If Pakistani model Qandeel Baloch's murder in the name of honour killing wasn't shocking enough, what sent a chill down our spine was the accused, her brother Waseem, confessing to the crime devoid of any remorse or regret. While women around the world are discussing and debating feminism, equal rights and equal pay, here, another brutal reality is staring at us in the face. Putting honour over humanity is disgraceful. Qandeel apparently wanted an Indian citizenship. The model had tweeted in March that she wanted an Indian citizenship because she was disappointed with Pakistan and had tagged PM Narendra Modi in her tweet. In an interview just days before her death, she had said, “In Pakistan, people are not ready to accept me. It would be much easier for me to work in India.“ Sadly, horrifying acts of honour killing are rampant in India as well, and various films over time have attempted to draw attention to this heinous act. Much recently, the widely acclaimed Marathi film Sairat was based on the same subject, though when we asked director Nagraj Manjule, he was evasive about it.

Filmmaker Aanand L Rai strongly expressed his views and said, “There is no comparison between India and Pakistan in this regard. Despite so many difficulties, we Indians have our own voice, whether it is honour killing or censorship. I know I have a voice here. It's not that things are easy in our country, but I still have the freedom and I am proud of my country for that. I can raise my voice against honour killing and all other issues. When we have an issue or a problem, we fight and try to solve it. These are two different countries, with different mindsets.“

Sherlyn Chopra, known for her risqué avatar, says, “I've have made some bold choices in life and I'm proud of them. Initially, my family was surprised with my daring decisions but later on realised that as an adult, I had every right to live my life on my terms as long as I was ready to face the consequences. I was prepared to face backlash after I returned from Los Angeles where I had shot for the cover of a popular adult magazine. But surprisingly, the plaudits had outnumbered the brickbats for the courage that I had shown. I feel that India is tolerant in many ways inspite of being a diverse nation. I feel deeply sorry for Qandeel, who was forced to pay a highly unreasonable price for having lived her life audaciously. No honour is above humanity. No nation or constitution can guarantee freedom to its citizens as long as there are anti-social elements prevalent across the globe. Therefore, the price of freedom is eternal vigilance.“

Director Navdeep Singh, whose film NH10 touched upon the issue, says, “Honour killing is a horrible thing. It's shocking that a person's life can be tied to someone else's honour, whether brother or family. No one has the right to take anyone's life. It happens largely with women because of the patriarchal society. Though attempts are being made to dissuade honour killing, they don't reach the small towns and villages where it matters. Lecturebaazi won't help. More than legal, it is a socio-cultural issue. The threat of punishment is there for any murder, and honour killing is no less than murder.“

Pakistani actress Mawra Hocane, who made her Bollywood debut with Sanam Teri Kasam this year, adds, “She died because she didn't conform to the norms of this patriarchal society. She may be right or wrong but she wanted to live on her own terms and everyone is entitled to do so. We, who talk about women empowerment and equality of men and women in society, are the pseudo-elites who just make it to the headlines in the papers. Thousands of women like Qandeel are the ones who truly need empowerment, education and security at so many levels. I feel devastated and helpless as a girl living in the 21st century when such absurd incidents happen.“

Pakistani actress Veena Malik says, “This is not an ordinary matter. It is extremely sensitive. Nobody has the right to kill anyone in the name of honour. Such people should be punished to set an example. This incident is shocking and condemnable.“ Pakistani actor-singer Ali Zafar raised a valid point too. He wrote, “If women started killing us to protect their honour, a lot of us would be dead!“

Qandeel was called the 'Poonam Pandey of Pakistan'. Poonam says, “I get abused for some of my comments like the time when I had said I would strip for the Indian cricket team. I believe Qandeel made the same offer but it wasn't meant to offend anyone. My brothers may shout at me, but they won't kill me for the way I am or what I choose to wear.“

