03032023-LSTC-01.qxd 3/2/2023 10:47 PM Page 1 c m y b Sushmita Sen undergoes angioplasty after suffering a heart attack. TRIBUNE Three cheers T-series has confirmed that there will be a third part of their successful franchise Bhool Bhulaiyaa. The second instalment was a hit and starred Kartik Aaryan. TMS CHANDIGARH | FRIDAY | 3 MARCH 2023 Beauty, brutality A Mona ON AN EPIC SCALE ‘I do have a big heart’ Bollywood star Sushmita Sen on Thursday said she suffered a heart attack a couple of days ago and underwent angioplasty. The Aarya actor, who shared the health update on her official Instagram page said she was ‘ready for some life again’. She further said the cardiologist inserted a stent in her heart during the surgery. “Keep your heart happy & courageous, and it’ll stand by you when you need it the most Shona’ (Wise words by my father @sensubir).” “I suffered a heart attack a couple of days back... Angioplasty done... Stent in place... and most importantly, my cardiologist recon“Keep your firmed ‘I do have a big heart happy...And heart’,” Sen, 47, wrote. it’ll stand by you when The former Miss Uniyou need it the most verse said there were a lot of people to thank for Shona’ - Wise words their ‘timely aid and conby my father.” structive action’, someSUSHMITA SEN thing she will reserve for another social media post. Meanwhile, industry colleagues, including Tabu, Poonam Dhillon and Sophie Choudry, sent their best wishes to the actor. “Lots of love super girl,” wrote Tabu. “Be well — you are an amazing lady! God bless you with good health always,” added Dhillon. Sen was recently shooting for the third season of her acclaimed Disney+ Hotstar series Aarya. She was diagnosed with the autoimmune condition called Addison’s disease in 2014. — PTI writer needs a pen, an artist needs a brush, but a filmmaker needs an army,’ said actor-director Orson Wells, and the one who quoted his name, British filmmaker Ron Scalpello, literally had an army on his side to ace his maiden Indian project — Taj: Divided by Blood. Set in the 16th century, this period drama charts the story of Akbar and the war of succession amongst his sons — Salim, Murad, and Daniyal — capturing through it both the beauty and brutality of the Mughal Empire. ❝ FOR THIS SERIES, HUNDREDS OF voice Bhumi Pednekar to address Women Entrepreneurs at G20 Bhumi Pednekar is known for her socially conscious and progressive efforts towards gender awareness. As she inspires young women with her personal choices and onscreen characters, she is the perfect celebrity to take part in the Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP). A collaboration with WEP will help women entrepreneurs, this platwomen find form will facilitate digital transpartnerships to take formation and digital inclusion forward their for women-led businesses entrepreneurial through various initiatives. The WEP is aligned with G20 goals ambitions.” and Bhumi has highlighted the BHUMI PEDNEKAR importance of these global goals consistently on social media. Bhumi will address the women entrepreneurs attending this event. She says, “Since the pandemic, the loss in human capital has deeply impacted women-led businesses. WEP will bring information, ways to find finance or funding support and help women find partnerships to take forward their entrepreneurial ambitions.” — TMS SOLDIERS, HORSES AND CANNONS WERE USED. ONE PARTICULAR SEQUENCE WAS SHOT FOR SEVEN DAYS IN THE HEAT OF 40 DEGREES AT THE MAHARASHTRAGUJARAT BORDER. IT WAS A HUGE TASK. Ron Scalpello, British filmmaker who has helmed Mughal saga Taj: Divided by Blood, sees India as an incredible land of passionate storytellers A filmmaker for 25 years, Ron had filmed all across the world except India. During the Covid lockdown, as the script from ZEE5 made its way to this fan of historical dramas, Ron saw an opportunity. It came with a huge responsibility to stay true to its mega scale as well. “I did panic a little bit as we got going, but blessed with an amazing team this was an incredible journey.” CAPTURING THE TIMES Global Much in love with epic stories, part of the writers’ team Anand Neelakantan loved working on Taj: Divided by Blood. “I love history and mythology and just like my books - Asura: Tale of the Vanquished, Mahabharata and Baahubali series, or telly shows like Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat, I love how they offer a heightened sense of conflict. The show sure borrows from history, but aims at entertainment. It has been shot on an epic scale.” Staying true to the times the story is set in, extensive work was done with regard to production design to costumes, the battle scenes were quite a task. “For this series, hundreds of soldiers, horses and cannons were used. RON SCALPELLO, FILMMAKER One particular sequence we shot for seven days in the heat of 40 degrees at the Maharashtra-Gujarat border. It was a huge task.” A show in Hindi, it posed a further set of challenges that team Taj ably surmounted. “We rehearsed in English, blocked in English, by the time of the shooting, language was like a musical river; not necessarily that I understood every note, but could feel it.” Ron also credits his team of