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Jamal Shah Wants To Cast Sonam Kapoor In His Next Film

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Jamal Shah is a Pakistani actor and director. He starred in Pakistani film Hijrat and we also saw him play Muneezeh’s rigid and estranged father in film Ho Mann Jahan.

He is also a director and upcoming action thriller Revenge Of The Worthless is his directorial debut. The film comes out on July 29.

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Jamal Shah is planning his next film. Talking to Dawn Images, he revealed, “My upcoming film is Phir Khili Anarkali which will be shot in New York. It has been written by Mumtaz Hussain who will be directing it and I will co-produce it.”

He shared that he is in talks with Bollywood diva Sonam Kapoor to play the female lead. 

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According to Jamal Shah, the film will vacillate between the 16th century and the modern times. It will be a unique love story and a tasteful commercial film of high production values. 

Qandeel Baloch Admits She Was Married And Has A Son

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Qandeel Baloch was a mystery to many people until now. Many people used to wonder what her background was because unlike many other controversial female celebrities Qandeel Baloch came out of nowhere. Very recently Qandeel Baloch’s real name along with her id card was circulating in the media. Qandeel was not very happy that people were probing into her past.

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Qandeel Baloch on the left.

This probe unveiled many other secrets which were shocking for some people. A man Aashiq Hussain said that he was Qandeel’s husband before they got divorced in 2010 and that she had a son too. Qandeel denied these statements at first but now that the man showed a marriage certificate and pictures of him with Qandeel Baloch she cannot deny anything.

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Qandeel Baloch said that she had to give custody of her child because he fell sick and she did not have the money for his treatment but now she was going to fight for the custody of her son.

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Watch the video here:

 

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Feroz Khan Celebrates His Birthday

Feroz Khan and his siblings believe in living life to the fullest and they love to celebrate birthdays and other special occasions with zeal and zest.

Feroz Khan celebrated his birthday with his best friend and Zindagi kitni haseen hai co-star Sajal Ali.

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Feroz Khan thanked his fans for all the love, support and kind wishes. 

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Tum Kon Piya – Episode 16

Tum Kon Piya continues to be as clichéd as always but the direction of the drama makes it a watchable play even with the slow pace. After watching bechari Mannu on Mondays, one does not have a lot of stamina to watch another story which revolves around shadi shuda zindagi ke masail but thankfully this drama has characters which make sense even with their flawed personalities. The scenarios have not been complicated to the point that the story goes off track therefore it is definitely a better watch than the most watched drama of the season even with a very typical storyline, the viewers are left wondering what will happen next. Every episode has one or two unexpected developments and a lot of twists and turns which are done-to-death, all of which I will try to discuss in this review.

This episode opened from where the last one ended. After Sharafat begum told Elma’s father off, he left with a heavy heart even more certain than ever that his daughter was never going to be happy in her new house. Elma also remembered why her father asked her to leave Ramish – he put self-respect before everything else. Unfortunately getting married to Zarbab, just like expected, did not help in keeping Waqar Ali or Elma’s self-respect intact. Waqar Ali could not see the obvious – something which even Elma’s sisters could see when Sharafat begum came with the proposal, only because he was in a difficult situation and had to make a quick decision. Waqar Ali thought that people who belonged to the same class as his would be able to give Elma more respect than those who were very affluent. This particular part of the episode was very convincing but it was dragged. This was the first time however when Elma talked to Zarbab about how she felt but Zarbab of course didn’t have much to say about it.  I was expecting Waqar Ali to die but that did not happen – which is good because then Elma would have blamed herself for his death.

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Sharafat Begum managed to have her way yet again without giving Elma any credit. The only new development in Elma’s track was her finding out that there was something going on between Zarbab and Javeria. The way these two flirt with each other goes to show that Zarbab won’t think twice before cheating on his wife. This particular part of the story was not something I anticipated and definitely not one I like. Zarbab is already a coward which is bad enough, it would have been good if he stayed loyal to his wife – that was the only likeable quality about his character and that too is gone now. Therefore now there is absolutely nothing about his character which makes him different from many other such husbands we have seen in dramas. It was sad watching Sharafat Begum endorse her daughter’s point of view about Javeria being around Zarbab.

Watching Waqar Ali lean on Ramish yet again for support was endearing. Although this particular situation is somewhat like Mann Mayal too but what makes it more acceptable is the fact that all these scenarios are linked to what has happened already. Waqar Ali has always liked Ramish and even when he refused to marry Elma with him, their ties were never effected by it. There is a solid relationship between Ramish and Waqar Ali, he is not using him.

Sunbal’s character has never been likeable, while she is not as desperate as Jeena but she is very willing to go along with a marriage which is clearly based on one-sided love. Sunbal wants to know more about Elma but no one is willing to tell her who she was and why can’t Ramish forget her. Waqar Ali has given Ramish a huge responsibility and if he passes away then Ramish will be more involved with his family than ever. Imran Abbas’ acting was flawless in tonight’s episode.

Arif’s track has to be the most unpredictable of all the tracks. Something tells me that his relationship with this girl in his office will effect Elma more than anyone else at some point. What the story of this drama lacks is absence of someone Elma could confide in and trust in her new house. She is surrounded by people who do not even acknowledge her presence. Zarbab and Javeria’s track has to be the most disappointing development in the story. Somehow I always wanted to believe that even with all his flaws Zarbab was capable of loving Elma and would not cheat on her. I am very impressed with Ali Abbas’ acting right from the first episode. The director Yasir Nawaz has definitely tried to do the best he could with the script. While the script is typical but the way it has been written is impressive – excellent Urdu and a logical story line. Also, every episode does give you something to look forward to.

How many of you watched this latest episode? Do share your thoughts about it.

 

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Rahat Fateh Ali Khan Performs At Oxford University

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Rahat Fateh Ali Khan is one of the most distinguished singers that Pakistan has produced to date. He has a beautiful voice and he has given us some of the most soul-stirring songs and ghazals in the past.

Rahat Fateh Ali Khan is worthy of the greatest accolades and yesterday, he was was awarded an honourary shield by the Oxford University where he was invited for a special performance.

He performed at the Holywell Music room which is one of the most historic venues of Oxford University.
With the students of the Fusion Project, he performed a mashup of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s Allah Hoo and Eddie Vedder’s Hard Sun. The aim of the Fusion Project is to revive classical arts.

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The Ladies Of Dobara Phir Se Grace The Cover Of Hello!Pakistan

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In the latest issue of the popular magazine Hello! Pakistan, the actresses in the lead roles, Hareem Farooq, Sanam Saeed, Tooba Siddiqui, Atiqa Odho and the brilliant director, Mehreen Jabbar were featured. They were dolled up by Natasha Salon and their outfits were by Sana Safina and HSY Studio.

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TThe trailer of Dobara Phir Se has been released. It’s a highly anticipated movie featuring some of our favourite actors. 

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Aap Ke Liye – Episode 01!

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Ohkay so, the production of Big Bang Entertainment, the direction of Baber Mehmood & the writing of Faiza Iftikhar; App Ke Liye hit our screens tonight & I must say, it was quite a decent introductory episode of a highly anticipated drama. The first thing that grabbed my attention towards this project was the name of Faiza Iftikhar & then the pairing of Faysal Qureshi & Arij Fatima, so I am hoping that the writer & the main leads succeed in keeping our interest intact in the drama till it lasts, so let’s keep our hopes high.

The very first episode introduced us to the two families that consists of the main characters. The first family is of Shaheer (Faysal Qureshi), who lives with his sisters Nishat Apa (Sameera Peerzada) & Areesha (Ghana Ali). Looks like after the demise of their parents, Nishat along with her husband Imdaad Hussain (Waseem Abbas) shifted to Shaheer’s place because Areesha was quite young, so Nishat has been living with her siblings ever since. Shaheer lives a very robotic life & has worked hard to give his family a comfort of luxurious living. Shaheer is a man of principles & that is why, he has made it clear that the things that matter to him the most are his principles, values & rules. Nishat loves her brother & takes care of her younger sister but seems like Areesha doesn’t enjoy the restrictions that Shaheer has set for her.

The second family consists of Waheed (Saifi Hassan), his wife (Salma Hassan), their daughter Nimrah & Waheed’s sister Washma (Arij Fatima). Washma is an independent girl who is quite opinionated & has a strong personality but she is quite laid back & casual when it comes to her responsibilities. Washma is a talker more than a doer & just because she knows she is a good-talker, she thinks she can persuade her way out of her duties easily. Washma’s sister in law doesn’t hold a high opinion of her because she gets ticked off by her laid-back attitude, however, she has gotten Washma engaged to her one & only brother Asralan (Asad Siddique) 3 years ago, in a hope that she will finally be able to get a upper-hand at her husband Waheed & his sister Washma.

