BOL NEWSPAPER | February 5 2023

Think of the most successful actors and you will be amazed that nine out of ten actors that come to mind are usually film actors because they work on bigger projects, their movies have a recall value and they are paid more than their TV counterparts. However, from Hollywood to Bollywood, most of the big names began their careers on TV, and owe their success to the lesser-paid medium, which is now giving the ‘elder brother’ a tough time. Be it Clint Eastwood, Nadeem Baig, or Shah Rukh Khan, most of the big names in films started small but peaked when it was time to raise the bar.

Pakistani actors who owe their success to TV

Working in a film is nothing less than a dream for actors, especially in this part of the world. It was the first audio-visual medium in the country until TV made its appearance in the 1960s. It was through TV that actor Nadeem began his career as a singer and was offered his first film role in Chakori, becoming the first person to crossover to films from the smaller platform. Veteran actor Talat Hussain followed him next and appeared in films alongside leading actors such as Waheed Murad, Mohammad Ali as well as Nadeem, and later was part of international films like Sautan Ki Beti in India, and Jinnah & Import Export in Europe. He even played the main antagonist in the British TV show Traffik which was later adapted by Hollywood.

In the golden era of Waheed Murad, Mohammad Ali, and Nadeem, the arrival of a lanky Ghulam Mohiuddin opened the doors for TV actors who managed to make it big in films. Before him, many TV artists like Zahoor Ahmed and Subhani Ba Yunus appeared in films but never as the main lead, something that ‘Gullu Bhai’ changed with his power-packed performances, most notably in Mera Naam Hai Mohabbat. Although he hadn’t done much TV before his film debut, actors like Izhar Qazi, and Ismail Shah followed suit and managed to do well in films with only Izhar returning to TV for Zakham as Ismail Shah chose to make a name for himself as the dancing hero on the big screen.

If you compile the list of highest-grossing films in Pakistan, the names of Humayun Saeed and Fahad Mustafa will appear

in most of the films. The two actors are products of TV and are should also be credited for the revival of the current Pakistani cinema. Had Humayun Saeed not used his experience of acting on TV to produce Main Hoon Shahid Afridi or Fahad Mustafa not accepted the lead role in Na Maloom Afraad, the cinema industry in Pakistan might not have seen the rise that touched its peak in 2022.

Film’s gain is TV’s loss here because

Fahad Mustafa hasn’t acted on TV in over eight years while Humayun Saeed’s last two acting projects on TV came in 2016 and 2019. His portrayal of Hasnat Khan in Netflix’s The Crown may be counted as a TV project than a film, but by acing it, he made Pakistan proud. The two, however, are constantly producing quality TV dramas and are amongst the top producers in the country today.

Not many remember but the two stars of The Legend of Maula Jatt – Fawad Khan and Hamza Ali Abbasi – also owe their success to TV. While Fawad Khan played the legendary Bond in Jutt and Bond two decades back, Hamza appeared in Meray Dard Ko Jo Zuban Miley before entering filmdom with Mian Hoon Shahid Afridi and Waar. Had they not been groomed by TV, they might not have been able to raise the bar and give Pakistan its biggest blockbuster of all time.

The case of Javed Sheikh is different in many ways because he started his acting career with Dhamaka in 1974 but the film bombed so badly at the box office that he had to switch to TV where he did well as a romantic hero. It was only after the success of Unkahi that he returned to films and began his second innings which saw him do so well that he even acted in a handful of Bollywood films including Namaste London, Om Shanti Om, and Sadiyan.

As for actresses, the most successful film star from the 1970s and the 1980s Babra Sharif appeared in a TV commercial, an episode of a TV show, and a serial before making it big in films. When she was surpassed by younger actresses in the 1990s, she returned to TV with Nadan Nadia and ensured her career ended with a full circle.

One must also mention comedy kings Umer Sharif and Moin Akhtar here who ventured into films but they were more stage artists than TV actors, and even though Umer Sharif found success in the early 1990s, he wasn’t able to sustain that success later.

Bollywood biggies who were household names before films

Undoubtedly the Indian film industry is bigger in every way than that in Pakistan,

however many of their leading film actors had to use TV as a springboard to jump into the film world. Leading film actor Shah Rukh Khan’s example is the most quoted one in this case who appeared in two TV dramas - Fauji and Circus in the late 1980s and the early 1990s respectively before taking the giant leap and becoming the King Khan of Bollywood.

The late Irrfan Khan who went on to make a name for himself in Hollywood also started his career on Indian TV and before Salaam Bombay! was part of popular TV shows such as Bharat Ek Khoj, Ssshhhh…Koi Hai, and Mano Ya Na Mano to name a few. Ayushman Khurrana of Vicky Donor fame, the late Sushant Singh Rajput, comedian Rajpal Yadav and even one of the 3 Idiots R. Madhavan were TV actors before following SRK’s lead and ended up in Bollywood, carving a separate identity for themselves.

The Bollywood beauties like Vidya Balan and Yami Gautam aren’t far behind their male counterparts; while Vidya Balan was a known face through the popular TV show Hum Paanch, Yami appeared in Chand Ke Paar Chalo, as well as CID and Yeh Pyar Na Hoga Kam. Others like Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Preity Zinta, Deepika Padukone, and Anushka Sharma were noticed through TV commercials and owe their discovery to the ‘idiot box’.

American TV gave Hollywood its biggest stars

It might be surprising for some but many of Hollywood's elite started on the small screen. Some were part of popular sitcoms; some made their presence felt in medical dramas while others rose to the challenge in cowboy westerns. In fact, if you pick ten names from Hollywood then seven of them would be actors who used TV to make it big in films and were part of huge hits later in their careers.

It all began when an unsuccessful film actor named Clint Eastwood decided to switch to TV back in the 1950s to give his career the stability his small supporting roles were unable to provide. In less than a decade he was amongst the top actors in Hollywood and the Rawhide experience gave his career a new lease of life. He went on to act and direct some of the best films of the last fifty years and despite being in his 90s hasn't shown any signs of slowing down.

Similarly, two of the biggest Bond actors Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan were stars of The Saint and Remington Steele respectively before they portrayed 007 on the big screen. Be it Die Hard’s Bruce

Willis or Back to the Future’s Michael J Fox, without Moonlighting and Family Ties, they might not have become the stars they eventually did. Whenever the name of Robin Williams (Mork and Mindy), Tom Hanks (Bosom Buddies), Morgan Freeman (The Electric Company), Johnny Depp (21 Jump Street), and John Travolta (Welcome Back, Kotter) will be mentioned, their exploits on TV would also come to fore because it gave them the platform to succeed without wanting anything in return.

Matinee idols George Clooney (ER), Bradley Cooper (Alias), Chris Hemsworth (Home and Away), Heath Ledger (Sweat), and Will Smith (Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) might be bigger film stars today but they were once future prospects thanks to Television. Not many remember that Chris Pratt was actually the goofball in Parks and Recreation, mostly because he went on to make a name for himself as an action star courtesy Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic World franchise.

his talent. Interestingly, Jim Carrey, Jamie Foxx, Steve Carell, Adam Sandler, and Eddie Murphy used their gigs in leading TV shows to make inroads in films, Ryan Gosling, Justin Timberlake, and Britney Spears were part of The Mickey Mouse Club reboot back in 1990.

Amongst leading Hollywood actresses, Jennifer Aniston leads the way because she used her success from Friends intelligently to succeed where not many female actors fared well – in cinema. Others like Sally Field (Gidget), and Halle Berry (Living Dolls) might have been there, done that before her but Jennifer Lawrence (The Bill Engvall Show), Amy Adams (The Office), and Melissa McCarthy (Gilmore Girls) did follow the Rachel pattern and even today credit TV for their success in films.

And then there were those who adopted the change easily

the veteran film actor and he even showed his interest to play it. Before Dhoop Kinaray and Ehsaas, Hameed Wyne and Sabiha Khanum were film veterans and TV gave them the chance to explore character acting like never before.

Even the star of Titanic, Shutter Island, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Leonardo DiCaprio (Growing Pains) began small as did Michael Douglas (The Streets of San Francisco), Denzel Washington (St. Elsewhere), Jared Leto (My So-Called Life), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (3rd Rock from the Sun), Idris Elba and Michael B. Jordan (The Wire), Benedict Cumberbatch (Fortysomething), Alec Baldwin (Knots Landing), Chris Evans (Opposite Sex), Michael Fassbender and Tom Hardy (Band of Brothers).

