Life & Style

Doctor Bahu wrapped up last week, and while viewers were divided over the finale, star Kubra Khan had only warmth and gratitude for her team. In an Instagram reel posted on Wednesday, Kubra shared behind-the-scenes clips from filming. She explained she deliberately left out the show’s OST, since audiences had already heard it enough times. Instead, she said the experience reminded her of a line from Elton John’s “Your Song.” She described the mix of emotions as something both funny and hard to hide. She said Doctor Bahu carried a similar weight for her, tied not just to the script but to the entire set. She believes a good atmosphere on set makes half the work easier, and this project proved it. Nine months of filming passed quickly, she said, thanks to how much fun the cast and crew had together. She joked that actors are known to laugh during romantic scenes, but on this set, they laughed during sad ones too. Kubra admitted the cast and crew were not quite like family, despite what people often claim. She compared the bond more to friendships built in high school or college, where everyone sticks together no matter what. Whether it was rain, sunshine, or a rough day, the team always supported one another. Without wanting to sound overly sentimental, she credited the people behind the project for making the experience special. She specifically thanked director Mehreen Jabbar, writer Sanam Mehdi Zaryab, and director of photography Tayyab Shah. Khan also expressed appreciation for her fellow cast members. She emphasized the crew’s role in particular, crediting them for making the set such a beautiful place to work. She ended her note on a reflective note, saying she was not sure she would ever work with a team quite like this again. Still, she said she would always look back on the experience fondly. Khan added that the show has raised her expectations for future projects. She admitted the bar now feels impossibly high after her time on Doctor Bahu. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DbnI7m0on5o/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

Filmmaker Arfat Sheikh’s film Saffron Kingdom is now streaming worldwide. It has landed on the Palestinian-owned platform Watermelon+. The release comes after a strong run on the international festival circuit. Sheikh hails from India-Occupied Kashmir. He had earlier described the film as his attempt to reclaim his people’s stories from Bollywood. He said he wanted to take the pen back from an industry he views as a tool of oppression. The story follows Masrat, played by Diana Aras. She is a half-widow, a term used for Kashmiri women whose husbands have been forcibly disappeared by Indian forces. After her husband vanishes, Masrat flees the valley with her young son Rizwan, played by Alex Cheeks. The pair eventually settle in the United States. There, both mother and son must confront the trauma of their years spent living under occupation. Old memories resurface even as they try to build a new life. Sheikh said the film leans heavily on its female characters to carry the emotional core. He called the choice a deliberate allegory. According to him, the story centeres on two women rather than men. He explained that this reflects reality on the ground. Few men remain in India-Occupied Kashmir today, he said. The women who stay behind, he added, reveal what survival under occupation truly demands. Saffron Kingdom premiered at the Wake Forest Film Festival in the United States. It then travelled to six more countries. Screenings consistently drew full houses. The film found strong support from minority communities. Many viewers related to its themes of migration and inherited trauma. With its streaming debut, Saffron Kingdom now sits alongside other politically resonant titles on Watermelon+. These include Oscar nominee The Voice of Hind Rajab and Bafta-winning documentary Gaza: Doctors Under Attack. Pakistan’s 2025 Oscar submission The Glassworker is also part of the platform’s growing library. Together, these films reflect Watermelon+’s focus on stories of occupation, displacement, and resistance. The platform continues to build a catalogue centered on voices often left out of mainstream cinema.

Bollywood actor Sunny Deol found himself at the center of controversy on Sunday. He was speaking to Indian media during a promotional event for his upcoming film Batwara 1947. Deol, joined by his son and co-star Karan Deol, was asked about “Pakistan as a nation” and its “atmosphere” by a journalist present at the event. Rather than answering directly, he chose to quote his late father, veteran actor Dharmendra. He said the two countries could not really be separated in feeling, since they were once one. Quoting his father, he called India “mother” and Pakistan “maternal aunt.” He added that everyone already knows the two nations remain connected in some way. Dharmendra passed away last November. He had long supported warmer ties between India and Pakistan throughout his life. Deol chose not to elaborate further on Pakistan. Instead, he stressed his role as an actor rather than a political voice. He said actors and filmmakers exist to tell stories, not to push political agendas. Despite this attempt to stay neutral, his history tells a different story. Deol has built much of his career on hyper-patriotic films like Border and Gadar. He has also served as a BJP politician in the past. This contrast between his politics and his softer comments did not sit well with many online. One social media user accused him of relying on “nationalistic jingoism” during his past election campaigns. Others called him “opportunistic” for echoing his father’s peace-leaning stance now. A wave of users criticized what they saw as sympathy toward Pakistan. Tensions between the two countries have remained high for years. They escalated further after a four-day military conflict in May 2025. India responded by restricting Pakistani entertainment content online, banning YouTube channels and Instagram accounts of several celebrities. Streaming platforms like Spotify also removed related songs and imagery. Given this backdrop, the backlash against Deol’s comments was almost inevitable. His film, Batwara 1947, is set during Partition. It follows a Muslim family who flee to Pakistan amid the violence of that era, only to find a Hindu woman already living in the home they were allotted in Lahore. Directed by Rajkumar Santoshi, the film also stars Preity Zinta, Ali Fazal, and Abhimanyu Singh. It is slated for release on August 14.

