Pak Tea House » Arts and Crafts
Reason.tv: Bollywood vs. Bin Laden – Why radical Islam fears pop culture
By Hawk Jensen & Paul Detrick Even before Osama Bin Laden was killed by U.S. soldiers, his brand of anti-modern, anti-pleasure Islam was under attack by Bollywood, India’s pop culture juggernaut that boasts a global audience of 3 billion people. … Read entire article »
Moin Akhtar passes away
Dawn News Iconic comedian Moin Akhtar passes away KARACHI: He was a comedian par excellence, but his last act left an entire nation in tears. Iconic comedian and actor Moin Akhtar died of a heart attack on Friday. He was 60. He is survived by his wife, two daughters and three sons. Born in 1950, Moin Akhtar joined show business in the ’60s as a comedian. His remarkable impersonations and rib-tickling skits earned him recognition in no time. But it was in the ’70s that Moin Akhtar’s appearance on the Zia Mohyeddin Show as a standup act catapulted him to national fame. This writer still remembers as a child listening to an audiocassette, which sold like hot cakes in the ’70s, in which Moin Akhtar presented a series of impersonations and sound-effects, along with a … Read entire article »
Filed under: Arts and Crafts, Pakistan
Moin Akhtar: Good Bye, Our Comic Legend
By: D. Asghar Legendary, exemplary and extraordinary. These are not even the befitting words, which can adequately encapsulate the great icon we have lost. Yes, Moin Akhtar, the one of a kind. Made to entertain, made to make us believe in life and laughter. Where ever he went, he was able to leave a trail of smiles and laughters behind. A consummate professional, who enjoyed his work, more than anything in life. It was like he was on a mission, to bring happiness and laughter in our dull and mundane lives. He was a great orator, narrator, compere, master of ceremonies, stand up comedian, singer, mimic, par excellence actor and above all a great human being. Always well dressed, in best of spirits, always uplifting the spirits of many. His versatility and spontaneity … Read entire article »
Filed under: Arts and Crafts, Theatre
Seven artists in Delhi: Gigi Scaria – video
The first of seven films looking at Indian artists’ responses to the city of Delhi features Gigi Scaria, a sculptor and video artist from Kerala. His work explores migration and displacement Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/video/2011/mar/07/artists-delhi-gigi-scaria-video … Read entire article »
Filed under: Arts and Crafts
Usman Riaz – exciting new Pakistani guitarist….
By Naveed Riaz … Read entire article »
Filed under: Arts and Crafts
Fine spirits–London—A story about Helen Raw
Nothing Raw about this HELEN: By Frank Huzur in London There is a quiet intensity and a special look in her eyes. Though some feckless, floppy-haired philanderer might say she is a treacherous petite cat. Ah, that could be the bleak sigh of nagging despair in a green heart. Helen Raw has soulful eyes and a tender heart, and she is an actress, producer and a director, too. I was expecting her to be like I had imagined the countenance and contour of her heart and mind ahead of running into our maiden rendezvous. There were not many elements of surprise. Nonetheless, she throws many surprises in a conversation tossing from arts and aesthetics of British drama and Hollywood oaks to ‘good, bad wheeze love in a warm climate movies of Bollywood. It … Read entire article »
Filed under: Arts and Crafts, Bollywood
Veena Malik does not represent me
By Zainab Imam Much has been made about Veena Malik’s “behaviour” in the Bigg Boss House from the twin flirtations she struck to the short clothes she wore. To me, this spells Veena’s victory. Out of 14 housemates — including a global star, Bollywood actors and Bhojpuri film industry’s Shahrukh Khan — Veena managed to make an impression. While she was busy inside, the world outside was delirious with anger: how dare a Muslim, Pakistani woman conduct … Read entire article »
Filed under: Arts and Crafts, Bollywood, Cinema, Uncategorized, Women
Has Anyone Seen Zar Gul?
