Virus Woes on June 14, 2021Lockdown is flustering for everyone but for someone involved with performing arts, especially acting, it is very frustrating. You may sing or dance on your own, in front of a mirror or a monitor. But an actor needs an audience, they are your mirror, your monitor. You act for them and their feedback is your […]
Waking up on June 14, 2019We all have dreams. Some of us let them slip away, others hold fast to them. My dream is to live peacefully far away in the mountains, with a small family and lots of animals one day after I’ve done all that I came to do in this world. I dream to grow my own […]
Mightier than the Pen or the Sword on March 21, 2019There was a time when, across the country, women like Asma Jahangir, my mother (Madeeha Gauhar) and scores of others crusaded against chauvinistic dictators. They fought fist for fist against bloodthirsty army and police officials, were baton charged and threatened, but they held on, absolutely focused on what was later considered the birth of the […]
The Maula Jutt country — resilient for all the wrong reason on July 13, 2018Pakistan has achieved the status of the most resilient and the most stubborn nation in the world, maybe in history. The determined nation of more than 200 million people (the enemy within) is doggedly working to pull itself down, not to mention its other foreign enemies like RAW, MOSAD, CIA, MI6. It seems that the […]
‘7 Din Mohabbat in’: incoherent story-line and no linear narrative on June 24, 2018‘7 Din Mohabbat in’ is another venture by Mateela Films, directed by the directorial duo of Farjad Nabi and Meenu Gaur, and written by the ‘heavy-weight’ TV writer Faseeh Bari. It stars our home grown cross-border super star Mahira Khan. Mahira’s appearance was a guarantee for success. Of course the temporary ban on Indian films […]
The paradox of time on June 21, 2018The theory of relativity is perhaps the most famous and misunderstood of all modern scientific theories. It proposes that time is relative to the observer, talking about concepts such as the space-time continuum. Einstein postulated that upon exceeding the speed of light, time travel might theoretically be possible. The famous example is, of course, the […]
A god called capitalism on June 8, 2018So much has changed since the demise of communism and the rise of capitalism. We now consider the capitalist system as the only viable system and all other options are rejected. There is a quote from young revolutionary philosopher Miguel D Lewis: “Capitalism is religion. Banks are churches. Bankers are priests. Wealth is heaven. Poverty […]
Magic pills and recovery on June 5, 2018We have become a society that is obsessed with medication. From lack of sleep to lack of motivation, the optimal amount of happiness to just the right amount of energy, we have a magic pill for everything. The elite of the world realized long ago, that if marketed right, and the right people are bought, […]
Here cometh tabdeeli on May 25, 2018So ‘tabdeeli’ is imminent. We will have a new prime minister soon, maybe before this piece is published. And this will be a PM who will be a caretaker too. Question 1: Aren’t all PMs supposed to take care of the nation? Maybe not. Anyways, the Ummah will soon hear the good news. A caretaker […]
Taking art seriously on May 22, 2018I studied Film and TV at the National College of Arts (NCA), one of the premiere arts institution of Pakistan. While NCA allowed me to become an artist, it was Beaconhouse National University (BNU) which taught me the skills of marketing and promotion. Both are important in this, nay any field. While NCA allowed me […]