02032023-LSTL-01.qxd 3/1/2023 11:04 PM Page 1 c m y b TRIBUNE Fifth album Well-known British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran has announced his fifth studio album titled Subtract and it will release on May 5. ANI LUDHIANA | THURSDAY | 2 MARCH 2023 Brendan almost died! Star appeal Kiara Advani to perform at the first Women’s Premiere League Actress Kiara Advani will be the star performer at the first-ever Women’s Premiere League. The much-awaited league is all set to kickstart on March 4 in Mumbai. The first match is between Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Giants. Interestingly, Kiara will be performing at the WPL 2023’s opening ceremony. Kiara recently got married to her Shershaah co-star Sidharth Malhotra in Jaisalmer. Currently, she is busy shooting for her next, Satyaprem Ki Katha. It also stars Kartik Aaryan in the lead role. She also has RC 15 in the pipeline. —TMS STEPS in sync Sheetal ‘inspiration’ Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma are one of the most adored celebrity couples. Recently, Virat shared that Anushka is an inspiration for him. During a recent podcast, Virat said that in the past two years, as a mother, Anushka has made M ‘ sacrifices that have been ‘massive’. He realized that whatever problems he had were nothing in comparison. He added that so long as your family loves you for who you are, you don’t expect much as that is the basic requirement. —TMS Dance mania On Saturday (February 25), members of the Korean Embassy, including the ambassador Chang Jae-bok, were seen grooving to the song. The video has since then amassed 5.5 million views and 43.9k likes. ■ Four months ago, a YouTuber, Mayo Japan, with 2.47 million subscribers performed Naatu Naatu dance around Diwali at the India Fest in Japan. ■ Recently, Pakistani actress Hania Aamir gave a powerful performance on the track at a wedding. She ■ Global acclaim Citadel actress Priyanka Chopra recently watched India’s Oscarnominated documentary The Elephant Whisperers and was all praise for director Kartiki Gonsalves. The global icon wrote on Instagram, “A trunk-filled with emotions! One of the most heartwarming documen- taries I’ve watched recently...loved it! Big shout out to @kartikigonsalves @guneetmonga for bringing this amazing story to life.” The documentary has been nominated for Oscars 2023 under the ‘Best Documentary Short’ category. It is backed by Guneet Monga “I believe Naatu Naatu has successfully combined the essence of folk music with an upbeat and funky tone. The energy of the song is infectious, which makes even a non-dancer feel like shaking a leg. It’s a great honour that Indian singers will be performing live at the Oscars, which reminds me of Jai Ho that also had a similar foottapping beat. We hail Michael Jackson as the greatest dancer in the world because he infused the same energy in everyone around him. Naatu Naatu has done the same.” — HARIHARAN, INDIAN SINGER The Korean Ambassador Chang Jaebok shakes a leg on Naatu Naatu re-created the impossible steps pulled off by Ram Charan and Jr NTR. ■ RRR was screened in October during the 10th edition of Beyond Fest at the biggest IMAX theatre in the world in Los Angeles, USA. While Rajamouli was present at the screening, the houseful theatre saw people screaming loudly, whistling and dancing during the three-hour show. Worthy of praise At the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards, Avatar director James Cameron praised RRR while SS Rajamouli was smitten by the former! In the clip, Cameron said, “It’s really quite an accomplishment. It’s an amazing film, I saw it for the first LANGUAGE IS NO BAR “With Naatu Naatu, not only did composer MM Keeravani but singers, Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava, made a mark. Equal credit goes to the actors, Ram Charan and Jr NTR, for performing so well and choreographer Prem Rakshith for transforming the emotions of the song into dance. Not to forget, the exceptional picturisation of the song in Ukraine by ace director SS Rajamouli. So, overall, all these factors collectively contributed to the West lapping up its music and ensuing dance fever. Language is no longer a barrier if the beat is right. If you remember Korean song Gangnam Style, almost a decade ago had the same effect worldwide. The TikTok videos of Tanzanian couple Kili and Neema Paul on Indian songs is another example that language is no bar. ” — VIPIN PATWA, MUSIC DIRECTOR TWEET TRAIL “IN RRR, IT’S ABOUT THE BATTLES BUT THEY KEEP UP THE STORY EVEN IN THE SINGING. AND I LOVE THAT ASPECT OF IT.” — DANNY DEVITO, ACTOR time. I