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Washma works at Shaheer’s office as his personal secretary. Washma might have a totally different approach in her personal life but when it comes to her professional life, she takes her responsibilities seriously & that is why, she has left quite an impact on a rigid & stern businessman like Shaheer. Washma has an endearing personality & she doesn’t mind putting it to good use & when it comes to Shaheer, he is focused, driven & mature. They both have an opposite personality types but somehow, they both work well together & that is why, so far Washma hasn’t given Shaheer anything to complain about.

Things get difficult for Washma when Areesha shows up to meet Shaheer & just because Washma takes her job seriously, she doesn’t allow Areesha to proceed unaware of the fact that Areesha happens to be Shaheer’s younger sister. Imdaad tries to use the tiff between Washma & Areesha to convince her that only he could save her but Washma knows what she hasn’t done anything wrong, therefore she doesn’t care much about what Imdaad says. I liked the fact that even though Washma has a non-serious attitude in certain things, she does have an instinct to know that Imdaad tries to make advances at her & very wisely, she doesn’t let him succeed in his mission. Imdaad tries to bring Washma down by making a complain against her & sadly, Shaheer believes Imdaad’s version more than Washma’s because he assumes that she must’ve decided to go out with her fiancé despite not getting the permission to do so.

Arsalan doesn’t seem too thrilled with the idea of getting married to Washma this year as his sister suggested because he is interested in someone else. I guess just because Waheed is financing his education, Arsalan finds it hard to tell Washma the truth & may be that is why he will rely on Washma to do the talking in front of her brother & make it all about herself that she is the one who doesn’t want to get married to Arsalan, because he & his girlfriend spoke about getting a help from Washma as they know she is far more gutsy & straight forward. Even though I know that Washma will bounce back from this break-up but it seemed nice how she was at a happy place in this relation & like any other girl discussed her future plans with her fiancé, it made her character look genuine & realistic.

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Shaheer is at a brink of getting divorced from his wife Abeera (Faryal Mehmood) & looks like their marriage only lasted for 3 months & after that it was Abeera who decided to call it quits & demanded divorce. Shaheer believes in punishing her by not giving her what she was demanding but after Nishat convinces him, he decides to divorce Abeera finally. Looks like Nishat has her brother wrapped around her finger & she makes the most of the fact that her brother trusts her blindly & respects her a tad bit too much, but may be Shaheer will find out that what Nishat does or says is mostly not in his best interest.

Overall, the first episode was pretty decent. All the actors did a great job especially Arij Fatima & Faysal Qureshi. When it comes to Faysal Qureshi, it is a done deal that he can pull off any sort of character but I must say, Arij Fatima took the crown in this episode. She is a natural actor & I loved how effortlessly she portrayed the character of Washma on-screen. I especially loved the cold-shoulder she extended towards the over-friendly Mr. Imdaad, it was like she could read his mind & knew exactly how to tackle him. I actually really liked how the character of Washma has been written, where at times she can be labeled as an immature girl but then she is quite smart for her own good as she can pull herself out from any trouble. As much as I am impressed with the main leads, I wish I could say that about Samina Peerzada & Ghana Ali, considering they’re also playing an important role in this drama. Honestly speaking, I actually forgot that Samina Peerzada was going to play a part in this drama so when I saw her on the title cover, I was actually excited to see what she’ll have to offer, only to find out that her character & the treatment that it got was quite OTT, OTT to an extent where she didn’t seem realistic & being an actor with such an experience, I wish she had toned down the overall personality of Nishat’s character a couple of notches because seriously, curls & diamonds, silver silk dress with black smokey eye & all that jazz on a breakfast table didn’t really sit well with me & most certainly didn’t make her character look realistic, also may I add that her dialogue delivery seemed a little too fake too. Ghana Ali was good in bits & bobs, like she picked up the right attitude of a spoiled young sister but at times even she took it a bit too far. I hope as the episodes progress, these two actresses regress in terms of acting & styling because that would look realistic. Salma Hassan was good but she didn’t offer anything new because as far as I remember, these are the only kind of roles that I have seen her play since I can’t even remember. Anyways, I am glad that the protagonists, their characters & their acting is enough of a motivation for me to tune to this play next week. Please share your thoughts about the very first episode of App Ke Liye. :)

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

Ayesha Khan Shares Pictures Of Her Family

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Ayesha Khan, in one of the episodes of her Ramadan show, said that actors should take on different roles so viewers should not judge her on the basis of the negative character she plays on Mann Mayal. Every single person with access to the internet is now perfectly familiar with Jeena’s catchphrase, “Mere tou maa baap bhi nahe hain.” Recently, Ayesha Khan shared some pictures of her family and joked that Jeena has no family, but I do.

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Lahore Say Agay – Poster Reveal

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Lahore Say Agay, the sequel to Karachiq Say Lahore is all set to release on September 10, 2016 under the banner of Showcase Production. It is directed by Wajahat Rauf, who also directed the prequel, and penned by Yasir Hussain who also plays the lead male in the film. Saba Qamar is playing the female lead.

The official poster has been released. 

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The cast also includes Behroz Sabzwari, Rubina Ashraf, and Sanam Baloch’s husband, Abdullah Farhatullah will be making his film debut with Lahore Say Agay.

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Celebrities Spotted At The Screening Of Ice Age

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Recently, the screening of animated film, Ice Age was hosted by Cheetos in Lahore. Some celebrities including Ahmed Ali Butt and Junaid Khan were spotted.

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Besharam – Episode 10!

Ohkay so, this episode of Besharam, like all the previous episodes was quite interesting too. Finally, we got to see how Haider & Mishal started to behave like normal couples & started to have normal conversations with each other & we were also told what sort of feelings Haider has for Mishal & how Mishal has started to see the positivity in Haider’s attitude, which made me smile throughout this episode because everything related to this duo was amazing & sweet.

Zaman Amir finally told the reasons why he came in contact with Haider. He wanted Haider to divorce Mishal so that the CM could get married to her because according to them, Haider wasn’t suitable for Mishal as he didn’t have to the social status that Mishal had. Haider might not have confessed yet but his possessiveness for Mishal sheds a light on the intense love he feels for his wife, that is why despite telling Zaman Amir off sternly with finality, he was finding it hard to absorb everything that he heard. Before getting married to Mishal, Haider never ever imagined that their marriage would attract such people too where they will test his patience so badly.

It was good to see Mishal taking interest in the family matters of Haider & trying to help the situation. The moment Haider approached Mishal was when I thought that he will tell her off again but it was good to see that he gave Mishal a chance to speak & share her say too. Haider knows that Mishal is opinionated & rightly so, that is why he doesn’t mind her sharing her thoughts but yes, right now he does understand that his mother hasn’t shown a full fledged acceptance to Mishal that is why he told her to not speak about Humna & Qadeer’s scenario as Khadija is quite sensitive about that topic, which was quite wise of Haider I believe.

Haider has started to understand that his wife has some needs too & even though she is independent, doesn’t mean that he can relax & let her fend for herself. The promise that Haider made to Mishal about fulfilling all the duties & responsibilities he had towards her as a husband was actually quite sweet & that is why, Mishal started to see the niceness in him & she has started to develop a faith that her decision of marrying Haider wasn’t wrong. It is actually quite nice that even though most of the time it is Haider who does the talking & gives instructions to Mishal, but when she speaks up for herself, he allows her to speak & doesn’t cut her words short. It actually shows how Haider also knows where to draw a line by understanding that a girl like Mishal will have an opinion & she is allowed to speak up too.

The highlight of this entire episode for me was the conversation that Haider had with Khadija where he tried to make her understand how she can bring a change she wants to see in Mishal by being patient & soft-spoken with her, & that too when Mishal could hear everything that her husband was saying about her to his mother. It was an absolute treat & yes, we need more husbands like Haider in our dramas who know how to maintain a balance between their mothers & wives & who can be authoritative while also knowing how to be accommodating as well. I was actually quite happy to know that Mishal heard everything that Haider said because she knows that she’s already putting in a lot of effort, but finally she got to know that Haider acknowledges everything & doesn’t mind giving her the time she needs to adjust to his lifestyle completely. That was an awww wala moment!!!

Well, sadly, Haider’s refusal landed himself in deep trouble & looks like the CM sent his goons to teach Haider a lesson. Everyone found out & it was sad to know that Khajida once again blamed Mishal for everything. I wish Haider’s friend in stead of only taking Mishal’s name had told the complete story of what Zaman Amir said about CM’s intentions of marrying Mishal, at least that way Khadija would’ve understood that Haider took a stand for his wife so then she wouldn’t have blamed Mishal unnecessarily.

