Gucci Heads and D&G Drones...What's Next?

Fashion shows are meant to have a glimpse of upcoming trends, ‘in’ colors, worn out looks, and to keep track of who-wore-what. Right? 

Until recently, or to be exact just before this recent Millan Fashion Week, I also shared the same opinion. But it seems to be changing…Why? 

It’s because of the Gucci and Dolce & Gabbana Fashion Shows. 

I won’t be digging into their trends or what they showcased, as that’s not my concern here; instead I’ve been thrilled by their presentation. 

Here’s the glimpse of an all ‘heads-down’ Gucci show with models carrying their fake severed heads, in a extremely chilling, serious, sickening 'operation theater' ambience.  

At first glance it seems a lot creepy, but when I read the description for this creative formation, I was actually impressed. According to Gucci, along with defining our personality, fashion also works to awaken our self-awareness. Though quite a philosophical statement…but to me it all boils down to asking and facing my(mirror)self with a question of: “What I’m carrying in myself? And what I’m portraying to the world?”

Though it took the artists and their technical team around six months to create these head replicas, but admiringly saying, it was all worth the effort! 

Now let’s shift our gears from a quite a soul-searching experience to rather a very futuristic extravaganza by Dolce and Gabbana (D&G). 

They literally surprised all the spectators by letting an army of flying drones to emerge from the backstage onto the runway, while carrying/displaying beautiful D&G handbags. We usually are accustomed to witness lean-sleek models all dolled up to perform this job. 

So, that was a change. And the first question that pops in a mind is kay, “will this be the future of a fashion show”. Or may be to stretch a bit further, we might could witness Sophia-clones along with flying drones. Who knows…? 

For me, these two shows were definitely among the instances when I tell myself, kay ‘look imagination and creativity got no boundary’.

Until next time,

Keep Admiring! 

Turning 'ON' my Desi-Mode...

Since I am feeling a bit nostalgic today, so will be embracing my desi-avatar for this post. Yesterday it just occurred to me that there are some definite telltale signs of ones full-on desi-crush. And being a typical Lahori, what else can be a better way then to gear our attention towards our mouthwatering traditional treats!

So let the appetite begin…

1.  That left-over juicy Jalebi is a must-have, as that’s supposed to transform into a favorite Punjabi delicacy called Doodh-Jalebi. 

2.  Even though you got some extra cash to splurge on Magnum…but you still drool over the sight of our old-school Kulfi dipped in fresh Kohya.  

3. No matter if it makes your house smell like a dhabba, brings on watery eyes and sniffy nose, but still you find peace in the aroma of Dal Makhani with Desi-Ghee-ka-Tadka.

4. As soon as you held your first Starbucks Unicorn Frappucino, it instantly reminded you of our favorite homemade Ifftar necessity—Doodh RoohAfza, and you're propelled to think kay is it really an original new drink ?  

5. For the love of delicious Barfi, just like my nieces, you also innocently named it as our ‘White Chocolate’.

Though there’s lot more to add onto this list…but my stomach is already growling…
so sea ya…

Until next time, 

Keep the desi-mode on! 

Since LOVE knows “no” boundaries…

Though Valentine is officially banned in Pakistan but since I am here in States so I’ll be safe discussing it…right? 

Based on our traditional Valentine-Day-Checklist…I shouldn't be getting so excited for it at first place…why? I am single and have yet to meet my ‘match’. But I still love and love to celebrate this auspicious love-day, in my own way! 

Unlike others, I won’t be draining my all energies on that just ‘one-being’. Instead I’ll be dedicating this post to the ones I love the most and (if I may confess) am obsessed with them to the extent internet trolling…by ‘hearting’ all their Insta-Feeds!

So here we go…

 1. #VB: Who else can be more deserving for this "first place" than the most gorgeous, lovelicious, ever-charming, singer-turned-model-turned-designer, the truly one and only one Victoria Beckham. She’s the lady who has conquered all the runways…be it the fashion or the family. She got the power to effortlessly transform chic into supper-classy.

I really can’t blame all the ladies who were drooling over to have more kids, while witnessing her power-packed Beckham clan during this recent New York Fashion Week ’18.

2. #kengi: When it comes to the beauty-besties, I would love to crown Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid or simply KenGi as the best-sworn-sisters-ever. Their girl-power, endless love and support for each other can easily put anyone in awe for lacking such a surreal supermodel-bond. 

3. #elonmusk: Though there are countless It-Bachelor lists in town but for me the one who really tops all the charts is Elon Musk, the most original innovative personality of our times. I think he’s the only man on our Planet for whom a lady could happily ignore (his) 3X-divorcee status and will gladly “put a ring on it!” And more so, millions would love to join Howard Wolowitz's famous onscreen ‘please-adopt-me’ plea to Mr. Musk (from The Big Bang Theory). If that’s not enough then let me remind you all that he’s the first one to supposedly tell Martians to “DON’T PANIC”. 

