Styled by Saad Hassan, the star wore a white shirt with a wide collar and puffed shoulders, paired with a traditional Balochi shalwar. The top and bottom were plain, likely in a deliberate effort to keep attention on the star of the outfit: an embroidered corset full of messages.

The corset, keeping with her film’s themes, had pictures of young girls playing football on it in green, black, white and brown threadwork. It also had rickshaws, palm trees and floral motifs, adding a tasteful pop of colour to the outfit.

The piece also carried some writing, notably a banner saying, “Lyari ka Fakhar (The Pride of Lyari)”.

The jewellery selection was quite distinct, with Mobeen wearing a necklace with three large heart-shaped gold pieces at the front. She wore two metal rings on her left hand and a panja — a bracelet chained to five smaller rings on her right.

The look was finished off with a pair of gold earrings and bright, colourful nails, bearing some fun messages. One said Lyari, while the another had a bedazzled L on it.

Her styling team fashioned her hair into a bubble ponytail with each section separated with a beaded hair tie.

The actor was all praises for her stylist, who drove in from Lahore — presumably to Islamabad — to drop off the outfit, and designer Ahmed Manan, who managed to put the whole thing together in just a day.

Mera Lyari is due to release in Pakistan on Friday after having played at the UK Asian Film Festival in London. The film is the story of a disabled football coach, played by Ayesha Omar, who goes back to her native Lyari in search of young girls to form a team.

There, she meets Afsana (Mobeen) and Kashmala (Trinette Lucas), two girls using the game as an escape from the pressure and abuse they face at home.

Yep, hawk-eyed observers spotted Meryl Streep’s iconic character from The Devil Wears Prada 2 holding a bag from the contemporary Pakistani fashion brand Warp.

The brand posted a clip from the movie where Priestly is seen in her office, holding its Accordion handbags in oxblood — a dark maroon.

The piece pairs well with her burgundy trousers and blue-patterned vest, but that’s a given considering we’re talking about the movie’s queen of fashion.

Streep isn’t the first cast member to be seen wearing one of Warp’s purses. Her co-star Anne Hathaway also wore one when she was promoting the movie over a month ago.

She paired the black Tobla bag with a gorgeous black Schiaparelli dress with gold detailing as she went out during the film’s press tour in Mexico City.

The Devil Wears Prada 2, which released on May 1, sees Streep and Hathaway’s characters reunited two decades after the events of the 2006 cult classic.

The film highlights the changing nature of fashion journalism, the rise of technology in the news space and the effects it has had on readership.

This isn’t Warp’s first rodeo in Hollywood. Rapper Doja Cat also had a Warp piece as part of her outfit at a listening party in October. She was carrying the Hexella Baguette in glistening yellow.

Oscar-winning actor Lupita Nyong’o carried Warp’s Cloud bag at a press event for A Quiet Place and actor Nava Mau took the brand’s Hexella Petite to an event for her miniseries Baby Reindeer.

The bags also have a Pakistani fanbase — Mawra Hocane was seen with one in Doha and Ayeza Khan carried another on the Ramazan transmission Mehfil e Khas. Meesha Shafi was also pictured with an Accordion bag from the brand.

Warp isn’t the only Pakistani brand making waves in the global fashion scene. Rastah, the clothing brand, has also become a favourite of international stars — Justin Bieber has been seen in one of their button-downs, Timothée Chalamet wore a sweatshirt from their catalogue and Anil Kapoor wore one of their jackets in a movie.

Diljit Dosanjh even wore Rastah in his film Sardaar Ji 3. American rapper Jelly Roll has been spotted in one of their denim vests, Zayn Malik sported a hoodie and wrestler Seth Rollins wore a Rastah coat into the ring.

In a lengthy Instagram post, the actor expressed her heartfelt gratitude to many of her team members and praised her co-stars and crew for their performances.

The first message was for fans who had sent their love, support, prayers and stories to the team. “None of this is worth it or possible without you! These stories are from you, for you [and] I hope this story and these characters help you see the light,” Saeed said.

Then she moved on to the show’s writer, Umera Ahmed. The actor said she was grateful to be able to play one of Ahmed’s characters and spread a positive message with the portrayal. “There truly is no writer like you that understands complexed, layered human emotions and relationships. You leave us spellbound and speechless every time,” the actor said.

She thanked director Meesam Naqvi for bringing out the vulnerability in her and making her character so endearing to the audience. “Zeba wouldn’t exist without your immaculate direction,” she said.

Saeed’s co-lead Emmad Irfani got a nod for making acting choices that let her character shine and Hasan Khan — who plays her unrequited love and eventual second husband — was told that his “honesty, freshness and kindness won hearts instantly”.

Coming to the cast of young actors who played her kids, she called Aashir Wajahat a “hero” she would like to work with again and said the girls who star opposite him in future projects will be “lucky”. “It was such a treat to share space with you and to watch you play out Subuk. May you always remain this grounded, genuine and passionate.”

She said Hania Ahmed was “a natural” with her acting and Haya Khan left her “impressed” with her ability to pull off difficult scenes. She also wished Nooray Zeeshan the best after her second big show, hoping the young star continues working on important projects like Kafeel.

Areeka Haq was told she should cast her doubts aside and act more because, “You were so so fun to watch. I loved your character because of how you played her.” Saeed went on to say, “I think everyone wants to see more of you now!”

She also thanked Mariam Ansari for agreeing to do this project and said she was “phenomenal” in her role. “You brought so much warmth and grace to Sumaira… You made her so memorable.”

Saeed also shared words of appreciation for the actors who played her family on the show, Munazzah Arif, Kashif Mahmood, Momina Bajwa and Abdullah Khan Niazi. “You all made our family feel so genuine and close knit. I can’t imagine anyone else playing your parts.”

The star had messaged for the production team, whom she thanked for their hard work and efficiency in the project. She also said it was “a pleasure doing business with” producers Fahad Mustafa and Dr Ali Kazmi.

The actor thanked her makeup artist Sajid Wahab for being “my tailor on set, my babysitter, my biggest cheerleader and my magician” and also makeup assistant Saif.

Costume designer Tabeer Abid also got a shoutout for her positive energy on set, “creating an authentic style board for all of us and making every character more believable”.

Kafeel received critical praise for its portrayal of a dysfunctional family and how parents’ mental health troubles impact their children. Saeed was especially lauded for her role as Zeba, the initially burdened mother who reclaims her life towards the end of the show.

The criminal complaint does not specify which substance the 44-year-old singer was allegedly using when she was arrested in early March.

Spears is scheduled to be arraigned on Monday in a courtroom in Ventura County, which borders Los Angeles County.

She is not required to attend the hearing because the charge is a misdemeanour and can be represented by her attorney, prosecutors said in a statement.

Spears had phenomenal early music success in the late 1990s with hits like ‘…Baby One More Time’ but has largely stepped back from music in recent years.

Following her arrest, a representative for the singer described the incident as “completely inexcusable” and said Spears would “take the right steps and comply with the law.” Since then, she has checked herself into rehab.

Prosecutors said in their statement that Spears could avoid jail time by agreeing to a plea deal — a typical move in cases with no prior convictions, no injury, a low blood alcohol level and defendants who voluntarily enter a rehab programme.

Such a move would likely result in a guilty plea for reckless driving involving drugs and/or alcohol, which would see her placed on probation for 12 months. She would also have to take a court-ordered driver safety class and pay a fine.

“This offer will be extended to Ms Spears on Monday,” prosecutors said.

Following a public breakdown in 2007, Spears was placed under the conservatorship of her father Jamie Spears, who controlled her money and her personal life, even as she continued to perform high-profile concerts.

The conservatorship was dissolved by a Los Angeles court in 2021, after a groundswell of public support to “Free Britney.” In her 2023 memoir The Woman in Me, Spears insisted she never did hard drugs and that she did not have a drinking problem, but she admitted that she was taking Adderall, the ADHD medication.

