Boyzone’s Keith Duffy and Brian McFadden of Westlife are set to join forces to create new boyband Boyzlife reports The Sun. The duo will tour the UK as Boyzlife later this year, and could see other members of Boyzone and Westlife joining them in the future.
“We all had a chat, the lads. We said it would be amazing,” confirmed McFadden in an exclusive interview with The Sun, “We all get on so well so you never know. We would have so much fun on tour. We could end up adding more people to the next one.”
“Right now this is about me and Keith but the door is always open.”
The tour, which is being backed by the hotel chain Hilton, will kick off in London on October 16 before going on to do 11 more shows at Hilton hotels across the UK.
The duo are set to perform a selection of Boyzone and Westlife’s greatest hits, including “No Matter What” and “Flying Without Wings”, but are also open to the idea of writing and recording new music together.
“Westlife have had 14 No1s, Boyzone have had nine or ten. There’s a lot of material we could perform. But we wouldn’t want to tour old music all the time. We love making music,” said McFadden, with Duffy adding, “We might end up writing some songs together. There’s no limit to this. We’re going out there with our ears and eyes open.”
Addressing the concern over lives lost last year during the heatwave, the Sindh government has devised a backup plan in case the same or a worse heatwave is expected during this summer as well.
Nisar Khuhro the Minister of Education and Jam Mehtab Dahar the Minister of Health commented at a press conference that the health ministry had been given the task to share a thorough report about the setup of heatstroke emergency centres located across Sindh.
As per the statement released the report is to be presented a at the next session, “The report will be discussed at the next session of the provincial assembly.”
Last year, during this time around 1,200 people died given the severity of the heatwave and no readily available centres who were equipped with dealing with such a situation.
Mr. Khuhro said that preparations for the heatstroke emergency management have been underway two months prior to the arrival of the heatwave in Sindh.
According to Mr. Dahar around a hundred heatstroke centres will be set up in Karachi. He also added that Hesco will be requested to decrease the extent of loadshedding in the summers.
“We are hugely vigilant about the possible arrival of heatwave in Karachi, or other parts of Sindh, and will take all measures to ensure that every human life is safe,” elaborated Mr Dahar.
They also added that the provincial health ministry is taking steps to make sure that paramaedics and doctors will be available in the hospitals throughout Sindh during this time.
Bollywood is making a movie on the iconic singing sensations of Pakistan, Nazia and Zoheb Hassan. The singer took to his Facebook account to break the news to his fans.
According to Zoheb Hassan’s official Facebook page, the movie is based on the lives of this duo and will feature hit songs from their career spanning over 3 decades.
Nazia and Zoheb’s first album Disco Deewane broke selling records and actually took the music scene in Pakistan to a whole new level. After being in a long hiatus, Zoheb released his single Always on My Mind from his solo album Signature by the end of 2015, which was the last song that his sister had sung before she fell ill.
As much as Pakistanis admire and respect Nazia and Zoheb for contributing a lot in the music industry of Pakistan, there is no denying in the fact that a whole generation in India also grew up listening to the foot-tapping tracks of the Hassan siblings. Their song Aap Jaisa Koi that was featured in Bollywood film Qurbani was shot to fame for its incredibly unique lyrics and mesmerizing vocals of Nazia Hassan.
Now that the news of a Bollywood movie being made on the lives of this singing duo is confirmed, it will be interesting to see how our neighboring country pays tribute to them.
Stay tuned to Brandsynario for more news and updates.
With his high-waisted jeans and sneakers, nobody could have accused Steve Jobs of being a style leader. Posthumously however the Apple founder is becoming an icon of the luxury fashion business as the smartphone technology he pioneered shakes up a sector of the industry initially slow to embrace the Internet.
Ask Federico Marchetti, the Italian CEO of Yoox Net-A-Porter (YNAP), the fashion e-tail heavyweight that shifted 1.7 billion euros worth of designer gear and luxury goods last year.
“Around 50 percent of our sales came from people ordering on smartphones,” Marchetti told AFPTV in an interview at Milan fashion week.
“Frankly speaking, if the iPhone had not been invented that figure would be much lower. So I have to say thank you to Steve Jobs. It is thanks to him that we can do our business.”
Smartphones are increasingly being used to make clothing purchases.
The group now headed by Marchetti was created by last year’s merger between his own Yoox.com and London-based but Swiss-owned Net-A-Porter (NAP).
