Khalid Ahmed has won the best actor award at the Harlem International Film Festival (an annual film festival held in Harlem, New York). He got it for the film, ‘Intezaar’ directed by Sakina Samo. The actor said the recognition abroad made up for the lack at home. He had never received a single award from the local industry for all his contributions.

The film is written by Bee Gul and is very modest in terms of its production. It is expected to release soon in Pakistan with Samina Ahmed, Kaif Ghaznavi, Raza Ali Abid and Adnan Jaffar.

Facebook has merged the messaging feature of Instagram and Messenger in Pakistan, changing the brand’s logo colour into blue purplish pink. Users will have an upgrade to Messenger and experience new messaging features, including cross-app communication between two people at a time. People already using Messenger, as well as new joiners will automatically get the new messaging experience. Messenger will be undergoing a brand refresh through a new logo at the same time.

‘Ek Jhoothi Love Story’ written by Umera Ahmed, who also wrote ‘Zindagi Gulzar Hai’, and directed by Mehreen Jabbar has Bilal Abbas Khan with Madiha Imam who is in quest for love and an ideal partner.

It’s a light-hearted family drama with compelling and quirky characters and a fascinating exploration of different kinds of relationships and the path they carve along the way. It will resonate deeply with a generation that aspires to settle for nothing less than an ideal partner and a perfect life.

OPPO has launched the OPPO F17 Pro, said to be the sleekest smartphone with a 7.48mm thickness.

Syra Yousuf and Asim Azhar, the ambassadors of the brand, came together to showcase the trendy features of the smartphone. The duo truly resonates with OPPO F17 Pro’s essence and its youthful spirit. OPPO F17 Pro has flawless photography, sound, and video qualities with its premium design, 6 AI cameras, 30W VOOC 4.0 Flash Charging, etc. It empowers youth to explore, discover and capture more beauty in life using cutting-edge technology.

Lebanese influencer Karen Wazen is now a UNHCR High Profile Supporter for her dedication and commitment to raising awareness of the plight of refugees and displaced populations across the region over the past three years. She represented UNHCR at the launch of MADE51 at Virgin Megastores in the presence of Sir Richard Branson and has consistently supported UNHCR’s Ramadan and winter campaigns, as well as other emergency appeals.

The title was given to her at a ceremony held at the UNHCR offices in International Humanitarian City, Dubai. Houssam Chahine, UNHCR’s Chief of Private Sector Partnerships in the MENA region, praised Karen for being a passionate humanitarian who has used her voice to advocate for the rights of refugees, displaced persons and host communities worldwide.

Turkish actress Didem Balcin who played the role of Selcan Hatun in ‘Dirilis: Ertugrul’ met Pakistani designer Maria B in Istanbul and became the new face of Maria B.’s Winter Linen Collection.

The collection consisting of breathtaking designs with catchy colours and sophisticated patterns perfectly merge into soothing winter vibes.

Maria B’s main focus has always been to provide ready-to-wear fashion that reflects an elegant fusion of East and West. Today Maria B. is one of Pakistan’s most diverse fashion brands with prêt-a-porter, couture, formal wear, lawn, embroidered fabrics, linen and cotton as well as fragrances, all within one affordable label. The brand is available in Pakistan, India, UK, USA, Bangladesh, UAE and Qatar.

Rihanna, singer turned entrepreneur, drew serious criticism after using music mixed with Hadith words in her Savage X Fenty Show 2020 showcasing lingerie.

Hadith is attributed to Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and is used as guidance for people of the Islamic faith. The social media was abuzz with criticism for Rihanna. The song titled ‘Doom’ was created by London producer Coucou Chloe. The music producer used samples of the Hadith mixed into a house beat, which played as models performed on the catwalk, which debuted on Amazon Prime Video.

Perhaps it is the hunger of the average Pakistani viewer to see item numbers that prompted Gala Biscuits to rope in Mehwish Hayat to do a mujra sort of commercial to sell their biscuits.

This prompted Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) to issue a notification directing all channels to get visuals of the advertisements approved by the monitoring committee before their telecast. The directive from the regulatory body came a day after the Gala Biscuit TVC featuring Mehwish Hayat went on air, causing an uproar on social media.

