The film will be screened in theatres in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington DC on October 28.

The Eyes of Ghana follows Ghanaian cinematographer Chris Hesse, who, as his eyesight declines, attempts to rescue more than 1,000 films capturing Africa’s fight for independence in the 1950s and 60s.

“It is a great honour to be part of The Eyes of Ghana and help bring this extraordinary piece of history to the big screen,” IShowSpeed said. He said he felt a great connection to Ghana after having visited the country this year on his Speed Does Africa tour.

Talking about Hesse’s work, the streamer said, “His camera captured the birth of African independence and his determination to preserve those images has ensured that future generations can witness it for themselves. I’m humbled by his legacy and proud to help bring his story to my community.”

IShowSpeed, whose real name is Darren Watkins Jr, was granted Ghanaian citizenship after his visit to the country brought positive attention. Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, announcing the decision to issue the streamer a passport, told him to “keep making our great nation Ghana, and our beloved African continent proud”.

He has a massive follower base of over 200 million across social media and is known for his high-energy content and livestreams. He was on TIME magazine’s inaugural TIME 100 Creators list last year.

Online creators have been making inroads into cinema, with YouTube star Markiplier directing, producing, starring in and distributing the horror film Iron Lung earlier this year. The film made $50m at the global box office, a massive amount compared to its $3m budget.

Also this year, YouTubers Kane Parsons and Curry Barker released their films The Backrooms and Obsession, both of which went on to become box office successes.

The American actor, best known for playing Michael Corleone in The Godfather films is the 62nd recipient of the SAG-AFTRA Life Achievement Award. The union will present the award to him in Los Angeles at the 33rd Actor Awards on February 28, next year, as part of a ceremony to be live-streamed on Netflix.

Pacino’s recognition follows a career spanning more than six decades across film, television and stage. He is known for numerous memorable characters, including real-life police officer Frank Serpico in 1973’s Serpico, Miami mobster Tony Montana in 1983’s Scarface and more recently Hollywood agent Marvin Schwarz in Quentin Tarantino’s 2019 film Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood.

The award is presented annually to an actor who embodies the “finest ideals of the acting profession”, according to the union.

“I wondered and wandered most of my life but have always felt at home with a script and my fellow actors,” Pacino said in a statement from the actors’ union.

“It’s the work and the actors along the way that have been among the greatest joys of my life. It’s an honour to be recognised by SAG-AFTRA in celebrating the journey,” he added.

Pacino won the Best Actor Oscar for his performance as Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade in the 1992 film Scent of a Woman, and has also won multiple Emmy, Tony and Golden Globe awards.

“Like so many actors, I have spent my life in awe and appreciation of the force of nature that is Al Pacino. When you watch him perform, you are witnessing a student and a master,” SAG-AFTRA President Sean Astin added in the statement.

Pacino also participated in the ‘America: A Tribute to Heroes’ telethon following the September 11 attacks in 2001, and in 2009 received the Arthritis Foundation’s Jane Wyman Humanitarian Award for his charitable work.

The 86-year-old actor was born Alfredo James Pacino in New York. He struggled throughout the 1960s to find steady work before his eventual film breakthrough in 1972’s The Godfather.

SAG-AFTRA represents approximately 160,000 actors, announcers, broadcast journalists, dancers, DJs, news writers, news editors, programme hosts, puppeteers, recording artists, singers, stunt performers, voiceover artists, influencers and other entertainment and media professionals.

The one-time left-wing personality, who shot to fame as a television and radio presenter, faces seven sexual offence charges involving six women. He denies all the alleged offences.

Brand, 51, looked straight ahead as the charges against him were read to the jury.

Prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones said the alleged offences took place between 1999 and 2009, a decade when Brand’s career was beginning to flourish.

Some of the women he targeted said no, others did not have the opportunity to react, she said, adding that Brand was “not deterred”.

His desire for sexual contact was “indiscriminate and voracious”, she said.

He used charm and comic talents when he wanted something but would then be “demanding and entitled … childlike in his expectation that his every desire should be met,” Karmy-Jones told the jury of eight men and four women.

“He was ruthless, calculated and manipulative, and the prosecution say — a sexual predator,” she added.

The identities of the women will not be revealed during the trial.

Brand, dressed in a dark suit, black and white striped shirt and long white tie, arrived for the start of the case at London’s Southwark Crown Court in a black Mercedes-Benz van accompanied by his wife Laura.

Karmy-Jones said acquaintances of Brand recalled him bragging that he wanted to “bed 5,000 women in his lifetime”, adding that “you have to tell them what they need to hear”.

This, the prosecutor said, was a clear indication of “how manipulative the defendant could be”.

Brand has in recent years reinvented himself as a conservative and faith-based guru for millions of social media followers.

He has pleaded not guilty to all seven of the charges — three counts of rape, three of sexual assault and one charge of indecent assault.

The trial at London’s Southwark Crown Court should last around six weeks but could stretch into December.

The trial is attracting intense media scrutiny, with numerous British outlets launching dedicated podcasts and US channels reporting from outside the court.

Born to working-class parents in Essex in eastern England, Brand launched a successful stand-up comedy career as a teenager.

He became a household name as a television presenter on MTV, Channel 4 and the BBC, also penning newspaper columns and two autobiographies.

He then made a foray into Hollywood, starring in several hit films, and was in a brief, but high-profile, marriage to US pop star Katy Perry.

Now remarried and living in Florida with his young family, he has gained a new following as an influencer, with six million subscribers on YouTube, 10.1 million on X and 4.9 million on Instagram.

In Dar-i-Nijaat, Zamil has a physical relationship with his girlfriend, Zaryab (Durefishan Saleem), but becomes jealous when she introduces him to the pious Abu Bakar (Sheheryar Munawar). When Zaryab decides to marry Abu Bakar, Zamil tries to turn him against her in retaliation, but fails. That’s classic villainy, if you ask me. However, the person I am meeting seems more aligned with Abu Bakar than with Zamil.

This isn’t our first meeting. We also sat down for an interview a few months ago, just before Aik Aur Pakeezah ended, in which he played the role of Faraz. Back then, Nameer was clean-shaven, looked like a young Robert Downey Jr, and talked about his success in the industry.

Today, he sits in front of me as Zamil, bearded and the ultimate red flag in our society. As always, he speaks in measured tones, articulates intelligent answers and is extremely charming.

The characters he has played so far may be toxic, jealous and impossible to root for, but the young actor himself seems anything but. Does he yearn for roles closer to his own personality? As Zamil in Dar-i-Nijaat becomes his most talked-about role yet, Nameer Khan looks back at his unlikely journey from software engineering to TV…

Inhabiting the grey

After his television debut in Main in 2023, Nameer moved on to Qarz-i-Jaan, Main Manto Nahin Hoon and Aik Aur Pakeezah, building a track record of playing characters that were rarely straightforward.

Although his negative role in Main was a supporting one, he shared the screen with Wahaj Ali and Ayeza Khan, while in Qarz-i-Jaan he was on equal footing with co-stars such as Yumna Zaidi and Usama Khan. His character in Qarz-i-Jaan, Ammar Bakhtiyar, was a spoilt brat who ended up in jail, but not before delivering a powerful monologue that touched both parents and children.

Main Manto Nahin Hoon followed, where he was again relegated to a supporting role alongside Humayun Saeed, Sajal Aly, Asif Raza Mir, Babar Ali, Saba Hameed, Azaan Sami Khan and Saima Noor. His growing fan base wasn’t happy with him playing Sajal Aly’s elder brother, but that experience “helped [him] understand the game.”

Now, with Zamil, he finds himself playing yet another morally complicated man — although, as he points out, that is hardly accidental.

“I connect with characters facing internal conflict because, in reality, none of us is entirely black or white — we’re all grey,” Nameer tells me. “Such roles feel relatable, give me more room to perform and challenge me as an actor. I’ve always wanted the industry to recognise me as a strong performer, and I believe I’m gradually getting there.”

That makes sense. If a thread runs through Nameer’s major roles, it is complexity and, although they inhabit different worlds, they are men with plenty going on beneath the surface.

“I’ve mostly played conflicted characters and haven’t yet explored a straightforward role,” he adds.

Which of the characters that he has played is the closest to him?

“Faraz in Aik Aur Pakeezah,” he shoots back immediately. “It was also the most challenging role I have played.”

That could well be because Faraz had multiple shades and there were too many similarities to Nameer’s own personality. Both grew up in Lahore, and both had to go against the tide to make their presence felt. Nameer’s eyes betrayed the conflicts that Faraz faced time and again and earned him sympathy from viewers.

With Zamil, the reaction has been different. The character has become one that audiences love to hate. Nameer himself has addressed Zamil’s behaviour publicly, urging men to be respectful, honest and accountable in relationships. However, today Nameer doesn’t seem particularly interested in shielding himself from criticism.

“Honestly, neither popularity nor criticism affects me much because I’m secure in my identity,” he explains. “I know both my strengths and my shortcomings. My life’s mantra is simple: if something costs you your peace, let it go.”

