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Tanveer Afridi: ‘Atif’s fee could have funded another Pakistan Idol’

Tanveer Afridi

Pakistani singer Tanveer Afridi has provided a detailed explanation regarding the notable absence of certain major artists’ songs on the popular reality competition program Pakistan Idol.

Speaking during a recent discussion, Afridi confirmed that specific copyright restrictions actively prevent the show from incorporating a selection of well-known tracks.

“Pakistan Idol definitely has restrictions on some songs because we do not have their copyrights,” he stated explicitly. Afridi elaborated that the financial burden of licensing particular songs is prohibitively expensive for the production’s budget. He provided a specific example, highlighting the substantial fee required to secure the rights to perform songs by the renowned artist Atif Aslam.

“The price for Atif Aslam’s songs was so high that we could have made another Pakistan Idol with that money,” he remarked. Afridi firmly emphasized that recording artists possess the full and legitimate right to determine the commercial value of their creative output. “He is a big artist. It is his right to ask for whatever fee he wants,” Afridi affirmed. Pakistan Idol made its highly anticipated return to television screens in the year 2025 after a hiatus spanning more than ten years.

The program is broadcast on Geo TV and successfully revives the globally recognized Idol franchise format for viewership within Pakistan.

The judging panel assembled for the most recent season features prominent music industry figures Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Fawad Khan, Zeb Bangash, and Bilal Maqsood. The show presents a platform for aspiring vocalists from all regions of the nation to compete for the prestigious title of Pakistan’s next premier singing star.

Read more: “Arijit was trying to sound like Atif,” says Palash Sen on Atif’s influence

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Saif Ali Khan Hilarious Reaction To Aap Ki Izzat Success

Saif Ali Khan plays Behram in Aap Ki Izzat. He became famous after his stint in Tamasha and he was the winner. He has now made his drama debut and he is shining as the dreaded Sabzi Wala in the show which is being discussed everywhere.

Aap Ki Izzat is currently the top show on Pakistani television. Saif Ali Khan is the Sabziwala Beena chooses to flee with. His character is the talk of the town and the actor is now reacting to this success in a hilarious manner.

Saif Ali Khan took to Instagram and shared that every husband needs to know that if they ignore you, there is a Sabziwala out there for you.

The internet is reacting to Saif Ali Khan’s video and his celebrity friends are enjoying this tale. One said, “Sabziwala needs to be handsome like you.” Another added, “This is funny.” One went, “Sabziwala bhi dhoka deta hai.”

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Celebrities

Jia Ali Addresses Her Affair With Masarrat Misbah’s Husband

Jia Ali is a supermodel of the 90s and early 2000s. She has been a part of the fashion industry for ages now and she also had a stellar acting career. She has faced a huge scandal in her career in the very beginning and it still follows her to this day. She is a blunt and straight forward person and spoke about this scandal head on.

Jia Ali started her career by working at Masarrat Misbah’s salon. She was 18 when she worked there and she was later allegedly fired. The scandal came about that Jia was having an affair with Masarrat Misbah’s then husband. This led to the couple’s divorce and Masarrat fired Jia Ali from her salon. Jia later started modelling and acting.

Jia Ali has addressed this in a podcast named The Blue Truth Digital. She said that she was 18 and that was Masarrat Misbah’s second marriage with a man named Aamir who was like a brother to her. Miss Misbah tried to stop her from certain things as her marriage was in shambles but as a teenager she did not understand those nuances. Later the couple got divorced and as she was a young model, her name was scandalized with the husband. She was also banned at places from working but she became a successful model.

The internet is reacting to her statement. One said, “You were her kaam wali.” Another added, “She destroyed Masarrat’s home.” One went, “Masarrat is an angel and never badmouthed her.”

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Nabeel Zafar demands actor royalties, citing “Bulbulay” reruns

Nabeel Zafar

Actor Nabeel Zafar, during a recent interview, addressed one of the entertainment industry’s most enduring and deeply felt frustrations: the complete absence of a royalty system for actors, even as their performances continue to be re-aired for years—and in some cases, decades—after their original premiere dates.

