SEVEN SURPRISING MOMENTS
ONE of the best aspects of 2021 was wonderful celebrity fuelled moments that took everyone by surprise and made the past 12 months even more magical. Here are super seven celebrity surprises from what turned out to be another rollercoaster year.
Adarsh Gourav: The White Tiger film adaptation may have had popular stars Priyanka Chopra and Rajkummar Rao in key roles, but it was unknown actor Adarsh Gourav that surprised everyone with his stunning performance. The 27-year-old outshone his more established co-stars in the film adaptation of the best-selling novel and got himself major nominations, including at the BAFTA awards.
Hadiqa Kiani: After decades of making great music, Pakistan’s greatest female pop star made a stunning acting debut. The 47-year-old icon followed up an award-winning acting debut in hit serial Raqeeb Se with a stunning turn in Dobara. Apart from showing off her impressive acting ability, she also delivered stronger older protagonists in a TV landscape dominated by young characters.
Riz Ahmed: The British actor became the first Muslim and Pakistani to get a Best Actor nomination at the Oscars for his stunning performance in Sound Of Metal. The surprise ground-breaking achievement was accompanied by Best Actor nominations at the BAFTA, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Awards. The amazing achievement became a landmark moment and showed anything is possible.
Debattama Saha and Karanvir Sharma: A lot of Indian TV stars have appeared in music videos, but the Shaurya Aur Anokhi Ki Kahani stars took things a step further with the stunning
Jo Tera Howega. They recorded the terrific track in their own vocals, produced the beautiful looking video themselves and released it independently. The result was one of this year’s best musical moments and a boss move from the rapidly rising stars.
Jameela Jamil: We all knew about Kumail Nanjiani being part of mega-budget superhero movie The Eternals and Iman Vellani playing the title role in forthcoming series Ms Marvel, but what took us all by surprise was Jameela Jamil signing up to star in She-Hulk. The British Asian actress will join the Marvel universe as super villain Titania in the hotly anticipated 10-episode series, due to premiere in 2022.
Yohani and Satheeshan: The Sri Lankan music duo teamed up to deliver this year’s biggest sleeper hit with their successful song Manike Mage Hithe. The cover version has been viewed over 180 million times on YouTube and inspired countless remakes. Most importantly, the Sinhala language song put Sri Lanka on the international musical map and broke ground for others in their country.
Sajal Ali: It was a delightful moment when it was revealed the Pakistani actress was part of big budget British film What’s Love Got To Do With It. By becoming the first frontline Pakistani star to sign up for a major international film, she opened the door for a generation of talent to follow in her brilliant footsteps.