20012021-LSTL-01.qxd 1/19/2021 11:57 PM Page 1 c m y b TRIBUNE All well Soon after Bigg Boss Tamil 4 ended, Kamal Haasan announced that he will be undergoing a surgery. Now, the surgery on his leg has been a success and he will soon return home. LUDHIANA | WEDNESDAY | 20 JANUARY 2021 With more instalments of many web series set to release in 2021, look forward to a gala time Season of SUCCESS Gurnaaz Kaur T SHERLYN CHOPRA In the dock NO OVERLAP Delhi Crime Season 2 on Netflix SAJID KHAN Even before its release in India, BBC’s documentary Death In Bollywood is creating a stir as it reveals some shocking facts about Jiah Khan and her death. On Monday, a video clip of this documentary went viral in which Jiah Khan’s sister Karishma alleged Sajid Khan of sexually harassing the late actress. In the second episode of the three-part docuseries, which has been released only in the UK as of now, Karishma says, “It was rehearsal; she (Jiah) was reading the scripts and Sajid asked her to take off her top. She didn’t know what to do, she said ‘the filming hasn’t even begun yet and this is happening.’ She came home and cried.” Karishma also revealed how scared Jiah was about Sajid suing her if she breached the contract. The video clip has been shared by many and a few more people have come forward, reporting sexual harassment incidents against Sajid Khan. Actress-model Sherlyn Chopra took to Twitter on Tuesday and alleged that Sajid Khan had asked her to ‘feel his private parts’ when she met him in 2006. In 2018, during the #MeToo wave, several other women had made similar allegations against Sajid and he had to step down as the director of Housefull 4. Meanwhile, Kangana tweeted, “They killed Jiah, they killed Sushant and they tried to kill me, but they roam free have full support of the mafia, growing stronger and successful every year... No one will save you have to save yourself.” BACK AGAIN The Family Man Season 2 on Amazon Prime Manoj Bajpayee is set to make a comeback as secret agent Srikant Tiwari in the second season of The Family Man. Besides Manoj, the new season will also feature Telugu actress Samantha Akkineni, who is making her digital debut with the series. Teaser of the show was recently released, which shows Srikant missing in action while the whole team is searching for him. There also seems to be some trouble in his married life. Yet again, Sajid Khan accused of sexual harassment JIAH KHAN HE year 2020 was a breakthrough for streaming platforms. It gave an all-new flavour to TV viewing experience. And 2021 surely has enough content to bingewatch too. Here’s a look. Emmy Award-winning series Delhi Crime will soon have its Season 2 on Netflix. The new season, which is already in the works, will be a standalone project, focussing on a new set of characters and will not overlap with the previous story. The series is looking to transform into an anthology. SECOND INNINGS Aarya Season Disney+Hotstar 2 on Singh, Nidhi Singh, Snehil Dixit Mehra, Saanand Verma, Sukhamni Sadana and Aditya Lal. WEDDING PLANNERS Made In Heaven Season 2 on Amazon Prime Video This show of two wedding planners in Delhi was the talk of the town after its release in 2018 Zoya Akhtar, who conceptualised it, has confirmed the season 2 of the show. The release date is not out yet. FIRST LOOK Mumbai Diaries 26/11 on Amazon Prime Video The first look of the series was released on the 12th anniversary of 26/11 attacks. Featuring Mohit Raina, Konkana Sen Sharma, Tina Dutta and Shreya Dhanwanthary in the main roles, the show, created by Nikhil Advani and Nikhil Gonsalves, is set to release in March. COMBAT ROLE The Test Case, Season 2 on Zee 5 and ALTBalaji MADE IN HEAVEN nesswoman and a protective mother in the web series Aarya. The crime thriller ranked amongst the top five shows of 2020 and the makers have already announced its next season. THIRD TAKE Mirzapur 3 on Amazon Prime Soon after the release of Mirzapur 2, Season 3 of the show was announced. The show had ended on quite a shocker with Guddu finally taking revenge and killing Munna. Kaleen Bhaiya was also left badly injured and was saved by Sharad Shukla. However, Beena and Guddu don’t know that he is alive. GRIPPING NARRATIVE Apharan 2 on AltBalaji After the resounding success of Season 1, ALTBala- ji's Apharan - Sab Ka Katega is renewed for the second season. Packed with a gripping narrative, unimaginable twists, thrilling storyline, and electrifying situational background score, Apharan is a 70s style masala entertainer at its very best. The cast and crew of the show are currently shooting in Uttarakhand. The show stars Arunoday In its first season we saw actress Nimrat Kaur as Captain Shikha Sharma who did everything to fit into the male-dominated academy and became the first female of Indian Army’s test case in a combat role. Now, we will see Harleen Sethi in the lead role as she is set to portray a brave and fierce Army officer. The release date is yet to be announced. Sushmita Sen made her successful digital debut as a fierce busi- MIRZAPUR DELHI CRIME THE TEST CASE THE FAMILY MAN APHARAN AARYA Great This Tandavlacks fury, bite & sting Into the action zone going WEBSOLUTE FUN Ali Abbas Zafar’s Tandavmight have a great cast and even a flair for theatrics yet the Get set for some high-octane thrillers this week January 20: Bang Baang on political thriller fails to delve beyond the surface and ends up being too superficial ALT Balaji and ZEE5 Ozarkand The Crown top nomination list for Critics Choice Awards 2021 Critics Choice Association, on Monday, made the official nomination announcement for its awards show this year. Topping the nomination list are Netflix’s series’ Ozark and The Crown. Bothe the shows have bagged six nods each. Ozark’s Jason Bateman and Laura Linney are nominated in Best Actor in a Drama Series and Best Actress