THE GRAPEVINE

Haniya Aslam Passes Away

On August 11, music lovers were shocked to hear that musician Haniya Aslam had died of a heart attack in Islamabad. Along with singer and cousin Zeb Bangash, the 39-year-old Smith University graduate had been one part of the formidable duo Zeb & Haniya duo, who had given a number of hit songs over the years, some of which have now become an inalienable part of Coke Studio’s illustrious history. Chal Diye, Paimona, Bibi Sanam Janem and Chup! are four of those beautiful tracks. Haniya was primarily a guitarist but played a number of instruments and was the main composer of the band. She later studied music engineering and branched off as a solo artist and composer for a number of film and drama soundtracks. One of her hit songs from then was Aayi Re. May she rest in peace.
Aima’s MeToo

Singer Aima Baig says she wishes to (re)launch — the prefix is ours — the MeToo movement in Pakistan. The reason she’s given is that she knows some predators “ruining minor to aged girls.” She had thought of it earlier, she says, but chose to remain quiet, which she now regrets. She has also made it clear that it’s not about herself, rather it’s about the women around her. We think it’s very noble of her. The only thing we’d like to say to Aima B is that, while doing so, keep in mind the results of the MeToo movement when it first began in our country. It didn’t ruffle many feathers, for reasons that still need to be investigated. We do hope it’s taken more seriously now.
Pathetic Papa

Elon Musk has 12 children from two marriages, one of whom is Vivian Jenna Wilson, a transgender. Recently someone posted a picture of Elon M with his sons on X saying he always finds time for family. To which, Vivian J W wrote: “It seems to me like you’re trying to rebuild your brand image as the ‘caring paternal father’ which I will not let go unchallenged. If I’m going to be honest, this is absolutely pathetic. You just won’t stop lying about me in interviews, books, social media, etc. I understand your new angle is this ‘Western values/Christian family man’ thing but it’s such a weird choice. You are not a family man, you are a serial adulterer…” Reminds us of a Madonna song, Papa don’t preach.
Viewers’ Choice?

We all know that the web series Barzakh has been taken off YouTube after protests against its content were made in Pakistan. That’s not our topic. The topic is one of its principal performers Sanam Saeed’s interview, which she gave to an Indian media outlet. She said in the interview: “There are certain aspects in Barzakh that grabbed people’s attention. Some viewers didn’t understand the show initially, but if they watch it carefully, they’ll get it. The audience’s reaction was exactly what we anticipated.” We think it’s about time filmmakers and actors stopped condescending to viewers.
Bears and Geese

Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes witnessed the women’s gymnastics events at the Paris Olympics and were quickly spotted. They were accompanied by their daughters Esmeralda and Amada. But mainstream and social media platforms didn’t show the kids pictures, which made Eva M happy: “I love @nbcolympics didn’t cut away to the kids,” she wrote on her social media. “And most sites blurred their faces so mama bear is happy about that.” That’s the mama bear that married to a gosling, a young goose, people!
The Pay Gap

Actor Arshad Warsi has now echoed what many have been saying for quite some time. According to him, there are certain actors in the Indian film industry who are getting paid pretty heftily. In order to compensate for it, others are given much less amounts of money. He has condemned the practice, as any sane person should. But he hasn’t revealed if he’s one of those for whom others are being given lower compensations… Yes, he is one of those. Good on him to raise the issue, however.
Published in Dawn, ICON, August 18th, 2024