By Zia Ahmad A good fifteen years ago, in a previous century, there was this little talk of a film that made tall claims of revitalizing Pakistani cinema and provide a much needed breakaway point from the atrocious and tedious exercise which goes into defining Lollywood. Salmaan Peerzada, the then reclusive elder of the Peerzada clan, had returned to Pakistan after a lifetime of appearing on British television and odd feature films. Lesser known in Pakistan as his younger Peer brothers, his debut directorial feature, Zar Gul, nevertheless garnered media attention in the mid 90s. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Arts and Crafts, Cinema, Pakistan, Reviews
At least we are not Dubai
Among all the gloom about our country, we tend to forget the richness and the diversity of our cities and culture. We have a lot to achieve, but we overlook a lot more that we possess. George Fulton expresses his disdain for Dubai, a ritzy burgeoning middle eastern city that portrays itself as a coastal quasi-western city of choice for businesses and tourists. We may not fully agree with George’s assessment of Dubai as just a glamorous and materialistic cosmopolitan. Yet his comparison of Karachi or Lahore (with their rich culture, traditions, intelligentsia, linguistic pluraity and democracy) with a drab city (run by an autocratic dynasty and inhabited by empty fops looking for relatively quick riches) do ring a loud bell. (AZW) By George Fulton, The Express Tribune http://tribune.com.pk/story/7950/at-least-we-are-not-dubai/ We haven’t got a lot to be thankful for these days in Pakistan. But at … Read entire article »
Filed under: ancient civilisations, Architecture, culture, Democracy, Karachi, Lahore, New Writers, Pakistan, Politics, public policy, Society, UAE
The Problem With MNIK
By Yasser Latif Hamdani Warning: SPOILERS Late last week I attended a packed show of “My Name Is Khan” in Lahore’s DHA Cinema and while I went through all the emotions the film maker wanted to evoke, I found the film entirely misplaced and misdirected. The film itself was well made 70 percent of the way. It began to go downhill from the time our hero returned to Georgia to find it stuck in the Civil War era … Read entire article »
Dramaybazi
The tragedy is that there are some fools who actually buy this crap- God save Pakistan from such fools-YLH[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87Dy7ZUuRtU&feature=related] … Read entire article »
Filed under: Arts and Crafts
Civilizations (Mirrors of Our Existence)
From years of our travel We look back Upon these civilizations, From years of adventure We look back Upon these civilizations From days of our inheritance The lands and its cultures The old forms of languages The mystery of Universe The old journey taken By humans and nature together As they traverse From place one to another, In harmony and disarray As we born and die From on to another, As we love and hate The old circumstances And situation, intertwined Through languages and its art, The trails, lost and visible As we look back Upon these civilizations The … Read entire article »
Filed under: ancient civilisations, Architecture, Arts and Crafts, culture, Dance, drama, dynasties, Heritage, History, Identity, Languages, Law, Literature, movements, Music, musings, Nature, Philosophy, Physics, poetry, Politics, psychology
A Realist with a Heart: Remembering Raj Kapoor
By Mohammad Taqi چناں قحط سالے شد اندر دمشق کہ یاراں فراموش کردند عشق ( سعدی شیرازی ) Saadi of Shiraz wrote with great dismay that “the famine in Damascus is so bad that friends have forgotten how to love”. Something much worse has befallen our city, Peshawar. It is difficult, if not impossible, to talk about music, art, films or love when the terror reigns supreme and war has ravished the city and its citizens alike. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Afghanistan, Arts and Crafts, Cinema, culture, drama, Heritage, History, India, Media, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan, Peshawar, Photos
Book: The Romance of Raja Rasalu and Other Tales
By Raza Rumi Story telling has been a primordial urge, never quite expressed in its fullest measure, but always lingering and floating like life. There was a sub-continent before the colonial interaction that brought in its wake an aesthetic hardened by the industrial revolution and its uniformity of life and space. This was a world rich with myriad identities, of whispers and tales all interlaced in a peculiarly complex kaleidoscope. Since the 19th century that particular aspect of folk story telling and transfer of generational accounts gave way to what is now known as education and knowledge – instruments and reflections of power and a linear world view set elsewhere but adapted awkwardly to the local context. This is why Simorgh Women’s Resource and Publication Centre in Lahore, under the leadership of … Read entire article »
Filed under: Arts and Crafts, Books, culture, translations
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