watched it alone and didn’t know what to expect. I was astonished, not just with the physical style of Madhavan’s new look Priyanka Chopra praises The Elephant Whisperers and Achin Jain. Earlier, Priyanka Chopra had congratulated the team for bagging the nomination. Being proud of Indian content being recognised the world over, she penned a small note on India landing multiple nominations in The Academy Awards. —TMS As Naatu Naatuwill be performed live at the Academy Awards, here’s a look at how it has become a craze beyond Indian borders INFECTIOUS ENERGY PHOTO: TWITTER Virat calls Anushka ‘usic truly know no boundaries’… Wrote SS Rajamouli on Twitter when his film RRR’s song, Naatu Naatu, won the Best Song award at the 80th Golden Globe Awards in Los Angeles. While the West continues to fancy the foot-tapping number, it has only contributed to the frenzy around Naatu Naatu, making it the biggest contender at the Academy Awards to be held on March 12 at Dolby Theatre, Los Angeles. Now, the singers, Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava, will perform Naatu Naatu live at the Oscar’s ceremony! This will only be the second time in the history of Oscars, after Jai Ho from the film Slumdog Millionaire, that an Indian song will be showcased. We take a look at the song’s popularity, while experts list what makes it iconic. Hollywood star Brendan Fraser almost died on the sets of The Mummy in 1999. The Oscar-tipped The Whale actor, 54, said he was ‘choked out’ when a rope stunt went wrong and said it was ‘nearly’ the end of his life. He recently said on ‘The Kelly Clarkson Show’: “Well, I was choked out accidentally. I was standing on my toes with the rope around my neck. The guy holding the rope above me pulled it up a little higher and I was stuck on my toes — I had nowhere to go but down. And so he was pulling up and I was going down. And then the next thing I knew my elbow was in my ear, the world was sideways, there was gravel in my teeth and everyone was really quiet.” Fraser, who has sons Griffin, 20, Holden, 18, and Leland, 16, with his ex-wife Afton Smith, added that he heard the stunt boss say when he came around: “Congratulations, you’re in the club - the same thing happened to Mel Gibson on Braveheart.” Brendan had replied: “Thanks, I think?! I wanna go home.” —IANS R Madhavan posted a new selfie sporting a moustache and netizens couldn’t help but praise the actor. While it is supposedly a new avatar for a fresh role, the actor didn’t say much about it. Sharing the picture, Madhavan wrote, “New project begins with a new look. Super excited...” The Vikram Vedha actor was last seen in Rocketry: The Nambi Effect and Dhokha: Round D Corner. — TMS c m y b the film and the use of very good VFX, but also the storytelling.” (With inputs by Yathesht Pratiraj) Courtroom thriller After working together in Yudh and Te3n, megastar Amitabh Bachchan and filmmaker Ribhu Dasgupta will be seen collaborating for the upcoming courtroom drama Section 84. Reliance Entertainment, Film Hangar, Saraswati Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., and Filmmaker Ribhu Dasgupta’s Section 84, in association with Jio Studios, will star the legendary Amitabh Bachchan in the lead role. Director Ribhu Dasgupta expresses: “I feel happy, blessed, and honoured to collaborate with Sir again. Looking forward to it.” —IANS Every woman wanted to be Sridevi, says Rani Mukerji Docu-series The Romantics pays homage to Sridevi, and actress Rani Mukerji has said every woman wanted to be like the late veteran star. The late Yash Chopra is seen revealing why he wanted to make a pristine love story for audiences. He said: “Our industry had reached the saturation point of violence. I said okay, now I’ll take the biggest gamble of my life whatever happens. I won’t make a film with formulas, with calculations. I will make a film which will touch my heart. I started Chandni.” However, the legendary Yash Chopra’s career was at a low then, having delivered some unsuccessful Being an inspiration films. So, it was not easy for him to sign Sridevi, who in her prime was considered bigger than the heroes of India. Even though he had never worked with Sridevi, Yash Chopra admitted that he was impressed by the Tamil drama Moondram Pirai that Amitabh Bachchan had shown him. The success of Chandni was a watershed moment for Yash Chopra and YRF’s destiny, and Sridevi’s brilliance inspired the leading ladies of our times to follow in her footsteps to deliver path-breaking performances on screen. Rani Mukherji said: “Every woman wanted to be Sridevi. She was the epitome of grace, beauty...” — IANS