Remembering Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan on his birth anniversary

The birth anniversary of the legendary qawwali maestro Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan is being observed on today (Saturday).

Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was born in Faisalabad on October 13, 1948. The great singer and musician died at the age of 48 on August 16, 1997.

The government of Pakistan bestowed Pride of Performance on the legendary singer in 1987 for his contribution to the music.

He was also honored with the prestigious UNESCO music prize.

His massive hit Dam Mast Qalandar Mast Mast became household anthems.

 

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Animated film The Donkey King set to hit theatres across Pakistan on October 13

The wait is almost over: animated comedy film ‘The Donkey King’ is set to hit theatres across Pakistan on October 13. Before its countrywide release, selected cinemas managed to get a preview today, amid much anticipation for the movie which is already beginning to win hearts and minds of the young as well as the young at heart.

A special preview was arranged for Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry as well as Federal Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid, who were both all praise for the film.

Speaking to media after watching the show, Chaudhry said it would encourage other filmmakers to come forward with animated movies. The movie had good content that would attract children, he added.

Artists including Adnan Siddiqui, Fakhir, Ali Khan and cricketer Younis Khan are among the celebrities singing praises of ‘The Donkey King’ and looking forward to watching the film.

Children, especially, are looking forward to Mangu, the lovable donkey who is the hero of the film.

 

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Adnan Siddiqui speaks up in favor of harassment victims

Pakistani actor Adnan Siddiqui has expressed his views regarding women sexual harassment in his Instagram post.

While not specifically mentioning Tanushree Dutta’s name, the actor said that “I have recently read about sexual harassment incidents in India, I want to say that it is a brave step by a woman to report the incident.”

He also demanded to devise proper strategy for the protection of the females.

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Pakistani heartthrob Imran Abbas dispels rumors of retirement

Pakistani actor Imran Abbas on Tuesday overtly dismissed rumors surrounding his shock retirement from the showbiz industry.

The 35-year-old actor took to twitter and said, “I ve been listening to the news of me leaving acting soon.. Please don t pay heed to those rumours”.

Earlier reports had cited the 35-year-old actor to be leaving acting while still remaining a part of other fields of entertainment.

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Selfie deaths: 259 people reported dead seeking the perfect picture

The quest for extreme selfies killed 259 people between 2011 and 2017, a 2018 global study has revealed.

Researchers at the US National Library of Medicine recommend that 'no selfie zones' should be introduced at dangerous spots to reduce deaths.

These would include the tops of mountains, tall buildings and lakes, where many of the deaths occurred.

Drowning, transport accidents and falling were found to be the most common cause of death.

But death by animals, electrocution, fire and firearms also appeared frequently in reports from around the world.

In July this year, 19-year-old Gavin Zimmerman fell to his death while taking selfies on a cliff in New South Wales, Australia.

Tomer Frankfurter died in California's Yosemite National Park in September after falling 250 metres while trying to take a selfie.

News reports like this were analysed to compile the study.

They found that selfie-related deaths are most common in India, Russia, the United States and Pakistan and 72.5% of those reported are men.

Previous studies were compiled from Wikipedia pages and Twitter, which researchers say did not give accurate results.

The new study also showed that the number of deaths is on the rise.

There were only three reports of selfie-related deaths in 2011, but that number grew to 98 in 2016 and 93 in 2017.

However, the researchers claim that the actual number of selfie deaths could be much higher because they are never named as the cause of death.

"It is believed that selfie deaths are underreported and the true problem needs to be addressed," it says.

"Certain road accidents while posing for selfies are reported as death due to Road Traffic Accident.

"Thus, the true magnitude of the problem is underestimated. It is therefore important to assess the true burden, causes, and reasons for selfie deaths so that appropriate interventions can be made."

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Veteran actor Qavi Khan stars in Iram Parveen Bilal's Forbidden Steps

Qavi Khan has just returned from shooting for a film he calls his Hollywood debut.

Directed by Iram Parveen Bilal of Josh fame, upcoming film Forbidden Steps stars Khan as Baba, "a Pakistani father who travels to the US to meet his son who lives there." Khan's son Majeed is played by Star Trek actor Faran Tahir, who is a law enforcement officer who wants to bridge the generational gap between his daughter and father.