PEMRA said: “It has been observed with concern that themes of advertisements of ordinary consumer products like biscuits, surf, etc. are being aired by satellite TV channels and are not corresponding with the disposition of these products. Airing advertisements regarding general consumer products like biscuits in such a bizarre manner where the visuals are not commensurate with the use of the products is unwarranted and needs to be looked into.”

The question certainly is: what has a biscuit got to do with this illogical portrayal?

Pakistan’s well-known chai wala, Arshad Khan has opened a cafe and calls it ‘Café Chai Wala’. For him, Chai Wala has become his identity and he would not like to change it. Khan’s café has traditional and cultural elements with truck art on the walls, desi straw tables and chairs, Urdu script, etc. The menu currently has 15-20 dishes, apart from tea.

While Arshad spends most of his time at the café, he is also focusing on his acting career. He expressed regret for not completing his education and shares how his next plan is to set up an organisation to help underprivileged children get education easily.

Tecno has launched Camon 16 Premier in pastel colours. It is a 4K professional camera with a high megapixel selfie and a rear camera with TAIVOS technology. It has an MT G90 processor, a hefty 4500 mAh battery with a 33w fast charging option and 128 GB+8GB memory which includes many more prominent features. Earlier, TECNO launched its Camon 15 which gained success in no time.

Disney has revealed that ‘The Lion King’ sequel is in works with director Barry Jenkins. The sequel will be a continuation of the 2019 live-action remake. Jeff Nathanson, who wrote the screenplay for the 2019 film, is returning to write the sequel as well.

The new film will partly focus on the early years of Mufasa, the real father of Simba whose death forms the emotional heart of the first film and its remake that received huge box office hits.

The FPCCI has presented two awards to National Bank of Pakistan for its outstanding services. The Contribution to National Economy (Corporate & Investment Banking) award was received by NBP President & CEO Arif Usmani while Syed Jamal Baquar, SEVP & Group Chief – Corporate & Investment Banking Group (CIBG), collected the award for Best Corporate & Investment Banking Services.

The President of Pakistan Dr Arif Alvi, Advisor to the PM on Finance & Revenue Affairs, Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh and Federal Minister of Industries & Production, Muhammad Hammad Azhar graced the occasion.

On winning the awards, Arif Usmani said that they are an embodiment of the high-quality services NBP gives to its clients and are a testimony to their hard work.

Syed Jamal Baquar added that the strong NBP balance sheet, universal product offerings, and highly qualified team of business professionals gave them the confidence and ability to undertake financial transactions of any size or complexity to provide much-needed sustenance and impetus to the economic growth of Pakistan.

See Prime, the digital entertainment platform recently launched by SEEME Productions has released a suspense-filled short film on its YouTube channel, titled ‘Paying Guest’. The film features Muneeb Butt, Saife Hasan and Noreen Gulwani.

The spine-chilling spooky tale is about the encounter of a young woman with a visitor. The story explores how an inquisitive young man who loiters into a house out of curiosity, meets an attractive young woman. Amidst the encounter with the lady, the young man senses a sinister nuance and is further prompted to get to the bottom of the suspense.

The film is directed and written by Awais Sulaman and is co-produced by Mahib Bukhari and Ali Hussain.

Haseena Moin has joined the Rinstra Technologies Board of Advisors. She will be writing two-web series exclusively for the platform. She agreed to become a part of the Rinstra platform to advise the management and the board to improve the standard of creative and drama writing in the country. She says that young minds need to learn creative writing techniques for the new media of storytelling. Haseena Moin has written several plays for television, stage and radio and some of them have gained international repute.

Gigi Hadid has teamed up with Scooby-Doo and the gang in a guest appearance. She is all set to appear in the famous animated series to solve a fashion mystery. She has also lent her vocals for the character based on herself.

Gigi shared a clip of the upcoming episode on Instagram with the caption, “It’s me & the mystery gang! Tune in to ‘Scooby-Doo & Guess Who?’ on any @Boomerangtoons streaming service to catch us in solving a fashion mystery in Paris.”