Mahira Khan and Bilal Ashraf to reunite for General Nigar

Mahira Khan and Bilal Ashraf won hearts with their on-screen chemistry in Mohammed Ehteshamuddin’s Superstar back in 2019. Two years on, the Superstar duo is all set to reunite for an upcoming telefilm, titled General Nigar.

Recent reports suggest that the biopic is an ISPR project based on the life of Lieutenant General Nigar Johar, who became the first woman to reach the rank of lieutenant-general in the history of the Pakistan Army in June last year. Apart from that, Nigar Johar Khan has also been appointed as the Army’s first female surgeon general.

General Nigar will mark Bilal Ashraf’s television debut, while it’ll be Mahira Khan’s first telefilm. Currently, the Humsafar actress is appearing in drama serial Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay that also features Kubra Khan and Usman Mukhtar in lead roles. On the other hand, Bilal Ashraf is reportedly gearing up for his upcoming drama serial alongside actress Sana Javed.

Though details of the upcoming telefilm have not been officially announced, we are more than eager to see what’s in store for the audience.

Keep watching this space for more updates.

Pakistani documentary filmmaker Shehzad Hameed Ahmad wins big

Singapore-based documentary filmmaker Shehzad Hameed, who has some award-winning documentaries to his credit, recently bagged an award at the Tagore Film Festival 2021 in Bolpur, India, for his documentary Saving Indonesia’s Citarum.

Shehzad Hameed took to Instagram to share this exciting news. “Thrilled that my documentary, Saving Indonesia’s Citarum, has won the Best Feature Documentary award at the prestigious Tagore Film Festival 2021 in Bolpur, India. For this documentary, we tracked the Indonesian government’s battle to clean the world’s dirtiest river that runs through Java and is affected by toxic pollution and agriculture waste,” he wrote.

“It was part of our documentary series Once Upon A River for Channel NewsAsia that brought to light the desperate situation 2.2 billion people face without access to safe water. In this three-part series, we discover historical ties between communities and some of the most critical waterways in Asia,” added Hameed.

This isn’t the first victory for Shehzad Hameed. In June 2021, Shehzad Hameed’s Afghan war documentary titled Caught in the Crossfire won the Best Feature Documentary award at the prestigious Paris Film Festival 2021. The documentary narrates the lives of three civilians - a journalist, a young Army cadet and a female street artist – who get stuck in the never-ending war between the Afghan government and Taliban.

Earlier this year, the filmmaker also bagged an award in the Documentary Global Issues category for his documentary Australia’s Coal Conundrum at the World Media Festival 2021 in Hamburg, Germany. In March 2021, his documentary Bangladesh’s Delta Disaster won the Best Documentary at the Madras Independent Film Festival 2021 and his documentary Pakistan’s Himalayan Meltdown bagged an award at the Green Image Film Festival 2021 in Japan.

It looks like there’s no stopping Hameed from highlighting important issues while picking up multiple awards.

Ayesha Omar to play  protagonist in an  upcoming film

Actress and host Ayesha Omar seems to be on a roll this year. She’s not only appearing in the second season of hit comedy show Bulbulay but she also launched her all-natural skincare brand earlier this year. The multi-talented actress is now geared up to play the protagonist in an upcoming film that revolves around notorious serial killer Javed Iqbal. Besides Ayesha, the film titled The Untold Story of a Serial Killer: Javed Iqbal will feature Yasir Hussain, who will be essaying the role of Javed Iqbal. The movie has been directed and written by Abu Aleeha, and will be produced under the banner of KK Films by Javed Ahmad.

As far as Ayesha Omar’s character is concerned, according to a press statement, the actress will play the part of “an intrepid and determined police officer running the investigation on the serial killer and tracking down his accomplices.”

The movie will highlight the journey of Javed Iqbal, who sexually abused and murdered over 100 children in Lahore during 1998 and 1999, and later surrendered himself to the police for the heinous crimes he had committed. After being imprisoned, Javed Iqbal was sentenced to death. The actress and host stated in the press statement that this role was bound to be a challenge but one that she’s certainly looking forward to. And we can’t wait to see what the movie has in store for the audience.

Deepak Perwani featured in Atlas of Fashion Designers

Renowned fashion designer Deepak Perwani has been a force in fashion for more than two decades. Putting Pakistan on the global fashion map based on numerous occasions, he continues to make the fashion industry and the country proud. His latest achievement is also the first of its kind. Collecting another prestigious accolade, he is the only Pakistani designer who has been featured in the Atlas of Fashion Designers by Laura Eceiza.

The designer took to social media to announce the great news. “The atlas of highly-rated international fashion designers the first for Pakistan,” Deepak wrote on his official Twitter handle. “Humbled to be featured with the greats,” he added. Deepak Perwani’s team also shared their sentiments on their Facebook page. The post read, “We at the House of Deepak Perwani are humbled by this historic honor bestowed upon us by a ten-page master spread in the international atlas of fashion designers. As the first design house from Pakistan to be featured like this, we are proud to represent the green flag wherever we go and look forward to presenting the beautiful country we belong to in front of the world in our own unique way.”

Atlas of Fashion Designers features a compilation of over 150 fashion designers from around the globe and their work in the past five years. According to the description on Amazon, the designers are selected from a multi-disciplinary perspective displaying a diverse mix of today’s fashion world. The designers were singled out because of their quality of work as well as exemplifying various perspectives in their approach to fashion.

This is not the first time Deepak Perwani has been recognized internationally. In the past, he was featured in a fashion book by Susana Martinez Vidal called Frida Kahlo: Fashion As The Art Of Being, The Trends Book 2010-2011 and The Embroidery Book among others.