EditorInjila Baqir Zeeshan

Sub EditorsFatima Zehra NaqviSahar Iqbal

Creative HeadBabur Saghir

Graphic DesignersJaveria MirzaSana AhmedMian Nasir

PhotographerMohammad Amir Baba

Contents

East

All that Glitters 10

Sara Shahid: A woman of ‘sublime’ flair 18

Style Spotting with Ammar Belal 22

Fashion: Royal East 23

Massarat’s makeover 28

How to stay in style 30

A decade of cinematic excellence 33

Down the music lane 36

The year of fear 40

Top stories of 2010 43

Taroscope 48

Glamstock 50

23Royal

‘sublime’ flair

Sara Shahid, the creator of ‘Sublime’, is one of those designers who are consid-ered as forerunners in the promotion of the prêt. A graduate in fashion mer-chandising and design, Sara’s designs are known for their unique, simple and clean silhouettes. Sara focuses not

only on colour combinations but also unique and different cuts that accentuate feminine elegance.

Lounge had a heart-to-heart with Sara Shahid.

Q. Tell us the success story behind Sublime.A. This label has been my journey of the past seven

years. My optimism encouraged me to create something unprecedented and unique. The business was at a very limited scale initially. My clientele was limited but within six months I got a marvellous response. Within a year, I decided to invest on a larger scale. I bought a shop and reinvested my money which was steadily gaining popular-ity and fame. Since then there has been no looking back.

Q. What’s your brand all about?A. The brand is based on beautiful cuts, a fusion of

classic and contemporary. I try to bring versatility and diversity to my work. The key feature is to maintain the

By Sahar Iqbal

‘My winter collection is based on nude shades, camel brown, gold and black. We have reduced the volumes and have done a lot more fitted long jackets, lightly embellished, with an emphasis on the cuts’

Sara ShahidA woman of

balance between the design and the cuts that I create. I am not the face of my label, it’s my work which speaks for the label itself.

Q. You moved to Pakistan from Switzerland. Did you face any obsta-cles in adjusting to the culture here?

A. This was an excellent opportuni-ty for me to make good friends in both societies. My parents were very particu-lar about our bonding with our roots; it was better for me as I have developed the prospective of two different cultures. Fusion of both societies has developed a sense of nationality, belonging, toler-ance and compassion in my personality. My parents always taught me to respect those who are my strength and to whom I am associated with.

Q. What difficulties did you face as a woman entrepreneur?

A. It’s very difficult to run a busi-ness on your own in a male-dominated society. However, this social trend has changed a lot recently. I believe that in-

stead of getting uncomfortable around the people you cannot work with, you should silently detach yourself from them; it will surely save you from hassle.

Q. The business you are in is full of challenges. Do you feel that you have been able to cope with them?

A. I think life is all about facing new challenges. The cost of making an outfit has increased drastically. I have to take care of my workers too. Overall it is not easy to work nowadays.

Q. How was your experience in the recent fashion weeks/shows?

A. I participated with much enthu-siasm in the show held in Karachi. My fabrics and the designs were stylish and classic with minimalist patterns. I also won an award.

Q. Do you change your designs for your clients?

A. I have never changed my designs for any client. The colour combination and the designs that I come up with de-

pend on my mood. I always give them my best. I believe in quality and not quantity.

Q. Being a mother, how do you maintain a balance between the two roles?

A. It sounds very difficult but I manage to juggle my personal and pro-fessional lives. It takes its toll on me but I don’t want or let either affect the other. I have ups and downs in my life but with the help of a supportive hus-band and family, I always rise above the situation and conquer the problem. So it does not only depend entirely on me but also on my family.

Q. Have you done anything for women?

A. ‘Sublime Women Entrepreneur’ is our project for women who are talent-ed and in need of money. It has helped a lot of women learn tailoring skills and then continue their lives with dignity by becoming an earning hand in their families.

‘In 2011, I feel we will be moving towards a slightly more fitted silhouette, away from the voluminous styles. I would like to keep the length moderate as I feel very short shirts are neither flattering nor feminine. The long, flowing silhouette is definitely very feminine and generally looks good on most body types’

With

her

kid

s

I 19January 09 - 15, 2011

‘Sublime Divine is my formal winter collection for the wedding season with major concentration on evening wear. The wedding collection is in deep hues of gold, deep red, fuchsia and plum. The embroideries are done in a very traditional way keeping the silhouette more modern and with emphasis on the cut’

Q. What are the dominant characteristics of your winter collection?A. I have recently shown my latest collection called La Vie Sublime in

Karachi; my winter collection is based on nude shades, camel brown, gold and black. We have reduced the volumes and have done a lot more fitted long jackets, lightly embellished, with an emphasis on the cuts. We have used a lot of lace and sequence fabrics to add subtle hints of glamour and femininity. Sublime Divine is my formal winter collection for the wedding season with major concentration on evening wear. The wedding collection is in deep hues of gold, deep red, fuchsia and plum. The embroideries are done in a very traditional way keeping the silhouette more modern and with emphasis on the cut.

Q. What are your fashion predictions for 2011?A. I feel we will be moving towards a slightly

more fitted silhouette, away from the volumi-nous styles. I would like to keep the length moderate as I feel very short shirts are neither flattering nor feminine. The long, flowing sil-houette is definitely very feminine and gener-ally looks good on most body types. However, we will move to a more body-conscious look, keep-ing it soft for spring/summer 2011.

Q. What future do you envisage for the Pakistani fashion industry?

A. In the last ten years, people have become more aware of fashion trends – a development that is a source of motivation for our industry. Last year I observed the amiability of international press towards our country’s fashion scene that gave an immense boost to the confidence and sense of patriotism of all working in this field.

Q. Any message for our readers?A. We should contribute and give back in every way and in every

form. I feel that we all have a capacity to bring positive change; we should use this potential in a way that we are remembered and praised.

With

Far

isht

eh A

slam

20 I January 09 - 15, 2011

22 I January 09 - 15, 2011

The collection personifies the quintessential royal hues of a traditional

sub-continental woman’s attire. The vibrant magenta, deep emerald, intense ultramarine and midnight blue define

femininity in graceful glory.

