Elba was knighted for services to young people. Syal, the actor and comedian known for The Kumars At No 42, was recognised for her services to literature, drama and charity. 

Elba, the star of The Wire and Luther, among many other titles, has teamed up with the king to make a documentary marking 50 years of the Prince’s Trust — now called the King’s Trust — a grant he benefitted from as a teenager. He used the money to attend the National Youth Music Theatre when he was 18. 

According to the BBC, the actor founded the Elba Hope Foundation in 2022 to support community empowerment, education, youth advocacy and sustainable development.

In 2017, Syal was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and in 2023, she was awarded the Bafta Fellowship, the British Academy’s highest accolade for a career on screen.

The New Year honours, which have been awarded since at least 1890, aim to recognise not just well-known figures but people who have contributed to national life through often unsung work over many years.

The full list includes more than 1,157 people in politics, sport, the arts or community service who were awarded titles from Member, Commander or Officer of the Order of the British Empire to the highest honours of knighthoods and damehoods.

She also posted a note on the subject thanking her friends, family and well-wishers, asking them not to share unverified information about her.

Rumours circulating on the internet claimed Syed had died, with fans grieving the loss of a titan of Pakistani music. Naturally, when they reached the singer herself, she addressed the situation by talking to her fans personally.

“I have come to know that rumours are being spread about my health. I am absolutely fine, by the grace of God. I am living a really good life in New York. Thank you all for your prayers and well wishes,” Syed said.

The written statement read, “I have come to learn that false reports of my passing are being circulated on social media. These are not true. Alhamdulillah, I am alive, well and in good health. I request everyone not to share this false news and to help correct the misinformation wherever it appears. Thank you.”

She wrote she was “deeply touched by the concern, kindness, and affection shown by the many people who reached out to me after seeing these reports”.

Designer Hassan Sheheryar Yasin also helped dispel the rumours by posting a picture of the singer and saying she was “alive, well and in good health”. Bushra Ansari posted Syed’s video message to her own account.

The internet occasionally likes to kill people off before their time. Most recently, Indian actor Dharmendra was declared dead by Indian media during a hospitalisation in November. He was alive and passed away a couple of weeks later.

In Pakistan, actor Sakina Samo was rumoured to have succumbed to Covid-19 at the height of the 2020 pandemic. She is still alive and well, having recovered from the virus after a stint of self-isolation.

“Suman ji died at around 8pm at her residence in Lokhandwala due to old age. She died peacefully. Over the last few days, she had been listening to her own songs,” Mangala Khadilkar, who wrote the acclaimed Marathi biography Suman Sugandh on the singer, told the Press Trust of India.

The singer rose to fame in the 1960s and 70s, she was known across the subcontinent for her film tracks such as ‘Aajkal Tere Mere Pyar Ke Charche’ from Brahmachari (1968), ‘Na Na Karte Pyar’ from Jab Jab Phool Khile (1965) and ‘Tumne Pukara Aur Hum Chale Aaye’ from Rajkumar (1964).

During the course of her career, she sang 740 songs in 11 different languages, including 140 duets with Mohammed Rafi — another legend of Indian music. Beyond film music, her repertoire included bhajans, ghazals, and thumris.

Kalyanpur’s soft vocals were often compared to Lata Mangeshkar — arguably the biggest name in Bollywood playback singing — with many listeners confusing the two.

Kalyanpur always dismissed the comparison. In a 2022 interview, she called Mangeshkar a close friend.

“Everyone loved her songs and she will remain immortal. We recorded a duet together for the film Chaand. Every time I met her, it felt like meeting a close friend. I believe she felt the same,” she said.

Tributes poured in for the singer, including from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who sent condolences to her family and said he was “anguished” by her passing.

“Her melodious voice and soulful renditions enriched our cultural world. Through her songs, she created a special place among music lovers and admirers of Indian cinema,” He said.

Kalyanpur is survived by her daughter Charu. Her last rites will be performed in Mumbai on Monday (today).

Cover photo: Press Information Bureau / Government of India

At the historic Chinese Theatre, where Monroe’s handprints are immortalised alongside Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) co-star Jane Russell, fans plan to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ — echoing her famed sultry serenade to president John F Kennedy.

One hundred roses and a cake will be placed at the site, a symbol of Hollywood’s golden age and a popular tourist hotspot.

Tributes to Tinseltown’s legendary daughter began on Sunday, with the Academy Museum opening Marilyn Monroe: Hollywood Icon, an exhibit celebrating her film career and life cut short.

After shooting to superstardom in the 1950s, the actress and model died of an overdose at her Brentwood home in August 1962, aged 36.

The Academy Museum will host special screenings of her prolific filmography throughout the month, including The Asphalt Jungle (1950), Niagara (1953), The Seven Year Itch (1955), Some Like It Hot (1959), and The Misfits (1961).

The exhibit, which runs until February 2027, includes hundreds of original pieces, some rarely on display — such as Monroe’s famed pink dress worn during her iconic performance of ‘Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend’ in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Later in the week, on June 4, Julien’s Auctions will put nearly 200 pieces of Monroe memorabilia under the hammer as part of its special 100 Years of Marilyn sale.

The items include unpublished photographs, a script with notes from her final production, the unfinished short film Something’s Got to Give, and personal items such as handwritten recipes and her Elizabeth Arden lipstick.

Image maker

Born in Los Angeles on June 1, 1926, Monroe had an unstable childhood spent between orphanages and foster homes. She married for the first time at age 16.

She had her first brush with show business in 1944, while working in a factory, when a photographer arrived to capture photos of women working on production lines during World War II.

Launching into the world of modelling soon after, she divorced her husband and made a history-defining decision: dyeing her brown hair platinum blonde.

She landed her first contract with Fox, and by the age of 30 had established herself as a global star.

Behind the scenes, Monroe founded her own production company, attended the prestigious Actors Studio in New York, and even defied the studios.

In the 1950s, while under contract with 20th Century Fox, she refused to act in the adaptation of the musical The Girl in Pink Tights, deeming the script mediocre and her salary — three times less than that of co-star Frank Sinatra — unfair.

More than half a century before the #MeToo movement shook the global entertainment industry, Monroe denounced the Hollywood “wolves” preying on female talent.

The Sun and Daily Mail tabloids showed photos of the couple leaving Old Marylebone Town Hall following a civil ceremony with just a handful of family and friends.

Dua Lipa, 30, wore a white hat and dress designed by the Schiaparelli studio for the wedding, reports said. Turner, 36, donned a dark blue suit.

The Sun said that they now plan a “sumptuous” three-day party in Sicily at the end of next week. Representatives of the couple, who have been together since January 2024, did not answer AFP’s request to comment.

Dua Lipa, the daughter of Kosovo migrants who has become one of Britain’s top singers since her ‘Be The One’ single in 2016, announced in an interview with British Vogue last year that she and Turner planned to marry.

Turner made an international name for himself appearing in the Fantastic Beasts films. He is considered a possible candidate to become the next James Bond.

Cover photo: AFP

The actor posted a story on Saturday, saying, “Posting pictures of sacrificed animals is a sign of ignorance.”

He advised his followers, “Respect your sacrificial animals. You sacrifice them for God, not for social media.”

While Shahnawaz didn’t point any fingers, there is a persistent trend of people posting pictures of bloodied carcasses and even videos of themselves during the actual slaughter of animal — a graphic display most people want to see.

In a similar vein to Shahnawaz, Ali Gul Pir also had some qualms about the way people celebrate Eidul Azha. In a video posted on the first day of Eid (Wednesday), the comedian described a “nightmare” outside his house with “smells, blood running through the streets, guts lying in the open and goats hanging from utility poles”.

He said people were choosing to throw dirt over the blood pooling in the open, which “doesn’t do much to the blood”. He also criticised people who had multiple animals to sacrifice and were slaughtering one animal in front of the others.

Gul Pir urged people to skip the “horror show” and fulfil their religious obligations with respect.

The caption for the Karachi-based comedian’s post said — we assume sarcastically — “Cut up animals on the road, throw out their intestines. Our city is too clean, it needs some blood.”

Justice Muhammad Sajid Mahmood Sethi issued an eight-page verdict, setting aside the trial court’s decision and directing the singer to deposit a fine of Rs100,000.

According to the judgment, Rahat Fateh had filed a civil suit in Faisalabad seeking confirmation of possession of a double-storey house. A civil court had issued a decree against him on May 14, 2019, following which he challenged the decision before the trial court.

However, the trial court dismissed the appeal on technical grounds due to non-payment of court fee amounting to Rs15,000. The singer later approached the LHC against the ruling.

The LHC observed that dismissing an appeal merely on the basis of non-payment of court fee was against the principles of justice. It noted that the petitioner had been given only four days to submit the fee, which was insufficient.

The judgment stated that the right to appeal is a valuable legal right and should not be denied solely because of technical defects. The court stressed that appeals should be decided on merit rather than on procedural shortcomings.

The LHC also directed the trial court to decide the appeal on merit within two months without unnecessary delay.

