Border Crossing

“It is a myth that Pakistan is a
conservative country” – Ali Zafar

“Pakistani cinema is going through a rough patch, but slowly it is getting better, with new age directors getting into filmmaking and producing films like Bol and Khuda Kay Liye,” Ali told IANS in an interview.

The 31-year-old actor admits that the new generation in Pakistan is opening up to fresh and realistic stories.

“People have rejected those bogus old ways of telling stories as they want something new. Pakistan is witnessing a new wave, thanks to social media. With the help of social media, people have rejected the old norms through commenting, conducting debates and discussion,” Ali said.

“For example, there was a video of a woman who goes to a park and raids couples, asking them whether their parents know about their relationship. People didn’t like it and they stood against it; as a result that girl was held accountable and got fired.

“It feels very nice to see that youth and people are aware, they are more politicized. They all want change. It is a myth that Pakistan is a conservative country,” he added.

Once a prolific moviemaking country, Pakistan had 1,300 cinema halls in the 1970s with an average annual production of around 300 movies. But by 2005, the country had only 270 cinema halls and made about 18 movies a year. The rest of the movie halls have been converted into gas stations, shopping malls or car showrooms.

In 2010, just eight Pakistani movies were produced.

Movie buffs in Pakistan had a hearty appetite for Bollywood movies, but they had to watch pirated copies of Hindi films as the release of Indian films had been banned in Pakistan.

In 2008, the Pakistan government lifted the ban on Indian films and that has given a much-needed boost to the cinema business, says Ali.

“Since Indian films have started coming to Pakistan, people are going to cinemas more often. Now more cinema halls are being constructed. The government has made the rule that every mall should have a theatre and screens and it is certainly getting better,” he added.

In recent times two Pakistani films - Bol and Khuda Kay Liye by Shoaib Mansoor - were not only appreciated on their home turf but also won critical acclaim in the international arena. Mehreen Jabbar’s Ramchand Pakistani, which had Indian actress Nandita Das, too was appreciated globally.

Pakistani filmmaker Mian Adnan Ahmad’s short film Heal won the Best Science Fiction-Fantasy Film award at this year’s Comic-Con International Independent Film Festival.

Although Ali hasn’t done any films in Pakistan, he worked as a model for several commercials. He has also acted in Pakistani TV serials like Lunda-Bazar and Kanch Ke Par and teenage sitcom Kollege Jeans. He is delighted to see the quality of shows being produced in the country.

“I did TV shows to make pocket money so that I can create music. But television is doing great. We have some really good shows being made, so quality work is being produced. There was a time when the quality went off-track, but now it is doing really good,” said Ali, known for giving hit songs like ‘Rangeen’, ‘Sajaniya’ and most recently ‘Madhubala’ from Mere Brother Ki Dulhan.

Ali made his Bollywood debut with Abhishek Sharma’s critically acclaimed Tere Bin Laden and later won accolades for his performance in Mere Brother Ki Dulhan. He is now gearing up for the release of another Bollywood venture  London, Paris, New York. It is releasing March 2.

“London, Paris, New York is a sweet romantic comedy based in these three cities and has cute bantering between two people (Ali and Aditi Rao Hydari). I play the role of Nikhil Chopra, a rich kid whose father is a film producer and who goes abroad to study filmmaking, thinking he will become a big director one day. He meets Lalitha and things transform into a love story,” he said.

– Courtesy Times of India

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Amitabh Bachchan magic lights up Ahmedabad

Amitabh Bachchan has been promoting tourism in Gujarat these days. After all, he is the brand ambassador. When he flew out to Ahmedabad, it was a sight for fans of the actor. Big B was in town to shoot a commercial as part of promoting Gujarat as a tourism spot the tagline of which reads ‘Khushbu Gujarat Ki’. As he was shooting, massive crowds surrounded the shooting area, cheering the actor on.

DNA reports, “He flew kites for the commercial amidst loud cheering by hundreds of people who had gathered on different terraces for a glimpse of the star. Bachchan began with a pink-coloured kite which he flew with aplomb as the cameras rolled and the crowds cheered. Every time the actor was clearly visible to the people on a particular terrace, they would applause loudly with shouts of ‘lapet, lapet’ coming from other terraces as well. Big B acknowledged their support by waving to the people.”

Amitabh Bachchan also met controversial Gujarat CM Narendra Modi who continues on with his job even after the Gujarat carnage of 2002. The Indian Congress continues to bash him, but the fact remains that Modi was reelected to the post in 2007. Democracy is a miraculous phenomenon and Modi is definitely living and learning all about a political facelift. And the never fail formula in India to gain a bit of glitz remains: “Bring in Bollywood. According to the Indian press, “Modi expressed his gratitude to Amitabh Bacchan and thanked him for his selfless contribution in promoting Gujarat Tourism on the world map He stated that Gujarat has leapfrogged in Tourism sector at a very rapid rate due to Amitabh Bacchan.”

There is no power like star power.

StarBytes
Beyoncé taking over
Rutgers University introduces course on the many aspects of the singer’s life

Not only are they inarguably the kinda parents only the luckiest kid will be born to, they are also totally scholastic. There’s more to Beyoncé than just a collapsible belly, hair-weave glue and Solange-issues. Rutgers, a Massachusetts university is now offering up a course on Beyoncé. Politicizing Beyoncé “isn’t a course about Beyoncé’s political engagement or how many times she performed during President Obama’s inauguration weekend,” explains Kevin Allred, Ph.D student and lecturer in the school’s Department of Women’s and Gender Studies, who will be teaching the course.