Sonu Nigam recently revisited one of the most controversial chapters of his career. He spoke about it during a candid conversation on the YouTube show Game Changers with Komal Nahta. The topic centered on the time music companies banned him after he raised his voice on copyright issues. Nigam began by looking back at how well his career was going before the controversy started. He said albums kept releasing one after another during that time. Audiences loved his work, and everything seemed to be going smoothly. That changed the moment he raised concerns over copyright. Several music companies responded by cutting ties with him entirely. He recalled how people within the industry began labelling him an activist at the time. The tone behind that label, he noted, was often dismissive rather than respectful. Looking back now, he finds it ironic that those same companies eventually started paying him royalties. He added that representatives from these companies now visit his home as guests. Nigam also explained his reasoning behind taking such a bold stand at the time. He said someone had to take the risk, comparing his decision to belling the cat. According to him, he felt he was meant for something bigger than just singing. He believed he was destined to carry forward a movement that legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar had once started. That movement, he said, had never reached its logical conclusion. When asked whether he felt scared during that turbulent period, Nigam said fear was not something he experienced. He admitted he never expected to actually get banned in the first place. He initially believed things would eventually work out on their own. However, as the situation kept worsening and more doors closed around him, he found strength through his live performances instead. He felt confident that nobody could stop him once he stepped on stage. Nigam went on to describe how his relationship with music companies gradually improved over time. He credited changing laws, along with the industry’s eventual realization that his stance had been justified. According to him, this shift slowly repaired his equation with these companies. Today, he said, their interactions feel warm and almost familial in nature. Reflecting on the entire journey, Nigam suggested that everyone involved likely needed to go through that difficult phase for real change to happen. He noted that any bitterness or resentment that once existed between him and the industry has since completely faded away, leaving behind a much healthier relationship.

Veteran actor Faysal Quraishi has made a bold statement about how far Pakistani dramas have come on the world stage. He shared his views during a recent appearance on Fahad Abid’s podcast, Fahad’s Den. According to Quraishi, Pakistani dramas are now competing directly with Netflix productions on a global level. He noted that free-to-air Pakistani dramas are increasingly being compared to major international Netflix shows, despite operating on vastly different budgets. He broke down the numbers to make his point clearer. A highly successful Pakistani drama, he said, typically earns around Rs 20 crore at its peak. Certain Indian series made for Netflix, on the other hand, are produced with budgets nearing Rs 40 crore. Yet, according to Quraishi, these productions still end up being measured against Pakistani dramas in terms of overall impact. He went further, pointing to viewership numbers as proof of this growing rivalry. Quraishi claimed that a single episode of a Pakistani drama often pulls in more YouTube views than an entire hit Netflix series combined. He said this reflects just how deeply Pakistani content has connected with audiences around the world. Quraishi also raised a pointed question about the relationship between the two industries. He asked why Indian streaming platforms have not made Pakistani dramas available on Netflix, if the two truly are not in competition. According to him, this hesitation comes from a deliberate push to protect and promote homegrown Indian content instead. Beyond his industry comparison, Quraishi shared a personal story to highlight just how far-reaching Pakistani dramas have become. He recalled sitting inside a cinema once, only to spot the person beside him watching a Pakistani drama on their phone. He added that a friend had told him a similar story, describing how commonly people now watch these dramas on mobile devices rather than television screens. Quraishi has built an extensive career in the Pakistani entertainment industry over the years. His body of work includes popular dramas such as Fitoor, Farq, Dil-e-Momin, and Khaie. He recently earned strong praise for his performance in Case No. 9, further reinforcing his reputation as one of the country’s most respected television actors.