The Express Tribune Magazine - December 29

DECEMBER 29-JANUARY 4 2014

What If...

2013 had played out differently for Pakistan

DECEMBER 29-JANUARY 4 2014

Cover Story

What if…

We take you through a slightly different version of 2013. Loaded with imagination, humour, hope and a big fat what if…

COVER ILLUSTRATION: JAMAL KHURSHID

24

32 Toon

Real Resolution A momentary glimpse into the life of a mild-mannered sociopath as 2014 approaches

“When you go out to vote, don’t forget to stamp the lion”

34 Feature

WORD ON THE STREET

36

Word on the street

Feature

What the year 2013 meant for you

Gift of the gaffe?

Some public statements in 2013 left us scratching our heads. While some can be overlooked as harmless slips, others were downright inexcusable

40 Roundup

Roundup

On the Movie

Book your New Year

A countdown of the most profitable films of 2013

A list of five titles that are worth remembering and reading even after the year has ended

38

4

Regulars 6 People & Parties: Out and about with beautiful people 42 Pict[year]: The year 2013 in pictures

Magazine In-charge: Sarah Munir and Sub-Editors: Dilaira Mondegarian and Manahyl Khan Creative Team: Amna Iqbal, Essa Malik, Jamal Khurshid, Samra Aamir, Kiran Shahid, Munira Abbas, S Asif Ali & Talha Ahmed Khan Publisher: Bilal A Lakhani. Executive Editor: Muhammad Ziauddin. Editor: Kamal Siddiqi For feedback and submissions: magazine@tribune.com.pk Twitter: @ETribuneMag & Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ETribuneMag Printed: uniprint@unigraph.com

Sundas and N

asreen

Ayesha and Rubab Ayesha

Afsheen Maria and Omar

Najaf Zara, Maria, Ayesha, Maham,

PEOPLE AND PARTIES The Body Shop opens its outlet at Centaurus Mall, Islamabad PHOTOS COURTESY NUCLEUS EVENT AND PR

Sulmeen, Nida, Saima, Zahra and Anum

Anika and Sameen

Shifa

Nosheen Ahmed

ey

Anum, Samreen and Anoush

Minahil, Rootaba Kashif and Rania Asif

Sumaira and Sophia

PEOPLE AND PARTIES The clothing brand Yellow opens its store in Lahore

Gull and Sophia

PHOTOS COURTESY BILAL MUKHTAR EVENTS & PR

Uzma Pervez and Asma

Fariha Pervez

Aliha Chaudhry

Mariam Mamdot

Muhammad Salman and Maham Ali

Saima and Meher

PEOPLE AND PARTIES Grandeur Art Gallery hosts an art display by the Special Children’s Educational Institute in Karachi

Amail and Amna Malik Syeda Habib Ayesha and Cyra Sumeha and Shahana Din Zeritta, Sahabahat and Mehar

Yasmin Bari

PHOTOS COURTESY NEW WORLD CONCEPTS

Neelo,Yasmin and Nazneen

Rania, Aliya Rohail and Sonia

Lal Majid and Madiha Sultan Tai

Sheena, Shafia and Rabia

Alizeh Rashid Mul Hassan

PEOPLE AND PARTIES

Lals celebrates its seven years in Karachi and Lahore PHOTOS COURTESY XENITH PR

Nadir Feroz and Maha Burney Sonia Chandoo

Mr and Mrs Sumeha Khalid

Hina

COVER STORY

What If. If 24 DECEMBER 29-JANUARY 4 2014

... f...

2013 had played out differently for Pakistan DESIGN BY SAMRA AAMIR AND MUNIRA ABBAS

Pakistan took baby steps towards democracy this year. Hope was revived as new leaders were sworn in and old faces bowed out. A 16-year-old held the world captive with the power of her words. Art found its lost voice.

Yet, the country remained racked by terrorism. Inflation and rolling blackouts continued to punctuate conversations. Too often, a child took a bullet not meant for him. Living became a privilege as most made peace with surviving. But what if the year had taken a different course? What would the country look like? How would we feel? We take you through a slightly different version of 2013. Loaded with imagination, humour, hope and a big fat what if‌ Disclaimer: All characters and events in this report, even those based on real people and events are fictional. Any opinion expressed here is not meant to hurt any feelings and should be taken in good spirit.

25 DECEMBER 29-JANUARY 4 2014

A political story that did not happen

BY M ZIAUDDIN

Fresh elections were held after the results of May, 2013 elections were overturned as ‘irrefutable’ and evidence of widespread rigging surfaced, thanks largely to the untiring efforts of the Election Commission of Pakistan.

