04012021-LSTL-01.qxd 1/3/2021 11:33 PM Page 1 c m y b THEY MAKE IT OFFICIAL Justin Hartley and Sofia Pernas have made their relationship official on Instagram. The two of them were earlier rumoured to be dating since May. TRIBUNE In action Janhvi Kapoor will be back to work soon with the shoot of the Hindi adaptation of Tamil film Kolamaavu Kokila. The actress will be heading to Punjab for the same. LUDHIANA | MONDAY | 4 JANUARY 2021 Waiting for the magic shot! ly, once the vaccine is available in the market things are expected to get back to normal for cinemas. It is important because only then we can see a decent footfall at theatres,” say Gunbir Singh, producerdirector, White Hills Studio. Also, counting on the vaccine is Munish Sahni of production-distribution company Omjee Star Studios. Citing the names of over 20 films, including Shooter, Chal Mera Putt 2, Posti, Maa, Men In Black, Beautiful Billo, Paani Ch Madhaani and Daakuan Da Munda 2, Munish says, “We are hoping and looking forward to release Punjabi films from March-April onwards. Hopefully, the vaccine will be available by that time so that audience can come back to theatres in a stress-free manner. It will be an exciting time as after almost a year we will get to see a lot of diverse and entertaining content.” Although cinemas in India are open but that’s only half the story. Until the market opens up in other countries, the business is still at stake. Karaj Gill, producer-distributor Rhythm Boys, explains, “Punjabi films do an equal or maybe more business overseas. Gurnaaz Kaur T HERE is a lot to look forward to in 2021. Among the many things, movie buffs can rest assured that Punjabi cinema will come out with some promising content, unlike last year when we saw not a single release post mid-March. But there are some factors at play and certain calculations to be made. For one and among the top priorities is the covid vaccine. “Many films have been shot during 2020 with an anticipation of being released in 2021; most like- LOOKING AHEAD 2021 As the Covid vaccine becomes a reality in 2021, it sends a wave of hope for Punjabi filmmakers, many of who are gearing to release their films in cinemas A STILL FROM JODI SOME OF THE PUNJABI FILMS THAT ARE READY FOR RELEASE IN 2021: ■ Puaada: Ammy Virk, Sonam Bajwa ■ Jodi: Diljit Dosanjh, Nimrat Khaira Mera Putt 2: Amrinder Gill, Simi Chahal and others ■ Paini Ch Madaani: Gippy Grewal, Neeru Bajwa ■ Dharti 2: Jimmy Shergill and Dec Kharod ■ Saunkan Saunkane: Ammy Virk, Sargun Mehta, Nimrat Khaira ■ Main Vyah Nahi Karona Tera Naal: Gurnam Bhullar, Sonam Bajwa ■ Soreya Da Pind: Gurnam Bhullar, Sargun Mehta ■ Phatte Chak Dinde Punjabi: Gippy Grewal, Neeru Bajwa and others ■ Chal With lockdowns still happening in countries like the UK, it is a wait-and-watch situation. Vaccine is imperative but even more weightage will be given to how willing the public is towards visiting theatres. Once that happens, we have six films ready for release.” There’s good news still. No matter what, Ammy Virk, Sonam Bajwa-starrer Puada will see the light of day within the first quarter of 2021. “We are chalking out a plan. Theatrical release is the first option but if things don’t go as planned, we may even straight go for OTT,” affirms Pawan Gill, producer Brat Films. Pawan says the disparity between Hindi and Punjabi films needs to go. “For Hindi film the cinema chains in Punjab give 50 per cent in first week, 42 per cent in second week, 38 per cent in third week and 30 per cent in fourth week. Whereas, for Punjabi films that too in Punjab only, they give 48 per cent in the first week, 38 per cent in second week and 30 per cent third week onwards. This approach should change, especially at a time like this when business is bad and films get pirated overnight that kills our other businesses,” he says. Of profane & profound Team Bachchan Pandey heads to Jaisalmer The year kick-starts with some new shows and movies on the web. Take a note: WEBSOLUTE FUN January 5: History of Swear Words on Netflix An education in expletives, a history lesson you didn’t know you needed. The sixepisode series History of Swear Words, hosted by Nicolas Cage, is a loud and proudly profane show that explores the origins, pop