Plagiarism Again

Bollywood producers and directors, or of any country for that matter, cannot now get away easily after plagiarising a song or a storyline. This is the age of social media, nothing is easily overlooked. The latest in that regard is the blatant copy of Abrarul Haq’s famous song Nach Punjaban, used in an upcoming Indian film Jugjugg Jeeyo. One of the arguments that has come out of India is that the producer of a song owns its copyright. Well, without going into the legal nuts and bolts of the subject, did the producers or music director of the movie have the courtesy to give Abrar H a call to tell him that they’re using the composition. No, because Bollywood seems to be moving increasingly away from ethical decency.

The Depp-Heard Verdict

The verdict of the defamation case that Johnny Depp filed against his former wife Amber Heard has earned the nod of approval from a vast majority of those who were keenly watching the live telecast of court proceedings all around the world. Pakistanis are no different. The moment the decision was taken, celebs took to their social media pages to express their satisfaction at the result. They included, among others, Mansha Pasha, Ali Zafar, Mishi Khan and Sana Javed, declaring ‘abuse has no gender’. There were also those who also tried to look at the situation differently. For example, Armeena Khan wrote what she disliked during the trial was the vile, misogynistic abuse directed at Amber. She has a point. But they’re not wrong, either.

SRK Marvel

Apparently, there are references to Shah Rukh Khan’s films Baazigar and Dilwale Dulhanniya Le Jayenge in the series Ms Marvel. The star of the show Iman Vellani is an SRK admirer, and so too are the writer (Sana Amanat) and directors of the first two episodes (Billal Fallah and Adil El Arbi). When asked if the king of Bollywood has a guest appearance in the series, Sana A excitedly replied, “If Shah Rukh Khan wants to be in this show, we will go film again! We’ll go back to production, we’re definitely going back to production! Call somebody!” This means, he definitely doesn’t have a c-c-c-cameo in Ms Marvel.

The Hutt Hit

It’s been quite a while since the pop band Kashmir made its presence felt on the music circuit. Well, now it has come out with a pretty cool track called Chal Hutt from their second album, Zindagi. In terms of lyrics, it’s a little irreverent, which is good, and with respect to composition, it has a foot-tapping bass line and dance-worthy rhythm to it. So if you haven’t heard it already, go have a listen to zara hutt ke style.

Positive Stars

Whoever thinks that the pandemic is over or on its way out, think again. India, like many other countries, is still battling with it. King of Bollywood Shah Rukh Khan has tested positive for Covid-19 and the rosy-cheeked Katrina Kaif has tested positive for a second time — she went through that awful experience last year in April as well. Apart from them, Kartik Aryan and Aditya Roy Kapur are reportedly down with Covid, too. They were among 50 guests at Karan Johar’s 50th birthday bash on May 25 who tested positive after the party. Now that’s what you call a real superspreader event — but it wasn’t just joy that was being spread. We wish them all a quick and complete recovery.

Slap Response

Jada Pinkett Smith, the wife of Will Smith, has finally spoken about the infamous incident that took place at the Oscars in which her husband slapped comedian Chris Rock for cracking a joke about her. During an episode of Facebook Watch’s Red Table Talk, she commented, “My deepest hope is that these two intelligent, capable men have an opportunity to heal, talk this out and reconcile. The state of the world today, we need them both. We all actually need one another more than ever. Until then, Will and I are continuing to do what we have done for the last 28 years, and that’s keep figuring out this thing called life together.” Well, we certainly hope Will S can come to terms with whatever triggered his anger.

Published in Dawn, ICON, June 12th, 2022