That attitude may explain why the current discussions about Zamil don’t seem to have rattled him. The actor understands that the audience’s anger, in a way, is evidence that the character has registered.

The accidental actor

Interestingly enough, Nameer didn’t always want to be an actor. He studied software engineering and had no ties to showbiz.

“I realised I wanted to become an actor during the first semester of studying for my master’s in engineering in Canada,” he reminisces. “I had no friends or family there, so, apart from studying and driving an Uber, I spent most of my time alone.

“That period of self-reflection made me realise I wasn’t cut out for a conventional nine-to-five job. I’m a free-spirited person. I value freedom and diverse experiences — I don’t enjoy a monotonous life. Acting gave me the chance to explore all of that.”

That self-realisation set in motion a momentous change in Nameer’s life. He returned to Pakistan and began the process of entering the media industry.

“I started my journey in 2020 with no connections and no idea how to enter the industry,” he recalls. “For the first three years, I was barely on the radar — I wasn’t getting auditions and would occasionally take on fashion shoots and runway modelling (between 2020 and 2022), which brought me some visibility. The Hum TV Awards, which I hosted in 2022, gave me further exposure, and eventually projects started coming my way.”

His first drama, Main, came in 2023. “For that reason people think I’ve been around for three years, but my journey so far has actually taken six,” he points out.

“Software engineering itself may not have helped me directly with acting, but moving to Canada, living alone and studying alongside people from diverse cultures certainly did,” he says. “It exposed me to a wide range of personalities and sharpened my observation — something every actor needs when preparing a character. Living alone also gave me the space to reflect on and observe people and life without distractions.”

There was also a practical advantage.

“Financially, software engineering helped me stay independent enough to say no to projects that didn’t feel right, even early in my career,” he says. “So, education gave me exposure, awareness and the ability to understand what to say, when to say it, and when not to.”

His family, he says, never stood in the way of his decision to leave a conventional career path. “My father would always say, ‘I know Nameer would never make a foolish decision.’ That trust meant a great deal to me. Knowing that my family believed in my judgement gave me the confidence to believe in myself and take the leap into acting.”

Getting into the character’s skin

Nameer describes himself as an actor without formal training but says his work with established directors has served as his education.

“I’ve learned through experience, and it’s a process that continues with each project,” he says with humility.

Among the directors who have already shaped him, one stands out: Kashif Nisar, who directed Aik Aur Pakeezah. “I learned a lot of things from him that helped me become a stronger performer.”

We talk about how he prepares for his roles and it turns out that it isn’t based on a rigid acting method. “In addition to reading the entire script, I take notes about [the character’s] personality and listen to playlists of songs I have created that I think the character would listen to. The same goes for the perfume. If I am playing a poor character, I choose to wear a cheap perfume and an expensive cologne for a rich character to help me enter their world.”

Clearly, for Nameer, understanding the character’s mind matters more than memorising lines.

“During a scene, dialogue is secondary to me — the character’s thought process matters most. Once I understand what they’re thinking, it naturally shows in my eyes and reactions. That’s why there is often a contrast between what my characters say and what their eyes reveal, which I believe is very true to human nature.”

The business of becoming an actor

Nameer’s rise has placed him alongside some of Pakistan’s leading actresses, including Ayeza Khan, Yumna Zaidi, Sajal Aly, Sehar Khan and Durefishan Saleem. He insists that this was never part of a deliberate strategy.

“I don’t think I consciously look for that when choosing a project — it’s something that has simply happened along the way,” he says.

“I’ve been fortunate to work with some incredibly talented female leads, but I’ve never really planned it that way. Sometimes, opportunities and people just come into your path at the right time, and you only understand their significance later. I’d rather let things unfold naturally and let time reveal the rest.”

However, he believes actors can no longer afford to ignore one thing: their online presence.

“A social media following can influence casting, but it depends on the project. For premium or passion projects, established directors and production houses rarely compromise on talent. That is why I continue to focus on improving my craft — talent consistently opens doors to strong opportunities.”

At the same time, he acknowledges that the business has changed.

“Commercials and brand endorsements are increasingly data-driven, so metrics and online reach matter greatly. Today, talent alone isn’t enough — a strong social media presence is essential as well. Your social media audience is a valuable asset that can create opportunities and support your career in the long term.”

That awareness hasn’t made him overly strategic about his image. If anything, he seems more interested in his work.

“When a script comes to me, I first consider the director, then the writer, my co-actors and then, finally, the DoP [Director of Photography].”

Beyond Zamil

Away from television, Nameer’s ambitions are considerably less dramatic.

He still keeps one foot in the technology world, staying in touch with former colleagues and following developments in the field. He also plans to explore business, possibly trading, and continues to shuttle between Pakistan and Canada.

“Life can be unpredictable,” he says matter-of-factly.

For now, however, he devotes most of his time to his acting career. “Since I’m still early in my career, most of my time goes to work. There was a time when I had no opportunities, so now that I do, I want to make the most of them.”

When he gets a break, he spends it with his family. “Ultimately, my purpose is to become strong enough to support them and to always be there for my family.”

Nameer is a self-confessed foodie, partial to Italian food, burgers, and, naturally, pizza and pasta. He enjoys travelling, particularly for the exposure it offers, and is equally comfortable travelling solo or with his mother and siblings.

Fitness, meanwhile, is less of an obligation than a personal philosophy. “It’s something I genuinely enjoy,” he asserts. “Even if I weren’t acting, I would still prioritise it, as it strengthens the mind — the physical transformation is merely a by-product. My goals are to stay healthy, achieve financial security, enjoy life and support my family.”

His idea of leisure is also refreshingly simple: long solo drives, cricket, snooker and slow mornings. Regarding the latter, he says, “That is [one of the few times in the day] when I know the time is entirely mine.”

Does he spend his free time watching the dramas he works on? “Not at all. I prefer to travel.” Although he doesn’t read regularly, he is drawn to self-help books, usually in their summarised YouTube form.

His artistic influences are more specific. Ranbir Kapoor remains the actor he admires most, particularly for the expressiveness of his eyes, while Imtiaz Ali is among the directors he most hopes to collaborate with.

What comes next?

His next role may, finally, take Nameer away from the grey, conflicted men who have defined his early career.

“You’ll get to see me in a very different setting next,” he says about his forthcoming project with Hania Aamir, directed by Badar Mehmood. “It’s a character I haven’t explored before, so I’m really looking forward to seeing how the audience responds to him.”

That change may be necessary. Actors who establish themselves through a particular type of character can quickly find themselves trapped with the same kinds of offers. Nameer, however, believes he has already demonstrated range.

“Each character I’ve played has offered something different.”

His solution to avoiding typecasting is simple: “Simply choosing scripts that offer a variety of characters.”

Perhaps that is the most appropriate way to understand Nameer’s career so far. The man sitting across from me is considerably less troubled than the men he portrays on television. Zamil may prompt viewers to question his choices, but Nameer himself appears remarkably comfortable with his own.

After all, he says, audiences still haven’t seen anything yet. And as the conversation ends, he adds: “I have an empathetic soul. I tend to feel things deeply and understand people’s perspective, even when I don’t agree with them. Perhaps that’s something that doesn’t always come through in the characters I play.”

For an actor whose career has so far been built on roles that are difficult to understand, that may be the most revealing thing he says.

Originally published in Dawn, ICON, October 11th, 2026

The cause of death for the actor, who lived with cerebral palsy, was not immediately revealed.

“It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of beloved actor, philanthropist, and passionate disability rights advocate RJ Mitte,” said a statement issued by Sean Reilly.

A teenage Mitte first appeared in Breaking Bad in 2008 as the son of chemistry-teacher-turned-drug-kingpin Walter White, a role that won Bryan Cranston global acclaim.

“Drawing from his own experience living with cerebral palsy, Mitte brought authenticity to the role and built a platform on disability awareness and inclusion,” Reilly said.

That campaigning evolved into working as an ambassador for United Cerebral Palsy and for Shriners Children’s, a non-profit hospital network.

“He also served as president of The Mitte Foundation, supporting philanthropic efforts and community initiatives, while using his platform to challenge stereotypes and promote greater representation for people with disabilities,” Reilly added.

Breaking Bad, which ran for five seasons between 2008 and 2013, is routinely acclaimed as groundbreaking television, and was recently named by The New York Times as the best TV show of the 21st century.

Co-stars rushed to pay tribute to the performer, with Cranston recalling how Mitte was 14 when the show began and “met the demanding shooting schedule head on with great determination.”

“That kid was pretty raw when we started shooting the pilot in February of 2007, but little by little we watched him grow into a really fine actor,” Cranston wrote in an Instagram post.

Aaron Paul — who played Jesse Pinkman, White’s young partner in crime — said he was “at a loss” over the news.

“RJ, I love you my friend. You will be missed,” he said, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

“And to whoever happens to be reading this, please know you are loved, and you are not alone. Always remember that.”

