Just as the controversies and spurs caused by his first film began to lose their fizzle a new buzz started going around in both the Lollywood and Bollywood circuits about Shoaib Mansoor’s new film. News had it that the big wig had finalised plans for a follow up to ‘Khuda Kay Liye’, and supposedly has Shaan as the main lead. Well, a little bird has told us that the ‘follow-up’ of the colossal hit ”Khuda Kay Liye’ is not going to kick off any time soon. The idea was proclaimed ludicrous by the director himself who said it he was still in the middle of considering different ideas and projects and hasn’t finalised a thing! He also laughed off the idea that Shaan would be part of his next project if any. Hmmm… seems like the superstar did not give Shoaib an easy time on the sets of KKL. Could it be it’s because he did so little to support the film’s rocky progression after its release? So who will it be? Maybe some of the Indian talent is about to cross the border. Well, as far as Shoaib Mansoor’s next film is concerned, keep your fingers crossed for something amazing, we can expect no less!

Truly one of the best video directors in Pakistan, Sohail Javed has come a long, long way. His videos have left a mark in the Pakistani pop music industry, and have been an inspiration for the new generation of video directors.

How many years have you been in this field?

It’s been eleven years. I started out in 1993 as a director, borrowed money from somewhere and made a programme.

Were you assisting someone?

Nope. I’ve never assisted anyone. I am not the sort who would assist someone. I know people who were assistants eleven years ago and are still assistants, or are trying to figure out what they want to do or have changed their profession. They’ve been let down and mistreated.

Under which banner are you working?

My company is called Saya films. It’s an independent film company. We ‘ll be starting a film this January.

Film as in film?

Yes. It’s basically a 100-minute English film. The script is 70% in English, 20% in Urdu and 10% in Punjabi. It’s called Baavan (52). Shahzad Nawaz is producing it, and I’m directing it. We’re making it on 35 mm.

Yousaf Salahuddin’s Haveli oozes cultural magnificence on this cold wintry evening. An unassuming façade, which could easily be missed from the road, opens into a wonderland of history and tradition. Cradled in the glory of the brilliantly lit-up Fort, it basks in the wonders of two worlds: the traditional, which encourages the use of old oil lamps in a power breakdown as opposed to a generator and the modern, which inspires him to build a comfortable living area in his bedroom and bathroom both. His rooftop springs color for Basant and his basement has become the breeding ground for many well-known musicians today. His courtyard is open to public, whether to host a mohallah wedding or shoot a Zille Huma music video. And he’s incomparable as a host, the courtyard becoming an impressive welcome mat to dignitaries from all over the world-Mick Jagger, Madhu Jaffery, Aamir Khan and Boney M included. Yousaf has led many celebrities to stardom, especially musicians and though he as won a bit of inevitable infamy on the way, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that Mian Salli embodies the Power of One.

What is power? Who has it? How can you tell? These are questions that have no easy answers. Ask an assertive journalist, and you’ll hear a vehement dismissal of all glamour types and the list of powerful people whittling down to a stodgy industry bigwigs. Ask a starry-eyed showbiz fanatic and you’ll hear a bubbly eulogy for all the hot starlets who in reality would not even have the clout to wangle a solo project. So the dilemma remains.

It is not clear whether the enchanting story of Anarkali is a myth or reality, but the fact is that this tale has captured the imaginations of nearly all the subcontinent’s big names in the performing arts for the last 100 years. It began in the first half of the 20th century when famous drama writer Agha Hashar Kashmiri wrote his masterpiece for the stage about the dancer who fell in love with Mughal Prince Saleem.

Lollywood is a rough place to be in, especially if you are looking for a quick break. But once every while one comes across a success story that defies the rules of the film industry. Actor Shamyl Khan is one such example. It’s almost unheard of for a newcomer to make the kind of impression he did in Larki Punjaban in Britain where it has been released. But the actor has discovered that not all is as it seems in the land of make-believe.

For a quiet man, Asim Reza has a lot to say. His work speaks for him, whether in the mythical setting of an advertisement or in the documentation of a dancer’s synchronized footwork. The quest for artistic greatness influences his life and though he doesn’t blow the trumpet on his own work, it shouts for itself. But when credits are mismatched and his achievements ignored, Asim becomes verbose. He turns away from his creative pursuit very briefly, and lodges his displeasure in minimum words, careful not to contaminate his creativity in the process.

The show got bigger this year. Not only did the organizers fly out to Dubai, giving the local entertainment industry much-needed international exposure, they also collaborated with a television network, ensuring a much wider audience than our local channels could ever pull off.

Indian talent, comprising professional dancers, stage designers and technical assistants, was flown in to fill the gaps, but this year’s Lux Style Awards could easily have been better executed than last year’s programme had the picture not been overexposed to the glitter and gaudiness of Bollywood. The India-based Sony TV channel, as director and producer of the show, was perhaps given too much freedom to project it as it wanted, right from the poster at the front desk down to the silver and gold tinsel on stage.

In the recent past, the Pakistani pop scene has blossomed into a mature music industry. Even a fierce critic of Pakistani pop, one would find it exceedingly difficult not to acknowledge the worth of the recent crop of songs that have lately hit local TV channels and music stores. They’re melodic. They’re catchy, they’re groovy and they’re soulful.

As right as rain, Meera’s been in the news. For all the right and wrong reasons. It’s been alleged news in showbiz corridors about Meera starring in Mahesh Bhatt’s next venture. And she’s been on a whirl gig globetrot for the past few months. Which all adds up as the right time for some gup and shup with Lollywood princess. Looking scrupulously scrubbed sans make-up in her hotel room in Karachi, Meera utters, ‘No controversial interview this time. Let’s have a non-divisive conversation for a change.’ Her wish our command. Battling the cruel May’s heat in plush ambience of her hotel room Meera gets ready to face my casual volleys.