Model: Am

na Sheikh Hair & Make up: Nighat M

isbah @ Depilex Photographer: Rizw

an ul Haq Outfits: Deepak Pervani Text: Fatima Zehra Naqvi

Massarat Misbah is a very talented beautician. She has the ability to transform any face to make it look appealing and charming. Her magical touch can do wonders for any woman belonging to any age group. Lounge brings you makeovers of real women and not just fashion models.

Massarat’s makeovers

We begin by cleansing the face with the help of moisturiser and cleansing lotion. A thorough massage clears the pores.

Steam opens the pores of the nose. Cotton is placed on the eyes to protect them from steam.

Blackheads are removed with a blackhead needle.

Vitamin E mask is applied to freshen up the face.

Mask is removed with the help of a sponge and the face is rinsed clean with water.

You are invited!to send in your picture with a few words

about yourself and you can

WIN A FREE MAKEOVER

to be featured in this column. Just write to us on:

lounge@pakistantoday.com.pk

After makeover

28 I January 09 - 15, 2011

We are living in a decade of beauti-ful apex fusions, highest fash-ionable styles and intricate patterns – can

you believe that everything is in now? Trends come and go, leaving us anxious each season. Every year we get rid of old, useless items from our wardrobe and spend a great amount of money and energy brainstorming about what to fill in them.

Fashion, is most addictive and transforms an average woman into a world-class diva. It is an attitude that will never go outdated. I have personally really enjoyed the last decade. It has been a fusion of modern, vintage, tradi-tional, eastern, western, ethnic, and all genres of style. I can carry my grandmother’s clutch, fish for a nice trendy tunic in my teenager sis-ter’s closet, pair it with any of my denims, put on my mother’s 20-year-old sapphire pendant and still make a powerful statement.

The 2010 western fashion trends had brought smiles to everyone’s faces as the modern interpretation of the wild, wild West looked fabulous, wild and contemporary. On the other hand, the cuts and designs of casual daywear and party tops came with a blend of medium and long lengths. They had lots of layers, floral as well as striped patterns, but mostly in a single colour.

Brands like Zara, D&G, Mango, Top-shop, Paul&Joe and some high-end stores focused on flowy loose fitted tops and tunics

incorporated with ethnic embroideries, a sub-tle bling factor with ruffled sleeves, necklines and borders. Cotton, chiffon, silk and stretchy materials were a preference for designers and buyers all year long. Both long and short skirts became famous this year.

Where tights and leggings made a come-back two years ago, they are still in high de-mand and spotted on the streets of New York and London. In addition, T-shirts and collar-designed uppers were mostly preferred for office wear, paired with a cardigan or coat.

‘Long shirts would remain in fashion for the next two years at least, as women towards the heavier side, find them very useful making a glorious style statement to blend in with their physiques.’ Kamiar Rokni

How to

StayinstyleSarah Mansoor highlights the trends of 2010, taking them forward into what will continue to rule and what will be discarded in 2011

30 I January 09 - 15, 2011

Jumpsuits and hanky dresses were like a breath of fresh air for working women who could wear them with belts and drapes to work. They looked elegant, classy and very alluring; perfect to make a startling corporate impression.

In 2011, perhaps there would be a little emphasis on shorter lengths and eastern cuts. Heavy embellishments and traditional threadwork will be the rage. Red, aqua, lavender pink, purple and neutral shades were the favourite during spring/summer 2010. This year, ivory, emerald green and shades of pur-ple will continue to rule.

Western outfits have a few domi-nant characteristics. The 2010 fall/winter all over the globe is dictated by leather corsets, long skirts, leather boots and again fringes to give us all a vintage look. Leather corsets, denim pants and vests are paired with cartoon printed T-shirts and accessories. Drape cardigans and velvet coats are mandatory in this chilly season where a long black velvet coat or a royal blue cardigan looks spec-tacular.

Velvet has made a comeback and looks breathtaking with a pair of skinny jeans and cashmere scarf. It will com-plete the look on a chilly evening out. So don’t take too much time thinking, “Will it suit me?” Just get hold of it im-mediately. Velvet is going to be a design-ers’ favourite in formal, semi formal clothes as well as bridals. Inspired from the west, it will be mostly used on the bodice of a shirt with gold threadwork or on the dupatta. Chiffons, silks, flo-ral, polka and jamawar are the necessary fabrics that are used in both seasons.

The vibrant colours and creative

cuts made 2010 a success-ful year for fashion. The revival of previous vintage designs made it much easier for every woman to look stunning. In the win-ter 2010/2011 black, grey, coffee brown and royal blue will steal the show.

For those who do not get a chance to travel abroad more frequently, the summer and winter clothes are easily available at local stores like Cross-roads, Stoneage, Outfit-ters, Breakout, Levis and

Khadi Khaas. The Pakistani fashion industry has strived hard to make an international impact with successful fashion shows and display of east-ern collections in stores and on the runway in 2010. “We need to emphasise on our Pakistani cuts to make an impression in the global market,” says Feeha Jamshed of Teejays. She will focus more on A- line kur-tas and gharara pants next year. Pishwas came around in the beginning of 2010 and is here to stay for another year as she suggests. “Fitted medium length shirts with shalwars, chooridars and harem pants are the next year’s most fashionable style statement,” Feeha concludes.

The prints in the summer consisted of chiffon dupattas and embroidered lawn suits. Not only was the fabric soft, em-broidered bor-ders incorpo-rated with each set of c l o t h e s m a d e it easy for us to get them f a s h i o n -ably stitched. Aqua blue, pink, red and pur-ple were again the highlighted

colours in our fashion market. Kamiar Rokni in one of his radio shows said, “Long shirts would remain in fashion for the next two years at least, as women towards the heavier side, find them very useful making a glorious style statement to blend in with their physiques.”