“She certainly pushes boundaries. While other artists are simply releasing music, she’s creating a grand narrative around her life, her career, and her persona.”

Students will also discuss other iconic female singers including Lady Gaga, Billie Holiday and Nina Simone.

This is not the Carter household’s first foray into educational curricula though – last year, Jay-Z got inducted into the list of courses taught at Georgetown.

Michael Eric Dyson, who designed Sociology of Hip-Hop: Jay Z, has focused on the rap superstar’s music and his business and fashion line successes. He explained his interest in Jay-Z as: “I think he’s an icon of American excellence.”  Dyson has also taught classes on Tupac Shakur and Marvin Gaye at the University of Pennsylvania. He finds Jay-Z a subject worth teaching as an artist and a study in capitalism. Jay-Z is a clothing entrepreneur, and part owner of the NBA’s New Jersey Nets. Dyson also found his ‘lyrical prowess’ impressive.

Nicki Minaj’s ridiculous backstage demands

Being Nicki Minaj ain’t easy, with the news constantly reporting on every bit of your personal and professional life. Being one of the top recording artists isn’t easy which means it won’t be slowing down any time soon.

First off is the news that the ‘Super Bass’ singer is making some major diva demands backstage for her halftime Super Bowl performance. These demands are called riders and are written into contracts. The “rider” being the contract that contains a list of demands by the artist that a concert promoter must meet before a concert can take place. There is a very specific laundry list of edibles such as three 12-piece buckets of “spicy” fried chicken she requests. And she stresses, “no thighs.”

Aside from the food requests, the rapper insists on having two dozen pink or white roses, candles with the scent of baked goods, Halls Mentho-Lyptus Honey Lemon Throat Cough Drops, contact lens solution with case, two space heaters and a cool mist humidifier. Makes sense, the singer needs her vocal cords to be in top condition and wants to pretend she’s in a bakery. She still doesn’t beat out JLo who demands everything be white. Everything!

Ludicrous rider demands were initially used by performers to make sure every line of the contract had been read, meaning technical equipment would be checked for safety and liability reasons.

Despite her Super Bowl performance, the rapper’s latest music video ‘Stupid Hoe’ has been banned from BET for being too raunchy. We think that the name of the video would be enough to qualify a ban. BET has shown responsible censorship on a level that the media should embrace.

This Just in

Matthew Broderick is creating some serious Internet buzz, thanks to his new commercial for Honda which sees the actor’s iconic character from ‘80s comedy Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Matthew has admitted he was unsure about resurrecting Ferris Bueller for a new Super Bowl advert.

“It took a little, uh, thinking about it, took a little time, but I ended up thinking it might be amusing. Todd Phillips was directing it, who’s a good director, and I thought it would be fun to send up Ferris Bueller a little bit... I guess I’m part of a virus.”

Fans of Adele are in for a huge surprise. The British singing sensation has confirmed that she’ll make her live comeback at the upcoming Grammy Awards, all set to take place on February 12.

“It’s an absolute honour to be included in such a night and for it to be my first performance in months is very exciting and of course nerve-racking, but what a way to get back into it all,” Adele said in a statement ahead of her performance.

Adele is among the nominees for this year’s Grammy Awards, having been shortlisted for Album Of The Year for 21 and Best Solo Pop performance. Kanye West leads this year’s nominations, with seven nods while Foo Fighters are just behind him with six.

The Shah Rukh Khan-Shirish Kunder melodrama has finally ended. But reports are surfacing that Salman Khan, who is currently in Cuba shooting for Ek Tha Tiger, called Shirish to support him after SRK bashed him. Sources close to Salman maintain all this is untrue.

Says a source close to the family, “It’s really strange how bhai’s name has gotten dragged into this. He hasn’t called anyone. Salman doesn’t even have network where he shoots. We haven’t been speaking to him often also. He wasn’t even aware of the fight... how can he call Shirish to offer support? When we called the newspaper to check about their source, we were told that Shirish told them about Salman’s call to him. But shouldn’t they have checked with him or someone from his side? Salim uncle is very upset about Salman’s name being used in this fight.”

Speaking to the media himself, an angry Salman Khan said, “I am filming in Cuba. I am not using my phone here. I haven’t called anyone and no one has called me. If you are printing this also say hello to my mom and dad.” And the line went dead.

Daniel Radcliffe is content. The 22-year-old actor is surprisingly self aware. Playing Harry Potter in eight films spread over a decade, Radcliffe is thrilled the hoopla surrounding him is fading.

“I don’t miss the hoopla. I don’t think, particularly. I’m quite happy. If I have passed my most famous point, I won’t be unhappy,” said Daniel on the eve of the release of The Woman In Black, his first post-Potter project.

Daniel continued, “Like, that’s OK. If, say, around the time of Potter 7 coming out, my face is all over the world, and all of that stuff is going on at that time and all of that madness — if that steadily decreases for the rest of my life, I’ll be kind of cool with that. I had a good dose of it for 10 years. You know, I’m now content to just make my way and do a lot of films that I find interesting. There is the fight, then, is that in order to keep being able to do interesting little things, you have to do that George Clooney thing of doing a big movie like an Ocean’s 11 - which are still very good movies - so that you can go off and do Syriana or Good Night and Good Luck, or whatever. So I suppose that’s the challenge in the future.”