Imran Khan’s PTI tsunami had swept the new polls across the country. And the first act of the new government headed by Prime Minister Imran Khan was to hold an emergency meeting of all the stakeholders to discuss the serious law and order situation and diplomatic crises emerging from the blockade of the Karachi port and Torkham and Chamman check-posts by PTI activists.

The PTI chief ministers of the four provinces claimed that like the Prime Minister they were also against the blockade but at the same time, they were in full agreement with the party chief’s contention that their governments had no right to stop the PTI workers from exercising their democratic right to protest the US drone attacks by blocking the NATO supplies to and from Afghanistan.

The Prime Minister said that he did not agree with the PTI workers’ decision to challenge the government by taking the law into their own hands and had also communicated this to the visiting US Secretary of State Chuck Hagel during their one-on-one meeting. However, on the advice of the core committee of the ruling party, he has refrained from ordering the law enforcement agencies to forcibly end the blockade. According to the party leadership, that would amount to resorting to undemocratic methods to solve a political problem.

“When he asked me to let him talk to the PTI leadership directly, I told him to go and meet the party chief at his Banigala residence,” said the PM, terminating the stakeholders’ meeting abruptly. He said he had to rush to Banigala as a meeting was scheduled, in the next 45 minutes or so, between the US official and the party chief.

Before he left, his Interior-cum-Foreign minister, a beaming Shireen Mazari informed him that the TTP had accepted the government’s offer to open an office at the Convention Centre in Islamabad so that peace talks could begin immediately. As he was rushing out he did not hear the second part of Mazari’s information, that the TTP leadership had accepted the offer on the condition that it 26 would fly the flag of the Islamic Emirate the of Taliban at DECEMBER 29-JANUARY 4 2014

the venue when talks commence. The meeting between the PTI chairman and Chuck Hagel did not go well as the former said the end to the blockade would be conditioned on a written undertaking from the US to stop drone attacks immediately.

When told that in that case it would be impossible for the US administration to persuade the US Congress not to cut off aid flows to Pakistan, the PTI chief reportedly retorted that such threats did not bother him. “I can manage Pakistan’s economy without hocking our sovereignty to the US or any other bilateral or multilateral donor.

Fund-raising is my forte. Those who have seen me do it for Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital and Namal (Bradford University) college know what I am talking about,” asserted a self-assured Khan, looking straight into the eyes of a squirming Hagel, who left the Banigala mansion in what appeared to be ungracious haste.

Karac

The writer is Executive Editor of The Express Tribune

BY NEHA MASHOOQULLAH

What would happen if the love story between Karachi and its people was far simpler? Citizen meets city, and they fall desperately in love — before you know it, you’re changing your current location on Facebook, you’re picking out your dream apartment from the classified section of the Sunday newspaper, and your wedding invitation has a picture of you at Sea View at dusk, running towards the water in a flurry of red and gold. Is a love story without conflict worth reading? Is a city without friction worth exploring? Would Karachi remain if the complexity were taken away?

Perhaps our dreams would change if the future was not mired in uncertainty and our identities would shift if we were not always labeled ‘resilient’ and ‘brave’. Maybe the beat of our footsteps would ring louder if every commute were seamless and every open road were not paved with a lingering distrust. Maybe we would sleep more soundly if every loud noise were not met with suspicion. Perhaps

chi:

we would find complexity in other places, in the currents of the sea, or the heavy mist of the morning light. Would the love alter if the story played out differently?

Our story fluctuated, sank and soared over the past year. Sometimes, it ended in tragedy, sometimes, it ended in triumph — but more often than not, it remained incomplete, always keeping the reader guessing, always leaving just a small indication that we may continue to come back again tomorrow, to tell another story, to face another hurdle, and to maybe, fall in love all over again.

And so while our narratives remain unsteady, and our future continues to invite obscurity, I can testify that some things remain constant irrespective of how the story plays out. That regardless of the ‘what ifs’ and the ‘if onlys’, regardless of the dips and the rises, regardless of how many times the falsafa may change, the mohabbat will always remain the same.