The star appeared on Tabish Hashmi’s Hasna Mana Hai on April 23, where the host asked him if it was difficult to live his life shuttling between Pakistan and Canada — yes, he lives ‘here and there as well’.

Khan said it did take a toll on him both personally and financially. “Commercially, it’s heavy on the pocket, travelling is expensive and it affects you physically as well.”

He also said it has a price in terms of his career here in entertainment. “In our industry, you need to stay relevant. If you want work, you need to stay visible. But if you leave for three to four months, you miss out on a lot of commercials, fashion shows.”

That’s when the actor dropped the bombshell about his secret life in Canada. Calling it a blessing in disguise, he said, “I go there, I work there too, I make money there and my exposure helps me in the industry too.”

Hashmi asked Khan if he’s a model in Canada as well and he said, “No, my work is IT related.” He went on to reveal he had a background in software engineering and worked in the field full-time for four years.

Interestingly, he wasn’t the only engineer on stage — the host also has a degree in electrical engineering along with an MBA.

Later in the programme, when the host took questions from the audience, one man asked both him and Khan how they used artificial intelligence in their work.

The actor said he uses ChatGPT when he’s preparing for his scenes. He feeds the scene and any instructions he has into the chatbot and asks for instructions on how to act it out.

Hashmi, intrigued by the idea, fed an acting prompt he had given an audience member earlier into his own phone, which told him to deliver his dialogue “in an absolutely serious and dramatic way” with “attitude… and seriousness in your eyes”.

Upon hearing the bot tell him to be serious for the third time, the host told his phone the audience member did a better job and promptly put it away.

The star posted a video on Instagram from the gym on Wednesday with a caption asking viewers whether they would choose “familiarity or evolution”.

In the clip, Abbas talked about her own mental health struggles, saying, “For the longest time, I didn’t know how to validate my feelings.” She said therapy works when it comes to that, but there was more that kept her going.

“I was working out at the gym and I realised, what is this thing that makes me feel happy, and that makes me feel validated,” the actor told her fans.

She said she was feeling particularly good and wanted to share the “kick” she gets from “moving”.

Abbas was quick to point out that moving did not just mean mundane household chores you would ordinarily be doing in your life like “driving a car [or] cooking food”.

Instead, what she meant by “movement” involved going out to a “designated place”.

The actor also said, “You never really get out of depression.” Instead, she contended, you learn to “understand it [and] work on it”.

Abbas said the idea was to understand how to “control your anxiety and your triggers” and to keep doing that.

She said there were a number of ways to do this, like “watching a good movie” or “talking to a good friend”.

She said that if even one person in her audience could connect to what she said in the video, that’s her good deed done for the day.

The actor has earlier been a strong voice on a number of mental health issues. She has talked about her own struggles with anxiety, spirituality and postpartum depression. She’s also urged women not to hurt themselves in attempts to look younger.

A source confirmed to the magazine that Styles and Zoë shared the news with a small circle of people and the actor was even showing off her engagement ring among friends.

The pair have been dating since at least August, when they were spotted together at a restaurant in London. At the time, Zoë was promoting her film Caught Stealing.

Rumours of the couple’s engagement were sparked last week, when The Sun posted pictures of the pair in London. Alongside merch from Styles’ new album, she was spotted wearing a large diamond ring.

The singer-actor duo has been spotted together repeatedly during their eight-month courtship, especially in Rome, where the couple enjoys being left “pretty much alone”, according to People.

They’ve also had lunch with Zoë’s father, musician Lenny Kravitz. “Friends of Lenny say he is very protective of Zoë, but it really seemed like he enjoyed meeting Harry,” a source told the magazine at the time. “From what people could tell, he thought Harry was polite, down to earth and genuinely interested in getting to know the family.”

According to the source, those close to the Hunger Games star know “Lenny has always wanted Zoë to be with someone who respects her, and it looked like he felt Harry does. They were laughing a lot at lunch, and it came across that Lenny appreciated Harry’s sense of humour. He likes when someone can keep things light.”

This is the actor’s second engagement, after she got engaged to actor Karl Glusman in October of 2018 and married him in June 2019. The pair split over a year later, with their divorce being finalised in August 2021.

While we don’t have a wedding date yet, Zoë plans to join her now-fiancé on his lengthy residency tour in support of his album Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally. The tour will start in May and run through much of the year, with seven stops across the US, Mexico, Brazil, the UK, Australia and the Netherlands.

In a story on Instagram, she reacted to a video about the incident, asking why it wasn’t being reported on and what was being done to rescue them.

Anjum was also worried about the crew, especially one member he said “is like a brother to me”. He claimed the government “has taken no action” in a series of stories posted on his Instagram account.

He said he was “ashamed” as a Pakistani at the government’s “non seriousness” and “under the rug policy” when it came to its citizens trapped abroad. He pleaded for authorities to “wake up and bring them home”.

Farooq expressed disbelief at the incident, asking who people should go to for justice in a crisis like this.

The vessel “Owner 25” was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden last week and its crew — which includes the Indonesian captain alongside Pakistani sailors — has been held hostage ever since.

The foreign ministry is in contact with the government of Somalia about the incident and is taking part in a collaborative effort with the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, the Pakistan Navy and other stakeholders to secure the release of the Pakistani citizens.

Sindh Governor Syed Muhammad Nehal Hashmi met family members of the Pakistani hostages on Monday and assured them both the provincial and federal governments stood with them in this trying time.

He said communication with the kidnapped Pakistanis remained intact and efforts for their safe recovery were ongoing at all levels.

In a vlog posted on Sunday, the actor made her distaste for Jamal’s comments clear and told him they were inappropriate and out of line.

Ansari said it was her firm belief that it was “difficult to find a mediocre actor” in Pakistan’s entertainment industry, but she wouldn’t announce it to the world even if she did find one.

She said the job of correcting actors and telling them how to perform fell on their directors and “insulting your colleagues on their craft, that too on social media, is highly inappropriate”.

Without taking his name and referring to him as “an accomplished actor”, Ansari said Jamal calling other senior actors “selfish”, “showpiece” and “mediocre” did not suit him and she would never make similar comments about his own work — even if it wasn’t up to par.

The Dekh Zara Pyar Se star said it was common courtesy not to speak ill of the dead. “That applies to all people, but to berate an artist after he has left the mortal realm? Someone saying something I can’t even repeat about Talat Hussain; or saying Abid [Ali] was selfish; or that Shafi [Muhammad] was of little use; or that Khayyam Sarhadi couldn’t speak well; that Rahat Kazmi, may God keep him safe, was a showpiece, this is very bad.”

She asked Jamal to be careful what example he is setting for the next generation. “This is the height of bad manners and it’s what you’re passing down to the next generation. When you pass away, or I do, the kids will dig up our corpses and insult us, saying, ‘What did these fossils know, they acted so high and mighty when they were alive. They only knew to act in one tone.’ Who knows what people will say, don’t encourage such things.”

Ansari said the actor was a better than she was, but he didn’t seem to be doing alright. “I don’t think he’s okay. He’s been through cancer, may God give him health, but I feel like his medications have made him forget how be respectful.”

She asked him to consider the impact his words have on people, “Think of how Abid Ali’s daughters feel and his wife. Think of Talat Hussain… his children must be feeling terrible. Shafi’s son… think of how he feels. You spoke about Rahat Kazmi, think about how his son feels. What are you saying… Get a hold of yourself, please, get some rest.”

Ansari also had something to say about podcasts and how everyone seems to have one nowadays. She said she had only ever appeared on one — and only because it was hosted by Ahmed Ali Butt and she was friends with his grandmother — but she knew a thing or two about interviews from her own time in the field.

She said people had forgotten how to be respectful on podcasts and interviewers back in her day like Khushbakht Shujaat, Obaidullah Baig, Mehtab Rashdi and Tariq Aziz had class and respect for their guests.