It ordered Rahat Fateh and all other parties to appear before the court on June 2.

Originally published in Dawn, May 30th, 2026

He shared a clip from the show, which just dropped its second season on Thursday.

“Eid Mubarak from Deli Boys season 2 which just dropped,” he wrote in his caption, asking people to spot the “fake qawwal” in episode five.

In the clip, Sethi sings ‘Chaap Tilak’ while Poorna Jagannathan dances along.

We totally should have seen this coming, given how the soundtrack for Bait, Riz Ahmed’s new show on a British-Pakistani actor hoping to become the next James Bond, was a celebration of all things desi music.

The second season of the Hulu dark comedy Deli Boys, stars Asif Ali, Saagar Shaikh and Jagannathan, and has added five new names to its cast. Fred Armisen is set to join as a major character, which was announced back in August, Andrew Rannells and Kumail Nanjiani have been cast as recurring characters, while Robin Thede and Lilly Singh will be joining the show as guest stars.

Created by Abdullah Saeed, the show follows Pakistani-American brothers Mir and Raj Dar (Ali and Sheikh) who have lost everything and are now preparing to take over their father’s criminal empire.

The show, which received acclaim for its representation of Pakistani Americans and it’s comedic content, was renewed for its second season in August. The 10-episode first season — which includes a cameo by Pakistani fashion designer HSY — can be watched on Hulu and Disney+.

The list, which recognises 30 young people who have made a significant mark in their fields, is running its 11th edition this year, with a history of including the best and brightest of Pakistan in its annual rosters.

Aamir, Pakistan’s “most followed woman” on Instagram — she recently hit 20 million followers — has been recognised for her work as an actor. In her 10-year career, she has starred in a number of crowd-favourite dramas, including Kabhi Main Kabhi Tum and Meri Zindagi Hai Tu.

She’s also set to star in Pakistan’s first Netflix original, Jo Bachay Hain Sang Samait Lo.

The actor is also actively involved in social work, having been named UN Women’s National Goodwill Ambassador in October.

Kamraan is a filmmaker who isn’t afraid to talk about topics most Pakistanis wouldn’t touch with a 10-foot pole.

Her short film The Bed She Made was the only Pakistani work at the Busan International Short Film Festival this year. It addressed the link between climate change and fertility in a Pakistani context.

“Through its interplay of grace and violence, this metaphorical and highly symbolic film alternates between choreographic sequences and stark depictions of domestic oppression. By turning personal suffering into embodied outcry, it confronts the systemic silencing and abusive treatment of women in rigid patriarchal societies,” programmer Professor Sébastien Simon described her film in the catalogue for the festival.

Before making The Bed She Made, Kamraan was an assistant director on Umro Ayyar, one of Pakistan’s rare sci-fi feature films.

While Pakistani artists were notably absent from the 2025 list — javelin champ Arshad Nadeem was there to represent the country — they’ve had a marked presence in earlier years, with filmmaker Bushra Sultan making it onto the list in 2024.

Other honourees include Rastah founder Zain Ahmed (2022), music producer Abdullah Siddiqui and artist Misha Japanwala (2021) and singer Momina Mustehsan (2018).

From summery yellows to cool lavenders, we love seeing fashion shine on Eid and this year is no different.

Lemon yellow

Hina Altaf chose a kurta shalwar set by Talha Batla in a butter yellow. The silk outfit was complemented by a pair of statement heels in green.

Kubra Khan also chose to wear yellow, though hers was a lighter shade. Her Wajahat Mansoor outfit featured sequined butterflies on the top and appeared to be paired with a sharara of the same colour.

Cool lavender

Amna Baber kept it simple in a lavender kurta from Cross Stich paired with an organza dupatta and wide-legged pants with lace detailing.

Maya Ali wore a lavender outfit from her own line featuring an almost-halter-top with silver detailing. The long kameez was paired with chooridar.

Sadaf Kanwal wore a floral lavender outfit from Faiza Saqlain. Her floral shirt was paired with a lavender shalwar and two-tone dupatta.

Baby pink

Areeba Habib wore a silky pink outfit by Erum Jamal. The kameez featured silver embroidery along the front, sides and sleeves, and Habib paired it with silver bangles and dramatic earrings.

Resham (and her niece) donned matching pink outfits by The Pink Tree Company. Their peshwas featured lavender and mint green blockprint patterns.

What were your favourite looks this year?

She shared a copy of the notice purportedly issued to Butt on her Instagram page, terming his legal notice dated May 22, “false, misconceived, mala fied, legally defective, and apparently issued with ulterior motives to pressurise, intimidate and silence my client after repeated acts of harassment committed by your client”. 

In his notice, Butt took issue with an interview in which Shajaffar described a costar’s behaviour while working on a project with her as having made her feel “uncomfortable”.

The notice referenced Shajaffar’s appearance on the YouTube show Say It All with Iffat Omar and claimed that she accused Butt of having “sexually harassed [her] on set”. In the interview, Shajaffar referred to the person solely as “Arsalan”. She later clarified on social media that she was not talking about Arslan Khan, her College Gate costar.

Butt’s connection to the incident is being attributed to Omar, the host, who purportedly said he was the one being discussed. Shajaffar’s interview with Omar was released on May 21. In it, the actor mentioned a number of instances in which “Arsalan’s” behaviour made her “feel uncomfortable” and that he believed she was “someone to get fresh or frank with”.

Butt’s notice described the allegations made by Shajaffar against “Arsalan” as “false, baseless, malicious and defamatory” and said they had caused “serious reputational damage, mental distress, humiliation and public embarrassment” to Butt.

The notice demanded Shajaffar “retract the allegations”, “take steps for the removal of the defamatory content”, “issue a clear, unconditional public apology and retraction” on YouTube and “refrain from repeating such allegations in the future”.

Her counter-notice denies the allegations made in Butt’s notice, “except what is specifically admitted herein”. “It is clarified that my client never made any false, fabricated or malicious allegation against your client. Whatever was stated by my client during the said interview/programme was based upon true events, actual conduct, personal experiences, surrounding circumstances and information supported through evidence, witnesses and electronic material presently in possession of my client. Your client is fully aware of his conduct and the repeated acts committed by him towards my client on various occasions,” reads Shajaffar’s notice. 

“The interview itself does not contain any direct or categorical statement alleging ‘sexual harassment’ in the specific manner falsely portrayed in your notice,” it read, saying that it “deliberately twists, exaggerates and misinterprets portions of the interview in an attempt to create unnecessary sensationalism and legal pressure”. 

Arguing that the interview reflects the actor’s “personal experiences and truthful disclosures” made by Shajaffar “in exercise of her lawful and constitutional right of expression and self-protection”, the notice calls Butt’s conduct “harassment, intimidation, emotional abuse and character targeting”.

“Instead of showing remorse and restraint, your client has now escalated the matter by issuing a threatening legal notice to a woman who merely disclosed her experiences publicly. Such conduct amounts to victim intimidation and an unlawful attempt to suppress disclosure of harassment-related conduct.”

According to the notice, Shajaffar possesses “substantial material, including but not limited to electronic evidence, digital communications and records, witness testimony, circumstantial and corroborative evidence and other supporting material which clearly establish the conduct, behaviour and repeated acts of harassment committed by [Butt] towards [Shajaffar] on multiple occasions”. 

The notice calls on Butt to immediately withdraw his notice, tender a “clear, unconditional and public apology” for “harassment, intimidation, reputational harm and malicious legal threats”, cease and desist from further harassment, intimidation, coercion, defamatory campaign or misrepresentation of the interview and Shajaffar’s statements, and pay compensation/damages amounting to Rs1 billion for reputational harm, mental agony, emotional distress, harassment, intimidation and damage.

Failure to comply within 14 days will result in civil, criminal and regulatory proceedings being filed under the Punjab Defamation Act, 2024, The Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act, 2010, sections relating to criminal intimidation, harassment, defamation and intimidation under applicable laws of Pakistan and other civil remedies available under Pakistani law.

Peerzada appeared on an episode of the podcast Koi Reh Tu Nahi Gaya with Shahzad Nawaz on Friday where, during a conversation on state patronage of the arts, the host asked the actor if he had personally been recognised for his services to the arts.

“No no, I haven’t received any award, nor do I want one,” Peerzada told a surprised host who asked him where he had gone wrong.

The actor shot him a look and said, “I have no idea,” leading Nawaz to counter by asking if the state had gone wrong instead. That earned him a second “I have no idea”.

The host said people who had been working for two or three years were being recognised, so the state had a responsibility to appreciate senior members of the fraternity.

“Not that you are wanting it or looking for it. It’s not that you are waiting to be awarded,” he added.

“These state awards have become so controversial nowadays. My father had one, my younger brother has one,” Peerzada began, with Nawaz interjecting, “Nowadays, recipients have to explain who they have connections with.”

The guest said, “I pray to God that I don’t get one so I don’t get put in that position.”

Peerzada explained what he felt his true award was: “When a man or woman looks at me, the way they smile, that love and that affection.”

