24052023-LSTL-01.qxd 5/23/2023 11:43 PM Page 1 c m y b Michelle Yeoh glad she’s no longer typecast as ‘Asian-looking’ TRIBUNE Action zone Hollywood star Vin Diesel says spinoffs of the Fast & Furious franchise are already in the works, including a female-led instalment. IANS LUDHIANA | WEDNESDAY | 24 MAY 2023 Desifashion, global hit Sheetal ‘We are actors’ Oscar-winning actress Michelle Yeoh thinks the ‘best thing’ about her awards success is that she is no longer only receiving scripts for ‘Asian-looking’ characters. The 60-year-old star won the Best Actress category award at a string of ceremonies this year, including the Oscars, Screen Actors Guild Awards and Golden Globes for her role as Evelyn Quan Wang in Everything Everywhere All at Once, and she is pleased to be offering a wider The best variety of roles. thing that has “The best thing that has happened is I receive a happened is I receive a script that doesn’t script that doesn’t describe the character describe the character as a as an Asian-looking Chinese or Asian-looking person. person. We are actors. We are supposed to act. We are supposed to step into roles that are given to us and do our job as best we can. That, for me, is the biggest step forward,” she said during the Kering Women in Motion talks at the Cannes Film Festival. Yeoh reflected on her first time at Cannes over 20 years ago with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and said she felt it was ‘quite obvious’ Hollywood wasn’t ready to celebrate Asian actors back then. IANS Gone too soon Rajamouli, Jr NTR mourn Ray Stevenson’s demise Irish actor Ray Stevenson may have played the villainous British Raj governor of Delhi in RRR, but he was much-loved on the sets as the tributes of S.S. Rajamouli and Junior NTR clearly indicate. “Shocking,” tweeted the ‘RRR’ maker. “Just can’t believe this news. Ray brought in so much energy and vibrancy with him to the sets. It was infectious. Working with him was pure joy. My prayers are with his family. May his soul rest in peace.” RAY STEVENSON REUTERS Taking to social media, Stevenson’s co-star Junior NTR said: “Shocked to hear about Ray Stevenson’s passing. Gone too soon. It was a great experience working with him. May his soul rest in peace. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and dear ones during this difficult time.” Stevenson passed away on Sunday four days before his 59th birthday. — IANS Clear take Ram Charan praises India’s strong culture Superstar Ram Charan has talked about his Hollywood debut and the kind of films he wants to work in the future. The actor was at the Film Tourism for Economic and Cultural Preservation event at Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC). When asked about making a debut in Hollywood, he said: “I want to explore India more and don’t think I would want to travel anywhere else for my films unless the producer or director is from Hollywood. I want to stick to my culture.” He then spoke about the “strong culture” India has. “I want to educate people that our Indian sentiments are so strong. Our culture is so strong. There’s a lot of dignity in our stories. Nowadays, when you see it, it’s not a South Indian or North Indian movie, it’s about Indian mitti ka stories. These stories are finally coming out.” The actor, who gained global recognition with his power-packed performance in RRR, will next be seen in the Tamil-Telugu bilingual Game Changer, which also stars Kiara Advani. He also has yet-untitled project with director Buchi Babu Sana. — IANS F ROM a Zila Parishad office-bearer wearing ghaghra choli and odhni to an official meeting in Haryana to Sara Ali Khan donning lehenga at her Cannes debut this year, Indian attire always scores big. While public figures often sport western outfits over traditional ones in their day-today life, often at red carpets events, especially on foreign shores, they make it a point to showcase their rich cultural heritage.. We bring epic red carpet looks of Bollywood celebs that made Indian hearts swell with pride. DEEPIKA PADUKONE AT CANNES IN 2021 From Sara Ali Khan donning a lehenga at her Cannes debut this year to Diljit Dosanjh wearing a Punjabi dress at the Coachella Music Festival, Indian attire is the choice of many celebs for international events KARTIKI GONSALVES AND GUNEET MONGA OSCAR MOMENT Indians brought home two Oscars this year. However, the icing on the cake was the winners, Guneet Monga and MM Keeravani, receiving their respective titles, Best Documentary (Short Subject) and Best Original Song, in an Indian ensemble. While Keeravani wore a bottle green kurta, Monga posed with the trophy in a pink Banarasi saree. Not just that, SS Rajamouli was hailed for donning South Indian attire at both the Oscars and Golden Globes. For the former he wore, purple kurta, cream-coloured dhoti and for the Golden globe moment, he chose black silkkurta along with red-printed dhoti pant. Later in Cannes, Oscar winner Monga made an appearance in golden saree alongside Union minister Dr L Murugan, who also wore a traditional veshti with white shirt. SAREE SPECIAL One can never forget the Cannes Film Festival 2013, when actress Vidya Balan was invited to be part of the jury besides stalwarts like Nicole Kidman and Steven Spielberg. She made it a point to appear in only traditional attire as well as accessories like nathni. She picked dresses designed by Sabyasachi. Even her attire for The Great Gatsby premiere was a white lehenga and black embellished blouse with dupatta clad