The writer works in animation and is a part-time blogger. She can be reached at neha.mashooqullah@gmail.com

My baby shot me down

Lahore: A new world order

BY SONYA REHMAN

As you drive down Zafar Ali Road this New Year’s Eve, with your windows rolled down, all you smell is the sweet dusky smog of the city. You are heading to an openair gig, held on St Anthony’s glorious rooftop. You see, Lahore’s underground music scene is still alive, with its original eclectic mix of shaggy-haired hipsters who know how to play their instruments. Gone are the days, when fed-up old musicians nursing age-old grievances and steel-grey nicotine on sour tongues were the only movers and shakers in this town.

As you reach the venue, you are greeted by aunties who don’t judge you for being single. They are endearing and only have your best interest at heart. Dwelling on your old-maiden status and lamenting the dark future

of unmarried girls is far from their minds. What you are reading is far more interesting than who you are wearing. The conversation flows freely until it is time to grab a bite.

It is a vegetarian’s dream to eat out in Lahore these days. Every food joint has an array of leafy options and the waiters no longer equate being vegetarian to having a dislike for red meat. No one hollers in surprise about your survival skills or attacks you with a string of vegetarian jokes, puns and taunts about living on ghaas phoos.

As the night draws to an end, you head to the beach for a stroll. That’s right, Karachi. The competition is over.

We have a beach. Yeah. What if…

The author is a writer/journalist based in Lahore. You can reach her at: sonjarehman@gmail.com

Misbah-ul- Haq

the man with the Midas touch

BY EMMAD HAMEED

The year 2013 was the one when Tuk-Tuk transformed into Thak-Thak, as the 40-year-old Misbahul Haq finally overcame his demons and emerged as the ‘Lion of Pakistan’. The aggressive attitude and flamboyance of the man from Faisalabad was the sight of the year.

Let’s recall the first test match of the year and what a test it was! South Africa’s Dale Steyn sliced through the Pakistan batting line- up and sent them packing to their lowest ever score of 49 runs at the Bull ring in Johannesburg. However, during the second innings, the raging bull was brought to his knees, after a truly heroic performance by Misbah. His 273 run innings was a purists’ delight. Pakistan saved the test match and then also went on to win the second one at Newlands, after Saeed Ajmal snared 15 wickets.

The last test was rained-off and Misbah and the now desi coach Dav Whatmore (who gave up his Australian passport this year after spending three months dining at the Lahore food street) proceeded home where they were garlanded by adoring fans across the country.

After conquering South Africa, Misbah braced for a Herculean rescue act in neighbouring Zimbabwe. Humiliation in Harare seemed inevitable until Misbah marched in as the last man and sealed a memorable victory. The chants for Misbah even drowned out Afridi’s thudding ‘boom boom’ this year. As an ode to the outstanding performance, Najam Sethi announced that Misbah would remain captain till the 2035 World Cup. “After all, life begins at 40. And I will ensure that no one steals the limelight from Misbah at the peak of his prowess,” he tweeted.

Meanwhile Pakistan’s hockey messiah, Akhtar Rasool, announced that he was now going to ‘elect’ himself as the president of the Pakistan Hockey Foundation. He also unveiled a master plan to win the 2030 Hockey World Cup. The astute hockey player/ coach/MNA revealed that the only way to win the 2030 World Cup was by ensuring that the team did not feature in any international or Olympic event for the next 16 years. “If the Europeans, Australians and Koreans are clueless about our strategies and the way we play, it allows us to catch them off-guard and doubles our chances of winning,” Rasool explained before bursting out in uncontrollable laughter.

The writer heads the sports desk at The Express Tribune. He tweets @Emmad81

29 DECEMBER 29-JANUARY 4 2014

Fashion: The demon is in the details

BY ZINNIA BUKHARI

This year, the price of cloth and hemlines both took a hike. As form-fitting clothes made a comeback, post-midnight stress eating became every fashionista’s worst nightmare. All that weight you had been successfully hiding behind those artful pleats and wide flares for the last four years was now on display for the entire world to see.

Don’t pretend that you stayed away from fitted shirts because they looked unflattering.

When has that stopped the proverbial curvy South Asian women from sporting skinny jeans? Or well-endowed aunties from waddling by in fitted white tights and a kameez with chaak all the way up to their armpit.

This change in trend took its worst toll on tailors who could no longer charge thousands, just for piecing together two shapeless pieces of cloth. Pregnant women were also forced to invest in separate maternity wear as most retail giants pulled the plug on the baggy kurtas.

The renewed emphasis on cuts, details and styling this year also put many ‘Facebook designers’ out of business. Establishing yourself in the industry became a lot more demanding than inheriting daddy’s textile mill and a lot of spare time. Fashion weeks were aligned with foreign buyers instead of the impending wedding season. And it doesn’t look like we are complaining.