Mariam Ejaz, another fashion de-signer used many kaftans and multi-lay-ered tunics in her semi-formal summer collection this year, and now she wants to give her clients something unique to follow this fall. Her philosophy of using velvet incorporated with eastern

Velvet has made a comeback and looks breathtaking with a pair of skinny jeans and cashmere scarf. It will complete the look on any chilly evening out. So don’t take too much time thinking, “Will it suit me?” Just get hold of it immediately

‘Fitted medium length shirts

with shalwars, chooridars

and harem pants are the next

year’s most fashionable

style statement.’ Feeha

Jamshed of Teejays

and western cuts is steadfast but she also says, “Medium and long lengths are both equally trendy for next year. It will mostly depend on the height, figure and personal preference of my clients. I will not impose anything on them, as by the end of this year and in 2011, almost every cut and style will be in fashion.”

The winter season in Pakistan is a reflection of the wedding hype and ex-citement. Sundas Manan of Rouge pre-dicts, “For this season and the next, the traditional look of the jorda is going to be a bride’s personification. Red will re-main the foremost preference; a fusion of white, olive green and orange is the

next most desired colour combination.” The embellishments are go-

ing to be heavy yet delicately designed with more emphasis on the cut, tones and add-ons. Pearls and stones are my favourite this time and I think nothing can add more elegance and spark on a semi-formal and bridal outfit. I say for-get the dabkas and the loud bling jhat-kas of zari for some time. For formals, let’s choose a good colour combination complementing our skin tone, mix it

with unique fabric patterns of jamawar, thick embroidered borders or even Thai raw silk/ikat prints and add a pearly touch to the dress.

Now that you are aware of the trends and styles, head out wearing these beautiful and chic apparels and make heads turn.

32 I January 09 - 15, 2011

A d e c a d e o f

“Although for some people cinema means something superficial and glamorous, it is something else. I think it is the mirror of the world.”

Jeanne Moreau

Cinema is a global phenomenon. In our era,

the power and influence of cinema has touched all corners of the world. Movies

move us emotionally: they amaze us, fasci-nate us, inspire us, provoke us, summon the

intense sentiments of sadness, happiness and anger, elevate us or else shatter our precon-

ceived notions. All in all, movies leave an impact that makes the brain cells work overtime.

The root of cinema lies in plays and dances from the past. Each has separate elements which share common characteris-tics like scripts, sets, direction, and production holding the purpose of entertainment. Cinema has come a long way since the first movie called ‘The Roundhay Garden Scene’ 1888 and seen the course of the world and time change drastically.

Sparked with the Silent Era and a few shots of one minute long movies, cinema gradually transformed to black and white with dialogue and eventually colour. It evolved into the greatest tool of entertainment and communication by creating a part of the dream world on celluloid, so the masses could escape the daily hassles of life.

Different ages have seen different film cul-tures. The 40s saw war time propaganda in films and, as it moved forward realistically moving photos, was enough for the production and a mega industry to boom. American Companies cranked up production and gave an origin to Hollywood. Post classical cinema marked with increased globalisation of the medium known as cinema, motion pictures, film or the movies witnessed an influx of a variety of movies because of more personal vi-sion, creative insight and financial free-dom to produce films.

The happenings of a particular time have had a great weight on the subject matter of the movies produced dur-ing an age. Cold War shaped Holly-wood’s ‘Rambo’, ‘Maula Jutt’ took

Shahbano Khan explores a decade of film making, where things have been moving ever faster to

newer heights of excellence

cinematic excellence

I 33January 09 - 15, 2011

Movies like ‘Gladiator’, ‘A Beautiful Mind’, ‘Crash’, ‘The Pursuit of Happiness’, ‘Inglorious Bastards’, ‘Gangs of New York’, ‘The Queen’, ‘Munich’ and ‘Hurt Locker’ among others have left a lasting impression

over Pa-kistani cinemas and Bollywood carved the identity of an angry young man with Amitabh Bachan in movies like ‘Muqadar Ka Sikandar’.

Our generation’s form of commu-nication is expressed multi-dimension-ally, thus most of the entertainment is delivered in the same fashion. With technological advancements, resources, finances, aspiring directors and a bigger crew, film making has become an art. It’s the most popular form of visual art because of the realistic aspect of escape.

The last ten years have seen extraor-dinary shifts in the way films are made. Instead of merely providing a getaway, the subject matter is about sensitive top-ics. Cinema has explored controversial topics like widespread sexual liberation, the acceptance of and desensitisation to violence and the decline of societal manners. These topics have been im-mensely thought provoking and breath-taking.

The last decade was an eventful year for Hollywood producing amazing films that defined the cinema of the age. Topics like religion, politics, psy-chology, society etc are now extensively researched because of the liberating idea of a widespread freedom of speech. Different realms of the production are given individual thought and recogni-tion and define the core of stunning visuals, exceptional acting and research on the character so the audience is emo-

t i o n -ally connected to it. Movies like ‘Gladiator’, ‘A Beautiful Mind’, ‘Crash’, ‘The Pursuit of Happiness’, ‘Inglorious Bastards’, ‘Gangs of New York’, ‘The Queen’, ‘Munich’ and ‘Hurt Locker’ among others have left a lasting impression.

Apart from the awards and critical reviews, these movies have unsurpassed directional and acting skills. The edu-cated audience is left with deriving a moral message from the movie. The long lasting effect is responsible for changed attitudes and changed percep-tions about situations and people situ-ated in a distant time yet are familiar to the core. The audience is more aware of this susceptible subject matter that con-nects to each individual differently.

Technological advancements in cin-ema have taken it forward radically. No longer are cartoons or animated movies just for kids but target the rest of the pop-ulation as well. ‘Toy Story 3’, ‘The Incredibles’, ‘Waltz with Bashir’and ‘Persepolis’ are exceptional movies with outstanding critical reviews. Breakthrough in 3D tech-nology is a mind boggling experience which has set high standards for human progress. James Cameron’s ‘Avatar’ was the most tech-nologically advanced film

made and is the highest gross-ing film of our time surpass-ing his last success ‘Titanic’. ‘Harry Potter’, ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’, ‘Wall E’, and ‘Star Wars: Attack of the Clones’, ‘Matrix Trilogy’ and ‘Lord of the Rings Trilogy’ are just some of the other movies which have left a great mark on 3D cinema.

