05032023-LSTL-01.qxd 3/4/2023 10:29 PM Page 1 c m y b TRIBUNE SHIVARAJKUMAR JOINS KABZAA New look Life Two of Kannada cinema’s top stars, Upendra and Sudeep, were roped in to essay lead roles in the film Kabzaa. Now, Shivarajkumar aka Shivanna has also joined the cast. Three of the best Kannada superstars will be collaborating for this film. TMS Versatile actor Deepak Dobriyal will appear in a neverseen-before avatar in Ajay Devgn’s upcoming film Bholaa. Dobriyal plays the villain in the film. TMS LUDHIANA | SUNDAY | 5 MARCH 2023 TRIBUNE PHOTO:VICKY City, a legacy Sheetal S WISS filmmakers Karin Bucher and Thomas Karrer bared their heart and soul on Saturday as they showcased their documentary, The Power of Utopia: Living with Le Corbusier, in Chandigarh . Karin and Thomas are looking forward to the premiere of the film this autumn in Switzerland, as well as have plans to enlist it at various international festivals. But before all these high and mighty plans, they wished to start the journey from Chandigarh from where it all began. Karin Bucher and Thomas Karrer, Swiss filmmakers who have come up with a documentary on Chandigarh, believe it’s a city that makes you think ‘City Beautiful’, as Chandigarh is known to the rest of India and the world was designed by Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier, and yet the Swiss born and bred, Karin and Thomas came to know about it when they first travelled to India in 2015, particularly North India. Karin said, “I am the one who loves to tell stories while Thomas is good with his numbers.” The idea to research a bit more on Corbusier and Chandigarh came to her mind first. They visited again in 2016 with a camera and researched a bit, only to return later in 2018 to commence what they knew best - filmmaking. From then on, their trips became frequent. Thomas added, “It’s almost like our second home now…The city grows slowly on you; you need at least a week to imbibe what it has to offer.” CLEAR VISION And what would they like to change here? Karin said, “I think Capital Complex is a great work of art and should be open to public. As I am someone who loves open theatres, I liked all such open spaces in Chandigarh and feel that it could be used in a better way.” The documentary also changed the perspective and viewpoint of the filmmakers. Thomas explained, “In Switzerland or otherwise in the West, we are habitual of seeing everything clean. But the city opened our eyes to witnessing age in a structure, place or a building. I believe it’s a different approach we needed.” Thus, they released the documentary on Chandigarh on the 70th anniversary of the capital city of Punjab and Haryana. As for challenges, former professor Karin believes there were none until they imagined filming in India. “But then, people here are so cooperative and welcoming. At one point I thought of naming the documentary, ‘chai and chapatti’ for people here love to host you. Music director Atul Sharma has given the background score for the documentary,” added Karin. Thomas informed it wasn’t just Corbusier but his team, including Indian experts in their respective fields, which made this city what it is today. He added, “So, in order to give credit where it is due, the documentary was important. And as far as takeaway is concerned, in the opening shots, someone says, Í don’t really like Chandigarh, but it’s the city that makes you think.” Chandigarh is a bold utopia of modernity. The city is beautiful for it is the perfect interaction between art, space and light. DUE CREDIT Diwan Manna, president, Lalit Kala Akademi, late thespian GS Channi, Deepika Gandhi, Director, Le Corbusier Centre and Chandigarh Architecture Museum, SD Sharma, who was closely associated with the Chandigarh project, have been featured in the documentary, along with other eminent personalities from the city. In black & white Changing contours Hollywood star Idris Elba created a furore on social media in February after he said that he stopped calling himself a “black actor” because it created limitations for his career. The Luther actor was immediately accused of renouncing his blackness, although actors such as John Boyega came to his defense and argued that critics weren’t paying attention to his message about damning Hollywood stereotyping! “I feel as I get older — I’m 50 now — we all have fears of saying too much, oversharing and whatnot,” Elba has now said. “And in this day and age, it’s really difficult to have an opinion if you’re in the public eye because it gets overly scrutinised, taken out of context, thrown into some sort of social media argument.” Elba pointed to the controversy around his “black actor” comment as proof that social media is a ‘conflict incubator’. “Me saying I don’t like to call myself a black actor is my prerogative. That’s me, not you. So for you to turn around and say to me, I’m ‘denying my blackness’, on what grounds? Did you hear that? Where am I denying it? And what for? It’s just stupid. Whatever,” he said. — IANS His side of the story Idris Elba says backlash over not calling himself a ‘black actor’ is ‘stupid’ There is shift in the way we are approaching stories, says Huma Qureshi RIP, Tom Tom Sizemore has died after being taken off life support, his manager Charles Lago confirmed on Friday. The 61year-old actor suffered a brain aneurysm on February 18. “It is with great sadness and sorrow I have to announce that actor Thomas Edward Sizemore (‘Tom Sizemore’) aged 61, passed away peacefully in his sleep today at St Joseph’s Hospital Burbank,” Lago said in a statement. Tom Sizemore of Saving Private Ryan fame passes away Known for playing the tough guy, Sizemore rose to fame during the 1990s with films like Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man, Passenger 