27022023-LSTL-01.qxd 2/26/2023 10:23 PM Page 1 c m y b TRIBUNE Zeenat Aman denies reports of being in a relationship with Raj Kapoor Awarded Hollywood star Will Smith has won the NAACP Image Award for outstanding actor in a motion picture for his performance in Emancipation. IANS LUDHIANA | MONDAY | 27 FEBRUARY 2023 Words & wizard W Sheetal ‘Javed gave me courage’ AQT KYA HAI? …Ye kab se kab tak ka silsila hai? Well, for the fans and followers of lyricistpoet Javed Akhtar, the waqt ended with his session, Mera Paigam Mohabbat Hai: Poetry for social change’ at the Chitkara Lit Fest in Chandigarh on Sunday. And Akhtar saab was in no mood for technical or serious questions, he kept it light, funny and full of wisdom for the young minds. As for his recent Pakistan visit and the ‘courageous’ statement, he said, “While there is a debate on what I said, what was not noticed was that people of Pakistan were clapping while sitting in the audience. So, it’s not about the boundaries that we have drawn, but more about the people and their love. There will always be voices for unity.” Another video from his Pakistan visit that has set the social media on fire is that of Ali Zeenat Aman has been creating a lot of buzz ever since she made a debut on Instagram. Now at a recent event, the veteran actress spoke about how Dev Anand had assumed that she had a relationship with actor Raj Kapoor, but it was never true. The reference goes back to actor Dev Anand’s autobiography, Romancing With Life, published in 2007. In the book, Dev had confessed how he was in love with Zeenat Aman during the filming of the 1971 film Hare In another post on Instagram, Rama Hare Krishna. Zeenat Aman wrote, “… The But Dev Anand never industry has changed expressed it because immensely…The roles he realised Raj available for women are clearly Kapoor had grown not just ornamental anymore. close to her. What hasn’t changed though is Zeenat Aman says, the gender pay gap. In my time “Raj had signed me I was lauded as the ‘highest for Satyam Shivam paid female actor’, but the Sundaram and I went disparity in the pay cheque there as his about-tobetween my male co-stars and be heroine. I never myself was so vast that it was laughable.” IANS had an inter-personal relationship with him, not before that and never after that. It was always a director-actor relation between us. He was passionate about his work and I was passionate about his work. With all due respect, ek kahani banane me, hindsight se kuch interesting banane ke liye kuch jumle daal dete hain (sometimes, some phrases are added to make a narrative or a story interesting).” Zeenat Aman clarified Dev Anand assumed that and might have tweaked a few things in his autobiography about her and Raj Kapoor. —TMS GLARING PAY DISPARITY Lady Gagasued Singer Lady Gaga has landed in legal trouble. According to Los Angeles County Superior Court documents, Jennifer McBride, the woman who returned Lady Gaga’s dogs, Koji and Gustav, has sued the 13-time Grammy Award winner, 36, for not paying the USD 500,000 reward she originally offered. According to the lawsuit, McBride believes Gaga’s ‘no questions asked’ offer was made ‘with the intent to defraud and induce members of the public, such as the Plaintiff, to rely upon it and act upon the said promise by locating and delivering Lady Gaga’s bulldogs to defendants’. McBride was one of five people who were arrested and charged over the theft of Gaga’s dogs. She was allegedly found to be an accessory after the initial crime, according to the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). Gaga’s dog walker Ryan Fischer was shot four times in the chest during the robbery, which was carried out by James Howard Jackson and Jaylin White in 2021. Fischer recovered from his injuries. Jackson was sentenced to 21 years in prison, while White was sentenced to four years. —ANI Zafar singing and dedicating the song Ek Ladki Ko Dekha To Aisa Laga to Akhtar, who had penned the song for the film 1942: A Love Story. The lyricist shared the story behind its making. Akhtar, after a heavy discussion, convinced musician RD Burman that there should be a song in between the scenes and then completely forgot about it until the day of the meeting. Akhtar said, “Now in order to save my face, I thought of something on my way to the venue of the meeting. I said I had thought a lot for two days, which was a lie, and came up with the line, Ek Ladki Ko Dekha To Aisa Laga. I told him that it would be followed by only similes. And, RD was convinced. So, I created the antara and then he asked for two more. But truth be told, third was the hardest, kyunki similes khatam ho gayi thi.” GREAT CONTRIBUTION When in Punjab, it’s highly unlikely to not talk about the contribution of Punjabis in literature and poetry. Akhtar, who hails from — Usha Uthup When passion is profession PHOTOS: PRADEEP TEWARI Not true! In Chandigarh, renowned lyricist Javed Akhtar praises the rich contribution of Punjabis to literature Another story on Javed Akhtar came from Dum Maro Dum singer Usha Uthup. The singer shared that once actor Anupam Kher asked why she couldn’t find work in many mainstream Bollywood films, but before she could come up with a reply, Javed Akhtar intervened, “Because in films a powerful voice can never be that of a woman.” Usha, who joked how she would get the female villains or, if lucky, Mithun Chakrobarty’s songs to sing, expressed that Akhtar’s words gave her the courage that she desperately needed in those times. WEARING THE KARRA FOR LIFE Did you know that Javed Akhtar wears a karra since 1964 and plans to keep it on his wrist for lifetime? Before he came to Mumbai and his Sikh friend, Mushtaq Singh, left for the UK, the latter gifted it to him. The two studied together in Safiya College, Bhopal. Uttar Pradesh, admits how writers from UP and Punjab have often tried to run each other down, but he still praised the rich contribution of Punjabis to literature. He added, “Their work is exceptional. I have met so many Punjabis who said they had a special akhbaar in Urdu because