Pakistani actor Imran Abbas (who made his Bollywood debut with Creature) questioned the hypocritical mindset of the society in his latest post on social media. He wrote (excerpts), “Call me overemotional, oversensitive, whatever but the murder of this poor girl was extremely shocking. The brutal murder of this young girl, who ran after her dreams to get rid of poverty, who found her own ways to get noticed through her limited resources (although they were vulgar and not what people in our society approve of), who unveiled the real face of so called religious scholars was not at all justified in the name of honour. Who are we to judge anyone because of someone's acts in public? Who knows what others, even we are doing in the veil of darkness. Pakistan is the nation which scored the highest in searching porn sites at Google can only kill a woman in the name of honour, but throng of vultures who surrounds her body are left alone because they are MEN. This girl could have been gotten away if she was from a well-connected background and had her own links to the people in power. But her real crime was POVERTY which made her saw those dazzling dreams and took her to this point where she was strangled by a so called 'gheratmand' who even took her cell phone and little cash which was, according to this 'gheratmand society', her 'haraam ki kamaayi' (sic).

Actress Kashmera Shah reacts, “How can any human being get the right to judge morality? It's all relative - this nonsense view we have about how honourable we are. Seriously speaking, no one really cares. When you kill a beloved over a warped sense of honour, you take yourself further from God and anything and everything that is holy. Qandeel's death is a shame on every brother who takes a vow to protect his sister.“

Sunny Leone says, “I'm upset about this and have not figured out my emotions from my thoughts to my opinion on it. I am sad to read this.“ In the past, the actress had spoken about how her relatives had disowned her appearance in Bigg Boss. Actress Mahira Khan retweeted, “Honour killing is such a false term to describe a beyghairat committing cold-blooded murder.“

Pakistani actress Veena Malik, who is already a mother to a one year-old son, Abram Khan Khattak, has now gave a birth to a daughter in Virginia, USA. The new born has been named Amal Asad Khan. The 31-year-old actress tied the knot with Asad Bashir Khan on December 25, 2013.

Pakistan actor Veena Malik, her husband, and the owner of the country's biggest media group, Geo TV, have been sentenced to 26 years in prison by an anti-terrorism court for allegedly airing a blasphemous programme.

Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman, owner of Geo and Jang group, was accused of allowing the airing of a blasphemous programme by Geo television in May, which played a religious song while staging a mock marriage of Malik with Bashir.

Judge Shahbaz Khan also sentenced both Malik and Bashir, along with TV host Shaista Wahidi, to 26 years each. The ATC also imposed a 1.3 million Pakistani rupees fine on the convicts.

The judge said in his judgment that the four accused had committed profanity and asked the police to arrest them, an official said. But the order is unlikely to be implemented because the Gilgit-Baltistan region is not considered a full-fledged province by Pakistan and verdicts by its courts do not apply to the rest of the country.

There are reports that all four are out of Pakistan.Rahman lives in UAE and the other three also went abroad after getting threats from militant groups. Both Wahidi and the Geo group had tendered apologies but extremists refused to accept them.

Filmmaker Hemant Madhukar talks about his upcoming horror flick, Mumbai 125 km and why he chose Veena Malik to play the ghost:

In your last film, you had worked with known faces like Jimmy Sheirgill and Sanjay Suri. What made you opt for newcomers this time?
I wanted to shoot the film in 3D, which is time consuming, and wanted actors who could give me dates at a stretch for the shoot. Hence, I opted for TV actors and newcomers. But the plot is the actual hero.

Apparently, you cast Veena Malik in the ghost's role after watching her tantrums on a reality show?
I liked her attitude and quirky behaviour, which is exactly what my ghost is all about.

What is the USP of your film?
It's a story about a single night and all the horror elements that transpire on a road trip, which has not been seen in our films before. Five friends are on their way from Pune when they experience a bizarre incident and get holed up 125 kms away from Mumbai. Along with my co-producer Nishant Pitti of Easemy trip on board, we did the right kind of promotion and are ready with the film.

Mumbai 125 km, produced by Light and Shadow Films, releases October 17.