THE GRAPEVINE

The Painting Drama

The media was abuzz with reports of artist Seffi Soomro’s claim that he saw two of his paintings that had gone missing in 2017 from Karachi’s Frere Hall in a TV play, Kabhi Main Kabhi Tum. It sparked off an argument and counter-argument bout between the painter and Frere Hall officials. The latter said the artworks were always there and the artist didn’t come back to fetch them by showing the receipt he must have got at the time of the exhibit. The young painter blamed the Frere Hall administration for using his art for financial gains. Smartly, the production house that has produced the play clarified its own position, saying they had rented the location where the paintings were already on display. Great publicity for the play, though!
Jatt in India

At last, art has triumphed over politics. Pakistan’s biggest blockbuster film in recent times, The Legend of Maula Jatt — directed by Bilal Lashari and starring Fawad Khan, Mahira Khan and Hamza Ali Abbasi — will be screened in India from October. This is significant news. The reason is that relations between the two neighbouring countries had been sour for many years, resulting in a hiatus in quality collaborative work from both countries’ artists. Now, that particular door has reopened, hopefully, South Asian actors, filmmakers and musicians will rock together again!
Gangsta Threat

In April this year, two men riding a motorbike fired three rounds of bullets outside the apartment block where Salman Khan (and the rest of his family) lives. The police caught the culprits and it turned out they were hired by a gangster named Lawrence Bishnoi. On Sept 18, Salim Khan (Salman K’s father and screenwriter) was sitting on a bench during a break from his regular morning walk when a man and a woman, again on a motorbike, pulled up in front of him and the woman went: “Shall I call Lawrence Bishnoi?” and fled the scene. This rang alarm bells for the family and the police are investigating the issue. Nice plot for an action-packed thriller! Tiger Aur Sholay…
EIGHT BALL

On September 12, actor Hania Aamir celebrated her eight years in showbiz. How so? Well, it was on that day eight years ago that she appeared in a film titled Janaan, with Bilal Ashraf, Armeena Rana Khan and Ali Rehman as co-actors. Posting a video clip from the movie on Instagram she wrote: “They’re saying I’ve completed eight years in the industry. This girl did not know she would come this far. It makes my heart so happy to know that I have met some amazing people, made some great memories, discovered more about myself, and have found the best community on the internet.” To be honest, we didn’t expect that you’d come this far either, Hania A.
Acting Beckons?

It’s been 10 years since Eva Mendes quit acting. She’s been a good partner to Ryan Gosling and a wonderful mother to their children. But some showbiz experts believe that once an actor, always an actor. When a journo asked Eva M whether she’d act again, she said, “I don’t know. If there’s interesting roles. I left at a time where it was also, 10 years ago … I kinda felt like I did it, ya know?” Between the incoherence of that statement, it does suggest she does want to return to the acting fold if there are worthy parts for her. Other than the extremely interesting roles of a wonderful mother and a good partner, of course…
Ring Off!

A couple of weeks ago, it came as a huge shock to many music lovers when Dave Grohl, the frontman of rock band Foo Fighters and the former drummer of Nirvana, disclosed that he had fathered a child out of wedlock. Last week, his wife of 21 years, actress Jordyn Blum, was seen at a tennis lesson with musician Pete Wentz… without the wedding ring. Those who don’t know, Pete W is the bassist for the rock band Fall Out Boy. Hmmm… Fall out boy got the fall out girl!
Published in Dawn, ICON, September 29th, 2024