Pakistani model Veena Malik on finding Islam, love and marriage

[email protected] (Gulf News)
January 24, 2014

Veena_MalikJan 24: It’s December 2011, and Pakistani model Veena Malik is distraught. She has taken refuge at a hotel in Dubai following a photoshoot for FHM India in which she appeared nude with the letters ISI - used to refer to Pakistan’s intelligence agency - tattooed on her arm.

The magazine cover brought her global attention and condemnation, and as we meet she is aggressively defending herself, claiming that the images were doctored. Tears roll down her cheeks; a second later she fights back, saying that she won’t let any controversy destroy her budding Bollywood career.

Cut to January 2014. Malik is now Veena Assad Khan Khattak, clad in a demure white and blue Arzu Gul anarkali with a white dupatta (veil) pinned to her head; draped on her arm is her husband of 28 days — Assad Bashir Khan Khattak.

“She’s simple, straightforward and a clean-hearted girl,” said Khattak, a businessman based in Dubai for the last 14 years. They got married in a nikkah ceremony in Dubai on December 25, after a whirlwind courtship and are now sitting in the offices of Light Speed Travel and Tourism, Omar Group in Al Nahda, the travel agent who is organising their trip to Makkah.

His impressions of this Pakistani model may be in stark contrast to how the world sees her: It is safe to say that Malik has been a magnet for scandals for most part of her adult life. To date: Her acrimonious affair with the Pakistani cricketer Mohammad Asif — who was sentenced to jail in Britain for match fixing; her on-screen intimate encounter with Ashmit Patel in Bigg Boss season 4; and her vitriolic outburst on a Pakistani television channel, where she slammed a religious scholar for accusing her of insulting her country and Islam. Recently, she accused her former Indian manager, Prashant Singh, of blackmailing her and hacking into her Twitter and her Facebook accounts.

However, when tabloid! met the newly-wedded couple, they cut a picture of a happily-ever-after union.

“Life is going great. It’s a different world for me. When you are in showbiz you are on a run. It’s like you are part of a race and all of a sudden you stop somewhere. Being able to do that is the most beautiful feeling. I am enjoying that phase. I feel so calm and relaxed,” said Malik.

She has now declared that her bold, sexy days are behind her. From now on she will only accept films that send out a strong social message and are family-friendly. Though she doesn’t fully attribute the change to her husband, she admits that he propelled that U-turn in her life. The two met at the US consulate in Dubai in early December. A cup of coffee later he invited her to meet his family the next day. Ten days later he proposed marriage.

“After my marriage I have already said no to four films that I signed at the end of 2013 and have asked the producers to excuse me from those projects. I will be a part of the entertainment industry, but on our terms… I have plans to study Islam further. I want to enrol into a university,” said Malik, looking to her husband lovingly, asking him to make a list of good colleges in Dubai. On Thursday the couple set out for Saudi Arabia to be a part of Umrah, a pilgrimage to Makkah.

“The choices that I make today are making me a peaceful person. I feel as if I am on the right track. Wearing a dupatta or studying Islam or meeting Assad, I feel change has come in my life. After getting married to Assad, I met the great scholar Tariq Jameel… I am at peace now,” said Malik, with her hand clasped tightly in her husband’s. She adds that as a child she had sworn that she would embark on Umrah only with her life partner.

Blessed

“I have always wanted a white wedding and Assad is giving me that in the US. I feel so blessed because whatever I have wished for has happened in my life. I have goosebumps thinking about my life right now,” said Malik.

So did her former manager’s allegations that she was his live-in partner in Mumbai and owed him closure mar their happiness?

“He is a sick guy and he needs treatment. I would offer him free treatment… but we don’t care about it as we don’t have time to think about him,” said Khattak, jumping to his wife’s defence.

Malik calls him a “slightly disturbed human being”. The 2011 Malik would have probably jumped at this opportunity and issued a string of provocative statements. But the new Malik will not let anyone come between her and happiness.

“Whatever he has done is unethical and it’s a crime. We have taken legal action,” said Malik. When tabloid! contacted Singh in Mumbai, he claimed that he had taken the drastic step of posting intimate pictures of them when she openly questioned his sexual orientation.

“We were as good as married… I didn’t love the brand Veena Malik, I loved the girl,” he said.

He may be grappling with a brutal break-up, but Malik has begun a new chapter in her life. After a white wedding in Washington, the couple intends to return to Dubai for a ten-day celebration.

“Earlier I used to find falling in love such a cliche. My friends used to tease me that the sky would fall down the day I got married. But you know what, the day he proposed on a beach here, it started raining,” said Malik with a giggle.

“The sky opened up for you. It was the sign that you were looking for. But seriously, she is clean-hearted and respectable,” said Khattak.

His wife returns the compliment with: “He didn’t go down on bended knees but he was so direct and straightforward. He just held my hands and said he wanted to get married the next day. That to me was the most romantic proposal that a girl could get.”

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News Network
January 7,2020

Mumbai, Jan 7: Actor Anil Kapoor, who next will be seen onscreen in Malang, revealed that he always tells superstar Aamir Khan not to stop working with filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani.

