31012023-LSTC-01.qxd 31-01-2023 00:16 Page 1 c m y b TRIBUNE All set Director Anurag Basu has announced the release date of his upcoming project Metro… In Dino – December 8, 2023. The anthology stars Aditya Roy Kapur and Sara Ali Khan, among others. TMS CHANDIGARH | TUESDAY | 31 JANUARY 2023 Inspiring biopics, walking the ramp, gaining plum brand endorsements and huge social media presence, Indian women cricketers are rocking PERFECT HARMANPREET KAUR JHULAN GOSWAMI Meet Randeep, the writer Mona Bollywood actor Randeep Hooda, who is currently recovering from an injury, is using his time to explore the writer in him. The actor was recently injured while riding a horse. He reportedly fainted and suffered serious injuries while riding. However, he decided to get his thinking cap on and went into writing mode, creating stories and poems. The actor has penned many short stories inspired by real life during his recovery time. Randeep said: “I can vouch now that the left side of your brain (knee) I can tell you makes you more creative. Since I that one of the was playing a writer on screen it scariest things in life is seemed like a natural thing to do while recovering.” The actor is set to sit with a pen and to don multiple hats and while he a blank page in front turned writer and director with of you. ‘ Veer Sarvarkar’, he has also produced ‘Laal Rang 2’. RANDEEP HOODA “It becomes difficult to be at absolute rest, and, hence, I found a way to utilise my time in writing instead. I can definitely tell you that one of the scariest things in life is to sit with a pen and a blank page in front of you,” the actor added. Randeep was last seen in the Netflix series ‘Cat’ and it opened up to a positive response. The series, created by Balwinder Singh Janjua, marked the actor’s second collaboration with the streamer after the 2020 hit film ‘Extraction’. - IANS A Blissfully busy Kareena Kapoor Khan wraps up two projects Last year, Netflix had announced that Kareena Kapoor Khan, Jaideep Ahlawat and Vijay Varma were coming together for Sujoy Ghosh’s untitled film. The film marks the digital debut of Kareena. It is a screen adaptation of one of Keigo Higashino’s most acclaimed novel, The Devotion of Suspect X. Now, Kareena has finished the project. The actress says, “For me, it’s very different because obviously you’re used to seeing me in all the mainstream movies, which has the song, the dance, the gloss, the glamour. Both these films (Sujoy Ghosh & Hansal Mehta’s next project) are shockingly different.” On the other hand, Kareena has also wrapped the Hansal Mehta directorial, which is reportedly titled The Buckingham Murders. The film marks her debut as a producer along with Ekta Kapoor. Adds Kareena, “I love Mare of Easttown and when Hansal came to me, I said this is something that I’ve really been dying to do. So we’ve molded a little bit on those lines, she plays a detective cop in that.” She shared that her character was inspired in part by Hollywood star Kate Winslet’s role in Mare of Easttown. The actress also said that the film is 80 per cent shot in English and 20 per cent in Hindi. It was extensively filmed in the UK. “I speak fluently in Hindi and think also in Hindi because that’s what I’ve been doing all my life. When you’re thinking in Hindi, but speaking in English, it was actually a difficult task because it was the reverse situation for the first time.” — TMS S India beat England to lift inaugural Women’s U-19 T20 World Cup, and later matching their steps to Kala Chashma in a celebratory dance, wishes poured in from various quarters. Right from PM Narendra Modi to the legendary Sachin Tendulkar to the Indian men’s senior cricket team, everyone hailed a glorious future ahead, Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan tweeted ‘Khatiya khadi kar di ... India!’ Indian women cricket is enjoying a new phase. Biopics are being made; Shabaash Mithu hit the screens in July 2022 and celebrated the meteoric rise of former captain Mithali Raj; Chakda Xpress, due to hit OTT by the end of 2023, headlined by Anushka Sharma, rightfully questions if cricket is the religion, why are men the only Gods? The upcoming inaugural season the Women’s Premier League 2023 in March to be held in Mumbai with five teams, BCCI announcing equal match fee for men and women cricketers; walking the ramp, clinching top brand endorsements to cover pages – women cricket is inching, even if not striding, towards all-new glory. CHANDIGARH CONNECT As the Shafali Verma-led India U-19 squad, which got a pep talk by Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra a day prior to the final, managed to dominate the global event, women cricketers are thrilled at the prospects. We catch the Chandigarh UT team at the Mumbai airport post their Senior Women’s One Day League. Their manager Indu Gupta mentions, “A few years back, people weren’t even aware that we also have a women’s cricket team. The U19 win gets us global attention.” Batter Nikita Nain is happy things are looking up. “This win and five teams