Cast: Sacha Baron Cohen, Anna Faris, John C. Reilly
Director: Larry Charles
Release Date: 11 May 2012
The heroic story of dictator who risks his life to ensure that democracy would never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed.
Humaima Malik to play as Sanjay Dutt’s heroine
Bollywood filmmaker Soham Shah has signed Pakistani actress Humaima Malik for upcoming movie. She has been paired up with senior actor Sanjay Dutt.
Mrs Malik would leave for India next month for shooting. The film titled “Shair”also starring Vivek Oberoi and Paresh Rawal is considered to be a heavy budget movie.Humaima Malik has become famous from the Shoaib Mansoor’s Movie Bol, which gained tremendous reputation not only in the local cinema but also in different countries. Continue reading
Google kills 250,000 search links a week
It may surprise you that there is a rapidly growing number of websites Google intentionally hides from you. Google doesn’t want that to be a surprise anymore.
The search giant said Thursday it would begin chronicling the thousands of requests it receives daily to take down search results that link to copyrighted material. Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) said it receives upwards of 250,000 requests to remove links to pirated content each week.
When Google receives notifications from copyright holders that it is linking to a website that violates their copyright, Google undergoes a process that usually results in the removal of search results that link to that website.
The number of requests to take down links has soared in recent years. In fact, Google said it is now receiving more removal requests each week than it received in all of 2009. Last month, Google got 1.2 million such requests from 1,000 copyright holders to remove links from 23,000 websites. Continue reading
The film director who’s not allowed to go to the movies
Haifaa Al Mansour has just directed one of the first feature films ever to be made in Saudi Arabia. But she won’t be able to watch it at her local theater, because cinemas are banned in the kingdom.The film, called “Wadjda,” after its protagonist, is billed as the first to be filmed entirely in Saudi Arabia with an all-Saudi cast. It is currently in post-production and being touted for worldwide sales at the Cannes Film Festival.
Al Mansour, 39, worked for an oil company until the age of 30, when she decided to give up her job to pursue her passion.
“When I turned 30, I really wanted to have a voice,” said Al Mansour. “People don’t listen to women in Saudi, they just jump to the next man to speak. I loved films and just decided to become a filmmaker.”She studied film in Sydney, Australia, and has previously made three short films and a documentary. She is Saudi Arabia’s first female film director, according to the production company. Continue reading
Amitabh Bachchan defends humble Hollywood debut
Indian acting legend Amitabh Bachchan has warned his millions of fans to keep their eyes peeled for his long-awaited Hollywood debut, otherwise they might miss it altogether.
The Bollywood veteran laughed off his brief cameo in the new adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel “The Great Gatsby” starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire and Carey Mulligan.
“I play (underworld criminal) Wolfsheim for about a few seconds… by the time you look down on your popcorn to pick another morsel, I’d be gone from the film,” Bachchan joked on his blog this week.
Bachchan features prominently in the film’s trailer, which was released on Tuesday, but he advised his avid followers not to expect too much and brushed aside criticism he was too big for such a fleeting role. Continue reading
Pakistan beat Argentina in Azlan Shah Cup opener
Pakistan beat Argentina 4-2 in their opening match of the 21st Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh, Malaysia.
Pakistan, who had not had any experience playing on the blue turf before, squandered many chances but put up a determined performance to win the match amidst an Argentine fightback.Shabbir Khan tried to score the opening goal but his shot was saved by Argentina’s goalkeeper Juan Manuel Vivaldi after which Pakistan were awarded a penalty corner in the 22nd minute which was not utilized.
Argentina were also awarded a penalty corner in the 29th minute but Pedro Ibarra’s shot was deflected wide.The first goal of the match was scored by the Greenshirts as Shafqat Rasool put in a cross through to Mohammad Irfan who made the score 1-0 minutes before half-time.Pakistan’s captain Sohail Abbas doubled the score in the 46th minute when he scored through a penalty corner, making the score 2-0. Argentina were awarded a penalty corner in the 53rd minute and Gonzalo Peillat scored to make the score 2-1. Continue reading
Phillip Phillips wins ‘American Idol’
“American Idol” declared guitar-strumming Phillip Phillips the winner of its 11th season on US television Wednesday after viewers cast a record 132 million votes.
“All the fans out there, thank y’all for voting for us,” said the boyish 21-year-old from the southeastern US state of Georgia before host Ryan Seacrest announced the result at the end of a two-hour gala season finale. Runner-up was Jessica Sanchez, 16, a southern Californian of Filipino and Latino heritage whose prospects, critics say, dimmed with a less-than-impressive performance during Tuesday’s pre-vote sing-off. Continue reading
Punjab University’s Campus politics turns bloody
On Sunday, May 13, 2012, Awais Aqeel was outside Punjab University’s (PU) Hostel-16, when eight men appeared on motorbikes and opened fire at him. Before anyone could see who they were, the attackers had fled from the scene. Meanwhile, Aqeel lay dying in a pool of blood.
Almost instantly, an uproar broke out within the Islami Jamiat-i-Tuleba (IJT) at the murder of their top man. Anger pursued for the entire week in violent bouts. The furious IJT members assaulted teachers and attacked the vice chancellor’s (VC) office. Later that week, they ended up clashing with the police on Mall Road. The students even allegedly set fire to at least two buses, both belonging to Daewoo – a South Korean enterprise which has closed its services until, they said, security was guaranteed by the Punjab Government. Continue reading
Alamgir our Legendry Pop Star is back in Pakistan
It was meant to be a press conference but turned out to be a moving event of sorts. Despite one or two touchy moments when he had a lump in his throat and a teardrop was about to roll down his cheek, the pioneer of Pakistani pop music, Alamgir, looked and sounded in his element while addressing the media at the Arts Council Karachi on Monday.
He told journalists that before coming to the Arts Council he had just undergone dialysis which was why he was feeling a bit weak, was not properly dressed up and had put on his chappals instead of shoes. He had been to the Governor’s House in the same attire, he added. Alamgir then announced he would give a khushkhabri (good news) to the media. He said a few years back his kidneys stopped functioning.
He needed a kidney transplant. He went to the United States, and while 80 per cent of the cost was covered by insurance, the remaining 20 per cent was difficult for him to afford. An amount of $100,000 was required for treatment and he had somehow accumulated $35,000 but was worried about the rest of the amount.
He said Karachi Arts Council president Ahmed Shah called him up and said he would do something about that. Mr Shah got in touch with the Sindh governor after which the governor met Alamgir and gave the singer $50,000 for his treatment. Alamgir claimed it had made him happy and now he felt that he could go through the transplant process without much hassle. Continue reading
