24042022-LSTL-01.qxd 4/23/2022 11:24 PM Page 1 c m y b BHATT ANNOUNCES 1920 SEQUEL Directed by Vikram Bhatt, horror film1920 had Rajneesh Duggal and Adah Sharma in the lead. The filmmaker is now set to take the franchise forward. The upcoming film, titled 1920: Horrors of The Heart, will star Avika Gor and will be directed by Vikram Bhatt’s daughter Krishna Bhatt. TRIBUNE The hero Life The second trailer of Tiger Shroff-starrer Heropanti 2 is out and it surely offers what the audience can expect from his movie, a complete package of action, thriller, crime, romance and comedy.—IANS LUDHIANA | SUNDAY | 24 APRIL 2022 Love Aaj Kal... Sheetal E (L-R) BN Sharma, Satinder Satti & Nav Bajwa. PHOTO: MANOJ MAHAJAN Time travel & more The 2018 sci-fi film, Raduaa, the first in Punjab, was left with an open end. And here’s the good news! The sequel of the film, Raduaa Returns, was announced on Saturday by producer-actordirector Nav Bajwa. The film is based on time travel, a sci-fi plot with a comic touch! Well, the Punjabi film industry is still not ready to part ways with comedy, it seems. The director promises that the sequel will pick up right from where Raduaa ended in the year 2255. The film repeats the talented actors, Nav Bajwa, Gurpreet Ghugi, BN Sharma, Satinder Satti as they are joined by new actors like Mahira Sharma, Yograj Singh, Naman Hanjra, Jaswant Rathore and Paramveer Singh. Nav explains, “The highlight of the movie is WWE Superstar, The Great Khali, who will be seen for the first time in a Punjabi film.” Raduaa Returns, Pollywood’s indigenous sci-fi film, has three things to offer—action, comedy and The Great Khali! The film has been shot in Samrala and Khanpur in Punjab. The music composition has been done by Anup Kumar “Ullumanati”. The movie is produced under the label, Nav Bajwa Films & Outline Productions. The director confirms that he had written the story as a trilogy. He says, “It took me around eight months to work on the script and I am looking forward to a great response.” Gurpreet Ghuggi, who will be reprising his previous role from Raduaa in the sequel, says, “Lately, I have been enjoying playing char- acters that are set in history. Fortunately, Raduaa Returns is set in both past and future, which makes it all the more interesting. I am excited to improvise the script and make it funnier.” Ghuggi will be seen in Ni Main Sass Kutni and Maa. Post Raduaa, he will working in Television and Bai Ji Kuttan Ge. The actor-comedian wishes to see more slice-of-life cinema in future. He feels that Punjab’s history is full of unsung heroes, who need to be presented to the audience. “Many films have been made on Bhagat Singh. But those are only at the surface level. One needs to explore how he used to be around his friends and other anecdotes,” he adds. Well, after RRR’s magic at box office, it would be interesting to see what regional RR has in store! —Sheetal VERY successful singer likes to recreate popular Hindi songs from the golden era and singer Shibani Kashyap is no exception. She has collaborated with Saregama music for her latest song, Mere Mehboob, which was originally sung by legendary singer Kishore Kumar. Shibani has tried to give this soulful song about unrequited love a youthful global vibe. Shibani says, “I love this song for its catchy and haunting melody. I think many singers have sung it before me. So, I wanted to do something unexpected and unusual. I did not want to repeat the same instruments and percussions, so I decided to give it the R&B flavour, which resulted in imparting an international feel to this ageold Hindi gem.” And the result is amazing! The musical arrangement was done by American producers and arrangers and she credits them for the very happening feel that the song imparts. “I did the same thing with my successful song Sajna Aa Bhi Ja from Waisa Bhi Hota Hai Part 2. While it is a Sufi song but the music has a global appeal. In fact, that’s what I always like to do or one can say, that’s always been my shtick,” says Shibani. Shot in Arunachal Pradesh, Shibani is all praise for the tourism ministry of the state. She recollects how things fell into place automatically. “After the lockdown, my very first show was organised in Singer Shibani Kashyap gives Kishore Kumar’s Mere Mehboob an R&B spin and the result is a peppy love ballad! Arunachal Pradesh, a place people in this part of India don’t know much about. I was quite apprehensive. But when I saw the pictures of the state, I didn’t have to think twice. I visited this quaint town called Seppa during the time of Nyokum-Yullo festival. Every year, more than 10,000 people gather to celebrate this festival with pomp and show. I was glad that I arrived two days before the festival and shot for my song. There are so beautiful memories of the place and the people I carry along.” The Jogiya singer has been travelling ever since, right from Bhubaneswar to Dubai Expo 2022. She visited Chandigarh for the Hunar The madness begins… Haat expo and is happy that the live show culture is back. She says, “I consider performing at Dubai Expo no less than a feather in my cap. The artisans had designed the Indian