Jamal was a guest on The Yazziastic Show on April 20, when he made the disparaging comments about his contemporaries and colleagues. He said Ali was a “type actor” and “selfish”, while calling Hussain “monotonous” and reliant on “cheap theatricalities”. Sarhadi, he said, was “difficult to understand” and lacked the finesse of a trained artist.

He had praise for Qavi Khan, but that was about it. He said Kazmi was more of a “showpiece” than an actor. He called Shujaat Hashmi “self centred” and said Muhammad lacked in craft.

This not the first time the senior actor has gotten into trouble for his public comments. His comments about Mahira Khan in 2019 caused an uproar in the industry and were condemned by all quarters as ageist and sexist.

The matter reached an unprecedented height when Momina Duraid announced her production company MD Productions “will not work with him again in any capacity because of his sexist, regressive and discriminatory attitude”.

In a post on Instagram, the star highlighted the struggles she faces with her own skin and how her work and age led to acne breakouts.

Posting pictures of herself from before, during and after the breakout, Mobeen said her skin “went through a lot these last few months”.

She said a combination of harsh lights, daily makeup, wrong treatments and “just being in my early 20s with hormones” led to her developing “really bad acne”, which is “finally healing now”.

The actor said she didn’t look like the filtered pictures she posted on the internet, “but that’s because I am human”.

She went on to say that people face intense scrutiny online, especially “young women in the spotlight” and sometimes netizens “forget there are real people behind the pictures”.

Mobeen ended her note saying, “A little more kindness would go a long way.”

She isn’t alone here either. In 2019, Hania Aamir talked about the same scrutiny and mentioned feeling insecure about her own struggles with acne. She said her anxiety eventually led her to ask, “Why is my skin defining me? Who has made these beauty standards that we always feel the need to match?”

Echoing Aamir’s sentiments, Mehwish Hayat also said, “Flawsome is awesome.” The actor said that, “Away from the studio lights, the cameras and the glamorous makeup, we all battle with the same skin problems and insecurities as any other girl.”

Hayat urged girls in her line of work, Aamir included, to “embrace it,” calling it “part of being a woman”.

In 2021, Syra Yousuf faced trolls head on when they began to make fun of a barefaced picture her sister had posted. The star proceeded to post more of herself with the caption “I really like my skin. #NoFilter”

Her question was in response to a video of former TV host and newly-minted politician Iqrar ul Hassan confronting an immigration officer he claims pointed at him while he was in line at Lahore airport and said, “He’ll be ridiculed like Jawad Ahmed.” He was referring to the popular singer who launched an unsuccessful stint in electoral politics in 2019.

In an Instagram story shared on Monday, Farooq questioned if Hassan wanted all government servants who didn’t vote for the government to “sit at home,” or did he want them to “worship whoever was in power”?

She asked if the United States government had stopped running because its workers didn’t like President Donald Trump and whether people stopped having the right to hold opinions because they were working for the state.

The actor said Hassan was one of the people “who preach peace and calm in Ramazan” and asked if this is how the TV host chose to use what “little power and fame” he had acquired.

“Whatever someone said to their colleague, what is it to you?” she asked, calling Hassan’s behaviour “unacceptable” under any circumstances.

She ended her note saying real men don’t yell at people and spit on their faces, but instead have the ability to express themselves gently. She also rolled her eyes at “privileged Pakistanis”.

In the video Farooq was reacting to, Hassan can be seen yelling at an official of the Federal Investigation Agency working at the airport’s immigration desk. “The uniform you’re standing in, you work for the state. If you’re such a revolutionary, resign,” he said.

The officer in turn told the host, “Sir, I wasn’t talking to you” and asked him not to create a scene and film it for public consumption.

Hassan continued to berate the immigration official, telling him to “act like the son of a man” and “swear to God and the Prophet” that he hadn’t said anything. He told the official that he would “have to apologise” and asked if “I pay [your salary with] my taxes and you wear this uniform just so you can stand here and insult people?”

A small crowd appeared to have formed around the two with some passengers backing the TV personality while other immigration officers tried to de-escalate the situation.

The immigration officer eventually started walking back to his post with Hassan in pursuit. The host hurled one last cry of “shameless” before storming off.

Hassan later posted a statement on his Instagram explaining he was returning to Pakistan with his family after a trip to Malaysia on Saturday when the confrontation occurred. He said he didn’t want to post anything after the fact so as to “not threaten the officer’s job”.

He said he didn’t believe it was okay for people in uniform to be expressing political views while on duty and that he only decided to post his side of the story after he claimed the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) spread “misinformation” against him.

He asked the party whether or not the officer’s comments would have been okay if they were directed at a PTI leader. He also said that so many people stood with him during the incident meant they too found the officer’s comments objectionable.

He made the remarks while discussing the state of the country’s entertainment industry on the show Rise & Shine on Friday.

He was asked whether he would want to work with the actors, both of whom lead major production houses. The Bullah star said there was always something to learn from working with other actors and both Saeed and Mustafa were great in what they do, but they preferred to “live in their own Disney world”.

Earlier during the episode, he said he believes budgets behind Pakistani film had grown but minds hadn’t, which is why he prefers to do Punjabi films over Urdu ones.

The actor said films today had become a game of numbers rather than art. “Everyone says ‘I made Rs2 billion’ and ‘I made Rs6 billion,’ but we never see any new projects starting. Bullah [Shahid’s most recently released film] showed you can make a film in Rs70 million or Rs80 million and make up to Rs260 million from it in a matter of 20 days. What we wanted to show was that the real substance behind a film is the mind, not the budget.”

He said that’s what he really loved about Punjabi cinema — they never had budgets but Punjabi audiences enjoy a good movie even to this day.

Host Nadia Khan asked Shahid if there was a chance he would do a project with some of his old co-stars, like Reema or Saima Noor. He said it should happen, but there were certain divides in the industry that prevented this. “Everyone has their own area, they rule over it like their personal kingdom — that shouldn’t happen. Things like art, entertainment, politics, wealth and opportunity should flow freely throughout the country.” He said it was “very sad” to see the divide between Karachi and Lahore specifically.

He also talked about how success is measured in likes as opposed to talent these days, which has taken a wrecking ball to the standard of content in the industry. “This is fake and because it is fake, nobody seems to care about the actual content they’re putting out… So much of social media is politicised, whatever isn’t is full of stupidity. People who can’t sing are singing, people who aren’t funny are doing comedy.”

Khan and her co-host Zohaib Hassan also asked the actor about his latest project Psycho and his work with Meera. He said he was more than happy to work with a woman who wanted to hone her craft and her career because that’s what he’d seen his mother doing when he was a child.

When he was asked about a recent interview where Meera was asked inappropriate questions about her personal life, Shahid said the interview made him “lose faith in intellectualism and journalism”. He said it was sad to see that we can’t question authority and instead choose to kick people when they’re down. “That’s not morality.”

The actor agreed with Hassan that it was “principally wrong to ask questions ‘below the belt’” and said there was a line between entertainment journalism and the questioning reserved for political and investigative journalism, which needs to be adhered to.

He also criticised film producers for inflating the costs of making films and creating a barrier for new entrants. Shahid said the success of films should be pushing the industry to expand, which is not something he sees happening.

Hassan also asked the actor what he thought about his contemporaries working in India and how people used to say collaborating with Bollywood would revive our own entertainment industry.

He said he never agreed with the idea, insisting India would treat Pakistani actors like they did Pakistani cricket. “They utilise you however they want and then cast you aside.”

Shahid asked where everyone who insisted that “artists have no borders” was now that India had closed their border. “You have your kingdom here, people love you, why would you go play a side role in someone else’s court?”

The actor did, however, insist that his views on cross-border collaboration were his own and he encouraged others to see what best suits them. “Who am I to stop anybody?” he asked.

Raza made an appearance on the show Rise & Shine on Thursday, where host Hassan said the he sounded like he was from Karachi. We’re not sure whether this was supposed to be a compliment or a statement.