Dean Norris, who starred in the series as Mitte’s on-screen uncle, a special agent with the Drug Enforcement Agency, said he was “heartbroken” by the news of the young man’s death.

“Though RJ didn’t play my TV son, I always looked out for him as a young kid on set,” Norris wrote on social media.

“He was a sweetheart of a young man and will be greatly missed. This is so heartbreaking, I can’t believe it. Thinking of him and his family.”

Fellow actor and disability campaigner Marlee Matlin, who appeared with Mitte in Cinemability: The Art of Inclusion, a documentary that examined the history of disability portrayals in US film and television, said her heart was “shattered.”

“There will never be another like RJ Mitte. You will always have a place in my heart. RIP,” wrote Matlin, who became the first deaf actress to win an Oscar when she scooped the top honour for Children of a Lesser God.

Thankfully, former Miss Universe Pakistan Roma Riaz stepped in to defend Saleem.

In an Instagram story posted on Sunday, Riaz penned a poignant message, calling out trolls for body-shaming women and trivialising their accomplishments by focusing on their looks.

“It genuinely breaks my heart to see a woman as beautiful and talented as Durefishan being reduced to a conversation about her arms. Imagine giving your heart to your heart to your craft, only to have people pick apart your appearance instead of appreciating your work,” Riaz wrote.

Comments about Saleem’s body started making rounds on social media after she wore a sleeveless dress in Dar-e-Nijaat’s 20th episode, which aired on Friday.

In her response to the trolling, Riaz highlighted “how comfortable we’ve become commenting on women’s bodies”.

“We speak so much about empowering women, yet we’re often the first to make another woman feel like her body isn’t good enough. The pressure on women to look a certain exhausting and moments way is already like these only make it harder for young girls to feel comfortable in their own skin,” she wrote.

Riaz’s words cut to the core of a systemic issue. She noted that the pressure on women to conform to rigid beauty standards is exhausting and detrimental to young girls.

“I hope we’re raising a generation of girls who know their worth will never be measured by how closely they fit society’s beauty standards,” she added.

This isn’t the first time Saleem has been subjected to body shaming. She has often talked about it in her interviews. Unfortunately, it is a pervasive issue in the entertainment industry — one that demands immediate introspection.

When audiences reduce a performer — especially women who are already held to unrealistic beauty standards — to their physical attributes, they undermine the very essence of what it means to be an artist.

To judge them solely on whether their arms fit a toxic mould of beauty is to completely miss the point of their craft.

Also, this obsession with physical perfection has dangerous real-world consequences. It creates an environment of insecurity and anxiety, not just for the actors, but for the millions of young people who look up to them. When we mock a celebrity’s body, we send a clear message to the public that only certain body types are worthy of respect and success.

Riaz’s support for Saleem should serve as a wake-up call for everyone. We must actively choose to celebrate talent over looks and, more importantly, empathy over criticism.

The news of his arrest prompted a wave of reactions across Indian and Pakistani social media, which couldn’t help but draw comparisons between the situations of the Indian actor and PTI founder Imran Khan, who has been imprisoned since August 2023.

The Bollywood star seemed to take the arrest in his stride as he took a selfie from inside the police van and posted it on Instagram with the caption: “Apparently I’m going for a drive.”

Within minutes of the news breaking, social media erupted — not over the charges, but over the headline. Many jokingly pointed out the commonality in the names of the two prominent personalities from India and Pakistan.

Even the Bollywood actor seemed to be in on the joke in his Instagram comments.

From now on, if you’re chanting “Release Imran Khan”, you’ve got to specify the country, like this user from X did.

As did this netizen from Pakistan.

This user just wants both of them out.

Others pulled in yet another Imran Khan — the Pakistani singer-songwriter and rapper, who shot to global fame with his song ‘Amplifier’ — into the meme fest.

This user is wondering if the singer — who was born in the Netherlands — should be worried.

The Indian actor’s arrest also spawned a flood of memes, many of them linked to his debut movie Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na.

For some context: in the movie, the main character, Jai Singh Rathore (played by Imran Khan the actor), has to complete three conditions to prove he is a true ‘warrior’ from his father’s side of the family and one of those conditions is that he should get arrested.

This user used a scene from the movie, showing Bollywood actors Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah (who played Jai’s parents), to draw the parallel between reel and real life.

In the movie, Jai also has a long-standing (fr)enmity with the local police officer (played by Indian actor Paresh Rawal). This X user made sure to remind people of that.

Later, Jai heroically rides on a horse after leaving prison, so, of course, this user made use of it.

In a fresh wave of protests, the Indian youth-led CJP is demanding the resignation of the chief election commissioner over allegations of manipulating voters’ lists.

The demonstrations, centred in New Delhi, have expanded to other cities like Bengaluru and Mumbai. Indian authorities have responded by detaining protesters, shutting down major railway lines and even temporarily suspending mobile internet in parts of the capital.

The protests have also drawn support from Bollywood, with actor Imran Khan among several people detained in Mumbai on Saturday, while actors Vijay Varma and Huma Qureshi have also publicly expressed solidarity with the protesters.

The actor, who was a guest on the show Gup Shab, was reminded by the host, Vasay Chaudhry, of an old statement of his in which he strongly opposed the idea that a married daughter must only return to her parents home when she is dead.

Quraishi took issue with parents who say that only their daughter’s “funeral” should return to their homes, “Tell me, is she not your child? If you’re alive and God has given you the strength, then stand with her.”

“You’ve raised her and now you won’t back her up?” he asked, saying, “If she’s facing violence, abuse, you’ll just let that happen?”

The actor pointed out that attitudes were changing, especially in his industry, where TV shows had begun showing fathers who were willing to defend their daughters.

He said he remembered watching a show where Shamyl Khan played a supportive father to Mawra Hocane — likely Jafaa — and was happy to see the bond they shared.

“Whether you have a son or a daughter, they’re equally important,” the star said, “And you have to stand behind your children. When someone’s standing behind you nobody dares [hurt you].”

Quraishi said there was even a dialogue about this in his upcoming film Mango Jutt where he looks at his co-star Hareem Farooq — who was also a guest on the show — and says, “When you turn around to look behind you, I’ll be standing right there.”

The actors were on Gup Shab to promote their film, which Farooq also produced.

Earlier in the show, Farooq told the host she had wanted to make a Punjabi film for some time and finally got an opportunity with Mango Jutt.

She also revealed that Quraishi did all of his stunts in the action movie.

The actor posted a picture on Instagram on Thursday wearing a shirt emblazoned with a pink ribbon — a symbol of breast cancer awareness.

In her post, Khan said she wore the ribbon for the women who were fighting breast cancer, survivors who inspire countless others and all the women “learning to put our health first”.

The actor said she used to be one of those people who would consider it “selfish” to take time out for herself, but has since realised that caring about her health was not selfish at all, it was an act of “self love”.

Khan asked her followers to take a minute for themselves, to check for any signs of breast cancer, which often presents as physical changes — size, shape, colour — in the breast and lumps in the breasts and armpits.

October is breast cancer awareness month — often referred to as ‘Pinktober’ — and people wear pink ribbons during the month as a way to spread awareness about the disease.

Pakistan faces a particularly difficult struggle with the disease, with estimates from 2024 suggesting one in every eight women will develop breast cancer at some point in her life.

Lahore’s Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital estimates that 83,000 women in Pakistan are diagnosed with the disease annually.

Doctors recommend women examine themselves once every month for signs of the disease, in a two to three minute process called a self-breast examination.

The exam requires women to first check for visual changes in the breasts while standing in front of a mirror. Abnormalities in the size, shape, skin colour and nipples should be treated as cause to consult with a doctor.

The second part of the exam requires women to feel their breasts and armpits for any lumps. This is first done standing upright and then lying down. Women are advised not to perform the test more than once a month, as this could cause them to miss subtle changes.

The disease is curable and early detection increases the chances any patient will be able to beat the illness.

The actor was reportedly found unconscious by a medical team dispatched to respond to complaints of chest pain. The team attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the actor after which he was rushed to the hospital, news agency ANI quoted Dr Shehkar Salkar, the head of oncology at Goa’s Manipal Hospital, as saying.

The actor was declared dead early Thursday morning. Dr Salkar said a medico-legal case had been registered and a post-mortem exam would be conducted.

Patekar had an extensive repertoire of Hindi and Marathi cinema credits along with a handful of roles in Tamil and Kannada films. His 48-year career began with the 1978 film Gaman.

He went on to act in Mira Nair’s Academy Award-nominated film Salaam Bombay! and won three National Awards — Best Supporting Actor for Parinda and Agni Sakshi and Best Actor for Krantiveer. He was awarded the Padma Shri — India’s fourth-highest civilian honour — in 2013.

He gained widespread acclaim among younger fans with his performance as the gangster Uday Shetty in the 2007 crime comedy Welcome.

In an Instagram story posted on Tuesday, the actor thanked viewers for their appreciation but also opened up about one comment that hit particularly hard.

While going through feedback, she came across a viewer who wrote, “Our father painted our windows so that we couldn’t look outside.”

