18032023-LSTL-01.qxd 3/18/2023 12:20 AM Page 1 c m y b MOHIT WELCOMES BABY GIRL Mohit Raina and his wife Aditi Sharma have been blessed with a baby girl. Mohit took to social media on Friday to announce the birth of his daughter. He wrote, “And then just like that we became three. Welcome to the world baby girl.” TMS TRIBUNE Tough job Richa Chadha, who will soon be seen in the web series Heeramandi, has shared she was ‘stretched out of her comfort zone’ while working on the project. IANS LUDHIANA | SATURDAY | 18 MARCH 2023 MOVIE REVIEWS For the common man Real to reel adaptation of an immigrant mother taking on an entire country, this one falls short of leaving a lasting impact Although performances are good, especially that by Kapil Sharma, Zwigato is slow and its ending unimpressive Sheetal Mona An immigrant couple, setting up a life together in Norway along with their two children, crosses path with the child welfare department. However, their Indian way of parenting doesn't gel with the European system, and the mother has to fight a long, lonely battle. The film charts the story of Debika and Anirudh Chatterjee. The couple has two children — a son in school and daughter a few months old. The family is under watch of the child welfare services' officials due to a report of domestic abuse. Next we know, the children are taken away from them and put in foster care, keeping their 'best interests' in mind. Rani Mukerji steps into the shoes of Debika. One learns early in the film that Anirudh (Anirban Bhattacharya) and Debika are not on the same page. While her life centres around her children, he is devoted to his work and values Norwegian citizenship over anything else. Based on the story of Sagarika Chakraborty, it is indeed a tale of grit and determination of an immigrant mother who takes on an entire country. Its reel outing, by director Ashima Chibber, who has Mere Dad When fact beats fiction Film: Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway Director: Ashima Chibber Cast: Rani Mukerji, Anirban Bhattacharya, Neena Gupta, Jim Sarbh Rating:  Ki Maruti to her credit, however, falls short of touching one's emotional chords. The film, based on Chakraborty's book — The journey of a Mother — adapted by Sameer Satija, Ashima Chibber and Rahul Handa, sure lacks the punch. The protagonist, Debi, does everything wrong from the word go. While her talks with her infant daughter reflect her inner state, it's really not established if she is actually depressed or fighting postpartum. Maa is a staple in Bollywood, but Mrs Chatterjee fails to secure the top spot. While it is the story of a mother's fight for her children, it's also as much about patriarchy, stereotypical greedy in-laws, hapless girls’ parents and more. While the film does paint Norway's child welfare system in villainous light, it does try to make subtle points in its favour. Daniel Singh Ciupek (Jim Sarbh) is an adopted son, and he stands for the system, as he has grown up in it. The brief phone call with his mother establishes that the duo share a strong bond. Indian ways —children sharing bed with parents — is one objection from the authorities. Later, when Anirudh's parents come to Norway, there is a scene in which his mother is seen sleeping in her son's bed, as his wife Debika takes the couch, pointing at dysfunctional family dynamics. Blame it on writing, rather than feeling sorry for Debi, Taapsee Pannu remembers bad Miss India experience Forgettable past Before starting her acting career, Taapsee Pannu had briefly worked as a model. She had even participated in the Miss India beauty pageant back in 2008 and also made it to the top 28. But she doesn’t call herexperience good because she was humiliated during the trials. She talked about favouritism at the contest and how one designer humiliated her. She says, “I had only done photoshoots and not appeared in television ads or walked the ramp till then. I realised during the ‘grooming period’ that this wasn’t something I could do. They’d make us walk, they taught us how to smile. Designer Hemant Trivedi used to be the expert teacher at the time, and he humiliated me. He said, ‘If it was in my hand, you would have never been in the top 28’.” During her time at the pageant, Taapsee picked up two titles — Miss Fresh Face and Miss Beautiful Skin. — TMS one kind of cringes at the melodramatic moves she makes to get her children. Rani is a great performer, but here as Debi she isn't convincing. Anirban, as a detached male chauvinist who gaslights his wife, and in turn tries to play the system, acts just right. Though full of incongruities, Jim Sarbh as a Norwegian lawyer still manages to impress. Courtroom drama gets interesting with Barun Chanda as the judge and Balaji Gauri as a fiery lawyer. There is only one scene where children in the judge's chamber gravitate towards their mum, which tugs at your heart's strings. The music by Amit Trivedi is passable. This could have been another Taare Zameen Par, but for muddled up writing, which stops you from feeling the story's emotional arc. Zwigato is a film that moves you in bits and pieces. The director Nandita Das had said she needed a common man’s face for a hero and Kapil Sharma does not disappoint. It is more like a fare fit for a film festival and