Nadia Khan was quick to correct her co-host when he — seemingly as a joke — asserted Raza was “our boy from Karachi”. The actor clarified he was, in fact, from Lahore.

Raza then went on to say his diction was “clean” or “saaf” when it came to Urdu, but agreed with the hosts that people in his hometown had a particular way of speaking. He said his Urdu had always been “saaf” as he grew up around people who spoke the language fluently.

“Look, educated people with good accents do live in Lahore, if you sit with them, you’ll develop one too. If you spend time with people who speak Urdu with a Punjabi accent, you’ll pick that up,” the actor told Hassan and Nadia.

He said his friends and family all spoke Urdu very clearly, so fluency in the language had never been much of an issue.

After clarifying that Punjabi sounded great in a Lahori accent, the show moved right on to Raza’s friend Khushhal Khan’s recent wedding to Ramsha Khan and whether the Leader star knew of the secretive event.

He said he did know, but wasn’t able to attend due to scheduling conflicts. He said he was “very happy for them” and that he liked how they had an “understanding” and decided to get married.

As for himself, the actor joked he was going to observe Khushhal first, then make a decision. “For now, I’ll watch my friend to see how it is, see the whole process. That’s how I got into acting as well.”

He said he had been approached by a lot of potential suitors, but he wasn’t looking to tie the knot just yet.

Later in the programme, Nadia asked the Leader star if he faced any pressure from his parents to get married and settle down. He said there was no pressure at all. “They asked me once, ‘What’s your plan?’ I told them I’ll let them know when there was one.”

While the rest of the interview was mostly benign and Raza’s views on marriage are pretty reasonable, we can’t help but feel the bit about accents was very random. We’re not actually sure why it was brought up at all.

Languages are tools of communication and when people learn languages, accents naturally slip in. We’re not sure what point they were trying to make, praising Raza’s ‘accent’ or the lack thereof, but it didn’t land the way they likely wanted.

“The age of consent is 16 and I did sleep with a 16-year-old when I was 30,” Brand told US right-wing host Megyn Kelly in a YouTube show broadcast Wednesday.

“But when I was 30, I was a very different person. I was a lot younger and I was an immature 30-year-old.” He insisted it had been a consensual encounter, but added, “when you’re a famous man that has the ability to attract women… I think involves exploitation”.

“I think it is exploitative,” Brand admitted to Kelly on her show, adding: “I recognise that my sexual conduct in the past was selfish and I did not apply enough consideration… to how that sex was affecting other people.”

The 50-year-old, who was once married to US pop star Katy Perry, has pleaded not guilty to sexual offence charges in the UK involving a total of six women, including rape and sexual assault.

His trial is due to start in October in a London court.

Brand, once a left-leaning political campaigner, has rebranded himself as a conservative and Christian guru to millions of social media followers.

Born in 1975 to working-class parents in Essex, east of London, Brand began his stand-up career as a teenager, eventually working as an MTV presenter and host of a reality TV series.

He presented a show on the BBC’s Radio 2 station between 2006 and 2008, but quit after an on-air prank when he left an explicit voicemail for Fawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs.

I say this because even the great Indian film legend, Dilip Kumar, once remarked that ‘Moin Akhtar’s great artistry is worth copying.’

But Moin Akhtar was a lot more than just a comic. Beginning his long career as an impersonator, he went on to become a much appreciated stand-up comedian, TV, film and stage actor, talk-show host and then ultimately, going back to doing impersonations.

Surprisingly, not much is available on the man’s life in terms of a biography or a detailed study of this prolific artiste, even though he remained to be the country’s leading comic talent ever since the 1970s.

But Moin Akhtar’s gradual ascend towards stardom and legendary status was also wrought with some devastating failures that took a toll on the man’s health.

He arrived onto the scene at a time when Pakistan, like the rest of the world, too was about to enter a period in the 1960s when urban youth had begun to question the materialism and conservative politics of their parents and were demanding more breathing space to practice their new artistic and political ideas.

Moin Akhtar’s rise was not rapid. His fame grew through word-of-mouth, especially on his home turf in Karachi.

He had been impersonating his teachers and famous Pakistani film actors in school when all of a sudden he was called up by the organisers of a Pakistan Day event at a club in Karachi in 1966. He was just 16 years old.

When his turn came to perform on stage, he did what he was already doing in school. But this time, he added a new act to his impersonation repertoire — that of the famous Pakistani film actor, Mohammad Ali.

Ali had been popular for his loud emotional scenes and a booming voice, and when Moin Akhtar impersonated and mimicked all this to perfection (also adding his own twists and bits), the crowd at the event is said to have erupted in laughter. They had never seen or heard anything like this.

Word about Moin Akhtar’s antics spread and he soon became a popular draw at ‘variety shows’ at universities, colleges and parties.

It is also interesting to note that even though Pakistan’s campuses in the late 1960s had begun to vibrate with fiery uprisings against the Ayub Khan dictatorship, Moin Akhtar mostly kept his act apolitical, concentrating on mimicking and revolving his skits around famous film personalities.

Although he managed to make a modest living doing such shows, his first big break came when in 1970, a 20-year-old Moin Akhtar was invited to perform at the time’s most popular primetime stage show on Pakistan Television (PTV).

Called the Zia Mohyeddin Show and hosted by the now famous intellectual Zia Mohyeddin, Moin Akhtar left the audience in stitches when he mimicked the voices of those who had presented PTV’s special transmission during the country’s first democratic elections in 1970.

This was also one of the first few occasions he had come face-to-face with Anwar Maqsood.

Anwar Maqsood had been working as a scriptwriter for the show, but would go on to became a famous satirist and struck a celebrated abiding partnership with the comic genius.

But all this would shape up a decade later. After his successful stint on the Zia Mohyeddin Show, Moin Akhtar became a permanent fixture on PTV, even going on to host his own show called Monday Kay Monday.

Surprisingly, not many acting offers came his way from either TV or film. He continued working as a mimic and impersonator but got a career boost when in 1973, he pulled off a hugely successful show at Karachi’s famous Beach Luxury Hotel where apart from exhibiting his highly improvised impersonation of the time’s famous film stars, he also began impersonating the cultural idiosyncrasies of the many different ethnicities that resided in Pakistan.

It is said that he was one of the first Pakistani comics to do so, an act that would successfully be carried forward by the likes of famous PTV comics, Majid Jehangir, Ismail Tara, Umar Sharif and Liaquat Soldier.

As Moin Akhtar maintained his presence in the public eye as a young comic through various shows on PTV, his main income came from doing private shows for multinationals and colleges.

However, though still ignored by PTV for his acting potential, in 1975 Moin Akhtar finally got an offer to work in a film.

By the mid-1970s the Pakistan film industry had begun to hit a peak, producing an average of 200 films a year (mostly in Urdu, but also in Punjabi, Gujrati, Sindhi and Pashtu).

The film that Moin Akhtar appeared in was called Tajdar, and his role of a typical Lollywood maskhara (jester), could not save the film from being a flop. But the failure didn’t stop Moin Akhtar’s ascendancy to stardom.

During the lack of acting offers from TV and film, Moin Akhtar continued to brush up and fatten his mimicry and hosting skills, and he continued to be a popular draw at private events and club shows, also doing his bit on various PTV shows.

He had also been working in commercial theatre. This form of theatre, over which men like Umar Sharif would rule, was still in its infancy.

Luck seemed to have bypassed him again when in 1978 young director Shoaib Mansoor (who would go on to become a prominent TV and film director), began casting actors for a comedy skit show on PTV.

Moin Akhtar should have been an automatic choice, but Mansoor and the show’s scriptwriter, Anwar Maqsood, instead went for relatively unknown stage actors from Karachi, such as Majid Jehangir, Ismail Tara and Zeba Shahnaz. Some like Sakhi Kamal were studying at the University of Karachi and were also politically active there.