Aside from these tidbits, matter of factly saying, he’s the true Iron Man who’s actually working 100+ hrs/wk just so to enable us to travel infinite distances, both in space and under ground, within record short time-period and budget. WOHH.  His Tesla, SpaceX, SolarCity and Boring Company projects are striving to change the way we perceive/define future. 

PS. Looking at the word count...it's obvious that recently I've been reading about him a lot. 

4. #aomike: Next comes to my mind is actually an onscreen couple from Thailand. Mike D. Angelo and  Sucharat "Aom" Manaying, who are shipped as AoMike. They simply looked adorable in their first onscreen pairing for Full House. Trolling them further, I came across their Kiss Me, and from there on I inducted myself into the Pro-AoMike fan group and sincerely pray for their real-life companionship. 

(BTW/FYI Thai Versions for both Full House and Kiss Me are waayyy better than the Korean ones.)

5. #evachen: Last but not the least, here comes Eva Chen. Though I never met her personally but still I can easily claim that I know about her last purchase, her kids—Ren (girl) and Tao (boy), especially if Ren ate her lunch at shcool, or who today visited at her office. It seems so weird while penning it all…actually it’s all thanks to her avid Storying on Instagram, which actually is her employer. Her pictures and stories are the first thing I always instinctively check on my Instagram. She’s witty and funny, yet got her unique laid-back girl-next-door aura. She’s a fashionista, a cute mom, a lovely wife, a famous taxi poser, a reader, perfect skincare to baby-care advisor, and someone who actually transforms a bit mundane #momlife into lively #momgoals.

Even though I didn't planned this writeup but it seems my stream of love is simply overflowing…so before it brings any flooding to anyone’s teny-tiny eyes, I’ll stop here! 

Until next time, 

Keep Loving :)

#PadmanChallenge : SERIOUSLY...?

I just read an Express Tribune Edit’s Instagram post/news/survey disclosing Padman’s screening ban in Pakistan and wanted us to comment. Though there were mixed reviews, but I was glad to notice that people inclined more towards its ban support. 

As far as I am concerned instead of just commenting as a pro-ban Padman, I actually wanted to discuss my reasoning for it, along with this over-the-top #PadmanChallange. To me it just seemed a bit too much, or rather a bit off-limits.   

Why? 

Before I dive into this topic, let’s first get this straight that I am all in For-Women-Hygiene. Our health and hygiene is of utmost importance…no IFS and BUTS! We should never be scared and ashamed of discussing all our physical/innate changes. Because when it comes to the knowledge and awareness…the more the better!

But, being a purely feminine girl, I found it quite upsetting seeing men grinning while holding and posing with a pad, like a prop. Quite frankly it was disturbing to watch Akshay Kumar's promotional video in a red T-shirt portraying ‘those-days’. 

I am finding myself struggling with the choice of words here, but would just say that all the advertisement and promotional tactics to make this supposedly ‘taboo’ topic a-bit-more-public were just not right.

It’s a girl’s most intimate natural ‘thing’, so… 

Why we need men to be publicly spreading awareness about us to us? 

Why we always need men to standup for us? 

Why we need men to acknowledge our natural body?

Why we always look up to men to break a taboo for us? 

Aren't we women just enough for ourselves? 

I acknowledge and applause the efforts of real-life Indian Pad-Man, but by confining that promotional-awareness-campaign of #padmancahllange to only females, would had been much better. They could have gone to under deprived areas and have portrayed the truly needy women happily holding them.  

To me, witnessing male celebrities holding and promoting a pad was just like watching an Always commercial staring Varun Dhavan or any other male model sharing the screen with his female sibling. WT*?

Call me a racist, a feminist, a conservative, or someone promoting gender-bias…I’ll take it all. Because the truth is our God Almighty has made us different. He is the One who wants this segregation. It’s by Nature. It’s in Quran! 

I am glad that, unlike Padmavat, at least now our Pakistani Censor Board took the courage and stopped the showcasing of this purely female topic. Again I am not at all against promoting/encouraging awareness, instead every female has the right to be fully educated about why, how, and when periods happen.  

Truly saying, the intended female and male audience for Padman will be very unlikely to come out of their comfort zones to watch it collectively, anyway. So why this fuss? 

