28082024-LSTC-01.qxd 8/27/2024 11:13 PM Page 1 c m y b POSTERS OF DEVARA—PART 1 OUT Makers of the film Devara - Part 1 have shared new intriguing posters of Jr NTR on Instagram. They also wrote, “The faces of fear. In a month, his arrival will stir up the world with an unmissable big screen experience. Let’s experience his majestic madness in theatres on September 27.” TRIBUNE Musical note Life The makers of Ananya Panday’s upcoming debut series Call Me Bae on Tuesday released its first track titled Vekh Sohneyaa, which highlights her journey of finding love in Mumbai. CHANDIGARH | WEDNESDAY | 28 AUGUST 2024 This is an Emergency! Sheetal C ONTROVERSY’S favourite child Kangana Ranaut is back with what she does best — create a controversy! In the news for the past few days, Kangana's recent interview, where she spoke critically of farmers' protest, did not go down well with the general public. While there's a nationwide furore against the actress, her upcoming film Emergency is also bearing the brunt. Kangana, who plays Indira Gandhi in Emergency, which is about a dark chapter in Indian history, is literally facing one-ofa-kind personal emergency. The BJP has distanced itself from Kangana's provocative comments on farmers, her film's release on September 6 is under the threat of a ban, and she has been receiving death threats too! Kangana bravely retaliated with a tweet seeking protection from @DGPMaharashtra, @himachalpolice and @PunjabPoliceInd, but the same can't be said about her film, as the Sikh community across the globe is seeking a blanket ban on the film. In the trailer, many other historical moments are also touched upon, like the Shimla Agreement, the rise of the Khalistan movement, and JP Andolan. Several organisations, including the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and Akal Takht Amritsar, the highest political and governing body of the Sikhs, have demanded a ban on the film’s release, citing it spreads an ‘anti-Sikh’ and ‘separatists-agenda’ about those who practice Sikhism. A spokesperson of the SGPC, on condition of anonymity, Chasing shares, “We have served a legal notice to Kangana Ranaut, and the producer and production house of Emergency. It's a matter of concern and as representatives of our community we had to take it up. In the 2:54minute trailer, for about half-a-minute Sikhs are represented in bad light. The subjects of history need to be handled with BIG SCREEN ADAPTATION Godot Mona There are a few classics whose lure refuses to die and Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot is surely a part of that club! Premiered during the early 1950s, Godot is still going strong. So much so that Neo of Matrix, Keanu Reeves (or if you know him as John Wick) is going to make his Broadway debut in the fall of 2025 with the play. Getting into the shoes of Estragon, joining him will be his Bill & Ted co-star Alex Winter as Vladimir. The show will be directed by Jamie Lloyd, who has to his credit Romeo & Juliet and Sunset Blvd, among others. Just like the West cannot have enough of Godot, closer home eminent theatre director Kewal Dhaliwal too is working on his next production — an adaptation of Beckett’s famous play. “We have adapted Waiting for Godot into the setting of Punjab and titled it Intezar Hai,” shares Dhaliwal. “It’s not a translation but adaptation,” he clarifies. The play, which has been one of the most successful ever, has been staged in different languages and different contexts, but is still relevant. “We wanted to do something that speaks about farmers’ plight in Punjab. What better than Godot? The play opened right after the Second World War ended, when humanity had lost its meaning, especially after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. “Isn’t Punjab of today in a similar listless state? Isn’t the farmer eternally waiting for someone to turn up? What political party or government will value life is what we address in As the Sikh community across the globe is seeking a blanket ban on Kangana Ranaut’s upcoming film Emergency, here’s a look at how the whole controversy panned out responsibility to not incite further division.” To express their strong objection to the film, separate letters were shot off to the Government of India's Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Ashwini Vaishnaw, and Central Board of Film Certification's Chairperson Shri Prasoon Joshi. The SGPC is seeking the film’s script before the release and also wants removal of objectionable scenes. “Our call for a ban wasn't a follow up of Kangana Ranaut's recent interview, but came soon after the trailer release of Emergency. Time and again, we have noticed that not