Mobeen said this remark left her in a strange position actors often find themselves in — feeling pleased that a character has resonated with audiences, yet troubled by the reasons behind that connection.

“Do you see the conundrum, like I’m so happy that you are connecting but also really, really sad that this is the reason why you’re connecting to my character,” she said, before thanking her fans for tuning in.

In Hurmat, Mobeen plays the role of a young woman living under the authoritarian rule of her ultra-conservative father who dictates almost every single moment of her life.

It’s a particularly important story for Pakistani women, many of whom still face severe restrictions on their education, basic autonomy and personal choices.

In just the first two episodes, Hurmat has successfully been able to shed light on the kind of challenges women face if they’re not allowed to make their own decisions. Mobeen’s character, despite getting good grades, is unable to attend university because her tyrant father doesn’t deem it appropriate for women to go outside ‘needlessly’. As a result, Hurmat feels helpless and suffers from a severe lack of self-confidence.

It’s not every day that a drama role sparks such a personal response. For Mobeen, the experience has clearly been one of gratitude mixed with reflection — and a reminder that television can sometimes strike closer to home than expected.

These three years have seen many people speaking up for the Palestinians who have been the victims of Israeli violence long before October 7, but it wasn’t always like this; it wasn’t always in vogue to condemn Israel’s brutality and many of those who did — especially celebrities — ended up suffering consequences.

Melissa Barrera

One of the earliest victims of Hollywood’s action against pro-Palestinian voices was actor Melissa Barrera, who was fired from her recurring role in the Scream franchise after she posted about Israel’s war on Gaza on social media.

Barrera had a role in the fifth and sixth Scream films and was shooting for the seventh when she was let go. Her on-screen sister Jenna Ortega, who has also been vocal about Palestine, left the film a day after Barrera’s firing was announced. Reports at the time denied Ortega left over her co-star’s removal, but netizens believed there was more to the story.

Susan Sarandon

Around the same time as the controversy surrounding Barrera began, Academy Award-winning actor Susan Sarandon was dropped by her talent agency for speaking at a pro-Palestine rally.

Her comments, which were deemed “anti-semitic” by the agency, compared anti-semitism to the Islamophobia Muslims in the US had been subjected to for years and called for people to talk to Jewish Americans who feel unsafe.

Macklemore

Rapper Macklemore made waves in 2024 with a song about the killing of six-year-old Hind Rajab at the hands of Israeli forces and the student protests that followed in the US.

When he sang that song during a concert and called for a “free Palestine” while touring with Ed Sheeran, he was dropped from the tour under pressure from venue owners and businesspeople. The move drew intense criticism, with Sheeran’s remaining opening acts dropping out in solidarity.

There is a happy ending here, though. Macklemore took the opportunity to announce he was launching his own tour, with proceeds going towards organisations supporting Palestine. Tickets sold out “immediately” for the tour’s three shows, he said.

Bob Vylan

British punk-rap duo Bob Vylan were also dropped from a number of festivals and shows after they led chants of “Free, free Palestine” and “Death, death to the IDF (Israeli Defence Forces)” at the Glastonbury Festival in 2025.

The chants, which led to the duo having to cancel their US tour over visa issues, were criticised by then-British prime minister Keir Starmer.

Kneecap

Irish rap trio Kneecap said they faced censorship when the more political parts of the performance at Coachella were cut from the official livestream.

The group, which is known for its politically charged music, said they were being subjected to a “coordinated smear campaign”.

Massive Attack

British trip-hop band Massive Attack were detained in Singapore in July after two band members unfurled a Palestinian flag on stage at a concert.

Local laws prohibit the display of foreign flags and emblems without a permit and the display led to two band members being banned from entering the country.

Mia Khalifa

Playboy magazine terminated its partnership with Lebanese-American media personality and former adult entertainer Mia Khalifa just days after the events of Oct 7, 2023 after she referred to Palestinians as “freedom fighters” and told people siding with Israel they were on “the wrong side of apartheid”.

In an X post on Oct 8, she referred to Gaza as an “open-air prison” and said she wanted people to film good videos of “my people breaking down the walls” for the history books.

Bella Hadid

An advertisement featuring Palestinian model Bella Hadid wearing Adidas sneakers was taken down by the company in response to pressure from pro-Israel groups.

The pro-Israel groups were angry at Hadid modelling for a line of shoes commemorating the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich — marred by a deadly attack that killed 11 Israeli athletes — and pro-Palestine voices objected to the brand bowing to pressure.

In the end, Adidas apologised to Hadid and all its other partners who faced consequences from the campaign.

Though a ceasefire was reached in Oct 2025, Israel’s bloody campaign continues — albeit at a slower pace. Authorities in Gaza say at least 1,400 people have been killed by Israeli fire after the ceasefire, with the full death toll crossing beyond 74,000 people.

The celebrities who took part in the mission — which ran from September 29 to October 3 — included Jawed Shaikh, Khaled Anam, Saba Hamid, Shagufta Ejaz, Kubra Khan, Gohar Rasheed, Ahmed Ali Akbar, Ally Khan and Nabeel Zafar.

Working alongside local teams, the delegation packed food cartons at SKT Welfare’s warehouse before distributing 500 essential food parcels directly to Palestinian families.

The team also visited injured patients in hospitals and at their homes, offering emotional support and care.

The delegation dedicated a special afternoon to the children of Gaza, coming together to share bright smiles and warm, comforting meals.

For patients evacuated from the war torn territory, the road to recovery requires more than just medicine. It also calls for a safe place to stay, nourishing meals and a reliable transport network that facilitates critical medical appointments quickly. SKT Welfare provides this support year-round, covering accommodation, meals and transport.

This latest mission follows a similar effort in 2025, when the charity’s volunteers distributed food parcels and hygiene kits across Jordan’s refugee camps, reaching around 76,000 people.

“Humanitarian response means staying connected to people as their circumstances change,” Asif Hussain, the CEO of SKT Welfare, said as per a press release.

“For some families that means support inside Gaza. For others it means support in Jordan, where they have come for treatment. This week our team met families directly, heard what they needed and acted on it.”

The Jordan deployment forms part of SKT Welfare’s wider international programme that comprises bringing food, care and comfort to communities enduring conflict, displacement and poverty.

Yet the charity’s work doesn’t end at the Jordanian border.

Within Gaza, local teams continue to deliver life-saving aid — food distributions, hot meals, clean water, medical assistance, hygiene supplies and emergency shelter. In 2025, these programmes reached more than 350,000 people, including 225,450 supported through the delivery of clean water.

In a scathing Instagram story posted on Sunday, the actor suggested male behaviour is frequently driven by a singular agenda: the abuse of power, primarily perpetrated “through their ‘appendage’”.

Sarhadi, who is known for her vocal support for animal, children and women’s rights, also drew attention to the societal mechanisms that perpetuate rape culture.

“The prey [may be] of any gender, species and age. That does not matter. The [victim blaming] starts and the predators are seldom at fault,” she wrote.

This observation speaks to the deep-seated culture of victim blaming that often shields perpetrators and pushes survivors into silence, creating a seemingly endless cycle of trauma.

She then posed a poignant question: “When and how will the cycle break?”

In her post, the actor also offered a solution, which she believes could help tackle the issue.

“Harsher punishments for perps and newer generations should be raised better,” Sarhadi wrote, before adding the focus ought to be on “strictly boys NOT just girls”.

By calling for harsher punishments, Sarhadi acknowledged the failures of a justice system that frequently treats sexual violence with leniency, which leads to failure to deter and prevent future crimes.

But it’s her emphasis on the upbringing of boys that addresses an oft-overlooked aspect of rape culture.

For generations, the burden of preventing sexual violence has been placed squarely on the shoulders of women. They are told to dress modestly, avoid travelling alone, watch their drinks and essentially shrink their existence to avoid provoking male ‘desire’. This approach is inherently flawed because it places the onus of safety on the potential victim rather than the potential perpetrator.

Sarhadi’s assertion that boys must be raised better targets the root cause. In many patriarchal societies, boys are often socialised to view aggression as a sign of superiority and sexual dominance as a measure of ‘true’ masculinity.

The concept of toxic masculinity dictates that emotional repression and physical dominance are the benchmarks of manhood and this often happens at the expense of empathy and respect for boundaries.

By stating “strictly boys not just girls,” Sarhadi is demanding systemic change. She is arguing that parents must actively teach their sons about consent, respect and the immorality of exerting power over the vulnerable. Because it is not enough to teach daughters how to defend themselves; society must teach sons not to attack.

This requires dismantling the entitlement that is often inadvertently or deliberately inculcated in young men, where they are taught that they are entitled to women’s bodies and labour.

Sarhadi’s post serves as a necessary wake-up call. It argues that until we stop raising boys to be predators and start raising them to be allies and until our legal systems treat sexual violence with the severity that rape culture deserves, the cycle the actor speaks of will remain unbroken.

The actor posted two stories on his Instagram account on Friday, saying he was grateful to the stylist and had been so for years.

