Oscars is giving out gift bags worth ₹1.3 crore to nominees who don’t go home with the Oscar award this year. Such is the value of the gift bag that brands pay an exorbitant fee just to be included in the hope that celebrities will promote them.

According to a report by Marketing Brew, brands pay a $4,000 (approximately ₹3.28 lakh) to have their product/service in the bag.

What is in the gift bag this time?

• Luxurious skincare products
• Bath ritual sets
• Celebrity-founded tequila
• Luxury vacations to Italy and Canada
• Art Lipo body sculpting
• High-tech meditation orb
• Flip flops
• Various luxury food items such as honey, biscuits and more
• One-square metre plot of land in Queensland, Australia 
• Cosmetic surgery vouchers
• Inside are skincare products from Miage
• Silk pillowcase from Blush Silks
• Travel pillow from PETA

Premium products from…

• Ariadne Athens Skin Wellness
• All Better Co., 
• Bored Rebel, 
• Daily Energy Cards, 
• Effecti-cal, 
• Kind Reason Co., 
• KnowingLabs, 
• Maison Construction, 
• NaturGeeks, 
• Rareté Studios, 
• ReFa, 
• Proflexa, 
• Oxygenetix,
• Millions-Billions-Trillions Brand, among others

Featuring over 60 items, the gift bag this year has several premium beauty and lifestyle gifts, luxury vacations including a $40,000  (over ₹32 lakhs) getaway to a Canadian estate called The Lifestyle, a stay for eight people in a restored Italian lighthouse and ‘a symbolic souvenir’ of a piece of land in Queensland in Australia!

Those wanting to renovate their homes can use the $25,000 (over ₹20 lakhs) worth project management fees for home restoration from Maison Construction apart from lipo-arm sculpting, hair restoration services and a facelift.

While over 50% of the products reportedly come from companies that are women and minority-owned, the gifts will be delivered in Havaianas suitcases this year. The least expensive gifts include a pack of Clif Thins priced at $13.56, and an $18 loaf of Japanese milk bread from Ginza Nishikawa.

Who receives this coveted gift?

The Oscar gift bags are given to the hosts and the nominees for Best Director, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress. Howevr, the recipients also have the right to refuse to accept gifts. Last year, actor Denzel Washington reportedly declined his gift and actor JK Simmons donated it to a charity auction, as did George Clooney in 2006. Moreover, the products and services in the bag are a gift, the recipient does need to pay taxes on it, as it is considered an income.

Also read: Oscars 2023: ‘Naatu Naatu’ from ‘RRR’ wins Best Original Song

Photo by: AP

The Taliban has stopped the sale of contraceptives in two of Afghanistan’s main cities, claiming the use of the same by women is a western conspiracy to ‘control the Muslim population.’ Reportedly, the Taliban has been going door to door, threatening midwives and ordering pharmacies to not sell birth control pills and devices.

A store owner told The Guardian, “They came to my store twice with guns and threatened me not to keep contraceptive pills for sale. They are regularly checking every pharmacy in Kabul and we have stopped selling the products.” 

A senior midwife, on the condition of anonymity, said she had been threatened several times. She said a Taliban commander told her, “You are not allowed to go outside and promote the western concept of controlling population and this is unnecessary work.”

The Taliban ended higher education for girls, closed universities for women, forced them out of their jobs and even restricted them to leave their homes. 

The Guardian reported, ‘Zainab, who has an 18-month-old daughter, is worried. “I was secretly using contraceptives to avoid immediate pregnancy. I want to raise my daughter well with proper health and education facilities but it shattered my dreams when the midwife last week informed me that she had no contraceptive pills and injections to offer me,” she said.

“I left education to get married and I don’t want my daughter’s fate to be the same as mine. I seek a different future for my daughter. The last hope to plan my life has ended,” said Zainab.’

Also read: Shah Rukh Khan starrer Pathaan crosses 1000-crore mark worldwide

Parvez Musharraf

Former President of Pakistan Parvez Musharraf (79) passed away in Dubai on Sunday morning after battling against a rare disease in Dubai since March 2016. Musharraf, who was undergoing treatment for amyloidosis.

It is a rare disease that occurs when an abnormal protein, called amyloid, builds up in your organs and interferes with their normal function. 

On June 10, his family had issued a statement on Twitter by saying, “He (Musharraf) is not on the ventilator. Has been hospitalized for the last 3 weeks due to a complication of his ailment (Amyloidosis). Going through a difficult stage where recovery is not possible and organs are malfunctioning. Pray for ease in his daily living.”

Musharraf was born on August 11, 1943, in Delhi and completed his early education at St Patrick’s High School in Karachi. He pursued his higher education from Forman Christian College in Lahore.