On paper, it was a match made in business heaven but it was not an easy birth: NAP’s founding shareholders were left grumbling about their stakes being undervalued and its American-born creator Natalie Massenet left the new company as the fusion neared completion.
Marchetti meanwhile was acclaimed for having pulled off the deal of a lifetime by persuading NAP’s Swiss owners, Richemont, to allow Yoox to effectively take over a rival that had bigger sales but was struggling to turn a profit.
According to unaudited, Pro-forma figures, the new business had combined sales of 1.7 billion euros in 2015, up 31 percent on 2014.
Boutiques here to stay
Marchetti, 47 this year, says YNAP is on the cusp of something much bigger as the industry arrives at a digital tipping point.
“I created Yoox in 1999 and at the time it was quite hard to persuade some designers to be on the Internet,” the art-loving entrepreneur recalled. “Now I can see that the vision I had is getting there”.
“There is a strong convergence between fashion and the Internet, especially through mobile. It has helped a lot and mobile will be the key to the future.”
Online sales currently only account for around five to six percent of top end fashion sales around the world. Analysts estimate that the figure could triple or more inside a decade but nobody really knows how quickly the online revolution will unfold.
Top luxury brands have long been able to command margins in excess of 20 percent, giving them a powerful incentive not to tamper with their business model.
Customers will never want to give up visiting boutiques and being able to see and touch the clothes before they buy them, Marchetti was frequently told when starting out.
That is changing. As well as operating its own sales platforms, Yoox manages in-house online for dozens of brands including Armani, Valentino and Alexander McQueen — an activity that contributes 10 percent of YNAP’s turnover.
But its CEO insists the shutters will not be coming down on designer boutiques.
Apps not India
“I have never been a fanatic,” he said. “I believe in the hybrid model where the physical shops will be helped by online, as is happening now with half the purchases in-shop driven by (research on) the Internet, and vice versa.”
Marchetti believes the next wave of growth will be powered by a new generation of dedicated fashion-retail smartphone apps, something he sees as even more important in the short term than the potential of emerging markets.
“I see something more tomorrow in the smartphone rather than India,” he said.
Marchetti also plays down the “see now, buy now” trend which has seen the likes of Tom Ford offering their new clothes to customers as soon as they are shown on catwalks, rather than making them wait for the appropriate season.
Giorgio Armani is among those to have poured cold water on a trend which, if it took off, could sweep away the system of twice-yearly fashion weeks in Milan and elsewhere linked to the northern hemisphere’s seasons.
“There will be a gradual change but, especially for brands focused on luxury, it will take a longer time,” Marchetti said.
Italian handbag designer Francesco Visone said young creatives recognise that change is fashion’s new normal.
“With a disruptive wave, either you ride or it destroys you,” he said. “Business is not like 30 years ago, everything is consumed more quickly and Yoox saw that coming.”
Israeli-Italian designer Daizy Shely said she had seen interest in her fledgling brand surge after she had a Marabou feather jacket showcased on Net-A-Porter.
And she also embraces smartphone shopping as a consumer. “When you are in a shop in Milan everyone is jumping on you and they won’t leave you alone,” she said.
“My mum loves that but for me, I want to be sitting on my bed alone in an online shop. Whatever I want is arriving to the house like a gift. I think I am addicted to this.”
Dyeing one’s hair may no longer be the only option for keeping grey at bay, scientists said Tuesday in announcing the discovery of a gene that makes hair lose its luster. The gene, IRF4, was known to affect color, but a new study is the first to pinpoint its unique role in the inexorable transition to shades of grey.
Further research on precisely how IRF4 works could unlock techniques and treatments that slow or even halt that process, said the scientists.
“An initial avenue has to do with the role IRF4 could play in survival and maintenance of cells that make pigment,” said Andres Ruiz-Linares, a professor at the University College London Genetics Institute who led the study.
Understanding how the gene interacts with other genes controlling hair color, for example, might yield cosmetic applications that block the fade to grey as hair grows in the follicle, he told AFP.
Setting aside unresolved ethical issues, one could even “wildly contemplate” the use of gene editing, a ultra-precise cut-and-paste process for altering DNA sequences, he said.
But the IRF4 variant that favors grey also produces fair hair, he cautioned, so tinkering with the gene could also mean fewer blondes.