“He did my first-ever photo shoot and didn’t charge a single rupee for it,” Hussain recalled in his video message. “Back then, he had no rivals as a makeup artist or as a photographer, that’s how busy he was and he’s still that big of an artist.”

Hussain said he keeps mentioning how Ilyas and so many other seniors helped him get where he is today.

Coming to Ilyas’ comments, the actor said he didn’t know why the stylist said what he did, “maybe he was influenced by somebody”.

Hussain said he respects his senior’s opinion and ended the clip saying “I love you, Akif bhai.”

In an episode of the show Rise & Shine aired on Wednesday, the photographer said people had developed a “cheap sense of humour” and comedians nowadays “make fun of others and think they’ve done something very big”.

Ilyas said anyone wanting to learn comedy should look into the work of Anwar Maqsood and Moin Akhtar who could make people laugh without resorting to the use of foul language and double entendres.

The stylist mentioned Hussain specifically and said these were the kind of people who would call him repeatedly and say, “Please build up our careers, please make my portfolio, please cut my hair.”

He said that when these people build a platform, instead of respecting other artists, they go on stage and ridicule others. “They mimicked me, they said bad things about me, they spoke about my friendships in the wrong terms.”

Ilyas said brands abroad never stooped so low as to start criticising their competitor; they let their work speak for them. But in Pakistan, he said, people let their mouths do the talking rather than their actions.

Gill took to Instagram on Tuesday to share her thoughts on a news report about a man in Gujranwala who allegedly assaulted his pregnant wife after an ultrasound report revealed the couple were expecting a daughter.

“To educate all such men out there, a child’s biological sex is determined by the father’s sperm, not the mother,” Gill wrote.

The actor went on to suggest that “basic manners, empathy, humanity and morality” should be a mandatory part of curriculum in schools.

“Because clearly, something is failing us. I don’t know whether it’s our legal system, our society, our upbringing or a combination of all but these horrendous acts continue to happen,” she continued, before pointing out religious teachings, if interpreted correctly, could also help nurture children, so they grow up to be compassionate.

The incident Gill referred to took place on September 27. Gujranwala police have arrested the man accused of assaulting his pregnant wife in the WAPDA Town area. The case has been registered under sections 337 (shajjah) and 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

According to the FIR, the accused, Tayyab Mannan, had been coercing his wife, who is five months pregnant, to get an abortion because he wasn’t happy about the possibility of having a second daughter, which was indicated in an ultrasound.

The FIR claims that during a fight over the same issue, Mannan beat up his wife so badly that had to be taken to Gujranwala Civil Hospital for treatment.

In a video circulating on social media, the woman revealed details about the incident and how her husband’s anger over having a second daughter turned into violence.

“We need to shape minds from a young age so that cruelty is never normalised, violence is never mistaken for authority, and another human being’s dignity is never considered negotiable,” Gill wrote in her story, that features the video.

Going back to the reported incident, the actor, who is known for being vocal about women’s and animal’s rights, reiterated her outrage.

“A woman being beaten for carrying a daughter? Astaghfirullah,” she said, adding the mother is not responsible for “choosing the sex of that child”.

Gill, who is know for her vocal support for women’s rights, touched upon an important issue that, to this day, plagues women in South Asia. Family pressure to produce male heirs is a deeply entrenched cultural norm. It’s rooted in and driven by patriarchal social structures as well as a false sense of economic security.

This harmful belief devalues the lives of women and in many cases endangers their lives as well. In 2011, several United Nations agencies, including the World Health Organisation, released a joint statement to address this issue, stating ‘son preference’ perpetuates discrimination and violates women’s rights.

Add to this a severe lack of sex education, and you get a society where women not only suffer abuse for something they have absolutely no control over but also wrongly get blamed for it.

Gill is right to call out systemic issues that contribute to prenatal violence against women. “We desperately need to do better. As parents. As schools. As communities. As a society. Period,” she said.

With additional reporting by Iqbal Mirza

The final season of the show, which debuted in 2004, has had a 161-episode run over its eight seasons so far. The final series will begin streaming on JioHotstar from October 14.

The show hosted some of India’s biggest stars across Bollywood and sports, with Johar asking them questions about friendships, romances, marriages and whatever else goes on in their world.

The conversations that followed had a knack for going viral — sometimes for the wrong reasons.

“Koffee With Karan has been such a large part of my identity in the entertainment industry… I still can’t believe it’s been 22 years and now this will be my ninth season,” Variety quoted Johar saying.

He said he had a rewarding experience hosting the show, but the time had come to focus on other pursuits. “I want to spend the next decade of my life directing more movies… telling many more stories… so with a heavy heart I am making this season my last,” the director said.

The show started off very strong with Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol as guests on the inaugural episode. The first season also saw Amitabh Bachchan, his son Abhishek, Aishwarya Rai and filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali sit on the show’s Koffee Kouch.

It was that same star power that propelled its future seasons, with Kajol and Kareena Kapoor being two of the most frequent guests.

Naturally, the show had its share of controversies too, with one episode in 2019 being taken off the Hotstar streaming platform after cricketer Hardik Pandya made derogatory remarks about women.

Both Pandiya and KL Rahul — who was also on the Kouch that day — were briefly suspended from the national team over the incident.

In 2022, the host convinced fans the show was ending with a post that said it would “not be returning”. He clarified hours later that it was no longer going to air on TV and would now stream on Hotstar.

However, it seems this next season will be his last hurrah, with Johar saying, “This will be the last time I will be on a couch that has been synonymous with conversations, candour and well… controversies… The decision is emotional and personal to me… But I am hoping the legacy of love the show has given me continues to brew in people’s hearts.”

His remarks came in a video posted to his Instagram account on Wednesday in which he vented his frustration at what he described as a daily disregard for basic courtesy and road safety outside school gates.

In the clip, Ahmed takes aim at those who, in his view, treat school runs as a licence to ignore everyone else on the road.

“I have an important question: while picking and dropping children off at school, why do you people take the wrong way? I mean, how much fuel are you able to save? Rs50? Rs100? But have you ever wondered what your child is learning from this sort of conduct?” Ahmed asked.

“I mean, school is where learning starts for children and you’re showing them that it’s okay to flout traffic rules. You cause traffic jams and people get worried,” he added.

However, in the middle of his rant, Ahmed explicitly highlighted women as the chief offenders, suggesting they are disproportionately responsible for the chaos he describes.

“Here, I’ll specifically request women drivers who drive on the wrong side of the road. Nobody even tries to question them, because you can’t get into a fight with a woman,” the actor said.

Now, this is a claim that’s not only unhelpful but also plainly unfair.

The school run is a shared burden with men and women both part of the daily scramble. To frame the issue around women is to blatantly ignore that reality and to risk turning a legitimate road safety concern into a gendered attack.

Ahmed’s criticism also overlooks the fact that, in many households, it is women who shoulder the bulk of childcare responsibilities — often while juggling work — precisely because of unequal expectations that society has been slow to address.

Blaming women, in particular, for the consequences of that imbalance adds to the unfairness, rather than addressing it.

That said, it would be a mistake to dismiss the substance of the broader issue Ahmed raised. The morning drop-off genuinely is a daily test of patience and safety and the frustration the actor voiced is one shared by countless parents, teachers and residents who witness the same scenes every week.

“Please reflect on your conduct and think about what your child is learning from you,” Ahmed requested towards the end of his video.

Speaking at the launch of Rabia Anum’s new salon in Karachi, Ansari said she had been busy with engagements abroad but was now back in Pakistan and looking forward to working on three projects: two drama serials and a film.

The actor said she was due to start shooting for “Fahad [Mustafa]’s film” in December. She also said that while the cast has not been finalised, she knows that comedian Sohail Ahmed — better known by his stage name Azizi — will be part of the project.

“The serials,” she said, “one will start shooting in October, the other in November. I will be staying here now.”

The actor confirmed these would be her first projects after she starred in the drama Shaidai earlier this year.

When asked about her vocal positions on social issues and whether she gets trolled over the internet for them, Ansari said, “Actually, I think I speak about relevant things mostly, the mishappenings [in society].”

She recalled speaking out about the Mir Raza and Mustafa Amir cases, saying, “When these things get suffocating, I say something and I don’t think I say anything that would hurt somebody… I don’t get trolled.”

The actor condemned the way fashion designer Parishae Adnan was treated on a TV show hosted by Nadia Khan last week. She said, “It wasn’t right, the girl is very talented, the focus should have been on her achievement.”

Adnan, who recently closed a show held during New York Fashion Week with her Second Skin collection, was grilled by the host over the clothes she wears to the gym and how her parents were okay with her choices.

Ansari said the designer was “unique” in her work and in her style, and that was her personal matter. The actor said Khan was like a daughter to her and she can say these things to her whenever they see each other.

Ansari said Khan was trolled on the internet for the show, “which should be limited”. She said people sometimes say things in the flow of conversation and there had to be a limit to what trolls can do.