Nevertheless, the show, Fifty-Fifty was an instant hit. Inspired by the more sophisticated satire show, Shoaib Hashmi’s Such Gup (1973-76) – that had been banned by the new military dictatorship in 1977 – Fifty-Fifty mixed sophisticated wit with populist humour, parodying the bureaucracy, ethnic idiosyncrasies, the declining standards of  the film industry and PTV itself. It ran from 1978 until 1984.

It succeeded in swimming through even the most repressive censorship laws imposed by the Zia dictatorship.

Moin Akhtar’s destiny could have turned out to be quite different had Anwar Maqsood not quit the Fifty-Fifty team after experiencing a fall-out with its director and actors in 1981.

As Ismail Tara and Majid Jehangir took over the writing duties of Fifty-Fifty, Anwar Maqsood went on to script and appeared on a series of his own shows (also on PTV) such as Show Time, Shoshah, Silver Jubilee, etc.

For these he chose two central comedians, Moin Akhtar and Bushra Ansari. It was during these shows that Moin Akhtar really blossomed into a diversified comic.

The duo played a number of fictitious characters, mouthing witty scripts jotted down by Anwar Maqsood, who too became famous for successfully dodging the censors with tongue-in-cheek remarks that were actually taunts aimed at the Zia regime and its overbearing moralities.

This was also the first time Moin Akhtar saw himself doing socio-political scripts. Slowly but surely, he was finally emerging from his status as a cult favorite and onto the mainstream as a versatile comic.

The 1980s had been rather fruitful. Moin Akhtar had risen from being a cult star and master mimic to becoming a regular skit actor on various successful Anwar Maqsood projects.

And even though he still did not manage to get regular work as an actor, he had begun to venture into the lucrative comedy theatre scene that had begun to grow in Karachi and Lahore.

Nevertheless, after the demise of the Ziaul Haq dictatorship and the return of democracy in Pakistan in 1988, three performances by Moin Akhtar (between 1988 and 1993) finally handed him the stardom his talents had always promised and deserved.

First, it was his role in a wonderfully done comedy play on PTV called, Eid Train. Aired on the night of the first day of Eid in 1989, it captured Moin Akhtar playing his now trademark character of a loudmouthed, straight-talking (but skinny) Karachiite. The play was a huge hit.

Then there was his laudable performance as an aged writer in a long-play (for PTV), penned by Anwar Maqsood called Half-Plate, in which Moin Akhtar plays an old writer who is suffering from a financial crises but refuses to take up his ancestral profession of a kabaabchi (cook).

Starring alongside Moin Akhtar in the play was the great actress, late Khalida Riyasat and the fidgety late Jamshed Ansari. Incidentally, the fourth main actor of the play, the versatile Latif Kapadia, too is no more in this world.

But perhaps the most well-known acting performance from Moin Akhtar was a 1993 play on PTV called Rozy.

Moin Akhtar was now dishing out a series of great acting performances, as if making up for the all those times his acting skills were ignored. His performance in Rozy in this respect saw him hit a peak.

Written by playwright and journalist Imran Aslam, Rozy was an ambitious adaptation of Dustin Hoffman’s famous Hollywood hit, Tootsie.

Tootsie shows a struggling actor dressing up as a woman to get a part in a soap opera.

Aslam took the plot of Tootsie and wittily turned it into a statement against the kind of harassment women face in the workplace.

Moin Akhtar intensely played the role of the struggling angry-young-actor who dons make-up and women’s attire to land a part in a TV serial.

Moin Akthar had finally mushroomed into a star performer. The only other Pakistani comic that dared to be compared to his caliber was Umar Sharif, who too had broken out from his cult status and gained mainstream popularity, mainly through commercial theatre.

But Umar’s comedy was more populist, rapidly using Karachi’s street lingo and imagery, whereas Moin Akhtar still kept a middle-class sensibility about his acts.

Nevertheless, when Umar directed, scripted and acted in his own film in the early 1990s, Moin Akhtar followed suit.

Umar’s film became a box-office hit, and Moin Akhtar, fresh from his successful acting exploits on TV, invested heavily in his own film called Mr.K2.

Unfortunately the film turned out to be a financial and critical disaster. Friends suggest that this colossal failure took a heavy toll on the comic genius who was also a heavy-smoker and loved to stay up nights with friends and colleagues.

A reckless and unhealthy lifestyle coupled by his workaholic nature and the failure of his film venture led him to suffer a heart attack. He got a by-pass done in 1997 but returned to regain what he had lost.

He began hosting celebrity shows, but it was Anwar Maqsood’s satirical talk-show, Loose Talk, that brought him back into the limelight.

A parody of BBC’s Hard Talk, Anwar Maqsood would play Pakistan’s version of Tim Sebastian week after week, talking to all sorts of fictional characters, from politicians and maulvis, to heroin addicts and businessmen – all of them played with ingenious insight and hilarity by Moin Akhtar.

It is said Moin Akhtar had played more than 200 different characters on the hit show!

Alas, this mind-boggling exhibition of versatility was to be this comic genius’ last great hurrah before his death from a heart-attack at the age of 60.

This article was originally published on April 23, 2011

The ‘Like A Virgin’ singer, 67, took to Instagram to ask for help in finding outfits that vanished after the show.

“I discovered that the vintage pieces that I wore went missing — my costume that was pulled from my personal archives — jacket, corset, dress and other garments,” the diva wrote.

“These aren’t just clothes, they are part of my history,” she said, adding other items from the same era had also gone.

The missive came after her viral appearance alongside Carpenter during the weekend’s headline set at the festival in the California desert.

The duo performed Madonna’s 1990 hit ‘Vogue’ and 1989’s ‘Like A Prayer’ — chart smashes around the world a decade before Carpenter was born.

“I’m hoping and praying that some kind soul will find these items and reach out,” Madonna said, adding: “I’m offering a reward for their safe return.”

Originally published in Dawn, April 22nd, 2026

D4vd was charged with murder with special circumstances of lying ​in wait, committing a crime for financial gain and murdering a witness in an investigation. He faces ​a maximum prison sentence of life without parole. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman ⁠said prosecutors would decide later whether to seek the death penalty.

Attorneys for the singer entered the not-guilty plea on ​his behalf and asked for a preliminary hearing to be held as soon as possible for him to hear the ​evidence prosecutors say they have gathered.

“We believe the actual evidence will show David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez, nor was he the cause of her death,” defense attorney Blair Berk said during the arraignment in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Judge Theresa McGonigle said no bail ​would be set for D4vd, who remains in custody.

Earlier on Monday, Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said Celeste’s ​decomposed and dismembered remains were found in September 2025 in the front trunk of a Tesla registered to D4vd. She had been ‌missing ⁠for nearly a year and a half when the remains were discovered in the car, separated into two bags, Hochman said.

The vehicle had been parked for weeks in a Hollywood Hills neighborhood before being towed to an impound lot, where workers reported a foul odor.

Hochman said an investigation revealed D4vd was involved in a sexual relationship with Celeste when ​he was an adult and ​she was a minor. ⁠In addition to murder, he was charged with continuous sexual acts, lewd and lascivious sexual acts with an individual under 14 years old and mutilating a body.

The district attorney said ​Celeste was killed in a “brutal and horrific” crime but that he would wait until ​a coroner’s ⁠report was made public before disclosing her cause of death.

Hochman said authorities believed Celeste went to D4vd’s Hollywood Hills home on April 23, 2025, and “was never heard from again.” Prosecutors allege the singer killed Celeste because she threatened to expose their relationship ⁠and pose ​harm to his career.

D4vd gained fame in 2022 after songs he recorded ​on his phone for his Fortnite gaming videos went viral on TikTok, with the hit ‘Romantic Homicide’ helping him sign a deal with Interscope Records. He ​performed at the Coachella music festival in 2025.