In the study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Communications, Ruiz-Linares and three dozen colleagues investigated the genetic triggers for facial hair, the prevalence of “mono-brows”, hair color and shape, balding and greying.
This is well-traveled ground scientifically, but the size and original design of the research yielded a trove of new results.
Another gene, PRSS53 was found to influence curliness, shedding light on the evolution of hair shape that led to straight hair in East Asia and among Native Americans.
A variant of a third gene, PAX3 was strongly associated with “mono-brow”, the tendency — especially among men — for eyebrows to be joined by a bridge of facial hair.
Sexual selection
To undertake the analysis, scientists did a so-called genome-wide association scan (GWAS) of 6,630 volunteers in Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Mexico and Peru, matching similarities in their DNA with physical traits.
But rather than selecting subjects that shared a common ancestry — all northern Europeans or Japanese, for example — the researchers deliberately mixed things up.
Nearly half the participants were of European background, 40 percent were Native American, and six percent were of recent African origin.
Altogether, the study yielded 10 previously unknown correlations between genes and hair-related traits that rose to the level of “statistical significance,” including the grey hair gene. Depending on ancestry, people tend to go grey at different stages in their lives, the study found.
“The average age of hair greying for Caucasians is in the mid-30s,” Ruiz-Linares told AFP. For East Asians, the loss of colour starts in their late 30s, and for sub-Saharan Africans, in their mid-40s.
Likewise, the greying process is said to be “premature” if it starts before the age of 20 in people of European background, and before 25 and 30 among Asians and Africans, respectively.
The study will also provide new fodder for speculation on the evolutionary drivers behind changes and variation in human hirsuteness, the authors said.
“Curly hair would help keep the brain cool, particularly in the hot, equatorial latitudes where humans initially evolved,” Ruiz-Linares explained.
Similarly, straight hair could stem from an adaptation to colder weather to the north and south. Hair, or the lack of it, may also affect sexual selection, in which certain traits favor reproduction among robust specimens of a species.
Leonardo DiCaprio, Brie Larson, Mark Rylance, Alicia Vikander, Alejandro Inarritu and George Miller all went home with a gong from the 88th Oscars ceremony on Sunday, February 28.
As the dust settles on their moments of glory, they’ll all soon be heading back to work. Here’s a look at what this year’s winners have in store for the coming months.
Oscar winners Mark Rylance, Brie Larson, Leonardo DiCaprio and Alicia Vikander (left to right) pose for a picture at the 88th Academy Awards
Leonardo DiCaprio: a sixth Scorsese?
After taking home his first Oscar with a triumphant win for “The Revenant,” this year’s Best Actor could soon be back working with his favorite director, Martin Scorsese. The pair is thought to be adapting Erik Larson’s true-crime thriller novel “The Devil in the White City,” which focuses on Dr. Henry Howard Holmes, thought to be one of the first serial killers in American history.
Based in Chicago in the late 19th century, the movie hasn’t yet been officially announced. Before stepping back in front of the camera, Leonardo DiCaprio will be concentrating on production roles. In particular, he’s due to work on Ben Affleck’s upcoming feature film “Live by Night,” as well as a new version of Robin Hood — “Robin Hood: Origins” — starring Taron Egerton and Jamie Foxx.
Brie Larson: a blockbuster
Little known to the general public before being crowned Best Actress for “Room,” the Oscar-winner is moving into a whole new league with “Kong: Skull Island,” a blockbuster that she’s currently filming with Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, and John Goodman. This King Kong prequel is up for US release on March 10, 2017.
The American actress will also be starring in the adaptation of Jeannette Walls’ memoir “The Glass Castle,” looking back at the New-York-based writer and journalist’s chaotic and impoverished childhood.
Mark Rylance: back with Spielberg
After winning Best Supporting Actor for his performance in “Bridge of Spies,” the British actor will be back working with Steven Spielberg in “The BFG,” a big-screen adaptation of the Roald Dahl book due in US theaters July 1, 2016.
Plus, the Oscar-winner will soon be heading to northern France to start filming World War II movie “Dunkirk,” directed by Christopher Nolan and scheduled for July 2017, also starring Tom Hardy and Kenneth Brannagh.
