21032023-LSTC-01.qxd 20-03-2023 22:59 Page 1 c m y b Billie Eilish’s Swarm character is inspired by a real cult TRIBUNE South debut Actor Angad Bedi is gearing up for his South Indian film debut with Nani 30. The movie stars Mrunal Thakur and Telugu superstar Nani. TMS CHANDIGARH | TUESDAY | 21 MARCH 2023 Versesfrom the heart Mona P Giving the creeps The episode of Swarm featuring Grammy-winning singer Billie Eilish has delivered one of the series’ craziest appearances. Swarm, co-created and co-executive produced by Janine Nabers and Donald Glover, features a slew of celebrity cameos, including Rory Culkin and Paris Jackson. Set between 2016 and 2018, Swarm follows Dre (Dominique Fishback), a fan of the fictional Beyonce-esque music icon Ni’Jah, whose love for her favourite singer crosses the line from obsessive to murderous. After setting off on a crosscountry journey, she meets a slew of characters and commits a slew of crimes. Alongside killing a string of haters in the name of her icon, Dre hits the road to see her favourite star at Bonnaroo despite not having a wristband, but gets pulled over in Tennessee by a racist cop. Eilish, who is making her acting debut, was suggested by Swarm casting director Carmen Cuba, Nabers told. Swarm “When she pitched (Billie Eilfeatures a slew of ish) for the role of Eva, we were like, ‘Oh, she’s really cool! celebrities, including Rory Culkin, Let’s go with it!’ And it Paris Jackson worked out,” said Nabers. “She was great,” he added. While Eva and Billie Eilish. said she “feels so drawn” to Dre and suggests she’s “part of the tribe now,” it becomes clear as Dre spends more time that Eva’s setup is less a commune and more a cult. The women wear the same colours and share the same body brands. It’s reminiscent of several Hollywood-adjacent cults, most clearly the NXIVM cult, which involved actresses like Alison Mack, who is currently serving a threeyear prison sentence. Nabers has said Eilish’s character was inspired by that cult and its leader Keith Raniere, who was sentenced to 120 years in prison and fined $1,750,000 in the high-profile sextrafficking case. —IANS OETS have for long called Bollywood home, filled the industry with love ditties, songs of separation, love for the nation, loss, longing and more. Gulzar, Irshad Kamil, Javed Akhtar, Kaifi Azmi, Prasoon Joshi and Sahir Ludhianvi have given us beautiful lines that have become part of iconic songs. Not just lyricists, actors too are as fond of poetry. This World Poetry Day, we talks of actors who dabble in verses. An actor and singer par excellence, Ayushmann Khurrana has a way with words too. ‘Tum ho zindagi ke khush rang yaad rakhne mein maahir/ Par afsos tumhara main hee hoon. Bahut se aayenge jaayenge Sahir/ Par Imroz tumhara main hee hoon’ , Ayushmann posted just a few weeks back on Instagram, as he often does for his fans. On World Poetry Day, here’s a look at celebs who convey their deepest thoughts through beautiful poems online KRITI SANON AYUSHMANN KHURRANA ARUNODAY SINGH MASTER CLASS Legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan follows in the footsteps of his poetfather Harivansh Rai Bachchan, who penned the famous Madhushala. His blogs are full of lines that reflect life in its true essence. ‘Guzar jayega, Guzar jayega/ Mushkil bohot hai, Magar wakt hi toh hai/ Guzar jayega, Guzar jayega. Zinda rehne ka ye jo jazba hai/ Phir ubhar aayega...’ Is one of his rather popular lines. Debuting as MC Sher, Siddhant Chaturvedi made a great first impression in Gully Boy. His rapper avatar aside, he writes often, and has a page solely dedicated to them. ‘ Jaane vo hausla kahan rakh diya,Jo Sapno ke saath Mufat aya tha? Dekho shayad Duniyadaari ke/ Drawer mein kahi dabb gya hoga...’ He posts of hope and dreams. Multifaceted actor Piyush Mishra, who recently came with his life story Tumhari Aukat Kya Hai, has penned quite a few poems too. He sings his creations in his musical project Ballimaaraan. Badi Lambi Seeking blessings Guneet Monga visits Amritsar’s Golden Temple with her Oscar trophy SIDDHANT CHATURVEDI Kahani Hai Yaar, Sharam Kar Lo are some of his other poems. IN BLACK & WHITE Interestingly, some of the actors have published their works as well. Jism 2 actor Arunoday Singh, who often writes on his Insta handle @sufisoul has a poetry collection titled Unsung, which has been published by Penguin. The book is divided into several themes, including the self, the elements, breaking and healing, the search for divinity, and the light and darkness of the spirit. His lines are penned in beautiful calligraphy on social media. Actor-writer Swanand Kirkire’s poems are published by Rajkamal Prakashan under the title Aapkamaaiee. Hindi cinema’s tragedy queen Meena Kumari wrote poems under the pen name of Naaz. Poetry has played a significant role in shaping the life of actress Taranjit Kaur. “During childhood, I was exposed to poetry as both my grandparents were poets, and our home was full of collections. When I got older and established myself as an actor, I found a platform in poetry to share my voice. As an actor, one gets limited scope but as a poet you can reach out to so many more. Money pangs for Kangana! Producer Guneet Monga sought blessings at the Golden Temple in Amritsar and even took along her Oscar trophy to the holy place. Guneet was joined by her husband Sunny Kapoor and celebrity chef Vikas Khanna. She shared a reel of her visit, where she was seen offering prayers while holding the trophy in her hand. She was also seen making langar and tasting it as well. Vikas captioned the video: “When you dedicate your honours to your ancestors. Thank you Guneet for showing us the power, humility and love.” Another video shows Vikas’ mother driving Guneet to the Golden Temple. “From being a dreamer to becoming one of the most powerful producers in the world. Here it is to you Guneet, you made every Indian wealthier...,” he wrote as he shared a clip. — IANS Kangana Ranaut started her career with acting and today has her own production company. But that’s not all, she also had plans to own a restaurant last year. But financial setbacks made her postpone the plans. In her recent Instagram stories, the actress revealed about her dream of owning a restaurant. She shared a clip of one of her old interviews with film trade analyst Komal Nahta. With the clip, she wrote, “Another interview from more than a decade ago, yes cooking is very much on my agenda ... had some financial setbacks last year otherwise I was all set to launch my restaurant in the Valley...” The financial setbacks that she was talking about is result of her films not working well at the box-office, including Dhaakad. Kangana also confessed that to make her upcoming film Emergency, she had mortgaged her house. — TMS c m y b Through my poems, I want to be the voice of change in society. My very first creation I Am Not A Virgin bagged five million views, and my latest Happy Being Me is winning more love. It so overwhelming when a woman from Kashmir reaches out to me to say that she relates to my poems, or someone from Germany opens up on how my poem on abuse gave her strength to speak up,” she says. Many other stars, including Shweta Tripathi, Sushmita Sen, Kalki Koechlin and Manav Kaul, have also expressed their feelings in verses. (With inputs by Yathesht Pratiraj) Taking the legal route Director-actor Deepak Tijori has registered a case against co-producer Mohan Gooal Nadar, alleging that the latter cheated him of Rs 2.6 crore. The case of fraud has been filed at Amboli Police Station in Mumbai. The FIR was lodged on March 15. According to the Mumbai Police, Nadar joined Tijori to co-produce a thriller titled Tipppsy, which the latter was supposed to direct. It was scheduled to be shot in London in 2019. Keeping that in mind, Deepak has entrusted Nadar with Rs 2.6 crore. But Deepak claimed that the film was not completed in time. When he asked for repayment of the money, Nadar dodged him by giving various excuses. — TMS Deepak Tijori alleges co-producer duped him of ~2.6 crore I repair, says Big B Amitabh Bachchan misses the fun and frolic on the ramp. Are you wondering what makes us think so? Check his latest Instagram post. Taking to Instagram in the wee hours of Monday, Big B posted a throwback picture of himself from the ramp. In that frame, Amitabh was dressed in a black kurtapyjama with white embroidery embossed on the kurta. The superstar completed the look with white shoes and black shades. “...Thank you for all the prayers and wishes for my recovery… I repair...Hope to be back on the ramp soon...” Amitabh wrote in the caption and shared a folded hands emoji and a rose with it. — ANI Amitabh Bachchan recently suffered a rib injury