02062023-LSTC-01.qxd 6/2/2023 12:19 AM Page 1 c m y b Ryan Gosling claps back at critics claiming he’s too ‘old’ to play Ken in Barbie TRIBUNE Recall value Vicky Kaushal grooved with Hrithik Roshan at the IIFA 2023. He recently posted a throwback picture showing Vicky and his brother Sunny as children posing with the Krrish actor. ANI CHANDIGARH | FRIDAY | 2 JUNE 2023 Sheetal O N World No-Tobacco Day on Wednesday, the Union Health Ministry released a set of guidelines for the regulation of online depiction of tobacco products in online curated content. The ministry also made an amendment in the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2004 that from now on every series and films on OTT will air anti-tobacco warnings just like big screen films and television shows. We talk to directors and actors to know how they interpret this move. Do they believe that of late, OTT platforms have become the second home to surrogate advertisements? Smokeand fire SHE Is Union Health Ministry’s set of guidelines for OTT regarding depiction of tobacco products a step in right direction or an unnecessary distraction in viewing experience? MISMATCHED Ken do, will do! Hollywood star Ryan Gosling has the perfect response to criticism about his casting in the Barbie movie. Shutting down critics who called him too “old” to play Ken in the liveaction adaptation of the Mattel dolls, the actor claims people “never cared” about Barbie’s counterpart before. In a new interview with a magazine, the 42-year-old actor is asked about the debate that broke out among different generations of Barbie fans after photographs and trailer for the movie were unveiled earlier this year. If people He initially gives a don’t want to play diplomatic response as with my Ken, there are saying, “I would say, you many other Kens to play know, if people don’t with. Did you ever want to play with my think about Ken Ken, there are many other Kens to play with.” Later, as before this? the magazine notes The Gray Man star brings it up again. “It is funny,” he adds, “this kind of clutchingyour-pearls idea of, like, #notmyken. Like you ever thought about Ken before this?” Directed by Greta Gerwig, Barbie stars Margot Robbie as the titular doll with Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Alexandra Shipp, Dua Lipa and others as different variations of Barbie. Simu Liu, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Scott Evans, Ncutti Gatwa and John Cena play different variations of Ken. It will be released in US theaters on July 21. —IANS What’s the news! It is mandatory for publishers of online curated content that ‘display tobacco products or their use’ to comply with specific guidelines. These include ■ The display of anti-tobacco health warnings, lasting a minimum of 30 seconds each at the beginning and middle of the programme. ■ Publishers must exhibit anti-tobacco health warnings as a prominent static message at the bottom of the screen during the display of tobacco products or their use. ■ Additionally, an audio-visual disclaimer on the ill-effects of tobacco use, lasting a minimum of 20 seconds each, must be shown at the beginning and middle of the programme. ■ The health spots, messages and disclaimers will be made available to the publisher of the online curated content on the website “mohfw.gov.in” or “ntcp.mohfw.gov.in.” ■ The anti-tobacco health warning message displayed as a static message must be legible and readable, with black font on a white background, and must include the warnings “Tobacco causes cancer” or “Tobacco kills.” ■ Furthermore, the health warning message, health spot, and audio-visual disclaimer should be in the same language as used in the online curated content. ■ The display of tobacco products or their use in online curated content is AASHRAM prohibited from including the brands of cigarettes or other tobacco products or any form of tobacco product placement. ■ Additionally, the display of tobacco products or their use in promotional materials is strictly prohibited. The right direction It might be acceptable for crime dramas such as Sacred Games, She or Aashram to display a negative character being addicted to smoking or drinking but when one cannot differentiate between a crime series and a teen drama, then it’s worrisome. While the latest release, Class, has such portrayals of school children smoking rampantly, in another popular Netflix series, Mismatched, you find a college professor, played by Ranvijay Singha, smoking a joint. The same reason director-producer Vinay Bhardwaj sees this health ministry Thoughtful gesture (L-R) Soni Razdan, Narendranath Razdan, Shaheen Bhatt and Alia Bhatt ‘My grandpa, my hero’ Alia Bhatt’s maternal grandfather Narendranath Razdan died on Thursday. Taking to Instagram, Alia mourned the loss of her grandfather. She posted a throwback video of her “nana” from his birthday celebrations and penned an emotional note remembering her “hero.” “My grandpa. My hero...Played golf till 93...Worked till 93...Made the best omelette. Told the best stories. Played the violin. Alia Played with his great granddaughBhatt’s ter. Loved his cricket…Loved his grandfather sketching..Loved his family and Narendranath till the very last moment…loved Razdan passes his life! My heart is full of sorrow away at 93 but also full of joy... because all my grandpa did is give us joy & for that feel blessed and grateful to have been brought up by all the light he had to give! Until we meet again,” she wrote. After learning about the unfortunate news, fans and members of the film industry paid their heartfelt condolences. Narendranath Razdan was unwell for a while and was admitted to Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai sometime back.