THE GRAPEVINE

Remembering Umar Sharif

The legendary Pakistani comedian, the late Umar Sharif, continues to impress generations of comics and lovers of stand-up acts through his dozens of recordings. Last week, Indian film actor and comedian Johnny Lever expressed his desire to come to Lahore and Karachi, and in Karachi to meet Umar S’s family. In a video that’s doing the rounds in cyberspace, he also said that he’s in touch with the Pakistani legend’s son. Now that’s a serious camaraderie of comedians!
In Support of Pak Film

Someone very special and powerful has come forward to support the Pakistani film fraternity. Who? Answer: our very own Nobel laureate, Malala Youufzai. Not that she hasn’t already made a foray in films — she helped produce Joyland. During the recently held Toronto International Film Festival, she said that creating opportunities for Pakistani filmmakers and actors and by helping them appear on the global stage could usher in a new phase of Pakistan’s film industry. For sure, Malala Y! That’s one way of doing it. The other is that our talent should bring their A-game forward.
First Indian

Actor and stand-up comedian Vir Das has become the first Indian to host the Emmy Awards. The ceremony will take place on November 25 in New York. The artist announced this on his Instagram page: “Thanks to your support, an Indian Emmy Host! I can’t wait to host the Emmys this year. Crazy! Thank you for having me.” It is indeed crazy. Even we can’t figure out, why Vir D? Perhaps, this time around, they want to tone down the funny?
Songs of Appreciation

Here’s another reason to be happy about the talent that our filmmakers are exhibiting on the global stage. The 2023 documentary Songs of the Sufi, directed by Shahrukh Waheed and produced by Kamran Anwar, has been accepted at Tasveer (an Oscar-qualifying film festival dedicated to South Asian cinema). The film, which catalogues the 800-year history of the qawwali tradition in the region and premiered at the Gandhara Film Festival in Karachi, has so far been screened at 16 different venues worldwide in its festival run and won accolades along the way too. Way to go, team Songs of the Sufi!
There In Spirit

This year’s MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) were held at the UBS Arena in New York. They were a huge success. Taylor Swift was also there. She broke Beyonce’s record of 26 solo awards by winning seven on the night, taking her total tally to 27. In terms of overall wins, they tie at 30. Interestingly, at the event, she was all by herself and her plus-1 (NFL player Travis Kelce) wasn’t there. According to sources, he couldn’t make it to the event because he was practising with his Kansas City Chiefs team for an important upcoming match. He did, though, give a positive message to his girlfriend on a podcast: “Hopefully, she can walk away with some Moonmen!” Just to clarify, by ‘Moonmen’ he meant the VMA trophies, not any real men.
Sad But True

On the morning of September 11, actresses Malaika Arora and Amrita Arora’s father, Anil Mehta, jumped off a building in Bandra, Mumbai, and committed suicide. The reason for taking his own life could not be ascertained by the time of filing this news item. It’s a sad story and reaffirms the importance of mental health. While issues are prevalent in all segments of society, those who come from known and more prosperous backgrounds are certainly not immune to mental health problems. We hope that his family has the strength to bear this tragic loss.
Published in Dawn, ICON, September 22nd, 2024