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Amorous
Amina By Sumeha Khalid Since the time this dusky beauty emerged on the showbiz scene, Amina Sheikh has caused a buzz amongst industry insiders and television audiences’ alike. Be it modeling, hosting or acting, Aminah does it all with panache. Though she might appear waif in real life, her bold personality continues to shine on screen. Gifted with a charisma and being attractive, Amina Sheikh is also a Brand Ambassador of Kamal Lawn by Zara Shahjahan
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How She Entered Showbiz
“I completed my BA in film from Hampshire College, Amherst MA (USA), took the plunge back home to Pakistan, volunteered for Kara Film Festival and applied for a job at Geo TV. Acting in theatre is something that I did throughout my academic life. Flash forward two years, I was offered a commercial and a telefilm simultaneously. I put in my entire concentration into building my career and never looked back. I did a tele-film ‘Gurmukh Sing ki Waseeyat’ (produced by Khalid Ahmed) which was part of a television program titled ‘Partition Stories.’ Around the same time I did a cover shoot for a magazine where I was one of the Bong Girls. Hence, fashion and acting from the start have come hand in hand for me. Although Amina does not exclusively do print modelling,
Amina considers it her her forte and feels ramp modeling is just not her cup of tea.
to appease my parents— so much so, that now they go through him to make me understand things!”
Amina on how she met Mohib
Spouses in the same field
I met Mohib during my employment at Geo TV. I had known of him before as he used to do theatre when I was also involved in theatre back in A-levels. He was well respected by his peers even in that day. I met him again after four years, it was a pleasant surprise. We worked for a little over a year and decided that we were well-suited for each other in other aspects of life as well. It took me a year to decide that he was the man for me. And I have no qualms admitting that God has been kind and that I’m blessed with a loving and understanding husband. Having said that, it was not all easy for us initially as my parents had to be satisfied with my choice of my life partner. Mohib had to prove himself and thankfully he really knew how
“I feel being in the same field as your spouse has numerous advantages. It can be the biggest form support and give you a peace of mind. People often ask me how I feel when Mohib works with pretty co-actors. Do I feel jealous/possessive? My answer has always been the same. We both encourage each other to work with ‘pretty/handsome’ and more importantly, talented actors of the opposite gender as it is essential for our growth and understanding of the industry. It’s the most harmful thing to restrict the other in such petty matters. Mohib is not a typically possessive Eastern hubby who feels insecure because his wife is in showbiz. If such were the case I don’t think I’d be where I am today. He harbors no such desi-hypocracy!”
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However, Amina considers it a good excuse to spark their chemistry when they get an opportunity to play the romantic lead opposite each other. With so much work under her belt how does she manage to strike a balance between personal and professional life? “It’s pretty easy to maintain a balance especially with all the help at home,” she shares.
Amina’s favourite coactor
“So far it’s Noman Ijaz. He’s very thorough in a performance. I learn from everyone who I get the opportunity to share a frame with.” But it’s not just the choice of her co actor that makes her decide on a particular project. Rather, when taking on an assignment she considers three aspects to be very important - script, director and co-actors as a combination of these determines whether a venture is going to be to be a success.
Amina’s message for the young women of our country…
“One must always pursue what one is most interested in as a career and must never give up on their desires. One must live life to its fullest and never spend too much time in doubt or indecisiveness. Always take a stand, move forward and cut out negativity from your system almost as soon as you find yourself confronted with it. Choose a positive thought over everything else. Always.
Future plans for Amina Sheikh include…
I’m forever evolving but in my own field, because there’s so much to learn and apply. It’s a huge canvas that’ll take a lifetime to fill in. A few years down the line I see myself as an international film actor. It is truly a blessing to be acknowledged for the work we do, it serves as a fuel for our being, motivates us to continue treading our paths with more zeal and
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enthusiasm. It is my challenge to continue to redefine, reinvent, relearn, revise all that I do and bring more to the canvas as I continue.
Rapid fire round
• Your most memorable experience? AS- When Mohib won his first international award for acting in England.
• What defines Aamina Sheikh best? AS- An evolving force.
• One thing you’d like to change about yourself? AS- Sleeping habits.
• Who is your inspiration in your field of work? AS- Cate Blanchett.
• One thing you love about yourself? AS- I give it my all.
• Your most unforgettable experience? AS- My marriage, my year in Turkey during college years, my graduation and the day my younger sister came into my life.