The host then said the state was like a mother, so where had the mother erred in her judgement.

“Look, this mother has always been confused about culture, that’s the problem,” Peerzada said. “If you begin your culture from the moment Arabs landed here, what are you even left with?”

The senior actor isn’t the first to talk about their dearth of civil awards on Nawaz’s show — Faysal Qureshi joked last month that the only way he’d get a Sitara-i-Imtiaz was by going to Imtiaz supermarket and asking them for a sitara.

However, unlike Peerzada, Qureshi said he would have to accept a state honour if offered due to its significance and what it represents.

In a clip shared on Instagram, digital creator Rija Rafique identified a YouTube channel run by Noman Aleem, a “drama analyst and critic”, who she claimed was posting videos about Pakistani dramas and actors with digitally manipulated cover photos.

Rafique shared thumbnails of Aleem’s videos — which have since been changed — illustrating how specific body parts of Pakistanis actresses and other prominent figures had been digitally manipulated in order to “entice the male gaze”.

She explained that any act through which Artificial Intelligence and digital tools are used to cause “physical, sexual or psychological harm” to women is termed “technology-facilitated gender-based violence”.

She added that just because a woman is a public figure, “that does not mean you have the right to manipulate her images in any way you wish, because that is illegal”.

Rafique pointed out that under the Constitution, nobody could “attack the natural dignity” of another person. She added that the Prevention of Electronic Crimes (Amendment) Act (Peca), 2025, Section 2R on the regulation of “unlawful or offensive online content”, particularly subsections (f) and (g), held liable for blocking or removal any online content which is “obscene or pornographic” or “fake”.

Rafique claimed there had been a surge in gender-based violence as social media access grew from 2019 onwards.

She said she wasn’t against the rising popularity of social media, but regretted that “the patriarchy we face in the physical world now has a modified form of misogyny online in the shape of harassment, stalking and image-based violence”.

In a comment under the video, Rafique claimed Aleem had changed the thumbnails of the videos she had mentioned, but she had saved screenshots of the objectionable content.

In the comments section a number of celebrities appreciated her for raising this important issue.

Romaisa Khan said she had come across the channel on YouTube earlier and had to “immediately report it” for its content. She said the issue wasn’t just the thumbnails but also that “how they talk about the actors is disgusting”.

Naeema Butt called on Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz to take action against Aleem, calling his videos a “shameful act”. She asked the YouTuber what the actors had done to him and if he had any fear of punishment for what he was doing.

Bushra Ansari calls out fake quotes

Elsewhere on the internet, veteran actor Bushra Ansari clarified that she was not responsible for politically charged statements being attributed to her on social media.

In a post on Instagram, she said, “It has come to my attention that some fake graphics and political statements are being circulated on social media using my picture. I want to make it absolutely clear to all of you that I have never shared or supported any political narrative and these false statements have zero connection to me.”

In the caption, the actor called the actions “cheap and criminal”, adding that such use of social media was “awful”.

She posted a series of pictures on Sunday, including one of the welcome the family had prepared for their newest member and another of the little angel “sleeping peacefully in our world at last”.

And a picture of the baby.

Some of the pictures were older, from when the actor was still pregnant.

One of the shots was even snapped by the soon-to-be older sister Alyana. Khan posted pictures of all the cool things she got up to during the pregnancy, including a trip to Disneyland.

She also posted a giant bouquet of roses Shabir got her — talk about couple goals.

There were all the items and preparations done specifically for the baby’s arrival, including the tiniest milk bottle and the cutest set of clothes.

A shot of Khan after having the baby was also included. In the initial announcement, she’d made clear that she’d waited, recovered and soaked in the joy before sharing her news with the world.

Of course, there were pictures of Alyana too, settling well into her big sister duties.

While the happy parents continue to soak in the joys of having a new member join their family, we’d just like to wish them the very best with their baby!

The notice referenced Shajaffar’s appearance on the YouTube show Say It All with Iffat Omar and claimed that she accused Butt of having “sexually harassed [her] on set”. Shajaffar has not publicly commented on the notice, and in the interview, she referred to the person solely as “Arsalan”. She later clarified on social media that she was not talking about Arslan Khan, her College Gate costar.

Butt’s connection to the incident is being attributed to Omar, the host, who purportedly said he was the one being discussed.

Shajaffar’s interview with Omar was released on May 21. In it, the actor mentioned a number of instances in which “Arsalan’s” behaviour made her “feel uncomfortable” and that he believed she was “someone to get fresh or frank with”.

Shajaffar recalled an incident where she was discussing Manto’s feminism with the project’s writer when “Arsalan” entered the discussion, claiming Manto was not a feminist and women “hated him”. Upon being rebuked by Shajaffar, he began “shaking his belt as if he wanted to take it off and hit me with it”. She said he also “started calling me names”.

The notice described the allegations made by Shajaffar against “Arsalan” as “false, baseless, malicious and defamatory” and said they had caused “serious reputational damage, mental distress, humiliation and public embarrassment” to Butt.

The notice demanded Shajaffar “retract the allegations”, “take steps for the removal of the defamatory content”, “issue a clear, unconditional public apology and retraction” on YouTube and “refrain from repeating such allegations in the future”.

In the event that she does not comply within 14 days, the notice said Butt’s legal team would “initiate civil defamation proceedings, criminal proceedings and all other remedies available under Pakistani law”.

In the interview, Shajaffar also claimed “Arsalan” made inappropriate comments about her body. “He was like, ‘Listen, you should really eat this and eat that. That will give you some weight here and there.’”

The actor said she told her co-star to “shut the f*** up”, which she said he did not take well.

She also mentioned an incident in which the director had told her and “Arsalan” to work together and he approached her for a hug. Shajaffar said she told him to not touch her four times while backing away and when he didn’t listen, she screamed at him.

This, the Lali actor said, caused him to resort to his own stream of expletives. “He lost his mind because I didn’t allow him to touch me without my permission. I don’t know how I had the guts, I was shaking, but I was like, ‘no means no’.”

An explosion hit the train as it was passing through a railway crossing in the provincial capital, derailing passenger bogies and destroying a number of vehicles waiting for the train to cross.

As Pakistanis mourned the tragedy, celebrities joined the nation in expressing their grief at the loss of life. Mahira Khan saw the city bleed again and couldn’t help but ask: “How much more?”

Sarwat Gilani posted a story with broken hearts.

Talha Anjum minced no words and said he stood “with our soldiers” against the “terrorists” who took “innocent lives” in the attack. The rapper also sent prayers for the souls of those who had died.

Farhan Saeed similarly said his “heart goes out to all the victims and [their] families”. He said he wished Pakistani forces would “make examples” out of those responsible. The singer said the attack was the work of Pakistan’s enemy, which had to be defeated “at any cost”.

Designer Hassan Sheheryar Yasin spoke for many people across Pakistan when he said, “Today our hearts are heavy with the pain of so many innocent lives lost and families forever changed.”

The attack occurred shortly after 8am on Sunday when the train was travelling from Quetta Cantonment to the city’s main railway station. People present near the site of the incident recounted hearing a loud explosion and seeing people run for cover.

A statement from the provincial government said the victims included three members of the Frontier Constabulary and a number of “pedestrians, passengers, bystanders, and residents living in houses adjacent to the blast site”. A family of four, a couple and their two children, were among the casualties.

What followed was a deeply candid discussion about the complicated realities of being a modern Pakistani woman in the public eye.

​Images: Having grown up between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the UK, which aspects of each culture do you feel most define your personality and your approach to the pageant world?

Roma: ​Growing up in different countries gave me perspective. It taught me how to take the good from each culture and shape myself intentionally, instead of feeling confined to one way of being. But no matter where I lived, my connection to Pakistan was always central. It gave me a sense of responsibility to carry my culture with respect and honesty. Everything I step into globally is tied back to where I come from and the weight of representing my people with dignity.

Images: Following Erica Robin’s historic debut, you became the second woman to carry the Miss Universe Pakistan title on a global stage. How do you feel about the growing visibility of Pakistani women in international pageantry, and what unique aspect of your own heritage were you most excited to showcase at Miss Universe 25?

Roma: ​It feels powerful and emotional. Erica opening that door meant the world, and carrying that momentum forward felt like both an honour and a responsibility. The visibility of Pakistani women on global stages is long overdue.

At Miss Universe 25, I was most excited to showcase our diversity. Not one idea of beauty, not one story. I wanted the world to see a Pakistani woman who is global yet deeply connected to her roots.

Images: You have been vocal about challenging colourism and conventional beauty standards in the South Asian industry, once stating, “I will not apologise for looking like my people”. How does it feel to see your features celebrated at a major festival like Cannes, and do you feel the industry is finally moving toward genuine inclusivity?

Roma: ​It feels deeply personal. For so long, features like mine were either overlooked or openly criticised. To now see those same features celebrated on a global platform like Cannes feels like a full circle moment.

