06032023-LSTC-01.qxd 3/5/2023 10:53 PM Page 1 c m y b I don’t believe we’re alone in the universe, says Steven Spielberg TRIBUNE Girl power Sanjana Sanghi has been working towards the uplift of underprivileged girls. The actress has been appointed as the Youth Advocate for education with Save The Children. LUDHIANA | MONDAY | 6 MARCH 2023 Whose world is it anyway! Mona Cosmic companion Hollywood director Steven Spielberg has revealed that he believes aliens exist and that the US Government is trying to cover up their existence. The director, who is behind classics, including E.T. and Close Encounters Of Third Kind, made the extraordinary claim as he shared, “I don’t believe we’re I think it’s alone in the universe.” He also added that he mathematically had investigated and disimpossible that we are covered over 500 real-life the only intelligent encounters with aliens species in the cosmos. that the US Government There is something had recorded dating back out there. 70 years. Whilst he described the discovery of the events as “fascinating”, he also added that he believed the government were trying to keep the details under wraps and hushed up. Speaking on US TV’s The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Spielberg revealed his obsession with UFOs as he said, “I think it’s mathematically impossible that we are the only intelligent species in the cosmos. That’s totally impossible. It is exciting.” He added: “There is something out there. I do not know if I am a believer in the sense I am the kind of person that would think I have got to see something like that to believe it. I can make up stuff and make movies about things I have never seen or experienced. That is fine. In terms of really believing something, I would have to have my own close encounter.” “I have never seen a UFO. I wish I did. I have never seen anything I could not explain. But I believe certain people who have seen things they cannot explain. That is unexplainable. I think what has been coming out recently is fascinating.” —IANS A T the recent Grammys, Madonna introduced Sam Smith and Kim Petras’s performance of Unholy in a white shirt, black tie, and suit, but more than the historical act, it was her pigtail hairstyle that grabbed eyeballs. How a woman in her 60s present herself took the attention away from the very first trans act at the prestigious music awards. Ageism has plagued women’s choices. How they dress, who do they marry or the roles that they are offered follow a social diktat. And even though the world is going through a change, the pace is painfully slow. Sushmita Sen & Nora Fatehi (below) in Dilbar Dilbar Madhuri Dixit in Ek Do Teen & Jacqueline Fernandez (below) in the remake Tip Tip featuring Raveena Tandon & Katrina Kaif (below) MADONNA Ageism is a reality even in the times of OTT, when age does not determine an actress’ shelf-life in the industry Ageism is a reality that even the Material Girl cannot escape; the impossible standards of beauty and appropriacy continue to limit, what women can achieve or do with their lives. If Meryl Streep, Judi Dench and Maggie Smith have broken the glass ceiling in Hollywood, only a handful; closer home, Indian films continue to celebrate men well in their 50s, and the actresses still struggle to stay relevant past turning a certain age. Right from Sharmila Tagore, Madhuri Dixit to Neena Gupta have talked about actresses not getting to explore their full arc, for society is yet to acknowledge women past a certain age. Madhuri Dixit personifies Ek Do Teen, so why have Jacqueline Fernandez in the remake? Sushmita Sen in her iconic Dilbar track has been replaced by Nora Fatehi. OLE OLE 2.0 in Jawaani Jaaneman brings Saif Ali Khan back, not Kajol; Tip Tip song in Sooryavanshi has Akshay Kumar from the original back, but not Raveena Tandon. Films take another extreme. Sanjay Dutt at 54 romanced Prachi Desai (25) in Policegiri; Akshay Kumar at 46 had Kajal Aggarwal (28) opposite him in Special Chabbis; Ajay Devgn at 44 was paired opposite Tamanna (24) in Himmatwala, SRK had romanced actresses like Deepika Padukone and Anush- KONKONA SEN SHARMILA TAGORE ka Sharma, both half his age in Rab De Bana De Jodi and Om Shanti Om. Actor Konkona Sen has pointed out that when it comes to portraying women on screen, there is hardly any representation of women over 30. Neena Gupta too has been vocal about not getting work. On young actors doing roles for older women as well Neena Gupta replied to a fan on Twitter saying, “Yes I was just thinking about this hamari umar ke role to kam se