Moviemaking was consid-ered to be beyond a regular per-son, but now anyone can make a movie and become a hit in thea-tres. Reels are no longer used and normal digital cameras can do the same cinema wonders. The edu-cated population wants to see more realistic movies and their prefer-ences for mainstream cinema have changed. Movie making is no longer the forte of big directors like Steven Spielberg and Woody Allen. The DVD boom, faster internet and You-

Tube have also made it easier to make and distribute movies.

Another key trend seen in the past

decade is the growth of documentary films as a commercial genre. The audi-ence of today is more informed and well aware of the events shaping our world as we know it because there is a shift to visual simulation from verbal and writ-ten. Michael Moore’s ‘Farenheit 9/11’, ‘Man on Wire’, ‘Zeitgeist’, ‘National Geographic’s Earth’ and several others explore broad areas of topics.

With increasing globalisation of cinema during this decade, foreign lan-guage films have gained popularity in English speaking markets. These mov-ies might not be blockbusters but have achieved popularity. Their recognition and audiences are more perceptive and understand new ideas and new cultures.

34 I January 09 - 15, 2011

The most notable of foreign language films are ‘Crouching Tiger’, ‘Hidden Dragon’ (Mandarin), ‘Amelie’ (French), ‘Lagaan’ (Hindi), ‘Spirited Away’ (Japa-nese), ‘The Passion of Christ’ (Aramaic) and ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ (part Hindi). This popularity has also led to the ex-change of expertise, knowledge, skills in the movie industry and has increased opportunities for prospective progress.

In contrast to Hollywood our own cinema in our backyard has seen quite tough times. Post partition, the movie industry finally started picking up in Ayub’s golden age for film industry. Zia halted all the efforts with his wave of Islamisation and Censorship. Cinema revival took place under Musharraf’s time. The fact is, our local film industry goes hand in hand with our political, economic and law and order situation coupled with brain drain.

After movies like ‘Khuda Ke Liye’, ‘Made in Pakistan’ and ‘Slackistan’ were released, it was thought moviemaking is an upcoming art. However, it couldn’t take off contrary to expectations. De-spite the hitch there is an underground vibe and zest for film/documentary making with individual effort and pri-vate funding.

Pakistani cinema is also a victim of widespread Indian influence and with Indian movies in our local theatres that has gone a step further. Although collab-orations between the two countries are

w i t -nessed the Indian cinema is a sepa-

rate entity with hit movies like ‘Black’, ‘Sarkar’, ‘Raajneeti’, ‘Omkara’, ‘Rang De Basanti’, ‘3 Idiots’, ‘Tare Zameen Pe’ getting them international recogni-tion and local following. Art movies and commercial movies are two paral-lel lines in Indian cinema and directors who have merged the two have been quite successful. Not only that, the In-dian film industry is the largest in terms of ticket sales and number of films pro-duced annually.

They say with great responsibil-ity comes great power, consequentially cinema and the mammoth size of its influence and the need to have its pres-ence in our everyday mundane lives has led to growing prob-lems like digital dis-tribution, copyrights, content, plagiarism, piracy, content se-curity and enforcing copyright laws.

Despite draw-backs, cinema has come a long way from its initia-

tion and truly mirrors the world as we know it. With the industry producing great money, great directors, great ac-tors and great stories, the magic of cin-ema has taken over every sphere of life having substantial impact on the arts, technology, politics plus our way of life-style and our way of understanding the world.

James Cameron’s ‘Avatar’ was the most technologically advanced film made and is the highest grossing film of our time surpassing his last success ‘Titanic’. ‘Harry Potter’, ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’, ‘Wall E’, and ‘Star Wars: Attack of the Clones’, ‘Matrix Trilogy’ and ‘Lord of the Rings Trilogy’ are just some of the other movies which have left a great mark on 3D cinema

I 35January 09 - 15, 2011

I’m not much of a fan of Hindi songs, but ‘Munni’ had me giving into ‘Shiela ki Jawani’ this year. You just can’t block out these popular Hindi songs, for they are being played at every wedding you happen to attend

Down the music laneBy Bushra Shehzad

“If music be the food of love, play on.” That may have been the opening dialogue of Twelfth Night, but it re-mains the story of

each one of our lives, every day, every moment. When we are

s a d .

When we are happy. W h e n w e need to g roove , at a party or a sha-di. Mu-sic is our l i f e l i n e . Year 2010 has been one remark-able year for music, from around the world, and all genres of it in-cluded.

When it comes to mu-sic, and favour-ites, Pakistani music hardly ever comes to one’s mind. But mind you, our part of the world is oozing with musical talent, with underground bands playing some of the best psyche-delic rock I have heard performed by amateurs. And the more mainstream art-

ists also doing no less of a superb job, we have been producing great music. Coke Studio is just part of that revolu-tion.

Whoever said that Coke Studio was about East meets West, he/she got it all wrong. Coke Studio is about much more. We are not talking here about trying to amalgamate the Western music with what we have to offer. It’s about bringing our own society closer together, transcending all differences of ethnicity and regional barriers. Coke Studio is about speaking one language, the language of music.

It brings to one platform the rock-influenced youth, the folklore, the ghaz-al and the qawwali and the pop – mix them well, and Viola! You get Coke Stu-dio, a treat on its own, a flavour unique to everyone.

With Season 3 making it live to our television sets and radio channels, this year was no less than the previous two seasons. Starting off with the instant hit, ‘Alif Allah’, performed by our very own chimta-maestro, featuring Meesha Shafi, the season churned out great numbers one after the other.

‘Hor Vi Neevan Hon’ saw the Noori brothers perform along with their mother – a marvel of a song. Tina Sani, Sanam Marvi, Fakir Juman and Ar-ieb Azhar, Zeb & Haniya, EP and the Aunty Disco Project were some of the other performers at Season 3, making it the huge success that it did turn out to be.

The youth does have much brewing in. The wrath against the political ills in the country has found a safety valve in music. With EP releasing ‘Shormacha’, Atif Aslam and Strings coming up with ‘Ab Khud Kuch Kerna Pare Ga’, Laal coming up with yet another patriotic song, ‘Sab Doob Raha Hai’, we

know that the youth is not out there smoking out their lives in oblivion. Here is their effort; their way of making peace.

