25 things about 2010
January 7, 2011 by Trend PK
Filed under Entertainment
1. COKE STUDIO
Even in a hit-and-miss fourth season — for every Arif Lohar there was an Aunty Disco Project — Coke Studio was the only Pakistani television show you would want to schedule your day around. During the course of the show Zeb and Haniya cemented their reputation while Meesha Shafi created a brand new one for herself.
2. THE FINAL SCENE OF LOST
In its final 15 minutes, “Lost” went from a mind-bending sci-fi epic to a religious allegory about love. The transcendent ending, unfairly criticised by so many, showed that when we die all that really matters is that we are with the ones we truly love.
3. THE 18TH AMENDMENT
It took months of political bickering but the passage of the 18th Amendment showed us that democracy works. Seeing the most egregious perversions of the constitution rectified at a time when many were sounding the marital law drumbeat was the most satisfying political development of the year.
4. THE LAUNCH OF NEW NEWSPAPERS
Many argue that Pakistan has too many English-language newspapers. Rubbish. There can never be too many newspapers. The launch of The Express Tribune and Pakistan Today added more choice, more views and more information to the market.
5. AISAM UL HAQ AT THE US OPEN
What I enjoyed most about Aisam ul Haq and Rohan Bopanna’s run at the US Open was that it brought the athleticism and teamwork of doubles’ tennis to so many new fans. But I can’t deny that patriotism played its part too. Even if Aisam didn’t win any titles this year, seeing a Pakistani sportsman speak for a cause greater than his own personal enrichment was a joy.
6. MOHAMMAD AAMIR IN ENGLAND
I was too young to see a teenaged Wasim Akram burst onto the scene. Mohammad Aamir’s superb bowling against Australia was a close consolation. Let’s just ignore what came after that.
7. CONAN O’BRIEN LOSING “THE TONIGHT SHOW”
When NBC announced that Conan O’Brien would be replaced by his predecessor Jay Leno on “The Tonight Show”, despite Leno’s earlier promise that he would gracefully stand down, a hero was born. As Conan wound down his show, he took potshots at the network, spent as much of their money as he could and just had a blast. So did we.
8. VEENA MALIK
Anyone willing to denounce Mohammad Asif on live television has already contributed to an awesome 2010. By ignoring all the haters and flaunting her wit and personality on Bigg Boss, Veena Malik brightened up the year.
9. IFTIKHAR HUSSAIN’S BRAVERY
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s information minister lost his son and very nearly his own life to terrorists. The day after the attack on his family he was as feisty as ever, denouncing the Taliban vehemently. Even disillusioned, cynical hacks could see that some politicians have soul, integrity and commitment.
10. JON STEWART’S SANITY
Barack Obama’s election was supposed to end Jon Stewart’s career. Even without George W Bush to kick around, Stewart was as hilarious as ever, skewering hypocrisy and stupidity.
11. NASEEM HAMEED’S POISE
That sprinter Naseem Hameed became the fastest woman in South Asia after winning gold at the regional games is a big enough achievement. Her winning smile, which never wavered even after being besieged by the media, made her our newest hero.
12. THE SLACKISTAN TRAILER
Filmmakers’ obsession with showing the ‘real’ Pakistan has left one class unrepresented in cinema: the ultra-elite. The trailer of Hammad Khan’s Slackistan showed a bunch of young Islooites doing what they do best: nothing.
13. MUSHARRAF’S RETURN TO POLITICS
No, we don’t want him to ever rule the country again. But when insipid speeches by deadly-dull politicians made us want to gouge out our eyeballs, Mush lifted our spirits by boasting of his Facebook fandom.
14. TWITTER
Like Facebook, but without all those annoying friends and photographs and words. Say what you want, but don’t drone on and on. Twitter is ugly, often illiterate and usually unenlightening. But it’s also very addictive.
15. UTH OYE!’S T-SHIRTS
Here’s how to excel at do-gooderism. Follow all fashionable lefty causes and donate proceeds to charity and all that but also have a kick-ass sense of humour. Instead of yet another “Give Peace a Chance” t-shirt this was the year to pick up something from Uth Oye!’s latest line.
16. A MINI-RESTAURANT STREET
Since the elitist Zamzama trope is now so ingrained in us, we need to go somewhere less clichéd for our high-end dining. With Café Flo, Koel and Patio all in one street we have somewhere to go for tamarind drinks, French food and thalis without walking more than 100 yards.