Another bone she had to pick was with online ‘critics’. “Everyone has become a critic, whether they know dramas or not, whether they are from the field or not, anyone with two mics can start a podcast and he criticises everyone.

“Anyone can say anything about anybody,” she said.

Rahat Fateh Ali Khan — who learned to sing under the tutelage of his famous uncle — gave a statement before his concert in Toronto on Sunday praising Dosanjh for doing justice to the piece.

“It would be appropriate to say that very big artists get nervous when performing [Nusrat] sahab’s songs, but Diljit has fully done it justice, to the best of his ability, in a wonderful way with all his heart,” Rahat said.

“We can see it and hear it too, so I will appreciate [him].”

Dosanjh made history on September 12, becoming the first Punjabi artist to headline a show at Wembley — one of the world’s biggest event stages.

At the venue, which has hosted greats such as Michael Jackson, Queen, Madonna, David Bowie and U2, the Punjabi singer led an emotional crowd as they sang along to Nusrat’s work.

It was a departure from his usual style, as his own body of work leans into modern styles like hip-hop. He initially shot to international fame by blending traditional folk music with hip-hop.

As for making history, he’s been doing that for a while now.

In 2023, Dosanjh became the first Punjabi artist to perform at Coachella. In June 2024, he made his debut on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.

Later that year in October, the singer became the first South Asian artist to appear on the cover of Billboard Magazine.

In an Instagram post shared on Sunday, she rejected the notion that beauty lies in people’s physical appearances and argued that true beauty lies in how people choose to conduct themselves in their lives.

Farooq said “stretch marks, acne marks, hair loss, weight gain,” can determine neither a person’s beauty, nor their worth. Human bodies, she said, change with time, stress, trauma, and illness, and patriarchal beauty standards convince women they need to fit into a pre-made box.

The actor said someone’s “deepest beauty” lives in things like “the love you carry in your heart, the intelligence of your mind, the purity of your soul, the glimmer of hope in your eyes, the way you face adversity, the desire to always do and be better than yesterday,” and so much else.

She made her instructions crystal clear — “You do you. Own yourself. You’ll glow inside and out.”

Farooq asked her followers to accept, honour and embrace the physical bodies that have carried them through adversity after adversity.

“Be grateful for [your body]. Be gentle with it. Carry it towards health with gratitude being your best friend,” the actor advised.

Farooq asked people to live their own lives and let others live theirs because “[someone’s] body is not a public debate, a cautionary tale or an invitation for commentary”.

“Let everybody exist without needing permission. Let people dress, age, change, heal and take up space without being measured against someone else’s standards.”

The actor said people need to “break the cycle” with their thoughts and actions. She advised them to “be unapologetically yourself and make room for everyone else to do the same”.

While her message is sure to resonate with many, this isn’t the first time Farooq has spoken up about people shaming others for their physical appearances. In 2024, she spoke about her role in the show Bismil and how she decided not to go on a crash diet to lose weight for it.

She’s also been on the receiving end of body shaming, with one notable incident from 2021 seeing the actor face a distasteful joke made by Faryal Mehmood on TV.

Farooq has, in the past, also talked about her journey with keeping healthy and how it can be a worthwhile challenge for someone to take on.

The play’s narrative can now be categorised as following Yasir Hussain’s signature style: burlesque, raucous, sometimes witty, sometimes mindless, laden with innuendos and pointed, current jokes. The one-liners come fast: digs at Karachi’s notorious lack of cleanliness, jokes about actor and producer Humayun Saeed and TV host Fiza Ali, actor Faysal Quraishi’s remarkable weight loss and a sardonic nod at the prevalence of ‘black money’ and so on.

Yasir has often expressed his admiration for the madcap Umer Sharif’s stage dramas of yore, where the focus would just be on making the audience laugh. In this vein, he hasn’t bothered with being politically correct. The humour isn’t sanitised, vetted and weighed so that it doesn’t offend — this hare-brained gang is here to make you laugh and not take anything too seriously.

So Suite’s initial run took place in Lahore, followed by a few days’ tryst in Multan, after which it touched down in Karachi. Even the jokes travelled. Speaking after the first performance, Yasir explains that the script is tweaked according to the city the play is taking place in: “The phone ringtone in the Karachi show is of Hania Aamir’s song ‘Pablo’ — in Lahore it was something else.”

With the stage play So Suite, Yasir Hussain is back doing what he does best: delivering fast, irreverent comedy designed for live audiences. The actor, director and writer talks theatre, timing, Umer Sharif and why this is his time to be on stage

It is a small detail but an important one. Much of the appeal of Yasir’s theatre lies in its immediacy. The jokes belong to the moment — they are written for the audience sitting in front, in the city where it is being performed and about the things people are talking about right now.

Made for the stage

It wouldn’t be wrong to say that theatre has always been a sort of second home for Yasir. Acting in television dramas and films, hosting, writing credits, directing projects and the occasional candid statement in an interview may have made him a familiar name, but stage is where his particular brand of comic timing has perhaps found its most natural habitat.

One remembers him holding the fort as Akbar in playwright Anwar Maqsood and director Dawar Mehmood’s theatrical production of Aangan Terrha. Yasir’s association with Mehmood’s Kopykats Productions has extended to many other hugely popular stage productions, including Pawnay 14 August, Sawa 14 August and Half Plate.

In thespian circles, it’s a known fact that when Yasir Hussain’s name is in the cast of a stage play, tickets sell faster. Theatre has always been a significant part of Yasir’s repertoire, so it’s no surprise that, last year, he launched his own theatrical venture, called Lo Iq Films, with Monkey Business.

Yet, for all his obvious affinity for theatre, Yasir has never wanted to be defined by a single medium.

He muses, “I think I have had my successes with film too. At least once every two years, I am seen in a movie. I enjoy producing TV dramas and hosting. At the same time, I have never wanted to be stuck in a rut. There was a time when I was hosting a show for Hum TV and I could have continued to do so, but I did not want to risk being known primarily as a host.”

I insist that, on stage particularly, his work is distinctive. Does he not feel that? That his comic timing sets him apart from many of his peers? He agrees.

“Yes, comic timing is very important. The way a sentence is structured is sometimes the key to it being funny. When I write a play, that’s when I realise why playwrights such as Khalil-ur-Rehman Qamar throw a fuss when their scripts are tweaked. In particular sentences, the entire impact depends on how the words are joined together, the impact that they leave.”

Timing is everything

Yasir continues: “I have honed my comic timing over the years, and it is essential to a performance on stage. The late Umer Sharif’s timing was impeccable. However, I once met him in his later years, and he was trying to deliver jokes with the same promptness, but it made me sad to see that sometimes his timing would weaken.

“That’s when I realised that there is no point in saving away jokes, setting them aside for a later performance. Right now, I am in my prime, I can deliver one-liners one after the other. I can perform live for nearly an hour. This is my time to be on stage.”

Yasir’s stamina certainly is something one wonders about as he races about the stage, never missing a beat in the mad romp that categorises his particular theatrical template. In Monkey Business, he was on stage most of the time. In So Suite, he gives himself a break for a few scenes, letting the rest of the cast handle the story before returning to the fray.

“It can be exhausting,” says Yasir. “When I step backstage after a scene, I sometimes pause to catch my breath. And after the show, a lot of times, people from the audience come to meet me and I see videos of me with them, smiling weakly. You have to put in so much energy and make sure everything is timed right — it can take its toll.”

Did he deliberately write So Suite’s script in a way that there would be considerable scenes where he would not be on stage?

“Yes, I wanted the rest of the cast to carry the story too,” admits Yasir. “I want to prepare new actors who can share the stage with me and, sometimes, also perform all on their own.”

Not exactly politically correct

Did he worry that certain jokes in his script might offend audience members? “No, I don’t think about this,” retorts Yasir. “And I think the audience isn’t getting offended either. Every day, after the show, I meet people who tell me they laughed throughout.

“Our shows have done very well in Lahore, Multan and, now, Karachi. Humour created within boundaries is like serving food without salt. It would be bland.” He adds, “Yes, there are jokes that tilt towards being ‘bold’, but the first show in Karachi was staged before our friends and family and they weren’t offended. This makes me hopeful that the audiences that come in on other days will also just enjoy the show.”

And does he sometimes end up laughing while writing his script? “You know, I have never found my script to be funny,” he confesses.

“Till the very last day of rehearsals, I keep asking my actors if a certain scene is funny or not. I usually come up with a basic script and, while we rehearse it, I start adding more jokes. There is no day when I am not anxious before stepping on stage. This feeling drives me to do a good job every day. The day I become over-sure of myself, the performance will suffer.”

Does he manage to extract the same level of dedication from his actors?

“They all work very hard,” Yasir concedes, “but there have been times when an actor has particularly received a lot of applause one day but the next day, they just don’t perform well. I think that a lot of people, after they get a tiny bit of praise, they start believing that they are Dilip Kumar! This overconfidence can really affect their performance.”

