The uncrowned queen of Pakistani cinema, Rani, does not need any regular introductions. A whirlwind of energy, an enigmatic woman, an actress par excellence, Rani was the ultimate superstar during the golden era of Pakistani cinema. She happened to be one of the biggest icons in the history of the Pakistani entertainment industry. Rani began her career in Anwar Kamal Pasha’s ‘Mehboob’ in 1962, however, she came to fame after her work with director Hassan Tariq. It was under Hassan Tariq’s direction that Rani delivered hits in succession with ‘Anjuman’, ‘Tehzeeb’, ‘Umrao Jan Ada’ and ‘Surraiya Bhopali’, to name a few.
Rani rose to fame from humble beginnings and delivered the finest films of her time. As an actress, Rani was larger than life. She had that something special that only Mina Kumari in Bollywood possessed and had she been there, she could have been equally successful.
Highlighting the issue
In a recent talk show on Dunya News, anchorperson Kamran Shahid sensationalised the news that the late actress Rani had an affair with actor Shahid Hameed, his father. According to Kamran, both actresses Rani and Barbara Sharif had a love triangle with his father, the latter of whom he married, only to divorce shortly after.
In the light of these circumstances, actress Rani’s daughter, Rabia Hassan, clarified on her social media that Kamran Shahid had done nothing but created the entire scenario and that her mother, Rani only had a professional relationship with Shahid Hameed. She expressed her disappointment on “channels promoting such eye-catching headlines to spread misinformation, just to grab viewers attention.”
As it happens, Rani was a senior to actor Shahid and dramatising such news, long after the actress’s sad demise due to cancer comes off in a bad taste. In short, everything wrong with the media has been reflected in Kamran Shahid’s coverage of such news, proof of nothing but yellow journalism.
Whether it is to feed the constant insatiable appetite of readers or to get more clicks and views, the dressing up of fake content by Kamran Shahid in this context or by others to make it appear authentic, is absolutely wrong. Maybe Kamran Shahid is trying to become the next gossip queen extraordinaire. It is an irony, that a popular socio-political anchorperson is beating such a tin drum at a time when the nation is already being plagued by brutal, heartless murders of helpless women.