17. SALMAAN TASEER’S SENSE OF HUMOUR
Whether sounding off on Twitter or embarrassing the PML-N at impromptu press conferences, the Punjab governor’s only job seems to be to make us laugh. Sample quote: “In May I will complete two years as governor Punjab. Please send your flowers, gifts etc to Raiwind to thank the Sharifs for their love and support.”
18. ROGER FEDERER AT THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN
In the twilight of his career, the greatest tennis player of all time (that is a fact, not an opinion) cruised through the first grand slam of the year. Despite losing a tiny bit of speed and control, the Swiss maestro was in command throughout, showing he is far from a spent force. Shame about the rest of the year.
19. THE ASHES
At a time when Test cricket’s popularity is waning, the Ashes have come as a delight to cricket purists for two reasons. It shows that Tests produce cricket that is exciting, high-quality and unpredictable. More importantly, it provides evidence that fans will still turn out for five-day matches given sporting wickets and impassioned players.
20. JAMES FRANCO’S CAREER
Franco turned in two of the year’s most devastating performances in 127 Hours and Howl. He also painted, wrote short stories and studied at an Ivy League university. The Renaissance Man is alive and well and is trapped in the body of a twenty-something Hollywood heartthrob.
21. CO SHAHID AFRIDI’S RETIREMENT PRESS CONFERENCE
When Pakistan’s then-Test captain was asked when he had decided to retire from Test cricket, he replied “When I got out” (playing a ridiculous shot). The comic masterpiece of the year belonged to Boom Boom. He showed that his talking is as extemporous as his batting. In a year where there were few laughs for Pakistani cricket fans, Afridi was the only source of amusement.
22. BELLE AND SEBASTIAN’S CONTINUED GREATNESS
Scottish band Belle and Sebastian burst onto the music scene nearly a decade-and-a-half ago with geeky songs about love and books. As their latest album, Write about Love, shows, they just get better with age.
23. NAKED TYRANT
Pakistani society is often so ridiculous that it can be hard to distinguish spoof from reality. Yet Naked Tyrant Productions, a trio of satirists, posted hilarious online videos mocking society magazines, our difficulty in procuring contraceptives and much else besides.
24. THE RISE OF MATHIRA
Equal parts reviled and lusted after; VJ Mathira does what she wants without regard for society’s niceties and mores. When so many others are happy to self-censor to appease the moral scolds, that alone is enough to make Mathira one of the bright spots this year.
25. THE SOCIAL NETWORK
Lets admit it: we live in the Facebook age. Most movies that seek to ride on the crest of the zeitgeist end up being dated as soon as they are released. As realistic as our online personas, The Social Network, which purports to show the founding of Facebook, was the movie event of the year.
Of biting nails & running stomach
Celebs across the globe love to tweet the pics of their near and dear ones, the places they visit, the celebrations they hold/attend… Farah Khan loves to tweet what’s on her mind, besides tweeting pics of her new film TEES MAAR KHAN. But a pic of her hands, tweeted by her, caught my attention instantly. Well, Farah wasn’t highlighting a new shade of nail polish, but was vocal that she had chewed her nails in anxiety and nervousness before the release of her new movie TEES MAAR KHAN. So much so that the nails had almost disappeared from her hands and what remained was more of flesh, less of nails.
Almost everyone – sorry, just about everyone – gets those pre-release jitters and is nervous as hell prior to the release of their film. The stakes are high, their reputation is at stake, the world is awaiting the outcome to their film… I’ve often heard people say that they lose appetite and feel insomniac as well.
Says Farah, “I wasn’t chewing my nails during MAIN HOON NA her directorial debut. Back then I was seeing Shirish Kunder and made sure that I was at my best laughs. But I was nervous during OM SHANTI OM and the period thereafter. It’s the same now.” Farah is not the only one. A top notch director, known for his laughathons, has a running stomach a few days prior to his film’s release, while another top ranking director, known for making sensitive films, goes into a shell and stays aloof as the release date draws closer. Like they say in the industry, Friday is the scariest day in the life of a film-maker/actor and it’s getting more and more stressful with each passing year.
India PM to prosecute wrongdoers in corruption probe
November 20, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Saturday any wrongdoers in a widening telecoms scam, which is threatening his political survival, will be prosecuted.