The author heads the Life and Style desk at The Express Tribune.

She tweets @ZinniaBukhari

30 DECEMBER 29-JANUARY 4 2014

Culture:

BY RAFAY MAHMOOD

No holds barred

The legendary Roger Waters from Pink Floyd was not the only one to share his political sentiments openly by comparing Israel to Nazi Germany. The founding members of Vital Signs were not far behind either in celebrating the new messiah, Imran Khan. They got their heads together to make an anthem for PTI this year. The song went on to become a raging success and landed major offers from record labels like ‘ Jhoomtay Jiyalay’ in Naudero and ‘ Bhai Beats’ in Azizabad for Shahi Hasan’s studio.

The year was so full of surprises that Pakistan’s most watched VJ/ moral policeman/talent hunter, Waqar Zaka running for elections was no longer the news. But that did not take away from the fact that Zaka is a one-man parliament, with his own subculture and a cult of followers who swear allegiance by twisting their fingers in respect. Among the many politically enlightening and intellectually sound offerings from his political doctrine called ‘Zaka’s Public’, free wi-fi turned out to be the most socially relevant. He had already won our hearts by kissing that cobra and giving us the most reptilian frame in the history of Pakistani television, so losing the election didn’t really change much.

In any case the government was so fond of his wi-fi reform that they made a conscious effort not to unblock YouTube in Pakistan and also poked IMDB for a day. You see that is how we spent the year ‘living on the edge’ of the proxies.

Bio: The writer is an arts and culture reporter for The Express Tribune.

He tweets @Rafay_Mahmood

“‘What’ and ‘if’, two words as nonthreatening as words come. But put them together side-by-side and they have the power to haunt you for the rest of your life.” — Letters to Juliet As a fresh new year approaches, old demons are laid to rest and the what-ifs take a back seat. Once again, you tell yourself that whatever happened was for the best. A part of you clings on to that belief while the other wonders 31 what’s next?

DECEMBER 29-JANUARY 4 2014

T The artist is the Web editor at The Express Tribune.

He tweets @jhaque_

M Muhammad Fayaz, F Fruit vendor “ lost my job in a factory this “I y year as they were unable to pay u us and I had to start selling fruit fru in a push cart. We had hoped hop that the electricity shortage shortag would end this year and new businesses would flourish.

Unfortunately, that did not happen and here I am.”

Bibi Ayesha, sha, ld Street child “I want to relive my y sister’s wedding!

We wore new clothes, ate good e food and she looked beautiful.” l.”

IIltimaz Khan, Rickshaw driver “I had to pull out two of my children from sschool as the claim of free education did not materialise this year either. d That was my biggest loss.”

Th

Nusrah Arbab, b, Fashion apparel buyerr “I could relive my birthday. I didn’t have to organise a thing and got to spend a lot of time with my family.” ”

WORD ON What the year 2013

Saeed Khan, Lecturer S “ “The killing of four members of the Bomb Disposal Unit in Peshawar B was heartbreaking. Why have w w we become so immune towards hu human and material loss?”

Hamid Khan, Tailor or “We were given hope thatt loadshedding would end and prices would go down once the new government was sworn in, but nothing has changed so far.” ”

34 DECEMBER 29-JANUARY 4 2013

Uzma Ahmed, Pharmacist “I want to go back in time for the e historical tour I took in Paris with th my husband this year. Best part was that I left the kids at home.”

Zia S Sheikh, Retiree “Th year I had two life “This ch changing moments — I w want to forget about t day my younger the brother b passed away and I want to a re relive the day my first gra grandson was born.”

Samina Niamat, Saleswoman n “I met the love of my life this year for one day. I never saw him again — I would like to relive thatt ” day again and again.”

Muhammad Fasial, Trader er “I managed to start my own business in 2013 afterr years of unemployment. Now, I hope that the law and order and power situation remains stable, so that business can flourish further.”

Umair Malik, Aspiring Entrepreneur “I broke up with a very annoying girlfriend this year. Can I relive t that day? Pure joy!”

THE STREET meant for you

Mumtaz Qayum,, Domestic Help

“I would like to forget the day when my in-laws TEXT AND PHOTOS: MANAHYL KHAN, took away my three-HIDAYAT KHAN AND MUHAMMAD IRFAN ter year-old from me after DESIGN BY ASIF ALI ecidmy husband and I decided to split. I would love to relive the day he visited me five months later.”

