‘Zero Dark Thirty’

Our Little Worlds

By Saroop Ijaz

In a recent appallingly bad Hollywood movie, Pakistanis are shown conversing in Arabic, you know, because that is what ‘brown Muslim’ people speak. Rudyard Kipling, whose death anniversary passed a few days ago, has certainly not been forgotten. The movie is thoroughly unwatchable for multiple reasons. Yet, it does show the liberties that people will take with societies that they do not know or do not care enough to know. The film-makers did not need in depth research on the ground to know that Arabic is not the language of everyday chit-chat in Pakistan or Abbottabad is not exactly a 45-minute drive from Islamabad. (Although, on the language question, watching people dressed in Arab clothing and riding on camels on January 25, the particularly gullible can perhaps be cut some slack.) Basic Google search would have unravelled the mystery. Also, it shows that there are not many Pakistanis working in Hollywood. It is patronising and insulting when people make grossly inaccurate, generalised observations about us. Yet, it does not stop us from doing the same.

Hollywood Celebrities Blanca Blanco and John Savage support Sindh & Sindhi community

It’s an honor to be here. Thank you Sufi. I was very pleased when we met Sufi Sindhi and when he talked about his organization I thought it was very impressive because we need people like him that encourage helping others. I think that it was for us, very important to be here. I wanted to come and talk to you about my documentary because it relates a lot to the Sindhi community in the sense that I grew up in Mexico and we experienced poverty and there was an increase in the lack of jobs and women didn’t have rights. So as a kid I would keep track of all my experiences and I wanted to do something when I got older, either a documentary or a book or a movie. I thought when I’m older I’ll be able to do that. So I’m going to show you the documentary and when I’m done I can continue talking about that.

I grew up in Washington State. We moved from Mexico and we crossed the border. Now we are all citizens. I was a citizen, but I couldn’t cross the border by myself. I know that this is something that is happening in the Sindhi community. They are migrating to India because they want a better future. I can relate to this organization and the community. So let’s show the video and then we can continue.

Veena Malik open to stripping for Hollywood

Dubai: Pakistani actress Veena Malik has said that if she was in Hollywood, she would have to work according to the ‘culture’ there, even if it means going nude.

The dark haired beauty, famous for her Lollywood and Bollywood roles and outspoken views on fighting Pakistani Muslim traditions, is caught up in a scandalous affair posing naked on the front cover of India’s FHM magazine.

“… In Pakistan I work within the culture and in India or Bollywood I do the same,” Gulf News quoted her as saying.

“When I’m in Hollywood I would do what is expected of me within their industry. I’m an entertainer after all,” she said.

The controversial actress, who has been engaged twice in the past, called herself a romantic and said that some day, she would like to be a wife too.

“I really believe in love and marriage. I’m a real romantic and I want to be a wife some day but it has to be with the right person,” she said.

“I know someone will come along eventually. I believe that if you look for something you will eventually find it,” she added. ANI

Courtesy: ZeeNews

Films are indicators of future economic and political scenarios

WASHINGTON DIARY: The film factor

by: Dr Manzur Ejaz, USA

Courtesy: Wichaar.com, July 7th, 2009

A reinvigorated film industry will not only provide jobs to hundreds of thousands of people, it will also be a major source of foreign exchange earnings because of the large expatriate community living in Europe and North America. Most of the time the entertainment industry, particularly films, are early indicators of future economic and political scenarios. From Hollywood and Bollywood to poor Lollywood, all film industries give very good indications of things to come. Lollywood’s annihilation and Bollywood’s expansion tell the story of two competing countries.