at up IPL is a sure step up,” says Kashvi Gautam, known for her 10 wickets for 12 runs feet in a Chandigarh-Arunachal Pradesh Women’s Under 19 One Day Trophy in 2020. She is also kicked about the IPL for women. “It will be a great platform to showcase talent. Hopefully, it’s advertised well. Only if more and more people come to the stadiums, we can march ahead.” Rajni Devi doesn’t see women THE WOMEN’S U-19 T20 WORLD CUP WINNING TEAM cricket coming on par with men’s in the near future but is grateful for the opportunities opening up, “Our U19 team getting a woman coach in Nooshin Al Khadeer made a significant difference. Give us support and we will shine.” Aradhana Bisht is excited about the win too and aims to register a place in the national squad. “I want to give consistent performances and win many matches for my country,” says this all-rounder. “Think again, Arjuna Awardee, 59 per cent win record as captain in T20’s, presenting to you, Captain Harmanpreet Kaur.” Cricketer Harleen Deol too has been on the company’s roster. Harmanpreet Kaur gets Rs 50-60 lakh per endorsement. While Mithali Raj endorses bats from Laver & Wood, Kaur has a sponsorship deal with CEAT; the latter endorses Nike, sports wearable start-up, Str8bat and ITC’s juice brand B Natural. GLAM UP INSTA PRESENCE Meanwhile, it’s not just the 22 yards where the female cricketers have shown their magic. Many have rocked the ramp or have showcased their glamorous side off the field. Mithali Raj walked the ramp for Payal Singhal at the Lakmé Fashion Week 2020. Jhulan Goswami took part in the Kolkata Fashion week, Harmanpreet Kaur too walked for designer Archana Kochhar. The women squad is strong on Instagram as well. Former captain Mithali Raj has 1.8M followers, while Jhulan Goswami, Jemimah Rodrigues and Shafali Verma also enjoy a considerable clout. Smriti Mandhana, who has strong Insta presence at 7 million, did five big endorsements in 2020, including Hero MotoCorp (bat sponsorship) and Bata’s sportswear brand Power. Earlier in 2019, she promoted DBS Bank, OnePlus, Greenply, Vivo and CricBuzz. Besides Mandhana, three more Indian women cricketers, Jemimah Rodrigues, Taniya Bhatia and Shafali Verma, were signed by Hyundai Motor India as brand ambassadors. Harleen Deol, who has 1.4 million fan-following on Instagram, has been associated with brands like Puma and SleepyCat BRAND POWER Just after the win, Puma India announced their brand ambassador. Their campaign has been equally interesting, “On January 28, we put out a video asking you to guess the next Puma ambassador who played 100+ T20 matches and has the strike rate of 100, and here’s what you had to say.” And 80 per cent of people were guessing male cricketers! The video culminates with an announcement, Two to tango Kapil Sharma to make singing debut with Guru Randhawa Kapil Sharma, who has made his mark as a comedian and an actor, is all set to make his singing debut. Taking to Instagram on Sunday (January 29), Kapil shared a post with singer Guru Randhawa while announcing their collaboration. They also shared a poster teasing their new song. The song is titled Alone and it will release on February 9. The caption read, “We are excited to share Alone with you all. Can’t wait the world to hear @kapilsharma paji (brother) debut song (red heart emoji). Out on 9th feb. @tseries.offiKAPIL SHARMA cial @direc- torgifty @sanjoyd @iyogitabihani #bhushankumar.” Reacting to the post, Mika Singh commented, “Kya baat hai (wow) the two rock stars in one frame.” Rapper Badshah simply posted a raised hands emoji. Raghav Sachar posted, “Wow.” — TMS c m y b Ultima. Harmanpreet Kaur, Harleen Deol, Mithali Raj, and Smriti Mandhana have also been on the cover pages of many magazines. MITHALI RAJ Lisa Loring passes away Lisa Loring, who played the original Wednesday Addams in the 1960s sitcom The Addams Family has passed away. She was 64. Loring’s close friend Laure Jacobson shared a Facebook post on Saturday (January 28): “It is with great sadness that I report the death of our friend, Lisa Loring. Four days ago she suffered a massive stroke brought on by smoking and high blood pressure. She had been on life support for three days. Yesterday, her family made the difficult decision to remove it and she passed last night.” The post further read, “She is embedded in the tapestry that is pop culture and in our hearts always as Wednesday Addams. Beauti- ful, kind, a loving mother, Lisa’s legacy in the world of entertainment is huge. And the legacy for her family and friends — a wealth of humour, affection and love will long play in our memories. RIP Lisa. Damn, , girl…you were a ton of fun.” Meanwhile, confirming Lisa’s demise, her daughter Vanessa Foumberg said that her mother passed away ‘peacefully with both her daughters holding her hands’. Lisa Loring was known for playing Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family. Her performance as Wednesday recently resurfaced after Jenna Ortega’s portrayal of the iconic character in the Netflix series Wednesday. — TMS