the climax leaves you wanting for something more. With an undertone of humour and rawness, it makes you travel with Manas Singh Mahto, a food delivery agent with a multi-billion dollar company Zwigato (read Zomato). As he goes from one customer to another, the contrast in people’s behaviour towards the lessprivileged is highlighted. How politicians or a company or for that matter the upper class take the dailywager for granted is what the film is all about. But while putting forth the story of Manas, the film also underlines how people like him are still better than those who are without jobs. As the wife of Manas, Shahana Goswami has given a powerful performance. Equally impressive is the cameo by Sayani Gupta, as the regional boss of Zwigato. There are curious instances that will help you draw a parallel to real-life entrepreneurs and politicians. Dialogues like ‘Ye India hai, yahan har cheej ke liye line lag jaati hai’ ring a bell too. The scene wherein a millennial refuses to get a massage from Pratima (Shahana), as she sees her sweating, and she is sent back with Rs 20, was quite moving. Kapil Sharma has left an impression and proved that he should be taken seriously when it comes to acting! Certainly give it a skip if you are looking for Kapil’s comic timing though. The film deals with an important subject, especially after what the pandemic has driven the economically weaker-sections to, and it has been handled with all seriousness. The separate lift for service staff, them not being allowed to us washrooms in malls or the lifts, reflect class differences still prevalent in our society. Overall, the film has many messages but they are not for everybody. The pace is quite slow too. Wedding reception On Thursday (March 16), Swara Bhasker and Fahad Ahmad hosted their wedding reception in Delhi. They had solemnised a court marriage a few weeks ago, and are now celebrating their union withfamily members as well as friends. At the reception, Swara wore a zardosi marodi ghagra on red georgette. She paired it with a beautiful dupatta crafted with borders and booties. Fahad complimented her in a resham and gold Abu Sandeep sherwani. They posed against a floral backdrop that also featured a neon sign of their wedding hashtag #SwaadAnusaar. — TMS Singer Taylor Swift has dropped four unreleased songs on the first night of her Eras Tour. Three of the songs are part of Swift's massive re-recording undertaking, and one is a never officially released track that was written during the Lover era. The singer made the announcement on her Instagram story, writing: "In celebration of The Eras Tour I'm releasing four previously unreleased songs tonight at midnight." The tracks include Eyes Open, Safe & Sound (Ft. Joy Williams and John Paul White), If This Was a Movie and All of the Girls You Loved Before. — IANS Of highs & lows c m y b Film: Zwigato Director: Nandita Das Cast: Kapil Sharma, Shahana Goswami, Tushar Acharya, Kishore Kumar Swain, Gargi Bhattacharya and Jaya Biswas Rating:  Taylor drops songs Demi Lovato to make directorial debut with Child Star Singer-actor Demi Lovato is set to venture into film direction with an upcoming documentary, which is tentatively titled Child Star. Through former child stars, the documentary aims to deconstruct the highs and lows of growing up in the spotlight. It will feature interviews with a number of former child stars, but their names are being kept under wraps for now. The documentary will stream exclusively on Hulu in 2024. Demi Lovato said, “There is no better film or topic for my directorial debut than this story. Our project sheds light on important messages about growing up in the public eye, learning to protect our boundaries, and becoming active advocates of our own destinies. I’m humbled to be able to learn from the individuals who have lived the unique experience of child stardom and share their stories in our film.” — TMS FAHAD AND SWARA Sana is mom-to-be Narrow escape Former actress Sana Khan is pregnant and she revealed the same in a video with husband Mufti Anas Saiyad. It’s the couple’s first child together. The Jai Ho actress had stopped working in the film industry after marrying Anas back in 2020. The husband also informed that the baby is due by June this year. Sana shared, “I am looking forward to it. It’s a different journey altogether. I cannot wait to hold the baby in my arms.” — TMS Actor Aman Dhaliwal, who has worked in Bollywood as well as Punjabi films, has been stabbed in the US. He was working out in a gym when the stabbing incident occurred. Aman has suffered multiple injuries, photos and videos of which have been circulating on the web. The actor was taken to the hospital immediately. He is out of danger and is slowly recovering. In a video doing the rounds on social media it appears that the man had no motive and was clearly unstable, as he held Aman at Jodhaa Akbar actor Aman Dhaliwal stabbed in America knifepoint and asked, ‘Please respect us. Give me water, I need water’. The assailant was repeatedly asking for water. However, when Aman got a chance, he knocked him down with the help of some other people at the gym. Aman Dhaliwal hails from Mansa, Punjab. He is known for films such as Ajj De Ranjhe, Kudi Punjab Di, Big Brother and Jodhaa Akbar. — TMS