—ANI SACRED GAMES Gulshan Devaiah, who is receiving a lot of positive response for his work in the recently released streaming series Dahaad, feels that as the world gets upgraded with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) with the former taking over creative jobs, it is his responsibility to support the artistes financially for their work. Recently, Bengalurubased caricature artiste Prasad Bhat, who is the founder of Graphicurry, reached out to Gulshan to pay a tribute to him as an actor, by caricaturing some of his iconic characters. amendment as a welcome move. He explains, “This guidelines coming on World No Tobacco Day is the first step in the right direction. In the name of creativity, OTT has churned out content that’s not good for the community, especially impressionable youngsters. This also puts OTT in the same league as cinema and television. There has been the need to bring the different entertainment mediums adhere to similar rules and regulations.” The director believes that with regard to OTT, the stakes are even higher as in cinema one can still ensure the age limit. TV has long adhered to regulations; it’s makers on OTT who need to be more careful. Seek better alternative Actor Abhishek Banerjee, who was discovered, thanks to OTT platform, feels that the government should look for something important to work Gulshan Devaiah aims to support artistes monetarily The actor could not accept it for free. Touched by the gesture, Gulshan commissioned the work from the artiste. Talking about the same, Gulshan said, “If I really like something then I’m willing to pay for it. I’m very grateful and privileged to receive offers from artists to make me something for free but it’s their livelihood too and in this age of Machine Learning and AI, the least I can do is support artists by offering to pay them their rates.” Prasad had picked Gulshan’s looks from his projects like Commando 3, Dahaad, Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela, Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota, Ghost Stories, Durangaa, Badhaai Do, Hunterrr and Death in the Gunj.—IANS Sergio Calderon no more Guilty as charged Veteran actor Sergio Calderon is no more. Sergio died on Wednesday. He was 77. Calderon portrayed a Mexican revolutionary at the turn of the 20th century in Duck, You Sucker! (1971), written and directed by Sergio Leone, and was a murderous Mexican chief of police opposite Albert Finney in John Huston’s Under the Volcano (1984). He is best known for his role in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. In At World’s End, Calderon Danny Masterson, the actor best known for his role in That 70s Show, was found guilty of two counts of rape in a Los Angeles retrial. The jury of seven women and five men reached the verdict after deliberating for seven days spread over two weeks. They could not reach a verdict on the third count, that alleged Masterson raped a longtime girlfriend. They had voted 8-4 in favour of conviction.—IANS played one of the film’s Pirate Lords, Captain Eduardo Villanueva of the Adriatic Sea. The actor posted photos on social media of himself and franchise star Johnny Depp as well as rock star Keith Richards, who played the Pirate Lord of Madagascar and Depp’s father in the film. He is survived by his wife Karen Dakin; children Patrick Calderon-Dakin and Johanna Calderon-Dakin, son-in-law Raaj; and grandchildren Krishnaavi, Emiliano and Victoria. —ANI c m y b That ‘70s Show star Danny Masterson faces up to 30 years in prison for rape on. “I wonder why there is no regulation on their ministers abusing on TV channels,” he quips. Director Prasad Kadam also holds a similar opinion and calls the move ‘an unnecessary distraction in viewing experience.’ Prasad adds, “Today they will add anti-tobacco statutory warnings, tomorrow they will say blur the liquor bottles. Next will be— whenever there is a murder scene they would want us to write under which Section the murderer gets arrested. There is nothing wrong in issuing statement in public interest, but don’t make a mockery of filmmaking and film viewing experience. Moreover, these forced warnings never work. We all know Mukesh, he has become a joke for millennial and Gen Z. We understand the ministry is serious about giving out a strong message about tobacco and tobacco products but there are better ways to do it. A research has found that forced advertising never works; viewers eventually hate the brands that pop up on internet. These mandatory health-advisories are no different. I think the ministry should look for better alternatives.” Bharadwaj accepts that some makers might see it as a curb on creative freedom. He opines, “Creative liberty and social responsibility go hand-in- hand. So far OTT has had an open run. In absence of a censor board, they could have come up with a self-regulation system.” ‘I have imposter syndrome’ Gal Gadot shared that every time she acts, she doubts herself and worries no one will like what she’s doing. “It’s funny, I feel I have this imposter syndrome, because I feel so lucky and I’m so happy that I get to do what I really love. I always feel like, ‘I hope they’re gonna like it’. There’s never a moment when I’m like, ‘They’re gonna love this’,” she said in an interview with a magazine. The 38-year-old actress also shared the one piece of advice that has helped her with the psychological disorder that makes people feel a fraud. In an interview, the Fast X actress spoke about working with her husband Jaron Varsano on her film Heart of Stone.— IANS Gal Gadot opens up on her insecurities