in a Drama Series, respectively. Besides best drama, The Crown also secured nominations for stars Olivia Colman and Emma Corrin (who will compete in the drama actress category), Josh O’Connor (drama actor), Gillian Anderson (drama supporting actress) and Tobias Menzies (drama supporting actor). THE CROWN Nonika Singh What happens when a commercially successful director Ali Abbas Zafar of Sultan and Tiger Zinda Hai fame debuts in digital space? Well, you get a series you can watch for sure as his flair for drama engages you from the word go. But on the flip side he can’t move beyond the surface and what you see is what you get. Indeed, at a superficial level the political thriller that dares to tread into corridors of power works. The first episode itself sets the scene even though it is more of flight of fancy than leaf from actual political life. The embittered father-son relationship, the Prime Minister Devki Nandan (Tigmanshu Dhulia) and his ambitious aspiring beta Samar Pratap (Saif Ali Khan) could have been a perfect playground for a heightened emotional battle. Only, if the writer-director had not been in a tearing hurry to remove one. Thereafter, its cat and mouse game between other players. And you bet there are quite a few. A whole game of chess is laid out there. Undeniably, the casting is great. From Dimple Kapadia who looks devilishly graceful as Anuradha Kishore to Gauhar Khan as Maithili who looks lovely and acts well too. NET, FLICKS AND MORE Web series: Tandav Director: Ali Abbas Zafar Cast: Dimple Kapadia, Saif Ali Khan, Sunil Grover, Dino Morea, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Anup Soni and Sandhya Mridul Rating:  Kumud Mishra as the political heavyweight Gopal Das gets his laughter and menace right. Saif is charmingly devil incarnate. Only his character sketch finds little justification thus hemming his potential as an actor. Why he suddenly decides to play a king maker, Chanakya as he calls himself, and of all the people finds his Chandragupt in student leader Shiva (Zeeshan Ayyub) is rather baffling. Much, of course, is intended to confuse you. The secret caller who spills part of the beans for instance is the mystery angle you would love to unveil. Only its no more than a tease. Besides, a conspiracy in which so many men and women are involved, can it be possible to keep it under wraps? If you have seen political thrillers like House of Cards this one will barely pass muster. Yet, there is soemthing to keep you going. Sunil Grover as Gurpal for one, the ‘Dr Mashoor Gulati’ proves his versatility as an actor. With deadpan expressions he might say, “In the game of chess, pawns and wazirs get decimated first”, he stands tall amidst mighty kings and powerful queens. He holds the series and even gets to mouth some fine wisecracks. Galat aur sahi ke c m y b beech mein jo cheez aa kar khadi ho jaati hai use rajneeti kehte hai… only both he and the series veer more towards the sinful/sinister side. The parallel between student politics and real political world could have been a fascinating analogy. But far too soon it is reduced to the lowest level. Murder and more murders and the series paints the political class with a thick brush dipped in shades of black. Instead of showing us their many layers, they come across as power hungry manipulative people who would go to any lengths to retain power. Indeed, such men and women do exist. Only Zafar and the convoluted screenplay doesn’t make you see anything in new light. The chants of azadi azadi are no different from the ones we heard in real life only recently.VNU could well be JNU and its innocent students are easy fodder to fuel the ambition of powers that be. Tandav, however, lacks the fury as its name suggests and ends up being a filmy encapsulation, a mishmash of political events and figures we see around us. Yet, the series (streaming on Amazon Prime) with nine crisp episodes can be a watchable fare. Only don’t expect it to be even remotely insightful. Bang Baang is said to be a visual spectacle for those who love watching great action. The show stars social media sensation Faisal Sheikh aka Faisu and Ruhii Singh. It involves mystery, thrill and drama amidst deep-lying secrets that unravel one after another. January 21: Jamun on Eros Now A slice of life drama Jamun stars Raghubir Yadav, Shweta Basu Prasad, Sunny Hinduja, Saurabh Goyal and Krishna Bisht, among others. Helmed by Gaurav Mehra, the enthralling drama narrates story of a father’s dream of finding the right match for his daughter who has a squint. It not only depicts the daily quarrels of mundane life, but highlights the bittersweet relation between a father and daughter. January 22: The White Tiger on Netflix The White Tiger, directed by Ramin Bahrani, is an adaptation of the 2008 Aravind Adiga’s novel of the same name. Starring Priyanka Chopra, Rajkummar Rao and newcomer Adarsh Gourav in the lead roles, the film is a social satire that explores themes of poverty, corruption, survival and class struggle in India. WALKER FATE: THE WINX SAGA January 22: Zidd on ZEE5 In Zidd, Amit Sadh essays the role of a Kargil war hero who battles disability, and with his conviction overcomes all the hurdles that come between him and his duty of serving the nation. January 22: Walker on Voot Select The show stars Jared Padalecki in the title role of Cordell Walker, a Texas Ranger and widower who returns to Austin to be with his family after two years of working undercover. Now home, Walker becomes suspicious about the circumstances surrounding his wife’s death. January 22: Fate: The Winx Saga on Netflix The show follows the journey of five fairies attending Alfea, a magical boarding school in the otherworld where they must learn to master their powers while navigating love, rivalries, and the monsters that threaten their very existence.