01032023-LSTC-01.qxd 28-02-2023 23:23 Page 1 c m y b TRIBUNE Spy Happy soul Bollywood actress Rani Mukerji, who is receiving appreciation for the trailer of her film Mrs. Chatterjee VS Norway, has compared it to the appreciation she received 18 years ago for her film Black. games IANS CHANDIGARH | WEDNESDAY | 1 MARCH 2023 In the galaxy of stars Priyanka Chopra to play an elite spy in Citadel Mona C The first-look images of the upcoming action-spy thriller series Citadel were unveiled recently and Priyanka Chopra Jonas can be seen in a deadly gun-toting avatar, which she balances by setting the mercury on fire with her look. Her character is revealed as an elite spy, Nadia Sinh, in the show directed by Anthony Russo and Joseph Russo. Citadel tells the story of the eponymous independent global spy agency that gets destroyed by operatives of Manticore, as the former was tasked to uphold the safety and security of all people. Manticore is a powerful syndicate manipulating the world from the shadows. The series also stars Lesley Manville as Dahlia Archer, Osy Ikhile as Carter Spence, Ashleigh Cummings as Abby Conroy, Roland Moller as Anders Silje, among others. The series will premiere on Prime Video on April 28, with two episodes, followed by a new episode released every Friday till May 26. Citadel and its subsequent series traverse the globe with interconnected stories. Each Citadel series is locally created, produced, and filmed in-region, and stars top talent, forming a distinct global franchise. Series are already underway in Italy and India, respectively, starring Matilda De Angelis, Varun Dhawan, and Samantha Ruth Prabhu. — IANS Actor Michael B. Jordan will be felicitated with Hollywood Walk of Fame Star on March 1. Jordan has been acting professionally since he was 12 years old. He has a substantial body of work, including movies like Fantastic Four (2015), Creed (2015), and Black Panther (2018). He is set to make his directorial debut with Creed III. He didn’t initially dream of becoming an actor. In 2015, Jordan said his mother set his career in motion when she decided to take him to his first commercial audition. “It wasn’t something that I always wanted to do. But like a lot of kids, you know, I didn’t know what I wanted to be. And modelling, acting, it got me out of school early, got me a chance to go into the city, so I was all into that,” he said. Jordan also earned significant praise for his work in a number of critically acclaimed television series, including The Wire and Friday Night Lights. He was featured in Time Magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Over the course of his career, the actor has also expressed his interest in becoming a producer. He has also started his own production company called Outlier Society. — ANI Author Ashwini Bhatnagar turns creative producer as his biography of actress Meena Kumari, titled Starring Mehjabeen as Meena Kumari, gets set for screen adaptation, both as a film and a web series. It is one among his five books that are due for screen adaptations. “Stars drive popular imagination, while an actor’s life pan outs in public eye; what’s available is only bits and parts. It’s not the comprehensive story,” shares Bhatnagar. Bhatnagar insists that his is an attempt to bring different shades of the intense life that the Pakeezah actress lived, “My writing is journalistic, objective and one sees as much about her fame as her vulnerabilities.” Scripting complete, the project is in the casting stage, and while Bhatnagar wouldn’t talk about actresses shortlisted, he shares, “While it’s only good if one can find some physical resemblance, it’s more Michael B. Jordan gets Hollywood Walk of Fame Star COURTENEY COX HONOURED TOO Actress Courteney Cox has also been honoured with Hollywood Walk of Fame Star. And guess what? It was a Friends reunion at her felicitation ceremony. Courteney’s close pals and Friends co-stars Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow marked their presence at the special occasion. Jennifer and Lisa also delivered emotional speeches. Courteney gained international recognition playing Monica Geller on Friends, which began in 1995 and lasted for 10 seasons, alongside Jennifer as Rachel Greene and Lisa as Phoebe. ANI Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox and Lisa Kudrow THE DIRTY PICTURE THALAIVII As a couple of biopics on the lives of stars, including the ones on Meena Kumari and Madhubala, are in the pipeline, experts say it is important to showcase the human angle PRIYANKA CHOPRA IN CITADEL. PHOTO: PTI Fam(e)ous! INEPHILES are in for a treat, as a couple of