On one hand, Woody Harrelson was famous long before his film debut due to super successful sitcom Cheers, on the other, the currently most successful film actor in the world Samuel L Jackson had to be content with his career on TV and had to wait till the 1990s to make others note of

Once upon a time, it was considered degrading for film stars to appear on TV, as it was seen as a step backward. However, many actors across the world have used TV as a second option while doing well in films, including the legendary Anthony Hopkins, Nicole Kidman, and even Meryl Streep. If these Oscar winners can make the switch comfortably, then so can the rest and they have.

Gone are the days when actors with no successful films like Shakeel, Rahat Kazmi, and Faysal Quraishi had to fall back on TV to survive because now TV is becoming as huge as films. Even the legendary film actor Mohammad Ali who once said 'whoever doesn’t succeed in films, does well on TV' had to act in a TV drama after retiring from films. Not only it means that there is still hope for TV stars Sami Khan and Mikaal Zulfiqar, but also for those film actors who have looked down on TV for so many years.

Renowned film actor Shan Shahid is certainly not one of them because unknown to many, he acted in a TV drama Kachchay Dhaagay during the 1990s where film stars Mohsin Khan and Deeba Begum were also part of the cast. While his co-stars managed to do well on TV, Shan used the opportunity to make a comeback in films and hasn’t looked back since.

Deeba Begum’s frequent co-stars in films – Agha Talish and Sabiha Khanum –also appeared on TV as did film actor Hameed Wyne who in his second innings was more popular with the younger generation.

While Agha Talish’s only TV appearance happened a few years before his death, it is said that the character played by Subhani Ba Yunus in Tanhaiyyan was written for

On the other hand, not many Bollywood actors have transitioned well to TV and that has more to do with the popularity of Indian films. Even though Rohit Roy, Alok Nath, Shivaji Satam, and Aasif Sheikh are still doing well on TV, except for Rohit Roy, none are getting central roles in films. It’s different in Hollywood where the dynamics are changing, thanks to OTT platforms like Netflix, HBO Max, and others. Be it The Streets of San Francisco Karl Malden, everyone’s favorite detectives Telly Savalas aka Kojak and Peter Falk aka Columbo, the A-Team leader George Peppard, or more recently, the NCIS alumni Mark Harmon, they all appeared in films before entertaining the TV audience with their performances. In fact, Ernest Borgnine who played Dominic Santini in Airwolf had won an Oscar for Best Actor in the 1950s before switching allegiance and making McHale’s Navy popular on the smaller platform.

The act of migration of these actors was followed by film actors Jude Law, who was nominated twice for an Academy Award, Orlando Bloom who appeared in The Lord of the Rings franchise, in the Pirates of the Caribbean series, as well as the legendary Sir Anthony Hopkins who returned to the TV when Westworld was brought to the ‘idiot box’.

Former child star turned actress Dakota Fanning is amongst the many actresses who have managed to carve a separate identity for themselves in both films and TV. If you thought her performance in I Am Sam was good, then think again for she has transitioned into TV perfectly, through The Alienist. Academy Award winner Meryl Streep who appeared in the miniseries Angels in America, as well as the massively successful Big Little Lies opposite leading ladies Nicole Kidman, and Reese Witherspoon, are also there in the list.

The heartthrob of the 1990s Winona Ryder is now popular among the newer generation as the mother in Stranger Things. Penélope Cruz (American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace) and Jessica Lange (American Horror Story) aren’t far behind while Julia Roberts who had a famous guest appearance in Friends back in the 1990s ruled the airwaves when she starred in Homecoming in 2018.

From George Clooney to SRK to Nadeem all started from TV before making it huge!

KARACHI By Omair Alavi

From Hollywood to Bollywood, most of the big names began their careers on TV, and owe their success to the lesser-paid medium, which is now giving the ‘elder brother’ a tough time

By Dhuha Alvi KARACHI

Having reached an impasse, an imperceptible fall of Pakistani drama and its inability to come out of the mass-cultural morass, characterised by lack of novel ideas and conceptual gridlock, cannot be aptly described in couple of words. To be very honest, it can referred to as a declining sector, oscillating like a pendulum from one dead-end to another blind alley.

This is mainly because there are notices issued by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) for alleged obscenity and moral decay purported through TV serials. Much to our chagrin, most plays are based on a flurry of patriarchal storylines that corroborate the chronic mental constipation plaguing the current lots of playwrights and scriptwriters. .

As shown in today’s TV serials, women are pitted against each other not only in their relationships in the family mainly with their in-laws, but also with their best friends and sisters. It's almost as if all Pakistani women are inherently misogynist and go an extra length in putting other women down in order to make a good showing and thus win the men around them hands down. As one can see in TV shows, the only way a woman can secure her future is by securing her

a handsome (usually rich) man, and that’s it! In stark contrast, female characters are not featured as someone who has her own individual identity and personality distinct from those of the men ruling their lives, as was portrayed in the 1970s and 1980s, the golden age of Pakistani drama. The TV serial Dhoop Kinare, written by Haseena Moin, is the befitting example.

The people at the helm of the local entertainment industry have time and again expressed discontent with internationally produced content being shown in Pakistan, that too as the expense of locally produced content. All the same, they barely make any effort to bring innovation and diversity in the storyline, lead roles, characters and the whole shebang. Every next TV show is based on monotonous themes, such as marriage, saas-bahu and nand-bhaawaj rivalries, love triangles, and the binary of the good and woman.

Know how Mumbai police saved India’s financial capital and rid it of gangsters

By Omair Alavi KARACHI

If you have read Indian journalist Hussain Zaidi’s book about the Indian underworld, then Netflix’s documentary Mumbai Mafia: Police vs Underworld is something you shouldn’t miss. It provides you the visuals to his books Dongri to Dubai, Byculla to Bangkok and My Name is Abu Salem to name a few, while detailing how the Indian police were able to take back the control of India’s financial capital from those who considered themselves above the law.

Produced by Morgan Matthews and Sophie Jones and directed by Raaghav Dar and Francis Longhurst, this documentary follows the story of a city that wouldn’t have been saved had it not been for the heroic rise of its cops, who went overboard in their hunt for dangerous gangsters. However, unlike other such documentaries, this one also brings the dark side of law showing how some of the cops abused their power for their monetary gains and were later punished for that.

The documentary might be an eye-opener for those millennials who think that Mumbai never had gangsters because it shows them that there was a time that men from the underworld were ruling the city with an iron fist. Featuring the interview of policemen who were behind the end of gangsters in Mumbai, including the legendary Aftab Ahmed Khan who founded the now-notorious Anti-terrorism Squad (ATS), as well as journalist Hussain Zaidi who covered crime, this documentary covers every angle that would interest the viewers.

Since most of the encounter cops of the 90s

are still alive (Aftab Ahmed Khan died last year after recording his views), they all speak their minds about the need for encounters and how it helped save the city which was till then deemed unsavable. Would Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay) have been saved from crimes like extortion, terrorism, and murder had the encounter cops not been unleashed on them, that might

have been a million-dollar question but after going through this documentary, it seems unlikely that the city would have survived long had the cops not been there to save it.

Be it journalist Puja Changoiwala, former D Company member Shyam Kishore or later-disgraced cop Pradeep Sharma, everyone gives their side of the story in this documentary mak-

Needless to say, the good woman is always meek and mild, submissive, modest, religious, and mashriqi from head to toe. Her unquestionable subservience and lack of regard for her own well-being at the cost of pleasing others makes her a perfect example of a chaste, righteous woman, who deserves the viewers’ love and respect.

Ironically, she is not allowed to extend the same love and respect to her own self as this kind of rebellion is supposed to be a hallmark of a woman without moral values, commonly referred to as an evil witch. As things currently stand in TV drama serials today, these kinds of ultra-modern, financially independent and wayward women are responsible for the overall societal decay, and thus deserve the divine wrath so as to inform viewers (largely female) of repercussions of a being an independent woman.

On the contrary, most international content is based on a variety of real-life themes and genres such as sci-fi, thriller, rom-com, action, family drama, and comedy, as well as depiction of real-life stories of ordinary people. Frankly speaking, Pakistani production houses can also incorporate such riveting themes into their plays for an enriched and more exciting viewing experience. Our TV shows and plays condone domestic and marital violence against women and reinforce female stereotypes as caregivers and submissive souls. As is mostly shown in a whole host of TV drama serials, women are fallen in love with or are rescued by the very men who abuse them. Triggering visuals are thrown like confetti, without giving content warnings. There is no denying that most Pakistani women are denied of their basic rights.

However, today’s plays and drama series need to rekindle hope by helping them to realise and pursue these dreams, no matter the odds TV serial ‘Dil Na Umeed Toh Nahi’ is the most relevant example, since it was first rejected by some big media houses because of discussing controversial social issues, and proving the fact that our drama industry is i n a shambles.

