Truth Untruth
Actress and writer Faryal Gohar recently caused a ruckus on social media after claiming on a TV show that she was beaten with leather belts by her ex-husband, artist, actor and director Jamal Shah. Not just that, she said she suffered multiple miscarriages because of the abuse. Netizens started talking about the domestic abuse that married women, even those from affluent and educated backgrounds, can face, and many heaped calumny on Jamal S. For his part, Jamal S said on X that the social media vilification was “below my dignity” to respond to and denied any such abuse ever took place, though he refused to be drawn into attacking his ex-wife. He also added that only one miscarriage took place and that was because a dog had bitten Faryal G at TV director Muneeza Hashmi’s place. He also hinted that his refusal to give consent for a drama on his and Faryal’s life may be behind this spectacle. Others also pointed out that the former couple had appeared on a TV show only a few months ago, sharing fond memories from when they were together. This is a sorry state of affairs. Domestic abuse is a serious matter and, to be honest, we don’t know who is telling the truth.
Pasoori Hits the Big Billion
It’s been four years since the song Pasoori hit the airwaves through Coke Studio Season 14, and its popularity hasn’t waned one bit. The track, sung by Ali Sethi and Shae Gill, has now touched — nay, surpassed — the one billion view mark on YouTube. This is, for sure, a huge achievement. Given that the latest season of Coke Studio is around the corner, it’s a very good omen. The song has projected a marvellous image of Pakistan all over the world as a country with prodigious musical talent. So, let’s have more Pasooris!
Cher Isn’t Having It
One of singer and actress Cher’s two sons, musician Elijah Blue Allman, is in a psychiatric hospital in New Hampshire. He is also facing several criminal charges. On August 28, Cher filed a brief in a Los Angeles court alleging that her daughter-in-law, Marieangela King-Allman, is trying to be Elijah B A’s conservator for money. In a statement given to the court, the Oscar-winner pointed out that, earlier, Marieangela K A had refused to assist her husband while their divorce was pending. But now “She’s inserting herself back into the picture on a quest for money and/or a bit of fame.” Hmmm… Would you believe that?
Ruffalo’s Hollywood Allies
Paramount’s accusation that actor Mark Ruffalo used antisemitic tropes has made conscientious people in Hollywood come out in support of the actor. Ruffalo, a vocal critic of the proposed $111 billion Paramount Skydance-Warner Bros Discovery merger, had also criticised Oracle and its links to the Israeli military, prompting Paramount to accuse him of invoking antisemitic stereotypes. More than 170 Jewish men and women belonging to the showbiz industry — and others, in different ways, including George Clooney — have penned an open letter rejecting Paramount’s allegations. “The time is over for spurious charges of antisemitism to be trotted out, this time in the defence of war, oligarchy and AI domination. The tired playbook has run its course. We stand proudly with Mark Ruffalo, and with all decent people who are bravely rising and speaking truth to power,” the letter read. Spot on! That playbook ran its course a long time back.
Badshah Wrap
Another showbiz couple bites the dust. In March this year, Indian rap artist Badshah (real name Aditya Prateek Singh) married actress Isha Rikhi. It’s only been five months, and last week the two announced that they are parting ways. In a joint statement, the duo said the decision to go their separate ways was mutual. They have requested the media and fans to avoid speculating about the separation. Well, to be honest, there’s nothing to speculate anymore. As far as their marriage goes, it’s a rap, sorry, wrap!
Vanity Resolves Cold Case
On September 7, 1996, hip-hop superstar Tupac Shakur was murdered in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas. Thirty years later (on August 31, 2026, to be precise), a court in Las Vegas found 63-year-old former gangster Duane ‘Keffe D’ Davis guilty of orchestrating the murder. He faces a minimum of 40 years in prison. The interesting thing is that Keffe D’s own words — in a published 2017 memoir and podcast — in which he’d boasted about killing Tupac S, were his downfall, since all other witnesses are now dead. Although his defence lawyers attempted to portray his words as fiction to sell books, they allowed a secret police interview from 2008 to be used against him, in which he’d told the police that he was in the car from which his nephew had fired at the rapper. Vanity truly is the undoing of many.
Published in Dawn, ICON, September 13th, 2026
