UAE singer Balqees Fathi poses with her new wax figure at Madame Tussauds Dubai
Updated 17 August 2021
Arab News
DUBAI: Emirati-Yemeni singer Balqees Fathi has become Madame Tussaud’s first Middle Eastern wax figure. This week, the hitmaker took the opportunity to pose with the statue at the world-famous wax museum, set to open in Caesars Palace Dubai, Bluewaters Island later this year.
Fathi, who rose to fame in 2013, will be among the 60 waxworks to feature in the new attraction, alongside international and Arab superstars such as Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo, beauty mogul Kylie Jenner, British supermodel Cara Delevigne, Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan and many more.
“I feel privileged to be the first Arab artist to stand side-by-side with my wax figure at the iconic Madame Tussauds Dubai,” said the 32-year-old. “I am overwhelmed with the incredible likeness that this wax figure holds to my physical appearance and to the impeccable attention to detail that captures my personality.”
The likeness is uncanny. Wearing a black off-the-shoulder gown from Dubai-based label Taller Marmo and her hair pulled back, Fathi posed alongside her waxwork carbon copy, practically demanding a double take.
Fathi’s wax counterpart was three months in the making. A team of Madame Tussauds’ sculptors traveled to Dubai to document the singer’s precise measurements, before heading back to London to sculpt the figure by hand, meticulously inserting real hair, one strand at a time.
“We are thrilled to announce our first Middle East wax figure,” said Madame Tussauds Dubai.
The statement added: “The Emirati-Yemeni music sensation and women’s rights champion Balqees Fathi is the latest personality to be immortalized into a Madame Tussauds wax figure.
“When Madame Tussauds Dubai opens its doors later this year at @bluewatersdubai you will be able to strike a pose with Balqees in our exciting Party Room!”
Saudi artist Ahaad Alamoudi presents ‘The Social Health Club’ in Basel
Updated 15 June 2025
Jasmine Bager
RIYADH: This month, Saudi artist Ahaad Alamoudi is turning up the heat at Basel Social Club — which runs until June 21 in the Swiss city — with her latest installation, “The Social Health Club.”
Freshly conceived, but rooted in the artist’s past works, the yellow-drenched installation offers a layered, sensory experience — and sharp cultural commentary — as well as a first for the artist: a live-performance element.
Jeddah-based Alamoudi is known for creating immersive multimedia installations drawing from and exploring the complex dynamics of her evolving homeland. “The Social Health Club” is built around pieces found in Jeddah’s Haraj market in 2018 — a range of exercise equipment including a rowing machine.
Ahaad Alamoudi. (Supplied)
“These are pieces I collected from thrifting. I like the fact that no instructions came with the machines — I don’t have their name or the source of where they came from or who made them. But they’ve become part of the urban landscape that I’ve been in. And I was trying to create fun within the space,” Alamoudi told Arab News.
In “The Social Health Club,” the equipment, painted predominantly in vibrantly-saturated monochrome yellow, stands untouched, serving as symbols of a culture obsessed with self-optimization. At the core of the installation is a cameo from a yellow-painted iron previously featured in her 2020 video work “Makwah Man.” (Makwah means iron in Arabic.)
Part of Ahaad Alamoudi's 'The Social Health Club' at Basel Social Club. (Supplied)
“A lot of my pieces stem from a narrative I create within a video. In ‘Makwah Man,’ this man wearing a yellow thobe is ironing a long piece of yellow fabric in the middle of the desert. And as he’s ironing, he tells us how to live our lives. But in the process of him telling us how to live our lives, he also starts questioning his own in the process — understanding the role of power, understanding the pressure of change, adaptation,” Alamoudi explained.
“The yellow exists within the video piece, but he’s also wearing yellow thobe in the video piece. And (in this iteration at Art Basel) there’s also a rack of yellow thobes twirling in the exhibition. For me, the yellow thobe is like a unifying symbol. I’m trying to say that we’re all experiencing this in different ways. So in the performance (for “The Social Health Club”) a man (a local body builder) in a yellow thobe will be performing on these machines. He has no rule book. He doesn’t know anything; he doesn’t know how to ‘properly’ use the equipment. He’s going to go into the space and do things with the machines.
“The performance will be recorded. But I think it’s more like an activation,” she continued. “It’s not the piece itself. The piece itself exists as the machines.”
“The Social Health Club” was shaped through close collaboration with curator Amal Khalaf, who combed Jeddah’s market with Alamoudi in search of “machines that were a little bit abnormal, like not your typical machines that people would directly know what it is in the gym,” Alamoudi said.
“She’s quite incredible,” she continued. “And we really built the space together. Essentially, the main thing that I created was the video; everything else was built off of that. She really helped. She really looked at social change and how we navigate that. Our collaboration was perfect.”
Yellow dominates every inch of the piece—deliberately and intensely.
“I obsess over symbols within certain works I create. And with that also comes a color,” Alamoudi said. “I wanted to showcase something that was luxurious, colorful, almost like gold, but it’s not gold. It’s quite stark in its appearance.”
