24012023-LSTC-01.qxd 23-01-2023 22:51 Page 1 c m y b TRIBUNE Richa Chadha’s next film is based on the second wave of Covid that impacted India in 2021 Too much! Cate Blanchett was left so drained by her latest role as obsessive Lydia Tar in the movie Tar, she thought about quitting acting, which she says has also left her profoundly homesick. IANS LUDHIANA | TUESDAY | 24 JANUARY 2023 In the game of love... Mona The frontline warrior Richa Chadha will be seen playing a frontline worker during the second wave of the Covid crisis in an untitled film under the banner of Zee Studios. Richa says, “This is based on those real incidents that we all witnessed during the second wave of Covid. While there was loss and despair, there was also hope. In fact, I was so moved by this kindness of strangers that I started The Kindry, a small This film is social media initiative that based on real amplified stories of goodincidents that we saw. ness, selflessness While there was loss through the second wave. and despair, there was The film takes a hard look at our lives during the panalso hope. demic, where we were RICHA CHADHA afraid to be human. There was enforced and mandatory distance. It talks about the doctors and nurses who were doing their job selflessly. I am honoured to play the role of one such resilient nurse.” The film is directed by Abhishek Acharya. Apart from that Richa has wrapped up the shoot of Girls Will Be Girls, the first movie of her co-owned home production. The film is an IndoFrench co-production, which is being jointly produced by Pushing Buttons Studios, Crawling Angel Films and the French company, Dolce Vita Films. Novelty factor Director Luv Ranjan, who is awaiting the release of his upcoming theatrical rom-com, Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar, finally broke his silence on why his films always have a female as the antagonist. The film, which stars the lead pair of Ranbir Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor, is Ranjan’s first film in five years after his last directorial Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety, which again had actress Nushrratt Bharuccha playing the villain. Talking to the media on Monday, the director said, “Aur bhi filmmakers hain jo ‘ladki seedhi hai ladka chaalu hai’ ke space mein acchi films bana rahe hain (there are other directors who are making good films on the subject of a damsel in distress and the male as a wicked character). As a filmmaker I need to have a certain novelty in my films and for my audience.” He added, “Film mein jab tak ek negative aur ek positive force na ho tab tak film audience ko engage nahi karegi, it’s purely a creative decision to have a female playing a negative character in my films”. Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar, which marks Ranbir’s return to the genre of rom-com, also stars stand-up comedian Anubhav Singh Bassi. The film is set to arrive in cinemas worldwide on March 8. — IANS Luv Ranjan reveals why his films always have women as villains C Athiya Shetty & KL Rahul INEMA and cricket are two biggest religions in India, they say. The two worlds often merge together. Athiya Shetty and KL Rahul on Monday joined the long list of actress-cricketer jodis that dot the entertainment scene. According to the grapevine, they met through a common friend. Several ad campaigns later, they started dating in 2018. The newlywed couple made their relationship Insta official by sharing their sun-kissed pictures and posting sweet nothings only recently. As the Motichoor Chaknachoor actress and vice-captain of the Indian cricket test team embark on a new journey at father Suniel Shetty’s Khandala bungalow Jahaan, we look back at actresses and sports stars who found love in each other. As Athiya Shetty ties the knot with KL Rahul, we take a look at the cricketer-actress jodis and their rocking love stories ■ Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma’s love story is the stuff dreams are made of. Both from middle-class families, caught the public eye in 2008 – she as an actress in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi opposite Shah Rukh Khan and he as One Day International player. The duo, better known as Virushka, met for an ad shoot and hit it off. The public display of love came in 2015 when Virat flew a kiss from his bat to Anushka in stands as he hit half a ton and became the quickest batsman to score 6,000 runs in ODIs. Their love story culminated in a dreamy wedding at a countryside resort in Tuscany in December 2017. The Sufi song Peer Vi Tu, sung by Harshadeep Kaur and Mohan Kannan, was specially created for