Ummm, not much thrilled about Saba & her scenes though but I am afraid that everything that she’ll do will only bring a bad name to Mishal because Saba’s family will straight away accuse her of being a bad influence on Saba & it won’t take everyone much time to judge Mishal because everyone has seen how Saba has been spending so much time with her. Everything that happened on Sara’s side wasn’t interesting as well. Sara’s now coming across as a spoiled brat who thinks she can rule anyone & everyone, but it is good to know that Mishal isn’t going to fall prey to her tactics. Mishal knows that the only thing that Sara’s concerned about is money, so she gave her what she wanted. It was good to know that at least Sofia had some compassion for her younger sister but she is helpless too as she can not overrule her mother’s orders & can’t stand up for the right like Mishal used to. The tiff between Wahab & Haider was done nicely too, Wahab is funny & what not but he was actually crossing the line & it was good to see that Haider set him straight. I hope Wahab doesn’t take everything seriously & doesn’t turn it into an ego issue because then he will also push Sara’s agenda of parting Mishal with Haider, which will make his character look negative & I don’t want that to happen.

Overall, this episode was quite interesting. I can’t wait for the next episode already. It is so amazing that 10 episodes have gone by & our interest is further developing in the story because each & every episode leaves us asking for more. All the actors have done a brilliant job & I love Saba Qamar’s candidness as Mishal. Zahid Ahmed is phenomenal as Haider as well & to see them both together in such brilliant roles is a treat in itself. Please share your thoughts about this episode of Besharam.

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

Zara Yaad Kar – Episode 18!

Ohkay so, this episode of Zara Yaad Kar was slow but the transition that it showed related to Haadi’s feelings made up for it. Everything that Haadi was going through was covered brilliantly & it actually took a few dialogues & a few expressions to elaborate, which sheds a light on the fact that it was a result of an intelligent writing, where the writer has a know-how of how to translate the emotions on-screen perfectly.

Haadi is in denial, that is why he is mistaking Mahnoor’s selfishness to be her love. In the initial part of the episode, where Mahnoor informed Haadi about the proposal she got for a temporary marriage, it disturbed Haadi & that is why he went straight to Uzma to tell her what he was feeling but I was actually taken aback with how Haadi defended Mahnoor in front of Uzma saying that she loves him a lot & has started to be considerate of his feelings. Haadi really needs to make up his mind & stop bothering Uzma. For the first time, I liked how Uzma stood firm on her decision & didn’t melt away after seeing Haadi in a predicament. Uzma has decided that he has to go & she is making sure to let him know that no matter what happens or no matter what he is going through, he has to leave & I think this is in the best interest of Uzma because Haadi has stopped being courteous to her, that is why he just shows up at her door step with his emotional luggage expecting her to console him, without even giving thinking for a second that of all that might make Uzma uncomfortable too.

Even though I loved seeing Waqar in that condition, I am not sure if the way everything that happened was established properly or not. Mehtab Deswali & his son fled & now when Gaiti’s brother has returned, he has thrown Waqar out of Gaiti’s life, so if he was so concerned, why wasn’t he in contact with his sister throughout & what has made him turn against Waqar so much? I don’t really understand how both the father & the brother gave Gaiti such a freehand to spend a lot of time with Waqar because in such families, they always have such servants whose families have been serving them for generations, so I guess it would’ve made much more sense if they had shown that along with Waqar, Mehtab made some more loyal & responsible servant of his in-charge of Gaiti’s activities too in order to protect her from landing herself in trouble, especially when it was the first time that she was going to be in Umarkot to contest in the elections.

Mahnoor has crossed all the boundaries of humility but I am not sure if she understands what this temporary marriage with her boss actually means because when she heard her boss hitting on her shamelessly, she became frazzled, so I am not sure if she actually understands the intentions of her boss because if she doesn’t, it wouldn’t make much sense because being immature is one thing, being stupid is another & I don’t think a girl who can gamble with her life so casually can be so stupid to not understand that her boss is not doing a favor on her for free & he is expecting her dignity in return. Well, it was good to know that at least Mahnoor understood that everything was going to be hard on Haadi, that is why she told him that she’ll get back in contact with him after she will get divorced.

Haadi was trying hard to control himself & he was holding onto the last bit of courage he had in him to grasp what Mahnoor was saying but then he just lost it & realized that all this was too hard on him but then again, I don’t really feel much for him because he himself is allowing Mahnoor to do this to him. I actually laughed when Uzma suggested him to take a sleeping pill & rest because even she could see that he wasn’t being himself & he wasn’t in his senses because all that Mahnoor said to him was so much for him to bear that he couldn’t cope up with it. I must say, the transition of Haadi’s feelings from someone who was trying hard to be strong to someone who couldn’t understand what was happening, was shown brilliantly.

Haadi has moved out of Uzma’s place & we saw a new entry too. Not sure if the new entry is going to play an important role or what because honestly speaking, she got introduced in the drama quite late so I really don’t want to see the focus of the story shifting to something that doesn’t hold much importance anyways because right now I am actually looking forward to the ending because the pace of the drama has become quite slow & it is becoming hard to keep my interest alive in the show.

The preview of the next episode didn’t promise much too, so I am dreading that it will be another one of those slow episodes too. I guess it’s a high time that this drama should be wrapped up because all the lessons have been conveyed & all there’s left in it to be seen is the ending that all the characters will get. I really hope that Mahnoor suffers & lives her life in a regret & I hope that Uzma finds her happy ending. I am not sure what to make of Haadi’s character because the way he is encouraging Mahnoor’s wrongdoing in a hope to win her back doesn’t allow me to sympathize with him but having said that, I will admit that Zahid Ahmed has acted brilliantly as Haadi & in this episode in particular, he conveyed his feelings perfectly. Please share your thoughts about this episode of Zara Yaad Kar.

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

Is Ramadan All Fun & Games?

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Holy month of Ramadan; we all are well aware of what it means to us all as it is a soul-cleansing month & a month that comes with a purpose, a purpose so pure which each one of us tries hard to benefit the most from. If I take a look back, just a few years ago our TV Channels used to make some changes in their transmissions where they arranged shows which actually had a motive & served a purpose of educating people about Islam, bringing them closer to their religion & connecting them to it but sadly, that’s a history now & in the recent years the content that our TV Channels are churning out in the name of Ramadan lacks meaning & purpose. It is actually quite a sad state of affairs that our TV Channels have commercialized Ramadan to an extent where along with themselves, they make sure that people indulge in the meaningless activities & deviate away from the the essence of this month, which is only about earning blessings.

When Ramadan began, quite a lot of memes & video clips started circulating on social media with the questionable things that were being shown during the night transmissions on a lot of channels in the name of Game Shows. As much as I stay away from these shows, those updates made me curious to find out what was actually happening that people were so bothered about & I actually wanted to see what purpose were these shows serving. The man in question was none other than Amir Liaqat & going by his colorful history, I knew anything could be expected of him. I gave a quick go to the couple of episodes of his show to actually see what he was selling this year around in the name of Ramadan & I must say more than him, I was shocked a great deal at his audience because sadly, the hunger for free giveaways has made people turn into his minions who would dance to his tunes in a hope that by the end of the show, they will walk away with some gift hampers, despite knowing that they were leading a fine & healthy life without those freebies.

His live shows went on-air right after Iftaar & I was always amazed at the audience that showed up wondering why would they miss an opportunity of breaking their fast at their homes in peace but as I began watching these episodes, I understood that a mobile & bike meant something special to them. I was shocked to see that couples belonging to decent backgrounds were also a part of the audience who felt no shame in asking (read begging) for bikes, laptops, mobiles, cars & even diamond rings for their ammans or begums. A lot of youngsters were also a part of his audience who only showed up with a hope that may be they will attract Amir Bhai’s nigah-e-karam & that will win them something that they will shamelessly demand or beg for. I am not sure what has gone into people especially youngsters & gentlemen, what makes them so helpless that they find no shame in begging someone for basic things on live TV? Where has the sense of pride & dignity gone in our people that they don’t even think for a second before turning into personal puppets of Amir Liaqat thinking that we’ll get what we want if we’ll follow his commands? Why do men (who make the most of his audience) have no confidence in themselves that they can work hard & earn these things themselves? What makes them so desperate that they don’t mind barking like dogs or jumping around the studio like lunatics for the sake of giveaways? Where is their decency & what makes them so blind & what is it that makes them so helpless that they happily do all that to win the sponsored gifts?