Moving on to the other side of the border, to our neighbours, the own-ers of tinsel town, Bollywood, I’m not much of a fan of Hindi songs, but ‘Munni’ had me giving into ‘Shiela ki Jawani’ this year. You just can’t block out these popular Hindi songs, for they are being played at every wedding you happen to attend. There is just no end to them.

So this year ‘I hate love Stories’, ‘Chorbazaari’, ‘All is well’, ‘Dhanno’, ‘Chaska’ and ‘Ainvye ainvye’ were some of the Indian songs that were constantly played and danced to on every mehndi.

On the mellower side, there were songs like ‘Pee loun’ from ‘Once Upon A Time in Mumbai’ and ‘Tere mast mast do nain’ from ‘Daabang’ which won the hearts of millions of audiences.

Why forget the rest of the world when we’ve talked about India and Pakistan. Western hip-hop and R&B are much like their Bollywood counter-parts: You just cannot avoid them. Blast-ed out at every party, every get-together or in the iPods of those less accustomed to appreciating good music, be it Ri-hanna’s ‘Live your life’ or Usher’s ‘Dj got us falling in love’, you have heard it. Not once, not twice, but over and over again. So much so that you often hum

Whoever said that Coke Studio was about East meets West, he/she got it all wrong. Coke Studio is about much more. We are not talking here about trying to amalgamate the Western music with what we have to offer. It’s about bringing our own society closer together, transcending all differences of ethnicity and regional barriers

I 37January 09 - 15, 2011

Shakira’s ‘Waka Waka’ became the anthem for everyone across the world and remained so for quite sometime as Spain basked in its glory

them to yourself. Falling in this particular genre, Akon’s ‘Club certified’

and ‘Grenade’ by Bruno Mars remained on the top charts for weeks. Far East Movement’s Like a G-6 remained the number 1 song on the US Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks straight. Pink came up with yet another hit this year. Raise your glass got the party groovers into action on their tunes once again. I Kissed a Girl famed Katy Perry is the lucky girl again. Her latest song Fireworks has managed to top the Billboard mak-ing her the first female to have that position thrice in a row. Fireworks came out after the huge success of California girls.

In the world of rock music, we had Linkin Park, who re-leased their single Not Alone as part of the Haiti earthquake relief efforts. Their latest album, A Thousand Suns, on the other hand, did not receive quite the response it should have received. Or rather fans did not receive quite the music that they did want to hear. Waiting for the End was the catchier of the songs from the album, and one that did manage to be played across the charts from time to time. But the high-pitched vocals that had so become Linkin Park’s identity were quite missing from the entire album. Oh we want your voice back Chester! Use Somebody was nominated the Best Rock Song at the Grammy’s this year. Continuing their previous year’s success, Kings of Leon released another album this year, Come Around Sundown. Radioactive from the album, a breezier, and maybe a less grungi- er song is right now being played across the charts.

This and the other songs from the album are heav-ily influenced by the last album.

B r e a k i n g Benjamin also released their single Give

Me a Sign, a post-grunge song as a single.

Sound gar-den’s Black rain takes you right back to the 90s. The song isn’t new but was re-corded during the Bad motor fingers sessions in 1991. It was only publicly released this year. So it’s one of those awesome songs with just the perfect composition. Chris Cornell, on the other hand does quite some justice to the vocals.

Oh and we did have the Fifa Football World Cup this year. Not only does it surround the whole world with some sheer craziness but a whole lot of festivities and music and dancing. Shakira’s Waka Waka became the anthem for eve-ryone across the world and remained so for quite sometime as Spain basked in its glory. On the other hand, adding a bit of raggae and a bit of hip hop to the football craziness was K’naan with his inspirational Wavin’ flag.

Lady Gaga, the phenomenal lady, with the outrageous dresses can’t help but come up with hits on hits. Call her p-p-poker face, t-t-telephone or ale-ale-allejandro some sort of speech impediment, but they are hits nonetheless. She’s not only Artist of the Year 2010 but Forbes has also named her among the top 100 Most Influential People in the World.

Last but not the least, this kid does deserve a mention. Yes Justin Beiber it is. How we hate him, for his stupid haircut, his outrageous popularity, and for good reason we do. But this kid, with his latest single Pray from His My World Acous-tics album does have hearts moving and MTV predicts, the song will be number 1. And yes I did hear him!

38 I January 09 - 15, 2011

With terrorism malevolently taking its toll on Pakistan’s art and cultural scene, the year 2010 literally turned out to be the ‘Year of Fear’. Theatres were targeted, leading to the cancellation of the much anticipated World Performing Arts Festival, not just for now but the foreseeable future

A look back at Lahore’s cultural scene, once the hub of the country and the envy of the sub-continent, but in the year 2010 in a state most dismal

Terrorism and economic re-cession have r e m a i n e d the main bugbears of the country’s

cultural life. With terrorism malevolently taking its toll on Pakistan’s art and cultural scene, the year 2010 literally turned out to be the Year of Fear. To the extent that thea-tres were targeted, leading to the cancellation of the much anticipated 2010 edition of the World Performing Arts

Festival, perhaps not just for now but the foreseeable future.

Almost all activities were overshadowed by the fear of terrorism that gripped the country. Many events had to be cancelled or postponed, while nothing remotely interna-tional took place. The Hall Road – a major retail and wholesale market for electronics and multimedia, one has to con-cede, some of it of the porn and semi-porn variety – also faced its share of horrors.

In 2009, the Hall Road traders caving in to ex-tremists’ threats of

dire warning had obliged by burning CDs in big numbers. That was not enough, and to further terrorise the hapless traders and their patrons a crowded Hall Road was the target of multiple, albeit low intensity, explosions.

The suburban Peeru’s Café also expe-rienced an unfortunate incident on May 1, 2010 when a couple of blasts rocked the place.

FearThe Year of

By Saad Sarfraz Sheikh

Culture 2010

40 I January 09 - 15, 2011

the only musical entertainment that one could resort to. A sad situation indeed!