In a video posted by People magazine, the star talked about life in her 40s and said, “I want to live a long, healthy life, Inshallah, I hope so.”

Yeah, we did a double take while watching that clip and so did a bunch of people on X who thought they might have misheard something there.

Some people were sent and others were taken out by the invocation. One user even theorised that the actor’s pronunciation and placement meant Hathaway was someone who knew what the phrase meant and where to use it.

Inshallah wasn’t all she said in the interview.

In the sagely style of a person who lived their four decades on earth to the fullest, she said being 40 lets you look back at “how certain decisions bore fruit over time and so, you can kind of assess if you want to continue making those decisions, or if you want to make new ones”.

Hathaway said age had given her a better understanding of the phrase “take it with a grain of salt,” and she’d learnt to “really value the chill”.

She also said that in life “you can either fear aging, or you can fear dying young” and we really think someone needs to put that on a poster.

The actor said she embraces aging with “curiosity” and that some things don’t change as you get older, “You still never know what’s coming around the corner… and that’s true if you’re like 11 or you’re 43.”

MacInnes claims Wilson falsely suggested in Instagram posts that she had privately confided in her about being sexually harassed ​by one of the film’s producers.

Court filings allege Wilson, the star ​of three Pitch Perfect movies and Bridesmaids, failed to seek verification from ⁠MacInnes and made the claims despite knowing no complaint had been made.

The ​posts on Wilson’s Instagram account, with more than 11 million followers, allegedly implied ​that MacInnes had lied when she denied discussing harassment or inappropriate behaviour by producers on The Deb.

While Wilson has denied the claims, her legal defence has not been disclosed.

MacInnes, ​who was also in court for the hearing, is seeking aggravated damages ​and a court order preventing Wilson from repeating the allegations online or elsewhere.

Wilson also alleged ‌in ⁠the July 2024 posts that executive producer Vince Holden, along with producers Amanda Ghost and Gregor Cameron, attempted to block the film’s premiere in retaliation for her raising concerns about the alleged misconduct, according to reports in Australian media.

​A separate lawsuit ​was filed against ⁠Wilson by The Deb producers in a US court and a court in the Australian state of New South Wales, ​reports said.

The Deb, which premiered at the Toronto International ​Film Festival ⁠in September 2024, faced delays in its Australian theatrical release earlier this month due to the legal issues.

“I love The Deb, I mean, it’s so cute ⁠and amazing. ​Thank you to everyone who’s going to ​the cinemas,” Wilson told reporters outside the court.

The hearing for the defamation case is expected ​to last nine days.

The video was taken from the intro of an episode of Bhatti’s podcast which released on Sunday. Shahid, who also wrote and directed the film, joined Meera on the episode.

Now, it would be perfectly reasonable to assume the questions would revolve around her film and her past work with some talk of future projects, but no, the journalist felt this was the right opportunity to grill the actor on rumours surrounding her marriage and private life.

Calling the interview invasive would be a sheer understatement, with the host quizzing a visibly uncomfortable Meera on gossip, to which she kept asking him to watch the film she’d worked hard on.

In the end, she got up from her seat, thanked Bhatti for coming and tried to leave, but not before the journalist could slip in one last question about the controversy surrounding the actor’s marriage to businessman Ateeq-ur-Rehman.

Netizens were understandably upset at the interview, which many users called “harassment”. One said this wasn’t a one-off incident and it was increasingly common to see hosts “make women uncomfortable under guise of questioning”.

Others were wondering what made the journalist think any of this was ever okay for him to do.

Almost everyone seemed to agree Meera handled the situation with remarkable grace and patience. One user even said they’d be watching the film specifically because of what the actor was willing to endure to promote her work.

A couple of people felt her reaction was too peaceful.

Netizens felt they had misjudged the actor and said the clip made them realise what kind of a person she really was. One person who had worked with Meera earlier said she was super sweet in person and a pleasure to interview — if, of course, you ask normal questions.

Lastly, a user said what almost everyone was thinking and called Bhatti a “manchild”.

The fact Meera handled Bhatti’s entirely inappropriate line of questioning with such composure really speaks to who she is as a person. The unfortunate reality, however, is that it can get even worse.

In a media landscape where unfounded accusations are wildly thrown at women in the entertainment industry and their private lives become public discourse, it’s not a surprise Meera and so many accomplished professionals like her have had to grow a thick skin.

We wish people would stop putting their noses in other people’s business and hope Psycho does well when it comes out in theatres on Eidul Azha.

The couple finally confirmed their marriage on Friday, four days after Ramsha slammed entertainment portals sharing pictures of their purported wedding online without her consent.

“Bismillah, with full hearts, we’re so happy to share that we’re married, Alhamdulilah. We feel incredibly grateful to be stepping into this new chapter together. To everyone who has supported us and shown us love along the way, thank you. It truly means more than we can put into words. As we celebrate this moment, we kindly ask for your understanding and respect for our privacy,” read the caption of the joint post.

“Thank you for being part of our journey and for always sending us so much love.”

Ramsha and Khushhal starred in the dramas Biryani and Dunyapur together, and were fan favourites. It seems their on-screen chemistry translated into a real-life romance.

Earlier on Friday, Ramsha changed her Instagram name to Ramsha Khan Khattak, and unfollowed everyone except Khushhal. She also changed her profile picture to a picture of Khushhal showing off what appeared to be a wedding ring.

The pictures they shared on Friday didn’t have their faces visible in any of them. Ramsha wore a red outfit paired with a red dupatta, and Khushhal matched with a red dupatta around his neck and a red picket square in the pocket of his dark grey coat.

Congratulations to the happy couple!

The list celebrates 100 artists, pioneers, titans, icons, leaders and innovators whom the magazine’s editors believe are the most influential people in the world.

The artists category featured Jennie, actor Keke Palmer, Noah Wyle of the show The Pitt, Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, Benicio Del Toro and Kapoor, among others. The note accompanying Panahi’s name included a quote from him — “I’m going to go to prison for a year, and I’ll come out with a new script.” It also spoke of his decades of “turning censorship into cinematic resistance, using his craft to pull back the curtain on the realities of life in Iran”.

The list of pioneers included YouTube sensation MrBeast.

The list of titans included actors Ben Stiller and Zoe Saldana, model Anok Yai, designer Ralph Lauren, Google’s Sundar Pichai and co-chairs of the World Health Organisation’s Intergovernmental Negotiating Body during the Covid pandemic, Precious Matsoso and Anne-Claire Amprou, among many others.

Hollywood star power was also on display in the icons list, with the inclusion of Kate Hudson, Hilary Duff and Ethan Hawke. Olympic figure skating gold medalist Alysa Liu and Victoria Beckham were also on the list. Duff’s inclusion note, written by Nicole Richie, describes her as “the girl we danced with in our bedrooms then and the woman we all want to have dinner with now”.

The leaders list began with Pope Leo XIV and featured Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, President Donald Trump, New York Mayor Mamdani, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu, Steve Witikoff, who was recently in Islamabad as part of the US’ negotiation team with Iran and Prime Minister of Nepal Balendra Shah.

The note accompanying Netanyahu’s name speaks of “Israel’s devastation of Hezbollah’s military infrastructure, its crippling strikes alongside the US on Iran’s nuclear programme in the 12-Day War, and the eventual extraction of all remaining hostages from Gaza have boosted his standing with the Israeli public”.

It notes, however, that “this same legacy may also poison international attitudes toward his country”.

The list of innovators included Hilary Knight of the US Women’s Olympic Hockey Team, chef Vikas Khanna and F1 driver Lando Norris, among others.

Rivas, who was from a suburb about 70 miles (110 km) southeast of Los Angeles, had been missing for nearly a year and a half when her decomposed remains were discovered in September 2025. The vehicle had been parked for weeks in a Hollywood Hills neighbourhood before being towed to an impound lot, where workers reported a foul odour, police have said.