He then points out another issue that keeps coming up with actors. “It is also exhausting when I am working with actors who simultaneously have TV drama commitments. There are times when we have waited till 11 at night for members of the cast to turn up after wrapping up their TV drama shoots.

“I understand that they have other work, but I am very particular about treating my cast well. They get paid well and in advance, and when we are travelling, I put them up at good hotels and take care of their transport and meals. I try to facilitate them the best that I can but, in return, I expect them to be focused on their work.”

He elaborates why he feels actors should give as much importance to theatre. “TV has its pull, but a single scene where an actor performs well might get lost in the overall episode. On stage, that scene will win immediate applause. There is nothing like it.”

The importance of being ‘with it’

Both of Yasir’s theatrical productions have been huge hits. Why hasn’t he considered releasing videos of the plays on YouTube, like Umer Sharif’s plays used to be available on video cassettes?

“Back then, people would sit and watch entire plays for hours — now, they watch two-minute reels,” Yasir points out. “People enjoy seeing the performance on stage, but I believe that they would not be as entertained if the same play were to be uploaded in its entirety on YouTube.

“Also, people find the jokes funny because they are relevant. In Monkey Business, I had quipped about [actor] Danish Taimoor because, back then, his controversial ‘filhaal’ (for the time being) quote had been making the rounds. Today, that joke won’t work. People have moved on. I will now joke about other things.

“The strength of the comedy relies heavily on it being very current,” adds Yasir. “If I stage this same play a few months from now, I would change a lot of the jokes, according to what is being discussed at that time.”

In between So Suite’s multi-city theatrical run, Yasir also managed to squeeze in a trip to Thailand, where he shot for the forthcoming movie Jawani Phir Nahin Ani 3 (JPNA 3). He is one of the new additions to the cast of the popular movie series, which is currently being filmed and is tentatively scheduled to be released early next year.

“I flew directly from Multan to shoot abroad for Jawani Phir Nahin Ani 3. Some of the shooting is still left. It has been a great experience. I have learnt so much, working with Humayun Saeed, Fahad Mustafa and Nadeem Baig.”

Also in the works is a movie that Yasir has co-written, which he also plans to produce, direct and star in: 5,000 Mein Shaadi! “My elder sister says that I should try to bring out one theatrical production every year, so that is something which I am considering,” he divulges. “However, I don’t know how long I will be able to do this without an investor coming on board.

“It’s a risky, exhausting business,” he says more sombrely. “A show can get cancelled if the city’s law-and-order situation is in turmoil or if it rains. Actors might fall ill and be unable to perform in a show. There is a lot that has to be taken care of and maybe I won’t be able to do this consistently, simply on my own strength.”

That would be a pity. Yasir’s brand of theatre is a breath of fresh air. Here’s an example: in one particular sequence in So Suite, dancers come on stage and perform a routine. Then, Yasir addresses them, “Bhai aap loag tau jao (Guys, please leave).” They all retreat, except for one, who goes on to perform a few cartwheels before he departs.

At this, Yasir quips, “Yeh woh kitanu hai jo saabun se bhi nahin marta! (He’s the germ that even soap can’t kill!).” It’s a witticism that comes at just the right time, pointedly referring to those ubiquitous Hindi language TV soap ads which declare that they kill off 99 percent of all known germs.

That’s quintessential Yasir Hussain: irreverent, immediate and deliciously, inimitably funny.

So Suite is being staged at the Arts Council of Pakistan, Karachi auditorium from September 16 to 27, 2026

Originally published in Dawn, ICON, September 27th, 2026

In a post on his Instagram account, the actor said the show “was not merely a drama” for him, but represented “a defining journey in my career, a chapter that challenged me, inspired me and ultimately became a new beginning”.

He thanked producers Momina Duraid and Nina Kashif first for helping bring such a story to TV screens. “Our society needs stories that make us reflect and look within,” Khan said.

He appreciated Kashif in particular as a friend and thanked her for trusting him with the show’s lead character.

Next came director Saife Hasan, whom the actor called “an asset, not just to the project, but to everyone fortunate enough to work alongside you”.

The longest tribute was naturally reserved for Khan’s co-lead Urwa Hocane. “I could not have done what I did without you beside me. Your presence as my co-actor brought out the best in me and allowed Tabish to truly shine,” he said.

The actor called Urwa “supremely talented, an exceptional actor, a beautiful human being and a truly cherished friend”.

Their co-star Sania Saeed got a more light-hearted ode from Khan for “finally becoming my mother on screen instead of my heroine”.

He commended the other actors on the show for their work, “brilliant, effortless and extraordinary as ever” and said a “heartfelt thank you to my entire crew: every technician, spot boy, helper and every member working tirelessly behind the scenes,” calling them the backbone of every performance.

Lastly, the actor thanked the writer of Aap Ki Izzat, Umera Ahmed, for penning such a meaningful script. “Your words gave this story its soul and its truth,” he said.

While last weekend marked the end of the saga of Tabish and Beena, Khan’s fans need not worry because the programme replacing Aap Ki Izzat on HUM TV is none other than his classic pre-Partition period-piece Aangan, which will be airing again after its successful 2018 run.

The show — which is directed by Mohammed Ehteshamuddin and based on a 1962 novel by Khadija Mastoor — stars Urwa’s sister Mawra, Ahad Raza Mir, Sajal Ali and Sonya Hussyn alongside Khan.

In the video, two special moments from the actor’s career play together: her twirling as Khirad in the famous 2011 drama and her twirling as Bilqees Bano in her new show, Mitti De Baway, which premiered this month around the same time of year as Humsafar did 15 years ago.

Mahira wrote a heartfelt message to her fans, calling them her “dearest, my most precious Humsafars” and saying it had been “15 years of loving and twirling in that love”.

“15 years…. Of surrendering to life, to the characters I picked and those that were picked for me. It is surreal to have Mitti De Baway air on the same day that Humsafar was aired that many years ago. And even though so much has changed, all of you have remained the same for me. My constants. My backbone and my strength. From Khirad to Bilo… I am filled with nothing but shukr. Here’s to all of you… here’s to a lifetime of being each other’s humsafars, may there never be judaai. May there never be bewafaai,” the actor wrote.

This is not the first time Mahira has done something special for her fans to celebrate Humsafar. For its 10th anniversary, she held a surprise question-and-answer session on X, which was called Twitter back then.

Humsafar — based on a novel by Farhat Ishtiaq — revolves around two cousins, Khirad and Ashar (played by Fawad Khan), a couple in an arranged marriage who face separation and heartbreak before finding their way back to each other. The drama became a huge hit, not just in Pakistan but all over the world. The show is often credited with giving the Pakistani drama industry a big boost.

It came at a time when many people were tuning into Indian and Turkish shows, but Humsafar proved that Pakistani stories could be just as popular — and even more loved.

The show had a big impact on almost everyone involved. Mahira became a household name and her role as the strong-headed and uncompromising Khirad made her one of Pakistan’s most loved actors. She later made her Bollywood debut opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Raees.

Fawad became a star across the border too, appearing in hit Hindi films such as Khoobsurat, Kapoor & Sons and Ae Dil Hai Mushkil. For director Sarmad Khoosat, Humsafar made him one of the most respected creators on television and he later went on to make famous films such as Manto and Zindagi Tamasha and, more recently, Lali.

Now, 15 years later, Mahira is winning hearts all over again with Mitti De Baway. The new drama, set in Punjab, stars her alongside Wahaj Ali. It has already received glowing reviews after just a couple of episodes.

Earlier this month, Mahira, 41, also revealed she is expecting her second child during her appearance at the Toronto International Film Festival. It marks a new chapter for her, coming years after the birth of her 17-year-old son Azlan.

Between the Humsafar anniversary, the praise for Mitti De Baway and her pregnancy news, Mahira is having a remarkable month.

So, for Mahira, the twirling goes on — from one iconic character to the next, with her Humsafar fans watching every step of the way.

The tour’s promoters — who Sheeran credited with making the decision to boot Macklemore — announced in an update on Instagram that his shows at the Gillette Stadium near Boston will be cancelled “due to severe weather warnings”.

They said the decision was made with the safety of “fans, staff and everyone involved with the shows as the top priority”.

This is just the latest in a series of setbacks for Sheeran, who has been in the news ever since Macklemore — who was opening for the singer — used his concert stage to call for a “free Palestine”.

While the crowd cheered the rapper on, some pro-Israel groups called for action against him. The action came when Macklemore was taken out from the rest of the tour at the insistence of venue owners who refused to let Sheeran’s shows proceed otherwise.

Among those venue owners was Robert Kraft, the pro-Israel businessman described by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a “friend” of the country. It was his venue in Massachusetts that was impacted by the concert cancellations.

Earlier, all of Sheeran’s supporting acts walked out of the tour in solidarity with Macklemore, including the tour’s live band, as the singer scrambled to defend his decision and make a statement that could please both sides — it did not.

The rapper has since announced he will be donating the $1 million he earned on Sheeran’s tour to organisations working in Palestine and called on Kraft to match his pledge.