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Amir Liaqat has left quite a mark when it comes to the way he treats the guests of his shows & I am amazed that people choose to overlook all of that & still allow him to insult them because hey, self-respect is cheaper than the freebies that they’ll be getting by the end of the day, isn’t it? Women tell him how their husbands don’t buy them anything thinking that Amir Bhai will fill that void in their lives, kids go around asking him if their father could get a bike, even girls tell him how their fiancés don’t have cars or bikes & in the end put forth their demands & expectations? What for? Since when did it become alright to stoop so low for the sake of few giveaways? & since when did begging on-screen become such a norm?

I don’t hold a high opinion about the host of the show but I think what gives him the edge to mistreat & insult the guests are his guests themselves because I was shocked to see the level of desperation his audience were showing. How they were literally drooling over the gifts that they saw in the volunteers’ hands & how they literally begged him for the things they wanted. A person can never ever cross a line if he knows that the one in front of him wouldn’t allow such a treatment but when it comes to Inaam Ghar & Amir Liaqat, it looks like Amir Liaqat knows that the moment his audience will step inside the studio, they will hand over the remote control to him & will allow him to do whatever he wants to because hey, he’s got the power to give them some cheap sponsored gifts that they can’t live without.

The episodes that I saw left me feeling disgusted at the shamelessness that people displayed where they found it perfectly alright to beg for Umrah tickets in exchange of Sunny Deol’s mimicry, where a woman thought that Masjid Al Aqsa was in Saudi Arabia. Seriously, why do the channel heads think it is alright to showcase this level of desperation of our people & make profits over it? Why do people like Amir Liaqat are ruling our media despite all the wrongs that they have done. Why does it become alright to ask for the donations before the call of Maghrib & then giveaway cars for free after Maghrib prayers to those who can do well for themselves but are so shameless, are so lazy & have no sense of self-sufficiency that they should move their muscles & make money for the things they are begging for in this show in front of millions of people. This level of imbalance & hypocrisy in these shows actually sheds a light on how the channels heads & hosts don’t really care about those people who show up & grace their shows, what they only care about is a game of fake make-believing & the profits that they earn by the end of this month!

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It is quite unfortunate that these game shows have set such a trend where people think it’s perfectly alright to turn into beggars & ask for things just like that. I hate to say this but I found no difference in these audience & those beggars who stand at the signals on the roads, at least the latter may have some difficulties in life but the former are just a bunch of people who have become shameless for the sake of freebies. Also, I must add, the unnecessary usage of music was quite disappointing too & it was sad to see people dancing in groups like robots who had no brain to differentiate between right & wrong & had no sense of shame to respect the essence of the Holy Month of Ramadan. Ladies & gents sang songs on Amir Liaqat’s demand & what for? How will Amir Liaqat justify these acts where at one point before Maghrib prayers, he poses to be a religious scholar & right after Maghrib he turns into a DJ? I heard Amir Liaqat say that he is a ‘complete package’ where he molds himself into every environment, where he speaks about Islam among the scholars & then sings Bollywood songs when he is among the regular crowd. Hmmm, a complete package? LOL!

I really hope that the channel heads stop earning profits over the bunch of people who have no control over their materialistic desires & they sit back & think that is the Holy month of Ramadan to be taken so lightly where they can not put hold on their game shows for 1 month & encourage people to engage in activities & deeds that will actually benefit them. I really hope that the channel heads actually encourage their content designers to design such shows that actually serve some purpose & resonate well with the spirit of the blessed & sacred month like Ramadan. I really hope that we get to see our channels showcasing something meaningful & ‘decent’ the next year because the path that they are at is quite alarming & it is sad to see that despite a huge protest against such shows, the owners of the channels are not backing out. Please share your thoughts about what you guys think about the Ramadan Game Shows in general & should PEMRA take an action against these transmissions or not.

Zahra Mirza.

Dampukht – Drama Serial On A Plus Entertainment

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Dampukht – Aatish-e-ishq is an upcoming drama serial on A Plus Entertainment. It is penned by Zafar Mairaj, directed by Kashif Nisar and produced by Moomal Entertainment, and this happens to be the same team that brought drama serial, Sangat to our screens.

The cast includes Noman Ijaz, Sonia Mishal, Bilal Abbas, Saba Faisal, Saman Ansari and Asma Abbas among others. Sonia Mishal first appeared in Geo TV’s drama serial Ishqaway.

The promos suggest that Sonia Mishal’s character belongs to a conservative family that won’t allow her to marry the guy she loves. Noman IIjaz will play a patriarch and in a twist of events, he will take her as his second wife. 

The drama starts from 13th July and will air every Wednesday at 8:00 pm.

The channel is promoting this drama with great enthusiasm. 

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You can watch and listen to the OST here:

 

‘Ainak Wala Jin’ Star Establishes Charity To Help Troubled Artists

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It’s such a shame that artists that dedicate their entire lives to the entertainment industry to bring colour to people’s lives often suffer in old age, without any system of financial aid and support. Matloob-ur-Rehmaan who played Zakoota on everyone’s childhood favourite Ainak Wala Jin also passed away in such circumstances.

Now, Ajlal Bukhari (who worked as a child star on the much loved Ainak Wala Jin), sensing the need for a welfare society for artists, has set up an organisation titled Save My Star to help artists that are struggling to make ends meet. The focus is on sports and entertainment personalities only.

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In an interview with Express Tribune, he revealed that his charity will collaborate with the Aasra Welfare Society, which was established in 2006, and provide healthcare and education-related costs for the children of those selected. Aasra’s Chairman Qavi Khan, President Sohail Ahmed Azizi and General Secretary Asim Bukhari are all on board. “The project is very much in the initial stages. We are planning to make it membership-based and hold fundraisers and charity dinners to collect the funds.”

“What is important is how those in need can approach the organisation for support. The stars will have to write an application to Aasra and we will check their backgrounds, difficulties and their respective cases, overall. Once they qualify, we shall start the process of delivering whatever help they require.”

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“As I mentioned earlier, each case will be different. We will support the stars according to their needs. There is no quota system on the amount of support.”

“Nonetheless, there are many who deserve to be supported; many who have done everything they can to create a sound future for their children but received no assistance from the government. They served Pakistan and should be taken care of.”

Mann Mayal – Episode 25

Like every episode of Mann Mayal this one too was full of some brand new ‘lessons’ for all the viewers out there who can learn so much from this drama. Here are few of the lessons which I derived from this recent episode.

All the parents and mother in laws out there should know that next time you make your daughter, bahu or  even your sons ex-girlfriend do laundry or dusting it would count as zulm. This drama has redefined the concept of ‘zulm’. Seriously!!! It was funny how kamchor Mannu thought she was an ultimate bechari when she had to do some work around the house. It was actually funny how Salahuddin’s mother was obsessed with making her life hell in this episode – aunty finally has a hobby she enjoys!!

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Haram ki kamai becomes halal when your ex is spending it on you. Mannu has forgotten all about just haram Sallu’s kamai was and she has not mentioned it ever since she made herself comfortable in his house.

Sometimes being beghairat is the only way your daughter will end up with a rich guy who will do anything for her. Yes! I am talking about Mannu’s parents, her mother in particular. It is beyond ridiculous how this whole situation has been created which does not allow Mannu to go back home. Can’t she live in her parents’ house alone? There was a time when they had so many servants, have all the servants moved to the hospital too?

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If you flirt with your ‘fiancés’ servant, it will not help you in any way. The servant will end up falling for you and because of his kharab neyat you are less likely to end up with the guy who does not want you in his life anyway!

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The last lesson would be – You cannot win over the guy’s mother by buying her gifts.

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I have to admit that right now of all the annoying characters in this drama Salahuddin is topping the list! He said that he forgot for a few seconds how he felt for Mannu – how convenient!!! Hamza Ali Abbasi’s body language and those frown lines on his face add to the reasons why his character is the most annoying one right now.

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The fact that Jeena is as desperate as they come is very well established now therefore there are no surprises in store as far as her character is concerned. This drama is Shukk all over again!!!

Mikael makes a comeback in the next episode – how exciting (not!!). So, did any of you learn any ‘lessons’ after watching this recent episode? Do share your thoughts about it.

 

Fatima Awan

Maya Ali & Junaid Khan’s Shoot For Nomi Ansari’s Bridal Collection

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Maya Ali has become the most sought-after model and we have seen her in numerous fashion campaigns. This is the first time she posed with singer-turned-actor and model, Junaid Khan for Nomi Ansari’s latest bridal collection.

Here are the pictures:

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Ali Zafar’s Noble Gesture

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Ali Zafar has always been very sensitive to the cause of humanity. He is an avid supporter of educating women and is also known for helping young cancer patients cope with their ailments.