In his first comments since the corruption scandal blew up, Singh told a leadership summit in Delhi that several investigating agencies were looking into the issue, which could potentially emerge as the country’s biggest graft cases and which is tarnishing the reputation of a prime minister long seen as India’s most honest politician.
“As far as this particular allocation of the 2G spectrum is concerned (as) parliament is in session, I would not like to make a detailed statement,” Singh added, without giving details.
Singh has been ordered to explain to the Supreme Court why he failed to swiftly probe his Telecoms Minister Andimuthu Raja, who was sacked last week, over selling
Yash Chopra honoured with prestigious National Kishore Kumar Award
The prestigious ‘National Kishore Kumar Award’ for the year 2009-10, given by the Madhya Pradesh Government, was conferred on Yash Chopra, at an investiture ceremony held yesterday (October 14th, 2010). This ceremony took place at Khandwa, MP, which also happens to be the birthplace of the late Kishore Kumar, on the eve of his birth anniversary, October 13.
It’s totally needless to say that Yash Chopra, a contemporary legend in Hindi cinema, has played a seminal role in the Indian film industry. With this award, he has added yet another prestigious accolade to his long list of achievements. Laxmikant Sharma, the State Cultural Minister presented him with the award, a traditional shawl and also a cash prize.
Archana Tipnis, the State Education Minister and Vijay Shah, State Tribal Welfare Minister, were present at the occasion. “By agreeing to accept this award, Mr. Yash Chopra has added to the reputation of MP as a state. He is one such great director whose films have been socially relevant since more than 50 years”, said Laxmikant Sharma.
Yash Chopra was overwhelmed at receiving this award and thanked the Madhya Pradesh government for the same. He fondly recalled his association with the late Kishore Kumar, while appreciating the great work done by the Madhya Pradesh government in Kishore Kumar’s honour.
The National Kishore Kumar award, instituted by the Madhya Pradesh government in 1997, is given away for direction, acting, script writing and lyrics every year. Past recipients of the prestigious award have been the late Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Gulzar, Shyam Benegal and also Amitabh Bachchan.
Butt will not apologise for his match-fixing allegations
September 25, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
KARACHI: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt will not apologise or pay any compensation for alleging that England players were engaged in match fixing, an official source close to the chief said.
“The ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) not only wants an unconditional apology from Butt but also financial compensation for (damaging the reputation of) its players,” the source said on Saturday.
“The letter states that the PCB should also compensate the ECB for the damages it suffered during the ODI series after Butt’s remarks.”
The source added that the PCB Chairman was adamant he would not apologise for his remarks — in which he said there had been “loud and clear talk in bookies’ circles that some English players were paid enormous amounts of money to lose (the third one-dayer) — and told his legal advisors the PCB would not pay any
German angst as ”psychic” octopus tips Spain World Cup win
BERLIN: The cries of despair from all around Germany could probably be heard in South Africa as a “psychic” octopus called Paul tipped Spain Tuesday to beat Germany in the football World Cup semi-final.
The eight-legged oracle who has successfully predicted all five of Germany”s games in South Africa, carefully weighed up the two teams, before plumping for Spain, prompting anguished groans from the assembled media scrum.
Carried live on national television, two plastic boxes, one with a German flag and one with a Spanish, were lowered into Paul”s tank at an aquarium in western Germany, each with a tasty morsel of food inside.
The box which Paul opens first is adjudged to be his predicted winner.
If Paul”s performance is replicated on the pitch, it promises to be an end-to-end thriller. He teased the crowd by initially lingering at the German flag before heading for the Spanish box.
The mollusc medium has shot to fame by defying the odds with a perfect record of picking winners.
Proving he is not just attracted to the colours in the German flag, he rightly foretold the Mannschaft”s shock defeat to Serbia in the group stages.
He then predicted Germany”s triumphant drubbing of England in the last-16, provoking accusations of treachery. Paul should by rights be an England fan, having been born in Weymouth on the south English coast.
Confirming his reputation as a prognosticator par-excellence, he kept up his astonishing run of form by tipping Germany to beat highly fancied Argentina in the quarter-finals.
But all is not lost for coach Joachim Loew and his boys as Paul has been wrong before. In the European Championships in 2008, he had an 80 percent record, getting only one match wrong.
Which one? The final. Against Spain.
Malik sees third element in Karachi incidents
ISLAMABAD: Federal Interior Minister Rehman A Malik said the government writ is intact in Karachi, adding a third force is involved in the incidents of killings in the city, Geo News reported Tuesday.