Describing the film as a "beautiful family story", Qavi says his is a "special character" in the film.

Elaborating about his experience, Khan said, "I can't even put it in words. Working there and seeing how they do things was amazing and it really showed me the importance of characters and drama as a tool. I felt this was the void in my career's growth and how the cast and crew work as a unit. There's no one more important than the other. And I loved the professionalism. Everyone comes on the time they're given. They respect the field and it was refreshing to see. Its probably because they want quality and not quantity. I wish people here would be like that. Here we care about quantity so we're all overworked and not really motivated. They were so welcoming and we had an emotional farewell."

Qavi believes he was 'discovered' after his short film Nanu Aur Main was screened at a few festivals: "Around 3-4 months ago I got a call from a woman wanting to meet me for work. When we talked she revealed she was from Hollywood and is looking for the right person for the character. She told me about the script and I was interested, although it did take a month to finalise because I was also surprised that why me."

The release date for Forbidden Steps is not yet known.

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Teefa in Trouble screened at film festival in China

Ali Zafar was the only Pakistani actor and producer invited to the Silk Road International Film Festival in China where his movie Teefa in Trouble was screened.

“Pakistan has huge potential and these are very important times for our industry with a long way to go to achieve our full potential. We welcome all dialogue and initiatives to enable us to realize this full potential,” Zafar said at the festival.

Highlighting the success of Teefa in Trouble, Zafar said the movie had earned approximately $2.7 million on only 101 screens. He compared this to Bollywood where films are released on over 4,000 screens and in China movies are released on 50,000 screens.

“Considering Pakistan’s population we have a potential market of 1000-1500 screens which could easily multiply the business to 10/15 times more than its current value or beyond. Hence investment into Pakistan is sure to be lucrative,” Zafar stressed.

The film star also spoke of the need to open the doors for screening Pakistani films in China, proposing a minimum of three movies to be screened per year. He added that Pakistani film students should be given the opportunity to work with Chinese film students and vice versa.

“This will not only help diversify our understanding towards each other’s cultures but also accentuate the artistic expression alongside creating massive commercial prospects. Pakistan has enormous potential and is a beautiful country and the world must get to see it.”

 

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Oscars body launches new initiatives to support women filmmakers

The organisers of the Oscars announced a string of new initiatives on Thursday aimed at encouraging female filmmakers.

Called “Action: The Academy Women’s Initiative,” the program will include a one-year fellowship for women filmmakers and executives, a lunch that will bring together women across the industry, and a directory aimed at improving female networking and hiring opportunities.

The announcement by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences follows pressure from women in the movie industry for stronger voices, better pay and more jobs behind and in front of the camera.

“As we continue to advocate for inclusion, we are honored to bring Academy members and the filmmaking community together to support women in all stages of their careers,” Academy Chief Executive Dawn Hudson said in a statement.

The Women of the Academy lunch will take place in London and Los Angeles later this month. The one-year fellowship will be awarded to an emerging woman filmmaker in the United States, and in Britain.

The Academy, whose 8,000 members vote on the annual Oscars, has made efforts in the past two years to diversify its mostly white, old, and male-dominated ranks by inviting hundreds of women and people of color to join its ranks.

In 2016, the Academy vowed to double its number of women and diverse members by 2020.

According to a June report by the Directors Guild of America, only 16 percent of the 651 movies released in the United States in 2017 were directed by women.

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Fakhr-e-Alam attempts to become first Pakistani to fly around the world

Pakistani singer and activist Fakhr-e-Alam on Wednesday said that his childhood dream of becoming a pilot is close to reality.

Alam said, “Mission Parwaaz is my childhood dream. I wanted to become a pilot and in 2015 I got my license.”

Now the 42-year-old will attempt to become the first Pakistani to fly solo around the globe.

Earlier, Alam had taken to Twitter to make the announcement and said, “Dear all I am happy to report to you all today that after three years of a lot of hard work & persistence #MissionParwaaz my attempt to circumnavigate the globe is finally happening. If I succeed I will become the 1st Pakistani in the history of the world to do so.”

The 28-day tour which begins in Clearwater, Florida on October 6, will take Alam to 32 countries.