It is not just about me walking a red carpet, it is about challenging what has historically been excluded. Seeing my features celebrated at Cannes is meaningful because for so long they were questioned or dismissed. It feels affirming, but also bittersweet.

Globally, the industry is becoming more inclusive, and spaces like Cannes are showing that change is possible. At the same time, the Pakistani industry still has a long way to go. It is strange to feel celebrated abroad for the very features that are often questioned at home. I hope moments like this help open doors and conversations back home, so acceptance does not only come from outside.

​Images: Representing Pakistan at the 79th Cannes Film Festival is a significant milestone. In what capacity did you be represent the country, and how does your preparation for a film festival red carpet differ from the pageant stage?

Roma: ​Cannes was not about competition for me, it was about cultural presence. I was there as a Pakistani woman occupying a global cultural space that has rarely included us. Preparing for a film festival is much more about identity and intention than precision.

In pageantry, everything is timed and judged. At Cannes, the focus was on storytelling, energy, and authenticity. I wanted to walk the carpet as myself, not as a perfected version, but as someone representing where she comes from with confidence.

Images: Your wardrobe at Miss Universe featured heritage-driven items, like the sari. Can you tell us a bit about the designers and stylists you showcased on the Cannes red carpet this year?

​Roma: My styling at Cannes was very intentional and emotional for me. I collaborated with stylist Danish Maqsood and designers Caia and Studio SY by Syra Yousuf for Cannes.

Every look was inspired by Pakistani women who came before me, women who broke barriers in art, activism, politics, and culture long before this generation had access to global platforms. I wanted my wardrobe to feel like a tribute to their courage and sacrifice. I would not be here without them.

The silhouettes, craftsmanship, and details were chosen to honor resilience, grace, and legacy. It was less about fashion as spectacle and more about fashion as remembrance and respect.

Images: Many might be surprised to learn you have a degree in business and marketing and work as an assistant merchandiser for JD Sports Fashion. How has your professional background influenced the way you manage your brand and public image as Miss Universe Pakistan?

Roma: ​My background in business management and a job revolving around numbers has kept me grounded. It taught me discipline, consistency, and perspective. Being in a structured, results driven environment reminds me that titles and visibility are temporary, but integrity and work ethic are not. It helps me stay connected to real life and approach everything I do with balance and sincerity.

Images: You’ve expressed a desire to use your platform to improve educational access for women in rural Pakistan. Are there specific projects or organisations you are currently working with to make this a reality?

Roma: ​Education access for women in rural Pakistan is something I think about constantly. I am currently working behind the scenes with small scale initiatives and educators who focus on long term access rather than surface-level solutions.

I am especially interested in programmes that involve families and communities, because education cannot thrive in isolation. My goal is to build something sustainable, something that supports girls not just to enrol, but to stay, grow, and eventually lead. This is not a quick project for me, it is a lifelong commitment.

​Images: You’ve faced significant online criticism and trolling regarding your appearance. What is your personal strategy for maintaining mental well-being and staying focused on your purpose amidst the noise of social media?

​Roma: Online criticism can be heavy, especially when it is personal and constant. Over time, I learned that protecting my mental health is not optional, it is necessary.

I stay grounded through faith, routine, and distance from spaces that do not serve me. I remind myself that people project their insecurities onto visibility. Staying focused on purpose helps me rise above the noise. I also lean into rest, reflection, and community. Strength does not come from responding to everything, it comes from knowing what deserves your energy.

Images: Beyond the pageant world and Cannes, where do you see your career heading?

​Roma: I am open to exploring film, especially because representation is ultimately the goal. Pakistani media still has a long way to go in reflecting the full spectrum of our women.

I want darker skinned girls to see themselves centered, not sidelined. Whether that is through film, fashion, or leadership roles behind the scenes, I want my work to contribute to changing narratives. I also see myself continuing in business and social impact spaces. I do not believe purpose has to fit into one industry.

​Images: You’ve spoken candidly about the lack of sleep, the high emotional stakes and the criticism you faced during your journey. What is your message to the many Pakistani women who are told they shouldn’t or can’t occupy these global spaces about finding a “purpose” that outweighs the noise?

​Roma: To every woman who feels exhausted, discouraged, or unheard, I want you to know that your presence matters even when it feels invisible. Purpose is what carries you when validation does not.

You will be criticised, misunderstood, and questioned, especially when you choose spaces that were not designed for you. But rest is allowed, quitting on yourself is not. You do not need to be fearless, you just need to keep going. The world expands every time a woman refuses to shrink.

The pop star talked about his marriage and newfound followers in an interview with Haroon Rashid on BBC Asian Network.

Raheem said he was glad he got married, joking that he thinks his wife “likes the attention” she gets from the relationship. “Honestly, I’m like, ‘It just took like six years to be a star and look at you, like two days and you’re everywhere’. And she’s like, ‘Stop it, Hasan.’”

The singer called marriage the “best decision I did”, adding that the wedding took place at “a crucial point in my life, going through a lot of stuff”.

He said the cultural aspect of the wedding was very important to him, so he got married “in the most authentic Gilgiti way”.

“Everyone had to see that side of me. What’s better than doing it on your wedding?”

What Raheem didn’t see coming was the outpouring of love he received and not just from fans either. “I was not expecting it to blow up so much. Like, I get aunties meeting me who are not fans of my music. They’re like, ‘You got married!’ I’m like, ‘What?’”

The star recalled an incident when he was flying within the US and talked to a woman whose daughter wanted to attend his concert in Washington DC.

She asked him to get her daughter tickets and while Raheem got on with arranging passes, the woman stopped him and said, “One second, beta, listen to me. You’re the Hasan who got married, right? I know you!”

“The wedding had a separate fanbase,” he told Rashid.

Months later, he revisited the controversy surrounding his Kathmandu concert and talked about the interview on the Geo Podcast with Mubashir Hashmi.

Hashmi brought the incident up by singing the rapper’s praises and saying that Anjum is popular around the world, so a fan presenting him with a flag was simply a gesture of love.

Hashmi said Pakistanis had a record of being the more sane voices when it came to cross-border matters and said he found the way Anjum was treated to be “completely unacceptable”. He asked the rapper for his views on this, adding that many people condemned it at the time.

“I wasn’t expecting that and that’s mostly because I don’t do interviews and wherever I go, I try for there to be a point to it. I don’t talk to people for no reason,” Anjum replied.

He said he had been following the news in the aftermath of his concert and found mixed reactions, with senior artists who had been to India — who “knew what it feels like when a fan shows love to you,” in the rapper’s words — supporting his point of view.

The two agreed there were double standards in the way people dealt with Indian and Pakistani artists interacting. “When Diljit [Dosanjh] does a concert and invites Hania Aamir on to the stage, we celebrate,” Hashmi said, with Anjum calling this behaviour “hypocrisy”.

Coming to the interview, the rapper said in the days following his concert, one channel “had gone after him” and he felt he needed to go on to their show and explain himself.

“When the interview started, the way I was spoken to, I don’t talk to anyone like that and I don’t want anyone to talk to me that way. Sitting there, I felt like I was a politician.”

Anjum said he corrected her, still respected her, and wished her the best of luck, but thought she “must have learnt that you don’t do this”. That earned a hearty laugh from Hashmi who said, “Yeah, she sure found out.”

The rapper’s tone was similarly celebratory at the onset of the flag controversy, when he said he would “do it again” in a now-deleted post on X.

Later, facing backlash from the public, he issued an “unconditional” apology on Khan’s show, saying he had lost track in the heat of the moment.

The host’s behaviour on the show was called out for being aggressive, especially by celebrities. At the time, Yasir Hussain and Khaqan Shahnawaz even compared Khan to firebrand Indian TV personality Arnab Goswami.

He also looked great while doing it.

One could write about what Saeed wore and the exhibit — and I will be doing that — but an analysis can also be dedicated solely to Rehar and how he can always be counted on to put his best fashion foot forward.

From a tapered ivory sherwani amplified by an emerald grand Imam Zamin, to another one in pink, paired with a chooridar; a fitted angarkha-jacket hybrid paired with balloon pants and then, for an after-party, a tailored jacket and pant set in ivory, Rehar’s outfits were all over social media. Saeed is one of Pakistan’s finest actors and she looked gorgeous, but even while she dazzled, you paused your online scrolling for a bit to zoom in on what Rehar wore.

There is grit beyond the glamour, of course. It was hard to track Rehar down post-Cannes, because he is taking a break and spending quite a bit of time sleeping.

“I only found out that I would be going to Cannes two weeks before the event,” he told me. “For 15 days, I was busy with preparations. My craftsmen worked day and night and then, I was in Cannes with Sanam for just two and a half days. We created so many different looks for her and I would be there, helping with the styling and making sure the fits were just right. I also had my exhibit. It was great but also exhausting.”

Saeed wore many of Rehar’s archival pieces, seen previously in his fashion shows and exhibits. Why then did he and his crew have to work day and night to get the outfits ready? “The outfit that Sanam wore at the main event was made from scratch,” explained Rehar, referring to the layered, exaggerated peacock dress that was worn by the actor.