Kapoor was interacting with the media at the trailer launch of Malang along with his co-actors Adtiya Roy Kapur, Disha Patani, Elli AvRam, film's director Mohit Suri and producers Luv Ranjan, Bhushan Kumar, Ankur Garg and Jay Shewakraman on Monday in Mumbai.

Anil Kapoor has worked with many directors and producers in his 40-year acting career.

Talking about camp culture in the Hindi film industry and praising makers of Malang, Kapoor said, "I feel we need producers like Ankur (Garg) and Luv (Ranjan). I have told Mohit (Suri) to continue doing films with them. I always tell Aamir Khan by calling him on the phone to say that you should not leave Raju Hirani (Rajkumar Hirani). Whenever I see films of both of them, I tell Aamir not to leave him."

He continued, "I feel whenever you make a good team then you should hold on to it. Team is very important and there are certain stars that come together to make something interesting and exciting."

Kapoor gave an example of Hollywood actors and filmmakers while backing his viewpoint.

"If you see Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio they do so many films together. They can work with others, too, but they keep working with each other. There is some magic, obviously. You have to go with the casting but somewhere I feel teams should stand by each other," the actor added.

Malang stars Aditya Roy Kapur, Disha Patani, Anil Kapoor and Kunal Khemu in lead roles. It is scheduled to release on February 7.

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News Network
April 3,2020

Washington, April 3: American actor Kristen discussed her experience being isolated with husband and their two kiddos.

According to Fox News, the 39-year-old actor discussed how she and Shepard are finding quarantine to be a little tough in a video chat to Entertainment Tonight.

Bell admitted: "We've gotten on each other's last nerve these last couple days. We're doing much better now because were laughing about it. But when we were not laughing about it for the first couple of days, that's the hard spot."

The 'Bad Mom' actor then shared her thoughts on why quarantining with loved ones can be so tough. She explained that she loves spending time with her husband and he loves spending time with her.

But what she thinks is different about this quarantine time is you have so much more time to think about the other persona and their actions and sort of replay what they said or attach a meaning to something that they did.
Bell added: "Nobody really needs time for that. That's useless."

The 'Frozen' actor also discussed having to make adjustments in regards to her kids, 7-year-old Lincoln, and 5-year-old Delta, and the schedule she tried to keep once the quarantine began.

She said that the biggest lesson she learnt, in the beginning, was that she wrote out the colour coded schedule, and noted about when will be their academic and academic time.

Kristen explained that by day five of schedule, she was making everybody miserable. About a week ago, she woke her kids up and encouraged her daughters to rip up the schedule, explaining that the kids "felt so good."

"I said the learning lesson here is that if you make a plan and it's not working, you pivot," said Bell.

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News Network
January 2,2020

New Delhi, Jan 2: Hoping her cinematic voice can help bring about lasting change in how society perceives acid attack survivors, actor Deepika Padukone says her latest film Chhapaak should ideally be so impactful that there won't be need for another story on acid violence.

After all, cinema is in itself such a powerful medium, Deepika told news agency ahead of the release of the film, which is based on the life of acid attack survivor and activist Laxmi Agarwal.

The idea behind the social drama is to invoke empathy and understanding rather than paint women who have undergone the ordeal as victims, the actor, who has also produced the film, said in a telephonic interview from Mumbai.

"Beyond the gruesomeness, the violence and all of that, there is a story of the human spirit and hope. That's why we're telling the story," she said.

Deepika, 33, said it was a story that spoke to her and she felt pride in attaching herself to the project.

Chhapaak, directed by Meghna Gulzar and featuring Vikrant Massey, is the second mainstream film to focus on the subject after 2019 Malayalam movie Uyare starring Parvathy Thiruvothu.

"I hope we won't have to constantly tell stories on acid attack survivors for us to see change. I hope with our film we begin to see that change for ourselves as a society and for acid attack survivors.

"If we don't, then we've done something wrong as a society. Cinema in itself is such a powerful medium that hopefully just through this one film we will hopefully be able to see that kind of change and impact," Deepika said.

The actor said there was not much planning behind the decision to back the film financially.

"Sometimes certain films need a little more hand holding, a little more love and support. I felt like I would be adding a little more value as a producer.

"This is a film I'm very proud of, not just from the script point of view but even in terms of the story and its message," she said.

The film, which releases on January 10, will be Deepika's first release in two years and comes after her marriage to frequent co-star Ranveer Singh.

The actor said she used the time to creatively replenish herself.

"It was about finding a film worthy of putting out there. It's not that work at my end had stopped. I was constantly looking for scripts that challenged and excited me.

"I would look at it as time for creative fertility. It's important to nurture yourself. The work that goes on behind the scenes... most often we're constantly on a film set, but whether it's meeting with writers and directors, looking for scripts... That is also part of the creative process and that's what I've been doing."

The title Chhapaak instantly evokes the image of acid being splattered, and Deepika said the director wanted a word for the film's name that could also lend itself to a song.

"I think she said 'chhapaak', which is the sound of a splash, is something that could adapt or lend itself beautifully to a song. Perhaps, it also has to do with fluidity. So on one hand, liquid is known to take different forms, a liquid such as this (acid) can change someone's life forever," she said.

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