18012023-LSTL-01.qxd 17-01-2023 22:46 Page 1 c m y b TRIBUNE First look The role of Nathuram Godse in Gandhi Godse Ek Yudh, directed by Rajkumar Santoshi, which is all set to release this Republic Day, has been essayed by Chinmay Mandlekar. TMS DAHAAD GOES TO BERLIN Dahaad has become the first web series from India to get a premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival. It stars Sonakshi Sinha, Vijay Varma, Gulshan Devaiah, among others. TMS LUDHIANA | WEDNESDAY | 18 JANUARY 2023 There is something about remakes that makes them count. As there are a few more lined up for 2023, we bring you the ones to watch out for Sheetal B EING the last big film of 2022, Ajay Devgn-starrer Drishyam 2's success story definitely underlines the fact that remakes will never go out of fashion. Before Drishyam and its sequel — remakes of Malayalam films with the same name — there have been a number of hit Hindi films that have been a remake, including Son Of Sardaar, Singham, Bodyguard, Bhool Bhulaiya and Rowdy Rathore. In 2023, a couple of remakes are in the pipeline. Despite OTT having the original regional versions, what makes remakes tick? Filmmaker Ashwini Chaudhary levels it to OTT giving exposure to vast content. " In 2020, we witnessed a tectonic shift with the advent of pandemic-induced lockdown, which has worked brilliantly for regional cinema and then reflected in their Hindi remakes later. " About Drishyam's success, he points out, "Drishyam is a blockbuster, as is its sequel. Its subtitled or dubbed version was not available on OTT. People were waiting for the sequel and it's a well-made film, so it became a success." SELFIEE Producer Munish Sahni opines, "Regional films are getting pan-Indian response because their stories offer rooted content. Since many of the Indian languages from the South like Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada aren’t accessible to Hindi language speaking belt, the remakes are bringing those HOT FORMULA featured Allu Arjun and Pooja Hegde in the lead roles. Kartik was also in news last year for rumours of walking out of the project had Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo Bholaa's Hindi dubbed version got released before Shehzada. But look at the original Drishyam 2, which was readily available in dubbed language, and yet Ajay Devgn managed to profit from the remake. Shehzada is directed by Rohit Dhawan, and features Kartik Aaryan, Kriti Sanon, Manisha Koirala, Paresh Rawal, Ronit Roy and Sachin Khedekar. It is set to release on February 10, 2023. BHOLAA THE ORIGINAL POSTER AND (R) TEAM OF THE GREAT INDIAN KITCHEN REMAKE REMAKES IN THE PIPELINE ■ Joseph (Malayalam, 2018); Sunny Deol (yet untitled) (Tamil, 2014); Salman Khan (Titled: Kabhi Eid Kabhi Diwali) ■ Thadam (Tamil, 2019); Aditya Roy Kapur (Titled: Gumraah) ■ Master (Tamil, 2021); Salman Khan (yet untitled) ■ Naandhi (Telugu, 2021); Ajay Devgn (yet untitled) ■ Dhuruvangal Pathinaaru (Tamil, 2016); Varun Dhawan (Titled: Sanki) ■ Anniyan (Tamil, 2005); Ranveer Singh (yet untitled) ■ HIT: The Second Case (Telugu); Rajkummar Rao ■ F2: Fun and Frustration (Telugu, 2019); Arjun Kapoor (yet untitled) ■ Veeram for Punjabi producers to try some South-Indian films' remakes," he adds. WATCH OUT into mainstream." Bollywood for long has felt that star-audience disconnect has probably led to their films failing. "Bollywood has realized this and now just as the case of Shehzada, the cast is coming to cities like Jalandhar to rebuild that connect," offers Here are some South-Indian film remakes that will release in 2023. SHEHZADA BHOLAA Sahni, who has produced Singham's Punjabi remake. "Singham in Punjabi didn't work because Hindi and Punjabi are very similar languages. Now is the time The first in line is Kartik Aaryan-starrer Shehzada. It is the remake of hit Telugu film Ala Vaikunthapur ramuloo, which Ajay Devgn will be hitting the theatres with another South-Indian remake on March 30 this year. It's a remake of successful Tamil film Kaithi, which was released in 2019. While the original had Karthi as the lead hero, the Hindi version will have Ajay Devgn and Tabu. It will also star Amala Paul, Sanjay Mishra and Deepak Dobriyal. Devgn is also directing this ambitious project, while Kaithi was helmed by Lokesh Kanagaraj. SELFIEE In another remake, Selfiee, actors Akshay Kumar and Emraan Hashmi will be sharing screen space for the first time. It is the remake of 2019 Malayalam film Driving License, which had Prithviraj Sukumaran and Suraj Venjaramoodu in the lead roles. Actor Akshay Kumar announced the trailer launch of Selfiee on Tuesday and it will be hitting the theatres on February 24. UNTITLED YET Two other remakes are likely to