• Something you’ve always wanted to do… AS- Act opposite Will Smith. • Do you like kids? Do you see your own kids in the near future? AS- Yes I do.
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A Restaurant-Hopping Adventure ..................................................................................................
Sunday Fiesta at Avari
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fter walking into Kim’s at Avari and surveying their buffet spread, I was quite certain that I was going to get exactly meal I needed to unwind after a tough week. Trays of bread were laid across a wide counter, showcasing much of the French baking repertoire—chocolate
lined croissants, brioches and madelines were offered amongst other varieties. The second table featured an assortment of salads from classic Caesar’s’ to crunchy vegetables mixes. In a chic touch, the side salads were arranged on the table in tiny glass cups. Awaiting your pleasure was buttery pasta with sliced olives and a mush or a fine mush of tomatoes, onions and
cucumbers. By the time I reached the entrées, I compelled myself step back on my track, realizing that my plate had an ample amount of food on it. The ambience was mellow and hospitable—plush chairs were set around simple wooden tables and the waiters walked around the room offering juices and clearing away plates—perfect for a laidback Sunday afternoon. But, I was
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still unaware about the most exciting element of this dining experience. About half way through meal, the receptionist approached me, asking me to inform him whenever I was ready to move to the next venue. Judging from my befuddled expression, she proceeded to explain that the Sunday Fiesta at Avari involved a lot of movement; of the good kind. Diners began at the continental eatery Kim’s and proceeded to eat at the other three restaurants as well—Dynasty, Fujiyama and Cinnamon Lounge. The concept is similar to a bar-crawl which entails people drinking at more than one bar in a single night, normally walking to each one between drinks. The activity is widely popular in the West as people can socialize and enjoy their drinks without feeling confined to one setting. The experience of cruising from one restaurant to another was quite similar; it felt like a food adventure. As my appetite was quite satisfied by the time I walked over to Dynasty, I glanced over the spread while my friend helped herself to batter fried prawns with crisp, wafer thin shells. Judging from the selection, the buffet was based on diners’ favorite dishes. The gregarious head chef, Erbing Yang, revealed that most diners showed a preference for Cantonese cuisine. Although the variety of food was fairly slim as compared to the selection at Kim’s, all types of meat and a vegetarian noodle dish, were served to ensure a place for everyone at the table. The dim lighting and spacious décor complemented the general tone of my afternoon. Moving on, we made our way to Fujiyamathe renown Japanese restaurant Avari is famous for. Upon entering, we were greeted with a dose of comic relief as first-time sushi eaters huddled around the sushi bar, trying to figure out what was what, exchanging
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hilarious renditions of Japanese pronunciation— one of them questioned whether the dish was, in fact, called seeshi. The hibachi corner featured an array of Tepeniyakis—chicken and vegetarian. After completing our survey, my friend and I sat down by the window overlooking the inviting blue pool. We started with the pickled ginger, which proved to be a perfect palate cleanser, enhancing the flavor of the delicately rolled crab sashimi. As we walked down to our final destination, Cinnamon Lounge, we were fully certain that we could not digest another morsel of food. However, the assortment of bite-sized desserts, arranged beautifully on a cascading mantel piece, looked far too delicious to resist. On one side, petite mousse cups were lined around a fluffy strawberry cheesecake and individual trifles were placed in a vertical line at the bottom. In the center of the lounge, stood a glass counter, containing all sorts of truffles, mithais and mini bon bons and guests could inform the server exactly what and how much they wanted. As we sat with our overambitious dessert plates, the server brought the much awaited green tea, providing a perfect last taste to an enjoyable afternoon.
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Unilever Pakistan launches “Cornetto Music Icons�
A platform to discover new talent
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n collaboration with some of the most renowned artists of the Pakistan music industry, Cornetto, the most popular frozen dessert brand amongst the Pakistani youth, is initiating a fresh music platform, the Cornetto Music Icons. Cornetto Music Icons will begin airing on 28th April 2013, with one episode per week. The show aims to pick the best crop of
young vocal talent and mould them into future icons through a 10 episode TV show on the ARY Network and PTV starting end April 2013. With the selection phase about to come to a close, Cornetto Music Icons is now poised to bring to you the competition to spot the next great voices of
this generation. A whole slew of artists will be involved in the project comprising of big names such as Ali Azmat, Strings, emerging stars such as Meesha Shafi and Zoey Viccaji, and the Pakistani pop icon, Alamgir. These artists will be the primary mentors, with mentoring musicians such as Salman Ahmed, Aamir Zaki, Omran Shafique, Shallum and Faisal Baig lending their talent to bring further diversity to the music. The mediator the show is of course Shahi, as the music maestro and talent selector, accompanied by Ahmed Ali Butt and Cybil Chowdry as the co- hosts of the star-studded extravaganza that is Cornetto Music Icons. Shahzad Hasan (Shahi), an original member of the legendary and iconic band Vital Signs; one of the earliest acts responsible for establishing the Pakistani Pop music industry, will lend his rich experience and partner with Cornetto on this project as the music producer and talent selector.