Alicia Vikander: alongside Jason Bourne
After starting the year with a surprise win for her role in “The Danish Girl,” 2016 looks busy for this year’s Best Supporting Actress. The Swedish newcomer is set to star in the upcoming Jason Bourne movie with Matt Damon (out July 29, 2016, in the US), as well as “The Light Between Two Oceans” (September 2, 2016), alongside Michael Fassbender, and “Tulip Fever,” a period drama with Cara Delevingne and Christoph Waltz.
The actress has also been cast in Wim Wenders’ upcoming movie “Submergence,” a thriller up for release in 2017.
Alejandro Inarritu: a small-screen project
Following the epic feat of “The Revenant,” which saw him crowned Best Director for the second year running, the Mexican director has been tempted into the world of TV. His series, “The One Percent,” is scheduled for the end of the year on the Starz network and follows a farmer struggling to keep the family business afloat.
Ed Helms, Hilary Swank and Ed Harris have been cast in the drama, which is written, produced and partially directed by Inarritu.
George Miller: next stop, Cannes
“Mad Max: Fury Road” bagged no less than six Oscars in technical categories at this year’s Academy Awards. Before returning to the director’s chair for another Mad Max installment (“Mad Max: The Wasteland”), the Australian director will be president of the jury at the 69th Cannes Film Festival, May 11 to 22, 2016.
German passport holders have emerged the most mobile travelers, with visa-free access to more countries than any other passport holder in the world. According to the results of a new ranking by Henley & Partners, Germany boasts the world’s most powerful passport, with passport holders able to travel visa-free to 177 countries out of 218 studied.
The report comes at an important crux in history. A time when the world faces the worst refugee crisis since the Second World War, and Germany, in particular, has implemented a controversial open-door policy, receiving among the largest number of asylum-seekers in the world.
In addition to revealing the most mobile countries, the index also reflects a country’s relationship with others and their diplomatic position on the world stage.
The top 10 spots are occupied mostly by European countries, with Sweden placing second, and Finland, France, Italy, Spain and the UK tying for third spot.
Overall, researchers said they found a significant amount of shuffling in this year’s edition of the Visa Restrictions Index, with only 21 of the 199 countries remaining in the same rank as last year.
The highest climber was the Southeast Asian nation of Timor Leste, which rose 33 spots on the index, followed by Colombia (+25 spots); Palau (+20 spots) and Tonga (+16 spots).
Somalia, Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan are at the bottom of the heap.
To compile the index, the residence and citizenship planning firm consulted data from the International Air Transport Association.
Countries are ranked according to the total number of other countries which they can access visa-free.
Here are the most powerful passports for 2016 according to Henley & Partners:
Germany, 177 countries
Sweden, 176
Finland, France, Italy, Spain, UK, 175
Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, US, 174
Austria, Japan, Singapore, 173
Canada, Ireland, South Korea, Luxembourg, Norway, Switzerland, 172
Pakistani starlet Sohai Ali Abro has been denied an Indian visa, with authorities saying that it would take more than 45 days for the documentation to be done! The JPNA diva was set to star in her Bollywood debut movie ‘Love Loan’.
But now it seems that the movie has slipped through her fingers. Produced by Katrina Kaif’s makeup man Subhash Singh, the shoot was to start with a 4-day schedule in Mumbai on March 12.
A post shared by Sohai Ali Abro (@sohaialiabroofficial) on
Apparently, Sohai had told the producer that she would receive the visa in 10 days, but unfortunately she has to wait at least 45 days more. Previously, Love Loan was to star Miss India Navneet Dhillon, who was rejected after her performance in Loveshuuda.
A post shared by Rhea Chakraborty (@rhea_chakraborty) on
Either way, Sohai is well out of the race for this one! Maybe it’s all for the better. Sohai has set standards after the blockbuster hit Jawani Phir Nahi Aani and we don’t expect her to work in just any small movie across the border.
Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul Haq has backed tainted compatriots Mohammad Asif and Salman Butt, saying they should be given a second chance after serving stints in jail for spot fixing.
The pair, along with former teammate Mohammad Amir, were jailed in Britain after being found guilty of spot fixing at 2010, Lord’s Test against England.
Although Amir has returned to the national team in impressive style, Asif and Butt remain sidelined and have not been included in Pakistan’s squad for the T20 World Cup starting this month in India.
“Once a person completes his sentence, he has the right to live and play and the right to do everything else,”Inzamam told AFP in an interview in New Delhi.
“So I believe the other players should also get a chance to make a return,” said Inzamam, who played with the pair in the later stages of his career.