Talking to Geo News, he said only those people are involved in the carnage who want to destabilize the country.
He continued, ‘Even if someone is killed as a result of a general row, the same is declared as target-killing.’
Responding a query, he said Malik said the vision of President Asif Ali Zardari has helped his reputation soar higher, which has caused great anguish to his enemies.
usc sanctions
June 10, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
The chances of USC sanctions have come true after the National Collegiate Athletic Association have banned them for violating rules. The National Collegiate Athletic Association has put a ban of two years on the USC and has even taken away twenty scholarships form them. The USC sanctions will prove to be very devastating for the prospects of the college. The national collegiate athletic association will officially announce their final decision about the USC Sanctions and will give a chance to USC to speak for their defense. Ass far as USC is concerned they don’t have any relevant defense to cover their mistake. The main issue arises when the college will be suffering the ban as a whole. It will destroy the reputation of the college and it will no longer be the same. The college had some good reputation at the NCAA and now they will be facing their biggest sanctions this year.
The sanctions, of course, come on the heels of a four-year investigation of former football player Reggie Bush and former basketball player O.J. Mayo. In 2006, reports surfaced that several members of Bush’s immediate family had lived in a home in San Diego that was owned by some dude who intended to work for a group that represented Bush when he turned pro. Mayo reportedly took cash and other benefits from a guy who helped get him to USC.
Vol fans are feeling some sort of sweet justice that the Kiffin clan that helicoptered out of here without warning for a “better job” out West finds himself on the deck of a flaming, sinking ship on an oil spill during a hurricane. The rats always survive, though, and I just wonder where he’ll go next. And I almost hate to relish what’s happening to USC just because of some residual bitterness toward their coach. I have good friends who are USC fans, and I feel bad for them. On the other hand, they sure had a good time with Reggie Bush and Pete Carroll, and until the NCAA figures out how to void cheers and shouts and remove all remnants of actually-experienced historical joy, no amount of after-the-fact forfeited victories can undo the thrill they experienced from 2003 to 2005.
Pak cricket issues beyond ICC reach: Lorgat
KARACHI: Cricket”s world governing body pledged support for Pakistan and expressed hope that the country will play as much international cricket as possible, even at neutral venues.
Haroon Lorgat, chief executive of the International Cricket Council (ICC) said this while unveiling the World Twenty20 trophy in Karachi with Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Ejaz Butt and Twenty20 Captain Shahid Afridi.
He said ICC couldn’t resolve the problems Pakistan cricket is passing through.
“Pakistan has plenty of international cricket coming up in all three formats of the game over the next few months,” said Lorgat.
“That is hugely important considering it is not possible for the national team to play on home soil at present.
“The international cricket that is planned shows that Pakistan has not been isolated by the unfortunate circumstances at home. It is vital that the team continues to play regularly, even if that is at a neutral venue,” said Lorgat.
The former South African player expressed hope that Pakistan can live up to their reputation in the World Twenty20, due to start in the West Indies from April 30.
“Pakistan is the defending ICC World Twenty20 champion, so I have no doubt Shahid Afridi and his team will be working hard to retain the title they deservedly won in England last year,” said Lorgat.
Pakistan, led by Afridi, will fly out to the Caribbean on April 24.
Irina Krupnik
March 12, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under Entertainment
Irina Krupnik, The Manhattan bikini model and make up artist is furious a character in the hit comedy, played by Jon Favreau, used her image in a risque scene that shows her on the cover of a brochure at the fictional resort island for couples, on the island Bora Bora.
In the claim, Irina Krupnik had no idea a photo shoot done ten years ago would see her appear in the Hollywood romance flick: “That photo was taken nearly 10 years ago for a modeling job when Ms. Krupnik, a native of the former Soviet Union, was just 21 years old.”
The $10 million legal claim states that Irina Krupnik was unaware the photo of her in a bikini in a beach would ever be used in such a “degrading context”
The claim also says the makers of Couples Retread, NBC Universal, should have used a photo by a model that was aware her image would be used in the adults only scene for the romantic comedy hit.
Now Irina Krupnik wants $10 million from NBC Universal for invading her privacy. Irina Krupnik Krupnik said the scene has cause her “great humiliation, embarrassment, emotional distress, shame, mortification and injury to her reputation and career.”