Zafar described the lack of royalties as one of the most painful and glaring shortcomings within the industry. He pointed out that shows like his own beloved, long-running sitcom *Bulbulay* are currently being broadcast multiple times a day across a wide range of television channels, yet none of that repeated airtime generates any financial return for the actors, writers, or creators who originally contributed to the show’s success.

“If I were receiving royalties for these broadcasts, my children and I would be well provided for,” he said candidly. “Think about it—digital has become an entire platform now. But as for the channels we work with, they say, ‘Don’t even think about it; you should lose your memory regarding this,'” the actor added, highlighting the dismissive and discouraging attitude that performers often encounter when they raise the issue of residual payments.

Zafar also pushed back on the perception of acting as a lucrative career in the country. “Globally, show business is known as the highest-paying profession, but in Pakistan, if your pay cheque is delayed by even two days, you are finished; you have nothing left. Then you are left fighting a battle for survival,” he said.

That, he claimed, was also why so few artists spoke up publicly about the industry’s problems. “Let me tell you, we are very helpless people,” he said. The actor added, “The battle for survival is so extreme that while everyone is aware of the situation and knows the mindset, no one wants to speak out publicly, because the issues that exist in our industry are real.”

Zafar also discussed his own career journey, sharing how he went from serious dramas to long-form comedy.

The actor noted that Bulbulay, now past 800 episodes since it first aired, had been running long enough to grow up alongside its viewers. Keeping the sitcom fresh after nearly two decades, however, was the hardest part of the job, he said. “It might look easy that I’m standing at over 800 episodes after 17 years, but behind it lies massive effort, especially regarding content,” he stated. “The hardest part is keeping the content engaging with just four or five characters. And you can’t repeat yourself,” Zafar added.

The actor also discussed how he came to produce his own work, after starting without the funds to hire other actors. “I felt I needed to step into production, so I created my own production company,” he said. “I didn’t have enough money, so to save costs, I played the character myself,” Zafar shared.

He also noted that his move into directing came in 2003, with the serial Waada. “I got bored in between, so in 2003, I directed my first major serial called Waada with a huge ensemble cast,” he said. “I didn’t act in it; I only directed,” the actor added.

On the acting side, Zafar said he now prioritised the strength of a character over anyone who was attached to the project. This standard, he said, had made him choosier with age. “The characters offered to me now are always ‘strict father’, ‘angry father’, ‘mild father’, or ‘soft father’,” he said, adding that he had returned many scripts recently. “Give me a proper character with substance so there is something to actually perform,” Zafar stated.

His goal for acting, however, remained the same: making an audience believe in the world on screen. “My philosophy as an actor has always been that whatever you do, whether tragedy, comedy, or anything else, you must bring the audience into a state of make-believe so they truly believe in what you are doing,” he said.

Moving to discuss how he evaluated newcomers hoping to break into the entertainment industry, Zafar drew a firm line between genuine talent and casual interest, saying, “There is a big difference between passion and real talent.” He added, “In our country, 90% of people just have a hobby-level passion, but there is definitely a distinction between having a passion and possessing talent.”

That distinction, the actor said, is why he was careful about how freely he offered encouragement. “I certainly encourage people, but my concern is that if you encourage the wrong person, you could end up ruining their future,” Zafar shared.

Even with his own children, the actor revealed that he had pushed for a professional degree. “I haven’t stopped my own children from anything, but I explicitly told them: ‘Get a professional degree first,'” he said. “It’s a rare blessing if your passion becomes your livelihood, but you must have a solid foundation.”

Starting out in the early 1990s with serious, heroic roles in serials such as Din and Daldal, Zafar later starred in Dhuwan which brought him overnight fame and recognition in Pakistani television. He has since become a household name for his role as Nabeel, the central male lead who tries to manage his chaotic household, often finding himself in funny, stressful situations with his family.

With a line of work on-screen and even behind the camera, Zafar’s message was clear: the industry had grown, but the system around it hadn’t kept pace.

Read more: Nabeel Zafar’s Take On Lazawal Ishq’s Failure

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