09052022-LSTC-01.qxd 5/8/2022 11:36 PM Page 1 c m y b AKSHAY IS TRULY HONOURED Akshay Kumar’s upcoming film is Yash Raj Films’ first historical, Prithviraj. He says it is truly an honour for any actor to portray a legend, who has done so much for the India that we know. TMS Classical calling TRIBUNE Life Ramneek Singh, whose life has been dedicated to music, says the West is increasingly appreciating our legacy TOTAL DEDICATION Music was destined for her, believes the singerwriter. “While I loved music at school, my training at Bhatkhande Music Institute prepared me for my guru in Vidushi Amarjeet Kaur. I re-learn the ragas at a slow pace, as they do at Indore Gharana,” says Ramneek. What she finds fascinating is that in her Gharana, significance is given to words as well. “Vidushi Amarjeet Kaur is a direct disciple of Ustad Amir Khan sahib. Khan sahib conceived the authentic taranas of Amir Khusro, and I have worked extensively on that,” says Ramneek, who writes under the pen name of Ibaadat. Just like Gurbani, in love with Sufiana stance of Indore Gharana, Ramneek enjoys music every bit, as it connects him with the Almighty. Running Sur-rang Music Academy in Canada, Ramneek says it’s her duty to spread the beauty of classical music. “The West is increasingly appreciating our music legacy; I feel proud to be part of this rich journey,” she beams. Lens eye R ECENTLY seen in the film A Thursday, actor Karanvir Sharma is not new to shooting for projects that narrate the story of a single day. He was previously part of the second season of 24, which was also a story of one day. KV, as his friends and fans call him, says, “When I signed A Thursday, it was completely because of the trust I had on the director— Behzad Khambata. I had worked with him in the film Blank, where I played an ATS officer. But we hit it off from the sets of Azhar, where I was in a supporting role and he was the associate director. It was much later that I got to know who all are in the film, right from Yami Gautam to Dimple Kapadia to Neha Dhupia and Atul Kulkarni.” In his next, a web series titled Invisible Woman, KV will be seen beside Esha Deol and Suniel Shetty. Born and brought up in Mumbai, he says, “I draw inspiration from my father. He has had his share of struggles and I had mine, but talking about those is not how we both think. He used to be film editor in Bollywood and that got me interested too.” Karanvir Sharma, who will soon be seen in the web series Invisible Woman, says for an actor there are many challenges KV who entered the indus, try to be a director, feels acting was his calling. He has fond memories of Dilip Kumar, First of the three localised Indian versions of the widely acclaimed international series, Modern Love—Mumbai will feature six heartwarming stories about discovering and exploring love in all its shades. The anthology showcases unique yet universal stories of human connection. The cast includes Fatima Sana Shaikh, Tanuja, Pratik Gandhi, Wamiqa Gabbi, Naseeruddin Shah, Sarika, Masaba Gupta, Ritwik Bhowmik, Prateik Babbar, Chitrangda Singh, Arshad Warsi and others. MAY 13: SNEAKERELLA ON DISNEY+ HOTSTAR Set in the vibrant street-sneaker subculture of New York City, Sneakerella is a high-energy, music-driven movie that showcases a contemporary twist on the Cinderella fairy tale. El is an aspiring sneaker designer, who works as a stock boy in the shoe store that once belonged to his late mother. When El meets Kira King, the fiercely independent daughter of legendary basketball star and sneaker tycoon Darius King, sparks fly as the two bond over their mutual affinity for sneakers. kept in touch. He also credits Anupam Kher for making him the actor he is today and teaching him all the nuances. Lock Upp, which was hosted by Kangana Ranaut, reached its grand finale on Saturday night (May 7) and Munawar Faruqui was declared winner of the first season of the reality show. Along with the trophy, Munawar also won Rs 20-lakh, a car and an all-sponsored trip to Italy. The grand finale saw six finalists—Shivam Sharma, Munawar Faruqui, Prince Narula, Payal Rohatgi, Azma Fallah and Anjali Arora—competing against each other. Payal, Munawar and Anjali made MUNAWAR FARUQUI WITH KANGANA RANAUT it to the top three. But the trophy was bagged by Munawar. He was one of the most popular contestants on the show, who had won the hearts of the audience with his antics. Payal was announced as the first runner-up while Anjali became the second runner-up. Produced by Ekta Kapoor, the show saw Kangana Ranaut making her OTT debut as a host. Karan Kundrra was the jailor and Tejasswi Prakash was the warden on the show. — TMS Sci-fi zone Disha Patani joins Prabhas-starrer Project- K Bollywood actress Disha Patani, who made her Telugu film debut in Varun Tej-starrer Loafer, has joined Prabhas and Deepika’s Project K. The actress confirmed the news by posting a photo of a ‘welcome on board’ bouquet sent by Project K production house, Vyjayanthi Movies, on Instagram. Prabhas, Amitabh Bachchan, and Deepika Padukone play pivotal roles in this project directed by Mahanati fame Nag Aswin. The film is currently under production and is a sci-fi thriller. — IANS Strength of her voice Narrating the Hindi version of the graphic novel series The Sandman was a great experience, says Tabu This week on web there will be stories of love. Here’s the list of top OTT releases MAY 13: MODERN LOVE—MUMBAI ON AMAZON PRIME VIDEO who