In response to the 2014 Army Public School massacre, Ali Zafar united 52 musicians, actors and sports stars for the video of his song ‘Urein Ge’ which pays tribute to the victims of the APS incident. Now, he has donated 100 per cent of the sales from the song, which was made available on the Tazi Music platform, to the Citizens Foundation and 141schools.org.

 

Celebrities Spotted At A Birthday Party

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Recently, celebrities like Sana Javed, Gohar Rasheed, Momal Sheikh, Nausheen Shah were spotted at the birthday party of a casting director.

Here are some pictures:

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Chalay Thay Saath, the lead artist with Syra Shehroz

Chalay Thay Saath, is an upcoming Urdu film produced in Karachi. It will be the debut movie for Syra Shehroz and is shot in Gilgit Baltistan and Karachi. Though Syra Shehroz made a cameo appearance in the film Ho Mann Jahan released in January 2016, Chalay Thay Saath is the film she is appearing in a lead role.

Its first look was revealed a couple of days ago in which the male lead aritst was not announced. News were that it is a Chinese artist and today his name is made public. The male lead of this film is played by Kent S. Leung. Kent S. Leung is a Canadian artist of Chinese origin.

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Film: Chalay Thay Saath (چلے تھے ساتھ)
Cast: Syra Shehroz, Kent S. Leung, Osama Tahir, Zhalay Sarhadi, Behroze Sabzwari, Mansha Pasha, Faris Khalid and Shamim Halai
Directed By:Umer Adil
Written By:Atiya Zaidi
Executive Producer: Sheikh Shiraz Mubashir
Produced By:Beenish Umer
Shot In: Gilgit Baltistan and Karachi

Here is the first look

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Few clicks of the film during shooting in the Gilgit Baltistan.

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Official Facebook Page of Chalay Thay Saath
https://www.facebook.com/chalaythaysaath

Rashid Nazir Ali

Fawad Khan Festival In India

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Fawad Khan is having the best time in India. Apart from being the first Pakistani actor to take the Filmfare Award For Best Debut home and being the first ever Pakistani celebrity to host IIFA Awards, people in India are so obsessed with the heartthrob that Zindagi TV, an Indian channel that exclusively airs popular Pakistani content has initiated the Fawad Khan festival which will run for almost a month, from July 9 to August 7. According to Dawn Images, on the agenda is lots and lots of re-runs of his hit TV serials – Numm, Zindagi Gulzar Hai and no points for guessing, Humsafar.

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Humsafar will air on Saturday 9th July and Sunday 10th July, Zindagi Gulzar Hai will air on Sunday 17th July and Sunday 24th July and Numm will air on Sunday 31st July and Sunday 7th August.

As a special Eid treat, Zindagi will air his Bollywood debut flick, Khoobsurat. If that wasn’t enough, there’s also a #FawadFestival contest, where viewers will send their love to the heartthrob through a special Whatsapp contest.

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Udaari – Episode 14

The story did not take the turn most of us were hoping it would take. Most viewers wanted to see Imtiaz being punished for his crimes through a proper channel but like every other drama so far which has dealt with this topic, the perpetrator of the crime has been killed (maybe) which makes Sajida a murderer. Imtiaz was a monster who definitely deserved to be given the worst possible punishment but even if he was to be killed, it would have been so much better if someone else killed him instead of Sajida. If Imtiaz is dead then Sajida too is a criminal now which somehow is not a very comforting thought.  The fact that someone was watching everything that happened could mean that Imtiaz might not be dead just yet. While I am not too happy with the recent developments but I have to admit that like every other episode of Udari this one too was executed flawlessly. Imtiaz did push Sajida to the point where anyone would do something which they would never do under normal circumstances. Also, this recent development has made the story very unpredictable.

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Sajida murdered Imtiaz because she was enraged, she wasn’t thinking straight when she killed him and it was an act of desperation after she was left to feel utterly helpless. She could have saved Zebu by fleeing in the middle of the night too but she was not thinking while she committed this act. Imtiaz obviously is not going to be missed but the fact that someone he knows witnessed everything and Sajida fled the scene right away makes things very complicated for Sajida. There was more focus on Sajida’s state of mind tonight than that of Zebu but hopefully that will change in the upcoming episodes. I would really want this track to be more about Zebu than anyone else because this is her story. Samiya Mumtaz nailed every single scene in this episode. She portrayed Sajida’s rage, helplessness and later on the fear effortlessly. Ahsan Khan has given the best performance of his career in this drama. He decided to take up a role which many other refused to do and he did it with perfection. There was a time in the very recent past when I avoided Ahsan Khan’s dramas but after watching him play this role, that has completely changed. He has restored my faith in him as an actor and I definitely want to see what he has in store for the viewers next.

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Sheedan and Meeran’s reaction was also surprising. They didn’t take too long to digest all the horrific things Sajida told them and were a little too confident and eager to move forward. Is it because they are naive and very emotional? They did not see Sheedan as someone who had just killed someone and Zebu as someone who might need a lot more than just love but they only knew that they had to support them and do whatever they could to help them start a new life. It was endearing to watch Sheedan and her family supporting Sajida like that but at the same time it was difficult to relate to their reactions. This will mark the start of a new life for Sajida and Zebu but will Zebu be able to forget everything that happened to her and move on with life? She was not only violated but she also saw her mother killing the man who did it – how will she be able to overcome all that? I am waiting to find out.

I must say that the developments in tonight’s episode completely took me by surprise. The preview of the next episode showed Illyas spotting Meeran, Sajida thinking about earning a living for herself. Milli and her mother were out of the picture in this episode. Will Milli’s mother help Sajida find work?

How many of you watched this recent episode? How do you feel about the recent developments in the story?

 

Fatima Awan

Geo Tv, new season of dramas

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Geo Tv is a leading entertainment channel of our country and is considered one of the three large entertainment channels other two bein ARY Digital and Hum Tv. Geo’s home production house is A&B (Asif Raza Mir and Baber Javed) productions. From past few years commercial dramas full revolving around some fixed themes have become an identity of Geo Tv.

Starting July 2016 Geo TV is airing many new dramas for this new quartet including half hour week days soap to one hour long drama serials. Here is the summary of what Geo is airing from July 2016.

Marzi (مرضی)
Marzi stars Junaid Khan and Rubab Hashim in the leading roles. From promos it looks to be a romance based story of a young couple with lots of emotions and drama.

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Junaid Khan, Rubab Hashim (Caution: Do not try this at home as it may lead to hair lice)

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Noore Zindagi (نور زندگی)
Written By Sarwat Nazeer, Noore Zindagi stars Syed Jibran and Ayesha Khan in the leading roles. As evident from promos Syed Jabran is a strict and stubborn elder brother who will get married to the sober, obedient (means satti sawatri and patti-warta) Ayesha Khan in the drama. Ayesha Khan role seems to be like an angelic wife and bahu.

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http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4jx2fv

Dhaani (دھانی)
Dhaani is the story of a tom boy middle class girl Dhaani played by Madiha Imam. Sami Khan who has dedicated his life to a “great cause” that is to work only in the A&B Productions and Geo Tv is playing the role of the hero here yet again.

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http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4jx2g5

 

Izne Rukhsat (اذن رخصت)
Izne Rukhsat is based on the life of some mature characters played by Faiza Hassan, Sabreen Hisbani and Faisal Rehman. The younger generation roles are played by Shehzad sheikh and Sonia Mishaal. The drama might appeal to followers of Faiza Hassan as she is known to do selective work. Story wise it seems to be based upon lost love and emotions and the impacts of these factors on the younger generation.

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Joru Ka Ghulam (جورو کا غلام)

Joru Ka Ghulam is a drama based on an extended family headed by Mehmood Aslam who safeguards all his sons to prevent them from becoming a Joru Ka Ghulam

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Meri Saheli Meri Bhabhi (میری سہیلی میری بھابھی)
As evident from the name Meri Saheli Meri Bhabhi is based on the evergreen super sucessful recipe of Saas Bahu stuff with pinches of conspiaricies. It is a soap drama to be aired daily on the weekdays.

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Thora Sa Aasman (تھوڑا ساآسمان)
A surprise entry in this list is Thora Sa Aasman, Geo Tv is airing the promos of this drama to be aired from 16th July 2016. The drama is based on the famous novel of acclaimed writer Umera Ahmed. However the airing of this drama will depend upon the court orders, as the matter of ownership of the script is subdued before the high court as mentioned by Umera Ahmed in this post last year.

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Rashid Nazir Ali

Kathputli – Episode 05!

Ohkay so, this episode of Kathputli was quite emotional & I must say the actors conveyed those emotions beautifully. The direction of this play is good too but I feel it could’ve been better. Things are getting quite interesting & now we’ll have to see how the duo in trouble will come out of it & how they will help each other because I am sure they won’t be left with any other option than to support each other.

