Living on the edge in Karachi

So after a heartfelt account of Lahore in my column last week, friends from Karachi felt a bit left out. Lahoris beam that Karachi doesn’t have much to like — they tell me that like Mumbai, it’s all brick and mortar. It has no heart. I disagree. The heart exists. You have to find it. I’ve made some deep relationships in this infamous city — some closer than the ones in my own.

But in Karachi I also feel like I’m living on the edge. A sword of unpredictability looms large. You lead your life under the shadow of a gun. I worry that something will happen to me at a traffic light. I worry about getting mugged in a public place. I worry that I’m being trailed. Justified or not, the city throws you into the grip of fear and helplessness. But the sheer thrill of not knowing what might happen next draws me to it.

During one of my visits, I found myself at a sundown party on a building terrace, not far from Bilawal House. The alcohol being consumed was on a par with the kind at top soirees in Mumbai and London. This went on uninterrupted even while a ferocious bomb blast rocked one part of the city and a nasty gun attack bled another. Nothing seemed to deter or faze the revellers.

In many ways, Karachi is a miniature Mumbai, except that the latter is infinitely (and relatively) safer. Both cities are blessed with an unfailing spirit of resilience; their people immune to atrocity. Most Karachiites have come to terms with the fact that tabdeeli and Naya Pakistan are more jingoistic political catchlines than realities. All said and suffered, they know jeena yahaan, marna yahaan!

Net outrage

We live in a world where the Net and its power spark insecurity, debate and outrage. While India successfully won its right of internet freedom and got Section 66A struck down by the Supreme Court, Pakistan finds itself battling a draconian and fascist Cyber Crime Bill. Why is the current government behaving like its Saudi big brothers? Why is it hell-bent on suppressing the fundamental rights of the very people that voted it to power? The official ban on YouTube was ridiculous enough; hopefully the proposed Bill will be junked to prevent the country from slipping deeper into the Dark Ages.

Bollywood Joy

Pakistan loves Bollywood and Pakistanis love being in Bollywood. Kareena and Karisma Kapoor were faces of a leading Pakistani lawn brand. Nargis Fakhri got snapped up to feature in the TVCs of a telecom giant. A television network got Sunidhi Chauhan to perform at a recent awards show held in Dubai. I am told that my Lahori friends, Jalal & Satti, hopped over to Delhi to design the swish wedding of Kunal Kapoor and Naina Bachchan. Atif Aslam recently recorded a new single, the video of which will feature Jackie Shroff’s son, Tiger. And the emerging Lahori rock band, Soch, which recreated one of their hit Nescafe Basement tunes for my recent film, Ek Villain, are ecstatic to be invited to Kuala Lumpur for the forthcoming IIFA Awards where they are nominated.

Hello Fawad

Hello! India’s latest cover boy is a new Khan. Fawad Afzal Khan. Bollywood can be a cruel place. You never know when the tables turn. So the new cross-border darling of B-town is soaking it in while it lasts. Sporting a crisp suit and his characteristic designer stubble, the sexy Pakistani import who shot to fame with “Humsafar” and “Zindagi Gulzar Hai”, has triggered anxiety among a slew of Pak actors who also hope that their dramas get on to India’s Zindagi TV channel and bring them a huge stroke of luck.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 23^rd,  2015.

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