Veena Malik to turn all holy this Ramzan for telly!

July 17, 2012

Veena-Malik1

Islamabad, July 17: After rubbing conservatives the wrong way by posing semi-nude for an Indian men's magazine some months ago, Pakistan's controversy queen Veena Malik is all set to turn holy during Ramzan – well, at least on the idiot box.

Promos for Malik's new TV show, which feature her trying to look her religious best, have gone viral on the internet. With a blue dupatta covering her head, Malik says a throaty "Astaghfaar" (Arabic for seeking forgiveness), as a solitary tear dramatically rolls down her cheek.

Hero TV channel, which will air the show, has become the butt of jokes overnight. There are also many funny takes on Malik's first Bollywood movie "Daal Main Kuch Kaala Hai", which is due for release soon.

Giving Malik company on TV during the holy month of Ramzan will be Maya Khan, a morning show host who earned the ire of people across Pakistan when she accosted "immoral" couples dating in Karachi's parks and was fired by her channel.

Khan will be back as the co-host of "Sheher-e-Ramadan" with Shahid Masood on ARY channel. The show is already being called "Sharbat-e-Ramadan" in jest.

Yet another Ramzan special, "Pehchaan Ramzan", will be hosted by controversial televangelist Amir Liaquat on Geo TV. Liaquat was at the centre of a storm some years ago after rights activists said he had incited violence against Ahmadis during a show.More recently, behind the scenes footage from his show, leaked on the internet, showed him cracking ribald jokes and making fun of people calling in to his programme.

However, it is Malik's "holy" debut which most cannot get over. "Amir Liaquat and Veena Malik doing shows for Ramadan. When is Pamela Anderson starting? Who owns the Hero TV?" read a comment on The Express Tribune newspaper's website.

Malik was among the first to tweet about her Ramzan show. "After a long gap..so exited to record a show for Holy Ramadan transmission n that 2 for a television channel..which was due 4 quite sum tym!!"

Ever since news of Malik hosting the special show broke, she has been trending on Twitter. "I wonder if Veena Malik went to Hero TV just for channel's tagline - 'Dekha day sab kuch' :)" tweeted Kamran Bukhari.

Another Twitter user wrote: "Wait...Is Veena Malik hosting a Ramzan show?!...And I thought shaitan (Satan) gets locked up for month." Yet another suggested that "the companies sponsoring #VeenaMalik's Ramazan show on HERO TV should be ready for total boycott of their offerings/products/svcs#Pakistan”.

This time the liberals, who seem to have backed Malik all along, also seem to have taken a back seat with most accusing her of selling fake piety.

Some tweeted hoping Malik understood the difference between the holy month and a Bollywood movie.

Others are considering filing a petition with Pakistan's media regulatory body to stop her from going on air. Popular singer Salman Ahmad too expressed displeasure at Malik's forthcoming show.

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Agencies
February 10,2020

Hollywood star Joaquin Phoenix finally ended his dry run at the Oscars as he picked up the best actor trophy for his performance in and as "Joker" at the 92nd Academy Awards.

The 45-year-old actor had earlier bagged a BAFTA, a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award for his turn as a failed, unhinged stand-up comedian who descends into chaos.

In a lengthy and rambling speech, Phoenix touched upon racism, climate change and gender inequality. He also remembered his brother River Phoenix, who died of a drug overdose at the age of 23 in 1993.

"When he was 17, my brother wrote this lyric. He said, 'run to the rescue with love and peace will follow'," Phoenix said. At the Academy Awards and the entire Hollywood award season, Phoenix had emerged as an undisputed frontrunner even though he was up against the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio ("Once Upon a Time in Hollywood"), Adam Driver ("Marriage Story"), "Antonio Banderas ("Pain & Glory") and Jonathan Pryce ("The Two Popes").

An Oscar had eluded Phoenix for the most part of his career, despite his successful collaborations with Ridley Scott ("Gladiator"), James Mangold ("Walk The Line") and Paul Thomas Anderson ("The Master"), all of which had earned him nominations.

But as Arthur Fleck aka The Joker, Phoenix finally managed to break that jinx and became the second actor to win an Oscar for playing the DC comic book villain after the posthumous best supporting actor win to Heath Ledger in 2008.

As Joker, Phoenix took a deep dive into character, capturing its essence as well as maniacal spirit in both body and soul.

He lost 52 pounds to get into the physicality of Fleck and turned to a pathological disorder to get his distinct laughter right.

Phillips wrote the part keeping Phoenix in mind though the actor took some convincing to play the role.

Phoenix started the film's festival circuit tour on a positive note at Cannes last year that followed by stops at Venice and Toronto.

The film had also courted controversies, owing to its theme of gun violence in the movie as well as Phoenix's temperamental press tour that saw him walking out of an interview midway.

But critics and the fans loved the actor's riveting turn in the movie and his pointed speeches.

At the Golden Globes, he called out the industry for its insensitivity towards climate change and pulled up his peers for using private jets for travel, while at the SAGs, he joked how he would always lose a role to DiCaprio and asked Christian Bale to deliver a bad performance for once in his career.

In his acceptance speech at the BAFTAs, Phoenix acknowledged the lack of diversity in the nominations, calling himself a part of the problem. Phoenix's career most praised performances include "Signs ", "We Own the Night", "Two Lovers", "The Immigrant", "Her", "You Were Never Really Here" and "Inherent Vice".

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News Network
May 20,2020

New Delhi, May 20: Singer Justin Bieber on Wednesday thanked his Indian fans for showering love on his newly-launched song 'Stuck With U'.

The 26-year-old singer shared a video on Twitter, that featured many Indian music enthusiasts crooning and making their own individual creative videos with the song playing in the background.

In reaction to it, the 'Yummy' singer tweeted: "Thank You India"

Bieber and American singer Ariana Grande teamed up for the song earlier this month to help the people affected and who are in need during the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

The official music video was dropped on May 8. The romantic track marks the first collaboration of the duo.

The music video has cameos by the singer's partners and features many special moments shared by the couple amid lockdown.

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News Network
July 19,2020

New Delhi, Jul 19: Actor Deepika Padukone on Sunday confirmed the news of her teaming up with 'Baahubali' actor Prabhas for an upcoming project.

Padukone stated that she is "beyond thrilled" for her the project, which will be helmed by Nag Ashwin, who is known for delivering some hit Telugu movies.

He is known for directing the National-Award winning biopic 'Mahanati'. The forthcoming flick will be under the banner of Vyjayanthi Movies.

The 34-year-old star shared a video by the production house revealing the news, and wrote: "Beyond Thrilled! Cannot wait for what we believe is going to be an incredible journey ahead.."

In the video, the makers of the movie addressed their pride in collaborating with Deepika Padukone and Prabhas. The yet-to-be-titled movie will be the first film to see the two actors sharing the screen-space.

However, other details of the project are yet to be officially revealed.

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