Maham Khan, Student M “I found £900 in a cab this “ y year! Want to relive it again an and again.”

Yasir Khan, Doctor Ya Q Qurban Ahmed, D Driver “ like to relive the day “I’d my wife gave birth to our m ffourth son. We knew our fa family was complete.”

“ “The record turnout in the elections and a the new government in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa K was the most memorable m thing this year.”

T The writers are part of the reporting and editorial team at The Express Tribune DECEMBER 29-JANUARY 4 2013

35

Gift of the gaffe?

Some public statements in 2013 left us scratching our heads. While some can be overlooked as harmless slips, others were downright inexcusable

BY NOMAN ANSARI Noman Ansari is a freelance writer and a regular contributor to several publications. He tweets @Pugnate

“Dear Burgers, Sorry abt Skype/Viber/Whtsapp.

Excuse us while we catch some terrorists and save some lives.

SMS for 3months.

Sincerely BBZ” Co-chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party Bilawal B Zardari tweeted when news spread that the Sindh government might ban a few social networking applications

“When you go out to vote, don’t forget to stamp the lion” PTI leader Imran Khan to his supporters during an election rally

“I don’t oppose Islam as a country, but I do feel that their laws should not be welcome here in Australia” Australian anti-immigration election candidate Stephanie Banister during a television interview

“I want to be clear, you are a Muslim. So why did you write about the founder of Christianity?”

Religion correspondent for Fox News Lauren Green during an interview with author Reza Aslan about his new book on Jesus

“The 2013 Nobel Peace Prize should have been given to me” Syrian President Basharal Assad expresses his opinion on the Nobel peace prize nominations

“If you want to know who to vote for, I’m the guy with the not bad-looking daughters” Australia’s 28th Prime Minister Tony Abbott calls out for voter support on the reality show Big Brother

The Wildings, Nilanjana anjana Roy Nilanjana Roy may just be South Asia’s answer to the likes of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. In her wildly amusing first book, The Wildings, she tells the magical tale of the cats of Nizamuddin, a neighbourhood in Delhi, who share a telepathic ‘network’’ to connect and protect their turf from outsiders. They are jealous guardians off an old way of life m survive human that has helped them hange. The arrival of intervention and change. a stray kitten, that seems to have the most concentration of special abilities st seasoned toms to rival even the most rts a chain reaction amongst them, starts eater things that that may lead to greater magined before. none of them had imagined The book, shortlisted for the Commonwealth Prize,, is for all ages and all seasons. And best of all, you don’t have to be a cat person to fall in love with it.

Out of the literary hits and misses of 2013, we compile a list of five titles that are worth remembering and reading even after the year has ended

BY NUZHAT SAADIA SIDDIQI

Wave, Sonali Deraniyagala Natural disasters have become a rn history. World part of our modern over, we have seen n cataclysmic events unfold that at have changed our perception off what it means to be prepared forr a catastrophe otionally, — physically, emotionally, financially and psychologicalsychologically. All of this is tested sted in Sonali Deraniyagala’ss unapologetically furious memoirs of the 2004 tsunami ami that she survived but her parents, her husband band and her two young sons ns did nt the not. One moment author was vacationing ioning at a resort in Sri Lanka with her family, and in the next, a dark rk ce. wave washed away the very anchor of her entire existence.

The book is an unsentimental look at the aftermath of a horrific disaster and how, sometimes, human interven-tion is the last thing someone needs to get over grief.

Read this to be reminded of the precarious fragility of life, and how, despite all odds, sometimes the only person who helps you out of the pit of despair is yourself.

3 DECEMBER 29-JANUARY 4 2014

Levels of Life, Julian Barnes “You put together two things that have not been put together before. And the world is changed.” It’s simple, it’s honest and it’s devastatingly poignant in the context it is used. Julian Barnes’ grief over the passing of his beloved wife Pat Kavanagh paired with his ingenious writing prowess have proved that he is one of the most gifted authors writing today. Levels of Life is a slim volume that can neither be categorised as a history book (the first chapter discusses the golden era of ballooning and photography), fiction (English colonel Fred Burnaby and the French actor Sarah Bernhardt are imagined to be in a relationship) or a memoir (his retelling of the pain he suffered at the loss of his wife to a brain tumor). It can, however, be categorised as a genre-defying testament to the power of good writing.

Read this if you have loved and lost. And read it if you have loved and won as well.