The swashbuckling batsman, who took over as coach of Afghanistan last year, was briefly in Delhi as part of his minnow’s preparations for the World Cup.
Inzamam, who played 120 Tests and 388 one-day internationals during his illustrious career, praised Amir for his sensational spell of bowling against India in the ongoing T20 Asia Cup in Dhaka.
“The sheer fact that a person can have so much talent, that even after a long hiatus he can bowl with the same vigour and precision” is amazing, he said.
“The way he bowled against India it didn’t look as if he was making a comeback after five long years. It was a treat to watch.”
The 23-year-old took three quick wickets for Pakistan in last week’s match before India eventually pummelled their bitter rivals by five wickets.
Amir’s five-year ban from the sport was lifted last April by the International Cricket Council while Asif and Butt became eligible last September for national and international matches.
But the Pakistan Cricket Board has said the pair will have to work harder to impress before returning to international cricket.
They returned to domestic cricket in style in January, with Butt smashing a century and left-armer Asif picking up two wickets in their first outing in the one-day league.
All three were found guilty by a British court of arranging deliberate no-balls in return for money in a complex betting scam. They were jailed in 2011 and were released at different times the following year.
Amir returned to the national side for the limited-overs tour of New Zealand in January and got down to business right away with his wicket-taking ability intact.
Inzamam said he believes Pakistan still stands a chance in the World T20 starting March 8 despite disappointing batting in the Asia Cup.
“T20 is an unpredictable format, so you cannot rule out any team’s chances,” said Inzamam, who has 8,830 Test runs to his credit.
In-form batsman Virat Kohli made an unbeaten half-century as India eased to a five-wicket win over Sri Lanka to qualify for the Asia Cup final in Dhaka on Tuesday.
Kohli, who played a brilliant innings of 49 under pressure against Pakistan on Saturday, hit 56 off 47 balls to guide India to 142-5 after their medium pacers restricted Sri Lanka to 138-9.
Replying to the modest score, India was in danger early on when Nuwan Kulasekara removed both the openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma for just 16 runs.
Dhawan returned to the starting line-up after an injury break against Pakistan but survived just three balls before edging Kulasekara to Dinesh Chandimal for one.
Sharma fell in Kulasekara’s next over offering a catch to Chamara Kapugedera at slip for 15.
Kohli, who hit seven fours, added 54 runs with Suresh Raina for the third wicket to put India firmly in control.
“Touch wood, it’s coming out nicely now. Another crunch situation, 16 for 2. It’s nice to challenge yourself,” Kohli said after the match.
“Kulasekara and Angie were bowling well. I knew I’m striking the ball well, so I have to take the pressure off the other batsman by hitting the odd boundary.”
Dasun Shanaka broke the partnership as Raina miscued a catch to Kulasekara at mid-off after making 25 runs.
Yuvraj Singh ensured it did not affect India’s run-flow, hitting left-arm spinner Rangana Herath for two sixes off successive balls in the next over to make 35 off 18 balls.
India captain MS Dhoni praised Singh for his effort.
“Yuvraj Singh’s innings was crucial, not just for this match but for the team as well,” said Dhoni. “Good to see him get into some good form.”
Put into bat first by Dhoni, Sri Lanka’s Kapugedera scored the team’s highest of 30 off 32 balls, but the islanders needed a strong effort from lower order batsmen Milinda Siriwardana and Kulasekara.
Siriwardana made 22 off 17 balls while Kulasekara added 17 after facing just six balls to provide a late impetus.
Indian medium pacers controlled the innings making regular in-roads from the start.
Ashish Nehra removed Chandimal early after he added six runs to his 50 and 37 runs in the previous two matches.
Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah then claimed two wickets each to finish with 2-26 and 2-27 respectively before the lower-order gave the Sri Lankan innings some respectability.
Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews said dew that had fallen on the ground in the evening was partly responsible for their defeat.
“With the dew coming in, it felt like we were 20-25 runs short, but the Indians batted well, as always, and Virat was outstanding,” he said.
“If the wicket was like the previous one, it would have been a fighting total, but the dew came in and the ball started sliding through.”
Bangladesh will face Pakistan in the tournament on Wednesday.
Nescafe Basement is going places with its latest season. Churning one hit after another, the underground music platform has garnered appreciation from International celebrities.
