Page 65 - English Tehelka Issue 5 - March 15, 2018

• Casteist remark puts theStack A FRESH LOOKS AT THE

Katrina in tight spot The Silver MuSic Box OTHER SIDE OF PAKISTAN
Mehr Tarar’s new book Do We Not Bleed? has a
By Mina Baites; AmazonCrossing personal but perceptive look at the country beyond
After Deepika Padukone, now Katrina Kaif is in trou- ‘mullah-jihadi-army’ focus as is generally the case
ble. Katrina, along with actor Salman Khan and a few A captivating cross-generational novel from German author Mina
others, is in a tight spot for allegedly making a casteist Baites about a Jewish family divided by World War II and an inherit- Do We Not BleeD? Reflections of a 21st-
remark during the promotion of the 2017 film Tiger ance with the power to bring them back together. Century Pakistani is a passionate, illuminating
Zinda Hai. An FIR, filed in the Patiala House 1914. For Paul, with love. Jewish silversmith Johann book about contemporary Pakistan. Comprising
Court, has alleged that the accused persons had Blumenthal engraved those words on his most exqui- original profiles of diverse Pakistanis — some of
“committed atrocity” on the members of the • Priya Varrier is hot site creation, a singing filigree bird inside a tiny or- whom are internationally feted and many others
caste and insulted and humiliated them by topic of discussion namented box. He crafted this treasure for his young who are relatively unknown — as well as essays
making the casteist remark. The complaint, son before leaving to fight in a terrible war to honor that examine the major fault lines in Pakistani
filed by Harnam Singh, a former chairman Priya Prakash Varrier has his beloved country — a country that would soon turn society, the book offers the reader an insider’s
of Delhi Commission for Karamcharis, become the hottest topic of against his own family. A half century later, Londoner perspective on the state of affairs in the country
alleged that the remark was made by Khan discussion among Indians Lilian Morrison inherits the box after the death of her today.
during a programme on a television channel lately. The Malayam actress parents. Though the silver is tarnished and dented, The book is divided into five thematic sec-
while Kaif, “rather than protesting at the offen- has been all over social media this much-loved treasure is also a link to an astonish- tions, each corresponding to a subject that the
sive and insensitive statement, joined the accused ever since her appearance in ing past. With the keepsake is a letter from Lilian’s mother, telling author feels strongly about. ‘Religious Perse-
number 1 (Khan) in insulting and abusing the victim the teaser song Mani Manikya her daughter for the first time that she was adopted. cution and Other Discontents’ delves into the
through her conduct.” Tiger Zinda Hai saw protests Malaraya Poovi from film Oru -------------------------------------------------------------------------- killings and oppression generated by religious
in several parts of the country on the day it released, Adaar Love (A Superb Love discord that are now a
December 23 last year, after Salman Khan made Story) brought her massive Saving Maya routine feature of life in
a casteist remark on a TV show, along with Shilpa fame from different corners By Kiran Manral; Bombaykala Books Pakistan.
Shetty. Theatres were burnt and posters of the film of the country. While the In this section we find
were torn in Rajasthan, where people took to the 18-year-old has become the Maya, in her mid-thirties, divorced and with a young son, finds stories of people like Am-
streets to demand no screening of Tiger Zinda Hai. On ‘national crush,’ she revealed herself in a tangle both professionally and emotionally as she at- breen, the girl who dared to
the show, Salman had allegedly made a casteist slur, the name of her favourite tempts to navigate life post-divorce. Will she put together her life, take on the patriarchy and
comparing his dancing skills to a “bh**gi” (a sanitation cricketer and it’s none other will she find love again? Wry and endearingly earnest, Saving Maya repressive customs and
worker). Shilpa had also laughed along with him, and than MS Dhoni. About the is a heartwarming novel about the beauty of second was burned to death for
