Hong Kong, Jan 14 (DPA) The Hong Kong pop star at the centre of a sex photos scandal is to testify in Canada against the man accused of downloading pictures from his computer, a news report said Wednesday.

Edison Chen, 28, has refused to return to Hong Kong for court proceedings surrounding the pictures showing him with a string of naked young starlets that circulated on the Internet early last year.

A deal has now been reached for Chen to give evidence instead at a five-day hearing in the Supreme Court of British Columbia Feb 23, the South China Morning Post reported.

The case caused an international sensation and the pictures, allegedly stolen from Chen’s laptop when he took it in for repairs, were viewed by millions of fans in Hong Kong, China and Taiwan.

Chen’s refusal to return to Hong Kong has stalled the trial of computer technician Sze Ho-chun, 23, accused of distributing the photos of Chen performing sex acts with well-known starlets.

Sze, who will not appear at the hearing in Canada, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of obtaining access to a computer with a view to making a dishonest gain.

He will go on trial in Hong Kong in April, the newspaper reported, and Chen’s testimony from the Canadian court hearing will be presented as part of the prosecution case.

Chen, who was forced to apologise to the starlets and announce his retirement from showbiz, was named one of Hong Kong’s People of 2008 in a radio poll last week.

Islamabad, Jan 15 (IANS) Pakistani artistes Thursday condemned the harassment of comedian Shakeel Siddiqi during the recording of a comedy show in Mumbai.

“Performing art people are very sensitive and such kind of treatment in India raises many questions and is very unfortunate,” Pakistan’s leading comedian Umer Sharif told IANS.

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) activists Wednesday entered a studio where Siddiqi was shooting for the comedy show “Comedy Circus” and told him to leave for Pakistan. MNS, led by Raj Thackeray, became notorious last year for violence against people who had come from other parts of India to Maharashtra state, of which Mumbai is the capital.

“I believe he would have gone to India after government’s permission and making his trip public through media,” Sharif said. He said that this incident will certainly force several Pakistani artistes to stay away from the Indian showbiz industry.

Siddiqi went to Mumbai last week to perform in the show.

According to sources in the Pakistani film industry, at present there are at least six Pakistani artistes in India who are working on different projects.

“I know that at least six of the Pakistani people from our industry are in India but I don’t want to name them… none of them have gone there with proper documents like work permit etc and are on visit visas,” said a senior producer in the Pakistani film industry, requesting anonymity.

He said that it was responsibility of the host to provide security to the Pakistanis working there. He also criticised the role of Indian High Commission in Islamabad, which he said was “providing them visit visas instead of work visa”.

Human rights activist Sohaila Rashid said that the Indian government is responsible for the incident. “This is strange that a Pakistani artiste was beaten up in Mumbai. This shows how responsible is the Indian government,” said Rashid, adding it can add to the current tension between the two countries.

Sources in the Foreign Office said that they have asked the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi to immediately contact Siddiqi and repatriate him to Pakistan.

The sources said that the government plans to issue an advisory to Pakistanis who are present in India or planning to travel there on security issues.

“It seems a horrible news and affects the relationship between the film industries of both the countries,” said senior film producer Sangeeta. She said that Shakeel was well-known in India and was a source of bringing joy to millions of faces all across the sub-continent.

She said: “I am afraid that this can create further problems.”

Film: “Ramchand Pakistani“;

Cast: Nandita Das, Rashid Farooqui, Noman Ijaz, Syed Fazal Hussain,Navaid Jabbar Maria Wasti;

Director: Mehreen Jabbar; Rating: ***

Cross border problems is the basic theme of first time Pakistani director Mehreen Jabbar’s “Ramchand Pakistani”.

Since partition in 1947, India and Pakistan have fought three wars, excluding the Kargil conflict. Six decades after partition, the common man continues to pay a heavy price for the tension between the two countries.

There are several cases of innocent people from India and Pakistan who are caught and sent to jail on mere suspicion.