kam humse kara lo bhai, ” she tweeted back when Saand Ki Aankh released in 2019. Actor Pranitaa Pandit sees ageism as an established mindset. “Our conditioning is so deep that it reflects in how the industry treats its women. We are not allowed to express ourselves the way we want to because we know we will be criticised. Be it the industry or society, there have been double standards.” Actress Kate Sharma says, “There is no age limit for being good enough to work in the industry. It’s unfortunate that stories for older female actors aren’t written as compared to male actors. It’s even more unfortunate that an older male actor is forced to play younger roles. But, thankfully, more and more people are producing content that defies stereotypes.” Actress Sonu Chadrapal believes in the dictum “live and let live”. “It’s difficult to age gracefully, let alone in an industry that idolises and worships NEENA GUPTA youth and beauty. It’s unfortunate that age eclipses an actress’ talent.” Hitanshu Jinsi points out that male actors who work with female actors half their age are often producers themselves. According to Charrul Malik, ageism exists in both Bollywood and Hollywood. “In serials, when you get older, you automatically manage to fit into the roles of mother and bhabhi or saas,” points out Malik. On the brighter side, OTT has started taking small steps towards defying ageism. Shefali Shah’s career was catapulted by Delhi Crime, and rightfully so. OTT has brought back a host of wonderful performers, including Neena Gupta and Maduri Dixit, back to the screens. WEBSOLUTE FUN Love, revenge & more Allu shakes a leg Telegu superstar Allu Arjun, who took the nation by storm with his stupendous success of Pushpa: The Rise, made the international DJ Martin Garrix dance to the tune of Oo Anta Vaa recently at his show in Hyderabad. The superstar left the audience groove as he himself danced to the tune of foottapping Oo Anta Vaa. A fan of Allu shared the video on Twitter. In the film Pushpa, Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Allu set the screen on fire with this song. Taking to Instagram, Allu shared two images with Martin. Allu captioned the frames, “What a Funn Night . Oo anta vaa with @martingarrix. Hyderabad Thaggedele” with a hand emoji.—ANI RANA NAIDU LUTHER:THE FALLEN SUN While we enjoy the festival of colours this week, here’s the list of new OTT releases that will keep us entertained MARCH 6 SECRETS OF LOVE ON MX PLAYER Starring Ravi Kishan, Vivek Anand Mishra and Jayesh Kapoor, the film is based on the life of Acharya Rajneesh (Osho). Directed by Ritesh S Kumar, the movie is inspired by important events in the life of Rajneesh that made him a global religious guru, who defined love and philosophy of life in a new and different way. MARCH 10 RANA NAIDU ON NETFLIX The series is a high-octane, action-packed ride as actors Rana Daggubati and Venkatesh Daggubati come together for the very first time as the warring father and son duo. Rana is an ultimate celebrity fixer who is posed with the biggest problem yet—his father, Naga. An adaptation of the popular American series, Ray Donovan, Rana Naidu is directed by Karan Anshuman and Suparn S Varma. MARCH 10 ACCIDENTAL FARMER & CO ON SONYLIV This web series revolves around Chella, a jobless country bumpkin, who inherits a piece of land from his ancestors. With no interest in farming whatsoever, his views changes when he accidentally sets his land on fire. In an attempt to save the land, Chel- c m y b la juggles friendship, farming, and love. The narrative of the show is presented musically. It stars Vaibhav, Ramya Pandian, Badava Gopi and others. MARCH 10 LUTHER: THE FALLEN SUN ON NETFLIX An epic continuation of the award-winning television saga, this film revolves around a gruesome serial killer who is terrorising London while brilliant but disgraced detective John Luther (Idris Elba) sits behind bars. Haunted by his failure to capture the cyber psychopath who now taunts him, Luther decides to break out of prison to finish the job. The film also stars Cynthia Erivo, Andy Serkis and Dermot Crowley, who returns as Martin Schenk. MARCH 10 HAPPY FAMILY: CONDITIONS APPLY ON PRIME VIDEO The series features Raj Babbar, Ratna Pathak Shah, Atul Kulkarni and Ayesha Jhulka. The series is about the Dholakias, a family of four generations living under one roof, as they navigate the many ups and downs of their lives together. It will be an episodic release. The first four episodes will premiere on March 10, with two episodes releasing every Friday until March 31.