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Sunday, 16 February, 2014
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A cultural dose relieves Karachi Karachi STAFF rEpOrT
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HE Sindh Festival 2014 was conceived as an antidote to anticulture! It is a celebration of the rich heritage that is Sindh, and indeed, Pakistan. It is in essence all of us. The Sindh Fashion Festival, a component of the Sindh Festival, held on February 12 and 13 at NAPA in Karachi was a treat for the senses. The event had two components, a two-day fashion extravaganza showcasing some of the country’s finest talent and a fashion
museum exhibit. Day 1 opened with a dance performance choreographed by the internationally acclaimed dancer Omar Rahim followed by the showing of bridal couture legend Bunto Kazmi’s incredible shawls, which truly are works of art. The shawls were worn over clothes made by the Pink Tree and complimented with jewellery by Amber Sami. This was followed by Fnk Asia’s collection depicting a young fresh Sindh and Amir Adnan’s collection for high achievers. Amir Adnan’s showstopper was the young and dynamic Shehryar Taseer who put the
entire project together. Nauman Arfeen’s collection, an ode to the black pheasant or kaala teetar drew inspiration from nature. Zaheer Abbas’ ajrak collection showed the versatility of Sindh’s traditional fabric and how ajrak could indeed go international. This was followed by a musical performance by Fuzon and Sherry. undoubtedly one of the country’s greatest designers, umar Sayeed did not disappoint. His beautifully crafted collection was a delight to view. The jewellery for this segment was provided by Feathers.
India’s openly gay director reflects on taboo themes in Bollywood
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NDIAN filmmaker Onir knows what it’s like to be Bollywood’s only openly gay director. The man behind the critically-acclaimed “My Brother... Nikhil” has been insulted live on television and regularly receives abusive mails but says it’s still better than being “invisible”. Onir, who uses one name, first started making waves with his 2005 film based on the real life story of swimming champion Dominic D’Souza, the southern Indian state of Goa’s first reported case of HIV. After testing HIV positive in the late 1980s amid a climate of fear and ignorance, D’Souza was arrested by police and kept in forced isolation in a tuberculosis ward. The case of the man who had been a local hero but found himself shunned and criminalised because of his illness became a cause celebre in India, ending with his death in a Bombay hospital in 1992. Onir, 51, is the only high-profile Bollywood figure to publicly acknowledge his sexuality. But as a gay man he says he is far from alone in the Mumbai-based Hindi-language film industry. “There’s a lot of people from the creative community there who don’t speak (about being gay). Everybody knows, no-one speaks,” Onir told a foreign news agency in an interview in Paris. “In Mumbai I am the only openly gay filmmaker and
there are no actors. For me, however it has always been important... I am going to talk about it. I refuse to be invisible,” he said. The making of “My Brother... Nikhil”, his directorial debut, opened Onir’s eyes to the many difficulties of bringing taboo subjects to the screen in socially conservative India. The story reflected poorly on the Goan authorities and in order to get the film released, the director had to agree to a disclaimer stating that the story was fiction. He has since said that this was just a compromise. In 2012, Onir’s fourth movie “I Am”, made up of four short films, returned to the subject of same sex relationships alongside other taboos such as sperm donation and child abuse. The feature was named best Hindi film at India’s 2012 National Film Awards, the country’s equivalent of the Oscars. Critical plaudits, however, failed to translate into commercial success. “For me it was again a nasty discovery when I made my fourth film. After it won the national award as the best Hindi film I thought now I will get my film sold outside (India) and I’ll recover my money. “And all that happened is that the satellite channels refused to show the film. Commercially every door was closed.” It was a bitter pill for the
filmmaker who had turned to crowdfunding to make the movie. “If it’s the state I can fight the state, I can take them to court. I can fight the censors, but what do you do about this unspoken silent censorship from the satellite channels,” he said. Onir said the experience made it clear to him that there was little space on commercial channels for films that did not deal in what he called “idiotic and regressive” stereotypes such as women as sex objects. And he said he was less optimistic than others about Bollywood’s ability to reinvent itself. A raft of up-and-coming Bollywood directors were hailed at the Cannes film festival last year for their willingness to move away from hackneyed formats and tackle the issues affecting an increasingly urbanised India. But Onir said he believed the most interesting work being done in Indian cinema today came in the form of non-Hindi language films from regional directors, not by Bollywood. “When you look at most of the so called ‘new wave’ of (Hindi-language) filmmakers they are technically good. It’s good story telling, but not necessarily anything that really provokes,” he said. “They leave the audience in the comfort zone.... It’s almost become old fashioned to be provocative, not cool,” he added. AGENCIES
The evening closed with a fabulous performance by Akhtar Channar Zahri and the dance ensemble O2. The iconic Nabila is the creative genius behind the show and her teams from NPro and NGents have styled the models. Set design, construction, set-up and backstage by Production 021. The show, including all the dances was choreograped by Omar Rahim. The event was coordinated and managed by Tehmina Khaled of TakeII who used her PR skills to get this beautiful side of Sindh out for the world to see.