“I will start my tour from Clearwater in Florida and then pick up fuel from Boston. From there I will fly to the Canadian Air base in Goose bay and then Greenland.”

“From Greenland I will fly to Iceland, United Kingdom, Egypt and then to Bahrain. From there my next stop will be Dubai and then Karachi on October 13,” he said.

Alam added, “From Karachi, I will be flying to Islamabad and then Lahore. From Lahore, I will be on my way to Dhaka, Bangkok, Singapore, Jakarta and then Darwin in Australia. Other countries where I will be making a pit stop include Philippines, Taiwan, South Japan, North Japan, the Pacific Bay, Russia, Alaska and then back to the US.”

The singer further revealed that there are few rules of global circumnavigation that he will have to follow while making his trip.

“Global circumnavigation has some rules. One of the rules is that the airport where you start your tour from is the one where you end it. Second is you have to travel at the rate of 26,000 nautical miles. Third, you have to travel through all the time zones and medians on the planet. And lastly, you have to complete your journey in the same plane that you started in. You cannot change your plane,” he added.

Regarding the plane that he will be flying on his trip, Alam said, “It is a Pilatus PC-12, Swiss made and is single-engine turboprop. It is among the lightweight carriers and travels at 300 knots.”

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Mawra Hocane donates Rs100,000 for construction of dams

Pakistani stunning Mawra Hocane on Tuesday has donated Rs100,000 to the account set up on orders of the Supreme Court to fund the construction of Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand dams.

Talking to media, the actress said that we should not hesitate in helping the country. Imran Khan is my Prime Minister and I have donated money for him, she added.

It is to be mentioned here that other actors including Babra Sharif, Meera, Noor Bukhari and Atif Aslam have also contributed in the funds.

 

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Animated movie 'The Donkey King' to be released on Oct 19

Animated movie “The Donkey King” will be released on the October 19 and the film follows the adventures of Mangu Mangu Jan Mangu, a daydreaming donkey who has aspirations to be more successful in life.

Aziz Jindani is the director of the Donkey King.

The film revolves around a daydreaming donkey who has aspirations to be more successful in life.

Earlier, Talisman Studios has released a teaser trailer for its family-friendly cg animated feature The Donkey King.

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Masood Akhtar urges to make movies on new subjects

Veteran film and TV artiste Masood Akhtar has said that the story of the film and drama plays very important role in making the film and drama successful among the public.

Talking to APP, he said that no doubt that experienced artistes are also an indicator of success of film and drama, but the story plays main role in making the production hit the box office or force the public to sit in front of the TV sets. He said that now writers of film and drama should write on new topics and attractive subjects.

He expressed satisfaction over the new writers of film and drama who have realised the public choice and are focusing on various unique subjects. He said that thinking of new writers will help promote and develop our showbiz industry.

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If I represent Pakistan, I will do with honour: Kubra Khan

Pakistani actress Kubra Khan may have achieved new heights in her career after the success of Jawani Phir Nahi Ani 2 and Parwaaz Hai Junoon, but it seems she’s still keeping herself grounded and connected to her roots – especially when it comes to selecting her roles or the things she’s willing to do.

Speaking to Fifi Haroon for BBC Urdu, the Sang-e-Mar Mar actress discussed how despite being offered roles in Bollywood and signing up for Welcome 2 Karachi, the actress left the Bollywood dream when it came to portraying ‘Pakistanis or Muslims in a wrong light.’

“The reason why I chose to not pursue Bollywood was mainly due to a contractual issue on the sets of Welcome 2 Karachi, and luckily, I was smart enough to stipulate what I will and won’t do in the contract,” Kubra explained. “Item number was one thing that I told them I won’t do – I was saying ‘Mein Item Number Nahi Karoongi’ from the start. My character in the film was Pakistani and Muslim, so I didn’t want to portray them in a different light
Kubra also explained how she believes that if she will ‘represent’ Pakistan anywhere, she’ll do it with honour.

“At the end of the day, I am a Pakistani and if I represent it anywhere, I’ll do it with honour,” she said. “I made it clear that if there was anything against Pakistan in the [W2K] script, I will walk out – and I did.

