Fawad Khan to essay a gay man in Kapoor & Sons?

We always wondered whether Fawad Khan would be able to push the envelope in Bollywood, doing roles that were challenging and diverse but we never thought he’d push it this far and this soon! How’s this for diversity: the buzz in B-town is that Fawad will be essaying a homosexual character in his next film. While the news has us scratching our heads (wasn’t Fawad hesitant over doing an intimate scene with Aalia Bhatt in the same movie?) it seems there isn’t much room for intimacy with Aalia after all.

According to India Today, a source close to the film revealed, “Fawad will play a gay in Kapoor & Sons since 1921. And yes, the character will be daringly different from anything we have seen the actor do on screen till date.” Adding further details to the character sketches of the two male leads, the report adds that both Sidharth and Fawad, who will be seen as brothers on screen, will play aspiring writers fighting with one another in order to prove to be the better one between the two.

So far Fawad has been avoiding love-making scenes in respect of his fans back home, who expect him to maintain a level of cultural dignity in India; we aren’t sure how this news will go down with them. That said, we feel it is brave of Fawad to step into such an experimental character that couldn’t be further from the masculine, almost chauvinistic roles he has been essaying so far. Kapoor & Sons is scheduled to release on March 18, next year.

The PFDC announces dates, lineup for PLBW2015

The PFDC L’Oreal Paris Bridal Week 2015 will be held between September 16 and 18 in Lahore, the Pakistan Fashion Design Council recently confirmed. The event will feature around 22 fashion labels, 16 of them established and showing solo while 6 of them will be part of rising talent capsules. The lineup looks exciting as one anticipates a solid expression of bridal trends from Elan, Sana Safinaz, The House of Kamiar Rokni, Sania Maskatiya, HSY, Shamaeel, Karma Red and Misha Lakhani. Nomi Ansari, Ali Xeeshan and Fahad Hussayn – each showing second on different days – are expected to inject energy, vibrancy and drama to the day. Viewing one bridal collection after the other tends to get tedious but with names like this one can expect the excitement to run high. While PLBW2015 boasts a healthy mix of designers from Lahore and Karachi, all three finales belong to Lahore’s favourite brands – Elan, The House of Kamiar Rokni and as the Grand Finale, HSY. Fashion lovers eager to brave the shows can expect stampedes inside and traffic jams outside! One has to say that this year’s lineup is stellar, with one strong brand showing after the other.

The lineup also includes Republic by Omar Farooq, Nickie Nina, Asifa Nabeel, Saira Shakira and Ammara Khan. An interesting (and somewhat confusing) addition is that of another showcase dedicated to new designers. While the existing Bank Alfalah Rising Talent will introduce four new names (Maheen Taseer, Zarmisha Dar, Jeem by Hamza Bokhari and Faiza Saqlain), the PFDC is adding a ‘New Bridal Designers’ segment featuring Sana Yasir and Mahgul. The distinction between the two is somewhat unclear.