influenced him a lot as he was growing up. He had met Dilip Kumar and Saira Bano by accident, but ever since The actor is also into direction, but right now restricting himself to music videos, while he also features in some of them. The focus now is on acting though. Trained in martial arts, he adds, “I am decent dancer, but would like to become better.” About the Invisible Woman, Karan says, “It’s real fun working with Suniel dada and I have always been a fan of action thrillers.” KV, who has completed a decade in the industry, has worked in successful TV shows like Shaurya Aur Anokhi Ki Kahani and 24, series such as Haq Se, Love Sorries and films, including A Thursday, Zid, Blank and Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana. He wishes work comes his way, irrespective of the medium. “It is a long road as an actor and there are many challenges. I can’t be very choosy. I can only do my job well,” he adds. As for binge-watch recommendation, KV is all praise of MCU’s latest series Moon Knight on Disney+ Hotstar. Ask him to name one thing that annoys his friends and he quips, “I am always late, no matter how hard I try. I am the last one to arrive.” Munawar wins Lock Upp Celebrating love This modern-day romantic saga, directed by Nandita Mehra, stars Aamna Sharif, Gaurav Arora, Pratibha Ranta and Kunal Roy Kapur, among others. Spanning across five episodes, the series delves into an unconventional tale of forbidden love. Set against the picturesque backdrops of Gulmarg, Srinagar and Mussoorie, the series captures a turbulent love story, rife with major twists and turns. CHANDIGARH | MONDAY | 9 MAY 2022 Sheetal WEBSOLUTE FUN MAY 12: AADHA ISHQ ON VOOT SELECT Ranbir Kapoor has revealed that he has a ‘strange fascination’ with the number 8, since his mother’s birthday is July 8 and the number horizontally symbolises the infinite. TMS ‘It is a long road’ Mona Singer Ramneek Singh’s life has revolved around music forever. Her mother, seeing a promise in her voice, enrolled Ramneek into the Bhatkhande Music Institute, which she duly attended along with her school in Delhi. Enjoying singing Gurbani in school, she latertrained under Vidushi Amarjeet Kaur from the Indore Gharana for 15 years. Falling in love with the meditative aspect of Indore Gharana, Ramneek has continued her training and spreading the beauty of classical music far and wide. Calling Toronto home for the last few decades, Ramneek has been visiting India for a number of decades to perform in classical music programmes. However, it was after three years that she could visit now due to the pandemic. So, she was elated to perform at the Pracheen Kala Kendra on Friday. “It’s so amazing to finally sing to an audience and get their inputs; It feels great to be back,” says Ramneek, who, like many others, continued with virtual performances through the pandemic. Love for 8! For someone whose childhood was all about listening to the radio, actor Tabu says narrating the Hindi audiobook adaptation of the popular graphic novel series The Sandman was an opportunity to further explore her strength as a voice artiste. Reminiscing about her childhood days when she would hear different stories on Vividh Bharti’s famous radio show Hawa Mahal, Tabu says she always had a special place for the audio medium in her heart. “I love podcasts and as a country we have grown up listening to the radio; television and electronic media came much later. At least with my generation, childhood was all about listening to the radio… There’s a lot of stuff that you can do with your voice. Every actor has a distinct voice and it conveys different things,” Tabu says. Audible, a leading producer and provider of spoken-word entertainment and audiobooks, last month launched Act I of The Sandman in Hindi. Originally created in English by Neil Gaiman, alongside artists Sam Kieth and Mike Dringenberg, the DC graphic novel was adapted in Hindi by Neerja Chittaranjan and Nirupama Kartik. While Gaiman served as narrator for the English version, Tabu is the voice for the same in Hindi. c m y b TOUGH CHALLENGE Regarded as one of the finest Indian actors, the National Award-winner says she is honoured to be associated with the project. “The Sandman occupies a very important place in my repertoire. It was a huge responsibility. You just have to be fair, do justice to something that somebody has created out of their own imagination. So, I had a huge responsibility, but it was a challenge,” she says. A seasoned actress, Tabu also terms the method of recording the audio as a ‘very solitary’, task as one sits alone in a studio, reading the lines without any visual stimulus. “You don’t know how it is going until you hear it in totality with the other characters, and give the sound and the music. It is difficult to judge for yourself,” Tabu opines. —PTI KUBBRA SAIT ON HORROR GENRE Kubbra Sait, who is also a part of the The Sandman, says, “I’m elated and extremely proud of the fact that I am able to voice an incredible character for one of the greatest shows. The Sandman takes the listeners into the world of fantasy and horror, and these genres are becoming immensely popular now. I think that anything that allows you to think beyond what you really know or what you think you know, and being introduced to a world that is completely not familiar to you, is both challenging and exciting. I mean the fact that you can do things that you aren’t in real life is pretty cool.” — IANS