An event that has fortunately been there for far too long, how-ever, braved the odds in October 2010. To mark its 50th anniversary, sundry musical evenings were organ-ised under the aegis of All-Pakistan Music Conference. But with the threat of terror always imminent, the venue though had to be for the first time since the Conference’s in-ception had to be shifted from the picturesque Bagh-i-Jinnah Open Air Theatre to indoors, at Alhamra Arts Centre.

Though the sole exception, the Confer-ence’s jubilee celebra-tions did provide some measure of cheer to a city that was once the cultural hub of the country and envy of the sub-continent. But for this, rest of the 2010 was more or less barren.

Why is our cultural landscape so deso-late? Imran Peerzada answers it quite suc-cinctly: “wherever reac-tionary forces tried to take hold of a society, art and culture were invariably the foremost targets.”

It has come to a point that lit-eralists have succeeded in hounding some artists to quit. And Peerzada traces the trend going back to the days of self-styled Islamist military dictator Zia-ul Haq. “His was the worst period”.

Peerzada, of course, is right. The now three-decade long turmoil of the two long Afghan wars and its Is-lamic revivalist-terrorist fallout that has taken such a toll from us, those of us vying for cultural revival in Pa-kistan could not be keener to see the back of this menace that has clogged us for so long.

It too was a low-intensity bomb that exploded near the Café’s boundary wall, shattering win-dow panes and mirrors and also damaging the Museum of Puppetry. As a panic-ridden crowd tried to rush out, a second bomb went off in front of the cafe.

“The festival couldn’t take place in 2009 and this year we lack sponsorships,” said Rafi Peer Theatre’s creative director and Peeru’s Café’s COO Faizan Peerzada. Faizan said that following the blasts the number of visitors had reduced to a mere trickle. Craving for live per-formances, previously people used to throng the place. “Now there was no point for peo-ple to come all the way for food alone, which was not their priority in the first place,” he ex-plained.

The question now staring us in the face is, whether quality cultural events would ever take place here with the same frequency that they used to? For the moment, things are too grim for one to predict rapid improvement.

Whatever little is taking place is not really being lapped up by the audiences. For instance, the Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop organised a Youth Performing Arts Festival in November 2010. But, unlike before, it failed to attract au-diences in sizable numbers. The International Sufi Festival, which features performers from the Muslim countries, also had to be cancelled because no troupe was that keen to visit this terror-blighted country.

It was indeed an anomaly that the only musical ‘happening’ in the country was the Coke Studio series. No high-profile live music concert could rock the city, as most of the pop-singers preferred to do their concerts abroad. In the circumstances, watching YouTube vid-eos in the confine of one’s home remained

I 41January 09 - 15, 2011

California-born renowned guitarist, songwriter and producer Lanny Cordola has been a member of bands such as Giuffria,

House of Lords and Magdallan. His latest project ‘Peace through Mu-sic’ in collaboration with Atif Aslam and ex-members of Guns ‘n’ Roses has earned him a distinctive place in the

music community. This project aims to broadcast a positive image

of Pakistan

Top stories ofXARI JALIL brings you

highlights of the past year from the world of entertainment

Super model Vaneeza Ahmed tied the knot in August this year. The wedding ceremony

was a private little affair with guests not. exceeding 30.

Vinny gets hitched

‘Bigg Boss 4’

Hamza Jafri and Nida Butt tie the knot

October saw Pakistani celebrities, Veena Malik and Ali Saleem join ‘Bigg Boss 4’. Not only were the actors offered loads of cash, but also they managed to get themselves involved in a very popular reality TV drama. Shiv Sena had begun to protest strongly about the involvement of these

two. Eventually votes got so low that both got ‘kicked’ off.

Hamza Jafri is a singer/songwriter and the founding member of Co-VEN who has also established The Guitar School. Nida Butt is one

of the most well-known names in the theatre scene in Pakistan. Her company, Made for Stage, is single-handedly responsible for putting out productions of ‘Chicago’ and ‘Mamma Mia’. Both got

engaged in November and are now married.

was held in Lahore in February 2010. The entire fashion industry joined hands to make it a success. 32

designers showed their collections in four days.

Lanny joins hands with Atif

PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week 2010

42 I January 09 - 15, 2011

Sensuous Sonakshi

Sallu, the most successful star of 2010

Aisam andHadiqa Goodwill Ambassadors

Tabu getting married!

Rouhan Abbas wins Star Plus ‘Chhote Ustaad’ award

A possible mission

Smart, talented Sonakshi Sinha made an entry in Bollywood with her film ‘Dabangg’ this year. Not only is she a looker but she is also a good actress. Sonakshi played a pretty decent role in making the Salman Khan starrer ‘Dabangg’ a massive box office money-maker, and she is now riding the waves of success like a . profess ional surfer. She’s the talk of the town and the latest heartthrob The sizzling Sonakshi is Shatrughan Sinha’s daughter.

Prominent members from Pakistan’s entertainment and lifestyle industry have been actively working to provide relief to the victims of the floods. Hadiqa has been at the forefront of this effort and has traveled to Muzaffargarh and other

affected areas. Aisam-ul-Haq has repeatedly spoken about the issue and has made appeals during his various

media appearances and matches.

Tabu is getting married. She has fallen for a businessman whose pockets are laden with moolah. The man,

whose name is kept under wraps at this point, is ready to walk the altar with Tabu early next year.

In ‘Chhote Ustaad’, Rouhan from Gujrat along with his team mate Akanksha won the

first prize award for best singing.

Ever since the ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ phenomenon, Anil Kapoor has had phenomenal international recognition. The guy was first cast in

the mega hit American TV serial ‘24’. News is he has lately been of-fered (which he has gleefully accepted) a meaty

part in Tom Cruise’s ‘Mission Impossible 4’. Wow!

Sallu’s film ‘Dabangg’ broke all records in Bollywood. A new masala movie trend has restarted it seems, bringing action films featuring supernatural

acts harkening back to the glory days of 80s and early 90s flicks. But of course Salman Khan was termed the most successful star of

2010!! Three cheers for the man!