release this year, The Great Indian Kitchen (Malayalam, 2019) and Soorarai Pottru (Tamil, 2020). The former will star Sanya Malhotra in the lead role and in the other Akshay Kumar will reprise the role of South star Suriya. The latter will be seen in a cameo. Romantic notes Selena Gomez has found love in The Chainsmokers’ star Drew Taggart Singer-actress Selena Gomez, who recently slammed netizens over body-shaming, is said to be enjoying time with The Chainsmokers star Drew Taggart. The couple is apparently not afraid to showcase their “casual” relationship. The singer, 30, had recently joked she was in a ‘throuple’ with Nicola Peltz-Beckham and her hubby Brooklyn, but it appears she’s now potentially found a man of her own! The former Disney Channel star is said to be “so affectionate” with her fellow musician as the pair enjoy regular date nights. A source claimed, “Selena can hardly keep her hands off him…They are having a lot of fun together.” The news comes after Selena admitted she is ‘a little big right now’ in a response to fans who tried to body-shame her following her appearance on the red carpet for this year’s Golden Globe Awards. —IANS Avatar 3on way? Health is Anurag pens a script After Ugly, Almost Pyaar with DJ Mohabbat is filmmaker Anurag Kashyap’s next movie, which has been solely written by him. The director shared how after discussing with his daughter, the idea for writing a story based on the concept of modern relationships came to his mind. He said: “I’ve had the story idea brewing in my mind for a long time. I have always liked to explore relationships in the context of big cities, big towns, small towns, and middle-class. I was in conversation with my daughter and by the end of our discussion, it hit me that it was important to explore struggles, challenges that the GenZ generation undergoes.” The director, who is known for his films like Black Friday, Ugly, Bombay Velvet, Gangs of Wasseypur, Dobaaraa, among others, added: “With that in mind, I set out to write the stories, fun, musical love stories with the help of Shellee and Amit Trivedi. We also improvised as we went along with the gen-Z actors Karan and Alaya. It’s after a long time I have gone back to pen and paper, and wrote a script. Actually after ‘Ugly’, something that originated entirely from me.” — IANS Filmmaker James Cameron, whose latest release Avatar: The Way of Water continues its hit streak at the global box-office, recently teased fans on the next instalment in the film franchise. While attending the Critics Choice Awards, Cameron dropped some nuggets about what fans could expect from Avatar 3, revealing the element of fire and two new cultures would be introduced. “Fire has a symbolic purpose in the film and there’s a culture that is specifically around that concept. That’s probably saying too much as we speak,” he said. Cameron added, “You’re going to meet two completely new cultures in the next film. We met the Omaticaya, we met the Metkayina, and you’re going to meet two new cultures in the next film.” The filmmaker’s wife, Suzy Amis, said, “You need a very secure seatbelt.” Cameron quipped, “It’s a rocket sled.” Helmed by Cameron, Avatar: The Way of Water has crossed the 1 wealth Akshay’s anti-smoking ad to play before web series as well? JAMES CAMERON billion USD mark at the global box-office. The film stars Kate Winslet, Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver and Stephen Lang. — ANI c m y b Since Independence Day 2018, an advertisement about anti-smoking, starring Akshay Kumar, has compulsorily been attached to all films that are released in theatres. In the clip, Akshay persuades a man to quit smoking for the betterment of his and his wife’s health. While many have raised eyebrows on the need of an advertisement to educate viewers, the health ministry refused to take it down. The latest development is that the ministry is now considering playing the advertising on web shows and films that are a part of digital platforms. The ministry of health is consulting the ministry of information and broadcasting that a notification should be issued to streaming giants like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+ Hotstar etc. in this regard. — TMS Kiara wishes Sidharth Actor Sidharth Malhotra celebrated his birthday on Monday and rumoured girlfriend Kiara Advani wished the ‘Shershaah’ actor with a heartwarming post.Kiara shared a picture on Instagram and wrote a heartfelt note, “Whatcha lookin at birthday boy.” The pretty unusual post definitely didn’t give away much about the fact that they were dating and going to get married soon. However, it is also speculated that the couple will get hitched in February this year. - TMS