over her head. For another film, she picked a nude Sabyasachi saree pairing it with jadau nathni. Unfazed by those critiquing her fashion choices, Balan was proud of her traditional look. Last year when Deepika Padukone went for Cannes, she also turned many heads with her elegant and regal fashion choices. While she wore a couple of western outfits, she also CHANDRABOSE AND MM KEERAVANI PERSONAL TOUCH ■ At the Oscars 2023, RRR cast member, NTR JR, wore the black velvet custom-made bandhgala with gold metallic embroidery of a tiger. It was a conscious decision to draw parallels with the national animal of the country. ■ His co-star, Ram Charan opted for three-piece Indian sherwani for the Oscars, but it was his pregnant wife, Upasana Kamineni, who impressed everyone by ditching the gown addressed her Indian roots by making her jury debut at Cannes by wearing black and golden stripedsequinned saree by Sabyasachi. She also wore a fusion saree with a pearl necklace later. The actress had previously donned ivory and gold saree by designer Rohit Bal in 2010. Aishwarya Rai too debuted in 2002 in a yellow saree by Neeta Lulla paired with gold jewellery. Richie rich Star couple Jay-Z and Beyonce Knowles purchased their $200 million mansion with cash. They recently splurged on a 30,000 sq ft abode in Malibu from art collector William Bell and they don’t have a mortgage on the property. However, this may not come as a surprise as the ‘99 Problems’ hitmaker is worth around $2.5 billion, in part due to his alcohol brands Ace of Spades and D’Usse, his fine art collection, and his own back catalogue. While his wife’s music and movie career have seen her amass a fortune close to $500 million, which is only set to increase with her ongoing ‘Renaissance’ tour because the concert series is expected to generate more than $1 billion. It was revealed last week that the property deal was the most expensive home in c m y b DILJIT DOSANJH AT COACHELLA MUSIC FESTIVAL and wearing a silk saree made out of recycled scraps. ■ Two-time Grammy winner Ricky Kej in 2022 wore blue crossbuttoned achkan suit as a representation of his Indian roots, but what made headlines was how he wore the same outfit at two events, Grammy and Cannes, to advocate sustainable fashion choices. ■ At the recent Coachella Music Festival, singer Diljit Dosanjh created history by becoming CHOLI CHECK For her Cannes appearance in 2018, Sonam Kapoor, who is credited for having started the label game in Bollywood even for events like poster or movie launch, chose a British designer duo, Ralph & Russo, who made their first-ever lehenga for Sonam. The monotone lehenga choli was floral, embroidered and embellished with Beyonce, Jay-Z bought $200 million mansion with cash the state of California, breaking the old record of $177 million, and it is the secondhighest ever real estate deal in the entire country, behind the 238 million pounds sale of an apartment in New York. But Jay and Beyonce may think they have received a bargain because the property — which sits on an eightacre property overlooking the Pacific Ocean in the Paradise Cove area — was listed the first Indian and turbandonning Punjabi to perform. Instead of opting for tonedeaf western wear, he chose Punjabi ensemble for his two performances. For the first performance he wore, blackhued silk kurta and tamba (traditional draped bottom worn by men in Punjab) and white tehmat-kurta styled with sneakers and animalprinted suspender wallet for the other. sequins. The actress also featured in global star Coldplay’s song, Hymn For The Weekend, wearing traditional attire — a choli, lehenga and odhni with heavy silver jewellery and nose pin. From Cannes this year, Sara Ali Khan shared her look wearing a lehenga and choli. She wore an Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla ensemble, and said she was proud of her ‘Indianness’. Noble gesture Pankaj Tripathi helps revamp his school in Gopalganj, Bihar for $295 million. Former owner William took almost 15 years to build the all-concrete property, which was designed by Japanese master architect Tadao Ando. Back in 2017, Beyonce and Jay — who married in April 2008 — splashed out $88 million on a mansion in the BelAir area of Los Angeles, and spent millions on the property to boost its value to more than $100 million. — IANS Actor Pankaj Tripathi, who originally belongs to Gopalganj district in Bihar, recently got a government school renovated. He said, "Our Gopalganj district administration made an app called the Gopalganj Gaurav app. A meeting was held where the administration said if anyone who is from the district but resides outside wants to undertake social service activities for their village or district, the administration will help them. I was present in the meeting and felt it was a good initiative. Two months after the meeting, the principal of the now secondary school where I had done my primary education called me and said they needed funds to construct a compound wall and gates to secure the schoolchildren." Pankaj, along with his elder brother, planned and funded the project. "Later, when I visited the village, I went to the school and realised that the plaster in some parts of the school was falling off, and the lights and fans were not functioning properly. I thought this also needed to be done. So through the trust that was formed in the name of my mother and father, the Pandit Banaras Tiwari Foundation Trust, we took the initiative to revamp and upgrade the school infrastructure.”