Barring a few shows, most TV plays in Pakistan cling to socio-cultural stereotypes that revel in covering their head in public, in place of wearing a pair of jeans to substantiate moral credentials and compassion and kindness.

Furthermore, they promote misogynistic idea that all women seek pleasure in harming the other women around them, or in reducing their entire life’s purpose to getting married and maintaining that marriage, irrespective of an abusive spouse.

In a word, career-oriented, professionally ambitious women should not be shown as evil figures and they must be acknowledged for being a multitalented human being with their fair share of vices and virtues. We also need to see a more nuanced conceptualization of gender roles, class, religion, mental health, disabilities and the rest. Many issues like menstruation, neurodivergence, toxic parenting, and gender nonconformity, etc., should also be brought to the TV screen.

ing the audience aware of how it was 30 years

back in the city. The narration is fast-paced and the documentary is edited like a thriller, but it also has a shock value that would be taken differently by different generations. Those who lived in those times would be shocked by the cops’ admission to what they should have termed ‘hunting season’ while those who grew up in the new

millennium would be shocked to know that their country resembled the Wild West not long ago. Like the early days of lawmen in America, cops in India followed the ‘shoot first and ask questions later’ formula to clean the city of crime and grime, but when they should have stopped, they didn’t. And when the cause turned into a casual sport – with cops competing with each other for the highest number of gangsters killed – things began to go sideways and justice had to be served from above, and that’s exactly why encounter specialist Ravindra Angre seemed so angry on screen.

Add to that journalist Puja Changoiwala’s comments who said that cops killed five times more people than the death count in the Bombay bomb blasts and you will have an idea of what was going on in Mumbai during the 1990s. Journalists Alex Perry and a very animated Minty Tejpal also provide their two cents on the situation. While Alex Perry’s piece for an international publication caused a tremor in the Indian justice system, Minty Tejpal’s decision to call the historic Babri Masjid a ‘Muslim Mosque’ wouldn’t go down well with the audience.

Given it’s produced for Netflix, it should have been longer, had more participants, and treated the worldwide audience instead of just Mumbaikars or those who know about the city’s past.

It also fails to clear the misconception that only Dawood Ibrahim was behind everything that took place in the city, and doesn’t bring forward the names of his contemporaries and small-time goons who terrorized the city during the 1980s and the 1990s.

Some of the cops who were instrumental in bringing down the gangsters like former police commissioner Rakesh Maria who was at the helm during the Mumbai Blasts of 1993, and former ATS head Hemant Karkare who died saving the city fifteen years later, don’t get the mention they deserve in this documentary. It might have something to do with their relatively clean careers because most of the members interviewed somehow had a little blemish on their careers.

If you aren’t familiar with Hussain Zaidi’s work, then this documentary will make you want to know more about his writing, which is nothing short of a standard for all those who want to read about true crime. It wouldn’t be incorrect to say that in order to understand this 87-minute documentary fully, the readers must be well-versed in Mumbai's history and geography, which is something Hussain Zaidi excels in. It might be gripping and engaging from the beginning, till its very end but if you aren’t familiar with the grammar, the language might seem alien to you.

The people at the helm of the entertainment industry barely make any effort to bring innovation and diversity in the storyline

It's almost as if all Pakistani women are inherently misogynist and go an extra length in putting other women down in order to make a good showing and thus win the men around them hands down

AFP The streaming giant enticed 7.7 million new members in three months, bringing Netflix membership around the world to 230 million people US streaming giant Netflix ended last year with more than 230 million global subscribers, beating analysts' expectations as hits such as "Wednesday" and "Harry & Meghan" enticed new viewers.

"2022 was a tough year, with a bumpy start but a brighter finish," the company said in a letter announcing bumper fourth quarter earnings.

Netflix also announced that co-founder Reed Hastings was standing down as CEO, ending a 25-year leadership that saw the company grow from a rent-bymail DVD service to an entertainment juggernaut.

Hastings ceded control of Netflix to his two long-time associates Chief Operating Officer Greg Peters and Ted Sarandos, who has been the face of Netflix in Hollywood and had already been named co-CEO.

"It feels like yesterday was our IPO; we were covered in red envelopes," Hastings said during an earnings call.

"Hopefully, some of you have held the stock for all 21 years."

Netflix became a publicly traded company in early 2002 at an opening price of $15 a share.

Shares in the streaming television service were up nearly 7 percent to $337.31 in after-market trades that followed re-

lease of the earnings figures.

The Netflix board has been discussing succession planning for many years, Hastings pointed out in a blog post, joking "even founders need to evolve!"

He said he would hold the new job of executive chairman, noting this was a role that tech giant founders often take, using Amazon's Jeff Bezos and Microsoft's Bill Gates as examples.

The changing of the guard was announced as Netflix posted added subscribers that blew past even the most optimistic expectations.

The streaming giant said it enticed 7.7 million new members in three months, bringing Netflix membership around the world to 230 million people.

Netflix praised a successful slate of new content that included horror-themed comedy "Wednesday," saying the "Addams Family" spinoff was the company's third most popular series ever.

Royal tell-all documentary "Harry & Meghan" also scored, Netflix said, as well as "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery" starring Daniel Craig.

"This is in stark contrast to the first half of the year. Creating the next biggest blockbuster drives subscribers," said tech and media analyst Paolo Pescatore.

The fresh titles helped attract users to a new lower-priced "Basic with Ads" subscription, as consumers cut back on their entertainment spending amid soaring inflation and an uncertain economy.

Revenue in the October to December period, at $7.85 billion, was in line with estimates.

By Omair Alavi KARACHI

What comes to mind when you think of the 1960s? Except for those who were born between 1960 and 1969, for the rest, it seems like the era of Black and White TV sets, Mini Coopers, and England becoming Football champions.

However, Charlie Ellis’s’ You Know you’re a Child of the 1960s when … will make you realize that you had more in common with your ancestors than you can imagine.

The 1960s abroad were closer to the 1980s in Pakistan because, like the rest of the world (of the 1960s), we had one TV channel, we could walk home from school without any fear, and people used to play outside than inside. What this book tells the readers is that while many might think that the 1960s was some kind of alien time, it was not that much different from the era we had lived in, or are familiar with.

You Know you’re a Child of the 1960s when … is like the time machine from the movie Back to the Future with you being Marty McFly who drives into the past in a DeLorean at 88 miles per hour.

The culture shock he received in that film is exactly how you will receive this book because it talks about the past as if it was the present. It tells those who weren’t born in the 1960s about the decade they missed, and the 1960-born about the decade they were lucky to grow up in. The many hints about the past, the mention of important dates, and music albums are just the tip of the iceberg because this book covers more ground than you could imagine. It tells those who were alive in the 1960s about stuff they didn’t believe in like the strength and toughness of the Milky Bar Kid. It was the time when parents threatened to throw their out if they ever became a hippy or when man landed on the moon, literally. If you remember the last moment as well as going to a friend’s house to watch TV, Bobby Moore lifting the football World Cup, or being influenced by the Beatles or Elvis, then thank your stars for being born in the swinging sixties. Otherwise, the more you read this book, the more you will blame your parents for

bringing you into this world so late. After all, every house in the decade seemed to have a lava lamp, where every kid knew the difference between Dr. and Mr. Spock, and Christine Keeler stole youngsters' hearts, besides government secrets.

The best thing about this book is that it sort of educates the non-1960s folks about the decade through Quizzes about music, scientific achievements of the era as well as sports knowledge, besides making the 1960s folk relive their youth.

The worst part is that it's too Britaincentric and revolves around the TV commercials that aired in England, shops that did well in London, and magazines that had a huge circulation in – as you may have guessed – Great Britain. That sort of breaks the tempo of the really fun stuff that is available on these pages and it would be great if the author takes note of it and includes non-British stuff to increase readership. If you didn’t know who played the lead role in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, when was the modern-day tape recorder invented, or that the predecessor of the digital camera came into being in the 1960s, then you need to brush up your skills as a history student. It’s easy to remember that Dame

Diana Rigg was one of the two leads in The Avengers, that Elizabeth Taylor played Cleopatra and that the one and only Spartacus was Kirk Douglas, but how about knowing what made Wimpy Bar unique, how much did a pair of Levi’s cost in the 1960s, and which film got the ‘mature audience’ certificate for the first time. If you don’t know that, then this book is the answer, otherwise, be prepared for the long speech from your elders.

The next time your grandfather or any of the parents (depending on your age!) recall something from their era, don’t dismiss them outrightly. As this book will tell you, they lived a life better than yours and know a thing or two about what you might consider your domain. If you are one of those parents or grandparents who look down on their kids, then relive your days through this book and you will understand what the youngsters might be going through. All in all, it’s a perfect book to give you company and transport you back in time without moving out of your chair. Enjoy!

