21022023-LSTL-01.qxd 2/20/2023 10:47 PM Page 1 c m y b TRIBUNE Megan Fox finally addresses MGK cheating allegations as she returns to Instagram Show time Former Bigg Boss 16 contestant and Tajikistani sensation Abdu Rozik booked an entire cinema hall in Mumbai to watch Shah Rukh Khan’s action entertainer Pathaan. IANS LUDHIANA | TUESDAY | 21 FEBRUARY 2023 Back to hisroute Sheetal K I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN IN A CUT-THROAT COMPETITION WITH MYSELF. THAT’S WHY I FEEL I HAVE HAD A STEADY GROWTH OVER THE YEARS. IT’S NOT TO SAY THAT FAME BOTHERS ME OR I WOULDN’T LIKE TO BE IN THE LIMELIGHT CONSTANTLY. ARAN KUNDRRA looks like someone who is Ishq Mein Ghayal, at least when he speaks about his girlfriend Tejasswi Prakash. We catch this Jalandhar boy in Chandigarh, as he promotes his new show, Tere Ishq Mein Ghayal. The show marks his comeback in serials after a long break. The actor had been busy contesting, hosting and judging reality shows for past seven or eight years, except for a few fiction projects such as three seasons of finite series, Dil Hi Toh Hai (2018-2020) and a short sequence in Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai in 2021. Karan Kundrra may be enjoying his supernatural power in Tere Ishq Mein Ghayal, but in reality he draws his strength from his ‘Teju’ ‘No third-party interference’ It will always be hard to choose between Mumbai and Jalandhar. In fact, I still roam around in a Jeep in Mumbai with a Jalandhar number plate. PHOTO: PRADEEP TEWARI Megan Fox has finally broken her silence over her breakup with Machine Gun Kelly. She has clarified on social media that there were no outside parties involved in her and Machine Gun Kelly’s apparent breakup. On Sunday, the actress returned to Instagram to clarify a number of rumours that her Machine Gun Kelly had been You need to unfaithful. She wrote, let this story die “There has been no thirdparty interference in this and leave all of these relationship of any kind. innocent people That includes, but is not limalone now. ited to...actual humans, DMs, Al bots or succubus demons. While I do hate to rob you of running random baseless news stories that would have been much more accurately written by ChatGPT, you need to let this story die and leave all of these innocent people alone now.” —ANI A STILL FROM ISHQ MEIN GHAYAL As first three episodes of his current show sets the pace and vibe of this supernatural-fantasy thriller, the actor is ready to spill the beans about his character, BTS moments and some personal plans he sets for himself... “Pehli gall tan mein ithe ghuman firan aayan, PR tan hundi rahugi,’ says Karan as his father makes himself fact more than his son. The actor had earlier said that he was ready to get married in March if the couple’s respective schedule allowed. Since then the question has been popping up everywhere. To which, Karan has got a better reply now, “ask my parents”. If so, would Jalandhar be on the list of wedding venues and pat comes the answer, “Definitely, it would be. I am not someone who seeks attention from such precious moments of life. I would be happy to do it in a mandir in Jalandhar in the presence of my family.” Coming back to the new show and what made him say yes, Karan calls it an instinctive decision for he likes the character of Veer in Tere Ishq Mein Ghayal. Alongside him, stars Gashmeer Mahajani and Reem Sameer Shaikh in the roles Armaan and Eisha. On the show being compared to The Vampire Diariesfor it was also the tale of two brothers with supernatural power and a human girl, Karan doesn’t disagree. He explains, “Comparisons will always be made because there are similarities. But it’s deeply rooted in the folklore of India and bhediyon ki kahani hai. I am a fan of The Vampire Diaries but we have our own culture and set of audience. It’s being made on typical things that our Indian viewers like.” Karan, who hates monotony in personal as well as professional life, is in love with his character so much that 15 hours of shoot doesn’t feel like a long time. He says, “It’s time that good, intense stories were told. The scale at which we are shooting is huge. The same goes for the format, as it will air from Monday to Wednesday for one hour. It’s almost like shooting a mini film for each episode. We are doing something different for television. It’s not like shooting 15 hours for one episode, but 10 days for one episode. I am happy to give five months to this finite series. And who knows if you all like it, it might have another part.” comfortable behind Karan, who came all the way from Jalandhar to meet his son. The actor switches over to Punjabi as he says, “Every time I am around a Punjabi person, even if he is someone who has lived all his life in Mumbai or some other place, I automatically start talking in Punjabi. It’s the Punjabi vibe that we connect to.” PHOTOS: PTI IAN STOKELL AND LESLEY PATERSON In fact, Karan confesses that his girlfriend, Tejasswi Prakash, whom he lovingly calls Teju, speaks better Punjabi