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Only audience can help to improve theater environment: Iftikhar Thakur

None other than audience itself can be an agent of change for creating congenial environment to bring the estranged families back to theatres for watching decent dramas.

Acclaimed comedian, Iftikhar Thakur, stated this in an interview with APP, here on Tuesday. He lamented that theatre goers did not intervene when an actor uses indecent or objectionable language during the drama rather cheer them. If they object to such remarks and act, the drama would automatically be converted into a presentation worth watching for families.

The drama and film environment was spoiled when censorship was made quite lenient during the period of former president Gen (retd) Pervaz Musharraf, the actor claimed.

He said that when theatre was excluded from the ambit of Pakistan Arts Council and was given under the authority of the Home Department and the DCOs.

Thakur said that TV and social media have forced people to stay indoors and they did not like to go out for recreation.

To a question, the comedian replied that Charlie Chaplin was alive even after his death due to his outstanding performance. He said great Pakistani comedian Munawwar Zarif was Asian Charlie Chaplin, whose comedy was unparalleled.

He said that Lehari Sahib had many dimensions of comedy even before invention of 3D, adding that he was a guiding star for new Pakistani comedians.

Munawwar Zarif, Rengeela, Nanna, Ali Ejaz and others did comedy with their body language and expressions, he remarked and added that today’s comedians had spot faces who only use their tongue and words for entertaining the audience.

To another question, he said that artistes had shifted to current affairs TV programmes because at TV, they get better environment and timely payment compared with theatres.

Renowned broadcaster, Nizam Din Sahib was the founder of the trend while legendary actor Sohail Ahmad brought it to television.

Thakur said that artistes were participating in fund raising for construction of dams, suggesting that if the FBR would bring more Pakistanis into the tax net, it would be easier to collect funds for the national cause.

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Sania Mirza, Mahira Khan exchange love for each other's young ones

Famed Pakistani actress Mahira Khan, reminiscing about her son Azlan’s infancy, posted an adorable picture expressing immense love for him on Saturday.

The 33-year-old actress, taking to Twitter, wrote: “My one and my only, the centre of my universe.. make a little prayer for my baby azzu today. Here’s wishing and praying for all children to be happy, healthy and protected from any kind of evil inshAllah. Miss carrying him in my arms."
oon after, love from all across the globe started pouring in for the ‘Raees’ starlet and her little one with eminent tennis stalwart Sania Mirza from India being one of them.

Sania, who is expecting her first baby with Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik, is all set to embrace motherhood.

Commenting on Mahira’s post, she wrote:

“Too cute!” to which Mahira, reciprocating the love, replied:

“Sania! Sending you so much love and a kiss on your belly for baby .

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'Afreen Afreen' crosses 10 million views on Youtube

Coke Studio hit ‘Afreen Afreen’ has crossed 10 million views on popular video-sharing website Youtube.

The revamped version of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s hit was sung by none other than Qawali master’s student Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Momina Mushtehsan.

With this milestone, Momina has become the first female singer whose song has amassed such humongous viewership.

It was her collaboration with Rahat Fateh Ali Khan which brought the female singer to limelight after which she bagged myriad projects.

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Armeena Khan calls for action against cyberbullying

Actress Armeena Khan has called for action against cyberbullying after she shared an incident on Twitter where a user had hurled abuses at her.

Armeena shared a user's tweets and said, “Amusing. What a shame. Right I need details on this guy. Who can help?”
When the user later deleted his tweets, Armeena shared screenshots of his tweets and publicly called him out for his actions.

The actor known for her roles in serials Muhabbat Ab Nahi Hugi and Boland Ishq Parast added, “So guys, he has deleted his tweets. However, we tracked him and he will be reported to the correct authorities."

"See you can’t abuse like any longer and if you see someone else being abused like that please report them to the authorities too,” Armeena added.

The British-Pakistani actress also urged others to expose such people who are a “menace to the society.”

"Such persons should be exposed for being a menace to society. This man has zero respect for mothers, daughters and sisters. I ask all to refrain from such language as it is unbecoming for a Pakistani. This is not how our parents bring us up.”

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Sarfaraz Ahmed lauds film industry for being 'on the right track'

Pakistan’s cricket team captain Sarfaraz Ahmed recently appreciated the efforts of the entertainment industry to promote Pakistan.