Delhi by Heart: Impressions of a Pakista Pakistani Traveller, Raza Rumi

BOOK YOUR

NEW YEAR

Memory is a tr tricky thing. It pads thin veneers of our senses crack and holes in and fills cracks nostalgia to com comfort us, or to torture us. Thankfully, Thankfu Raza Rumi’s travelogue plus plu memoirs of ci falls in the the great Indian city former category. With careful, delicate prose, the usually u serious writer of grand political politi and policy based op-eds takes us on a journey through the city o of mystics and poets of fallen kings and anarchic revolutionaries. There are a numerous books written by Pak Pakistani writers on Indian cities, but this one easily captures your attention atte with its heartfelt recollection of many key moments from the author’s autho life, tying him invariably to a country many still consider the enemy enem instead of the estranged parent that it truly is.

Autobiography, Morrissey If you grew up listening to eighties post-punk indie music coming out of Britain, you might know of the grand sire of cynical abandonment — the lead singer of The Smiths, Morrissey. The eclectic singer is defined by his steady defiance of the mainstream media, the monarchy, capitalism and pretty much everything someone, somewhere holds dear.

In his autobiography, Morrissey is at his finest with his acidic wit and insights into working class Britain — the racial and cultural upheaval that shaped his youth and the societal wrongs and ills that propelled him to be the singing sensation of a generation that was lost and confused under Margaret Thatcher’s iron rule and the Cold War.

Nuzhat Saadia Siddiqi is a Lahore-based writer and book hoarder. She tweets @guldaar DECEMBER 29-JANUARY 4 2014

3

2. Despicable Me 2

On the Movie

A countdown of the most profitable films of 2013

BY SAMRA MUSLIM

$918.5 million worldwide

Despicable Me came out in 2010 and was an adorable film, full of charm and heart, and a funny and lighthearted storyline with Gru, the girls and the minions.

The 2013 sequel stayed true to the first movie in spirit but lacked the uniqueness and freshness of the original. Despicable Me 2, nonetheless, works because it is still a fantastic family watch. Peppered with great gags, action and imaginative excitement, sprinkled with some sweetness and folded in a dollop of fun, Despicable 2 is a fun movie to watch.

1. Iron Man 3

$744.6 million worldwide

$1,215.4 million worldwide

Robert Downey Jr makes Iron Man one of the most entertaining superheroes in the Marvel movie universe, and with the fan following he has built with the previous Iron Man and The Avengers, it is no surprise that this metalclad superhero remains massively popular. The Iron Man franchise ends this year on the top.

Iron Man 3 proved the obvious — superhero movies are still in vogue with mainstream audiences. And with the final installment piling up more than $1.2 billion worldwide, it is the year’s top-grossing and the only film to cross the US$1 billion collections mark in 2013.

3. Fast & Furious 6

$788.7 million worldwide

The Fast franchise has been around since 2001 and the sixth installment offers nothing new and unique to the movie-goer, except for remaining true to the theme of the movie — gleaming cars, thrilling chases and a familiar ensemble cast in great (and unrealistic) nail-biting moments.

The new installment, Fast & Furious 6 is just as unintelligent as the previous films. But that’s the charm of these movies — the stunts are outrageous, and the plot basic enough for an eight-year-old to enjoy. It’s loud, noisy, a lot of fun and the last movie for the veteran star of the Fast series, Paul Walker, who passed away in November this year in a car accident.

Aside from the continuing popularity of superheroes and cartoon animations, one of the interesting things about this year’s champs is that all movies are sequels or franchise flicks.

It doesn’t look like that trend is going away anywhere in the near future.

4. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

A sequel of epic proportions, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire surpasses its predecessor with a startling plot, compelling new characters and outlandish heroics — yet staying true to the book.

Jennifer Lawrence’s repeat performance as Katniss Everdeen has earned her raving reviews, critical acclaim and a growing fan following. She is indeed on fire, as is the mockingjay symbol at the end, which promises even better things to come.

5. Monster’s University $743.6 million worldwide

A prequel to one of Pixar’s best movies, Monster’s Inc., Monster’s University takes us back in time to when our favourite monsters, Mike and Sully actually met and became friends. The movie is full of clichés but that does not dull the entertainment quotient.

Monsters University will make you laugh and is a feast for both young and adult movie-goers.

The oft-used ‘under-dogs can win’ plot may not be as fresh as the original, but overall the film is well worth watching.

Samra Muslim is a digital marketing professional, an avid reader and a movie buff. She tweets @samramuslim DECEMBER 29-JANUARY 4 2014

41

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