14062022-LSTC-01.qxd 6/13/2022 10:22 PM Page 1 c m y b TRIBUNE Work ethics Esha Gupta says over a period of time, her parameter of choosing an acting project has changed. “My acting project either has to satisfy my pocket or my soul, she says. IANS CHANDIGARH | TUESDAY | 14 JUNE 2022 Lighting up lives Ecstasy agony and Richa & Ali launch Undercurrent Lab Richa Chadha is one of the few actresses who walks the talk There were when it comes to gender repreno women in the sentation in the industry. lighting departments Now, Richa and Ali Fazal along with director Shuchi in Hindi films. Tanya Talati have set up an incubaNegi came up with the tion programme for women idea for this who hope to work as gaffers in workshop. the film industry. The programme called Undercurrent Lab was launched on June 13 and is a joint partnership between Women in Film and Television Association, India (WIFT) and one of the largest lighting and grip equipment providers in Bollywood Light N Light. This incubation lab has been set up with the objective of introducing more female gaffers in Hindi films. Richa says, “When we set out to have an all-women team, we found that there were no women in the lighting departments in Hindi films, so our associate, Tanya Negi came up with the idea for this workshop. We are starting this training programme for women which aims to increase the participation of women behind the camera. I hope that the initiative seeds in a much larger change in the way things work in this industry.” The arrest of Shakti Kapoor’s son Siddhanth Kapoor in an alleged drug abuse case puts the spotlight once again on celebs and drug connection Sheetal J UST as Bollywood breathed a sigh of relief after Aryan Khan, son of Shah Rukh Khan, was given the clean chit by the NCB (Narcotics Control Bureau), yet another arrest of a star kid, this time Shakti Kapoor’s son Siddhanth Kapoor, on Sunday night, re-ignited the debate of celebs and drug connection. We look at other celebrities who were allegedly charged in the past for violating the law relating to ‘possession, consumption and sale of illegal substances’. THE SUMMONING The marijuana’s ‘puff puff pass’ leading to handcuffs has become a common affair ever since Sushant Singh Rajput’s suicide case got entangled with the drug abuse angle. While Sushant’s girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty and her brother Showik Chakraborty were arrested for alleged drug consumption and possession (later got bail), the probe brought many big names from the industry under the scanner of the NCB. After Rhea’s arrest and subsequent questioning, the responses led them to summon her close friends, Rakul Preet Singh, Arjun Rampal and fashion designer Simone Khambatta. The NCB, keen on uncovering the Bollywood and drugs connection, went through innumerable whatsapp chats which reportedly led it to Deepika Padukone and her manager Karishma Prakash, Sara Ali Khan and Shraddha Kapoor. As June 14, which marks the death anniversary of the late actor, rips off the bandaid yet again, the celeb hunt comes full circle with the arrest of Siddhanth, Shraddha’s brother and Shakti Kapoor’s son. TESTED POSITIVE Arrested from a rave party in a Bengaluru hotel, Siddhanth Kapoor was in the city as a pro- SIDDHANTH KAPOOR FARDEEN KHAN BHARTI SINGH RHEA CHAKRABORTY SANJAY DUTT HOLLYWOOD HISTORY JOHN LENNON: In a 1968 raid The Beatles member was charged for half a gram of morphine and 200 gm of hashish. He pleaded guilty to prevent deportation of his Japanese girlfriend and future wife Yoko Ono. LINDSAY LOHAN: Spent jail time for possession of drugs and driving under influence. ROBERT DOWNEY JR: With repeated arrests for possession of marijuana, cocaine and fessional disc jockey for an event. The police acted on a tip-off and raided the party. Siddhanth is allegedly one of the six persons who tested positive for drug usage out of the 35 guests suspected. Old ways die hard Bollywood’s khalnayak Sanjay Dutt has a history of jail time. The first actor to be held with drugs, Dutt allegedly spent five months in jail in late 1982 when he was caught heroin between 1996 to 2001, he has served many years in probation, six months in LA county jail, a year in state prison, California CHARLIE SHEEN: Arrested for marijuana possession on his mom’s birthday when he was 16. SNOOP DOGG: Arrested for the possession of cocaine shortly after his graduation. He became a regular offender. with illegal drugs. Fathers’ reactions On May 5, 2001, Fardeen Khan was reportedly caught by the NCB for buying cocaine from a