done each year in order to assist students while selecting universities for each sunject.
The research citations, results of global surveys and academics are the criteria on which the rankings are determined.
National Academy of Performing Arts (Napa) is back with its annual international theater and music festival. It will take place from March 16 to April 2. The event will have 24 performances featuring local theater productions as well as international ones.
Napa artistic director, Zain Ahmed while addressing the media at a press conference on March 9 said:
“We started this International Theatre Festival in 2012 with six plays. This year, we will have a record 24 performances. This is the biggest festival we have ever organised.”
Napa programmes director Arshad Mehmood said one of the motives behind the festival is to make more people come to watch theatre.
“We would like to see more people inclined towards arts and artists, who showcase their talents on the stage. We want people to break out of their television-watching routines and put down the remotes. We hope to achieve that through the festival.”
The 18-day festival will include five music performances and five plays by international participants from Italy, Nepal, Germany, the United States and Palestine.
Zain shared:
“This is possibly the first time that I’m aware of, that a Palestinian theatre group will be performing in Pakistan.”
He also said that Napa had planned to invite troupes from India as well but decided against it in light of the recent tensions between the two countries.
Bilal Abbas, is one of the most promising additions to Pakistani drama industry and is currently seen in Rasm-e-duniya. He has given some great performances in the past and we’re already waiting his next project titled ‘O Rangreza’ opposite Sajal Ali. The drama directed by Kashif Nasir is currently under production. Expected to air soon on Hum Tv, O Rangreza also stars Nouman Aijaz and Sana Fakhar in pivotal roles.
Lahore Music Meet’s third edition at Alhamra Art Centre is all set to take place on Saturday, March 11, 2017. The vision behind it is to promote and develop the entertainment industry of Pakistan.
“The event is being organised to support the Pakistani film industry and we hope it will play a constructive role in trying to resolve issues faced by musicians,” LMM organiser Natasha Noorani told The Express Tribune.
The event will include musical performances and lectures as well.
Since the past two years, LMM has seen many music personalities and budding singers. This year, the organizers are expecting a bigger turn out.
“We identified many issues faced by the music industry in the past two LMM’s and this year we hope to do the same. We have convinced big names like Sajjad Ali and Ali Azmat to take part in this year’s festival as well,” added Noorani.
Meesha Shafi, Momina Mustehsan, Haniya Aslam, Javed Bashir and Arshad Mahmood among other local singers will also conduct lectures on the occasion.
Story telling sessions will also take place including Patari Tabeer, Women On The Scene, Art Sound and Space, Sore of a film, Heritage & Archiving: Preserving music in Pakistan, Presenting the Presenters, Story telling through dance, Talking Tablas and Beats and many others.
Gone are the days when musicians would struggle to reach producers because singers are now rising to fame through the power of internet. Abdullah Qureshi is one of those singers who first came under the spotlight as a YouTube artist recording his own renditions of famous singles and earned a solid fan following for himself.
Abdullah Qureshi had been throwing hints for his upcoming original and it’s finally out. He released the music video called ‘Dastaan’ and we must say he did a pretty good job.
2017 has been a pretty disappointing year so far, in terms of cinema. None of the films have been praise worthy (except Balu Mahi which was good but still not unique.) An upcoming film Geo Sar Utha Kay is the latest talk of the town. The trailer of the film released last year but came to light recently only. The film is so much like old Pakistani Punjabi films and is based on the story of a gang.
This action movie is being directed by Nadeem Cheema and is written by Nasir Mehmood. While the cast consists of Babar Ali, Shehryar Cheema, Umer Cheema and Nasir Khan in pivotal roles. The film is expected to release this year itself.
Being shot in rural areas of Pakistan, Geo Sar Utha Kay is based on the gang of Rajanpur which was involved in criminal activities including murders and kidnappings. The group named ‘Chottu Gang’ led by Ghulam Rasool. The village was then cleared by the Pakistan Army through the operation, Zarb e Aahan.
The dubmash queen Hania Amir is the latest sensation of Pakistan. After impressing us with her film and leaving us spell bound with her delightful performance, the Titli actress is now the face of Paparzzi’s latest magazine cover. She always has something interesting in the pipeline and her latest photoshoot for Firdous Lawn is not to be missed as she looks flawless and extremely cute.
Pakistani brands are finally moving on from extravagant factors and focusing more on the content of their advertisement. It’s great to see that brands are now taking an initiative of highlighting obstacles a women faces in her life.
We’re loving the way Alkaram have upped their ante this year with empowering message featuring Mahira Khan. The ad shows the difficulties faced by a women in her daily life and teaches to overcome them with strength. The diva Mahira Khan stuns with her elegance and persona and looks absolutely ethereal in the Spring Collection by Alkaram.