said that she also ‘looked like one’. Shilpa later took to Ranchi-born cricketer, she chances. Kiran Manral published her first book, her defiance, and Qandeel
Twitter to post an apology. Salman Khan and Katrina said, “Dhoni is my favour- The Reluctant Detective in 2011. Since then, she has Baloch, the self-proclaimed
Kaif’s Tiger Zinda Hai was the biggest box office hit of ite cricketer.” Recalling the published seven books across genres till date. Her selfie queen, who was
2017. Produced by Yash Raj Films and directed by Ali 30-second video which went books include romance and chick lit with Once Upon killed by her own brother,
Abbas Zafar, the sequel to 2012’s Ek Tha Tiger, Tiger viral on social media, Priya A Crush (2014) and All Aboard (2015); horror with The for daring to flaunt her
Zinda Hai raked in over Rs 330 crore at the domestic said, “Our director told us Face at the Window (2016) and nonfiction with Karmic sexuality and contempt for
box office. The film in a way saved Bollywood from a that the 30-second shot Kids (2015), A Boy’s Guide to Growing Up (2016) and the hypocrisy that perme-
disappointing year at the ticket counters. should be a memorable one.” True Love Stories (2017). Her short stories have been ated the society she was part of.
published on Juggernaut, in magazines like Verve and ‘The Pakistan You Do Not Know’ shows us lit-
Cosmopolitan, and have been part of anthologies like tle known aspects of everyday life in Pakistan;
Chicken Soup for the Soul, Have a Safe Journey (2017) ‘Remarkable Pakistanis’ tells the story of, among
and Boo (2017). She was shortlisted for the Femina Women Awards others, Muniba Mazari, a quadriplegic whose in-
Women I play on 2017 for Literary Contribution. She is a TEDx speaker and a mentor spiring story proves the resilience of the human
• MONROE MOVES MARGOT screen are an with Vital Voices Global Mentoring Walk 2017. mind and spirit and Shazia Mushtaq, the selfless
educator of Yahounabad;‘Family and Friends’
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PARTS PLAYED BY MARILYN WERE DEGRADING, SAYS ACTOR contains personal narratives about members
Actor Margot Robbie, who feels heartbroken when extensIon of me’ My laST love STory of the author’s immediate circle; and ‘The India
she watches Marilyn Monroe’s films, says the parts By Falguni Kothari; HarperCollins India Connection’ crosses the border to profile aspects
played by the Hollywood icon were “misogynistic and of India that the author cherishes, including
degrading”. The 27-year-old actor, who watched a lot Rumi Simi Desai is thirty years old and her husband is dying of Delhi and Amitabh Bachchan.
of old movies to prepare for her role in the upcoming cancer. He has two last wishes in his final months: As Tarar shows, these are morasses it is dif-
film Dreamland, said the fact that playing first, that she’ll have his baby so that a piece of him ficult to extricate ourselves for generations al-
eye-candy type roles was the norm for the female lives on and, second, that she’ll reconcile with her together, if at all. Written in her inimitable style,
actors at that time baffled her to no end. “I love old old flame Zayaan, their mutual best friend. Over the Mehr Tarar’s first book is a remarkably honest
films, but my heart breaks when I watch Marilyn course of their last summer together, Simi’s husband account of her beloved country.
Monroe’s, because the characters she plays are so plans a series of big and small adventures for this un- Mehr Tarar, a freelance columnist, is the
misogynistic and degrading that it’s mind-boggling likely trio, designed to help them say their goodbyes former op-ed editor of Daily Times, a leading
that that was the norm. The same with Bonnie And and to prove to Simi that it’s okay to move on without English daily newspaper of Pakistan. Tarar has
Clyde; parts of it make my blood boil,” Robbie told him - and even find love again. Beautiful and poign- one son, Musa, eighteen, whom she considers
Stylist magazine. Vidya Balan ant, Falguni Kothari’s My Last Love Story will pull your her inspiration for everything she does. She lives
• Star stuck Opposing norms (In an interview) heartstrings as only unforgettable love stories do. in Lahore.

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