Ahad & Mehru came across in such an awkward situation & before Ahad could find out who she is & before Mehru could tell where she came from, they got arrested. Both Ahad & Mehru couldn’t wrap their heads around with what was happening to them because they couldn’t even imagine doing what people were accusing them of. It was Liaqat who was the culprit but the police just barged in & without even interrogating, they chose to arrest them. I felt that just because Ahad knew about Liaqat’s activities, he could’ve put two & two together & should’ve explained that may be the complaint was made against the house owner & not Ahad & Mehru because they don’t live there.

Mehru’s mother & sister were just beginning to worry about Mehru when Hassam showed up & could sense that something was off. A lot of lies were being told but both Zeenat & Saira couldn’t keep up as they knew that the men of the house were quite rigid when it came to Mehru & also because they were guilty, they couldn’t keep the secret for long. Hassam found out that Mehru lied to them & assumed that she went away somewhere else that too with someone because sadly her friend backed out too & chose not to tell the truth.

Mehru already understood that she was in deep trouble because she knew that her brothers will never ever come to help her. Similarly, even though Ahad was scared too but he was hopeful that may be his father or if not him, then his brother will show up. It was actually sad to know that they still were seeing a light at the end of the tunnel & they actually overestimated the love their families might feel for them because soon enough they were about to find out that they meant nothing to their family members, except their mothers because where Zaitoon Bano was depressed over what she heard, Zeenat got hospitalized after she got to know the evil & sickening plans of Ehtashaam.

Mehru knew that her brothers might end up killing her, that’s why she was hesitant & didn’t give the phone number to the police where they could contact her family. I liked the way the policewoman helped Mehru understand how she needed to help the police in order to get bailed out as she could see that Mehru was scared & needed some emotional support at such a time. Everything that the woman said hit home for Mehru & she realized that her mother must be worrying sick that’s why she decided to let the police make a call to Ehtashaam but he chose not to think about his sister who was in deep trouble but accepted what he heard on the phone & came up with a plan that only someone with cruel mind & heard could think of. Ehtashaam is so engrossed in his fake idea of dignity & pride that he didn’t even think twice before getting the word out that Mehru has died. He did tell his wife that he will get Mehru out of the prison but he won’t allow her to come back, but I am not sure if he meant that or he was lying to stop his wife from questioning him. As a brother, Ehtashaam should’ve at least questioned the possibility of the charges on Mehru being true, because like Saira said, it could’ve been a mistake on the police’s part too but Ehtashaam took police’s word to be the final & ended up believing that Mehru was involved in some wrong activity.

I must say, the way Sanam Chaudhry conveyed the feelings of Mehru was quite emotional, it was like you could feel her fears, her worry & her pain. Mehru was shattered & she was cursing herself for lying to her mother, all those emotions were covered perfectly by the director & the actor as well. Farhan Ahmed as Ahad has done a great job too, like you can see that he is someone who has lost the least bit of hope in himself & he is just pushing it through to make something out of his life. It is going to be interesting how two broken people, estranged from their families will come together & might end up becoming a source of happiness for each other. I must say, I am disappointed at the editors of Hum TV, because once again the promo of this episode that they showed last week suggested Mehru’s faux funeral scenes were going to be a part of this episode but seems like we’ll have to wait another week to see that. It’s not the first time where Hum TV has mislead the viewers with such previews & I guess they should stop doing that because it looks like a lie & a bait that they give to the viewers to make sure they tune every single week. Anyways, please share your thoughts about this episode of Kathputli.

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

The World Mourns The Death Of The Greatest Humanitarian – Sir Abdul Sattar Edhi

The name synonymous with selflessness and compassion, the man who devoted his entire life to the service of humanity and inspired countless people across the world, Sir Abdul Sattar Edhi passed away at the age of 88 on the third day of Eid. No essay-length posts or awards could do justice to the greatness of Edhi Sahab.

“No religion is greater than humanity.” From an early age, he was encouraged to give, give and give. His mother would give him 1 paisa to buy meals and 1 paisa to give to a beggar.  It is because of Edhi Sahab’s unwavering commitment to the noble cause of human welfare that the Edhi Foundation is Pakistan’s largest welfare organisation funded entirely by private donations. 

Edhi Sahab was, is and will always be Pakistan’s greatest national hero. We would always beam with pride and say, “Humare paas Edhi hai,” because like someone said, Edhi is not merely a person, Edhi is an ideology. We can only pray to Allah that He allows us the ability to continue Sir Abdul Sattar Edhi’s legacy.

The void can never be filled. 

Inna Lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji’un.

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Celebrities On The Third Day Of Eid

Pakistani celebrities celebrated the joyous festival of Eid to the fullest.

Here are some pictures:

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Celebrities Spotted At The Launch Of A Queens Ransom

On the third day of Eid, DivaniPakistan launched Coffee Table Book A Queens Ransom in Islamabad with the exclusive screening of Indian movie, Sultan. Celebrities including Fawad Khan, Ali Zafar were spotted with their families. Misha Shafi was also present.

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Shehzad Roy’s Campaign To Reform Matric Board

Pakistani singer and activist Shehzad Roy has released a video that aims to create an environment which accepts change of teaching methods in all the 33 matric boards operating across Pakistan — as the culture of critical thinking starts at school.

In an interview with Mehar Bukhari, Shehzad Roy explained, ‘‘It has nothing to do with curriculum or syllabus, now I wish to give you an example that students are asked about Greenhouse Effect in exams and they write the standard answer which they memorised through rote learning but we want them to change the question slightly and ask the student about the causes of the effect, this will increase reasoned learning.”

Responding to criticism, he clarified that the video is not making monsters out of teachers or parents but is against all the people and professionals who are in any way extremists.

“There are instances where teachers have beaten children to death and we don’t want even parents to take extreme measures against their children’s wishes or queries.”

Shehzad Roy’s efforts have been applauded by many people including celebrities like Fawad Khan and Hamza Ali Abbasi.

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Dil Lagi – Episode 16

The story is moving forward at a slow pace at this point. Something new happens in every episode, the characters keep your interest alive, the situations are entertaining but I do feel like things are not moving forward fast enough; too much talking and very little action is the best way to describe Dil Lagi’s pace this week. There is a little bit of development in every track with every episode but Mohid and Anmol’s story has come to a standstill. Anmol is completely ‘distracted’ at the moment because she has better things to worry about and making her marriage work of course was never a priority with her but her attempts to help Sabiha as well have once again created another misunderstanding between her and Mohid.

Anmol’s chance meeting with Fareed was basically meant to create an even deeper misunderstanding between her and Mohid – can the situation between these two get any worse? I am certain you will all agree with me when I say – not possible!!! Anmol and Mohid’s love story is definitely very interesting but unfortunately there has been absolutely no change in the ‘status quo’ ever since they got married. Mohid continues to be the understanding spouse who will give his wife unconditional support and Anmol tries harder to be as unreasonable as she can be with every passing episode. If Anmol’s feelings for Mohid are going to change gradually and not overnight then now is the time to show those changes. The only time Anmol gave something Mohid said some consideration was when the pigeons came back and Mohid told her something about love and life. Other than that Anmol has never even given anything Mohid has said a second thought. While things are moving forward as far as Mishal and Dastagir’s track is concerned, Anmol and Mohid still stands where they were months ago. I have started wondering now if Mohid will be able to win over Anmol or not and if he doesn’t then it would be somewhat disappointing. The ‘ Jaise mout ko samne dekh kr murdaar bhi halal ho jata hai’ dialogue was funny. Mohid talked about khush fehmi again in this episode, it is something minute but it goes to show how well written this character is. There are some traits which are very well defined and make his character more likeable. Mehwish Hayat, Hamayun Saeed and even the actor playing Fareed all have done complete justice to their characters. Imran Ashraf makes you smile every time he appears on screen.

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The scene in which Anmol tried to scare Fareed off was very interesting. The fact that she wants to help him financially now so that he is out of her life for good went to show just how desperate she was to get rid of him. This does prove one thing that she would much rather be with Mohid than Fareed whether she would like to admit it or not. Anmol’s conversation with Mishal also went to show that she genuinely wanted Sabiha’s troubles to be over. Saba Hameed is beyond exceptional in this role – love the way she completely steals the show in every single episode with her screen presence. Our other hero Dastagir is all set to prove himself to Mishal – I like where this track is going. Mishal’s dialogue about insani hamdardi was spot on!

