Pakistani: Safirullah Siddiqui ‘Lehri’

Safirullah Siddiqui ‘Lehri’ (January 2, 1929 - September 13, 2012) was one of Pakistan's greatest comedians who made his name in Urdu films.

Lehri won the Nigar Award for around a dozen films. He acted in approximatelt 225 films

The late Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto provided him with a monthly stipend of Rs. 2,500 during her first tenure, which he continues to receive, though there has been no increase in the amount.

On January 2, 2012, Nawaz Sharif and members of his party visited Lehri at his "rihaish gah" or residence, enjoyed his jokes, and wrote him a check for Rs. 25 lakh.

 Lehri died on 13 September 2012 at 9 am in Karachi. He had been under treatment in a private Karachi hospital at the time of his death.from Pakistan.

Grieving over the demise of Lehri, Qavi Khan said there is no one like Lehri; he was an institution in his self, adding he was unique in his style, “I have never seen the likes of him anywhere.”

Lehri in Anwer Maqsood Show:

Lehri in "Yes Sir, No Sir":

Arif Lohar wins over New York music buffs, critics alike

 NEW YORK: American music critics heaped praise on Pakistani folk singer Arif Lohar, after his stunning performances in New York last weekend.

Lohar performed to rapturous applause and well beyond the scheduled hours during the two sold-out Asia Society concerts in the Big Apple.

“The songs were devotional, and the mood was euphoric,” Jon Parleles, The New York Times critic who was once a noted musician himself, said of Lohar’s performance.

“There’s something puckish about Lohar’s stage presence, even when he’s belting 17th-century mystic poetry,” he said in his review, which was accompanied by photographs of Lohar performing and the audience in the packed auditorium dancing and waving.

Likening the Pakistani entertainer to Michael Jackson, Parleles went on to say, “Mr Lohar arrived with pop trappings. Like something out of a Michael Jackson video, his band wore long, black quasi military coats, with sequined gold hearts where badges might have been.”

“Even in the formal confines of the Asia Society auditorium, concertgoers stood up and danced as the beat and the spirit swept the room…”

Meanwhile, Richard Gehr, while not using superlatives in his review for the Village Voice, said Lohar’s sufi hit “extended over an increasingly delirious 30 minutes, with chorus after chorus of this 17th-century poem by the Sufi mystic Sultan Bahu reaching new heights of show-biz fun with a sacred slant.”

Both shows were sold-out events and when they concluded, Lohar and his band left the audience demanding encore and on their feet.

The concerts also featured Pakistan’s Arooj Aftab.

“Lohar and Aftab’s two concerts were part of Asia Society’s ongoing initiative Creative Voices of Muslim Asia, made possible by support from the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art,” Asia Society’s website said.

News Details: Dawn News

Pakistani director Sharmeen Obaid wins Oscar Award

Los Angeles: For the first time in the 84 year history of ‘Oscar Award’, world’s prestigious award, Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, a Pakistani director has won ‘Oscar Award’ for her documentary film ‘Saving face’.

Chennai present at the occasion said that she wanted to dedicate her award to all those who worked in the film. “For all those women in Pakistan working for change this is for you” she added.

The story of the documentary film was based on Pakistani women who suffered from the acid attacks on their faces. Former MNA Marvi Memon also participated in the film.

The film was released in the year 2011. The film stars and other people related to showbiz in Pakistan have appreciated the effort of Sharmeen to raise voice for the deprived women in Pakistan.

News Details: The News Tribe

Sharmeen Obaid is the first non-American to win the Livingston Award, She also won Emmy Award in 2010.

Canadian Pop star Kristie Yung tribute to Alamgir

Kristie Yung pays tribute to one of the pioneers of POP music in South Asia, the legendary Alamgir.

ISPR’s documentary wins Eserciti-e-Popoli award

Inter Services Public Relations documentary has won the first prize in the recently held International Film Festival ‘Eserciti-e-Popoli’ (Army and People) held at Bracciano, Rome (Italy), says an ISPR press release.

The festival saw the participation of Nato and 24 countries with 60 films grouped into several categories: from ‘Institutional training information, from environmental protection to the humanitarian mission for peace. The international highly qualified and experienced jury evaluated the films produced by renowned filmmakers.

Maintaining the tradition, Pakistan Army’s documentary ‘Glorious Resolve’ received the jury’s special award from the President of the Italian Senate with the citation “A technically outstanding and emotionally powerful dramatisation of the story of the courageous soldiers under fire in a dire combat situation.” The award given by General Giancarlo Fortuna, the President of the International Jury, was received by a representative of the Pakistani Embassy in Rome.

Glorious Resolve was the joint venture of ISPR and Mindworks Media. Brigadier Syed Azmat Ali was the executive producer whereas Brigadier Syed Mujtaba Tirmizi was the executive director of the film. Lieutenant Colonel Irfan Aziz was the project director and the writer of this film, which was amicably directed by Sarosh Kayani. Dr Hassan Waqas Rana of Mindworks Media was the producer whereas Bilal Lashari was the director of photography.

News Details: Then News

Right Angle Film Festival will be held in Lahore in 2012

Lahore: Right Angle Film Festival will be held in Lahore in February 2012. Celebrities from Pakistan and India is expected to attend the event.
The event will be a great assistance after a week of screenings of all the short films which will be from all over the world.
Since 1894 motion pictures have considerably posh the arts, technology and politics. In the era of globalization, this medium has proved to be remarkable in connecting gaps and getting the diversified cultures together. Films from various different regions are screened world over through regular screenings and certain film festivals.
Right Angle Film Festival Lahore is a first of its own kind in Pakistan. It will signify the ethnic talent of the land and also promote artists and new talent from all over the world.


News Details: The News Tribe

Pakistani director documentary shortlisted for Oscars nomination

Saving Face, a film chronicling the work of a British Pakistani plastic surgeon, Dr Mohammad Jawad, aiding victims of acid attacks in Pakistan as directed by Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy and Daniel Jung has been shortlisted as one of only eight documentaries from across the globe for the Best Documentary, Short Subject as announced by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.

Indeed Saving Face is set to air on America’s premier television cable network HBO, in March 2012. Saving Face was filmed entirely in Pakistan in the Seraiki belt as well as in Rawalpindi, Karachi, Islamabad and its outskirts.


Speaking about this international achievement, Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy said: “It still hasn’t quite sunk in that Saving Face has been shortlisted for an Oscar nomination. It is a huge honour for me and a tremendous feeling to know that this film, based in Pakistan, has been appreciated and acknowledge by a global jury - My co-director Daniel Junge and I are now keeping our fingers crossed and hoping that the shortlist turns into a nomination come January 24th!”


News Detals: Pride OF Pakistan