Virushka’s wedding video. The couple is blessed with a daughter, Vamika, whom they have kept away from the limelight! ■ Cricketer Yuvraj Singh and Hazel Keech make for another lovely story. The British actress and model kept the debonair cricketer waiting for three years before agreeing for a coffee date. While she has little love for the gentleman’s game, her love for Yuvi culminated in the two tying the knot in 2016. They welcomed their first child, a boy, Orion, in January 2022. ■ Serbian dancer, model and actress Nataša Stankovic met cricketer Hardik Pandya at a night club in Mumbai. She had no idea about his cricket career. Post a brief courtship, Pandya proposed to DJ Waley Babu actress on a private boat on January 1, 2022. They welcomed a son, Agastya, later that year. ■ Preeti Sabarwal of Chak De! India!, Sagarika Ghatge found love in cricketer Zaheer Khan. Sagarika, a national-level hockey player, Yuvraj Singh & Hazel Keech NATAŠA & HARDIK Geeta Basra & Harbhajan Singh Virat Kohli & Anushka Sharma belongs to a royal family and met her beau at a Bollywood party. They made it official at Yuvraj and Hazel’s wedding in 2016. Reportedly, Khan introduced Sagrika by making his family watch Chak De! India! and his fluent Marathi won him Ghatke’s family’s love and blessings. The duo got married in 2017. ■ Harbhajan Singh and actress Geeta Basra dated for eight years before they married in 2015 at a Gurudwara near Jalandhar. Just like his teammate Yuvraj, even Harbhajan had to wait long to win his ladylove’s attention. He fell in love at first sight when he saw her in the song Woh Ajnabee. The couple is blessed with a daughter Hinaya Heer Plaha and a son, Jovan Veer Singh Plaha. ACTRESS-SPORTSMAN PAIRS MAKE FOR A RATHER LONG LIST... SUCH PAIRINGS ARE NOT RESTRICTED TO INDIA ALONE ■ Mere Sapnon Ki Rani Sharmila Tagore ■ English married the Nawab of Pataudi, Mansoor Ali Khan, who was the captain of Indian cricket team in 70s. ■ Badhaai Ho actress Neena Gupta had an affair with West Indies cricketer Vivian Richards with whom she has a daughter, Masaba Gupta. ■ Actress Reena Roy was married to Pakistani cricketer Mohsin Khan. They split later on. ■ Actress Sangeeta Bijlani was married to former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin. They later divorced. ■ Actress Lara Dutta is married to tennis player Mahesh Bhupathi. It got its way It’s just six weeks since award-winning filmmaker James Cameron’s blockbuster sequel Avatar: The Way of Water released and it has surpassed $2 billion in global ticket sales. It’s the sixth film in history and first in the pandemic times to cross the milestone, joining an exclusive club that includes Avatar, Avengers: Endgame, Titanic, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and Avengers: Infinity War. Now, Cameron is responsible for three of the six-highest grossing movies of all time. He’s also the only director with three films to cross $2 billion. —IANS footballer David Beckham is married to former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham since 1999. ■ Brazilian model Gisele Bündchen fell for American football quarterback Tom Brady and they tied the knot. ■ Closer home, Pakistani cricketer Imran Khan was married to English screenwriter, television, film producer Jemima Goldsmith for almost a decade. The duo later separated. ■ Actress Elizabeth Hurley and Australian cricketer Shane Warne had a whirlpool romance which culminated in marriage. ■ Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias is married to Russian tennis star Anna Kournikova. Portrait of a happy family Avatar: The Way of Water becomes sixth film in history to pass $2 bn globally Hrithik’s girlfriend Saba Azad joins Roshan family celebration for Sunaina’s birthday c m y b ZAHEER & SAGARIKA Hrithik Roshan along with other family members celebrated sister Sunaina’s birthday in style. The Roshan clan was also accompanied by Hrithik’s girlfriend, Saba Azad. Mother, Pinkie Roshan, took to social media and shared a glimpse of the party. The happy family picture featured Hrithik, Saba, Sunaina, Rakesh Roshan, Pashmina Roshan (Hrithik’s cousin sister) and his kids from former wife Suzanne, Hrehaan and Hridhaan. Hrithik and Saba started dating in January 2022 and never shied away from making public appearances together. The birthday girl, Sunaina celebrated her 51st birthday with family. Pinkie wrote a heartfelt post for her daughter, “Happy birthday to my darling daughter @roshansunaina … my sunshine, my life, my heartbeat. your happiness means the world to all of your family. We love you... we want your life filled with colours.”—TMS