than him. “Sometimes she asks me if she is correct. And I would say, ‘tun galt hi bol Teju, oh jyada cute lagda e’,” he adds. He is tight-lipped about his wedding, but admits that his family, especially his father, is very fond of Tejassvi, in Controversy continues Nawazuddin accused of abandoning house help in Dubai EDWARD BERGER CATE BLANCHETT AUSTIN BUTLER All too happy on the BAFTA front German anti-war drama All Quiet on the Western Front dominated the BAFTA Awards in London on Sunday night with a record-breaking seven wins, including for Best Director, Best Film and Best Film Not in the English Language. German anti-war drama All Quiet on the Western Front has seven wins at BAFTA Awards The tally means the World War I epic now holds the record for a film not in the English language. The previous record was held by the 1988 Giuseppe Tomatore film Cinema Paradiso, which won five BAFTAs. Colin Farrell-starrer The Banshees Of Inisherin won the second largest number of awards of the night, including both supporting actor categories with wins for Barry Keoghan and Kerry Condon. MEET THE WINNERS HERE’S THE COMPLETE LIST… BEST FILM All Quiet On The Western Front BEST ACTOR Austin Butler for Elvis LEADING ACTRESS: Cate Blanchett for Tar BEST DIRECTOR: Edward Berger for All Quiet On The Western Front BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: All Quiet On The Western Front— James Friend BEST ANIMATED FILM: Barry Keoghan for The Banshees Of Inisherin Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio—Guillermo Del Toro, Mark Gustafson, Gary Ungar, Alex Bulkley ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: The Banshees Of Inisherin: Martin Mcdonagh BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: BEST DOCUMENTARY: BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Kerry Condon for The Banshees Of Inisherin BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: All Quiet On The Western Front— Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson, Ian Stokell Writer and director Martin Mcdonagh also won for Original Screenplay and Outstanding British Film, although his swipe at the film’s producer Searchlight — when he quipped that he Navalny—Daniel Roher, Diane Becker, Shane Boris, Melanie Miller, Odessa Rae ORIGINAL SCORE: All Quiet On The Western Front— Volker Bertelmann. ANI had landed an award for the script without any notes from the studio — prompted a mixed response from the audience, with some possibly perceiving the comment as arrogant. The c m y b director quickly made it clear he wasn’t being serious, saying “kidding, kidding”. Combined with Tom Berkeley and Ross White’s An Irish Goodbye winning Best Short, it proved a celebratory night for Ireland’s film industry, with Good Luck To You, Leo Grande actor Daryl McCormack, who was nominated for both Best Actor and Rising Star, joking it was the “Irish BAFTAs” on the red carpet ahead of the ceremony. The top acting awards of the night went to Cate Blanchett and Austin Butler for their respective turns in Tar and Elvis. It was otherwise a disappointing night for Tar, with writer and director Todd Field losing out in the Best Original Screenplay and Best Director categories. Elvis did marginally better. In addition to Butler’s win the film won in three craft categories: Best Hair and Make-Up, Best Casting and Best Costume. —IANS Troubles for Nawazuddin Siddiqui don’t seem to end. Amidst the divorce controversy and property battle with wife Aaliya, Nawazuddin has now been accused of abandoning his house help in Dubai. Advocate Rizwan Siddiquee, who is representing Aaliya, took to Twitter on February 19 and posted a video of Nawazuddin’s house help by the name Sapna Robin Masih. In the video, Sapna breaks down while narrating her ordeal that she is all alone in Dubai with no food or money. She says that her salary was cut under the pretext of visa fees. In another tweet, the advocate shed light on Sapna’s wrongful hiring and claimed that she was hired as a sales manager but has been taking care of the actor’s children in Dubai. Nawazuddin left her “without any food or money for her survival,” Rizwan Siddiquee alleged while seeking help from concerned authorities. While it remains to be seen if it’s just another pawn in husband-and-wife allegation and cross allegation, Siddiqui’s legal team is yet to respond on the matter. Meanwhile, we hear that the team members of Nawazuddin Siddiqui are making arrangements for bringing Sapna back to India. Emma Mackey leaving Netflix’s Sex Education after Season 4 EMMA MACKEY AND KATE MIDDLETON ‘I’ve said goodbye to Maeve’ Emma Mackey has revealed that she won’t be returning for the potential fifth season of Netflix’s series Sex Education. The actress, who recent- ly finished filming for the fourth season of the show, shared the news at the BAFTAs where she won the Rising Star Award. “Season 5? I’ve just finished the fourth one last week! No, I don’t think I’ll be in Season 5. I’ve said goodbye to Maeve,” she said in an interview. — PTI