01022023-LSTL-01.qxd 1/31/2023 11:14 PM Page 1 c m y b TRIBUNE SRK gets candid about success of Pathaan Antagonist! Yash has been finalised to play Raavan in Nitesh Tiwari’s upcoming mythological magnum opus Ramayana. Yash’s last outing KGF 2 was a blockbuster. TMS LUDHIANA | WEDNESDAY | 1 FEBRUARY 2023 Moolah matters SHAH RUKH KHAN & DEEPIKA PADUKONE Sheetal Sequel on the way? Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone and John Abraham came together on Monday (January 30) to attend a press conference on Pathaan in Mumbai. All the three stars were seen along with director Siddharth Anand. SRK, who is back on silver screen after years, said, “For four years… I didn’t work. I was with my children. I saw them grow up. My last film had not worked and people had said my movies now won’t work. So, I thought of an alternate career: cooking Italian…In these four days, I’ve forgotten my last four years.” Shah Rukh even hinted at Pathaan 2 and said, “Whenever he (Siddharth Anand) wants me to do Pathaan 2, I’ll do it. I am ready to grow my hair till the hips this time for the sequel. I will try my best to give JOHN ABRAHAM my all to Pathaan 2. It will be my honour.” He further spoke about his desire to be an action hero while also thanking Salman Khan for making a special appearance in Pathaan. “One person who is not here, I think all of us love him more than anyone can, bhai is not here, thank you Salman for making this film so wonderful,” said SRK. Shah Rukh Khan also spoke about the agenda behind making movies. He said it was all about spreading happiness and entertaining people. He seemingly addressed the controversy and stated that anything said in the film was not to hurt anybody’s sentiments. SRK said, “Deepika is Amar, I’m Akbar, John is Anthony. We love you, that’s why we make films. Nothing is bigger than this. When we tell our stories, we don’t deride them. We are just using a language that the young ones speak.” — TMS UPEE, every single one counts! February 1, 2023, sees Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman present her fifth and third paperless Union Budget. Considering it will be the last full budget of the PM Modi government before the country goes to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, expectations are sky high! Just like any other sector, film and television industry too has its wishlist ready — reduced entertainment tax, infrastructure status to the entertainment industry, subsidies in film equipment and more. As the Union Budget unfolds today, the film and television industry hopes for reduced entertainment tax and subsidies to boost the overall scenario Film producer-distributor Anand Pandit, who has backed films like Drishyam 2, Thank God, The Big Bull and Cirkus, says, “The film industry has faced tremendous challenges during the pandemic, so I hope the entertainment sector will get some support to recover faster from the setbacks of the last few years. We are an industry on which millions of livelihoods are dependent and are indeed a soft power that represents brand India across the world, but we also need a little support to grow further. Tax concessions, GST rationalisation, substantial help in tackling piracy and single window clearance for theatres are some of the things that makers and industry stakeholders are expecting from the budget this year.” HELPING HAND Ashoke Pandit, president of Indian Film and Television Directors’ Association, feels that entertainment has been collectively sidelined by all the governments, “The finance ministry should seriously think about helping entertainment industry, which sustained itself during the harsh years of Covid while providing entertainment to all. From GST relaxation to subsidies in raw material (camera, equip- SIMARAN KAUR SMRITI KALRA PRANITAA PANDIT ASHOKE PANDIT SNEHA JAIN ment or studios) will help. The entertainment industry has always felt orphaned while they contribute a big chunk of share in income tax collected by the government.” Actress Subuhii Joshii makes a case for the entertainment tax to be reduced. “We see that whenever a patriotic movie is released, they keep reasonable ticket prices or there is no tax, but for the rest of the movies, the ticket prices go up. I think for every movie, the taxes should be reduced so everyone can enjoy it,” she avers. Adds television actress Pranitaa Pandit, “The entertainment industry needs to be taken more seriously as it does offer a wide variety of employment opportunities. Steps should be India shining! Hollywood stars Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler look their best in lehenga and sherwani as they solve a mystery during an Indian wedding in the trailer of the upcoming film Murder Mystery 2. Streaming giant Netflix dropped the trailer on Instagram