31102023-LSTC-01.qxd 10/30/2023 10:14 PM Page 1 c m y b TRIBUNE Master class Actress Priyanka Chopra on Sunday conducted a master class on The Mind of an Actor at the ongoing MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. The session was hosted by Bhumi Pednekar. LUDHIANA | TUESDAY | 31 OCTOBER 2023 Saga of sacrifice Sheetal T Kendall hosts Halloween party Celebrities stepped out in full costume in Los Angeles as they attended Kendall Jenner’s Halloween party. The Kardashians star, 27, hosted a Halloween party at the Chateau Marmont on Saturday and the star-studded guest list included Billie Eilish, Channing Tatum and Zoe Kravitz. Eilish, 21, arrived at the celebration with her buddy Devon Lee Carlson, adorned in a faux shotgun, cowboy hat and red wig. The What Was I Made For? singer channelled the Wild Wild West for the celebration by dressing in a blue-and-white gingham top, a traditional Western belt and brown slacks. Tatum, 43, and Kravitz, 34, recreated Roman Polanksi’s 1968 thriller Rosemary’s Baby with the Magic Mike actor dressed in a light blue onesie with a bonnet and his girlfriend in a long white nightgown with a knife, reminiscent of Mia Farrow’s titular character. Megan Fox, 37, wore a mini-schoolgirl skirt, blazer, white-collared shirt and red tie while carrying a notebook that said Death Note, the movie on which they based their costumes. Machine Gun Kelly, in full-face makeup, a black wig and black feathers, and an allblack outfit, stepped out in their usual extravagant style. Natalia Bryant was also in attendance at Jenner’s get-together, and the late Lakers player’s oldest daughter was dressed in an all-white ballet outfit a la Black Swan. Bryant, 20, wore a full tutu and a feather headpiece in her hair. Charli D’Amelio and Landon Barker, who dressed up as Romeo and Juliet, were present too. D’Amelio, 19, wore an all-white attire with high block heels and white wings, while Barker, 20, sported a knight-inspired dress with a mesh top and shoulder armour. This is an annual party thrown by Jenner, who frequently celebrates both the holiday and her birthday, November 3, in one joint event. — ANI Members of a troupe in Galway, Ireland, perform Halloween parade called ‘Cnamha La Loba’. REUTERS HE trailer of Punjabi film Sarabha is creating a lot of buzz, as it is the first-ever attempt by any filmmaker to bring the story of freedom fighter Kartar Singh Sarabha on to the screen. As director Kavi Raz’s Sarabha releases in theatres this Friday, he talks about his inspiration and how he ended up playing a part in the film too. Just like Shoojit Sircar’s Sardar Udham, Kavi Raz harboured the dream to make a film on Sarabha during his lifetime. He confesses, “I waited for three decades to finally bring it to the screen. It’s both a fortunate and unfortunate situation for me. I feel happy to have made my thoughts a reality, but at the same time it’s sad that not many filmmakers are turning to history for inspiration. Punjab’s history is full of sacrifices and legends worth retelling. Even Bollywood is fishing out historical incidents for stories. It’s high time we should catch up.” Right choice The trailer has already crossed over 3.3 million views and even the songs have found favour. He explains, “It was both a natural progression as well as conscious attempt. As we know Sarabha tangle American singer-songwriter and rapper Chris Brown is being sued for allegedly beating up a man at a London nightclub. In a lawsuit filed on Thursday, Abe Diaw claimed that the singer hit him in the face with a bottle of Don Julio 1942 tequila in February at a club in London. — ANI The director of upcoming Punjabi film Sarabha, based on the life of freedom fighter Kartar Singh Sarabha, says Punjab’s history is full of legends worth retelling Chris Brown was a writer himself, so we incorporated some of his songs into the film, such as Seva Desh Di and Hind Wasiyon Rakhna Yaad Sanu.” On casting Japtej Singh for the titular character, Kavi shares how he was suggested many names from Pollywood. “I wanted the actor to look like Sarabha. For an established actor to play a historical figure, stardom often comes in the way because people have seen them before and sometimes it’s hard for the audiences to imagine their favourite actors in a biopic. So, Japtej was the right choice,” he says. For the unversed, Japtej had previously played Milkha Singh’s childhood version in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and also served as a child actor in the films Son Of Manjeet Singh and Mitti Na Pharol Jogiya. Act of faith The director also showcases his years of experience as an actor when he portrays Sohan Singh Bhakna in Sarabha. He says, “It was a Sunny loves teddy bears Actor Sunny Deol, who registered massive success with Gadar 2, may be the alpha guy beating up baddies in dozens on screen, but, in reality, the actor is a kindhearted person. Sunny along with his brother Bobby Deol is set to grace the couch on season eight of popular chat show Koffee With Karan. During the course of the second episode, show host Karan Johar revealed that Sunny was into Teddy bears. KJo said: “Who would know that a man who could destroy a country with a hand pump, could actually be into teddy bears.” Legal last-minute decision as there was either date or budget issues with some actors who were shortlisted. So, like I have often done before, when any actor is short, I step up and this time it was to play Sohan Singh Bhakna.” The Black Prince director-producer had earlier played a beggar in the same film. The biggest challenge in the making of Sarabha was the pandemic, as the director couldn’t shuttle between Los Angeles and India for the post-production work. While “My dad can do whatever he likes and he gets away with it.” ‘Koffee with Karan Season 8 streams on Disney+ Hotstar. — IANS Malayalam actress Renjusha Menon commits suicide Popular Malayalam film and TV actress Renjusha Menon was on Monday found hanging in her rented apartment in Thiruvananthapuram. The 35-year-old actress’ family got suspicious as her room was locked for long on Monday morning. Later, when the door was forced open she was found hanging. — IANS 15 years of Golmaal Returns Sunny Deol and Karan Johar Discussing Sunny and Bobby’s father, the iconic Dharam paaji’s kiss in Rocky aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, Sunny Deol said: a lot of research went into making the film, Kavi says, “For those who feel some scenes are missing, we have kept all the relevant anecdotes from his life, including the one where Kartar Singh Sarabha and Bhagat Singh crossed paths.” As for the future, the director is working on a Hollywood series, an English film and also an untitled Punjabi film, which is in pre-production stage. He hopes to begin shooting of his next film by January next year. Rohit Shetty Filmmaker Rohit Shetty celebrated 15 years of his comedy film Golmaal Returns, starring Ajay Devgn, Arshad Warsi, Tusshar Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor and Shreyas Talpade by sharing the poster of the film on Instagram. Alongside, he wrote, “Fun again...15 years of Golmaal Returns.” Helmed by Rohit Shetty, the film is a remake of the 1989 Marathi film Pheka Phe- ki. It is the second instalment in the Golmaal film series. It was one of the highest-grossing Hindi films of 2008. Meanwhile, Rohit Shetty is all set to come up with his cop drama Singham Again. The film is all set to hit the theatres on Independence Day 2024 and will face a big clash with Allu Arjun’s Pushpa 2. Singham was released in 2011, starring Kajal Aggarwal and Prakash Raj in lead roles, followed by Singham Returns in 2014. — ANI From the bombings of 1941 to the blasts of 2023, the web series Bodies weaves a fascinating web of time shifts and four detectives in the midst of it all Nonika Singh Four detectives, four time zones and one naked dead body… and what do you get? A complicated maze that makes you travel through time — from 1890 to futuristic 2053. The mystery of a dead man, whose body surfaces out of nowhere, on the same place on a London street in each timeline makes you walk into many lanes of mystery and intrigue. As the four detectives try to solve the case, they are trapped in personal battles, as well as one to save the world. Time travel has fascinated makers since sometime. More recently, one saw the mesmerising German thriller Dark, also on Netflix. Bodies, a British crime drama on the same streamer is no less beguiling… Opening in 2023, where detective Sergeant Shahara Hasan (Amaka Okafor) of London’s Metropolitan Police is trying to decode the mystery of the dead body, soon we are led to WEB SERIES: BODIES Cast: Jacob Fortune-Lloyd, Shira Haas, Amaka Okafor, Kyle Soller, Tom Mothersdale, Michael Jibson, Stephen Graham and Greta Scacchi Rating: ★★★ detective Sergeant Charles Whiteman (Jacob FortuneLloyd) in 1941 and then there is Inspector Alfred Hillinghead (Kyle Soller) in 1890, where it all started. Or did it? The first episode also introduces us to another timeline (2053) in which Shira Haas, as Chris Maplewood, plays the fourth detective. Her initial encounter with the dead body is no different, but later it spawns into a revealing disclosure. The series unfolds like an onion peel, bit by bit, drawing us into its many folds. From the bombings of 1941 to bomb blasts of 2023, Bodies weaves a fascinating web. How are four detectives connected to the case and hence each other, what Loop within a loop NET, FLICKS & MORE exactly is the identity of the dead man… questions are many. Answers too trickle by slowly, stumping us with each new reveal and upping our curiosity. c m y b As we leapfrog from one episode to another, from one period to another, the director-writer Paul Tomalin keeps you on the leash; in short, invested at all times. Blink and you miss a crucial piece of this massive jigsaw puzzle where one man’s (Stephen Graham as Sir Julian Harker and Commander Mannix) ambition to change and rule the world as well as future clashes with those (read detectives) who simply want to do the right thing. ‘Know that you are loved’ is a recurring dialogue, ominous in its intent and purpose. The series, however, is not simplistic good vs bad binary. Dark made us wonder — if we go back in time and change the sequence of a few events, can future be altered? Bodies too works on a similar thesis. Even in the Marvel movie Avengers: Infinity War, we saw time shuffle. What makes Bodies far more intriguing is how it blends four distinct eras, yet distinguishes one from the other. If the storytelling is elevated by fine acting of the entire ensemble cast, editing by Johannes Hubrich is seamless, connecting one timeline to another without any hiccups. As for production design, be it the period settings or the dystopian future, even the minutest detail is taken care of. Bomb raids of 1941 transport you to the era of World War II, as do séances and conflicted ‘in closet’ relationship of the two men in 1890. The storyline based on graphic novel of the same name written by Si Spencr, a loop within a loop, ensnares you. The final act may seem relatively simplistic with its ‘all is well that ends well’ tone in an otherwise complex tale. But, ‘know you are loved’ acquires its real meaning only with the finale. After all, love alone is life-changing and even future hinges upon this very basic universal human emotion. Wrapped as a sci-fi, in this genre-defying and mind-bending whodunit, the ultimate comforting realisation does not come from catching the murderer. But in knowing what, how and who is the real saviour. Ultimately, all bodies have a heart and a soul.