just her, but many are trying to portray the Sikh community in bad light. We have called upon a worldwide ban as a ban only in Punjab won’t solve the purpose. Because the movie will be released everywhere else, and then videos and clips will be shared on the internet,” says Paramjit Singh Mand, working president, Dal Khalsa. He also believes that Emergency is not the first film nor it will be the last to put the Sikhs in a certain ‘objectionable’ bracket. So, to stop that there should be a representative committee that works jointly with the Censor Board. He says, “If Akal Takht, the most important Sikh Council, calls for a ban or boycott, all the subsidiary bodies have the same opinion.” Meanwhile, Kangana has been receiving death threats. A video of a group of men threatening her on X has also gone viral. In the video there are six men, who are sitting in a circle in a room, and two of them are dressed like Nihang Sikhs. One of the men says that if the movie is released, the Sikh community will condemn it. ‘Your movie will be received with chappals,’ he says. They also made a comment on the recent slapgate incident, saying, ‘Laafa toh aapne kha liya. ’ Australia's Sikh community also wrote to Village Cinemas, an Australian-based multinational film exhibition brand, to ban Emergency in their country. The statement reads, “We are deeply concerned about screening this propaganda movie in your theatres, as it is disrespectful towards the Sikhs.” With Hollywood star Keanu Reeves making his Broadway debut with Samuel Beckett’s famous play Waiting for Godot, we look into why the charm of this play refuses to die Waiting for Godot was made into a movie too. Michael LindsayHogg’s 2001 movie had Barry McGovern and Johnny Murphy in the lead roles. Rather stationary, just like the way the play is written, the film is hailed as a masterpiece and impressed the audiences. KEWAL DHALIWAL NAVDEEP KAUR MK RAINA UMESH KANT A STILL FROM WAITING FOR GODOT Intezar Hai,” shares Dhaliwal. It bothers the theatre director that today we are in completely oblivious of social issues. “One doesn’t think beyond their palatial house or big car. Punjab especially is in an absurd state and so we thought of doing this play,” adds Dhaliwal. Interestingly, during the early 2000s, another theatre veteran, MK Raina, did the same play in Kashmiri. “Do you know that this play, which has stood the test of time, was completely rejected by the French elite at its opening? Beckett then did it in a prison and there the ‘hope in hopelessness’ strand clicked with the prisoners. Since then, the play hasn’t looked back,” shares Raina, speaking to us from Kolkata, where he is curating a special programme to celebrate the birth centenary of Habib Tanvir. He talks about his production of Godot. “Those were the most bizarre times, the state in social and political upheaval. When we did the play, the audience was moved to tears. I realised how people in that turmoil may not be able to articulate what they were going through but sure related to this drama of the absurd.” For him, the play stands for God to arrive… who never does! “For me, it’s a play of hope and existence, of self-realisation and spirituality,” shares Navdeep Kaur, chairperson, Department of Indian Theatre, Panjab University. Just like c m y b Vladimir and Estragon are waiting near the tree, Kaur believes we are still waiting. “Even seven decades on, do we have answers to life and our existence? Yes, we have built homes that probably are the safe spaces where we hope to know what the ultimate journey of human life is. But we are as clueless as those two characters in the play.” She mentions Covid times and how humanity clung on to hope. “Just like we passed those dark times, humanity will probably pass other tough times, but the eternal wait for answers remains…the wait is still on for Godot.” For theatre director Umesh Kant, the play stands for desire, hope and frustration. “I am so glad that the finest to come out of the theatre of the absurd is getting a Broadway outing,” shares Kant, admitting plainly, “I have wished many times, but never dared to do Godot. To make theatre of the absurd accessible to common people, the director must have a crystal clear vision.” For Kant, the play is been more relevant today than ever before. “Aren’t we all still waiting for things to fall in the right place? The wait, the hope and hopelessness is as relevant today as it was during the 50s, when this gem of a play was written,” says the director, who is working on his next production, a Hindi adaptation of Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap.
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