directors, “Our directors were amazing with the language and would point out, ‘Ron, you might need to look at that’, whenever they saw the story slipping.” Another big challenge was to bring out the emotions right. “To send two hundred horses marching in a certain direction was pretty straightforward, it was the human emotions — loss, longing, love, anger, despair — that were truly challenging to capture on screen. ” INCREDIBLE INDIA Being in India has been an incredible experience for Ron. “This country is so vast and diverse that one needs a lifetime to explore. Being in Mumbai, which has a population of over 21 million, is in itself intimidating.” Meet Kapil, the actor Will Smith awarded Hollywood star Will Smith returned to the awards’ season festivities, taking the stage to accept the Beacon Award at the African American Film Critics Association Awards (AAFCA). It marked Smith’s first in-person speech at an awards’ ceremony since the controversy at the 2022 Oscars, where the actor slapped Chris Rock on stage. Smith’s Emancipation costar Charmaine Bingwa and AAFCA cofounder Gil L. Robertson introduced Smith and Antoine Fuqua, the historical drama’s director, early in the evening’s ceremony. After Fuqua’s minute-long thanks to AAFCA, Apple TV+ and the film’s cast and crew, Smith took the microphone to recount the production of the film. “Emancipation was the most difficult film of my entire career...I want to thank Gil and AAFCA. I want to thank all of you for doing what you do, keeping our stories alive…,” said Smith. — IANS Working with great cast members —Naseeruddin Shah and Dharmendra — was another aspect that Ron enjoyed. “Naseeruddin Shah is an international actor, I have seen his plays before. I feel honoured to have such an impressive cast to work with.” What touched Ron the most through his India shoot was the country’s love for stories. “Actors, writers and directors, there are so many passionate storytellers here. And, it feels great to be in the land of storytellers.” (Taj: Divided by Blood streams on ZEE5 today) Beat upbeat Punjabi singer Sukhbir, who is known as the Prince of Bhangra and boast of chartbusters like Ishq Tera Tadpave and Balle Balle, is back with another track Billi Billi Akh, and, this time, it’s for Salman Khan’s film — Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan. The song, the video of which is set to release on Thursday, has an interesting story behind it. The singer revealed that Salman came up with the idea for a wedding song and shared the same with him while the two were in Abu Dhabi. Billi Billi Akh is an upbeat, peppy song, composed by Vicky Sandhu, who has also written Punjabi lyrics, with c m y b Sukhbir reveals how Salman Khan came up with Billi Billi Akh the perfect blend of modern flair and Punjabi beats, features Sukhbir himself along with the entire cast of the movie — Salman Khan, Pooja Hegde, Shehnaaz Gill and Palak Tiwari. Talking about how the song came into being, Sukhbir said, “I met Salman Khan in Abu Dhabi where he had requested a wedding song for his upcoming movie and that’s when I sent him a couple of options. He loved all of them, but especially fell in love with ‘Billi Billi Akh’, which was a Punjabi song and that’s how we started working on this Hindi version, which was written by lyricist Kumaar and the music has been produced by DJ Dips and Supernova.” Talking about his experience during the shoot with Salman Khan, the singer added, “My experience has been nothing short of amazing. I did not expect Salman Khan to be so handson when it came to every detail, he would call me to discuss often. The best part was shooting of the video, which was done in Mumbai”. —IANS Actor-comedian Kapil Sharma-starrer Zwigato’s trailer is finally available for the fans and viewers. Directed by Nandita Das, entire cast of the film was in attendance for the trailer launch event in Mumbai recently. While Kapil made his Bollywood debut with Abbas Mustan’s rom-com Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon in 2015, his acting profession wasn’t as fruitful as his career as a comedian. He went on to star in another film Firangi, which too failed at box-office. Kapil said, “Maine zindagi main nai socha tha, inhone ne bhi nai socha tha. I have always been a fan of Nandita. I have seen her Firaaq and Manto, so hadn’t imagined that she would ever offer me a film. Her films may be serious, but in personal life she is quite funny. When you see the film, everyone will be able to relate to it. When Nandita narrated the story I asked her why me, and she said even if a global star like Shah Rukh Khan had agreed, she would make the film with me. She said my face was that of a common man, so it was perfect for the character.” Kapil will be seen playing the role of a delivery agent named Manas while Shahana is essaying the role of his wife Pratima. The story revolves around a food delivery agent who struggles to earn a living for his family after losing his job during the pandemic. The film witnessed its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. In India, it is releasing on March 17, 2023. — TMS Kapil Sharma gets candid at the trailer launch of his film Zwigato