STRAIGHT UP

Kubra Khan is beautiful and bold. She doesn’t think twice about saying what she strongly believes in. In an interview, talking about her performances, the actress pointed out in a self-effacing manner that she doesn’t like any of her work. She said she has to be her harshest critic because, if she thinks that she has delivered her best performance, she would never be able to learn, and she wants to keep learning. Kubra K, kudos to you for being true to yourself! It’s always rare to see actors and celebrities that think they still have a lot to learn.

MARRY MEHWISH?

Now that’s a seriously audacious statement. Fashion designer Hasan Shaharyar Yasin aka HSY, like almost all fashion designers, is known to shoot from the hip. Take, for example, his recent statement. According to him, if someone ever compelled him to marry at gunpoint, he would choose actress Mehwish Hayat as his partner. Two things, HSY: one, we doubt if someone would ever compel you to marry; two, you need to have Mehwish H’s permission to get hitched to her, no?

TINSELTOWN TON UP FOR SPORTS

On July 23, Pakistan’s Hamza Khan won the World Junior Squash Championship, becoming in the process the first Pakistani in 37 years (yes, 37 years!) to win the trophy. Also, our cricketers clinched the ACC Men’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup title by beating India by 128 runs. Yay! The young sportsmen lifted the mood of the entire Pakistani nation as they became the talk of the town. Tinseltown did not lag behind and the likes of actress Mawra Hocane and pop singer Asim Azhar expressed their joy at the two victories. Aren’t we all overjoyed! Way to go Pakistan!

SAHIR, THE PHILOSOPHER

Whoever thinks that television host Sahir Lodhi is a simple, straightforward person, think again. Reason: when he decides to be philosophical, he can play with your mind. A question was put to him about his personality on a YouTube channel, to which the following was his response: “Sahir and Sahir Lodhi are two different people. Sahir is somebody that I know. Sahir Lodhi is somebody that everyone knows. Everyone has access to Sahir Lodhi. But only Sahir Lodhi has access to Sahir.” To be honest, we now have more sympathy for Sahir Lodhi who has to deal with Sahir.

CILLIAN’S WISH

Barbieheimer has taken the world by storm, lighting up the global box office big time. Both movies, ie Barbie and Oppenheimer, are doing a roaring business, with Barbie having a definite edge over Oppenheimer. So, no surprises to know that Cillian Murphy, who plays the titular role in the latter, has expressed his desire to star in Barbie 2, the expected sequel to Greta Gerwig’s giant critical and commercial hit. However, Cillian M hasn’t said what role he’d like to play: Barbie or Ken.

Rich, Not Rich

Last week, some sections of the media in India reported that actor Manoj Bajpayee’s net worth is 1.7b Indian rupees. This got tongues wagging. The Satya star was quick to deny the report. “Making that sort of money is impossible with the kind of work that I do, such as Aligarh (2015) and Bhonsle (2018). I am still struggling to get some money into my kitty. Now, after reading these reports, I just hope that the producers will now raise my salary.” Hmmm… hope that clarification staves off the calls from income tax officers, Manoj B.

Published in Dawn, ICON, August 6th, 2023