The brilliant acting, superb direction and all the interesting situations definitely make every episode of Dil Lagi worth watching but am I the only one who is losing patience fast especially as far as Mohid and Anmol’s track is concerned? Is there anyone else who is tired of watching Mohid suffer in silence? Will Anmol’s feelings for Mohid ever change? I am waiting to find out!

The preview of the next episode showed some serious confrontations between Anmol and Mohid’s mother and Mohid telling Anmol that she was free to do whatever she wanted. How many of you watched this latest installment? Do share your thoughts about it.

Fatima Awan

Laaj on Hum Tv

Laaj (لاج) is an upcoming drama on Hum Tv. From promos it seems to be a story based in rural Punjab though it is shot in the rural Sindh. In recent times most of the dramas are based on urban stories and thus any rural based story seems a bit different.

The drama is directed by Fahim Burney and thus it is colorful with the filmi touch Fahim Burney is known for. Currently a play directed by Faheem Burney Dharkan is already airing on Hum Tv. He is also the producer of the another serial Kathputli currently aired on Hum Tv.

Drama: Laaj (لاج)
Cast: Iqra Aziz, Mohsin, Mirza Zain Baig, Adnan Jeelani, Zarnish Khan, Asma Abbas, Nayyar Aijaz, Parveen Akbar and others
Writer: Erum Wasi, Salma Wasi and Edison Idrees
Director: Fahim Burney
OST Singer: Faiza Mujahid
OST Composer: Sohail Javed
OST Lyrics: Sabir Zafar

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Rashid Nazir Ali

Bollywood’s Sultan sets new benchmark

Sultan is an Indian Bollywood film released in Pakistan on Eidul Fitr on 6th July 2016. Bollywood films are widely viewed in Pakistan especially the one starring any of the Bollywood’s Khan.

Sultan was allotted the maximum number of shows through out Pakistan in the provinces of Sindh, Punjab and the federal capital Islamabad. The film is also released in Balochistan (Quetta) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Peshawar), where normally Bollywood and locally made Urdu films are not released and only Pashto films are released.

Two Urdu films Blind Love and Swaal 700 Crore Dollar Ka (SSCDK) were announced to be released on Eidul Fitr, however seeing the preference of cinema owners the producers of Blind Love had delayed their film while the other film SSCDK was given very few shows by the cinema owners and thus it paved the way for maximum number of shows given to Bollywood’s Sultan.

As expected the film has earned huge on all the three Eid Days, but its earnings have exceeded all the expectations. The film has crossed the 10 crore mark in just three days the fastest for any film on Pakistani box office. Sultan is distributed by Geo Films. As per Geo News the film is experiencing record turnouts at even small urban centers like Multan as shown in the below video posted by Geo Films.

As part of promotional campaign, Sultan has been covered in every hour news bulletin headlines of Geo News as well

Sultan has collected 10.9cr approx in it’s first three days of release smashing previous Weekend record of Jawani Phir Nahi Ani with distance. Film collected 3.5cr approx on day breaking all time single day record and opening day record and also becoming first film ever to do over 3cr in a single day. Film grew well on day two and touched 4cr mark and broke it’s own single day record and became first film to hit 4cr in single day.

Below is daily business of the film..

Wednesday. – 6th July. 3.5cr
Thursday – 7th July.. 4cr
Friday (revised) – 8th July .. 3.7cr

Total.. 11.2

Film has become first film in the history to cross 10cr over the Weekend i.e. fastest 10cr grosser.

Source: http://www.boxofficedetail.com/view_post.php?value=6927

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Rashid Nazir Ali

Films releasing in July 2016

The first half of the year 2016 has passed and the second half has started. The progress of Pakistani cinema in the first half was a mixed one, there were very few films nearly 10 released while only two proved successful i.e. Ho Mann Jahan and Bachaana. One reason for such low number of film was the Holy month of Ramadan due to which no film was released in June. Also February and March saw two big cricketing events i.e. Pakistan Super League and ICC T20 World Cup which resulted in the less number of movies.

Coming to the ongoing month of July 2016, four films are announced to be released in this month. One film is already released on Eidul Fitr while three others will be released in coming weeks.

Swaal 700 Crore Dollar Ka (سوال سات سو کروڑ ڈالر کا)

Swaal 700 Crore Dollar Ka (SSCDA) is an action film shot in Thailand and Pakistan. Ali Mohiuddin and Quratulain are making their debuts from this film. Ali Mohiuddin is the son of the famous film artist Ghulam Mohiuddin. The veteran artist of our films Javed Sheikh and Ghulam Mohiuddin will also be seen together in a film after a gap of many years. The film is released on Eidul Fitr, and competed with a giant Bollywood film Sultan which was allotted lion shares of shows at the cinema houses thus leaving little margin for earning. So far its box office report has not been encouraging.

Film: Swaal 700 Crore Dollar Ka (سوال سات سو کروڑ ڈالر کا)
Cast: Ghulam Mohiuddin,Shamoon Abbasi,Javed Sheikh,Ismail Tara,Nayyar Ejaz,Iftikhar Thakur,Ali Mohiuddin,Qurat Ul Ain,
Music:M. Arshad & Faizi Ali
Writer: Nasir Adeeb, Jamshed Jaan Muhammad
Director: Jamshed Jaan Muhammad
Producer: Shahid Qureshi
Production Company: JJ Production’s International Venture
Release Date: 6 July 2016
Genre: Action Thriller Suspense Comedy Heist

SSCDA is directed by Jamshed Jaan Muhammad the son of (Late) Jaan Muhammad Jamman. Jaan Muhammad Jumman has directed many successful films from 1970’s to 1990’s. SSCDA is also a formula commercial film with pinches of action, romance, dances, emotions and everything required to make a formula film.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMQs1vTdtgI

Ishq Positive (عشق پازیٹیو)
Ishq Positive (عشق پازیٹیو) is an Urdu film produced in Lahore. It was under production for past two years.Wali Hamid Ali Khan and Noor Bukhari are playing the lead roles. It is a comeback film of Noor Bukhari after a gap of many years, while Wali Hamid Ali Khan the singer of music band Raga Boys is playing the male lead. Noor’s younger sister Faria Bukhari is appearing as second heroine.

The music of this film is its main feature while it is also shot on historical places like Rohtas Fort in Jhelum, Noor Mehal in Bahawalpur and scenic locations of Mansehra.

Film: Ishq Positive (عشق پازیٹیو)
Release Date:July 22, 2016
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Cast: Noor Bukhari, Wali Hamid Ali khan,Saud Qasmi,Faria Bukhari,Ahmed A. Rehman,Durdana Butt,Saim Ali,Sheeba Butt,Kamran Mujahid,Hina Rizwi,Iftikhar Thakur,Marium Chaudary,Maria Iliyas
Singers: Ustad Hamid Ali Khan, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Akriti Kakar, Farah Anwar, Daima Farooq, and Sana Zulfiqar
Lyrics By: Turaaz Sooraj and Wali Hamid Ali Khan
Music By: Wali Hamid Ali ,Kamran Akhtar and Saaji Ali
Written By: Sooraj Baba
Studio: KSL Production
Directed By: Noor Bukhari
Produced By: Shazia Hussain & Kashif Latif
Distributor: Everready Pictures and Hum Films

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxx0WK9X2iI

Revenge of the Worthless (بدل)
Revenge of the Worthless/Badal  (بدل) is an Urdu film due to release on 15th January 2016 and before that scheduled to release in May 2015, the film is based on the real life events of 2009 insurgency in Swat. Firdose Jamal is playing the role of Sufi Muhammad a local political figure of Swat. The new date of release for this film is 22nd July 2016.

Film: Revenge of the Worthless (بدل)
Starring : Jamal Shah, Ayub Khoso, Firdaus Jamal, Shamyl Khan, Maira Khan, Emel Karakose ,Asif Shah, Asaldin Khan, Imran Tareen, Iram, Shehrbano, Abdur Raheem, Najeebullah Anjum,Tariq Jamal Arshad, Sultan, Kaleemullah, Qazi Zubair,Wafa Khan, Rafique and Marjan
Release Date: July 22, 2016
Directed By: Jamal Shah
Cinematographer : Aamir Tehseen Rao
Written By: Jamal Shah
Screenplay By: Jamal Shah
Produced By: Amna Shah for Hunerkada Films
Genre: Action Drama

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFYhpEYXh3I

Blind Love (بلائنڈ لو)
Blind Love is a commercial Urdu film but with an English name (confusing isnt it!). A love action thriller film, Blind Love is shot in Lahore and scenic locations of Mansehra (Naraan, Kaghan). Blind Love was due to release on Eidul Fitr (6th July 2016), however it was delayed due to non availability of cinema houses as all major cinema houses preferred to screen the Indian Bollywood film Sultan. Now it is releasing on 29th July 2016.

