News Update Times

Lahore (NUT-DESK)

After almost 2 years, Lahore is ready for its first stage performance, by Ajoka Institute’s “Art of Acting” students. Ajoka’s two acclaimed short plays entitled “Sharam Di Gal” & “Dhee Raniay” will be performed on Friday November 12th at 7 PM, at Alhamra Hall 3, Lahore Arts Council Mall road.

These short plays were originally performed over 25 years ago, and unfortunately, still remain relevant today. Women continue to face the same challenges they faced over two decades ago and a collective awareness is the need of the hour.

Ajoka Institute’s director Nirvaan Nadeem has directed both the plays. He told that aspiring actors from Ajoka’s acting class have put in lot of hard work and exercises for their maiden appearance on the stage. All the actors are very excited for this special performance and regularly practicing their roles in rehearsal sessions.

Ajoka Executive Director Shahid Nadeem shared that “Sharam Di Gal” & “Dhee Raniay” are evergreen plays, which were originally directed by Ajoka’s founding director Madeeha Gauhar. Both the plays highlight important social issues in an interesting way providing a socially meaningful entertainment.

The programme includes screenings and certificate distribution to the acting students. The event is being held in collaboration with Lahore Arts Council.

Lahore (NUT-DESK)

The director of Squid Game, the dystopic South Korean TV series on Netflix, expressed confidence that the wildly popular show will return for a second season.

“We are in the talks for Season Two,” writer-director Hwang Dong-hyuk said in an interview on Monday. “It’s all in my head. I have the basic storyline, the broad plan, so we’re in the brainstorming stages.

“I’m going to go ahead and say there will be a second season, but as for when, I cannot tell you now,” Hwang added.

“He will come back, he will come back and do something about this world,” the director said, referring to protagonist Seong Gi-hun, played by actor Lee Jung-Jae.

Hwang, Lee and others involved in the show, one of Netflix’s biggest hits ever, attended a special Hollywood screening on Monday to celebrate its success.

Squid Game, in which debt-ridden people compete in a deadly game for a fortune, has inspired Halloween costumes and themed protests at the United Nations global climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, among other things.

“It feels so surreal,” Hwang said of his creation’s impact. “It’s almost like I myself am living in a fantastical world.”

“I just can’t believe this is happening,” actor Lee said. “I did not know or ever imagined it would make it this big. I didn’t ever think we would get this much love, so being here and standing in front of you, everything, I just feel so grateful.”

The series’ success echoes that of 2020 Oscar winner Parasite, which also showed the gap between rich and poor in South Korea.

Actor Park Hae-soo, who plays a contestant named Cho Sang-woo, said, “Everybody actually has that rage, but I think the Koreans are really able to express that honestly.”

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Lahore (NUT-DESK)

The trailer for Sajal Aly and Bilal Abbas Khan-starrer Khel Khel Mein is finally here, delving into the heart of the 1971 war and the subsequent birth of Bangladesh following the split between East and West Pakistan.

The trailer opens with a flashback to the moment of the split, with a turban-clad man announcing, “Your country has been broken apart. You are no longer in Pakistan, but in Bangladesh.” The announcement is met with a sob from a young man, who then falls to his knees in despair.

According to the trailer, the film follows a group of students, led by Sajal’s character, who wish to put on a theatrical performance on the fall of Dhaka at a competition being held in the same city.

The decision is met with backlash from faculty who do not wish to provoke unnecessary “controversy”. The trailer then follows the trials and tribulations the students, particularly Sajal’s character, undergo in order to put on the play in Bangladesh, which includes hostile attitudes from those on the other side on the border as well as friction from those at home.

The trailer ends with a voiceover from Sajal and Bilal, “Aik jaisa hi pyaar nikle ga, dil ki lelein talaashiyan donoun. Aik ghalti hui, kisi se bhi, maang lete hain, maafiyaan donoun. [The love you find will be the same in both of our hearts. A mistake was made, by one or the other, let us both ask for forgiveness].”

The story appears to centre the people at the heart of the conflict, placing the responsibility of the split between East and West Pakistan on external factors. Judging from the trailer, Khel Khel Mein appears to employ a non-linear narrative, with flashbacks from the past constituting a large part of the film.

The fact that Nabeel Qureshi and Fizza Ali Meerza have come forward with Khel Khel Mein is highly appreicated.”

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