Paired with an embroidered floral dupatta, Saeed accessorised the look with a simple teeka and gajras in her hair. “When I found out that Sanam would be walking the red carpet, I decided that this look would be perfect for her. She has the height and physique to carry off an elaborate design like this one. The floral dress that Sanam wore was also custom-made especially for her,” he said.

“The other outfits were from my past collections but they had to be tweaked. The green sari with mukesh work on it is from my Nargis line, worn by Eman Suleman in the show. We stitched a new blouse for Sanam, made a potli for accessorising the look and added big tassels. The sherwani and the long black dress with metal embellishments were both from the Jeevan by Hussain Rehar line.”

His exhibit, titled ‘A knot in South Asia’s loom’ and described, on the designer’s official Instagram page, as “a decolonisation of fashion’s origin story told through Lahore, craftsmanship and South Asian authorship”, also featured designs from his Nargis collection.

The clothes had recently been in the designer’s solo showcase in Lahore and he selected particular outfits to take with him to Cannes. “I wanted the clothes to represent the inherent beauty of Pakistan’s craftsmanship and the various techniques utilised by artisans in Lahore. These clothes were all created painstakingly, with workmen spending hours perfecting the embroideries. I wanted the world to see this,” he said.

It all looked gorgeous on social media but at the same time, Rehar and Saeed’s Cannes jaunt has led to conjecture.

It is no secret that attendance at the Cannes Film Festival can now be purchased, with different packages offering a selection of options — in fact, other Pakistani celebrities and a plethora of Indian stars also attended the event this year. You can attend a film screening, go to an ‘exclusive’ after-party, walk the red carpet, host a fashion exhibit and your interview can be featured in ‘exclusive’ publications in return for a hefty renumeration (this is not one of those interviews, mind you).

Keeping that in mind, one wonders how Rehar’s Cannes attendance came about.

“I was contacted by a media company called Us Studios and I felt that it would be a great opportunity to build my brand’s international image,” explained Rehar. “They asked me to suggest Pakistani actresses who could attend the festival with me and out of all the names that I suggested, Sanam got approved. I did pay for the exhibit, which also gave me access to attend a film screening, but I was assisted by Us Studios with the arrangements. After showcasing in Paris during Paris Fashion Week, I thought that this would be exciting territory for my brand.”

News reports stated that Rehar’s collection was “presented alongside luxury houses such as Gucci and Roberto Cavalli, showcasing Pakistan as a source of fashion, craft and cultural inspiration”. Why didn’t we see these other prestigious exhibits in the photographs shared on social media of Rehar’s showcase? The answer for this comes from Husaan ‘Huss’ Khan, founder of Us Studios.

“It [Cannes] is essentially a film festival, of course, but major fashion brands from around the world do set up exhibits and showcases around the same time as the main events. These exhibits take place at different locations. For Hussain, the venue was the Chateau Saint George. It was exciting to see so many people come and see the exhibit. Indian actor Taha Shah of Heeramandi fame was there, as were some members from actress Heidi Klum’s family.”

Images from the Gucci and Cavalli exhibits being discussed could not be found online at the time this article was written.

What we do, however, see — and cheer for — is Rehar’s showcase.

Stately mannequins wearing a peplum shirt, a glittering, embellished lehnga, an elaborate jacket, a heavy duty embellished dupatta. And alongside them Sanam Saeed and Hussain Rehar looking glamorous.

There were frequent critiques on the Internet that Saeed’s clothes were not an apt sartorial representation of Pakistan but I would like to beg to differ here. The silhouettes and the embellishments were Pakistani and the looks represented a Pakistani designer’s vision, in collaboration with Saeed, on what would work for attending events taking place during one of the world’s most celebrated film festivals.

This should be Pakistani enough to appease critics.

While attendance at the Cannes Film Festival may be up for purchase, designers pay similar participation fees to showcase at fashion weeks. When a designer hosts a solo show, they invest a sizeable sum into the event.

Rehar’s trip, as he has clarified, was made possible with the help of an international media company (Us Studios), and even though he did pay for his exhibit, this is a representation of his vision for his brand. If a designer chooses to strengthen their global footprint, investing not just in local fashion shows but also in international exhibits and shows, should this not be something to applaud?

And if that designer, accompanied by one of the country’s most well-known actors, does all this in a very classy way, curating looks that ooze glamor, the social media buzz it generates is only inevitable. One hopes that Rehar — who has wrapped up merely 10 years as a designer — continues to build his brand’s international image while not losing focus on the local market.

Another point of skepticism concerning the recent Cannes attendance was Saeed dedicating her visit to celebrated director, producer and actor Begum Shamim Ara.

In a beautifully-worded video, Sanam spoke about Shamim Ara’s many contributions and her lasting impact paving the way for female artists in Pakistan.

“She proved a woman can stand in front of a camera, sit in a producer’s seat, and call action from a director’s chair. She never got an invitation to Cannes, but her work made mine possible,” she said.

In a later post, Saeed shared a picture of Shamim Ara wearing green accompanied by images of herself in Cannes in green. “Here’s to you Begum Shamim Ara,” she had written in the caption.

It was reported that Saeed was the inaugural honouree of the South Asian Women Excellence in Cinema and Arts initiative launched by Us Studios. In an emotional caption, she had written, “I didn’t go as an ambassador for a brand, I didn’t go as part of a film team, I went just as a South Asian woman representing Pakistan and our heritage and craft. I told you I’d walk for the women of Pakistan, for the ones who came before us, for the ones who are yet to come and for the ones are never seen behind the scenes.”

“Sanam’s film was not screening at the festival so she was not officially invited by the festival itself. However, celebrities from all around the world are also pitched to walk the red carpet and attend film screenings. Sanam has such a powerful body of work to her credit and so much credibility. When we pitched her name to the Cannes team, they approved it immediately,” explained Huss. “She did not have to pay for her attendance and she represented Pakistan with such pride, grace and dedication throughout the various events.”

However, what did the dedication to Shamim Ara involve? Was one of the legendary actor’s movies or songs screened at the venue? “That’s what we had planned,” said Huss. “We were going to screen one of Begum Shamim Ara’s movies at the Chateau Saint George. Unfortunately, Sanam was not in Cannes for long enough. She was there for two and a half days and the screening could not take place.”

This means, then, that the dedication to Shamim Ara was mainly through social media posts and by virtue of the green sari that Saeed wore in recognition of the green worn by the legendary actor in a picture also posted by Saeed on social media.

One had hoped for more.

Huss reasoned, “This is the first time we did this and it will take time to iron out timelines. Hopefully, we will be able to do more next year. At Us Studios, we do want to take Pakistani actors and designers to Cannes every year. There is so much talent in Pakistan which should be showcased proudly to the world!”

Leaving skepticism aside, this is true. With the state of the economy constantly fluctuating, there are very few sponsors with the wherewithal to invest in Pakistani talent and bring it to a global stage.

When Sanam Saeed walked the red carpet at Cannes, you saw the pictures and thought that she deserved to be there and should have been there much earlier. When Hussain Rehar invested in his brand and made waves internationally, you appreciated his vision for brand-building. When a media platform — Us Studios — suddenly surfaces and announces that they would like to work with Pakistani talent and showcase them around the world, you are hopeful.

Maybe next year, we will get to cheer some more.

Mairaj began his career as a theatre actor before transitioning into television and film with such ease that challenging roles began coming his way early on. Whether commanding the stage or electrifying the screen in a gritty digital series, Mairaj’s journey proves the enduring power of pure craft. In a world obsessed with fleeting fame, he remains rooted, vanishing so completely into his roles that audiences forget they are watching an actor at all.

As we sit down for a chat at a photo studio just a short distance from where Mairaj is filming for an untitled TV serial that day in DHA, Karachi, the air is thick with the promise of a long and insightful conversation.

The red brick-panelled interior lends the room we are in a warm, intimate vibe. A plush black leather sofa occupies one corner, while a massive mirror on the opposite wall catches Mairaj’s attention as he pauses briefly to check his appearance before walking over and settling into the sofa comfortably.

Once settled in, the conversation naturally warms up over steaming cups of karrak doodh patti [strong milky tea] and samosas served to us by an office boy.

From stage to television and films, actor Saleem Mairaj has built his career on discipline, immersion and substance rather than spectacle. At a time when many actors are consumed by visibility and social media presence, he remains committed to the old-school values of craft — a philosophy that continues to define his enduring success

Mairaj tells me that he refuses to linger on ‘what ifs’ or missed chances. Instead, he channels all his creative energy into breathing life into the next character before him. He is a man who values weight over length and soul over stardom, which makes the now-veteran actor a refreshing anomaly in an industry often obsessed with the superficial.

When Mairaj selects a role, he isn’t counting lines, he tells me, he is measuring resonance. Yet, his approach is unapologetically competitive, driven by a desire to leave a lasting impression. “If another actor has more screen time, then my character must have more impact,” he asserts.