Plus promoting gender-specific issues is a very slippery slop subject. If today we are tagging/challenging men to publicly display our pads and discuss our menstruation, then are we ready for an all-inclusive future discussions on…oh my god there’s so much…?*

Can we let men get hold of our ‘bra or no-bra’ discussion?* 

Or are we okay to see men holding and posing with a female undergarment pretending to spread awareness about our physical-support-system?*

Is Mr. Grey the future of Padman?*    

*<I am sorry…I might be stretching it too far…I know my imagination is going crazy…but this is exactly what I fear about!>  

So what should be done? 

As a compensation for banning Padman and to keep the naysayers quite, Pakistan government should increase federal and financial support for women health and wellbeing programs. 

Problems cannot be resolved by having male celebrities posing with a pad for #padmanchallenge. Instead it’ll be much better having a needy female face happily proclaiming that she also #GOTIT . 

Padmaavat: Why you disappointed me?

By now, one must be living under a rock to no know the historic background of Rani Padmaavati, and her highly admired attempt of Juhur. Since one can just Google it, so it's simply useless to reiterate her story. Instead I’ll be digging more into the film, Padmaavat, which “finally” got released on Jan 25, 2018. 

The cinematography, grandeur of Bhansali’s sets, frames, makeup, costumes, jewelry, and leads' acting, all is superb. The truth is Padmaavat is a eye candy, a delight, and one just cannot regret it watching ones! 

But beyond that, it’s really shallow, no story substance, no powerful dialogues, no heartwarming scenes. I think just after first quarter, the story starts to revolve around Khilji’s absurd desire of Padmaavati’s mooh-dekhaiye. I just cannot digest the exaggeration of his obsessive portrayal. How can Sultan-e-Hind ignore his all official responsibilities and stupidly camp on the outskirts of Padmaavati’s land, with his huge army, and that for months...wooh! 

Oh, here I must applaude Ranveer Singh for his crisp, devilish, foolish, and raw acting skills. 

Then comes Maharaja, Padmavati’s husband, whose sole job was to teach us all the Rajputana rules and obligations. Though he clearly loved Padmavati, but still I just wish there were more of such scenes which could have helped establish their strong bond. Because it was simply hard for me to digest that they sacrificed their lives for each other.

And here Shahid Kapoor’s skills were spot on, but still his character or personality just seemed very weak and fragile in comparison to Ranveer and, even Deepika. His character seemed very mellow, which we all know could had been greatly improved. 

Now let’s discuss some highlights of the main subject, the great Rani Padmavati, who somehow seemed far more powerful, dominating, foresighted, and sharp than her husband Maharaja. Needless to say, Deepika’s acting, costumes, and jewelry clearly nailed her character. But again, as with other two characters, their was no substance or soul-touching moments. 

To be honest, I literally struggled to understand that how could a Rani make her all women to burn themselves alive? What about their kids, and other family members? Since this battle was being fought for Padmavati, she could have just died alone…why make everyone do the same? Or had fought alongside her husband, since she also had some fighting skills. They could have asked help from other Maharaja’s and even Padmavati’s parents could have supported and helped them…There are so many other alternatives, besides just happily walking into the fire!

For me burning alive along with hundreds of other women, just seemed a selfish, senseless, and a coward ending. I know its part of our history. But my question is that in todays times of #metoo and #timesup movements, do we seriously need to invest such a huge fortune to portray how weak and worthless a woman is, and how ridicoulsly powerful A man can be? Is this the legacy we want to follow, leave, or teach our daughters? 

Sorry not sorry!  

Na Maloom Afraad-2 & Punjab Nahi Jaongi: Is it really an uphill ride for Lollywood?

I am not sure what’s happening to our Paki-Cinema? I thought it was going uphill, reviving, and revitalizing with all its wit…but nope! 

It really feels sad to say k, our cinema in the name of progressive upheaval, is just sabotaging our (bachi kuchi) moralities. I literally don't know k why our Respected-Most-Senior-Censor-Board-Sir-Gees are playing blindfolded, when these ‘newbies' are khulam-kula demoralizing our young ones.

I guess its enough of the hate speech, and now I actually need to give my reasonings! On this Eid-ul-Adha, everyone has their eyes glued to the two most anticipated full-house, box-office-hits, record-breaker films—Na Maloom Afraad-2 (NMA2) and Punjab Nahi Jaungi (PNJ). 

I haven't seen the ‘old’ NMA, (precursor to this NMA2), neither am I interested in its jalebi like twisted racy story. But I do have clear issues with its songs. I am not sure what this naya-joshila-khoon wants to prove or to be exact are following? I have to be quite crude and bluntly say k I hate their two songs, which ironically got the most hits/clicks/views. The Arabian number is in one word…just-not-us (*i have already written an article on that). 

Then comes this Chal Hug Lay number, an absurd lyrical tongue twister. It’s incomprehensible for me, if our censor-board approved it in the name of light humor…yar it’s literally dirty. 