I 43January 09 - 15, 2011

Lady Gaga, Billboard’s Artist of the Year

‘Toy Story’ biggest hit of 2010

Prince Williamgets engaged to girlfriend

Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy bags an Emmy

‘Harry Potter’ - the film of a generation

The fame monster megastar herself, Lady Gaga, has captured Billboard’s Art-ist of the Year title, a mere 12 months after she was named Top New Artist.

Whitney Houston duplicated that feat in 1985 and 1986, and the only musician to achieve the coveted promotion faster than Houston or Gaga

was Chris Brown in 2006, when he scored both titles at once.

With the help of inflated ticket prices and 3D, Disney has scored its second billion-dollar hit this year with ‘Toy Story 3’. The studio has sent

out a press release announcing its good fortune. ‘Toy Story 3’ became the highest-grossing animated movie of all time. Today, the worldwide box of-

fice for the film is expected to cross $1 billion. The first film to cross the billion-dollar mark for Disney this year was Tim Burton’s

‘Alice in Wonderland’.

Prince William finally became engaged to longtime girlfriend Kate Middleton, giving her his late mother’s sapphire and diamond engagement ring, as Britain looked forward to its biggest royal wedding since Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer almost 30 years ago. Royal officials announced Tuesday that the couple will marry next spring or summer in London. William is second in line to the British throne after Charles. Kate and William’s first child would move ahead of his younger brother Prince Harry to become third in line to the throne.

The International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences presented Sharmeen with the US Emmy Awards at the Frederick P. Rose Hall of Jazz. The Emmy in the . current affairs category was awarded to ‘Pakistan’s Taliban . Generation’, a documentary by Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy and Dan Edge.

Once again, mad Potter fans are flocking to theaters worldwide and to movie shops to get the adventures of our bespectacled hero. ‘Harry Pot-ter and the Deathly Hallows Part I’, directed by David Yates is the first

of two films depicting the seventh book of the ‘Harry Potter’ series.

44 I January 09 - 15, 2011

A new dimension for movies

Fakhri’s son located dead after a year

Abida Parveen in distress

Shamim Ara gets haemorrhage

J D Salinger passes away

3D emerged as the hottest new fad in 2010. The trend has caught on like wild fire because it allows the studios to charge higher theatre prices. However in a big to save time and money, many studios are post convert-

ing films to 3D which results in shoddy image quality e.g. ‘Clash of the Titans’, ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and ‘The Last Airbender’. But de-

spite the poor quality, the films still made enough profits for their studios.

A weary looking Jameel Fakhri appeared on air, first demanding that his son (who had been missing for a year), be traced. Two days later, his face lined with stress appeared again, this time, bringing the terrible news that his son had been mysteriously murdered. An extremely tragic episode; mystery clouds the incident.

Abida Parveen, legendary singer of Pakistan, suffered a heart attack while crooning to the audience’s favourite tunes. Her fans have been , extremely depressed since then, wishing her a quick recovery. She has needed two angioplasties.

Shamim Ara suffered from a brain haemorrhage and was admitted to a Lahore hospital. However with the help of Mehmood Bhatti, Paris based fashion designer, her treatment’s cost was taken care of.

Cinema lost one of its greats, probably the last of his age, with the death of Italian film-maker Dino de Laurentiis who recently passed away at the age of 91, after a distinguished career that saw him make memorable films like ‘Flash Gordon’ and ‘Dune’. He earned critical acclaim for his success with greats such as the four Hannibal Lecter films.

The well known writer of ‘The Catcher in the Rye’, J D Salinger died of natural causes at his home in New Hampshire in January 2010. He was 91.

Great Italian film maker dies

I 45January 09 - 15, 2011

Aretha Franklin diagnosed with cancer

Tony Curtis is no more

Erich Segal dies

When metal died

Soul legend Aretha Franklin is reported to have cancer and underwent surgery. She had to also cancel engagements for the near future. The 68-year-old “Queen of Soul” is reported to be doing okay but the family is asking for supporters to pray.

Curtis was the famous American film actor whose career spanned six decades, but had his greatest popularity during the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in over 60 films in roles covering a wide range of genres, from light comedy to serious dra-ma. Curtis died at his Henderson, Nevada home in September of cardiac arrest.

French-Polish director Roman Polanski’s political thriller ‘The Ghost Writer’ swept the European Film Awards, picking up six prizes including best movie, director, actor and screenplay.

Mansoor Saeed, one of the founding members of the noted theatre group Dastak, died in Karachi in May at the age of 68, leaving behind his wife, daughter Sania Saeed, a well-known theatre and TV actress and son Ahmer Saeed, former captain of the Pakistan under-19 cricket . team.

Erich Segal, the author of the hugely popular novel ‘Love Story’, which was made into an equally popular film, died of a heart attack this year at 72. He was suf-fering from Parkinson’s disease for the last 25 years.

A Metal legend has fallen. Ronnie James Dio, former front-man of Black Sabbath and his own band Dio, died from . . stomach cancer. He was 67. His current band, Heaven and Hell, canceled its summer tour.

Other celebrities who died this year include Dennis Hopper, Patricia Neal, Jean Simmons, Leslie Nielson and Charlie Wilson.

And others

Polanski bags several awards

Mansoor Saeed breathes his last away

46 I January 09 - 15, 2011

The key card of the week is Agni (the fire card), which shows that it is time to work on research. You will need to come to terms with your bigger dreams and aspirations. You will be ready to focus on your career in a big way this week. You can get life in order by making a list of to-do things. You will feel the fires of passion lighting your soul. You can expect the intrigue and the political playoffs to begin. Your anxiety will disappear as you take command of the situation.

This is not going to be a week where you can sit back and relax. You can ex-pect the unexpected at the work place. You will need to be bold enough to break through and try something totally different and innovative this week. You can be friends with it if you’re courageous enough to leap off into that wild void. All this energy pushes you further than you’ve ever gone before and I feel that these challeng-es are good for you. Your lucky number for this week is 2.