pavilion as mini India. It was like walking through metaverse. It leaves you with the feeling that you are walking along the ghats of River Ganga and having a guided tour of ISRO. It was a beautiful experience.” As many singers and actors have started opting for the metaverse, Shibani longs to have a large studio in the virtual world. “It will help singers to collaborate as owning a big studio in Mumbai with all the luxuries and essentials is not possible for every singer. It would be possible to invite the avatars of fans to come and join apart from fellow singers,” she explains. The singer is in awe of young talented people around her. She included a 17-year-old boy as DOP in her entourage for live shows, which earlier had musicians, make-up artistes and her manager. Shibani has plans to start online as well as offline music institute to hone young talents. Shibani has just released her Punjabi song Neendra and another one, I Swear, is in the pipeline. In June, Shibani will also be performing live alongside Grammy Award winner Ricky Kej. Talking of digital boom Actor Yami Gautam says it is not an easy task to bring the audiences back to theatres as viewers today have the awareness about the kind of content they want to watch on the big screen and on the OTT platforms. Gautam, who has had two of her films released on OTT – Bhoot Police and A Thursday – believes the digital boom which happened during the coronavirus pandemic has opened many doors for filmmakers and actors. “OTT has opened avenues and perspectives. It came at a time where it opened an important door financially and economically for producers and for actors too,” the actor said at an economic conclave on Friday. “We are very fortunate with multiple arrays of mediums coming together and that the opportunities will not go away,” she added.—PTI YAMI GAUTAM Will Smith arrives in Mumbai First public appearance after slapgate Gippy Grewal and Jasmin Bhasin-starrer Honeymoon gets its release date Hollywood star Will Smith, who was in news recently for slapgate with Chris Rock at the Oscars, is in India currently. The actor was seen at Mumbai airport on April 23. This is Will’s first public appearance after the Oscar controversy and the Academy announcing a 10-year-ban on him from attending the awards ceremony. Will was dressed in all-white as he greeted a person next to him at the airport. The videos and photos of Will waving at fans and paparazzi have gone viral. Reportedly, Will Smith has come to India to visit the ISKCON temple in Kharghar. Besides the spiritual outing, it’s unclear whether Smith’s visit to India is workrelated or not. Gippy Grewal and Jasmin Bhasin-starrer Honeymoon has announced its theatrical release date. The film will hit cinemas this Diwali on October 25. The movie is written by Naresh Kathooria. The film went on the floors in January 2022 with its Punjab schedule sparking a lot of chatter on the internet. Sure to tickle your funny bones with the flavour of drama, Honeymoon revolves around the story of the just married couple—Deep & Sukh who want to go on their Honeymoon. But Deep’s naive and extended family, blissfully unaware of what a honeymoon actually entails, tag along with the newlyweds, as they have never been out of their village. Sanjay Dutt pens a heartfelt note for Team KGF New cop in town Shilpa Shetty to make her OTT debut with Indian Police Force As reported recently, Rohit Shetty is set for an action series called Indian Police Force, which will air on Amazon Prime Video. While Sidharth Malhotra is making his OTT debut with this project, the series will now see a new entrant - Shilpa Shetty. Making her OTT debut with this series, Shilpa will be playing a cop in the show. The show promises to be everything audiences have come to expect from a Rohit Shetty spectacle. Shilpa shared the news with fans on social media and unveiled her first-look poster from the show. “Ready to set the OTT platform on fire for the first time. Superrr thrilled to join the action king Rohit Shetty in his cop universe,” Shilpa wrote sharing the first look. c m y b ‘It reminded me of my own potential’ KGF Chapter 2, starring Yash, Sanjay Dutt, and Raveena Tandon, has taken the box office by storm. A couple of days ago, Yash shared a video in which he thanked everyone for the super success of the film and now Sanjay Dutt has penned a heartfelt note. Taking to his social media on Saturday, Sanjay Dutt wrote, “There will always be some films which will be more special than the others. Every once in a while, seek out a film which pushes me out of my comfort zone. KGF: Chapter 2 was that film for me. It remind- ed me of my own potential…” The actor further said, “This film made me realise why cinema, at the end of the day, is a product of passion. Prashanth Neel, my director, had sold the vision of the menacing ‘Adheera’ to me. The credit for how my role turned out, goes entirely to Prashanth. As the captain of the ship, it’s his dream we all brought to screen.This film will always be a reminder that every time life pops a surprise, you have it in you to do better than that. Lots of love to my fans, family and well-wishers. ”