Love, Actually

The trailer for the film What’s Love Got to Do with It? produced by Jemima Khan and directed by Shekhar Kapur almost tells the whole story in a few minutes. The film, which premiered last week at the Toronto International Film Festival to overwhelmingly positive reviews (it’s scheduled to be released in January next year), has a stellar cast consisting of Lily James, Emma Thompson, Shabana Azmi, Shazad Latif and our very own Sajal Aly.

Shazad is shown in the film as a UK resident (Lily being his close friend) in the film and Sajal lives in Lahore; their parents arrange their marriage and the rest… is the rest of the tale. To be honest, the trailer gives off a typical rom-com vibe, which ain’t bad. Our complex contemporary world needs love, arranged or otherwise.

Entertainment Guaranteed

The date for comedian Faisal Qureshi’s directorial debut Money Back Guarantee (MBG) is out. It’s April 21, 2023. The project has roped in stars such as Fawad Khan, Ayesha Omar, Mikaal Zulfiqar, Javed Sheikh, Adnan Jaffar, Jan Rambo and the celebrated couple, cricketer Wasim Akram and his better half Shaniera. Given Faisal Q’s knack for creating rib-tickling moments through his wit and sometimes dry humour, the movie is likely to definitely entertain cine-goers. Whether Money Back Guarantee will turn out to be money ‘bag’ guarantee remains to be seen, however.

Off the Radar

We wouldn’t say that Katrina Kaif speaks her mind all the time; there have been instances in the past when she has kept things under the hat, and wisely so. Now that she’s married to Vicky Kaushal, however, she has begun to speak a bit more freely. For example, in an episode of

Koffee with Karan Season 7, she has revealed that Vicky K was never on her ‘radar’ and it was her destiny, meaning that they were meant to be together. Hmmm…

Perhaps destiny has its own radar system.

Taking On The Trolls

Young Indian cricketer Arshdeep Singh was badly trolled on social media by his countless countrymen after dropping a catch (it was a dolly, actually) against Pakistan in an Asia Cup match in the UAE. Since he belongs to the Sikh community, they even questioned his patriotism. Coming to the sportsman’s rescue, film stars Richa Chadha, Ayushmaan Khurranna, Swara Bhasker and Pooja Bhatt posted messages to shore up his morale, asking him to ignore the trolls and carry on playing. This goes to show the state of affairs in India. If it weren’t for some conscientious artists trying to hold the line, Indian society would have been clean bowled by bigotry by now.

Unfunny Friends

Take a chill pill, relax, Courtney Cox! What if Kanye West, the artist now known as Ye, said through his [now deleted] Instagram post that the sitcom you were an integral part of for more than a decade, Friends, is not funny? It’s just an opinion. You didn’t have to post a video in reply, listening to his song Heartless and stopping in the middle of the track to quip, “I bet old Kanye thought Friends was funny.” Artists are supposed to be a more tolerant lot than common folk. Oh wait, that’s for funny artists.

Maternal Grace

There’s a reason why Julia Roberts comes across as a gorgeous celebrity with a beautiful heart. On September 7, the Oscar-winning actress was on the red carpet in London to promote her latest movie Ticket to Paradise, co-starring George Clooney. The dress that she wore to the event had the initials and birthdays of her three children — son Henry (15) and the twin girls Hazel and Phinnaeus (17). It also had ‘2002’ written on it, which is the year she and her hubby Danny Moder got married, along with the words ‘hope’, ‘darling’ and ‘love’. Pretty woman Julia R sure has a pretty heart too!

Published in Dawn, ICON, September 18th, 2022