biopics that celebrate big stars of the screen are due soon. Ranbir Kapoor recently talked about him working on legendary singer-actor Kishore Kumar’s biopic for the last 11 years; ‘Tragedy Queen’ Meena Kumari’s life is due for a cinematic outing; Madhur Brij Bhushan, younger sister of the ‘Venus Queen of Bollywood’ Madhubala, is working on the biopic of the legendary actress. Famous actor-director Guru Dutt’s biopic too has been in the making for a while. While biopics have seen much success in Bollywood with films like M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story, Neerja, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and Raazi; there have only been a handful of films on actors, including Sanju, Shakeela, The Dirty Picture and Thalaivii in the recent times. An ode, hero worship or a tribute, we speak to filmmakers on star biopics in the pipeline. important to carry her sensibility.” SLICE OF REAL LIFE Director Simerjit Singh, who helmed Punjabi biographical war film Subedar Joginder Singh, is currently working on two more biographical projects — one a cop story another a spy saga. “Fiction has ruled the screens for long, but lately it is real life stories that have caught audiences’ attention. Among his favourite biopics is Sanju, “Sanjay Dutt’s life was full of twists and turns, and the film captures that beautifully.” About Sanju, Bhatnagar opines, “I Broad canvas Gurgaon-based artist Jagannath Panda was in Chandigarh to deliver an audio-visual presentation, Different Perspectives, on Tuesday. It was organised by Chandigarh Lalit Kala Akademi in collaboration with Indian Creative Minds, Delhi,at the auditorium of Government Museum and Art Gallery, Sector-10. Says Panda, “Chandigarh is like a dream. It’s beautiful and everybody who lives here, I feel is blessed. In the SPACE & SCOPE Director-writer Pankaj Dubey says, “There is both space and scope for actors’ life to be adapted on to the silver screen.” Happy to have catapulted from an author to director, Dubey adds, “Great actor Amitabh Bachchan is a living legend, so his life should be portrayed on screen. He has always risen like a phoenix. Even superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s success with Pathaan after four years tells an interesting story. His popularity has only risen over the years and this can be preserved through films.” Artist Jagannath Panda says Chandigarh should be a creative hub morning, I kept taking pictures of old trees of the city. I think Chandigarh should be the hub for artists not just because of its modern architecture, but also because it places urbanisation and nature in one picture.” The 51-year-old runs Utsha Foundation for Contemporary Art in his home state, Odisha. Among recent engagements in Odisha, Panda has curated massive public art events during the Bhubaneswar Art Trail 2018. He adds, “The day arti- Saiyami to play a para-athlete Saiyami Kher will soon be seen in R Balki’s Ghoomer, an emotional and inspiring sports drama. Saiyami plays the role of a para-athlete, a cricket prodigy. Although she grew up playing cricket, this role was especially challenging since she had to essay the role of a para-athlete. Ghoomer, which is expected to release in 2023, also stars Abhishek Bachchan, Angad Bedi and Shabana Azmi in pivotal roles. The film, which is currently in the post production stage, is co-written by Balki, along with Rahul Sengupta and Rishi Virmani, and is inspired by the story of Karoly Takacs, the late Hungarian right-hand shooter who won two Olympic gold medals with his left hand after his other hand was seriously injured. — TMS c m y b found it to be a caricature, an apology of the sorts.” Writer-director Ranjan Chandel too points out that many a biopics are but glorified episodes from Wikipedia pages. “An actor’s biopic only makes sense if the maker dives deep into the life and times of a particular star. Among these, The Dirty Picture holds some merit. For a biopic to work, the maker has to bring about the humane angle to the lives of the stars,” says the Grahan director. “I am looking forward to Guru Dutt and Madhubala biopics. Among the current stars, I am much interested in Salman Khan’s life,” he adds. sans in India become aware of their ancestral inheritance and not see themselves as mere karigars, our creative space will be richer." Panda is an alumnus MFA in sculpture from the Royal College of Arts London in 2002. He had solo shows in Tokyo, London, Berlin and San Francisco. Panda's works are also in several collections such as the GVK Mumbai International Airport and Mori Art Museum, Fukuoka, Japan. — TNS PHOTO: VICKY