Yellow is both invitation and warning. “I think that yellow is also quite deceptive. I like it as a color to get people excited to come closer and see what’s happening, but at the same time question what it is — it’s so aggressive that it becomes a bit uncomfortable.”
A still from Alamoudi's 2020 video work 'Makwah Man,' which is also part of 'The Social Health Club'. (Supplied)
The viewer’s interaction is critical to the piece’s meaning.
“I think the machines represent something and they carry something, but they really are activated by the people — what people are doing with them,” Alamoudi said. “And that’s why I’m encouraging a lot of viewers to engage with and use the pieces, or try to use them without any instruction. A lot of people entering into the space (might) fear even touching or engaging with them. Having the performer there activating the structures is going to add another layer to the piece itself.”
She hopes visitors feel free to explore, unburdened by expectations.
“People are meant to use it any way that they want to use it. They can sit on it, stand on it, touch it — they can leave it alone,” she concluded with a laugh.
From Shanghai to New York, stars show off Lebanese looks
Updated 15 June 2025
Arab News
DUBAI: International stars including Hollywood actress Emily Blunt and Chinese K-Pop singer Victoria Song showed off glittering looks by Lebanese designers at global events.
Blunt attended the American Institute for Stuttering's Annual Gala in New York late last week in a gown from Lebanese label Elie Saab’s pre-fall 2025 ready-to-wear collection.
Emily Blunt attended the American Institute for Stuttering's Annual Gala in New York late last week in a gown from Lebanese label Elie Saab. (Getty Images)
The pleated gown came in a simmering shade of burnt sienna and incorporated a bouquet of ruffles on one shoulder. The Oscar-nominated actress chose to keep things relatively simple when it came to her accessories, opting for minimal earrings, bracelets and a few shimmering rings. Blunt’s look was put together by celebrity stylist Jessica Paster, who also works with singer Paris Jackson and actress and comedian Quinta Brunson. Launched in 1998, the American Institute for Stuttering is a non-profit organization offering speech therapy and community support for people of who stutter.
Blunt previously wore an Elie Saab design for the 2024 BAFTAs in London and proved she’s a fan of Lebanese creations by attending the Clooney Foundation for Justice’s Albie Awards in a hot red dress by Lebanese designer Zuhair Murad in September 2023.
Meanwhile, Chinese songstress Song showed off a full beaded lilac number by Elie Saab at the 2025 2025 Sina Weibo Movie Night Awards on Friday.
The red carpet in Shanghai, China, played host to a number of decadent Lebanese designs, with the likes of Elaine Zhong showing off a Zuhair Murad gown as Tong Li Ya opted for Georges Hobeika and Chen Du Ling stunned in Georges Chakra.
The actresses all opted for floor-length shimmering gowns in various shades of gold, with Zuhair Murad’s social media team describing the fashion house’s creation as “an embroidered corset with leaf petal detailing in champagne and silver paired with a draped silk chiffon skirt from the Zuhair Murad Couture Spring 2025 collection.”
Egyptian film ‘Happy Birthday’ takes top honors at Tribeca Film Festival
Updated 14 June 2025
Arab News
DUBAI: Egyptian film “Happy Birthday,” the debut feature by writer-director Sarah Goher, this week took two of the international festival’s top honors — for best international narrative feature and for best screenplay.
The film, which stars Nelly Karim, Hanan Motawie, Hanan Youssef and Doha Ramadan, tells the story of Toha, an eight-year-old girl working as a child maid for a wealthy family in Cairo. She forms a close bond with the family’s daughter, Nelly, and becomes determined to give her the perfect birthday — something Toha herself has never experienced.
As her connection with Nelly’s mother begins to blur the lines of class and duty, Toha is forced to confront the stark social hierarchies of modern Egypt.
Goher co-wrote the film with acclaimed Egyptian director Mohamed Diab, internationally recognized for Marvel’s “Moon Knight.” Diab also took on the role of executive producer.
Bella Hadid’s Orebella named conscious brand of the year
Updated 14 June 2025
Arab News
DUBAI: Ulta Beauty — one of the largest beauty retailers in the US — has awarded Bella Hadid’s fragrance brand, Orebella, its prestigious “conscious brand of the year” title, recognizing the label’s commitment to clean ingredients, ethical practices and sustainable packaging.
Hadid took to Instagram to announce the news with her followers. “Thank you to our Ulta Beauty family for recognizing our commitment to creating a healthy daily ritual for all,” she wrote.
Hadid went on to share the criteria that helped Orebella to earn the title, noting that the brand meets Ulta’s guidelines across several categories. These include clean ingredients — excluding parabens, phthalates and more than 20 other substances on Ulta’s “Made Without” list.
Orebella goes further, she said, banning more than 1,300 ingredients in line with EU standards.
She also emphasized that the brand is certified cruelty-free by PETA and Leaping Bunny, and is entirely vegan, formulated without any animal products or byproducts. In addition, all Orebella packaging is recyclable, refillable or made from recycled or bio-sourced materials, including its line of perfumes.
Hadid also highlighted Orebella’s philanthropic efforts, explaining that the brand’s Alchemy Foundation donates at least 1 percent of domestic net sales to causes “close to our hearts.”