D4vd gained fame in 2022 after songs he recorded on his phone for his Fortnite gaming videos went viral on TikTok, with the hit ‘Romantic Homicide’ helping him sign a deal with Darkroom/Interscope Records, a label associated with Billie Eilish.

The case drew attention following media reports that linked Burke to the vehicle shortly after the girl’s body was found. Police said at the time they were conducting an extensive investigation but declined to announce charges until now.

“Detectives from Los Angeles Police Department, Robbery‑Homicide Division have arrested David Burke, a 21‑year‑old resident of Los Angeles, for the murder of Celeste Rivas,” Los Angeles police said in a statement on X.

Burke was being held without bail and his case will be presented to prosecutors on Monday, the statement said.

Blair Berk, the attorney representing David Burke, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Berk has largely declined public comment. Prior to Burke’s arrest, Berk said there was no publicly disclosed evidence linking her client to a crime and emphasised his rights during an active investigation.

In a video posted to her account, Parveen was effusive in her praise for Bhosle, saying she didn’t have the words to describe the singer’s stature or the breadth of her work.

God gave her talent, and she shared it with people, Parveen said, adding that being able to listen to her music was a prize she shared with everyone.

Bhosle and her late sister Lata Mangeshkar’s voices will live on forever, she said. Voices like those won’t come again, vowed Parveen.

She described wanting to meet the sisters for a long time before being able to travel to India and actually meet them. Parveen and Bhosle were judges on the reality music show Sur Kshetra in 2012 alongside Bangladeshi singer Runa Laila.

“She has left behind something so great that every Indian singer is copying her. That’s a big deal,” she said, adding that on musical shows, no matter if the singer is old or young, they all start with Bhosle’s songs and attempt to master her technique, something they still haven’t been able to do.

She went into detail describing some of that technique before reiterating that people like her have never come before and they never will again.

“Didi (Mangeshkar) also said Asha was versatile,” Parveen recalled, highlighting a difficult song she performed with Ghulam Ali and how everyone often discussed how they were able to pull it off.

“She was a pillar of India’s film industry as well as its shade,” she said, adding that words were not enough to adequately describe her.

The caption for her post read, “Our deepest, most sincere condolences to Asha Bhosle Taai and her family. No words can adequately describe who we’ve lost, and what a profound loss this is, not just for India or Pakistan, but for music as a whole. Asha Ji, Lata Ji, and their family who we have remained extremely close to from our time in India, have been in our prayers constantly through this time. Lots of love and prayers to the entire Mangeshkar family and Asha Bhosle Ji’s fans across the world.”

Rose alleged in a series of widely reported but now-deleted posts on social media that the singer had assaulted her in a nightclub in Melbourne almost two decades ago.

On Tuesday, Rose — best known for her role in TV sitcom Orange is the New Black — said she had finalised reports to police and could therefore no longer talk publicly about the case.

In a statement to AFP, Victoria state police declined to name Perry but said they were “investigating a historical sexual assault that occurred in Melbourne in 2010”.

“As the investigation remains ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage,” a spokesperson added.

A representative for Perry denied the claims in a statement to entertainment industry magazine Variety.

“The allegations being circulated on social media by Ruby Rose about Katy Perry are not only categorically false, they are dangerous, reckless lies,” they said.

“Ms Rose has a well-documented history of making serious public allegations on social media against various individuals, claims that have repeatedly been denied by those named.”

Perry — singer of mega hits like ‘Hot n Cold,’ ‘Roar’ and ‘I Kissed a Girl’ — has drawn headlines recently for her relationship with former Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau.

Cover photo: AFP

It made you want to know more, not just about the story, but about how it would represent us.

Stories of diaspora are not new. Films like Monsoon Wedding and Bend It Like Beckham have explored South Asian identities abroad for decades. But Bait hinted at something less familiar: a story rooted specifically in Pakistani identity; its tensions, its emotional inheritances and its complicated relationship with migration.

Watching the series from Dubai, one moment in particular felt strikingly personal. A charged exchange between husband and wife where migration becomes a site of blame echoed a sentiment many quietly recognise. The line between choice and sacrifice blurs easily when distance and belonging are constantly negotiated. It is in these small, uncomfortable truths that Bait finds its emotional weight.

And it was this very weight and Hasan’s presence within it that led to this conversation.

Hasan has been a constant presence in Pakistan’s entertainment industry since the 80s, building a career that spans television, theatre, and film. He was the first Pakistani actor to appear in an Indian television drama — Tanha — and later in the international film A Mighty Heart. With Bait, Hasan once again becomes part of a global production; this time in a story that explores migration, identity and family through a contemporary lens.

But if Bait feels like a new chapter, Hasan is quick to frame it within a much longer journey, one shaped as much by creative passion as by frustration.

When asked about his early cross-border experiences, he traced his story back to a very different Pakistan. The early days of his career unfolded during the era of Gen Ziaul Haq, when creative expression existed alongside constraint. Yet, within those limits, there was also a thriving culture of theatre and collaboration.

He recalled working alongside some of the industry’s most influential figures, including writer Haseena Moin, whose work, he said, shaped generations. “We are all a product of her audiences,” he mused.

Those years, filled with experimentation and mentorship, stand in contrast to what is happening today, something he described as a gradual creative stagnation within mainstream television. Repetitive narratives, formula-driven storytelling, and a reluctance to take risks began to dominate.

“At one point, you give up,” he said plainly. “And I had given up, really.”

It is in this context that Bait became more than just another project.

The opportunity itself arrived unexpectedly. Initially approached to sign a non-disclosure agreement without much context, Hasan hesitated. It wasn’t until later, through a formal audition process, that things began to take shape. What followed was a Zoom call that took him by surprise: sitting on the other side was Riz Ahmed.

“I told him I was a big fan,” Hasan recalled. What began as a brief interaction turned into a second meeting, and shortly after, confirmation. Within days, he was on a flight to London.

There was a certain understated disbelief in the way he narrated the experience, but also clarity. At this stage in his career, he said, expectations are no longer the driving force. “You take everything in strides,” he noted.

What mattered more was the story itself.

For Hasan, Bait stood out because it centred a Pakistani family, not as a backdrop, but as the emotional core of the narrative. In a landscape where South Asian representation has often leaned heavily towards Indian stories, this felt significant.

“Indians have shown themselves so many times,” he said. “But this was finally a representation of a Pakistani family.”

It is a point he returned to more than once; that even a small role, within the right narrative, can feel meaningful not just personally, but collectively. For Hasan, being part of a story like this carried a sense of quiet validation. It wasn’t just another role; it was “a thinking representation of Pakistan,” something layered and reflective, in its own way.

He spoke with visible gratitude about the moment, but also towards the people who made it possible. Ahmed, in particular, remains central to that acknowledgment. Hasan credited him not just as a collaborator, but as someone who recognised where he could fit into the story. There was a warmth in the way he recalled their interaction. “I keep telling him,” he laughed, “I told him on the day, if you don’t keep me, God will punish you.”

That sense of ease, however, didn’t take away from the seriousness of the work itself especially when it came to building the emotional world of the series. Playing the father of Ahmed’s character meant stepping into a relationship that sits at the centre of the narrative’s tensions. For Hasan, approaching that dynamic was less about overthinking and more about trusting the process.

Working with what he described as a deeply professional cast, the groundwork was laid early on through readings and long brainstorming sessions. Director Bassam Tariq, he noted, played an active role in shaping these interactions, even spending individual time with actors to understand their rhythm. There was, initially, a sense of unfamiliarity — new collaborators, new expectations — but it quickly gave way to something more organic.

Respect, Hasan said, became the defining factor. On a set where everyone understood their craft, hierarchy seemed to dissolve into collaboration. The rehearsals created a foundation, but the real work began once the cameras rolled. That shift from preparation to performance is something Hasan described as something akin to muscle memory. Years of repetition, of doing the work over and over again, suddenly finding purpose in a different space, for a different audience.

Yet, even within that structure, there was room to discover. Moments weren’t just performed; they were built in real time, shaped by instinct and interaction. When asked how one of the more charged scenes in the series that came towards the end of the show was rehearsed, he explained that that interestingly, when the script was given to all of them, it wasn’t part of it. Its eventual inclusion speaks to the fluidity of the process, to a set that allowed space for evolution.

That collaborative spirit extended beyond the immediate cast. Working alongside actors like Soni Razdan and Sheeba Chadda, Hasan found himself in an environment where learning never quite stopped. Their discipline, attention to detail and the way they approached each moment all added to the texture of the experience. Watching performers transform the instant a scene began, he said, felt like witnessing “magic”.

At the centre of it all was Ahmed, whose presence, Hasan observed, carried both focus and evolution. “He just keeps getting better with every take,” he said, likening the process to an athlete refining their form in real time.

Yet even as Bait opens a window to global collaboration, Hasan remained candid at times sharply critical about the limitations of Pakistan’s own industry.

From the decline of theatre to the lack of institutional support for artists, he outlined a system that, in his view, discourages experimentation. Gatekeeping, commercial pressure and a resistance to challenging narratives have all contributed to a narrowing creative space.

“Drama is about conflict,” he said. “But we are still deciding whether we’re allowed to talk about conflict.”

It is a struggle he has witnessed and endured over decades.

At the same time, he was refreshingly honest about the differences in working conditions. Comparing local and international productions, he didn’t hold back: the gap in facilities, in structure, in overall work culture is significant. His analogy of it being like a ride in a Rolls Royce versus a bike lands with a mix of humour and truth. “In Pakistan, you’ve got to be crazy to be acting,” he added, half-joking, half-serious.

There were moments of lightness too, though perhaps not as many as one might expect. Hasan laughed while recalling that on a set led by Ahmed, even laughter felt controlled. “Not with Riz,” he joked, “you never laugh too much,” before grounding it again in the discipline of the craft, the need to deliver, to meet the vision of the director, the writer, the producers.

Towards the end of the conversation, when asked if there was still a role he longed to play, Hasan gently moved away from the idea of chasing characters. What emerged instead was something more reflective, almost philosophical. He spoke about youth, about the state of the world, about the need for empathy in an increasingly fractured global landscape. Drawing from both poetry and lived experience, he returned to the idea of hope: the responsibility of younger generations to carve their own path and the urgency of choosing love and peace over division.

“We are all just visiting here,” he said, a line that lingers long after the conversation ends.

In many ways, that sentiment ties back to Bait itself; a story about movement, about temporary and permanent homes, about the spaces in between. And perhaps that is what makes Hasan’s presence in it feel so fitting. In an industry that is constantly shifting, he remains both a witness and a participant, carrying decades of experience into stories that are still trying to find their voice.

Taking to her Instagram stories on Tuesday, she said it was just a “lighthearted spontaneous gesture that did not have any bad meaning behind it”.

She said she had always respected her work and her viewers and would continue that respect in her journey.

The “gesture” she referred to was broadcast on Monday’s episode of her show where her husband, Ejaz Khan, made a surprise appearance. Her daughter was also present.

During the show, Khan lifted Ali over his shoulder while their daughter giggled on.

The moment drew criticism online, including from chairperson of the Punjab Women Protection Authority, Hina Parvez Butt, who took to X to call the incident “regrettable”.

“Adults should demonstrate good morals and decorum so that children and the younger generation can learn something better. Immoral, childish, and indecent actions have a negative impact on the minds of youngsters,” she wrote.

Cover via Fiza Ali/Instagram

Venting her frustrations on Monday, Ramsha said, “Our pictures were leaked and shared without our consent. It’s invasive, disrespectful and completely unethical.”

The actor said photos of her private moments were not content to be used by social media pages for clout and she expected all such pictures of hers to be “taken down immediately” and not posted again.

Ramsha said she had always kept her personal life private and that would not be changing. “This is our life, not your headlines. Respect it and leave us alone,” the actor said in her story. She said she will share her news in due time. She has also deleted all posts on her Instagram account.

Her clarification comes after rumours began circulating on Sunday of the actor marrying her Biryani co-star Khushhal Khan. Pictures of the pair wearing garlands while sitting on a couch were shared on social media, with speculation that it was a shot of their nikkah ceremony.

Khushhal has not issued any statement on the matter.

Actor Ahsan Khan calling it the “end of an era”.

Actor Adnan Siddiqui paid tribute to the singer, saying her voice “had a way of filling even the quietest moments with something devastatingly human”.

“Today, it’s that seem silence that feels heavier. Thank you for the emotions you gave us, the memories you became and the magic you left behind. You’ll always be heard, somewhere… somehow.“

Actor Ahmed Ali Butt thanked her for the “immortal melodies”.

Singer Ali Zafar called her an incredible artist. “Asha Bhoslee G’s work will continue to inspire generations. Such voices don’t fade with time. They become a part of it, he wrote on X.

Fellow singer Shuja Haider said Bhosle’s voice reached people all over the world, inspiring millions of fans from the past, today, and the future.

“Her name will always be remembered as one of the greatest in world music. A special chapter has closed.”

Actor Yasir Hussain shared the news on Instagram with a line from a ‘Naam Goom Jayega,’ a song by Bhosle’s late sister Lata Mangeshkar.

RJ Anoushey Ashraf shared a note on artists travelling between Pakistan and India when things weren’t so “complicated”. “Today, as we say goodbye to Asha Bhosle, it reminds me how deeply her voice lived in all our homes, on both sides.”

She said, thankfully, shared music doesn’t need visas, permissions, or political analysis. “It just shows up, resonated, and [stays] and is still the one thing people from both sides of the border appreciate fully. Maybe we should all upgrade our playlists for world peace.”

Reactions continue to pour in as more people wake up to the sad news of Bhosle’s passing.

The 92-year-old had been hospitalised in Mumbai on Saturday night for what her granddaughter described on social media as “extreme exhaustion” and “a chest infection”. Her son confirmed her death, saying her last rites would be held on Monday.

“My mother passed away today. People can pay their last respects to her at 11am tomorrow at Casa Grande, Lower Parel, where she lived. Her last rites will be performed at 4pm tomorrow at Shivaji Park.“

Bhosle, the sister of the late Lata Mangeshkar, was a legend in her own right. She held the Guinness World Record for Most Studio Singles Recorded, having achieved the feat in 2011. She had sung 11,000 solo, duet and chorus backed songs in over 20 Indian languages at the time.

She was known for songs such as ‘Sapne Mein’, ‘Intaha Ho Gai Intezar Ki’ and ‘Kehdoon Tumhen’ among many, many others. 

Born in 1933 into the Mangeshkar family, Bhosle began performing when she was just nine years old and recorded her first song for a film in 1943, according to The Hindustan Times. Her father was the legendary classical vocalist Dinananth Mangeshkar.

Her storied career spanned well over half a century and she was the recipient of two National Film Awards, seven Filmfare Awards for Best Female Playback Singer, and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for her contribution to Indian cinema. She also received Grammy nominations for the collaborative album Legacy with Ustad Ali Akbar Khan in 1997 and You’ve Stolen My Heart in 2006.

The Hindustan Times noted that while she was typecast into singing just cabaret numbers or dances that would today be called item songs in her early days, Bhosle diversified, singing even ghazals in Umrao Jaan.

Bhosle also starred in films. As a child she acted in Marathi-language films Te Maze Baal and Badi Maa. In 2013 she starred in Mai, a story of an old woman suffering from Alzheimers and being tossed between her four children.

At the age of 16, Bhosle eloped against her family’s wishes with 31-year-old Ganpatrao Bhosle, her personal secretary. She later broke off the marriage when her in-laws reportedly mistreated her. They separated in 1960 after three kids together.

In 1980, she married composer Rahul Dev Barman, who passed away in 1994.