peddler. The charges were dropped 11 years later after he underwent a de-addiction programme. But the most interesting news on the case came from the Fardeen’s advocate Ayaz Khan in 2021. He shared how late actor Feroz Khan, his father, never wanted to build a false defence to bail Fardeen out of the mess. Similarly, martial artiste and actor Jackie Chan, who was then the Narcotics Control Ambassador for the Chinese police, when woke up to the news of his son’s Jaycee Chan’s arrest for alleged substance abuse, instead of defending his son, he chose to apologise to the whole world. The house raids Celebs like Bharti Singh and LINDSAY LOHAN husband Haarsh Limbachiyaa were reportedly arrested after a house search yielded allegedly 86 gm of cannabis. They later got a bail on a bond of Rs 15,000 each. Another house raid led Big Boss fame Armaan Kohli’s arrest on August 8 for alleged possession of 1.2 gm of cocaine. The NDPS court has rejected his bail plea multiple times after observing the actor’s connection with the co-accused, a drug trafficker. NANI (R) WITH MRUNAL THAKUR ‘Cinema is winning’ Telugu cinema superstar Nani says the trend of viewers opening up to films across languages needs to be celebrated rather than being made into a topic of debate. The blockbuster run of SS Rajamouli’s RRR, Allu Arjun-led Pushpa and Yash’s KGF: Chapter 2 in the Hindi-speaking belt at a time when most of the Bollywood films have failed to generate buzz at the box office has led to chatters that the south film industry is challenging the monopoly of its northern counterpart. The 38-year-old actor, whose National Award-winning film Jersey was recently remade in Hindi with Shahid Kapoor, believes success of films from any region of the country should be taken in stride as it contributes to the growth of the Indian film industry. “This divide is stupid. With whatever is happening now, cinema is winning. We are naming ourselves — Bollywood, Tollywood, Kollywood — these are like borrowed names from Hollywood. I don’t understand why we call ourselves different industries. The languages may be different but we are one nation,” Nani said. The actor, whose real name is Ghanta Naveen Babu, has featured in some popular Telugu titles. —PTI Nani labels north-south cinema debate ‘stupid’ Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2mints Rs 171.17 crore, shows Kartik’s growing might Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, starring Kartik Aaryan, Tabu, Kiara Advani and Rajpal Yadav, has emerged as a box office winner, raking in Rs 171.17 crore in India so far. The film, which released on May 20, collected Rs 3.45 crore on its 24th day bailing Bollywood out of troubled waters as very few Hindi films have managed to put up good numbers on the box office in recent times except for the runaway success of The Kashmir Files. Film trade analyst Shining bright Taran Adarsh on Monday shared the Kartik Aaryan-starrer film’s The game is on Season 2 of Squid Gameis coming; hints at Gong Yoo’s return! c m y b collection in his tweet, “#BhoolBhulaiyaa2 continues to surprise It’s official! South Korean show Squid Game is back for second season. The announcement was made with a statement by Hwang Dong Hyuk, the director, writer and executive producer of Squid Game. It read, “It took 12 years to bring the first season of (the industry) and silence (the detractors) with its super run, week after week... The excellent trending in Weekend 4 says it all... (Week 4) Fri 1.56 cr, Sat 3.01 cr, Sun 3.45 cr. Total: ? 171.17 cr. #India biz.” But, calling the film’s success a surprise won’t be right as the independent trade analyst Sumit Kadel furnishes different reasons behind the film’s phenomenal success. Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 according to him “is a well made horror-comedy”.—IANS Squid Game to life last year. But it took 12 days for Squid Game to become the most popular Netflix series ever. As the writer, director and producer of Squid Game, a huge shout-out to fans around the world. And now, Gihun returns.”—TMS As bubbly as Geet! Singer-turned-actress Shirley Setia is all set to make Bollywood debut opposite Abhimanyu Dassani with Nikamma. The film also stars Shilpa Shetty. Shirley is a household name as a singer but always wished to be an actor. On working with Abhimanyu, Shirley says, “Abhimanyu gave me tips on when to face the camera, and how to adjust with light etc. As he has worked as an AD on multiple films, he has significant insights on the technicalities which can be seen in his performance.”