With the Lahore Literary Festival in full swing at the Alhamra Arts Centre in Lahore, the presence of international icons such as Riz Ahmed and Reza Aslan has piqued the interests of many of its visitors.
While Aslan will speak at the panel titled ‘Beyond Extremism’ on Sunday, Riz took all the media attention on Saturday with his appearance on the panel titled ‘MC Activist’ with Mohsin Hamid.
“It’s like visiting an ex,” Riz said on his return to Pakistan after a sabbatical of 13 years. “The ex is looking good, has changed a lot. Maybe gotten some work done. It still plays a little hard to get. And can be a little bit schizophrenic.”
The actor-cum-rapper also performed his rap ‘Sour Times’ at the event.
The Emmy Award winner who is perhaps most known for his work in The Reluctant Fundamentalist and The Night Of, also shared thoughts on Pakistan’s evolution in the years that have passed and how the Pakistani emigrants elsewhere are yet to ‘modernise.’
“The families that have migrated are sort of living in a time capsule,†Riz said, on how out of touch the families that had migrated in the 60s and 70s are with Pakistan’s evolving culture.
The 2018 edition of LLF is will culminate tonight with a performance by Laal – the band who are celebrating the life of Asma Jahangir.