culture-usage, science and cultural impact of curse words. SURVIVING DEATH January 6: Surviving Death on Netflix Based on best-selling author and journalist Leslie Kean’s book Surviving Death is an in-depth investigative series exploring the possibility of an afterlife. The show explores questions like what does it mean to die and is death the end of our existence? battle against the corrupt bureaucracy to prove that he was alive. The film also stars Monal Gajjar, Mita Vashisht and Amar Upadhyay in pivotal roles. will be about Bucky Barnes aka The Winter Soldier and Sam Wilson aka Falcon. January 8: Marvel Studio: Legends on Disney+ Hotstar American Gods is based on the fantasy novel by Neil Gaiman. The third season will consist of 10 episodes. Its official synopsis reads, “Shadow Moon assumes a new identity and moves to Wisconsin to hide from the new Gods, but with Wednesday determined to bring him back into the fold.” January 7: Kaagaz on Zee5 Starring Pankaj Tripathi in the lead, Kaagaz is directed by Satish Kaushik. It is based on the real-life story of a man from Uttar Pradesh named Lal Bihari Mritak, who fought a long HISTORY OF SWEAR WORDS AMERICAN GODS SEASON 3 Marvel Studios: Legends will showcase individual Marvel comic characters and re-visit some of their most iconic moments. The first two episodes of the show will be centred on Wanda Maximoff and Vision. The later episodes January 10: American Gods Season 3 on Amazon Prime Video Bachchan Pandey is one of the highly awaited films having a stellar star cast that includes Akshay Kumar, Kriti Sanon, Arshad Warsi and Prateik Babbar in the lead roles. The Farhad Samji’s directorial has been in the news ever since it was announced. Now, the movie’s producer Sajid Nadiadwala took to social media on Sunday to give an update about the film and informed that the cast and crew have jetted off to Jaisalmer to commence the shooting. Sharing the photos on his Instagram handle, Sajid wrote, “New Year! New Beginnings! The gang is all set to roll #NGEFamily is excited to kick start #SajidNadiadwala’s #BachchanPandey. TEAM BACHCHAN PANDEY Shoot begins on 6th Jan in Jaisalmer! @farhadsamji.” As seen in the pictures, Kriti, Arshad and Prateik are posing together along with the entire team in the aircraft. Meanwhile, Akshay is likely to join the team shortly. Office politics? Kangana attacks Urmila for buying office Actor-politician Urmila Matondkar on Sunday said she has bought a new office with her “hard-earned money” after Kangana Ranaut took a dig at the purchase, linking it with her joining Shiv Sena. Matondkar, who had contested the 2019 Lok Sabha election from north Mumbai constituency as a Congress candidate, joined the political party on December 1. Ranaut took to Twitter and shared a screenshot of a report which claimed Matondkar bought the office for over Rs 3 crore, “weeks after joining Shiv Sena”. The star claimed that Congress, Shiv Sena’s ally, is trying to demolish her house and took a potshot at Matondkar for being “smart” enough to maintain good relations with her former political party. “Dear @UrmilaMatondkar ji, the houses that I built from my hardearned money are being demolished by Congress. By impressing BJP I have , only gotten 25-30 legal cases against me. I wish I was as smart as you and would’ve kept Congress happy. How foolish of me, no?” the 33-year-old actor tweeted. Tagging Ranaut, Matondkar shared a video on and asked her to fix up a meeting where she would be present with all documents as fair proof. —PTI URMILA MATONDKAR & KANGANA RANAUT c m y b Isn’t it romantic? Actor Arjun Kapoor has flaunted culinary skills of his girlfriend Malaika Arora. Arjun took to Instagram Stories to share a video of food cooked by Malaika. He also wrote: “When she cooks for you on Sunday.” In response to it, Malaika shared the video on Instagram Stories along with red heart emojis. Malaika also posted her photo taken while relaxing in a swimming pool. “Smile, be happy and make your year count .... make 2021 glorious .... happy Sunday,” she captioned it. For them, the New Year began with them making their relationship official on Instagram with a loved-up picture. —IANS Arjun Kapoor enjoys Sunday meal cooked by Malaika Arora