Charity well spent speaks for itself and Imran Khan’s Shaukat Khannum Memorial Cancer Hospital is one place where you get to experience this at its best. There have been several instances where one has had a chance of interacting with people who paid only for the transporation from their native town or village to the hospital and rest of the expenses are being taken care of by the hospital management.

Only a few days back I had an opportunity of visiting their laboratory for some regular tests. There I met this charming young boy of not more than 12 years of age who was preparing for his surgery the very next day. Of what small chat we had, he appeared to be more worried about my blood tests instead of his own procedure. I sincerely hope and pray for his treatment being successful…

I wish I had known his name…

Lahore and the rest of Pakistan gets to watch ‘Kismat Konnection’ in theatres from July 18. This Shahid Kapoor & Vidya Balan starrer is the second major Bollywood flick to release simultaniously in India and Pakistan following Priyanka Chopra & Harman Baweja’s largely unimpressive ‘Love Story 2050’. Both movies are a vivid sign of the boundaries between Bollywood & Lollywood thining as the former makes full intrusion into Pakistan’s film entertainment scene.

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And as if this was not all enough, for the more Westernized lot, Angelina Jolie’s ‘Wanted’ screens on July 25 while ‘Kung Fu Panda’ is already evoking rounds of laughter at the main screens.

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Add to that Javed Sheikh’s long awaited venture ‘Khulay Aasman Ke Neechay’ for which enough pre-release buzz was created so much so that the movie even has a fully dedicated blog.  The movie itself was a decent effort according to the audiences.

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Finally, jewel of the year will be Mehreen Jabbar’s much inspiring ‘Ramchand Pakistani’ as it hits cinemas on August 1, 2008.

So, what are you up to this summer!

Places to watch:

Love Story 2050: Plaza, DHA Cinema, Sozo Gold
Kismat Konnection: Gulistan, DHA Cinema, Sozo World
Khulay Aasman Ke Neechay: Empire, Sozo Gold
Kung Fu Panda: DHA Cinema
Wanted: DHA Cinema
Ramchand Pakistani: Still to be announced