The music of this film is a major highlight especially the song Janiya, shot at the scenic locations of Mansehra.

Film:Blind Love (بلائنڈ لو)
Release Date: 29th July 2016
Cast: Nimra Khan, Yasir Shah, Imran Bukhari, Mathira, Aamir Qureshi, Fawad Jalal
Music: Naveed Nashad
Writer: M Parvez Kalim
Director: Faisal Bukhari
Producer: Mian Amjad Farzand, Ch.Zulfiqar Ahmed, Ch.Ijaz Kamran
Production Company: Producers Alliance
Distributed by: IMGC Global
Genre: Love Action Thriller

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2ZczRRjCM4

Muhabbat Andhi Hoti Hai (Love is Blind) is a popular phrase and perhaps Blind Love is the visual form of this phrase. The leading heroine (Nimra Khan) of the film is blind and thus her romance is named as Blind Love (how creative!), though the film is not limited to romance it has all the masala required for the commercial film.

Blind Love is directed by Faisal Bukhari who is known for pure formula films.Faisal Bukhari’s last two films were also pure commercial flicks i.e. Bhai Log (2011) and Sultanat (2014). Following the same pattern Blind Love has romance, emotions, songs, dances, a bit of action, scenic locations and on top of it a steamy item number Butter Jawani (seems to be conceived in a bakery) which off course is shot on Mathira.

Blind Love will be the debut film for Yasir Shah, Imran Bukhari, Nimra Khan, Fawad Jalal and Aamir Qureshi. Aamir Qureshi is playing the role of the villain in this film like his father Mustafa Qureshi who is the most well known villain of the Pakistani films.

Mathira is making a comeback to films after a gap of three years. She last appeared in the film Main Hoon Shahid Afridi (MHSA) in 2013 for a 2-3 minute appearance in the item song Masti Mein Doobi. After a wait of three long years she is starting the journey again from where it was left and is again performing an item number Butter Jawani in Blind Love. However unlike MHSA she also has a negative vamp like role in this film. Means finally apart from her dance at last one can see the acting talent of Mathira on big screen too.

So these are all the four Urdu films scheduled to release in July 2016.

Trailer courtesy of PakistaniCinema Fan page
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAgBFzV3J4hrbRMcBcsehvg
https://www.facebook.com/PakistaniCinema

Rashid Nazir Ali

Ahsan Khan Replies To His Critics

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When Ahsan Khan shared the meme which became controversial many people criticized him including writer and actor Vasay Chaudhry. Ahsan Khan’s first reaction was to delete the meme from his social networking pages because he did not want to create controversy of this kind which would effect his work in drama serial Udaari negatively.

vasay

He also talked to Express Tribune about the matter. Talking directly about sharing the meme and the reaction it got he said,

“As a person, I have my own definition of humor. People derive different meanings out of things and you can’t please everyone.”

He also added,

“For those who feel it was in bad taste, I wasn’t trying to be offensive or hurt anyone’s  feeling. I am not that kind of a person who will offend someone with my personal choices or views.”

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Ahsan Khan also asserted that he took this project very seriously and wasn’t going to stop here. He said,

“A lot of memes have been made in the past but I ignored them as I didn’t want to trivialise the issue and kill the message. I have been constantly making efforts to eliminate this evil through the platform of Udaari. And because of it, a lot of people are willing to share their stories with me. I am planning to make a documentary to further highlight this issue.”

ahsan khan udaari

He also shared how he ended up doing the role of Imtiaz in Udaari.

“A lot of good actors were offered the role of Imtiaz but they rejected it. I couldn’t digest the scenes and was also bashed by friends and family for portraying it on the screen, but I didn’t back out.”

He also went on to elaborate why he shared the meme.

“I didn’t have any negative intention while sharing that meme. For me, it was just a dialogue that people remembered. I wasn’t trying to endorse, celebrate or glorify my character.”

Syra Shehroz’s Chalay Thay Saath, First Look

Chalay Thay Saath, is an upcoming Urdu film produced in Karachi. It will be the debut movie for Syra Shehroz and is shot in Gilgit Baltistan and Karachi. Though Syra Shehroz made a cameo appearance in the film Ho Mann Jahan released in January 2016, Chalay Thay Saath is the film she is appearing in a lead role.

Chalay thay saath is about family, relationships and the value of friendship.  Its first look is revealed today. The name of the male lead is not yet made public but news are that a Chinese actor is playing the lead role opposite Syra Shehroz.

Film: Chalay Thay Saath (چلے تھے ساتھ)
Cast: Syra Shehroz, Osama Tahir, Zhalay Sarhadi, Behroze Sabzwari, Mansha Pasha, Faris Khalid and Shamim Halai
Directed By:Umer Adil
Written By:Atiya Zaidi
Executive Producer: Sheikh Shiraz Mubashir
Produced By:Beenish Umer
Shot In: Gilgit Baltistan and Karachi

Here is the first look

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Few clicks of the film during shooting in the Gilgit Baltistan.

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Official Facebook Page of Chalay Thay Saath
https://www.facebook.com/chalaythaysaath

Rashid Nazir Ali

Ishq Positive – Trailer is out

Ishq Positive (عشق پازیٹیو) is an Urdu film produced in Lahore. It was under production for past two years.Wali Hamid Ali Khan and Noor Bukhari are playing the lead roles. Its trailer is released today while the film will be released on the 22nd July 2016.

The film was delayed due to multiple factors most important of which was the change of director. The film was started by Adeel PK (Pavez Kaleem) as the director who left it mid way over differences with Noor Bukhari the lead female artist of the film. Sangeeta took over as director afterwards but  she too left after few months. Finally Noor Bukhari herself completed the rest of the film. During the shooting of the film, the rumors of marriage of the lead pair Noor Bukhari and Wali Hamid Ali Khan also made headlines and are still in circulation neither admitted nor denied by the lead pair.

The hero, Wali Hamid Ali Khan is the son of the renown classical singer Hamid Ali Khan. Wali Hamid Ali Khan is also part of famous band Raga Boys, which he formed with his two brothers. Wali Hamid Ali Khan is also the first cousin of another leading singer Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan.  Ishq Positive is the debut film of the Wali Hamid Ali Khan.

Noor Bukhari is making a come back to commercial cinema from this film. Ishq Positive will also feature Faria Bukhari in an important role of second heroine. Faria is the younger sister and the only sibling of Noor Bukhari. Faria has started her career as a child star in 1990s, with the most notable appearance in film Jo Darr Gaya Woh Marr Gaya in 1995 as the daughter of Nadeem and Atiqa Odho.

As evident from the trailer Noor Bukhari is playing the role of Rajjo (Razia) in some big influential landlord family of Punjab who runs away from her home (haveli) at the night of her wedding which results in the dialog Rajjo Bhaag Gayee. Coincidentally she meets the hero Wali Hamid Ali Khan and thus it starts their journey. How will it end, for that lets wait till 22nd July 2016.

The special aspect of the film is its melodious and diverse music as well as the beautiful locations. The film is shot in Noor Mehal in Bahwalpur, Rohtas Fort near Jehlum and scenic location of Azaad Jammu & Kashmir and Mansehra. Another unique aspect of this film is the cameo appearance of an Indian artist Sonu Sood.

Film: Ishq Positive (عشق پازیٹیو)
Release Date:July 22, 2016
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Cast: Noor Bukhari, Wali Hamid Ali khan,Saud Qasmi,Faria Bukhari,Ahmed A. Rehman,Durdana Butt,Saim Ali,Sheeba Butt,Kamran Mujahid,Hina Rizwi,Iftikhar Thakur,Marium Chaudary,Maria Iliyas
Singers: Ustad Hamid Ali Khan, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Akriti Kakar, Farah Anwar, Daima Farooq, and Sana Zulfiqar
Lyrics By: Turaaz Sooraj and Wali Hamid Ali Khan
Music By: Wali Hamid Ali ,Kamran Akhtar and Saaji Ali
Written By: Sooraj Baba
Studio: KSL Production
Directed By: Noor Bukhari
Produced By: Shazia Hussain & Kashif Latif
Distributor: Everready Pictures and Hum Films

Here is the trailer of the film

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxx0WK9X2iI

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Trailer courtesy of PakistaniCinema Fan page, for all the latest updates on Pakistani Cinema.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAgBFzV3J4hrbRMcBcsehvg
https://www.facebook.com/PakistaniCinema

The Official facebook page of the film is
https://www.facebook.com/IshqPositiveTheMovie

Rashid Nazir Ali

Celebrities On The Second Day Of Eid – Pictures

And again, there’s a whole bunch of pictures to share with the fans.

Enjoy:

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