The alcohol-free scents of Orebella, which launched in 2024, were Hadid’s answer to traditional perfumes.
Hadid wrote on her website: “For me, fragrance has always been at the center of my life — helping me feel in charge of who I am and my surroundings,” she said. “From my home to nostalgic memories, to my own energy and connection with others, scent has been an outlet for me. It made me feel safe in my own world.
“Through my healing journey, I found that I was extremely sensitive to the alcohol in traditional perfumes — both physically and mentally — it became something that was more overwhelming than calming to me,” she added. “That is the main reason I wanted to find an alternative, so essential oils became an artistic and experimental process for me.”
She started growing lavender on her farm, walking through the garden every morning and learning about her family’s tradition of making homemade scents. “I realized I might have a calling in this. I found healing, joy and love within nature’s scents,” she said.
KARACHI: Pakistani films that released on the Eid Al-Adha last week attracted the highest Eid box office collections in five years, the sales and marketing head of the country’s largest cinema chain said on Friday.
Pakistani romantic comedy ‘Love Guru,’ starring acting powerhouses Humayun Saeed and Mahira Khan released in cinemas worldwide on Eid-ul-Adha. The other prominent Pakistani movie that released in theaters across the world was “Deemak,” a horror movie with A-list actors Faysal Qureshi, Sonya Hussyn and Samina Peerzada starring in lead roles.
As per official figures released by Love Guru, the Pakistani film collected Rs 12.8 crores [$457,143] in Pakistan during the first three days of Eid Al-Adha, making it the biggest ever Eid weekend opener in the country.
“If we look at Eid [film] business since Covid, we did the biggest business this year [on Eid],” Adnan Ali Khan, the sales and marketing head of Cinepax Cinemas, told Arab News. “Meaning highest in five years.”
He said this does not include The Legend of Maula Jatt film, which enjoyed record-breaking box office business but was not released on Eid.
People gather outside cinema hall at the Cinepax, Jinnah Park in Rawalpindi, Pakistan on June 10, 2024, during Eid Al-Adha celebrations in Pakistan. (Photo courtesy: Azadar Kazmi)
“Love Guru got 50 percent of the shows and that is why it generated huge numbers,” Khan explained, adding that Deemak was the second-best performing film on Eid while Hollywood flick “From the World of John Wick: Ballerina” secured the third-highest collections.
The film’s official team announced that its international box office collections for the opening weekend surged to Rs15.4 crores [$546,000]. This means the film raked in a total of Rs28.2 crores [$999,186] in the first three days of the release.
After the first five days of their release, Love Guru’s team said it collected Rs19.10 crores [$676,500] locally while Deemak distributor Nadeem Mandviwalla said the horror flick generated around Rs4 crores [$142,000] at the box office.
Mandviwalla said the film is expected to secure over Rs7 crores [$248,000] in box office collections by the end of this week.
“It is a very encouraging figure for Deemak,” Mandviwalla said.
However, there have been speculations around the authenticity of these figures, particularly at the local box office. There hasn’t been an official detailed division of box office collections in cinemas across Pakistan.
Pakistani film critic Kamran Jawaid, however, brushed aside claims that Love Guru’s box office collections were fabricated.
‘ONLY FOR THE DELUDED’
“When the audience comes out of cinemas in droves at seven in the morning— and that too from multiple shows— then countering claims about fabricated figures is only for the deluded,” Jawaid told Arab News.
He said the high footfall in cinemas across the country puts to rest the opinion that attendances at cinemas are too low due to expensive ticket prices or that audiences no longer harbor interest in Pakistani movie.
“One just has to make movies that people are willing to shell money out on, whether it is Mission: Impossible: The Final Reckoning, which also ran shows till morning two weeks before Eid, or Love Guru,” Jawaid said.
The Pakistani film critic broke down the numbers based on the number of screens and seating capacity of Pakistani cinemas.
People gather outside cinema hall at the Cinepax, Jinnah Park in Rawalpindi, Pakistan on June 10, 2024, during Eid Al-Adha celebrations in Pakistan. (Photo courtesy: Azadar Kazmi)
“Although not big, counting all 91 screens, Pakistan’s total seating capacity is a little above 21,000, which equates to 21 million in ticket sales per show/slot, with an average ticket price of a thousand,” he said.
“An average of four shows per day leads to 84 million in gross income. Depending on the number of screens a film like Love Guru gets — which is roughly between 30-40 percent of the country — per-day estimates range between 25 to 33 million in gross receipts,” Jawaid explained.
“Given that the tickets are selling hot, one cannot refute the legitimacy of the quoted figures.”
Khan said the movies garnered the highest numbers at its cinemas in Packages Mall in Lahore, followed by Jinnah Park in Rawalpindi.
“We are running late night shows every day,” Khan said, adding that the coming weekend was also expected to feature “packed” theaters as the cinemas have bookings in advance.
“We need four Pakistani movies like Love Guru every year,” he said. “However, Deemak has started gaining momentum now alongside Love Guru.”
Jawaid, however, looked toward the future of Pakistani cinema.
“Pakistan’s cinema needs one Love Guru a month to revive audience’s interest,” he said.