A stage in Lyari

Every career has a defining beginning and, for Mairaj, that pivotal moment didn’t unfold in a glitzy studio — it took place on a modest stage in Karachi’s Lyari neighbourhood during an August 14 Independence Day event in the 1990s. Cast in a role that demanded more than mere presence, he was tasked with delivering a powerful speech.

While other participants delivered routine three-line tributes, a young Mairaj seized the microphone and spoke candidly from the heart about his community’s social struggles. Driven by a desire to spark real conversation, his speech bypassed surface-level concerns and struck a chord of genuine concern.

In the audience sat Shahid Shafaat, director of Katha Theatre, and actress Sania Saeed. They saw not just a speech, but a raw performer, who could command a room. Shafaat wasted no time, inviting Mairaj into theatre and offering his mentorship. Trusting Shafaat’s instincts, Mairaj took the leap, and then joined a production with Saeed.

“I didn’t know anything about technique,” he recalls. “I was so raw that I actually twisted Sania Saeed’s hand for real once during a scene! She had to tell me, ‘That’s enough!’” When I ask him to name the play, he says he doesn’t remember.

He gained invaluable insight from Sania Saeed, who pushed him towards literature, encouraging him to look beyond scripts and immerse himself in the works of Manto and other literary giants. “That shifted my entire understanding of the stories we were telling on stage,” he reflects.

Later, under the mentorship of industry legends such as Sheema Kermani and Khalid Ahmed, Mairaj refined his raw creative energy into technical precision. He warmly reminisces about his formative years with Kermani’s Tehrik-i-Niswan and his collaborations with writer, director and actor Khalid Ahmed. Those were days of relentless travel, as he crisscrossed cities and journeyed deep into the heart of rural Sindh to perform street theatre, honing the craft that would eventually make him a household name.

From stage to small screen

The transition from stage to television then took place — almost by chance. Director Mehreen Jabbar spotted Mairaj’s raw potential at a theatre play and cast him in a project in 1999, which left him feeling out of his depth. He did his first television play, Afsoon Khwaab, from the Aik Mohabbat Sau Afsanay series, with her.

“I had no formal experience with the camera,” Mairaj recalls. “I felt out of place sitting among educated, English-speaking professionals.” Tasked with playing a 51-year-old man in Afsoon Khwaab, he was frozen by technical anxieties until Mehreen offered a transformative piece of advice: “Just play this character naturally.” That permission, to be authentic, allowed him to navigate his debut without a glitch!

“A year later, I took on the somewhat daunting task of portraying the character of Safdar in a remake of Kiran Kahani, which was played by the legendary Jamshed Ansari in the original.”

From the gritty stage of theatre to high-stakes television hits such as Alif (2019), today Mairaj has carved out his own space with quiet authority. He remains an actor who prioritises substance over star power, guided by a singular philosophy: work comes first, and the status of a ‘hero’ is secondary. Now, as he peels back the layers of a career marked by serendipity and deep mentorship, it is clear that he is not just an actor but a custodian of the craft.

The stage as a sanctuary

Television may have made Mairaj a household name, but theatre remains his first love. The stage is his sanctuary, a place where time slows and he can lose himself completely in a character.

“On television, the process can feel quite mechanical,” he admits. “One day you are a brother, the next day a father, then a husband. However, theatre forces you back to the basics. It is where you find the raw, unfiltered experiments of acting that keep you from falling into complacency.”

However, he remains deeply conscious of the intimacy of television:

“When you work in television, you step directly into people’s living rooms. Entire families watch together, and that brings with it a lot of responsibility.”

A different destiny

Though he once aspired to the stable, predictable life of a government employee, Mairaj is profoundly grateful that path never materialised. “I wasn’t meant for that life,” he says, and recalls his early days when he worked as a travel agent. Since then, the young man, dreaming of securing a place in the showbiz industry, has built an impressive filmography in cinema as well, which proves his staying power.

He recalls the moment he took his father to see the Ramchand Pakistani (2008) poster, a memory that remains a testament to his pride in sharing his achievements with his family.

He now has a long list of acclaimed big screen projects to his credit, namely Na Maaloom Afraad (2014), Saawan (2016), Actor-in-Law (2016), Na Maloom Afraad 2 (2017), Rangreza (2017), Load Wedding (2018), Heer Maan Ja (2019), and memorably Lal Kabootar (2019). More recently, he has also appeared in Khel Khel Mein (2021), Dum Mastam (2022), John (2023) and 13 (2023), with more on the anvil.

Fortunately, he never had to struggle to land film roles; instead, offers poured in consistently, and he accepted projects that fit within his schedule. Even where he has done cameos, such as in Na Maloom Afraad and Lal Kabootar, those roles have left an impact on audiences. And obviously directors and producers recognise this as well.

When television grows up

What begins as a trip down memory lane from his accidental foray into showbiz quickly evolves into a deep dive into the industry he now calls his second home.

As his tone shifts from conversational to resolute, it becomes quite clear that Mairaj holds remarkably strong, uncompromising views on the state of art and storytelling in Pakistan and is an avid observer of the industry’s evolution.

He is particularly optimistic about the technical “victories” in dramas such as Case No 9, Gunaah and Khaie and views them as proof that the TV drama industry has finally reached a level of sophistication — citing superior cinematography, tighter scripts and performances by acting powerhouses such as Saba Qamar — that can compete internationally.

“We are producing work that can stand tall on its own,” Mairaj says with conviction. “If you put these on a global platform such as Netflix today, they would hold their own really well.”

The landscape of Pakistani entertainment is currently in transition, shifting from traditional, rigid television structures towards a more daring digital frontier. For Mairaj, this evolution isn’t just a technical upgrade; it is creative liberation.

He credits this new wave to visionary directors such as Wajahat Hussain, Musaddiq Malek, Haseeb Hassan, Danish Nawaz, Saife Hasan and Ehteshamuddin. To Mairaj, the breakout success of projects such as Noor Jehan (2024) — which nine directors reportedly passed over before it was taken up by Musaddiq Malek — proves that a strong, singular vision will always outweigh the safety of ‘veteran’ status.

The need for professionalism

Despite his optimism, Mairaj is a pragmatist when it comes to industry reforms. “The Actors’ Collective [ACT] faces a conflict of interest because many members serve as both performers and producers,” he points out explaining why progress has been slow. “This overlap makes it difficult to advocate for fair rights.”

Rather than relying on government help, he believes the real solution lies in enforcing stricter professional discipline. He points to international production sets, where strict shift protocols protect the artist’s focus and energy. Without this structural integrity, he fears the industry remains prone to the very “mechanical complacency” he strives to avoid.

Perhaps the most persistent shadow in Mairaj’s career is the frequent, exhausting comparison to Indian actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui. While he respects Siddiqui’s talent, Mairaj finds the narrative reductive.

“People point to our similar ‘struggle’ stories — the idea of rising from nothing — but that is a common narrative,” he explains. “We only romanticise the struggle after someone becomes successful. If someone fails, their struggle is never discussed.”

For Mairaj, the comparison is a superficial reading of a complex life. “I am Saleem Mairaj. I have my own journey, my own struggle and my own work.”

Mairaj attributes his career’s stability to the solid foundation of his personal life. He states that his 2003 marriage served as a turning point, further inspiring him to focus on acting.

Today, his family — his wife, his primary support, and his children (a daughter and two sons), his source of peace — serves as the solid foundation upon which his professional life rests. It is this domestic anchor that allows him to remain unbothered by TV politics.

While many actors shun specific channels or roles, Mairaj views such behaviour as unprofessional. “An actor’s job is to act,” he asserts. “The moment you start limiting your work based on arbitrary boundaries, you stop growing as a performer.”

Chasing texture

By the time we call for a second round of chai, the atmosphere has settled into an easy, candid rhythm. The conversation inevitably veers toward the milestones that define him — the roles that keep him up at night and the projects that test the very limits of his resolve.

Taking a slow, thoughtful sip and shifting into a corner of the couch, he begins to tap the cushion armrest rhythmically with his index finger — a subconscious tic signalling he is ready to peel back the layers.

With a contemplative look, he begins to divulge the stories behind the characters that have since become part of his DNA. “If a script is good,” he notes, “you don’t have to force yourself to read it. It pulls you in.” For him, it is these challenges — adopting a character’s limp or wrestling with a demanding script — that make acting truly rewarding.

“When I played Jameel in Mann Mayal [2016], people would come up to me and say, ‘You’ve become a servant!’ he recalls with a laugh. For Mairaj, such reactions are the highest form of praise — the ultimate proof that the artifice of his performance has completely dissolved. For him, the allure of a role lies not in top billing or screen time; it lies in the “texture” of the character.

His portrayal of Sultan in the critically acclaimed Alif is another case in point. He felt an immediate, visceral connection to Sultan — a man defined by the ghosts of past glory and the crushing, quiet weight of his own ego.

Ultimately, he remains his own harshest critic, dissecting his work with surgical precision and a rare mix of humility and relentless scrutiny.

Perhaps part of his success has to do with discipline. “In my entire career, I have never been late to a shoot, and I have never missed a day due to health issues,” he shares. “That discipline is my way of thanking God for this career.”

It is this professional rigidity that has earned him the respect of his peers across borders. However, the intensity of his craft often clashes with the industry’s chaotic logistics.

While filming the drama Mann Mayal, he faced a quintessential actor’s paradox: he was caught between the conflicting demands of the small and silver screens. At the time, he was also shooting for the film Actor-in-Law, creating a logistical tug-of-war over his appearance.

Actor-in-Law director Nabil Qureshi required a sharp, clean-shaven look for his cinematic role, while Mann Mayal director Haseeb Hassan insisted that his television character should maintain a rugged beard. To bridge this creative divide, a clever compromise was struck: he committed to the clean-shaven look for the film and relied on the wizardry of a make-up artist and an artificial beard to bring his Mann Mayal character to life.

Being human — and honest

As he looks to the next generation of actors, Mairaj offers sobering advice: stay human. He cautions against the performative trap of modern “hustle culture” and the obsession with social media marketing.

“Stop chasing the marketing of yourself and start chasing the craft,” he urges.

His own journey is a testament to the belief that the audience remembers the details of an actor — the dirty hands, the specific gait and the human truth — rather than their curated digital persona.

For Saleem Mairaj, the secret is simple: “If you focus on the truth of the task at hand, everything else eventually falls into place.”

Originally published in Dawn, ICON, May 17th, 2026

Cover: Photography: Mudassir Bin Shaukat | Grooming: Saraphine Andrew @ The Trio Salon | Designer: Zubair Shah | Styling, coordination & art direction: Infini Concepts

Videos from the event show a man, presumably trying to meet Hashmi at the event on Sunday, walk up behind her and get close before being lifted up by Raza. The fan is seen grinning as he’s carried to the side. The move sparked a debate, with some calling the actor childish while others praised his sense of chivalry.

Hashmi stepped in to defend her costar on Thursday, saying that while the event was a meet and greet, “that does not mean anyone has the right to come extremely close to me or any female and make them uncomfortable”.

She said she had interacted with fans throughout the event, with many men asking to take pictures with her respectfully and while maintaining boundaries. This one fan, she said, “crossed that line”.

She said Raza’s actions were a direct response to her feeling uncomfortable with the developing situation. Hashmi acknowledged it could have been handled better, but said Raza’s reaction “came from a protective instinct to make me feel safe in that moment”.

She denied any notion that her costar was trying to “insult or humiliate anyone” while acting in her defence.

“Just because a woman is a public figure, does not mean she stops deserving personal space,” she said. She asked people not to try normalise others crossing boundaries.

In a second story, she said she had seen Raza interact with his fans “with love and respect”. Hashmi said “one moment from a crowded situation” should not come to define how the actor’s nature.

Earlier, the fan at the centre of the issue made his own statement, claiming Raza had “misbehaved” with him and he felt “very bad” about the way he was treated for trying to take a picture. He said he had been to Fahad Mustafa’s fan meet before going to see Hashmi and was not mistreated like this.

“I felt very bad, I got emotional. This was unlike anything that has happened to me, I couldn’t believe this is what happens. We give these stars so much respect and they do this to us,” the fan said.

But one A-lister who eluded the comic to the end was the pope, whom Colbert, a devout Catholic, had long touted as his dream guest.

“The pope, who was definitely my guest tonight, has canceled,” Colbert joked, blaming a dispute over hotdogs before McCartney appeared to rapturous cheers.

The show, which Colbert has hosted since 2015, was axed after he mocked the broadcaster for a $16 million settlement with Trump for allegedly “maliciously” editing an interview with his Democratic election rival Kamala Harris.

Colbert called it a “big fat bribe.”

CBS has insisted the decision to cancel The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the ratings leader in the time slot, was purely financial — and that it was a coincidence the move came as CBS parent company Paramount lobbied for government approval of its $8.4 billion merger with Skydance Media.

Around that time, CBS brought in Bari Weiss, a right-wing journalist without significant TV experience, to run its news division.

In the weeks leading to Thursday’s curtain call, 62-year-old Colbert has at times cut a subdued figure, lacking some of his usual cheerful flair.

On Thursday he told the audience that “we were here to field the news with you, and I don’t know about you, but I sure have felt it.”

Colbert did not mention Trump directly on Thursday, instead using a recurring CGI wormhole gag as a metaphor for the president’s impact on US public life.

McCartney sang Beatles mega-hit ‘Hello, Goodbye’ to the capacity crowd at New York’s Ed Sullivan theatre where the Beatles performed in 1964 when they made their US debut.

“We thought America was just the land of the free, the greatest democracy. Was. Still is hopefully,” he said, wagging his finger at Colbert.

There were cameos from actors Tim Meadows, Paul Rudd, Ryan Reynolds and Bryan Cranston.

“It was amazing. No he didn’t cry — he somehow kept his composure through it all,” audience member Koenraad Smits, 31, told AFP after the taping finished.

A huge crowd formed around the storied Manhattan theatre cheering every celebrity arrival and trying to listen through the stage door.

Late-night hosts on the main networks have drawn Trump’s ire for their barbs against him and alleged liberal bias.

Colbert’s fellow funnyman Jimmy Kimmel was briefly taken off the air in September 2025 by his network ABC after complaints about a remark he made over the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

“You know, actually, one of these holes opened at my show last year, but it went away after about three days,” Kimmel said of the “wormhole” destroying Colbert’s show.

He has told Colbert’s fans to cancel their subscriptions to CBS’ digital platform.

‘Fired and festive’

Trump has repeatedly attacked media and press freedom since returning to office, using lawsuits and regulatory threats to retaliate for unflattering news coverage and jokes.

The president has long been a fierce critic of late-night talk show hosts and their jabs at him. Trump has called Colbert a “pathetic trainwreck” who should be “put to sleep.”

Trump hailed the end of The Late Show on Friday, posting on his Truth Social platform: “Colbert is finally finished at CBS. Amazing that he lasted so long!”

“No talent, no ratings, no life… Thank goodness he’s finally gone!” the president added.

Bidding a scathing farewell, rival host Greg Gutfeld of right-wing Fox News said on his show Wednesday that Colbert “did nothing but safe comedy.”

Colbert made his name playing a fictitious version of himself, embodying the type of conservative blowhard beloved by Fox News viewers — and derided by the left.

He first played the sharp-suited but dim-witted character on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart before getting a spin-off, The Colbert Report.

Colbert ascended to the pinnacle of US late-night TV when he was named host of the CBS flagship, shedding the character and employing his own voice.

Colbert has been coy about his next steps but announced he will be a writer on a future Lord of the Rings movie.

“Now a lot of people been asking me what I plan to do after tonight, and the answer is drugs,” he joked Thursday.

Rival late-night hosts all aired re-runs Thursday out of respect for Colbert’s swansong, which had an afterparty themed “Fired and festive!”

Cover via Reuters

The Airport police registered the case last month on the complaint of Mutaal Khan, who stated that on April 22, he left his home for the airport to travel to Lahore.

He added that while he was travelling in a cab, a double-cabin vehicle carrying four armed men intercepted his vehicle and, at gunpoint, allegedly abducted him, claiming that he had been involved in an accident.

The complainant further stated that the abductors kept taking him to different locations before snatching his mobile phone and allegedly transferring 8,600 USDT from his account. They also took his laptop and later dropped him at an undisclosed place in the Korangi Industrial Area before fleeing.

Speaking to Dawn, Advocate Syed Israr Ali Shah, counsel for the complainant, stated that after the incident, his client had lodged a complaint and the police later apprehended four suspects — Hamza, Saalim, Shahid and Wazir — and booked other suspects, including a police constable and actor Muneeb Butt, in the case.

He claimed that the investigating officer had informed him that the actor was booked on charges of allegedly facilitating at least two of the suspects while they were hiding in Islamabad.

The counsel added that he was still uncertain whether the actor had any involvement in the crime, but stated that the investigating agency had booked him in the case.

Later, the actor secured protective bail from the Islamabad High Court and surrendered before a Karachi ATC, where he moved a pre-arrest bail application.

After hearing the actor’s counsel, the ATC granted him interim bail against a surety bond of Rs100,000 and fixed June 8 for confirmation or otherwise.

A case was registered at the Airport police station under Sections 365-A (kidnapping or abducting for extorting property, valuable security, etc.), 392 (punishment for robbery) and 34 (common Intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code, read with Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act.

Originally published in Dawn, May 22nd, 2026

Acting on an appeal ​by the ‘Hips Don’t Lie’ singer, the court ordered the Treasury to reimburse her with ​over 60m euros ($70m), including interest, Shakira’s defence said.

The judge ruled ⁠that authorities had failed to prove that Shakira spent more than 183 days in Spain ​in 2011, as required by Spanish law to be considered a tax resident in the country. ​It does not affect tax years after 2011.

At the time, the tax agency had argued that Shakira was linked to Spain through her relationship with former FC Barcelona footballer Gerard Pique and had her centre of ​activities in the Mediterranean country.