This was met by the singer and the businessman announcing they’d be donating $2m each to “aid in the region”. Macklemore’s appeal was answered by children’s entertainer Ms Rachel, who matched his donation with $1m to the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund.

Macklemore is now preparing to continue his contribution with his Free Palestine tour. He announced shows in Dublin, London and Paris on Thursday, saying all proceeds will go to Palestinian organisations.

Meanwhile in Palestine, Israel continues killing Palestinians in Gaza, with the death toll from the brutal war on the territory sitting at 73,928. Israeli military action has also led to over 175,000 injuries as per the health ministry in Gaza.

As per his son Mohsin, the actor was battling cancer and had been admitted to the Nanavati hospital in Mumbai where he died on Thursday.

Starting from his debut appearance in the 1980 film Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyoon Aata Hai?, Khan built up a portfolio of over 500 film roles. Some notable titles include Hera Pheri, Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke and Gadar: Ek Prem Katha.

His most iconic performance, which gained him internet stardom years after the film was released, was in Welcome, where he played Ballu, antagonist Uday Shetty’s loyal sidekick.

His deadpan delivery made his character memorable, especially in one scene where he explains what happens when someone upsets his boss. “Meri aik taang nakli hai, mein hockey ka bohot bara khiladi tha. Aik din Uday bhai ko meri kisi baat pe ghussa aagya to meri hockey stick se meri taang ke chaar tukrey kar diye (I have a fake leg, I used to be a big hockey player. One day, Uday got mad at me and broke my leg into four pieces with my hockey stick).”

Tributes for the actor included one from his Gadar co-star Sunny Deol, who sent condolences to his family.

Deol said in an Instagram story that Khan was “a nice human being and a fine actor”, adding that he had many fond memories of his late colleague.

Actor Rajpal Yadav also posted about Khan, saying that he had met the comedian hours before his death and remembered his shaking hands and paying attention to their conversation.

I still can’t believe that the person I met two hours ago, the person I shook hands with, is no longer among us… Mushtaq bhai was, is and will always be a popular person, actor,” Yadav said.

AFP footage showed NYPD officers leading away cuffed Thelma & Louise star Sarandon at the demonstration in the city as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was readying to address the United Nations General Assembly.

The New York Post reported Einbinder had also been frog-marched from the demonstration organised by Jewish Voice for Peace, where protesters held banners that read “Stop Arming Israel” and “End the Genocide”.

A spokesperson for the NYPD said officers had responded to reports of an “unscheduled demonstration” where people were blocking an intersection.

“Members of the NYPD Community Affairs Bureau issued… warnings, advising participants that they should leave,” the spokesperson said.

“They continued to block the intersection. Multiple individuals who didn’t comply were taken into custody,” she said, without providing the number of people arrested.

Jewish Voice for Peace said on social media that over 100 people had been arrested.

“Over 400 people held a mass sit-in outside the UN demanding an end to the genocide and an end to US military funding to Israel,” the organisation said on X.

“We refuse to stand by while war criminals are given a platform to speak and while our government spends billions on war.”

Einbinder issued a statement after her arrest outlining what she was trying to bring attention to.

“If the pictures of my friends and me getting arrested in protest of Netanyahu’s shameful visit to New York draw attention to anything, let it be to the devastating genocidal war Israel is waging against people of Palestine and Southern Lebanon — to the settler attacks, the home demolitions, the bombing of people as they sleep; to the crimes that happen every single day but garner almost no international press coverage,” the actor wrote on her Instagram Story on Thursday.

“The US government has the power to bring an end to all of this killing, pillaging, and land theft, yet instead it chooses to welcome the butcher of Gaza with open arms.”

Einbinder asked people not to “mistake the spectacle for the story” and focus on Israel’s actions in Palestine rather than the people arrested for protesting about them.

Inside the General Assembly, dozens of envoys from across the world walked out as Netanyahu began his speech, in which he assailed both enemies and allies that have crossed him in recent months, including Britain and France, which have recently moved to recognise the state of Palestine.

“They accuse Israel, tiny Israel, of colonialism — some colonialism. And who’s accusing us? Among them are people in Britain and in France. For God’s sakes, they invented the term,” he told the assembly.

Sarandon, whose movie hits also include The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Dead Man Walking and The Witches of Eastwick, is no stranger to protests over Israel’s war in Gaza.

The actor told journalists at the Venice Film Festival earlier this month that she was losing work because of her outspoken views.

“I’ve still had movies taken away recently because there are agencies that are telling people not to hire me still. But that’s the power structure,” she said.

“I think there has been a change in terms of the understanding of the situation and the general public, but there are still very strongly held positions within my industry that are held by Zionists and who have not relaxed their feelings towards me.

“But I found my family, I found my people, and I’m okay,” she added.

The Encore will be released on Friday, Swift said in an Instagram post. The Life of a Showgirl was released last October and topped several records, with every one of its 12 songs landing in the top 12 of the Billboard Hot 100.

The new tracks were written after Showgirl had the biggest debut for an album in modern music history based on album sales and streams, Swift said.

At that time, “I took a trip to Sweden to celebrate with Max (Martin) and Shellback, my two collaborators on this album,” the pop superstar said in an Instagram post. “Really we just wanted to reflect and take in how grateful we were for the moment we were in, but there was a studio there and we did what we do when we feel anything at all: We wrote more songs.”

The expanded Showgirl will feature the single ‘Patient Zero’, which the pop superstar teased and subsequently announced on Tuesday, alongside ‘Cleveland!’, ‘Pink Clouding’ and ‘Babylon’.

Martin and Shellback are songwriters who have worked with Swift on several of her studio albums.

Swift’s announcement followed her appearance this month in a comedy sketch at television’s Emmy Awards that convinced her fans she was teasing new music.

‘The Fate of Ophelia’, the lead single off Showgirl, brought in 92.5 million official streams in the US in its opening week, according to Luminate, a firm that tracks music sales.

There were no special programmes on TV, no official tribute from the government, not even a poster in Lahore’s Liberty Market, that’s what her grandson, actor Ahmed Ali Butt said on Instagram on Wednesday, when he complained about how Pakistan doesn’t do enough to honour its artists.

Addressing his late grandmother, Butt said, “If it weren’t for your songs that people still listen to… the state would have forgotten you yesterday.”

The actor claimed Pakistan had never given its legends their due by neglecting to document their work, hijacking their copyrights and by “making sure the artist and their legacy are never protected”.

“It’s a shame how we have forgotten our own identity and culture and the people who contributed their lives to it,” Butt said.

Other countries, he said, celebrated the achievements of their stars by making films on them and teaching their work to the next generation. In contrast, “it’s sad and heartbreaking to see Pakistan losing its own identity”.

The truth is, it was genuinely surprising to see the lack of celebration on Noor Jehan’s 100th birthday, especially considering her massive contributions to music in Pakistan.

Born on September 21, 1926 in Punjab’s Kasur, she had her start in show business as a singer and actor in the 1930s. Her six-decade career saw her record over 10,000 songs in Urdu, Punjabi and Sindhi.

Noor Jehan’s patriotic anthems, sung in the 1960s, continue to form a part of Pakistan’s national identity, especially when it comes to honouring the sacrifices of those who laid down their lives for the country.

The singer’s repertoire was diverse. She could really sing anything — be it uplifting anthems, ballads or romantic songs. Much of the songs she lent her voice to ended up as evergreen classics.

Find Images’ list of some of her best songs here.

He shared a post on Instagram on Tuesday with one of his signature cryptic captions, saying he had earned a new compliment. The post had pictures and a video of Zafar from the show’s set.

In his caption, the actor wrote that the “difference between fictional characters and real human beings needs to be established” because it appears to be “missing” for most people. He also seemed to explain the way he chooses his projects, keeping the story’s meaning a primary criterion.

Zafar said he took on Raqaas because it dealt with “suppression of expression” women and girls face in society, especially in their homes.

On September 20, Afgan was appearing on the drama review show Kya Drama Hai when she compared Zafar’s characters in Raqaas and Zanjeerain. She said the latest one was like Zanjeerain’s Sarbuland if he was like “like when you take the air out of a balloon and it shrivels”.

When she pushed on, referring to him as a two-day-old birthday balloon, Nadia Khan piped up to say he looked like a tire with insufficient air pressure.

Afgan said she felt there was an attempt to paint Zafar’s character as a brooding, arrogant hero similar to Fitzwilliam Darcy in Pride and Prejudice or Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights. However, she said the dialogue for the role didn’t fit that description.

She said Zafar was just new to acting and that it would take him a little bit to polish himself.

During the programme, the participants praised the last episode of Zanjeerain, with Afgan even commending Zafar and his co-star Sajal Ali for delivering their best performance in the show during the final episode.

Zafar had a few more bones to pick in his caption, where he called for an end to “the toxicity surrounding ‘shipping culture’”. He also regretted how digital advancement had driven people away from each other when it was supposed to bring them together.

In a statement that may or may not be aimed at Afgan, Zafar said, “Kindly adjust your frequency.”