their grandfather would not read any other language. I would often ask them why they stopped reading and learning Urdu then.” He stressed, “Zabaan religion ki nahi hoti, region ki hoti hai.” WEBSOLUTE FUN Date with history Besides the digital debut of veteran actress Sharmila Tagore, this week on web will also feature a historical show starring Naseeruddin Shah FEBRUARY 28 TOO HOT TO HANDLE: GERMANY ON NETFLIX The hottest German-speaking singles come together in a tropical paradise for what they think will be the most exotic and erotic time of their lives — but there’s a twist. These commitment-phobes who love a casual hook-up, will have to give up all ‘touching’ for the entire retreat if they want to win the 200,000 grand prize. MARCH 1 THE MANDALORIAN SEASON 3 ON DISNEY+ HOTSTAR The Mandalorian has been a major success for Disney+ and the Star Wars franchise. In Season 3, Mando and Grogu will head to Mandalore, where Mando must bathe in the living waters under their mines to rejoin the Children of the Watch. MARCH 1 MEETING YOU ON MX PLAYER This Chinese drama revolves around two completely different individuals, Nan Xi, a reclusive genius, and Xia Rui, an enthusiastic girl. While Nan Xi is blessed with many talents, he suffers from social anxiety and thus finds it difficult to befriend people. Living in two different worlds, Nan and Xia would have never thought their paths would cross. MARCH 3 GULMOHAR ON DISNEY+ HOTSTAR Directed by Rahul Chittella, this film is all about love, emotion and togetherness. It stars Sharmila Tagore and Manoj Bajpayee in the lead roles. It is about a family where situations get triggered when the matriarch, played by GULMOHAR MEETING YOU For lyricist Irshad Kamil, interest in writing developed while writing love letters and shayari for his friends’ girlfriends! The silsila didn’t end at Panjab University Chandigarh from where he graduated, but continued till Mumbai. Apparently, music composer Sandesh Shandilya, during his dating phase, used to call on Irshad’s landline and seek completion of his shayari. Kamil had gone asking for work, but Sandesh tried to impress his girlfriend with Irshad’s lines! As for work, Irshad says, ‘When your hobby becomes a profession, it never becomes a forced affair. I think the most challenging song for me was Hawaa Hawaa from Rockstar, as I had to incorporate Czech folk tale, Sleepy John, on AR Rahman’s music.” — Irshad Kamil Walter Mirisch no more The former president of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, Walter Mirisch, passed away on Friday. He was 101. Mirisch died due to natural causes in Los Angeles, California. Mirisch served four terms as president of the Academy, from 1973 to 1977, as well as 15 years as an Academy governor. Apart from this, he was also a known film producer behind timeless classics such as The Apartment, West Side Story, In The Heat Of The Night and many more. Mirisch, born on November 8, 1921 in New York, worked at a plane manufacturing company during World War II before studying at the University of Madison-Wisconsin and Harvard Business School. He married Patricia in 1945. They remained a happy couple until her death in 2005. Mirisch was survived by his children, Anne, Andrew and Lawrence; his granddaughter and her husband, Megan and Craig Bloom; and his great-grandsons, Emery and Levi Bloom. — ANI ‘I got emotional’ Maverick and Iceman had an emotional reunion on the sets of Top Gun: Maverick, Hollywood star Tom Cruise has revealed. The Paramount Pictures film, which is the sequel to 1986 classic hit Top Gun, marked Cruise’s return as US Naval aviator Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell. The film also had Val Kilmer reprising the role of Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky. Tom said he was in tears when he saw Kilmer perform. “I just want to say that was pretty emotional, I’ve known Val for decades,” Cruise said during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! “For him to come back and play that character… He’s such a powerful actor, that he instantly became that character again… You’re looking at Iceman... I was crying, I got emotional. He’s such a bril- Tom Cruise on reuniting with Val Kilmer liant actor, and I love his work,” he added. Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2015 and not made many appearances since then. Jerry Bruckheimer, who produced both films, previously said that Cruise was firm about the sequel, including Kilmer, who is now cancer-free. —PTI On the global stage TOO HOT TO HANDLE: GERMANY Sharmila Tagore, decides to sell her house — a beautiful bungalow named Gulmohar — to a builder. Manoj Bajpayee plays the role of Sharmila Tagore’s son, Arun Batra, in the film. MARCH 3 TAJ—DIVIDED BY BLOOD ON ZEE5 This mega show encapsulates the reign of King Akbar, who is on a quest to find a worthy successor for his grand legacy, leading to a bloody battle between his sons for the c m y b throne. While most stories of the Mughal era have been portrayed through the rose-tinted glasses of romance, Taj – Divided by Blood will showcase these historical figures as humans with ambitions, desires and flaws. The 10-part succession and family drama series stars Naseeruddin Shah as King Akbar, Aditi Rao Hydari as Anarkali, Aashim Gulati as Prince Salim and Dharmendra as Sheikh Salim Chishti, among others. —TMS The craze for Yash Chopra and YRF was evident as The Romantics became the number one trending title on Netflix within 48 hours of its release, a rare feat for a documentary. Such is the appeal of the docu-series on Yash Chopra and YRF’s contribution to cinema that The Romantics would be screened for students of the prestigious Harvard University. While the Harvard screening would take place on February 28, the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) Pune, The Romantics to be screened at Harvard University the country’s top-most institution to study cinema, has decided to make The Romantics part of their curriculum. The docu-series has been included in the Winter Film Appreciation Course.—TMS