The ambition card Dec 22 - Jan 21

AFTAB/CAPRICORN

The self-card Jan 21 - Feb 19DUA/AQUARIUS

The sensitivity card Feb 20 - Mar 20JAL/PISCES

The aura card Mar 21 - Apr 20FIZA/ARIES

The strength card Jul 24 - Aug 23QUWAT/LEO

The growth card Jun 22 - Jul 23IRTIQA/CANCER

The love card May 22 - Jun 21

ASHIQ/GEMINI

The physical change card Apr21 - May21

WISAAL/TAURUS

Your spread indicates that this week is very fine for teachers, students and for educational activities. You are worried about examinations; your good study habits and skills will make them easy for you. Computer-related profession will equip you with latest skills to compete for a bright future. Inferior quality or ill-cooked food may make you sick, so be careful in your diet. You could meet disappointment in love as you ignore the feelings of your partner. Lucky stone for this week is Moonstone.

Your spread says that you will spend a lot of time thinking about your career and how to get ahead. If you are not feeling entirely satisfied with your current position, you might want to think about send-ing out some resumes. You might want to think about in-viting some friends over to your house. You need to be happy and free at this time. Egocentric issues come up but you’ll be able to get right to the bottom of things. Be care-ful in your diet as you can suffer digestive problems.

The key card of the week is Fiza (the aura card), which shows that friends and fam-ily members will seek advice. Your help-ful behaviour will be appreciated; many people will shower you with verbal praise. You will bring hap-piness in the gloomy life of your beloved. You would get some relief from the tensions and strains of life that you have been experiencing for long. Your skills and creativity will enhance your reputation at your workplace. Use your abilities to gain financial benefits.

You will find that other people are pretty restless and impatient and stubborn as well. It is wise to avoid participating in arguments; avoid trying to change someone – there are no vil-lains and no victims. If you are feeling a little out of control because most things are not going your way, it’s time to gain knowledge of how to become flexible. Remain open-minded and do not judge until you have all the facts. Success for ac-counting professionals is on the cards. Lucky number for this week is 5.

Your spread indicates that this week is not good for out-door activities. You must avoid long journeys to give com-plete rest to your body because chances of weakening the mind are high. Things may seem deceptively illusive; your career life could be a little odd this week. Time is great to focus on business challenges; your parents will help you in business. Avoid jealous people as they can hurt you. Your lucky stone for this week is Tiger-Eye.

It is time to do some psychological digging. Move beyond your usual ho-rizon. You will need to work twice as hard in order to get to that finish line. Break past the usual systems of thinking and listen to the voice of your dreams. Love could inspire you. You will be ready to do some social interaction with someone who will boost your confidence. Helping others will bring you great joy; give without expect-ing anything in return. You will get bigger than you expect.

THE ZODIAC AND EASTERN TAROT By Mariam Aftab Ja

nuar

y 9

-15,

201

1

48 I January 09 - 15, 2011

The patience card Aug 24 - Sep 23THEHRAO/VIRGO

The magician card Sep 24 - Oct 23SAHIR/LIBRA

The confusion card Oct 24 - Nov 22

INTISHAR/SCORPIO

The luck card Nov 23 - Dec 21KISMET/SAGITTARIUS

Tel: +92 (42) 35751231, 35710452Websites:www.mariamhealingcenter.com, www.innerstrengthhome.org

Celebrity Couples&

CompatibilitySarah Michelle Gellar and

Freddie Prinze Jr

Q: Which name of Allah should I meditate over to control anger? My name is Abbas and my date of

birth is January 7, 1965.A: Meditate over ‘Ya Haleemo’ 313 times, starting

and ending by reciting durood sharif 11 times each.

Mariam Aftab is a renowned healer offering self-help courses and counselling services. Readers can send in

their questions regarding any problems at mariamhealingcenter@gmail.com

Ask the Expert:

Mariam Aftab

The key card of the week is Thehrao (the pause card), which indicates that unwant-ed thought may occupy your mind and keep you distressed. Try to engage yourself in physical exercise because an empty brain is a devil’s work-shop. Your dedication and loyalty at work will be appreci-ated. Your sound health will enable you to win a medal in a sports competition. Love is a rainbow of life that should always shine.

May be you do have to find a little more will power now to go out into the world and tackle practical matters. You may be seduced by the thought that doing less would make you feel better. But you know if you exert your-self you will feel more virtuous and it will probably bring you more energy. But all the same you’re going to be fascinated by rather mystical things. You want to get away from the rational, practical world, to float off, not quite on a little pink cloud, but heading that way.

This week is good for showbiz profession-als. They will get better monetary benefits for their work. They will get opportunities to enhance their abilities. After three long days of worrying about work and various professional concerns, it could be a good time to enjoy a quiet, romantic evening with some-one special. Just be careful that you are not too possessive or controlling where your loved ones are concerned. Your lucky stone for this week is Tourmaline.

Your spread indicates that you will need to come to terms with your own value system this week. Follow your big dreams; they could lead you to gold. Spiritual values shine out like a star; aim high towards a goal that will bring you great joy. Your sweetheart will touch your soul that sets free your imagination to unlimited thoughts. It is also good to pay attention to the state of your emotions. Avoid getting involved in any unsolved family matter this week.

Sarah is a strong Aries with a soft touch and dreamy side. She can be bafflingly subtle and feminine, and headstrong and determined as well. Perhaps that’s why she did such a standout job in her role as Erica Cane’s daughter in ‘All My Children’,

a character that was kind of wicked, but confused and vulnerable at the same time. Freddie and Sarah have very different styles of expression with an impatient, go-getting streak. Both will have plenty of emotional moments, expressing their

feelings in an assertive, in-your-face manner. There may arise some problems with too-high expectations of the relationship, a tendency to go to extremes when it

comes to activities they do together, and arguments that can be volatile.

Sarah Michelle GellarApril 14, 1977

New York, New YorkBirth time: Unknown

Sun Sign: AriesMoon Sign: Aquarius or Pisces

Freddie Prinze JrMarch 8, 1976

Los Angeles, CaliforniaBirth time: Unknown

Sun Sign: PiscesMoon Sign: Gemini

I 49January 09 - 15, 2011

Phenomenally PricedHave a look at some of the most expensive products of 2010By Sehar Iqbal

50 I January 09 - 15, 2011