High Praise

The new Coke Studio song, Turri Jandi by Hasan Raheem and Shazia Manzoor, has been liked by all and sundry. It has made the producer of the show, Xulfi, uber happy. So much so, that he composed on social media a write-up profusely acknowledging Hasan R’s talent. For example, he said, “Turri Jandi is one of those stories that I’ll never forget we told the world. And this story couldn’t have been told without you. Your lyricism, your singing style, your aura and now your acting as well... It’s heartfelt and soulful.” And your praise, Xulfi, for the young vocalist is lyrical, has an inexplicable aura, full of heart and soul. Wait. Did we just repeat his words?

Aa’s Goal

A few months ago, folk superstar Arif Lohar came out with a nice little track titled Aa, featuring rapper Deep Jandu and singer Roach Killa. Last week, the song appeared on the global football governing body FIFA’s official Instagram page, wishing the great Argentine player Lionel Messi on his 37th birthday. It came as a pleasant surprise to many of Arif L’s fans, who heard the number being played in the background on a football page. The Pakistani Punjabi superstar has surely kicked it out of the park.

Best Thing

Sajal Aly has a long list of fans. An addition has been made to it. Who is it? Well, it’s none other than her drama series Zard Patton Ka Bunn co-star Mubashir Mehmood. According to him, the actress is the best thing about Zard Patton Ka Bunn. We think Mubashir M is right, she’s done a good job in the play. But we also think it’s difficult to find a category (good, better, best etc) to put Mubashir M in. We’ll leave that to him.

Coward Groom

The riddle has been solved. All these years Bollywood A-lister Salman Khan’s admirers have been wondering about his single status. That is, they would raise the question: why doesn’t he get married? The answer has come out. His father, the writer Salim Khan, has claimed in an interview that his son lacks the courage to get married. Imagine, the hero who injures and kills dozens of burly men with his fists and kicks in reel life can’t muster up the himmat to tie the knot in real life! This means that his famous line from one of his films, that once he commits to something not even he can change it (“aik baar jab main ne commitment kar li”) stemmed from a personal space.

What’s In A Name

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes’ daughter Suri Cruise has done something that many are appreciating, but some are also questioning her relationship with her dad, who was once married to her mum, Katie H. At her high school graduation ceremony, the young 18-year-old girl dropped her surname Cruise and replaced it with Noelle, which is her mother’s middle name. Insiders say she shares a close bond with Katie H. This means changing the surname wasn’t ‘mission impossible’ for Suri C, sorry, Suri N.

Car Gift

Bollywood stars Sonakshi Sinha and Zaheer Iqbal got married on June 23 under the Special Marriage Act. Congratulations to the two of them! The wedding was attended by a decent number of celebs, including Rekha, Kajol and Salman Khan. It was a pretty colourful event. News is that the groom has gifted a BMW i7 to his bride. It’s worth more than two crore Indian rupees. Wow! That’s some display of love and affection… and money.

Published in Dawn, ICON, July 7th, 2024