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Shahi has produced hundreds of hits and helped innumerable artists rise to stardom, and is now for the first time pairing up with a brand to bring together a show that depicts the journey of music production, accompanied by a stellar group of the biggest names the Pakistani Music Industry has to offer. Shahi commented “It’s been a dream of mine to work on a project that’s not only about creating music, but also about creating new talent. Cornetto Music Icons has given me and Pakistan a platform to revive the Pakistani music industry.” Umar Farrukh, Marketing Manager for Wall’s Pakistan commented “Cornetto Music Icons is a unique and unprecedented music project to take Cornetto’s association with music to the next level. It is an effort to celebrate the undiscovered yet profoundly rich talent of Pakistani youth and to give them a platform to make it big while strengthening the bond with the music industry.” Cornetto, has maintained a longstanding relationship with the music industry, partnering with some of the country’s most wellrenowned bands such as Jal, Call & Noori in the past. Globally, it has been linked with music as well, partnering with MTV and using local youth icons in advertisements in most countries where the brand is present.
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Books
Essays on History By Syed Afsar Sajid
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he author of this book Sultan-i-Rome is Ph.D. in history from the University of Peshawar. His dissertation in Ph.D. was on Swat State. Presently he is an assistant professor of history at Govt. Jahanzeb College, Swat. He is a life member of the Pakistan Historical Society, Council of Social Sciences Pakistan and Pukhtu Adabi Board. He has to his credit some forty-one research articles published in academic journals, books, and proceedings. He has also earlier published a book on Swat State highlighting its history, geography, climate and natural vegetation, regional ethnicity and lineages besides an analytical study of its political, administrative, socio-political, and economic development. The chapters of the instant book are titled Geography, Origin of the Pukhtuns, Pukhtu, British Occupation, The Durand Line Agreement, Uprising, Formation, Constitutional Developments, Khudai Khidmatgar Movement, Muslim League, The Referendum, Tribal Administration, Role of Sahibzada Abdul Qayyum in politics and promotion of education, and Role of Abdul Ghaffar Khan (18901988) in politics and promotion of education besides the preface, selected bibliography and index. The province of KPK (NWFP of yore) – literally “area of Pukhtuns” – comprises an area of 74,521 sq. km. with a population of over 20 million. Aside from the Pukhtoons, other ethnic components of the
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population are Hindkowans, Gujjars and Chitralis. The famous Khyber Pass links the province to Afghanistan. The book is purported to cover a variety of topics about KPK and its people. ‘It outlines the geography of the province. The three major theories about the origin of the Pukhtuns are recounted and the Pukhtun code of life, Pukhtu, is described. The author discusses the area’s occupation by the British in 1849 and examines the Durand Line Agreement (1893), along-with its pros and cons. From the uprising against the British in the tribal belt in 1897, the book moves to the formation of the province in 1901 and covers the related constitutional developments. The role of The North-West Frontier (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) – Essays on History the Khudai Khidmatgar Author: Sultan-i-Rome Movement, the Muslim Publisher: Oxford University Press, Karachi League in the province, Pages: 477; Price: Rs.1250/and the 1947 referendum are discussed’ in addition to the role of Sahibzada those interested in the history and Abdul Qayyum (1863-1937) and affairs of the Frontier (KPK) and Abdul Ghaffar Khan (1890- the Pukhtuns, and the region as a 1988) in politics and promotion whole. of education. The administrative The book is written in a apparatus that prevails in the tribal perspicacious style. It is adequately areas has also been analysed. supplemented by facts and figures The themes and issues elaborated in the book are placed in their and relevant statistical data on the correct ‘geo-political, strategic, themes narrated in its contents. and historical contexts’ so as to His approach to the subject amply provide the reader a comprehensive reflects the catholicity of his overview of the situation. Thus it temperament and the dispassionate is intended to cater for students, objectivity of his authorial stance. general readers, specialists and
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