He tweeted, “Our film industry is on the right track. Well done Humayun Saeed, Ali Zafar, Fahad Mustafa, Vasay Chaudhry, Ahmed Ali Butt, Maya Ali and Mehwish Hayat. Extremely proud of you guys."

Humayun, Fahad, Vasay and Ahmed played the lead in the recently released film Jawani Phir Nahi Ani 2 (JPNA2) which has been running successfully all across the country. Mehwish was joined by Fahad as well in Load Wedding, which Ali and Maya’s Teefa in Trouble was loved by many as well.

Thanking the captain, Fahad tweeted, “Shukriya captain. And all the best for the Asia Cup. Make us proud.”

Mehwish also wished him luck and thanked Sarfaraz for his praises.

Humayun was grateful to Sarfaraz for his kind words and wished him “all the best for the Asia Cup”.

Asia Cup consists of one-day and Twenty20 cricket matches between the Asian countries. The tournament will commence on September 15 and go on till September 28.

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Oscar organisers retreat on ‘popular film’ category after backlash

The Academy of Motion Pictures said on Thursday it would not go ahead with its proposed new “popular film” Oscar category at next year’s awards ceremony.

The proposal, announced just a month ago, was met with a huge backlash from the movie industry and film reviewers who said it would create a two-tier system of popular and unpopular films.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said in a statement that “implementing any new award nine months into the year creates challenges for films that have already been released” and that the proposal needed further discussion.

It said it would “not present the new Oscars category at the upcoming 91st awards” in February 2019.

“There has been a wide range of reactions to the introduction of a new award, and we recognize the need for further discussion with our members,” Academy Chief Executive Dawn Hudson said in Thursday’s statement.

The idea of a separate category for popular films was widely seen as a bid to increase television viewers for the annual Oscar ceremony. The U.S. audience for the March 2018 ceremony was 26.5 million viewers, the smallest in the awards’ 90-year history

Critics said the idea would pit “popular films,” such as superhero box office hits, against what would be seen as “unpopular,” smaller art-house fare.

In recent years, Academy voters have chosen independent films like Moonlight and The Shape of Water, as best picture winners, rather than box office hits like the Star Wars franchise or superhero movies such as 2017 blockbuster Wonder Woman.

The Academy in August sowed confusion by not detailing how it would determine eligibility for which films would compete in the popular film category, as opposed to the traditional best picture race.

On Thursday, the Academy said it would go ahead with plans to shorten the annual awards show to three hours. It said between six and eight categories would be presented during commercial breaks in the televised ceremony, and then edited and aired later in the broadcast.

It did not specify which of the 24 awards handed out at the ceremony would be presented off camera but said they would be rotated each year.

Technical awards such as editing, costumes, and sound are expected to be most affected by the change.

The 2019 Oscar ceremony will take place in Los Angeles on Feb. 24. Campaigning got under way at the Venice Film Festival last week and at the Toronto Film Festival which opens on Thursday.

 

 

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Pakistani dramas deteriorating, not reflective of society: PEMRA

Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) in a statement has said that the quality of Pakistani dramas is ‘deteriorating’ every day.

The statement released Monday night read, “Themes of drama serials/ plots are quite bold and not reflective of majority of Pakistani society."

“Plots/ themes of Pakistani dramas are influenced by alien cultures/ societies, portraying fictional society,” it added.

The statement further said, “Besides unnecessary glamour, bold scenes are being shown in the dramas ignoring religious, social, cultural and ethical values of the country.”

The regulatory authority further said that it has been receiving numerous complaints from general public.

"Viewers are of the opinion that dramas are not depicting the true picture of Pakistani society. Indecent scenes//dialogues/extramarital relations, violence and exploitation are being glamourised ignoring ethical bindings of Pakistani society as well as Pemra laws,” it added.

Pemra called on all channels to “endure their corporate social responsibility and produce such content which is strictly in line with the Pakistani culture, standards of decency and Pemra laws”.

Writer-cum-actor Osman Khalid Butt criticised the "sweeping generalisation" and questioned what the "true picture of the Pakistani society is".

"Not every drama serial is meant to be watched with the family," Butt tweeted.

 

 

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