Veena Malik: Scorned for being different
Is a woman simply labeled a whore or a saint, a mother or a prostitute in Pakistan? It seems that having more than one dimension to her description is just not acceptable – it is a sad country for an an independent woman. People complain about feudalism and a system that favours patriarchal dominance, and yet today I see everyone around me acting like a feudal trying to force an opinion on a single woman again and again till she submits. Veena Malik is controversy’s favourite child, or so it seems. You either hate her, or love her, but nobody ever lets ...
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Outlandish Kamran Shahid
I’ll be honest; I don’t like Kamran Shahid one bit. He’s brash, uncouth and thoroughly ungentlemanly; and if I were a woman, I’d make a deal with the devil before allowing myself to be found within a 100 meter radius of the guy who conducts a “serious” journalistic talk-show with his chest hair on display like it’s still the 70s. Seriously. A man who seems to have made it his “purpose” to make women cry on cable television is not the kind of man I was brought up to respect. I’m positively tickled by the fact that of all the people ...
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Veena Malik interview gone wrong
Veena Malik is back in the spot light for playing item girl “Channo” in a new Bollywood movie called “Gali Gali Chor Hai’. There have been mixed reactions to the video; some people hate it, some love it, but mostly people stare at it. Ali Zafar was wrong. “Channo kee aankh mein nasha” nahin hai… us ki choli mein LED hai. This sketch parody is what would ensue if Veena Malik actually started sporting the Bright Bra on a regular day. This and the Maya Khan show. I love this country. Only in Pakistan will you see ...
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Journalism and sensationalism
The Express Tribune poll result published on this page on December 18 said that 91% of the respondents believed journalism in Pakistan was more about sensationalism than reporting facts. I partly agree. But this should lead to the question as to why journalism in Pakistan is sensationalist. I believe that’s because people are more receptive to sensational news than facts-based reporting. Just go to the website of this newspaper and look closely at the sidebar that shows the most viewed, most commented and most emailed news stories. These days, such stories will most likely be about Memogate, Imran Khan, Zardari, judiciary, ISI ...
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It’s not easy being Veena
While we may complain about there being too much coverage of Veena Malik in the news, the fact is that all of us want to read of her latest move, her latest misstep or scandal, so to speak. From her so-called topless pictures for FHM India, to her most recent episode when she is said to have ‘disappeared’, people on both sides of the border seem to want to know more and more about this controversial Pakistani actress. Some say that she is doing all these things deliberately, for PR purposes, while others say that she should be left alone to ...
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Analysing Veena: If the hat doesn’t fit…
Veena Malik has captured our attention once again. FHM, a men’s magazine, has run a cover featuring a nude Veena Malik, dexterously covering herself with her arms and legs. Malik, in turn, has claimed that the cover is morphed and is suing for damages. She has, however, admitted to shooting “bold” photos with FHM, one of which included a bikini/thong. So even if Malik readily posed naked, or nearly naked, for a men’s magazine whose profit lies in objectifying women, we ask… So what? There is a laundry list of complaints and insults we are prepared to throw at Miss Malik. For one: “Mulk ko badnaam kiya hai!” (She ...
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Veena to the bone
At the risk of allowing this piece to become a shrewd and predictable critique of the ghairat brigade, I must admit that the response shown towards Veena Malik’s nude photographs for FHM India is preposterous. Much to our consternation, issues of this nature continue to plague Pakistan and accentuate the differences between the fairly open-minded and the overtly strict right-wing. Only last year, Veena was made an object of scrutiny when her conduct on the Indian reality TV show Bigg Boss, was criticized. The fact that the issue has generated a comparable response serves to highlight two critical facts. 1) We, as ...
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Finding Mr Veena on reality TV
Veena Malik is getting paid million of rupees to get married on live TV. Well, I can’t say this is shocking or anything new. The global economy might be in the dumps, but marriage is a robust and burgeoning industry. Eager girls and boys have been hammered this drill since diaperdom. Disney told us that if we were pretty and dainty enough, our handsome prince charming would rescue us and marry us in true superstar fashion. Cinderella threw the Prince under a spell with her ethereal blue eyes, and Meg hypnotized Hercules with her cascading tresses and waif-like figure. ...
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A dummy’s guide to morality in Pakistan
Like everyone else, friends on my e-mail group became very active while discussing the recent media hype about Veena Malik. While the opinions came from a diverse group of people, one irritated friend questioned why people can’t seem to follow basic ‘Pakistani moral standards’. Reproduced below are the top 10 rules on Pakistani moral values that came out as actually being followed in modern day Pakistan: Pakistani moral values 101: Top 10 rules If a Pakistani man dates more than one woman, he is a Casanova. If a Pakistani woman dates more than one man, she is a “loose woman”. If ...
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Veena Malik is no fool!
Veena Malik’s appearance on Bigg Boss 4 and her current interview on Express News has been the subject of many a cushy drawing room debate. Liberals everywhere are incensed by the mufti sahab who did not even watch Bigg Boss and yet was quick to pass judgement on Malik. Fair enough. Malik’s supporters have rushed to Facebook to give her a big thumbs up and cheer their ‘hero’ on. Veena takes on mullah and wins, they scream. Now we all know that this was pretty much a setup. Kamran Shahid pitched Malik against a mufti and then called Ashmit Patel who made some ...
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