The latest Nescafe Basement version of John Newman’s Love Me Again has been reshared and appreciated by the original singer himself. The soul-pop sensation John Newman, Shared Nescafe Basement’s version of his 2013 chart-buster ‘Love Me Again’ on Twitter saying ‘THIS IS SOOO DOPE! THANK YOU!!’
Love Me Again, originally by English musician John Newman, is a dance-pop number with hints of jazz and soul, which released in 2013 and became an international chart-topper.
Nescafe Basement has given the track a new spin by featuring only female musicians in their version, which is a first of its kind music production in Pakistan. The track features Maria Fatima on vocals and guitars, Kristin Kanaria on vocals and guitars, Anna Salman on vocals, Sanya Shahzad on bass, Sumera on tabla, Arfa on sitar, Janat Sohail on ukulele, Maham on keyboards and Mishal on drums.
The hit track has garnered a lot of appreciation as music aficionados shared their views on Twitter. See some of the reaction below:
Pakistani actress Maya Ali is the latest celebrity to get hitched! Or so her Instagram says! After Sanam Jung’s grande affair of a wedding, at the Beach Luxury Hotel, kept us all enthralled, we can only wait to see what will be the case with Maya Ali.
Just kidding really, she’s not getting married… Maya Ali posed with her best friend Wahaj with quite a mischievous caption that goes “With Groom to be!”. It appears to be a dholki celebration of Wahaj (the groom) but the bride is not Maya!
The two are quite social and have been seen publicly together before. It was assumed that childhood friend Wahaj was Maya’s love interest but with this latest development it seems Wahaj is out of the picture for Maya!
Indian Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh of Himachal Pradesh denied hosting Pakistan in the highly anticipated World Twenty20 (T20) clash between Pakistan and India scheduled to be played on 19th March 2016 at Dharamshala.
As an Indian News website confirms, Virbhadra Singh asked the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to either cancel the match or change the venue of the game to a different location.
A letter to Indian Premier Narendra Modi was drafted by the Himachal Pradesh Ex-servicemen League requesting him to cancel the match because of the Pathankot air base attack.
Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, HPCC President stated that the match should be changed to a different venue so as to honor the feelings of the martyrs’ families.
He even made a demand for 50% of the match earnings to be donated to the martyrs’ families.
“Our party is not against holding other World Cup matches but only opposing the one against Pakistan as it would hurt the sentiments of the people, especially the families of martyrs”, Sukkhu said.
Dharamshala stadium at Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh Ex-servicemen League President Vijay Singh Mantokia stated in his letter to Narendra Modi that “Pakistan Zindabad” slogans will not be entertained when the death of their soldiers is still being mourned.
He stated that if the matter is not timely handled, an agitation movement will be held against the team of Pakistan.
In a sharp reaction to the statement by Singh, BJP MP in Lok Sabha stated that the schedule of such matches is planned in advance and no such concerns were highlighted initially.
“The venues of the World Cup matches were decided one year ago, the allotment of matches was decided six months ago. People all over have made bookings and it is not fair to give such statements at the last minute,” Thakur said to the reporters.
The fate of the highly anticipated match is still uncertain.
Once again, the controversy queen Meera Ji has indirectly blamed the Raees actress Mahira Khan for her career downfall. She thinks that there are some people in the film industry who are playing dirty politics.
According to a local report, Meera opened up about her forthcoming directorial debut Oscar. She is also playing the lead role in the movie; Meera announced this project a few months ago. Her father has now revealed that shooting for Oscar movie is complete and they are approaching a few Indian professionals to visit Lahore to discuss the project details.
Meera’s father Sarwar Shah also shed light on his daughter’s efforts to make this project a mega success. He unveiled that Meera attended linguistic training from US, Germany and France to improve her dialogue delivery.
Oscar Movie is a project by Meera Films and Media House, opened by Meera last year when directors and producers refused to cast her in their movies. She started this production house to give opportunities to the emerging talent in the industry.
Meera holds the opinion that there are certain people in the industry who are working against her, involving in dirty politics and snatching away projects that were initially meant for her.
“I was the first Pakistani female actor to make waves in Bollywood. I even earned many awards there and proved my talent. I always preferred good quality work and my entire career is proof of this but I do blame some elements for instigating ‘dirty politics’ in the film industry,” Meera says.
