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
January 9,2020

Mumbai, Jan 9: A day after Deepika Padukone visited the JNU campus to express solidarity with students who had been attacked, her film "Chhapaak" made another splash on Wednesday over the name of its antagonist.

While Deepika was the focus of many a discussion on social media and beyond for showing up at a public meeting in the university, the film, based on the life of acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal, was also making news for quite another reason.

In what could well be a storm in a 'Twitter cup', "Nadeem Khan" and "Rajesh" began trending on the microblogging site after a magazine article claimed the name of the antagonist had been changed. By 4 pm, 'Nadeem Khan' clocked close to 60,000 tweets and 'Rajesh' close behind with 50,000.

In 2005, Laxmi was disfigured for life when a man called Nadeem Khan and three others allegedly hurled acid at her in Delhi's upscale Khan Market.

In the film based on her life, the narrative remains the same but the names have been changed. So, Laxmi is 'Malti' Agarwal and Nadeem becomes 'Babboo' aka 'Bashir Khan'.

On Wednesday, Swarajya magazine wrote an article headlined, "The Ways Of Bollywood: In Deepika Padukone-Starer Chhapaak, Acid Attacker Naeem Khan Becomes ‘Rajesh'." "As part of a backlash against Padukone's JNU 'meet and greet', social media users researched the names of the characters involved in the movie Chhapaak and conspicuously found the name of main perpetrator Naeem Khan absent," the article alleged.

But in the Meghna Gulzar directed film, there is no mention of any Nadeem or Naeem Khan. Moreover, Rajesh is the name of Malti's boyfriend.

Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Babul Supriyo jumped into the controversy, saying it was another example of "absolute hypocrisy".

"...When you say all characters are fictitious and don't have any resemblance with living beings and all of that, this is absolute hypocrisy. When you change the name which also changes the religion, it has been done very deliberately," Supriyo told a TV channel when asked to comment on the controversy.

South Delhi BJP MP Ramesh Biduri also called for a boycott of the movie.

With Deepika grabbing attention by going to JNU, many appreciated her 'silent solidarity' but others criticised her for "supporting the Leftists" and said it was a promotional stunt ahead of the release.

"#BoycottChhapaak" was trending on Twitter as was "#ISupportDeepika".

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News Network
January 18,2020

Mumbai, Jan 18: Actor Shabana Azmi was injured in an accident on Saturday afternoon on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway in Maharashtra's Raigad district, an official said.

The incident took place around 3.30 pm near Khalapur, over 60 km from Mumbai, when the car in which she was traveling rammed into a truck, said Raigad Superintendent of Police Anil Paraskar.

She was rushed to MGM hospital in Navi Mumbai and was undergoing treatment, he said.

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News Network
July 16,2020

Washington, Jul 16: Actor Chris Evans, better known as 'Captain America', made a six-year-old boy's day by sending him a personalised video message lauding his heroic act of saving his younger sister from a dog attack.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the aunt of the young boy (Bridger Walker from Cheyenne) posted on Instagram the story of how the boy saved his sister on July 9 and was horribly injured in the process.

She shared the story on the photo-sharing platform on Sunday and also posted few photos featuring the brother-sister duo as well as pictures of the injuries on Walker's face.

"After receiving 90 stitches (give or take) from a skilled plastic surgeon, he's finally resting at home," wrote the aunt (Nikki Walker).
"We love our brave boy and want all the other superheroes to know about this latest hero who joined their ranks," she added.

Moved by the young boy's story, Evans made a direct video message appreciating the boy for what he did, and how he is no less than a superhero.

He also promised to send the young kid an authentic 'Captain America' shield as a reward for his selfless, heroic act.

Evans' video message to the young boy was shared by the aunt on her Instagram profile.
In the video, Evans is saying, "Pal, you're a hero, what you did was so brave, so selfless -- your sister is so lucky to have you as a big brother.

Your parents must be so proud of you," Evans said in a video message that the family shared Wednesday. "Keep being the man you are, we need people like you. Hang in there, I know recovery might be tough, but based on what I've seen, I don't think there's much that can slow you down."

Towards the end, the 39-year-old actor told the boy he was sending the 'Captain America' shield to him, as the world needs more bravehearts like the little boy.

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