Netflix insists that counting new users is no longer the most important criteria for assessing the company's health and that revenue should instead be the main metric.

"What may be getting lost in the mix is that some number of new subscribers -- we don't know how many -- likely came in on Netflix's ad-supported tier," said Insider Intelligence principal analyst Paul Verna.

"That means, most likely, lower average revenue per subscriber, which is a measure Wall Street will be paying more attention to as Netflix's ad businesses scales up," he said.

Netflix goals this year include "nudging" viewers who use passwords shared by subscribers to pay their own way.

"We have high confidence in our ability to accelerate revenue throughout the course of the year as we scale ads and we launch paid sharing (of accounts)," said Netflix chief financial officer Spencer Neumann.

Netflix faces strong competition from deep-pocketed rivals, including Disney+, which has also introduced an adbased subscription.

But despite the challenges, Netflix is one of the rare tech giants to have garnered confidence from Wall Street with its share price up almost 50 percent in the past six months.

Other tech giants and Disney have been hammered on the markets as firms lay off employees and cut costs after a massive hiring and spending spree at the height of the Coronavirus pandemic.

AFP India's government has blocked videos and tweets sharing links to a BBC documentary about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's role during deadly 2002 sectarian riots, calling it "hostile propaganda and anti-India garbage".

The British broadcaster's programme alleges that the Hindu nationalist Modi, premier of Gujarat state at the time, ordered police to turn a blind eye to the orgy of violence there that left at least 1,000 people dead, most of them minority Muslims. Kanchan Gupta, an adviser to the government, tweeted that the Indian government used emergency powers under IT rules to block the documentary and its clips from being shared on social media.

"Videos sharing @BBCWorld hostile propaganda and anti-India garbage, disguised as 'documentary', on @YouTube and tweets sharing links to the BBC documentary have been blocked under India's sovereign laws and rules," he said.

Orders were also issued to Twitter to block over 50 tweets with links to YouTube videos. Both YouTube and Twitter have complied with the instructions, Gupta said.

Several tweets with clips of the documentary, "India: The Modi Question", which has not been aired in the world's largest democracy, were still available in January last week.

The 2002 riots in Gujarat began after

Kerala Students' Union activists placed a garland of footwear on an effigy of India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi after watching the BBC documentary "India: The Modi Question", at Ernakulam Law College in Kochi. PHOTOS: FILE

59 Hindu pilgrims were killed in a fire on a train. Thirty-one Muslims were convicted of criminal conspiracy and murder over that incident.

The BBC documentary cited a previously classified British foreign ministry report quoting unnamed sources saying that Modi met senior police officers and "ordered them not to intervene" in the anti-Muslim violence by right-wing Hindu groups that followed.

The violence was "politically motivated" and the aim "was to purge Muslims from Hindu areas", the foreign ministry report said.

The "systematic campaign of violence has all the hallmarks of ethnic cleansing" and was impossible "without the climate of impunity created by the state Government... Narendra Modi is directly responsible," it concluded.

Travel ban Modi, who ran Gujarat from 2001 until his election as prime minister in 2014, was briefly subject to a travel ban by the United States over the violence.

A special investigative team appointed by the Indian Supreme Court to probe the role of Modi and others in the violence said in 2012 it did not find any evidence to prosecute the then chief minister.

Gupta said multiple ministries had examined the documentary and "found it casting aspersions on the authority and credibility of Supreme Court of India, sowing divisions among various Indian communities, and making unsubstantiated allegations".

"Accordingly, @BBCWorld's vile propaganda was found to be undermining the sovereignty and integrity of India, and having the potential to adversely impact India's friendly relations with foreign countries as also public order within the country," he said.

It might seem like another dimension, but this book makes you relive the 1960s, with a smile!

Desk

BY Bold

Sunita Marshall is currently one of the leading models of Pakistan’s fashion industry. Having become a household name with her regular appearance in TV commercials in particular, Sunita Marshall has had an extensive career in this field, earning her many accolades and awards, including but not excluding Lux Style Award for Best Female Model. As a top model, she regularly appears at many fashion shows and fashion weeks such as PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week, organised by the Pakistan Fashion Design Council.

As an actress, Sunita Marshall has appeared in many TV serials and is best known for her roles in TV serials such as Khalish, Mera Saaein, Mera Saaein

2, Khuda Aur Muhabbat 3 and Sitamgar. In addition to that, she has also made a guest appearance in the TV serial ‘Dil-e-Beqarar.’

Born on April 9, 1981 in Dubai, she is an Arian by her zodiac sign and is a commerce graduate from St. Patrick's College in Karachi. Sunita Marshall is married to Hassan Ahmed, who is also a fashion model and actor.

Paying a tribute to her poverty-stricken childhood, Miss Universe Thailand is not shy of wearing the dress made of garbage

By Bold Desk

Anna Sueangam-iam, Miss Universe Thailand 2022, has recently made headlines for a good reason other than her surpassing beauty and dazzling glam. Hailed from a poor family background, Anna Sueangam-iam upped her fashion ante further, even going to the extent of wearing the dress made of garbage as a befitting tribute to her "garbage collector parents."

In her poverty-stricken childhood, the Thai model who would help her parents with their waste disposal task came to the Miss Universe pageant with a beaming smile and a shimmering, silver-coloured metallic attire, a mix of soda can tabs combined with Swarovski crystals, with a symbolic statement, which spoke more loudly about her down-to-earth approach than her seductive charm, and that too at the world’s top beauty contest.

Such a unique dress, which was more of an alluring piece of her rags-to-riches personal history imbued with penury, poverty and hardship, won the Thai model loads of acclaim and accolades as well as proved her beauty credentials being more skin deep, in place of splendour solely on the surface and pretty reliant at the face value.

Titled “My Gown — My Personal Statement to the Universe,” the photos of her sparkling, yet povertystricken outfit recently appeared on her Instagram handle with a caption, explaining why her dress, chosen for such a prestigious occasion, was an extraordinary idea, right from the word go. “This gown was inspired by the familiar surroundings of my childhood. Growing up with garbage collector parents, my life as a child was among piles of garbage and recyclables,” Anna Sueangam-iam, Miss Universe Thailand 2022, wrote.

Designed by Manirat, a Thailand-based fashion brand, the “Hidden Precious Diamond Dress” was based on hundreds of aluminium soda tabs and beautifully captured the 24-year-old model’s lifelong journey as a ‘diamond in the rough.’ “This unique gown was purposefully tailormade with discarded and recycled materials, namely the can tab to present to the universe that what’s considered worthless by many actually possesses its own value and beauty,” she wrote.

Earning her the sarcastic title of the “garbage beauty queen,” the Thai model went viral for this look and appreciated those who expressed their best wishes to her, saying, “Thank you all for seeing it, hearing it and hopefully, being that message of self-worth.”

Raised in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, she was later shifted to a local temple to be raised among Buddhist nuns. Living a childhood reeling below the poverty line, she used to clean bathrooms and collect plastic waste bottles to make her basic living as well as pay for her school tuition.

After winning the title of Miss Universe Thailand, Anna Sueangam-iam worked with different NGOs to provide deserving children with primary and secondary education. Though the Thai model failed to make it in the top 16 of the Miss Universe 2022 competition, she was given the Impact Wave Leadership award by the jury for her best advocacy efforts.

Rosy McMichae

Yovanna Ventura

Xochitl Gomez

Katherine McNamara

Iman Ali personifies mellowing grace, exuberant glamour and glaring glint from head to heels. Simply a drop-dead gorgeous diva from the word go, she embodies in one soul an unusual range of talents that transcend age and eclipse the shine of the leading stars that currently represent Pakistan’s showbiz. As pretty as a picture, Iman Ali merits to be seen and admired time and again as a beauty to be believed

By Bold Desk Hindi classical music had its origin in Pakistan’s Pashtun belt of the Hindu Kush region. It was claimed by Dr Rashid Ahmad Khan, the PhD scholar who has recently completed his eight-year research on Pashto music, its origins and evolution in the region.

Talking to the media, Dr. Rashid Ahmad Khan presented the findings of his yearslong research work titled ‘Critical Analysis of Pashto Music.’ He said that his main thesis and extensive research was basically aimed at exploring Pashto music as well as defining the nature of the variations between different traditions of the folk melody, which is ‘as old as the Gandhara Civilization dating back to 1500 BC.’

Giving more details about his research to substantiate his viewpoint, Dr Rashid Ahmad Khan said the origin of Indian classical music dated back to the Vedic scriptures over 3,500 years ago where chants developed a system of musical notes and rhythmic cycles.

