The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz
The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz |
| Pakistan fishmonger’s family pray for Christmas No.1 Posted: 17 Dec 2012 10:41 PM PST  This picture taken on December 14, 2012 shows Kashifa (second right), the wife of of Muhammad Shahid Nazir, sitting with her children as her son Shahid Nazir (left) holds a fish at her residence in Pattoki, 234 kilometres south of Pakistan's capital Islamabad. — AFP/Relaxnews When Muhammad Shahid Nazir left his four children behind in Pakistan to study business in London, he could never have imagined he would one day be cavorting in a Warner video with scantily-clad Western beauties, singing about fish. Nazir, who got a job as a fishmonger in east London's Queens Market in Upton Park, came up with a song to entice customers in which he urged local women to part with one pound (RM4.80) for a single, glistening fresh fish. "Come on ladies, come on ladies, one pound fish," he croons. "Very, very good one pound fish, very very cheap one pound fish." Shoppers were charmed and after someone filmed a video and uploaded it on YouTube the song went viral and Warner Music offered Nazir a record deal. A slicker version with Nazir shimmying and strutting Bollywood-style in a natty suit went up on December 10, launching the race to top the Christmas charts in Britain. The original video has had a staggering 4.6 million hits, while the professionally produced one already has more than two million. Nazir has also gained nearly 28,000 followers on Twitter. Back at the family home in Pattoki, a small town 234 kilometres south of Pakistan's capital Islamabad, his delighted 67-year-old mother Kalsoom says she is praying and fasting for Nazir's success. "I appeal to people in Pakistan and abroad to give this song as many hits as possible. I am fasting and saying special prayers for my son so that his song appears as number one," she told AFP at the affluent family home. Nazir's family run their own business in Pattoki where they settled after migrating from India to the new Pakistan when Britain closed the curtain on the empire in the sub-continent. Today, they say they have been nicknamed locally as the "One Pound Fish" family and that people are flocking to download the song onto USBs and CDs. Nazir's father was initially reluctant to let his middle son go off to England, "but now he is also very happy", Kalsoom said. If her son gets a work visa, she said, he should take his wife and children with him to Britain. British newspaper The Sunday Times reported this month that Nazir is under investigation by the Home Office over a potential breach of the terms of his student visa after he ditched his studies to work as a fishmonger. Nazir's wife Kashifa, dressed in the traditional shalwar kameez with a dupatta over her head, smiles when asked if she is jealous of her husband dancing with half-naked girls in the video. "I have no problem with this nor am I getting jealous. He performed the song and it was a requirement for the video," she said. She says she spoke to her husband of 12 years in recent days, describing him as a "loving husband and father" despite his departure for London in May last year. "I am really very excited. We never imagined that my husband would become so popular. Our children and I miss Shahid a lot and we want to join him in London to share these happy moments," she said. The whole family can sing the song, mimicking Nazir. When AFP visited, his three-year-old daughter Sania was only too happy to belt out the lyrics. His four brothers and their families live with their mother and Nazir's wife in the extended family system common in Pakistan. For now they hope that Nazir will soon be back for a visit. "People in our town often call us the One Pound Family. I think my brother will come back soon," said elder brother Abid, who works for the family business. "He got all this fame because he has been very responsible and dedicated since childhood and it is for this reason that luck also sided him." — AFP/Relaxnews |
| Florida man sentenced to 10 years in ‘hackerazzi’ case Posted: 17 Dec 2012 08:22 PM PST  Christopher Chaney (left) arrives for a post-indictment arraignment at Edward R. Roybal Federal Building in Los Angeles, November 1, 2011. — Reuters file pic Former office clerk Christopher Chaney, 36, said before the trial that he hacked into the accounts of film star Scarlett Johansson and other celebrities because he was addicted to spying on their personal lives. Prosecutors said Chaney illegally gained access to email accounts of more than 50 people in the entertainment industry, including Johansson, actress Mila Kunis, and singers Christina Aguilera and Renee Olstead from November 2010 to October 2011. Chaney, who was initially charged with 28 counts related to hacking, struck a plea deal with prosecutors in March to nine felony counts, including wiretapping and unauthorized access to protected computers. "I don't know what else to say except I'm sorry," Chaney said during his sentencing. "This will never happen again." Chaney was ordered to pay US$66,179 (RM200,000) in restitution to victims. Prosecutors recommended a 71-month prison for Chaney, who faced a maximum sentence of 60 years. Tearful Johansson Prosecutors said Chaney leaked some of the private photos to two celebrity gossip websites and a hacker. Johansson said the photos, which show her topless, were taken for her then-husband, actor Ryan Reynolds. In a video statement shown in US District Court in Los Angeles, a tearful Johansson said she was "truly humiliated and embarrassed" when the photos appeared online, asking Judge S James Otero to come down hard on Chaney. Prosecutors said Chaney also stalked two unnamed Florida women online, one since 1999 when she was 13 years old. Chaney, a native of Jacksonville, Florida, was arrested in October 2011 after an 11-month FBI investigation dubbed "Operation Hackerazzi" and he continued hacking after investigators initially seized his personal computers. Shortly after his arrest, Chaney told a Florida television station that his hacking of celebrity email accounts started as curiosity and later he became "addicted". "I was almost relieved months ago when they came in and took my computer ... because I didn't know how to stop," he said. —Reuters |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan