Oscar Glasswork

Pakistani film The Glassworker, directed by Usman Riaz, has qualified for consideration for the 97th Academy Awards in two categories: Best Animated Feature and Best International Feature Film. This is great news for a couple of reasons, at least. One, it’s an animated movie, something that Pakistan is not known for making; two, the director is a talented young musician and this encouragement will go a long way in giving a boost to his career. All the best Usman R and team Glassworker!

Junaid Remembers

Actor and singer Junaid Khan was at an event at Habib University in Karachi to speak about his experience of working in the Sindh capital as an artist. He spoke well and, during the discussion, talked about the televisionary Ghazanfar Ali, who pioneered many things for the Pakistani entertainment industry — such as launching Pakistan’s first TV music charts and music channel (Music Channel Charts, Indus Music),introducing the soap opera on television, heading the first satellite TV etc. It was thoughtful of Junaid K to shower praise on someone whose services to the country people seem to have forgotten.

Bodies For The Country

Pakistan made an important achievement in the world of sport as the country’s Arshan Ali and Hayat Ullah grabbed gold medals at the Mr and Ms World Pro Show Bodybuilding & Fitness Championship held in Thailand in November. Arshan A dominated the fashion physique category (he is a model) but it was Hayat Ullah who shone brighter by not only getting the gold medal in the MR master world category but also achieving the sought-after pro card. Congratulations to both of them! May they keep ‘building’ Pakistan’s reputation all over the globe.

Understanding Failure

Margot Robbie is one of the most successful Hollywood artists of the 21st century. Very rarely does a project she works in come a cropper. Unfortunately, Babylon (2022), directed by Damien Chazelle, was one film of hers that tanked at the box office. To date, the actress doesn’t get why. Speaking on a podcast last week, she wondered, “I can’t figure out why people hated it.” Well, Margot R, the answer is rather uncomplicated: it’s a bad movie. Sometimes, the simplest explanation is the best.

Kishore Who?

Aalia Bhatt is a very good actress. She can come across as a goofy person, though. Check this out. Recently at an event, Ranbir Kapoor, Aalia B’s husband, said that when the two first met, she asked him, “Who is Kishore Kumar?” When the attendees at the event showed surprise at the question, Ranbir K covered up nicely for wifey dear: “So, you know, it’s just the circle of life. People have forgotten, and new artists have come. I think it’s very important that we remember our roots.” Well, not remembering an iconic playback singer of the industry your whole family has always been a part of, does not quite fall in the circle-of-life category, we think. Who said ignorance is bliss?

Murder, She Wrote

Bollywood actress Nargis Fakhri has a sister named Aliya Fakhri. She once went out with a man called Edward Jacobs. Last week, she killed him. How? Well, allegedly, she set fire to his home in Jamaica, a neighbouring locality of Queens, New York, as a result of which Mr Jacobs and a woman, Anastasia Ettienne, lost their lives. Aliya F has been arrested and “indicted on murder in the first degree and related charges.” And we thought Nargis F was a fiery character.

Rapping to Court

Everyone knows about the ongoing feud between rappers Kendrick Lamar and Drake. Six months ago, Kendrick L came out with a song Not like Us,taking a dig at his Canadian musical opponent. Now Drake’s lawyers have filed a case against Universal Music Group (UMG, the company that released the track) and Spotify for ‘artificially inflating’ the song’s popularity. They say that UMG did so by hiring unknown third parties to use ‘bots’ to promote the number. Wow! We had thus far heard about AI playing an increasing role in the music industry. Do we really need it though, when the human intelligence itself is so artificial?

Published in Dawn, ICON, December 8th, 2024