“It is an agreed history fact, which was also proved in my research that the Vedic initial phrases are written in Pakhtunkhwa’s mountain ranges as the holy book also has mentions of different rivers of our region like Swasto for Swat, Somo Kromo for Kurram and the famous Kabul river. The initial phrases of Vedic were related to areas including Hindu Kush, Nangarhar, Mardan, Swat and Peshawar valley,” he added.

By Bold Desk Najam

Sethi, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and father of Pasoori-singer Ali Sethi, has said that due to an apparent conflict of interest his son would not be able to sing the official anthem of the eight season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) being held in Pakistan in February-March this year.

During a press conference, Najam Sethi said Ali Sethi by himself was eager to sing the PSL 8 anthem in the event’s inaugural ceremony in Multan. However, according to Chairman PCB, because of him being the head honcho of the Pakistan’s most powerful cricket board, Ali Sethi would not sing on the occasion and stay away from the PSL in order to not "be a part of a controversy".

During a press conference in January, the PCB chairman announced the PSL 8 schedule. Referring to Ali Sethi’s song ‘Pasoori’ as well as his voice as an “international phenomenon,” one of the reporters on the occasion kind of complained that Najam Sethi was “depriving a popular voice” from singing the most-awaited PSL anthem.

“Look, it’s a very sensitive issue and

even I’m upset about it, perhaps Ali is as well. He came with the company with whom he sang ‘Pasoori’ for the PSL’s anthem. Usman and everyone else was discussing bringing Ali and of course, he wanted to be here and they wanted him to sing. But look at my position,”

Najam Sethi replied. He said according to many people Ali Sethi is no doubt “the best talent,” but the other half of them would say “it’s not right or appropriate and that it’s conflict of interest, wondering how much I would’ve paid my own son, so

on and so forth. So no need to be a part of a controversy,” he replied.

According to PCB Chairman, Pakistan has many talented male and female singers who could sing the PSL 8 anthem as for his son Ai Sethi, he can only sing for the PSL when Najam Sethi is

no longer heading the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

‘Pasoori,’ the trademark song of Ai Sethi, became an international phenomenon in 2022 to such an extent that it emerged as the ‘most streamed Pakistani song of 2022’ on Spotify and its music video was viewed by 499 million times on YouTube, the world’s largest online streaming platform. Since the release of Pasoori in the Coke Studio Season 14 in February last year, the song has been heard over 20o million times on Spotify, one of the world’s largest music streaming service providers headquartered in Sweden. In the previous editions of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), such leading singers as Atif Aslam, Aima Baig, and Abdullah Siddiqui collaborated for the league’s 7th edition song, ‘Agay Dekh’, Naseebo Lal Aima Baig, and Young Stunners’ ‘Guru Mera’ for the 6th edition in 2021, Arif Lohar, Asim Azhar, Harron, and Ali Azmat for ‘Tayyar Hain’ in the year 2020 and Young Desi and Fawad Khan for ‘Khel Deewano Ka’ for the PSL 4 season in 2019. For the earlier seasons, singer Ali Zafar sang the official anthems of the PSL, including ‘Ab Khel Ke Dikha,’ ‘Ab Khel Jamay Ga’ and ‘Dil Se Jaan Laga De.’

By Bold Desk

By Bold Desk

Arooj Aftab, a U.S.-based Pakistani singer, songwriter, composer and producer, will perform at the Grammy Awards premiere ceremony this year, becoming the first South Asian to achieve the unique honour.

Sharing the good news in her recent post on her Instagram handle, Arooj Aftab wrote, "I simply cannot wait to play my Grammy-nominated jam Udhero Na featuring Anoushka Shankar with her live for you at the Grammys.”

Arooj asked her fans and music lovers to watch her performance on February 5 at 12:30pm Pakistan Standard Time which will be aired live on YouTube along with the official website of the Recording Academy.

“Oh my God! ‘Udhero Na’ has been nominated for a Grammy. Congratulations to me and to Anoushka Shankar, Maeve Gilchrist and Nadje Noordhuis,” the U.S.-based Pakistani singer added.

Other than Arooj Aftab, many other well-known singers and music stars are going to perform at Grammys this year. The names include Bad Bunny, Brandi Carlile, Kim Petras, Lizzo, Luke Combs, Mary J. Blige, Sam Smith and Steve Lacy.

Arooj Aftab, a globally acclaimed singer who is well-adept in a variety of many musical styles and idioms such as neo-Sufi, minimalism, and jazz, was nominated for the Best New Artist award and won the Best Global Music Performance award for her rendition "Mohabbat kerne walay kam naa hun ge" at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards in 2022. Arooj Aftab is also the recipient of the Pride of Performance Award by the President of Pakistan.

Being the first-ever Pakistani singer to be nominated for a Grammy, she received heaps of applause and praise from the leading celebrities, showbiz personalities and social media users for achieving yet another

According to Dr. Rashid, ‘the initial followers of Hinduism formed three rhymes: Swarit, Anudat and Odat. Those rhymes marked the beginning of Hindi classical musical learning and later transformed into the very basic lesson of ‘sare gama pa da ni sah.’ The Hindi classical music had a very close connection with Pashto folk music which became finer with the passage of time and with the progress of civilization,’ he explained.

To carry out his research thesis on Pashto music, Dr Rashid visited different areas and cities in both Afghanistan and

milestone in her brief music career.

As her life story goes, Arooj Aftab was born to Pakistani parents who were expatriates in Saudi Arabia and later returned to their hometown in Lahore. She spent her teenage period in Pakistan before relocating to the City of Boston in Massachusetts in the United States. At Boston, she took admission in the Berklee College of Music to study engineering along with music production as majors.

In the United States, Arooj Aftab released her studio album titled ‘Vulture Prince’, but she gained global attention after her rendition of an Urdu ghazal, "Mohabbat kerne walay kam naa hun ge." Her beautiful rendition also found its place in the summer playlist of Barack Obama, the former U.S. president.

Arooj Aftab has performed at several major international venues such as the Museum of Modern Art, the Lincoln Centre, The Brooklyn Steel and many others.

Pakistan and interviewed more than 2,000 musicians, folk artistes and music experts. His thesis has covered the four main traditions in Pashto music, such as Kandahari, Logar, Yousafzai, and Pakitiaee. “I travelled to many cities and museums in KPK, Balochistan and even in Afghanistan to dig out history, eras and evolution of Pashto folk music alongside musical instruments that helped Pashto folk rhythmical expressions survive to date. I have defined the rules, modes, vocals, instruments, instrumental sounds, chords and features to elaborate the differences be-

To highlight the plight of Pakistan’s flood victims, a special song titled 'Aao Hum Kuch Aisa Karein,’ captioned in English as ‘Acts of Humanity,’ was released last month.

Aimed at highlighting the on-going humanitarian crisis and plight of millions of flood victims displaced in the province of Sindh in particular, the song 'Aao Hum Kuch Aisa Karein’ was especially released before Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif headed to Geneva, Switzerland for an international conference titled ‘Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan,’ which was held by the United Nations to support Pakistan in its flood recovery efforts.

The special track was part of the move to appeal to the international donors to play their part in helping out of the country’s millions of people ravaged by devastating monsoon floods that engulfed a major part of the country, almost a third of Pakistan in the months of June, July and August last year.

A senior officer of the Foreign Service of Pakistan, Shakeel Asghar Malik penned, composed and sung the soulful music track. Previously, Shakeel Asghar Malik, who is a practitioner of cultural representation and public diplomacy, released a national song “Pakistan Tu Meri Jaan,’ which also became popular across the country. He also has to his credit another national song “Rakhwalay Mere Des Ke”, honouring the selfless commitment of the Army soldiers in fighting with the anti-state elements and terrorists sponsored by the enemies of the country.

Captioned ‘Acts of Humanity’ in English, the song 'Aao Hum Kuch Aisa Karein’ was recorded under the professional guidance of Mujahid

Hussain, a veteran music maestro. Drawing the world’s attention towards the repercussions of climate change-induced natural disasters, the song 'Aao Hum Kuch Aisa Karein’ calls for the united action by the global community to rise to the occasion in order to support the most vulnerable countries and regions in helping them deal with the devastating blows from global warming and climate change.

tween these music traditions,” he said.

After the arrival of Buddhism in the Pashtun belt during the Kushan dynasty, according to him, the Hindus started moving and settling in other parts of the subcontinent, along with their cultural norms and musical instruments. The Pashto music scholar said that ‘Veena’ is the historical name of a tradi-

tional wooden musical instrument called ‘Rabab,’ its roots are found in the Pashtun belt and in different shapes in historic evidence of the Gandhara period. He said that most Rabab players were mainly living in Afghanistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa regions, not in Syria, India or Arab.

