ANOTHER JATT

After the unprecedented success of The Legend of Maula Jatt another Punjabi film with a Jatt in it, namely Mango Jatt, is in the offing. The project will be directed by Abu Aleeha with Faysal Quraishi essaying the part of the lead character. Now, we think it sounds like a good idea, because both the director and the actor are two of the most prolific artists of Pakistan’s showbiz industry. They don’t have an idle moment in their lives, it seems, which means they are truly men on the go…geddit?

NON-CONTROVERSIAL

Mohib Mirza and Momal Sheikh appeared on a talk show and the discussion primarily focused on one of their ongoing projects. When the chit chat veered towards their personal lives, one of the queries raised was about Momal S’s ability to stay away from controversies. The actress said she’s a good girl and doesn’t believe in controversies. To which Mohib M remarked, “She’s easygoing, focused on her life, busy with her kids, focused on her husband and home, so where will the controversy come from?” Answer: from that point, exactly.

THE ARCHIES

The trailer for Zoya Akhtar’s latest film The Archies — to be released on Netflix on December 7 — is out and is being fervently discussed. We’ve also seen it. To be honest, it hasn’t impressed us much. Seems like a typical glam-filled period fun ‘n’ games show from the 1960s. We could be wrong, though. Also, the way the young performers — including Suhana Khan (daughter of Shah Rukh Khan), Khushi Kapoor (daughter of Boney Kapoor and sister of Janhvi Kapoor) and Agastya Nanda (grandson of Amitabh Bachchan) — are acting in that trailer, it gives us the impression that, while a lot of hard work has gone into their looks and wardrobe, money has been saved on getting them an acting coach.

STOLEN

On November 8, footballer Neymar’s girlfriend, supermodel Bruna Biancardi’s home in Sao Paulo was robbed. Luckily she and her four-week-old daughter Mavie weren’t around. In a social media message [in Portuguese], she wrote: “That morning, they robbed my house and took my parents hostage. Me, Mavie and my sister are no longer living there, and we weren’t there at the moment. Thank God, everything is fine with them. Material things we can win back, the important thing is that everyone is well and that those involved are being found.” We’re happy for you and your family, Bruna B. As Neymar would no doubt attest, there truly are worse things than diving in the penalty area.

BOND NOTES

Recently, rumour was rife that pop singer Harry Styles was being considered to play James Bond. Thankfully, that has dissipated and the new piece of gossip that’s in the air is that, as per bookies, he’s the favourite to sing the theme tune for the next Bond film. His odds are better than the following singers: Ellie Goulding, Lewis Capaldi and Ed Sheeran. Hmmm… all of them are better singers than Harry S, but he’s the only one who’s also had acting experience. This means he can pretend better while singing. Perhaps that’s why he’s the favourite.

LIPA’S LATEST

Dua Lipa’s third yet-to-be-named album will be released next year, but its first single, Houdini, hit the airwaves last week. Her last hit track was Dance the Night which was part of the blockbuster Barbie’s OST. Houdini, as the title of the song suggests, refers to the famous magician/illusionist Harry Houdini. Although the lyrics tend to say more than the reference to magic, after listening to its melody and rhythm, we have to say that Dua L hasn’t pulled any hit rabbit out of her musical top hat this time.

Published in Dawn, ICON, November 19th, 2023