Guess who is on cloud 9 these days? Yes, it’s Fawad Afzal Khan, after bagging the Filmfare Award. He is what fairytales are made of. Watching him on screen, the inevitable ‘happily ever after’ ending seems predictable.
Already one of the top-rated actors in Pakistan, he sure has managed to get his competition green-eyed after his first Bollywood film, ‘Khoobsurat’. After his appearance here, he seems to have taken off in the Indian film industry.
The result? Yes a lot of interest has been whipped up, for sure. There seemed to be a professional link with Karan Johar. Reports indicated that the Pakistani actor was to be part of KJo’s next project.
Incidentally, being a big fan of Fawad Khan, Karan’s mother Hiroo Johar allegedly coaxed her producer son to invite Fawad home, a few months ago. After her friends got face-to-face with this celeb, it was expected that this tete-a-tete would transform into a film offer!
But, alas! Fawad was supposed to be part of KJo’s — ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’. But, now it is being said that the role in question was just a cameo and Dharma wanted to sign Fawad for a full-fledged role. Now the question is — if it’s not Fawad, then who? It looks like the chosen one is — Saif Ali Khan, who will be a part of Karan’s venture. Another buzz is that the Chote Nawab will be playing Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s husband in the love story, which also stars Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma. Apparently it’s a small role which requires only one day of shooting. Will Saif grab this bait? Ahem, doubtful.
So surely and squarely, many rumors and speculations are rife about Dharma Productions’ upcoming films. The latest is that Karan Johar has decided to sign his ‘students’ for his next — we mean Alia Bhatt and Sidharth Malhotra. Karan Johar has plans to produce a film which will be helmed by Shakun Batra and from what we hear, the untitled film will star Alia along with Sidharth and the Pakistani heart-throb Fawad Khan.
But, wait there’s a catch. There are some reports which suggest that Fawad may not have been the first choice for the role. According to The Mirror, Fawad was included because Varun Dhawan was busy shooting with Rohit Shetty and Shah Rukh Khan. However, another media report put forth that Arjun Kapoor was also in the running for the role.
Recently, Karan Johar took to Twitter to announce the new project and tweeted, “Rarely does a filmmaker write a super script in 2 months….@shakunbatra’s new family film just got greenlit and cast! Details coming up….”
But this is not the end for the popular Pakistani actor. He is also in talks with the producers of ‘Madamji’, which has Priyanka Chopra playing the protagonist, for a role in the film. The film deals with an item girl’s daily struggles and how she fights against odds and musters up courage, (hold on!) to become a politician. Details are not disclosed as to what part Fawad has been approached for, but, for Bollywood fans, it will definitely be interesting to watch Chopra and Khan scorch the screen. And guess what? Apart from all this, the “Khubsoorat” star was also being considered for Kareena Kapoor Khan-starrer ‘Udta Punjab’, but eventually the role went to Punjabi superstar — Diljit Dosanjh.
And, we heard that Khan turned down the role opposite Kareena. Did we hear that right?
Surely, there’s a hit-and-miss angle running through the Pak celeb’s fortunes!
It’s win some, lose some for Fawad
It’s win some, lose some for Fawad
Arts festival’s decision to exclude Palestinian author spurs boycott
- A Macquarie University academic who researches Islamophobia and Palestine, Abdel-Fattah responded saying it was “a blatant and shameless act of anti-Palestinian racism and censorship,” with her lawyers issuing a letter to the festival
SYDENY: A top Australian arts festival has seen the withdrawal of dozens of writers in a backlash against its decision to bar an Australian Palestinian author after the Bondi Beach mass shooting, as moves to curb antisemitism spur free speech concerns.
The shooting which killed 15 people at a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Dec. 14 sparked nationwide calls to tackle antisemitism. Police say the alleged gunmen were inspired by Daesh.
The Adelaide Festival board said last Thursday it would disinvite Randa Abdel-Fattah from February’s Writers Week in the state of South Australia because “it would not be culturally sensitive to continue to program her at this unprecedented time so soon after Bondi.”
FASTFACTS
• Abdel-Fattah responded, saying it was ‘a blatant and shameless act of anti-Palestinian racism and censorship.’
• Around 50 authors have since withdrawn from the festival in protest, leaving it in doubt, local media reported.
A Macquarie University academic who researches Islamophobia and Palestine, Abdel-Fattah responded saying it was “a blatant and shameless act of anti-Palestinian racism and censorship,” with her lawyers issuing a letter to the festival.
Around 50 authors have since withdrawn from the festival in protest, leaving it in doubt, local media reported.
Among the boycotting authors, Kathy Lette wrote on social media the decision to bar Abdel-Fattah “sends a divisive and plainly discriminatory message that platforming Australian Palestinians is ‘culturally insensitive.'”
The Adelaide Festival said in a statement on Monday that three board members and the chairperson had resigned. The festival’s executive director, Julian Hobba, said the arts body was “navigating a complex moment.”
a complex and unprecedented moment” after the “significant community response” to the board decision.
In the days after the Bondi Beach attack, Jewish community groups and the Israeli government criticized Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for failing to act on a rise in antisemitic attacks and criticized protest marches against Israel’s war in Gaza held since 2023.
Albanese said last week a Royal Commission will consider the events of the shooting as well as antisemitism and social cohesion in Australia. Albanese said on Monday he would recall parliament next week to pass tougher hate speech laws.
On Monday, New South Wales state premier Chris Minns announced new rules that would allow local councils to cut off power and water to illegally operating prayer halls.
Minns said the new rules were prompted by the difficulty in closing a prayer hall in Sydney linked to a cleric found by a court to have made statements intimidating Jewish Australians.
The mayor of the western Sydney suburb of Fairfield said the rules were ill-considered and councils should not be responsible for determining hate speech.
“Freedom of speech is something that should always be allowed, as long as it is done in a peaceful way,” Mayor Frank Carbone told Reuters.