“The rich musical history of the Gandhara region needs exploration of more

facts and for this purpose, music should be introduced as a subject in our curriculum so that more information could be dug out,” he said.

Dr. Rashid Ahmed Khan said the prevailing wave of terrorism and extremism in the Pashtun belt of Afghanistan and Pakistan is detrimental to music evolution and promotion in the region.

The Pashto music scholar, Dr Rashid Ahmed Khan carried out an eight-year long research on Pashto music, its origins and evolution

The Pasoori-singer can only sing for the PSL when Najam Sethi is no longer a part of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)

She will become the first South Asian singer to perform at the Grammy Awards

The track 'Aao Hum Kuch Aisa Karein’ highlights the plight of flood-ravaged people in Pakistan

By Asra Ali

Rice cereal

Take 1 cup of rice in a large bowl and rinse the rice with enough water.

Drain off the water and spread rice on a clean kitchen towel.

Allow rice to dry for 30 minutes. You can sun-dry rice to hasten the process.

Take dried rice and roast on a low flame for at least 10 minutes until the rice is fully dry. Put the mixture in a blender to make a fine powder out of it. Sieve the powder by using a fine mesh to prevent any grains from falling off.

Store the homemade cereal mixture in an airtight container and use it for up to a month.

Wheat cereal

• Take 1 tablespoon of mixture in a clean saucepan.

• Add 1 cup of water whisk the mixture to make sure there are no lumps. Place the pan on a low flame and stir continuously. Cook for 10-12 minutes or until the mixture thickens and is cooked completely. Finally, serve the homemade baby food, which is ideal for babies above 6 months.

Lentil cereal

AFP Brooke Shields revealed she was raped as a young Hollywood actress in new documentary "Pretty

Baby: Brooke Shields," which premiered at the Sundance film festival last week. The former supermodel did not reveal the identity of her attacker, but said she met with the man -- someone she already knew -- soon after she graduated college, believing it was a work meeting to discuss casting her in a new film. He took her back to his hotel, claiming he would call her a taxi from his room. He instead disappeared to the bathroom before returning naked and assaulting her, she said.

"It was like wrestling... I was afraid I could get choked out or something," Shields recalled in the documentary.

• Take a large bowl, put ½ cup of mong daal and an equal amount of masoor daal in the bowl and rinse the lentils with enough water.

• Drain off the water and spread the lentils on a clean kitchen towel. Dry them for at least 30 minutes. You can sun-dry to hasten the process. Take dried lentils and roast them on a low flame for at least 10 minutes until they are fully dry. Put the mixture in a blender and make a fine powder out of it. Sieve the powder by using a fine mesh to prevent any grains from falling off. Store the homemade cereal mixture in an airtight container and use it for up to a month.

"I didn't fight that much. I didn't. I just absolutely froze. I thought that my one 'no' should have been enough. And I just thought 'stay alive and get out.'" After the incident, Shields recalled phoning her friend and security head Gavin de Becker, who told her: "That's rape." She replied "I'm not willing to believe that," and has not spoken of the incident publicly until now. The revelation -- which echoes #MeToo revelations by prominent and lesser-known Hollywood actresses in recent years -- is one of several shocking moments in the film, which will be released on the Hulu streaming platform in two parts. Part one examines the intense sexualization Shields experienced as a young girl, including a provocative nude photoshoot at age 10, and her appearance as a child prostitute in the film "Pretty Baby" at age 11. The documentary shows a young Shields being asked lascivious questions by much older male chat show hosts about her roles in films such as "Blue Lagoon" and "Endless Love," and the series of controversial Calvin Klein jeans commercials

AFP

One of the last icons of the Golden Age of Hollywood, Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida, whose death at the age of 95 was announced in January last week, was famed for her biting wit and sensual beauty.

Bringing much-needed glamour and pizzazz to the post-war period, she stirred hearts whether as an onscreen gypsy, queen or single mother.

Humphrey Bogart, who she starred opposite in her breakthrough film "Beat the Devil" in 1953, said Lollobrigida made "Marilyn Monroe look like Shirley Temple."

Best known for Luigi Comencini's 1953 classic "Bread, Love and Dreams", and Jean Delannoy's 1956 "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", Lollobrigida starred with many of the leading men of the time, including Errol Flynn and Burt Lancaster.

While she had a "crazy good time" with a playful Bogart, not all the shoots were as fun. Her co-star in wartime romancer "Never So Few", Frank Sinatra, had "zero sense of humour", she told Variety in 2018, when she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Actress by accident

Luigia "Gina" Lollobrigida was born on July 4, 1927 in Subiaco, a mountain village 50 kilometres (30 miles) east of Rome. She began to study sculpture after her family moved to the capital, supporting herself by singing and modelling before attracting the attention of Italian film producers. She said her entry into acting was an accident.

"I refused when they offered me my first role. They insisted again... So I told

them my price was one million lire, thinking that would put a stop to the whole thing. But they said yes!" she told Vanity Fair.

Italians then dubbed her their answer to Elizabeth Taylor after her signature film

"La Donna Piu Bella del Mondo" ("The Most Beautiful Woman in the World") in 1955.

She had an infamous long-standing rivalry with fellow Italian diva Sophia Loren.

When Loren claimed she was the "bustier" one, Lollobrigida hit back, saying Loren could play a peasant, but never a lady, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Affectionately dubbed "La Lollo" by fans, she played the queen in "Solomon and Sheba" in 1959 and a single mother in "Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell", garnering a Golden Globe nomination for her performance.

A cinema sex symbol, she was pursued for years by US tycoon Howard Hughes, who brought her to Hollywood, and by Prince Rainier of Monaco, at the time still married to Princess Grace.

"I've had many lovers and still have romances," she was quoted by several British newspapers as saying in 2000. "I am very spoiled."

She was married in her early 20s to Slovenian doctor Milko Skofic, with whom she had a son before they divorced in 1971.

In 2006, aged 79, she announced plans to marry Spanish long-time partner Javier Rigau Rafols, 34 years her junior, but they split up a year later.

Lollobrigida accused him in 2013 of having tricked her into signing documents allowing him to marry her by proxy, with a stand-in, in a civil ceremony in Spain.

"My experience has been that, when I have found the right person, he has run away from me," she told Vanity Fair magazine in 2015. "I am too strong, too

AFP Farha, the Arabic-language film, tells the story of a Palestinian teenager, whose village comes under attack by Israeli forces Jordanian film "Farha", vehemently criticised in Israel, is based on true events and represents "only a drop in the ocean" of Palestinian suffering, director Darin J. Sallam said.

Released last month on Netflix, "Farha" depicts atrocities against Palestinians during the 1948 conflict following Israel's creation, which Palestinians call the Nakba, or "catastrophe".

The Arabic-language film tells the story of a Palestinian teenager, Farha, whose village comes under attack by Israeli forces.

Her father hides her and, through a crack in a door, she witnesses the execution a family of Palestinian civilians, including two girls.

Sallam, 35, said the plot for her first full-length feature was inspired by a story told to her by her mother, about a Palestinian woman named Radiyeh.

The film recounts "the story of a girl who had been forced to abandon her dreams because of events she had no control over", Sallam said.

"Farha" featured in the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival and has won a dozen awards in other festivals.

In Israel, where discussion of alleged atrocities during the 1948 war remains largely taboo, officials condemned Netflix over the decision to stream the film.

"I wanted to open the world's eyes to this pivotal moment in the history... and to show that this land was not

popular."

The marriage was annulled by a Vatican court in 2019.

Photojournalism

Lollobrigida won seven David di Donatello awards during her career, Italy's Oscar equivalent. But by the 1970s she had turned from acting to sculpture and photojournalism, including getting a scoop interview and photo shoot with Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

without people," Sallam said, of what is now Israel and the Palestinian territories.

"Rather, it was a land with people who had lives, dreams, hopes and history."

'I am Farha'

The film was shot in the northern Jordan towns of Ajlun and Al-Fuhais, which resemble the Palestinian village where Farha's story begins.

The teenage girl tries to persuade her father to let her complete her studies in the city, prepares for a friend's wedding, and picks figs before her village is attacked.

Sallam said she avoided showing violence, with the exception of the unarmed family's killing.

"This scene, which shook the Israeli government, is only a drop in the ocean of the suffering of millions of Palestinians during the Nakba," she said.

Sallam called for more filmmakers to explore this painful chapter in Palestinian history, which "almost never appears in cinema".

Her mother, of Syrian origin, had heard Radiyeh's story at a refugee camp in that country and passed it on to her, "and I decided to make a film and share it".

"Radiyeh had been locked up by her father who feared for her, and when she was finally able to come out of hiding she went to Syria," Sallam said. "That's where she told the story to my mother."