Second on my list is, I guess the most awaited one of all, PNJ. I liked its cinematography, grandeur, songs, and even crisp dialogues. Its trailer is actually one of the must-watch-ones. My problem is with its title. The words Main Punjab Nahin Jaon Gi, on first hear camouflage as a very bold, blunt, and fearless statement by a female protagonist. But if you ponder a bit…it actually invokes pity and sympathy. I am not sure of the storyline, but I can say one thing with absolute certainty k, despite all the entitled resistance,“our poor girl” will end up going to the Punjab. 

What is our cinema showing or wants to portray? Is it k our Punjabi-Jatt can just never take a “NO” for an answer? Or k our society is just an amalgam of convoluted double-standards? Or k these patriarchs got all the power to fake woman’s independence to highlight their menogamy (if that could be a word)? Or k, no matter what a girl wants or wills, in the end it’s a man’s world, and they are the ones who could decide her fate? 

If you could understand my logics, then I am sure you’ll be as mad as I am right now...while writing this all-out to actually de-strain and share my resentment. 

Two Women...Showcasing the Dichotomy in Pakistan!

Instead of stewing my resentment and despair, I thought kay its best to pen it and share >> my ultimate feel-good strategy!

This is about two women, public-figures, who belong to extremely contrasting professions. One has been in the limelight for over a week now. Whereas, the other one blasted the Pakistani media, almost a day before. Ironically, the first one is being quite appreciated for her revealing aptitude, whereas the later’s revelations are facing an expected* biased reception. (*After all Pakistan was, is, and will remain a patriarchal society)! 

I guess its enough of the trivia, let me reveal their identities! The one who's receiving all the wows and bows is Sadaf Kanwal, for her latest 'item' song, for an upcoming Lollywood movie. The other one, who’s been facing quite a back lash from our very own judgmental nation is Ayesha Gulalai, a MNA and “former” PTI member. 

By now, my train of thought would be quite evident. I am not feeling very happy and excited while jotting down this chaos. More so, I feel sad. Why? Let me wipe the haze… 

Sadaf Kanwal is a beautiful talented model. Nothing negative for her and the profession…all’s good. Here, I am just using her as an example to discuss the latest Pakistani craze. I don't appreciate her and other girls' act of seeding the “item-song-culture” in Pakistan. Because if it worked, which equals financial success, then guess what…all the girls would feel the pressure or God forbids, would feel the need to strip down. No one wants that…!  

We all proudly declare our films as a national asset. Then how can we appreciate or more so even tolerate such an act, where women are showcased as a mere pleasure toy. NO…it’s a big NOO…it’s not profiting in long-run, simply out of respect for our social and moral grounds. Plus, how much bronzed skin should/could be highlighted is another slippery slope discussion...let's not follow that path from the beginning! 

So, please girls stop, and be careful on your own…or do we need any random men to make regulations against this unacceptable aptitude? No, right? Please, don't begin this false rat race. Sorry folks…its just not acceptable…and please don't converge your efforts to prove a wrong, as right!   

The second incident is smoking fresh, yet sad. I don't know anything about Ayesha Gulalai, and didn't even felt the need to dig into her past, present…and even future inclinations. Just out of scope for my discussion! What matters is, she didn't hesitated to confront a culturally tabooed issue. Being a part of our conservative Pakistan, she came upfront and made some upsetting declarations about being targeted for an ethically unacceptable behavior, by the few chosen ones, (we all know their names…). 

Besides digging into the realm of her being right or wrong, my concern is kay she is at the least, courageous. Thanks to her that the women’s issue of workplace (sexual) harassment, which undoubtedly is faced by many, if not all, is ones again in the limelight. I wonder how and why, our efficient leaders just swipe past this most pungent and stagnant problem. And our media (including Social Networking Sites), which amplified it as a scandalous talk, are just blindfolded to understand the gravity of this issue. Isn't it ironic? Before publicly stoning anyone with weird comments and questions, the need is be patient. Let the lawmakers do their job, because truth always finds its way out.

Anyways, hats off to all the ladies who refuse to stay silent, and more so, choose to unzip it all. If not rewarded with any instant gratification, at least be proud of blazing a trail for the rest to follow!

The gist of all aforementioned nitty-gritty details is kay, when one female is depicted as an item…all applauded her. And when one woman opened up to seek respect, all became judgmental! This is the most ironic dichotomy of Pakistan, that we live, breath, and I fear kay our coming generations will also be watering the same holes. To initiate an ultimate change, the chain of ‘such' conservative ideologies needs to be cut. There’s so much that needs to be fixed, but cleanup can only begin when we realize kay it’s literally messy. 

People..please snap out of your illusionary halos...accept the existence of these problems…and demand the responsible-ones to fix them!