The goods and bads of fandom

Crazed fans constantly mob their favourite stars, whether it's Shah Rukh Khan or Taylor Swift.

Ujala Ali Khan

December 11, 2012

  • English
  • Arabic

As fans, we tend to have the inexplicable urge to peek into our favourite stars' personal lives. It's a sentiment that some make their living off of. Lady Gaga's Little Monsters and the Bieber Fever-ed create the bread and butter of thousands of tabloids.

It's fair when all we want is to see what Gaga looks like when she grocery shops or to know where the Biebs likes to brunch. The problem is, sometimes that's not enough. Sometimes this attachment acquires unhealthy proportions.

Stories of stars being swarmed by fans are a dime a dozen. Recently Shah Rukh Khan was mobbed in Morocco during the 12th Marrakech International Film Festival. This year's edition celebrated 100 years of Indian cinema and Khan was one of the Bollywood stars in attendance.

All it took was one crazed fan for matters to escalate to a security alert. Someone grabbed and tugged at SRK's coat as he walked by. Apparently, it wasn't good enough that King Khan was shaking hands with and signing autographs for the crowd. Security stepped in to quiet the offender. When asked about the incident later on, SRK shrugged it off with a comment on how great it feels to know that people love him so much.

Taylor Swift, on the other hand, might not be able to shrug off crazed fans' antics so easily, especially when the fans are not even hers to begin with. The 22-year-old singer, who had a brief romance with the One Direction band member Harry Styles at the beginning of the year, has reportedly got back together with him and, as a result, has been the subject of some sinister social media comments. Styles' fans posted Twitter statements such as "I'll murder Taylor Swift. She will not date my Harry" and "If u dating my Harry, I kill u".

When it comes to the Nepali-Indian actress Manisha Koirala, an altogether different sentiment has been making the social media rounds. Fans have been rallying around the Bollywood star since news surfaced that she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. In response, she posted on Facebook: "With all your love and prayers I am sure I'll recover. It was shocking to know, but then life is full of surprises."

The actress, who was last seen in Ram Gopal Varma's Bhoot Returns (a sequel to the Bhoot series and a decidedly critical and commercial failure), may have been out of the limelight for a while, but she still rules the hearts of her fans.

Since debuting in Bollywood with the 1991 Subhash Ghai hit Saudagar, Koirala's angelic face and fierce demeanour have proved to be a tantalising combination, both on and off the screen. When she is not a social activist and a UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador, she has been the target of attempted kidnapping (in 2002; foiled by Mumbai police) and body-double troubles (also in 2002, the director of her film Ek Chotisi Si Love Story apparently used a body double for her to shoot some questionable scenes).

Though she has not churned out a hit for a long time, Koirala proves that out of sight does not always mean out of mind, that there is a flip side to the unhealthy obsessions some fans have with their beloved stars. We're all praying for the quick recovery of Koirala - regardless of whether we get to see her back on screen, we want to see her back on her feet.

The writer is an honest-to-goodness desi girl living in Dubai

Veere di Wedding
Dir: Shashanka Ghosh
Starring: Kareena Kapoo-Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Swara Bhaskar and Shikha Talsania ​​​​​​​
Verdict: 4 Stars

MWTC

Tickets start from Dh100 for adults and are now on sale at www.ticketmaster.ae and Virgin Megastores across the UAE. Three-day and travel packages are also available at 20 per cent discount.

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  • Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
  • Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
  • Do not drive outside designated lanes
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Wicked: For Good

Director: Jon M Chu

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Rating: 4/5

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How being social media savvy can improve your well being

Next time when procastinating online remember that you can save thousands on paying for a personal trainer and a gym membership simply by watching YouTube videos and keeping up with the latest health tips and trends.

As social media apps are becoming more and more consumed by health experts and nutritionists who are using it to awareness and encourage patients to engage in physical activity.

Elizabeth Watson, a personal trainer from Stay Fit gym in Abu Dhabi suggests that “individuals can use social media as a means of keeping fit, there are a lot of great exercises you can do and train from experts at home just by watching videos on YouTube”.

Norlyn Torrena, a clinical nutritionist from Burjeel Hospital advises her clients to be more technologically active “most of my clients are so engaged with their phones that I advise them to download applications that offer health related services”.

Torrena said that “most people believe that dieting and keeping fit is boring”.

However, by using social media apps keeping fit means that people are “modern and are kept up to date with the latest heath tips and trends”.

“It can be a guide to a healthy lifestyle and exercise if used in the correct way, so I really encourage my clients to download health applications” said Mrs Torrena.

People can also connect with each other and exchange “tips and notes, it’s extremely healthy and fun”.

Tips for entertaining with ease

·         Set the table the night before. It’s a small job but it will make you feel more organised once done.

·         As the host, your mood sets the tone. If people arrive to find you red-faced and harried, they’re not going to relax until you do. Take a deep breath and try to exude calm energy.

·         Guests tend to turn up thirsty. Fill a big jug with iced water and lemon or lime slices and encourage people to help themselves.

·         Have some background music on to help create a bit of ambience and fill any initial lulls in conversations.

·         The meal certainly doesn’t need to be ready the moment your guests step through the door, but if there’s a nibble or two that can be passed around it will ward off hunger pangs and buy you a bit more time in the kitchen.

·         You absolutely don’t have to make every element of the brunch from scratch. Take inspiration from our ideas for ready-made extras and by all means pick up a store-bought dessert.

 

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'THE WORST THING YOU CAN EAT'

Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.

Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines: 

Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.

Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.

Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.

Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.

Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.

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1. Dubai silk road

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3. First virtual commercial city

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5. A doctor to every citizen

6. Free economic and creative zones in universities

7. Self-sufficiency in Dubai homes

8. Co-operative companies in various sectors

­9: Annual growth in philanthropy

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Rating: 4/5

Temple numbers

Expected completion: 2022

Height: 24 meters

Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people

Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people

First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time

First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres  

Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres

Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor 

WORLD CUP FINAL

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Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion

The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.

Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".

The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.

He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.

"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.

As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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