Mehreen’s film focuses on the human sufferings on both sides of the border and she has succeeded in giving it unbiased treatment.

The stellar performances by the entire cast make “Ramchand Pakistani” an emotionally engrossing watch.

Set in 2002, the film, inspired by a true story, is about the accidental crossing of the Pakistan-India border by a boy and his father.

“The film is based on actual events. My father (former Pakistani politician and filmmaker Javed Jabbar) works a lot in the areas close to the desert. One day he came across a father-son duo who narrated their story to him. That is where we got the inspiration to make this film. I am sure it will reach out to audiences,” said Mehreen.

The film revolves around Ramchand, an eight-year-old Dalit Hindu boy. He lives with his parents - mother Champa (Nandita Das) and father Shankar (Rashid Farooqui) in a village in the border area of Pakistan.

One day, after a fight with his mother, Ramchand runs away from home. While walking aimlessly, he accidentally crosses the border not knowing this will cost him his freedom.

His father spots him crossing the line of control and tries to stop him. In doing so, he too crosses the border. As expected, the boy and his father are caught and put in a jail in India. After that starts their long battle to prove their innocence and secure freedom.

While at the mercy of jail authorities, Shankar tries to cope with the trauma of forced separation from his mother. His mother is shattered by their sudden disappearance.

Nandita is the only non-Pakistani actor in “Ramchand Pakistani”. Well-known Pakistani TV and stage actors like Rashid Farooqi, Maria Wasti and Farooq Pario’s performances are specially noteworthy.

Fazal Hussain, who plays the eight-year-old protagonist Ramchand, has been particularly appreciated for his outstanding performance.

“The younger Ramchand has been played by Fazal Hussain. A friend of mine who is a director himself suggested him after a lot of search. The older one, however, is 14 years old. He is the son of a mechanic in Pakistan and has acted for the first time ever in any film,” said Mehreen.

The no-frills film is made at a nominal budget. Technically, the film is not of high quality, but Mehreen’s narrative manages to hold the viewers’ attention till the credits roll out.

A movie’s title always somehow depicts the story that lies within. Unlike Javed Sheikh’s Khulai Aasman Ke Neechai starring Sana, Saleem Sheikh, Humayun saeed and Meera which had no connection with the title. Khulay Aasman Ke Neechay claims to be a high budget movie and a complete family entertainer but it surely falls short of all its expectations after the watch. The story is based on a couple being paired up since childhood (Sana and Saleem Sheikh). Nadeem gets Sana engaged to Saleem Sheikh and adopts her as well to stay with them. The couple live in the same house till the time Saleem Sheikh has to fly abroad. He happens to go abroad and meet Meera. Thereafter there are some really weird scene without any weightage to the dialogues between Saleem Sheikh and Meera. Meera’s accent is irritating till the end and Sana’s stupidity is sky high. The whole movie is comprised of a love rectangle where Saleem Sheikh loves Meera, Sana loves Saleem Sheikh and Humayun Saeed loves Sana. The movie has a series of dumb songs but the locations are nice. The ending is even worse than the whole movie. In short one should go watch the movie because of the beautiful locations, better technology and timepass but KAKN does not live up to our expectations. Much is expected out of Javed Sheikh as he is compared to Karan Johar by many. Saleem Sheikh’s dance looks horrendous and Meera looks stunning. Sana can easily be ignored. Nadeem and Humayun Saeed are the best actors in the lot. We rate KAKN as a 6/10. Source :

One of the hot and sexiest actresses in the Pakistan film industry Lollywood, Rumya has left it. According to Rumya she cannot survive in the dirty unhealthy atmosphere of Lollywood and that was exactly why she left Pollywood, the Pushto film industry. Rumya says that acting runs in her blood and she is made for it, but the film industry was using her as a sex symbol and she was unable to show her mettle in the realm of acting. She also added that she is perfect for the lead role in the drama serials and many private channels have offered her a lead role