The filmmaker said she had "lost all contact with this woman", a resident of the war-ravaged Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk, north of Damascus, since fighting in Syria began in 2011. After one screening of the film in the United States, an audience member spoke to Sallam.

She travelled the world, snapping celebrities from Henry Kissinger to Indira Gandhi, Maria Callas, Liza Minnelli, Salvador Dali, Audrey Hepburn and Ella Fitzgerald.

She also nurtured political ambitions: in 1999 she ran, unsuccessfully, for a seat in the European Parliament. She was back in the spotlight in 2021, amid a bitter legal battle with her son over her fortune.

Italy's Supreme Court ruled that she

needed a legal guardian to stop people preying on her wealth, because of a "weakening" in her perception of reality.

Despite that, in 2022 she attempted once more to enter politics, with a failed bid for a seat in the Italian parliament.

In a 2019 interview with AGI news agency, Lollobrigida said she wanted to be remembered for more than just her work in cinema.

"For my sculptures and above all for my photography."

Gina Lollobrigida in five films

Here are five movie classics starring Italy's iconic Hollywood actress Gina Lollobrigida, who died on Monday.

'Bread, Love and Dreams' (1953)

Lollobrigida shot to stardom in this neo-realist comedy as a feisty, knockout peasant girl who attracts the attentions of a womanising older police chief (Vittorio De Sica) while herself holding a torch for one of his young officers.

Lollobrigida's star was born the minute she entered the action, riding side saddle on a donkey with a coquettish smile.

Of all her films it was her favourite. "It fits me like a glove, the character," she told The New York Times in an interview years later. "It's very full of fire. Was like me."

'Beat the Devil' (1953)

In 1953, Lollobrigida made her Hollywood breakthrough in John Huston's enjoyable caper about a bunch of crooks waiting in an Italian port town to board a steamer to east Africa, where they hope to make a fortune in uranium. She plays the temptress wife of an American soldier of fortune played by Humphrey Bogart in the film, which was shot on the Amalfi Coast.

Truman Capote wrote the screenplay

she starred in.

After experiencing global fame as a teenager, Shields attended university at Princeton, and initially struggled to find acting roles again after she graduated -- leading to the meeting with her alleged rapist.

The film, which earned Shields a standing ovation at its Sundance premiere, also chronicles the media's later obsession with her virginity, her mother's alcoholism, and her first marriage to tennis star Andre Agassi. It features several of Shields' famous friends including Lionel Richie, Laura Linney and Drew Barrymore. Shields, 57, said it "felt like the right time in my life" to participate in a documentary, but that she never wanted to "become shut down." "The industry that I was in really primes you to be shut down and I just didn't want to lose to that. I didn't want to become that victim."

for the feature, which Huston turned into a spoof of "The Maltese Falcon", his earlier noirish flick starring Bogart.

'Trapeze' (1956)

Lollobrigida joined Britain's Carol Reed for this circus romp with Tony Curtis and Burt Lancaster, which was a hit at the US box office.

Shot in Paris, the film involving a troupe of competitive acrobats, with Lollobrigida as an ambitious but not-so-talented trapeze artist, scooped prizes at the Berlin film festival.

'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' (1956)

As Gypsy dancer Esmeralda in this lush colour adaptation of Victor Hugo's classic novel, Lollobrigida starred opposite Anthony Quinn's hunchback Quasimodo.

Directed by French director Jean Delannoy with a mostly French-speaking cast, Lollobrigida enchanted in a red flowing dress with a dagger in her belt.

The film was a big hit among Paris crowds and in the United States.

A keen sculptor, Lollobrigida studied the art in Rome and exhibited her work internationally, including in Paris where she unveiled a five-metre-high (16-foot-high) bronze Esmeralda in 2003.

'Buona Sera, Mrs Campbell' (1968)

Picking up a Golden Globe film nomination for this comic role, Lollobrigida played a single mother attracting the interest of three soldiers vying to pay her child support.

Veteran US critic Roger Ebert praised Lollobrigida's performance, "projecting the kind of innocence that is necessary if the situation isn't going to seem vulgar". For her performance she won Italy's top award, a David di Donatello.

"A woman aged in her eighties who had survived the Nakba told me: 'I am Farha'", she said.

Former Israeli minister Avigdor Lieberman, who had served in government until Benjamin Netanyahu returned to power last month, said in November the film's "whole purpose is to create a false pretence and incite against Israeli soldiers".

Chili Tropper, Israel's former culture minister, said "Farha" shows "lies and libels".

For Sallam, whose father is Palestinian, "denying the Nakba is denying my existence, denying the tragedy of millions of people."

"My own father survived the Nakba. He... fled to Jordan with his parents." Sallam's father was born in Ramle, in what is now central Israel. Most of its Arab residents fled or were forced from their homes during the 1948 conflict, as were more than 760,000 Palestinians across the country.

Many of their descendants live to this day in Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.

More than half of Jordan's population of about 10 million people are of Palestinian origin, the result of mass displacement in 1948 and during the 1967 Six-Day War, when Israel occupied the West Bank and east Jerusalem.

Last year, Israeli director Alon Schwarz faced backlash over his documentary on an alleged 1948 massacre of Palestinians in Tantura, a Mediterranean village in the northwest of what is now Israel.

Calls have mounted in recent years, including among Israeli activists, for greater transparency about the conduct of nascent Israeli forces during the 1948 conflict.

By Minaal Mohsin Maan ISLAMABAD

‘Great theatre is about challenging how we think and encouraging us to fantasize about a world we aspire to,’ says Willem

Dafoe, an American film actor.

The play ‘Saadhay 14 August,’ written by Anwar Maqsood and directed by Dawar Mehmood under the banner of KopyKats Productions, fits well to the afore-written words expressed by the American actor.

Chronologically speaking, the play trilogy began with the debut of ‘Pawnay 14 August’ in 2011. It was followed by ‘Sawa 14 August,’ while ‘Saadhay 14 August’ marks the conclusion of the trilogy, featuring the history of the Partition of the subcontinent into the two states of Pakistan and India. After its massive success in Karachi with about 100 shows since the play’s first performance, ‘Saadhay 14 August’ was recently staged in Islamabad at the Pakistan National Council of Arts, while a special show of the play was held for Pakistan President, Dr Arif Alvi and the First Lady. After its successful run in Islamabad, the cast and crew are all set to perform the play at the Alhamra Art Centre in Lahore.

Depicting the watershed moment of the Partition, ‘Saadhay 14 August’ begins with an allegation of mass murder on both Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Mahatma Gandhi. The UK premier Winston Churchill demands the two leaders to claim responsibility for the deaths of millions of people at the time of Partition. In so doing, Churchill follows them as they travel to Kashmir, Lahore, New Delhi and finally,

London where they are tried in court for an alleged crime they are accused of.

As the two leaders visit each city, we see the unrest and turmoil over there, leading to a humanitarian crisis. The play also highlights the current political climate, which is depicted through a captivating set and is verbally narrated through a precise blend of thought-provoking oneliners and between-the-line messages, laced with compassion and stellar acting performances.

The play truly portrays the suffering of the Kashmiris at the hands of Indian security forces, along with the extreme political unrest, widespread fear and the associated mob mentality in a culturally

vibrant city of Lahore. However, the vibe darkened when the two leaders travel to New Delhi, a ghastly scene which reminds the audience of brutality and barbarism engulfing the Partition of 1947. The sounds of screams and utter chaos, accompanied by a dull music in the background, optimised the aura of shock and terror that surrounded the blood-ridden partition.

The play ended by a monologue by Jinnah, which had the theatre listening to him in rapt attention reminded them of the true meaning of being a Pakistani, the sacrifices that were made to create an independent country, and of the moral decay prevailing all over the place today, laced with a message of hope and optimism.

“Even though we continue to be divisive about the issues that plague Pakistan today, it is also essential to introspect and tackle these matters with humility and compassion,” according to Dawar Mehmood, the director of the play. “Working with a legendary name like Anwar Maqsood is indeed a matter of great honour, but it also makes one pay extra attention to detail. He is the sort of person that you don’t want to disappoint, and we were all determined to do justice to his brilliant script,” he added. Making the audience laugh until they were in tears, ‘Saadhay 14 August,’ was indeed a brilliant production in all measures.

By Bold Desk Sajal

Aly is all set to reincarnate Umrao Jaan in an eight-part eponymous drama series, based on the classic Urdu novel titled ‘Umrao Jaan Ada.’ Originally written by Mirza Hadi Ruswa, an Indian Urdu poet and writer, the 19thcentury novel ‘Umrao Jaan Ada’ is globally known for its beautiful portrayal of the diverse culture, multilingual society, the prevailing literary environment and the lives of courtesans in the 19th-century India.

