03122022-LSTL-01.qxd 02-12-2022 22:51 Page 1 c m y b TRIBUNE Action zone After successful stints in the Gujarati, Hindi, and Marathi film industries, veteran producer Anand Pandit is now producing Kabzaa, a Kannada action thriller. TMS LUDHIANA | SATURDAY | 3 DECEMBER 2022 Voice of the voiceless T Bollywood stars John Abraham and Fatima Sana Shaikh crowned PETA India’s Most Beautiful Vegetarians of 2022 HE time has come for PETA India (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) to name its Most Beautiful Vegetarian Celebrities of the year. And actors John Abraham and Fatima Sana Shaikh have won the coveted title. Fresh off the set of her last action thriller, Thar, Fatima Sana Shaikh is vocal about her passion for helping animals. The Dangal and Thugs of Hindostan star has shared pictures of her foster cats with three million Instagram followers and spoken about improving animalcare facilities in Mumbai. On the other hand, previous PETA India Person of the Year winner John Abraham has tirelessly advocated for animals in need, including teaming up with PETA India to successfully urge e-commerce website Quikr to stop permitting animal sales and urge e-ticketing platform BookMyShow to promote animal-free circuses only. The recipient of a National Film Award , Abraham is also a film producer and guardian to two adopted dogs — Bailey and Sia. Sachin Bangera of PETA India says, “John Abraham and Fatima Sana Shaikh are speaking up for animals in need and using their star power to inspire their fans to do the same. PETA India is honouring them for showing the world how easy it is to make compassionate choices that protect animals, the environment and their own health.” — TMS Ajay Devgn and Rohit Shetty to reunite for Singham Again Jubin Nautiyal injured Once more Singer Jubin Nautiyal reportedly met with an accident on Thursday (December 1) and was rushed to a hospital in Mumbai. The singer apparently suffered a few fractures and hurt his head after he fell from a building staircase. Jubin, who has been in the news for his recent chartbuster Not done! ASHANTI The 42-year-old pop singer Ashanti has said she had a ‘crazy situation with one producer’ she had worked with for several weeks, who ordered her to get naked with him or face paying him $40,000 for each track he recorded with her. Speaking on the Breakfast Club radio show, she said: “We did two records together, he was like, ‘Okay, I’m not gonna charge you’. When the time to put it on the album came, he was like, ‘Well, let’s take a shower together’. I thought he was joking, and then he was like, ‘Nah, I’m dead serious. Let’s go out or let’s take a shower together, and I’ll give you the records. If not, I need 40 racks per record’.” She added: “I thought he was joking, because we had been working together for a couple weeks. But it turned out that he was serious. I had to make some phone calls and the stuff was handled. It was wild.” Ashanti did not name the man involved but previously spoke out about the same incident back in 2018 when she revealed she turned down a producer who had “a little crush” on her. She said her family stepped in and the man apologised by giving her ‘three records for free’. — IANS Tu Saamne Aaye is currently getting treatment and will have to undergo an arm surgery soon. Jubin is one of the mostloved singers of the current generation. He has lent his voice to hits such as Raataan Lambiyaan, Lut Gaye, Humnava Mere, Tujhe Kitne Chahne Lage Hum and many more. Ajay Devgn is riding high on the success of Drishyam 2. He is now all set to work with Rohit Shetty once more. The director-actor duo has forged an unbreakable bond while working together in franchise like Golmaal and Singham. And for the latter’s sequel, Ajay and Rohit will reunite again on the sets of Singham Again. — TMS ‘Love changes it all’ Happily married to the dream girl of his life, actor Vicky Kaushal has explained how love changes a person into becoming better, both professionally and personally. He minces no words when he says being with that ‘special one’ is the most beautiful feeling in the world. Vicky married his lady love Katrina Kaif in December 2021 after dating for almost over three years. He says, “I think if you are with the right person who really gives you peace and happiness in your heart and mind, it just makes you the best version of yourself and that creates positive vibes and energy, both professionally and personally. You give the best that you have because you are with the right person.” The 34-yearold star added: “I think being in love is the most beautiful feeling in the world and that only can bring out the best in you.” Currently, Vicky is gearing up for the release of his film Govinda Naam Mera, which is slated to release on Disney+ Hotstar, where he is stuck between his girlfriend, played by Kiara Advani, and wife, essayed by Bhumi Pednekar. After Govinda Naam Mera, Vicky has a slew of films lined up for release, including Sam Bahadur, Laxman Utekar’s untitled next and The Great Indian Family. — IANS VICKY KAUSHAL AND KATRINA KAIF MOVIE REVIEW Nonika Singh Two fantastic actors, Ayushmann Khurrana and Jaideep Ahlawat, and a production house that has given us delightful comedies like Tanu Weds Manu... The combination sounds like a heady mix. In interview after interview Ayushmann has defined his part as ‘genre breaker.’ Only, in the hands of debutant director Anirudh Iyer, the film is not just genre-breaking for its lead hero, but also as a film it defies pigeon-holing. Starting as a thriller what with an action hero Manav on the run after accidentally killing a man and spreading out like a spoof, this isn’t your average run-of-the mill entertainer. Sure it makes you smirk and smile. Even excite and thrill as Manav decides to find refuge in London...Isn’t that where all fugitives (Nirav, Mallaya) go? The film stings and delights in equal measure. With Manav’s real and reel life intercutting what unfurls on the cinema screens is as much a suspension of disbelief as stinging reality. Iyer who has written the story tries to pack many things in this tale of hero becoming a zero...And finally brings us to Slick action sequences and power packed performances, the film stings and delights in equal measure Never a dull moment Film: An Action Hero Director: Anirudh Iyer Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Jaideep Ahlawat, Jitender Hooda and Hiten Patel Rating:  the esoteric or the ultimate Bollywood truth ant bhala to sab bhala. Till that happens, there is fun-laced with life-like moments like #BoycottBollywood. How we love to put our heroes on a pedestal, only to knock them down in a jiffy rings true. The underworld don whose biopic Manav refuses to do and whom he runs into in London tells him, “You are an opportunity for the poor to get even with rich.” The underworld reference and ‘relevance’ is indeed loaded and mirthful. Media and its motor mouth anchors holding kangaroo court for disgraced heroes is a familiar enough sight on our TV monitors. Here the make-believe act is no less revealing till it becomes a little too much. But actors save the day all through the film. Ayushmann as superstar Maanav is in top form. Be it as the action hero who can’t feel angry enough till he learns his car won’t be delivered on time or the real life person, who puts all his reel life learning to task. Equally talented Jaideep Ahlawat as Bhoora and Manav’s nemesis out to avenge his brother’s killing gets his demeanour and inflections of a Haryanvi politician right, and is a match to Ayushmann. In the heroine-less narrative the duo spar, fight and chase each other in some slick action sequences. Though why Bhoora, who kills at the slightest provocation, can’t finish off his arch enemy Manav whose search has brought him to London is hard to fathom. Instead, he challenges him to hand-to-hand combat. In the middle of a fight, his monologue on how public makes stars seems like a deliberate intervention and is not organic. Thus what is a deuce suddenly becomes advantage Ayushmann. Blame it on the fact that Bhoora’s villainous act is not as well-sketched as the action hero. As Manav the hero, fallen from grace, says in the latter half, “Yeh meri kahani hai...” he has to get the better of him, literally and cinematically. And that tells us something about Ayushmann whose rippled bare chest look, however is not the only thing to look out for. The writing, the peppy remix Aap Jaisa Koi with Malaika Arora’s all oomph item number and Akshay’s cameo playing the perfect cad all add to the film. An Action Hero may not be everyone’s cup of tea but has enough masala of real and reel, our world and Bollywood, worth savouring. NET, FLICKS & MORE Freddy is strictly for the ‘National Crush’ fans, for Kartik is crushing the new look and feel Mona Meet Dr Freddy Ginwala, a loner looking for his soulmate. In comes lovely Mrs Kainaaz Irani, a victim of domestic abuse, and it seems like his search after five years on the matrimonial site is just about to get over. Only this lovely Mrs has to be single. As our Freddy, best friends with his tortoise Hardy, is dreaming of domestic bliss with dhansak and lagan nu custard, the story takes another spin. We love Rooh Baba take a dramatic turn to lonely Freddy; Kartik Aaryan adapts to Bylanes of mystery Director: Shashanka Ghosh Cast: Kartik Aaryan, Alaya F, Jeniffer Piccinato Rating:  the change of genres pretty well. From giving the famous five-minute long monologue in Pyaar Ka Punchnama to a stuttering single, he performs pretty well. Seemingly demure Alaya F as wronged Mrs Irani is a woman who makes not just Freddy, but also the audience fall in love with her. The temperament switch post the first half, she as a scheming ambitious restaurateur doesn’t impress as much though. Kartik wields his cards well — as a vulnerable lonely soul to finally claiming power. The story largely centres these two with Freddy’s caring aunt Persis (Myrna S. Dalal), Kainaaz husband Rustom (Sajjad Delfrooz) and Chef c m y b Raymond aka Protein Shake (Karan A Pandit) making appearances. Alaya looks ravishing in costumes by Aki Narula. Kudos to Kartik for pulling Freddy, but what undermines the film is a predictable plot line. A thriller’s true worth lies in twists and turns, and in Freddy one anticipates rather early. Parveez Shaikh has tried to give a back story for our lead, a believable one at that, but it hasn’t been fleshed out well. Hardy and Freddy share a close bond, but that also doesn’t pan out well. Songs by Pritam, including Kaala Jaadu, Tum Jo Milo and background score, Clinton Cerajo, are just fine. There sure is a Parsi touch but it does not become stereotypical. Cinematographer Ayananka Bose gives it a dark, dreary treatment as probably desired by director Shashanka Ghosh, who has given Khoobsurat and Veere Di Wedding; he isn’t quite able to pull off this psychological thriller that comes replete with standard tropes – childhood scars, Joker grin and an obsessive love saga! KARTIK AARYAN ALAYA F