It’s not the first time Meera speaks of politics and the key projects being stolen from her. In the recent past, she has directly accused Mahira Khan of plotting against her.
It will be interesting to see how Mahira Khan reacts to this accusation. Will she simply keep ignoring Meera’s allegations the way she has done in the past? Let us know in the comments below!
Property prices in Karachi rose by 23% in 2015 to a record-high, surpassing the price increase in other larger cities of Pakistan and the national average of 10 percent. One of the major reasons behind this phenomenal increase is the strict crackdown on crimes in the city, resulting in a peaceful and lucrative environment to conduct business operations.
Crackdown on criminals and insurgents by the rangers, launched in the city in 2013 brought a major drop in the crime rate; this made the menacing streets safer and much more peaceful.
This recent drop in the crime rate restored the home buyers’ confidence while the property developers maximized on the chance to earn more money.
For a long period of time, property developers and real estate agents were facing hurdles, struggling hard with smooth running of their businesses. They were threatened by gangsters and land mafia to pay a mammoth amount as protection money or else their property and lives would be harmed.
Now with the successful rangers operation, the rea estate business has excelled in the region as the terror amongst people has reduced. This is why property demand in the city of lights is soaring high. Although there is no official data available in terms of the total property spending, however, land prices and recommencement of pending building projects definitely indicate a surge in demand.
According to the CPLC, recorded murders in Karachi decreased to 650 in 2015, a 75 % drop from 2013; registered extortion was reduced by 80 % while kidnapping decreased by nearly 90 %.
According to Zameen.com, developers launched 134 projects in 2015 as compared to 106 projects in 2014 and only 72 in 2013.
With these figures, there is no doubt left that the demand and prices for property are soaring high in Karachi, owed mainly to reduced crime rate in the city.
The ABC TV network said Monday 34. 34.3 million Americans watched the 2016 Oscars, the lowest ratings in eight years for the glitzy culmination to Hollywood’s annual awards season.
Despite headlines generated by a race row embroiling the 88th Academy Awards, the audience was six percent down on last year’s 36.6 million in the same day “fast nationals” rating.
Civil rights leader Al Sharpton, who had called for viewers to “tune out” after no ethnic minority nominees were announced in the acting categories for the second year running, said the drop was “heartening.”
“This is a significant decline and should send a message to the Academy and to movie studio heads,” Sharpton, who led a small protest in Hollywood on Sunday, said in a statement.
This year’s 88th Academy Awards ceremony was watched by just 34.4 million Americans, an eight-year low.
“Though clearly we don’t take full credit for the decline, certainly one would have to assume we were effective and part of the decline. And to those that mocked the idea of a tune out, it seems the joke was on them.”
The show itself, though controversial, received generally favorable reviews from the critics, who reserved their most fulsome praise for host Chris Rock, who targeted the Academy with a series of caustic jokes about the Oscars’ lack of racial diversity.
Erik Davis, the managing editor of film website Fandango, described the evening as “one of the most consistently entertaining Oscar shows in memory.”
“Whether or not it was intentional, the show had a unifying theme, and every Chris Rock joke was a perfect riff on that theme,” he said.
Rick Kissell, of film industry magazine Variety, attributed the lower numbers in part to best picture nominees not appealing to older audiences, and 2015’s three biggest blockbusters, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” “Jurassic World” and “The Avengers: Age of Ultron” being largely absent from the nominations.
The viewership for half of the last 16 Oscars shows since 2000 has dipped below 40 million, with the Ellen DeGeneres-hosted 2014 edition attracting the largest audience of 43.7 million.
Jon Stewart’s 2008 show, when the Coen brothers’ “No Country For Old Men” took the best picture, remains a low point at 32 million, while Chris Rock’s last outing in 2005 managed an impressive 42.1 million.
ABC said in a statement this year’s show had played well with adults aged 18 to 34, a key demographic for advertisers, rising one percentage point.
The network cited figures by the Nielsen rating agency which showed the ceremony was the subject of 7.2 million tweets, a surge of 22 percent on last year.
The most tweeted about a minute came as Leonardo DiCaprio’s accepted his first ever Oscar, best actor for survival epic “The Revenant,” prompting 175,148 messages on Twitter.
Pakistani activist for female education and youngest ever Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai on Monday congratulated Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy for winning second Oscar.
Speaking by phone, Malala said the entire nation was proud of Sharmeen Obaid and grateful to her for raising voice for women rights.