The second component, which ran from February 12 to 15, was a stunning museum display featuring fashion by: Shamaeel Ansari, Sania Maskatiya, Nida Azwer,Ismail Fareed,Fnk Asia,Mahin Hussain,Aamina Mansoor,Adnan Pardesi,Wardha Saleem,unbeatable,Pink Tree,Amir Adnan,EB,Shahnamay and Arsalan Iqbal The display, which featured live models, had been put together by Ehtesham Ansari. The set up constructed by Ahmed Jung of Reactivate. Hair and Make-up for this component has been done by Angie Marshall.
Meera denies separation reports NEWS DESK Pakistani actress Meera has denied reports of separation from her husband Captain Naveed, terming them ‘rumours.’ Speaking to the media at the New York International airport, Meera said Naveed supported all her endeavours and that she was visiting the uS to raise funds for her hospital project. Meera added she would stay in the uS for a month and would also visit Los Angeles to record a commercial. Meera’s father-in-law, Raja Pervez told media yesterday that his son had returned to the uS without informing his actress wife. Mr Pervez said that he had
Jennifer Lawrence to present at the Oscars
Actress Jennifer Lawrence, who bagged the best actress Oscar last year for ‘Silver Linings Playbook’, has been named as the first presenter for the upcoming 86th annual Academy Awards. The announcement was made by the show’s producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, and came about an hour after voting for the 86th Academy Awards began, the Independent reported. The 23-year-old actress will help hand out award to the winner at the 2014 Oscars, which would be hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, and is slated to take place on March 2. AGENCIES
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given an ultimatum to Naveed to either leave Meera or the family. He added that
Naveed had not received Meera at the New York airport despite her insistence.
Raja Pervez further said that his wife did not allow Meera to enter the house.
Not starting a family You have no power here! right now: Vidya Balan Passport request
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quASHING rumours of her pregnancy, actress Vidya Balan has said that ‘right now’ she doesn’t see any possibility of starting a family. At an event to promote her forthcoming film ‘Shaadi Ke Side Effects’ Friday, when asked when does she plan to start a family, Vidya said: “Inshallah one day I will be able to answer your question, but right now I don’t see any possibility.” Vidya married uTV Studios CEO Siddharth Roy Kapur in December 2012. Rumours of her pregnancy have been rife lately. However, she is currently totally focussed on promoting “Shaadi Ke Side Effects” in which she stars with Farhan Akhtar. The film hits theatres Feb 28. VIA TIMES OF INDIA
denied to King Khan
Shahrukh, who is all eager to promote his surprise release this year at the Cannes film festival, has been denied a passport to visit the country hosting the prestigious event. The movie is scheduled for an April release. In this bizarre situation, the producers have been left perplexed as to what can be done, when the festival is barely a few weeks away. They have even taken this matter to the Ministry of External Affairs and the Regional Passport officer, to obtain a new passport for Shahrukh. Even the authorities, it seems, are breaking their heads to find a way to get the performer a passport, at the earliest. However, why Shahrukh is being denied a passport, remains a mystery. NEWS DESK