Though the novel ‘Umrao Jaan Ada’ has had a number of on-screen adaptations, both in Pakistan and India, the latest is being helmed by Pakistan-based TV producer and director Hamid Hussain. “I can't reveal much at this point but yes, we are working on an Umrao Jaan Ada adaptation with Sajal in the lead role," Hamid Hussain stated.

He said that Umrao Jaan, starring Sajal Ali and many other leading names, is an eight-part series, rather than a feature film. "It's going to be an eight-part series and not a film. We are working on a two female lead cast for this series and Sajal is one of them," according to Hamid Hussain.

He believes the recent adaptation of Umrao Jaan Ada is not entirely based on the classic novel as the 8-part series will turn out

to be a never-seen-before narrative. "Since it's not a three-hour film but a series, we have more leeway to work better on the characters and build the story in a more refined manner."

Hussain added that the latest adaptation of Umrao Jaan Ada relies “heavily on the original Urdu version of the novel, unlike the film adaptations that had taken creative liberties to fit the story into a film narrative, as there is a lot in the novel that has never been shown in an audio-visual project.”

According to Hussain, Sajal Aly is the perfect choice to play the titular role of Umrao Jaan. He said, "It's an old-school romantic drama, and Sajal has that perfect look. She was the apt choice to nail the regality and elegance required for someone to be cast in Umrao Jaan."

In Pakistan, the film Umrao Jaan Ada, starring film actress Rani in the lead role, was directed by Hasan Tariq in 1972. Starring Rekha, Naseeruddin Shah, Raj Babbar and Farooque Shaikh, the Indian blockbuster ‘Umrao Jaan’ was produced by Muzaffar Ali in 1981, while J.P. Dutta’s adaptation starred Aishwarya Rai, Abhishek Bachchan, Sunil Shetty and Shabana Azmi.

In addition to the aforementioned films, the classic novel also inspired two Indian films ‘Mehndi’ and ‘Zindagi Ya Toofan,’ directed respectively by S.M. Yusuf and Nakhshab Jarchavi.

Former TV host and actress Sanam Jung wanted to quit showbiz over ‘fat-shaming’ messages

By Bold Desk

The world of showbiz can be referred to as the realm of dichotomy where socalled beauty ideals are confined within one’s vital statistics and are usually measured by predefined bodily features. This is the place where the craze for being slim, smart and fair turns into a kind of socially-induced psychosis as every man jack of this beauty-obsessed world seems to be running after the whole shebang in order to become an alluring, yet socially-acceptable figure at the expense of his immeasurable individual grace and profound personal charm.

By Bold Desk

Being held from February 24 to 26 in Karachi, Bohra Food Festival will be the first-of-its-kind experience for the people of the city, which will help them learn about the Bohra culture through its variety of food such as Thaal, a Bohra staple and a defining element of their cuisine. The festival will also feature other cuisines ranging from Turkish,

Japanese, Chinese, and various other local and international foods and delicacies.

Being held on the rooftop of the North Walk in North Nazimabad, Karachi, the 3-day festival will have something for the entire family, with a photo booth and a kids' play area to keep the little ones occupied with games and slides while their parents can enjoy the festivities.

All the income generated through the festival will go to a charity.

Though fat shaming is a phenomenon as old as mankind, it has recently become the talk of the town, particularly in the showbiz world where one’s shallow beauty speaks louder than one’s inner self and large heartedness. Sanam Jang, the former TV host and actress, is no exception as she has also been the victim of fat shaming, particularly in the last few years. Revealing her painful story for the first time in public, she shared her unpleasant experience of being critically judged for her excessive weight gain and said that she wanted to quit her showbiz career owing to the frequency of fat-shaming messages she was consuming in everyday life, overtly and covertly.

Talking to the media, Sanam Jang opened up about a host of wardrobe and dressing room issues she had to confront after putting on some weight. “I do remember when I was expecting Alaya, it was very tough for me to find clothes — I was doing morning shows at the time,” the Alvida actor said.

“Even after that, it was quite difficult for

Jashn-e-Sepma 2023 will take place for the first time in the U.S.

By Bold Desk Shaan-e-Pakistan Music Awards (SEMPA) is aimed at promoting local talent in the field of art, music, food, and fashion talent by creating a cultural exchange between countries. Enjoying a strategic collaboration with international artisans, SEPMA has recently announced the holding of JASHN-E-SEPMA, along with the launch of Jashne-Sepma Business Awards, which will take place this year in the United States.

According to Huma Nassr, CEO and Founder of Shaan-e-Pakistan, the Jashn-e-Sepma 2023, a 3-day festival, will provide a golden opportunity to Pakistani traders, artists and designers to exhibit their work internationally.

Celebrating Pakistan in the United States by facilitating local traders, SMEs and young entrepreneurs, the Jashne-Sepma 2023 will serve a long way to create a new breed of Pakistani exporters, showcasing their products and services to international buyers in the areas of technology, entertainment, FMCG, textiles, garments, pharmaceutical along with alternative medicines, and many others.

me as designers have limited sizes and not everybody wants to give you clothes when you’re a certain size, which is really sad. It’s not fair. Why? Why do you always think that these clothes would only suit a thin girl? I also feel like stylists don’t want to style you. They only want to style those who are safe — they say ‘This is safe, this is easy.’ Yeah, that happens.”

Sanam said that people tend to pass their remarks, mostly in an indirect manner. “And many a time, they convey the message without wording it directly. Yeah, that has happened to me — wardrobe issues are a big problem, ask my team.”

Having been greatly stricken by this,

Sanam Jung reached the point of giving up everything. “For some time, I gave up. I had become like this [hides face] — I don’t want to do it, I don’t want to appear on television, I don’t want to work. This is very disturbing for me, I am already going through postpartum, I don’t understand how to handle my child, I’m a new mother — I don’t know what’s happening with me and then I’m reading comments. People are sharing in this magazine that, ‘Oh, people said this to Sanam.’ How weight gain should not be an issue and they were sharing all those comments was really depressing. I would be lying if I say I was not affected.”

She acknowledged the fact that such

frequent episodes of fat-shaming severely affected her to the point where she found it quite tough to continue doing what she loved to do. The Dil-e-Muztar actor said she was lucky enough to have family support that helped her go through with the painful ordeal. “When I used to come home and share this with my husband, he would hold my hands and say, ‘Sanam, you are beautiful’,” she added.

“Why do people think she’ll look beautiful only if she’s thin? I feel this to this day. I could step out of it but it hurts, it feels difficult and you get depressed,” Sanam said. “I used to stand behind a chair when my show would open, in my master shot, I would place the cue cards in front of my stomach after spreading them. How disturbing is that you’re working and this is what’s going on at the back of your head. ‘Assalamulaikum, welcome to’ Jaago Pakistan,’ and I’m half covered by the chair so I appear less.” Playing a plus-sized character in her new TV serial, ‘Pyari Mona,’ Sanam Jung now leads by example in the TV serial, which addresses the burning issue of body shaming and creates a much-needed awareness about the need for body positivity.

“That is the jawab [answer], that it doesn’t matter. I am embracing it and I’ve learnt it now after reading this script. Why did I say no at first? Because there was a fear in me deep down but then I read the script and understood that this is a message — for me, for everyone, so it’s important to do it,” she added.

At the end of the day, Sanam Jung has now successfully reached the stage where she feels fairly confident when it comes to standing straight and speaking up against fat-shaming and fat-phobia.

Shazia Sikandar, a Pakistani-American artist, has designed and installed her new sculpture in New York

By Bold Desk Shahzia Sikandar, a Pakistani-American artist, has recently installed a bronze 'Lady Justice' sculpture named ‘Havah,’ sitting atop one of the ten pedestals located at the New York Appellate Courthouse in Manhattan.

According to Shazia Sikandar, who is referred to as the best outdoor artist in New York, the idea behind her recent art piece is unique. "Standing among Moses, Confucius and Zoroaster is the shimmering, golden eight-foot female sculpture, emerging from a pink lotus flower and wearing Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's signature lace collar," she said.

"The sculpture was part of an ur-

gent and necessary cultural reckoning underway as New York along with cities across the world, reconsiders traditional representations of power in public spaces and recasts civic structures to better reflect 21st-century socials and more," the New York-based Pakistani-American artist said.

"The image of justice as a woman has been present for centuries, but women only gained a juridical voice in the last one. Despite years of women's struggle for legal socio-economic and political equality, gender bias still continues to create barriers for many women, whether it is health and education rights, equal economic opportunities, gender-based violence and race or class discrimination," she added.

After its massive success in Karachi, the play ‘Saadhay 14 August’ was recently staged in Islamabad