Internationally known filmmaker from Pakistan, Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy’s documentary ‘A Girl In The River: The Price of Forgiveness’ has won the Oscar at the 88th Academy Award Ceremony.
Malala expressed a hope that the Pakistan government would introduce effective legislation against honour killing, The News International reported.
No cricket fan wishes to miss out on the T20 World Cup thrill intentionally, however, the busy schedule of professionals tend to be a major hurdle. To overcome this problem, a cricket fanatic alumni of the FAST-NU Lahore has developed an app by the name of T20 World Cup 2016 for cricket lovers.
This app tends to bring all the cricket actions onto one platform. The Android designed app exhibits the features in an easily navigable menu with a clear interface.
Within one week’s time, the app has acquired a rating of 4.7 and more than 10,000 users who are passionate cricket followers. The users are expected to reach to a 100,000 by the time ICC T20 World Cup 2016 begins.
Have a look at some of the app features here:
Latest Squads
Groups
Fixtures & Results
Records & Statistics
The World T20 Venues
Tournament History
Alerts
News
Featured Stories
Social Features
Chat Forum
Trivia
Details of other Cricket Events in 2016
Advanced features that need to be added in the app before the ICC T20 World Cup 2016 begins are:
Live Score Service
Full Scorecard
Ball by ball update
Results
Match alerts
In match chat & commenting
The developers of the app have been in the field of digital marketing development and have also worked on similar apps and products before.
Pakistani movies have managed to mark their worth on the big screen, being lauded both within the country and receiving praises internationally, the Pakistani film industry sure has come a long way. The newly screened film ‘Bachaana’ has also managed proved its worth by making Rs 20 million in just three days.
Sanam Saeed and Mohib Mirza starrer, Bachaana managed to reap Rs 20 million at the weekend Box Office (three days); the producer and director of the film are expecting the worth to rise in the coming weeks.
Managing Director of Mandviwalla Entertainment, Nadeem Mandviwalla revealed that Atrium Cinemas managed to earn up to Rs1.7 million within three days, whereas Centaurus, acquired 81% of the film business, reaping almost Rs1.4 million worth.
“In comparison to other Urdu movies, Bachaana has surprisingly done better in Islamabad, given that Urdu films tend to do better in Karachi,” said Mandviwalla.
He also disclosed that the movie did excpetionally well in Islamabad. The representatives of Everyday Pictures and the film’s producers were overjoyed as the movie did exceptional business in Dubai as well.
A post shared by Bachaana Official (@bachaana.official) on
Having already crossed Rs. 20 million at the box office, Bachaana’s producer Nasir Khan is optimistic the film will gross up to Rs.100 to Rs. 120 million.
The 65% increase mentioned by the representative came on the day of the India-Pakistan T20 match. He also stated how they planned in advance and shifted most of the (Dubai) shows to the afternoon and evening slots. This ensured that the film’s does not coincide with the much-hyped Asia Cup match between the arch enemies, India and Pakistan.
Due to security concerns in the region, the private education institutions are to remain closed in the federal capital Islamabad, reports Dawn News on Tuesday.
Zofran Elahi, president of the Private Schools Association stated that the schools that will remain closed are Islamabad Convent School, Beaconhouse School System, Lahore Grammar School, Roots, Frobel’s International, City School, Headstart and others.
He stated that the 200 schools that were part of the association will remain closed because of the anticipated law and order situation.
The Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) Rawalpindi also postponed matriculation exams, as Chairman BISE Dr Mohammad Zareef stated; new dates are soon to be announced.
Many educational institutions such as Institute of Information Technology, COMSATS, National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST) and Fauji Foundation College will also remain closed today.
Security concerns related to Mumtaz Qadri’s execution yesterday, who was accused of Salman Taseer’s murder, caused quite an uproar in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Karachi and other areas.
Karachi, Pakistan — —Master Changan introduces DEEPAL, its latest venture into the pure EV lineup, showcasing the collaborative power of three global titans of...
Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have led to a sharp increase in voice cloning scams. Fraudsters have begun duplicating voices of loved ones and...
Arijit Singh, a name synonymous with soulful music, often stirs deep emotions within his listeners. Known for his purity and heartfelt melodies, Singh has...
Saba Faisal is a name that resonates with audiences across Pakistan, thanks to her remarkable performances in various dramas. Known for her versatile acting...