and captioned it: “An Indian wedding, a kidnapped Maharaja and murder mystery.” The over two-minute-long trailer shows Adam and Jennifer’s characters, Nick and Audrey Spitz, as full-time SUBUHII JOSHII ANAND PANDIT taken to make it easy for those in the industry to avail tax incentives.” FOR THE COMMON MAN Actors Sneha Jain and Simaran Kaur believe cinema halls are a big source of entertainment for people. “There’s no substitute for a movie-going experience. However, food items are more expensive than ticket prices. So, maybe, we can rationalise taxes in a way to make it affordable,” says Jain. “Going to films is still a larger-than-life experience and the example is Pathaan. So films are an emotion and the entertainment industry is one of the biggest industries in India, so we must make it more affordable to the common man,” adds Kaur. Television producer Nivedita Basu Jennifer Aniston, Adam Sandler sport designer Manish Malhotra’s outfits detectives. After four years of solving their first murder mystery, the couple gets an invitation to celebrate the wedding of their friend, the Maharaja, on his private island. As the celebrations begin, Jennifer walks in dressed in an offwhite Manish Malhotra lehenga. Sandler looks dapper in a matching sherwani. Murder Mystery 2, sequel to the 2019 film Murder Mystery, is scheduled to be released on March 31 on Netflix. —IANS opines, “I think while single-screen ticket prices are reasonable but whenever you go to a multiplex, it’s heavy on the pocket. But at the same time the cost of filmmaking has gone up immensely, so the government can help the directors and producers by resourcing subsidised equipment for the shoots.” During the pandemic, a lot of artistes faced monetary issues. “So, I believe the budget should come up with something that could help not just actors but daily-wagers, technicians, and makeup artistes in sustaining their livelihood in times of need. I am sure there’s Cine and TV Artistes’ Association (CINTAA), but it’s not wrong to expect a little help from the government,” says actress Smriti Kalra. Hey, baby! Meet Priyanka’s daughter Malti Priyanka Chopra’s daughter Maltie Chopra Jonas’ first pictures have been leaked online and the little one looks exactly like her daddy Nick Jonas! Maltie was seen attending the Hollywood Walk Of Fame event along with mommy Priyanka Chopra, where Jonas Brothers were felicitated and all eyes were on the little munchkin. — TMS THE TEAM DEAR JASSI Global appeal In what can be termed as one of the most landmark cinematic achievements in recent times, the much-acclaimed and celebrated Hollywood director, Tarsem Singh, recently shot his first film in India titled Dear Jassi. This is the first feature film that Tarsem has shot in India. Some of his most notable movies in Hollywood include The Cell (Jennifer Lopez), The Fall (Lee Pace), Immortals (Henry Cavill, Frieda Pinto), Mirror Mirror (Julia Roberts) and Self/Less (Ryan Reynolds, Ben Kingsley). Other than feature films, Tarsem is globally renowned for his award-winning ad Hollywood director Tarsem Singh shoots first film in India films and music videos, featuring the world’s topmost brands and artistes like Brad Pitt, Lady Gaga, Deep Forest, R.E.M and Enrique Iglesias, amongst others. Based on a true story, the movie has been shot by the celebrated Hollywood cinematographer Brendan Galvin (Immortals, Self/Less, Rambo: Last Blood, The In Between, Plane). The film has been produced by T-Series (Bhushan Kumar), Wakaoo Films (Vipul D Shah, Ashwin Varde, Rajesh Bahl), Creative Strokes Group (Sanjay Grover) and Tarsem Singh. It has been scripted by Amit Rai (writer and director of Oh My God 2). The subject of Dear Jassi has always been close to Tarsem. “It’s my passion project. I believe this is the right time for the world to see it. Such a strong story needs to be told,” he says. Tarsem adds: “I had a great set of producers.” The film’s crew consists of an eclectic mix of top Indian and international names with the post-production happening in Montreal, Canada. Dear Jassi was shot across Punjab over a span of 50 days and the last schedule of two weeks would be shot in Canada very soon. The film would see a worldwide release in mid-2023. — TMS Diljit joins The Crew The powerhouse producer duo Rhea Kapoor and Ektaa Kapoor took the Internet by storm by pulling the ultimate casting coup for their upcoming madcap comedy, The Crew. Starring the celebrated trio of Tabu, Kareena Kapoor Khan, and Kriti Sanon, this comedy of errors and mishaps set in the struggling airline industry is one of the mostawaited films of this year. But the excitement doesn’t stop there — the makers have just announced the addition of none other than the dynamic actor and singer Diljit Dosanjh to the exciting cast! c m y b