But the High Court ruled that the fines were unlawful as ​they were “based on the assumption that the appellant’s tax residence was in Spain for the 2011 fiscal year, ‌a ⁠fact which has not been proven”.

The tax agency said it would appeal with the Supreme Court and no payment will be made until the final ruling.

Shakira’s lawyer, Jose Luis Prada, welcomed the court’s decision in a statement, saying that it “comes after an eight-year ordeal that has taken an ​unacceptable toll, reflecting a ​lack of rigour ⁠in administrative practice”.

The same statement quoted Shakira as saying she hoped the ruling would set a precedent for “thousands of ordinary citizens who are abused ​and crushed every day by a system that presumes them guilty ​and forces them ⁠to prove their innocence while facing financial and emotional ruin”.

In November 2023, Shakira separately reached a deal with prosecutors to avoid a trial in Barcelona over charges she failed to pay 14.5m ⁠euros in ​Spanish income tax between 2012 and 2014.

As part of ​the agreement, she accepted the charges and a fine of half the amount owed — more than 7.3m euros.

In an interview with Brut America at the Cannes Film Festival, Rogen shared his opinion on the use of AI in scriptwriting.

He said he doesn’t understand what AI is supposed to do. “Every time I see a video on Instagram that’s like, ‘Hollywood is cooked’, what follows is the most stupid, dog s**t I’ve ever seen in my life,” he laughed.

“And if your instinct is to use AI and not go through that process, you shouldn’t be a writer, because then you’re not writing. Go do something else. And if you don’t want to go through the process, you shouldn’t be a writer.  Like the whole idea of a tool that makes me write less is not appealing to me, because I like writing,” he clarified.

His comments come amid a renewed push — especially in Hollywood — for the use of AI. Demi Moore recently said fighting AI is “a battle we will lose” at Cannes, calling on creatives to find ways to instead work with AI.

The Academy Awards announced at the start of the month that actors created using AI will not be eligible for Oscars, as part of its crackdown on the use of AI. New rules include a requirement that only real, live human performers, and not their AI avatars, are eligible for the film world’s biggest prizes, and screenplays must have been penned by a person, rather than a chatbot.

Even Spotify is planning to launch badges to distinguish human creators from AI.

In Pakistan, AI is slowly creeping into our film industry as well. The country’s first AI-generated film, The Next Salahuddin, is set to premiere on HUM TV soon.

Bardem plays an overbearing film director with an explosive temper in The Beloved by Rodrigo Sorogoyen, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday to widespread praise from critics.

In an expletive-laden outburst at a press conference on Sunday, Bardem said part of his character’s flaws were due to “toxic masculinity” which led to men killing their ex-wives and girlfriends — and starting wars.

“That problem also goes to Mr Trump and Mr Putin and Mr Netanyahu,” Bardem, 57, said, referring to the US, Russian and Israeli leaders.

Bardem has been one of most outspoken film stars against Israel’s war on Gaza since 2023. The Israeli campaign has devastated the Palestinian territory and killed more than 72,000 people, more than half of them women and children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. A “genocide” is “still being committed”, Bardem said.

“It’s a fact. You can try to justify it, explain it, but it’s a fact. If you justify it with your silence or your support, you are pro-genocide.”

Speaking on Saturday, Bardem said he was “getting more work than ever” despite his public campaigning against Israel’s war on Gaza, something he attributed to “the narrative changing” around the conflict.

Originally published in Dawn, May 18th, 2026

While that’s true in some cases, Pakistani celebrities know it isn’t a rule, so many of them have some really interesting backup careers. So, without further ado, here are some Pakistani stars and what they’d be doing if they weren’t in show business.

Ameer Gilani and Mawra Hocane — Lawyers

Ameer Gilani and Mawra Hocane are certainly a power couple as actors, but they’d be just as iconic in court as both have law degrees. Hocane did her LLB from a University of London-affiliated programme in 2018 and her husband has an LLM from Harvard Law School.

Tabish Hashmi — Supply Chain Manager

Before Tabish Hashmi took the stand-up world by storm, he was a supply chain professional and before that, he was an engineer. Really, if we give him a minute, he might just jump into a fourth, unrelated field.

The comedian holds a bachelors in electrical engineering and an MBA from the Institute of Business Administration. Before joining Geo TV as a host, he served as the head of operations for logistics giant TCS.

Aymen Saleem — Financial Analyst

Aymen Saleem does not need a man in finance, largely because she was the woman in finance before she left her job at McKinsey — one of the world’s leading management consultancies — to pursue a career in acting. She announced in 2021 that she was taking a temporary break from acting.

The actor is a graduate of the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and interned at JP Morgan early in her career.

Hasan Raheem — Dentist

Yeah, that’s Dr Hasan Raheem to you. He breaks hearts and fixes teeth. The singer studied dentistry at the Bahria University Medical and Dental College in Karachi.

We don’t know if he ever practiced before deciding to commit to music full-time, but we’re pretty sure we’d trust him with a filling.

Momina Mustehsan — Engineer/Mathematician

You read that right, folks! Singer Momina Mustehsan has a double degree in biomedical engineering and applied mathematics and statistics from Stony Brook University in New York.

In 2018, at the height of her fame, her alma mater invited her back and honoured her as one of their 40 most influential alumni under the age of 40.

Which one surprised you most?

In Doctor Bahu, Kubra plays a young doctor who marries into a family of medical professionals. Sania marries Salman, the youngest son of the family who isn’t a doctor himself, and finds that despite marrying into a respected family of doctors, women aren’t allowed to work in their household.

The show stars Khan, Shuja Asad, Shahzad Nawaz, Saba Hamid, Hajra Yamin, Mira Sethi, Adeel Hussain, Atiqa Odho, Mahnoor Khan, Syed Mohammed Ahmed, Marina Khan, Usman Mazhar, Humza Sabzwari and Bakhtawar Mazhar. It has been written by Sanam Mehdi Zaryab and directed by Mehreen Jabbar.

Kubra’s post came with a fun caption declaring it a “SaniaGram”.

“Hi, Sania here! You guys have given us so much love. So I thought… maybe I share some moments you’ve not seen before? So here it is! 🥰❤️Sania - Thinking out loud.🥇”

She started off with a picture with Asad, Sania’s husband Salman in the show. “We’re off to the beach! He said he has a lot to tell me. Should I be worried?” asks ‘Sania’.

“Did he just call me a Gulab Jamun?” she asks in the second picture.

“A lot of effort was put into fitting onto this staircase. I don’t think my family realises I have an exam to prepare for. Hmph,” reads the caption for the third picture, which also features the director herself!

“Phuppo has no chill. Appointment pe rishta pakka karna shuru kardiya. Woh bhi MERA! I mean Sumera bhi to hai na! (She started arranging a rishta for me! I mean, Sumera’s around too!)” she said.

“Why is he being so friendly all of a sudden..? Shall I say something to scare him? Kickboxing ka bata doon (Should I tell him about my kickboxing)?” she said, with a picture of their wedding.

At least Sania’s sister-in-law is nice!

A nice picture with the fam before uncle Shehzad Nawaz came in to dash Salman’s dreams.

She soon warmed up to Salman a little — emphasis on little.

She was playing games and taking names without even realising she was.

‘Sania’ ended it with a picture of some random kids from a production team. This certainly isn’t a drama!

We love it when stars use social media for good — funny posts about their shows, that is.

The actor cut off her long locks and is now rocking a pixie — just in time for the summer — and everyone has lost their minds. From shock to horror, there are a lot of reactions online, especially on X where sane opinions go to die, so we thought we’d address some of them.

Sajal posted a picture of her new haircut on her stories on Tuesday night. Many speculated that it might be a filter.

She then posted a video of her hair to her account, and her sister, Saboor Aly, commented, which many took as confirmation that this was no filter or wig.

The internet then lost their collective minds. We’ve picked some of the tame reactions to include in this article.

There were some sane voices that pointed out that Sajal was not in fact the first Pakistani woman to get a pixie cut and that they actually used to be pretty common.

There were also others who understood that this was not normal behaviour.

We understand that many people appear to have a parasocial relationship with Sajal’s hair — if you take ‘understand’ to mean begrudgingly accept with great contempt — but the line really must be drawn somewhere.

If you don’t like a pixie cut, don’t get one, but Sajal has a right to get whatever haircut she wants. Sure, no one can stop you from having an opinion on her hair, though we don’t understand why it would be a point of conversation you feel deeply enough to post rants on social media about, but at some point, you’ve got to let it go and touch grass.

The girl got a haircut and everyone is acting like she’s committed a crime against humanity. It’s her hair and if she wanted to shave it all off, that would be her choice too.

And for all those in the ‘we have a right to our opinion’ camp, yes, you certainly do, but that doesn’t mean it’s valid.

We’d also like to remind everyone, this is Sajal Aly we’re talking about. She looks good in anything and everything.

TLDR: Let Sajal Aly get whatever haircut she wants because she looks good in everything.