57, True Romance and Natural Born Killers. He got his big break in Steven Spielberg’s 1998 war film Saving Private Ryan, in which he played Technical Sergeant Mike Horvath. — IANS Nawazuddin Siddiqui is facing legal issues after wife Aaliya and mother Mehrunisa Siddiqui’s altercation, which made the former lodge an FIR. While the actor initially stayed away from talking on the allegations levelled by his wife, he has finally expressed his side of the story. In the long statement, it was written on his behalf, “Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s exwife Aaliya Siddiqui has said she was not allowed to enter the house, but the truth is Nawazuddin has already registered the property in his Ammi’s name, Mehrunisa Siddiqui, so Nawaz is devoid of any decision-making power on anyone’s entrance in the property. The caretaker of Mehrunisa Siddiqui states that only her grand kids are allowed in the property and no one else, as it belongs to her now.” The statement further read, “Other than this, in a recent viral video in which Aaliya was seen claiming that she did not have any other place to stay or go is technically wrong. To clarify the fact, Nawaz had already bought a lavish flat for Aaliya in Mumbai in 2016, which she has rented out.” — TMS Word of praise National Award-winning actor Manoj Bajpayee, who is basking in the appreciation of his recently streaming film Gulmohar, holds his Satya director Ram Gopal Varma in high regard. The actor said that RGV’s entry into the Hindi film industry changed its dynamics and how films are made in the Hindi film industry. Talking during a podcast, Manoj said: “Ram Gopal Varma has given so many directors, a whole generation of actors, technicians; he revolutionised Hindi cinema. Only a person who is tripped out can do such a thing because they have the courage.” Manoj also revealed that he may disagree with RGV on certain things like his outlook towards life or modern relationships, but he always finds it amusing to listen to him. Nawazuddin Siddiqui finally issues statement over wife Aaliya’s allegations AALIYA HAS CLAIMED THAT SHE DID NOT HAVE ANY OTHER PLACE TO STAY, BUT NAWAZ HAD ALREADY BOUGHT A LAVISH FLAT FOR HER IN MUMBAI IN 2016, WHICH SHE HAS RENTED OUT. Ram Gopal Varma has revolutionised the Hindi film industry, says Manoj Bajpayee Drawing parallels between RGV and his Gangs of Wasseypur director Anurag Kashyap, who has assisted RGV and cowrote the script of Satya, Manoj said: “They both are highly unpredictable and both are child-like, and that’s why they’re great filmmakers.” —IANS In strong words It is an exciting time for female artistes in the industry, believes actor Huma Qureshi, who says there has been an interesting ‘shift’ in the way storytellers are approaching women characters on screen. According to the Huma, known for films such as Gangs of Wasseypur, Badlapur, Monica, O My Darling and OTT shows Leila and Maharani, female actors are now keen on playing wellrounded characters. “In recent years, we are seeing more such women-centric films, the new term is femaleled films. For me, it is not the female-led films that are creating a sense of empowerment. Today, when I read a script, the character of the girl is not just contributing towards the hero’s journey or is not someone waiting for the war hero to return home. Rather, we think why can’t a girl go on the border? So, that shift in the way we are approaching stories, storytelling has come about. There are many other colleagues of mine, who are saying give us more to do,” the 36-year-old actress said. She was participating in a panel discussion on ‘The role of media and entertainment in empowering women’. The conversation was part of a special segment ‘Her Story, Her Voice’ organised by Netflix and the National Commission of Women. Huma said Alia Bhatt’s Darlings, a dark comedy, and the 2020 drama “Thappad”, headlined by Taapsee Pannu, are some of her recent favourite films that broke the stereotypes in terms of storytelling. —PTI c m y b Steven Spielberg says antisemitism is no longer lurking, but standing proud Acclaimed filmmaker Steven Spielberg recently expressed concerns over the rise of antisemitism while discussing his Oscar-nominated film The Fabelmans on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. The Fabelmans is a semiautobiographical movie based on Spielberg’s childhood in which Sammy Fabelman (Gabriel LaBelle) is the subject of anti-semitic abuse by his school bullies. After discussing the film, Colbert asked Spielberg if the rise of anti-semitism in the United States and around the world had surprised him. “I find it very, very surprising... Anti-semitism has always been there, it’s either been just around the corner and slightly out of sight but always lurking, or it has been much more overt like in Germany in the ‘30s.” He added, “But not since Germany in the ‘30s have I witnessed anti-semitism no longer lurking, but standing proud with hands on hips like Hitler and Mussolini, kind of daring us to defy it. I’ve never experienced this in my entire life, especially in this country.” Spielberg, who also directed the Holocaust epic Schindler’s List in 1994, continued by claiming that antisemitism is a component of a larger trend of hatred that he has noticed over the previous few years. “Somehow, the marginalisation of people that aren’t part of some kind of a majority race is something that has been creeping up on us for years ... Hate became a kind of membership to a club that has gotten more members than I ever thought was possible in America...,” he added. Spielberg does, however, hold out some hope that people can change for the better; this is the message he wants to share with the tale of ‘The Fabelmans’. — ANI