26092024-LSTL-01.qxd 9/25/2024 8:03 PM Page 1 c m y b TRAILER OF CTRL RELEASED After entertaining the audience with her series Call Me Bae, Ananya Panday is now all set to surprise her fans with another captivating performance in Vikramaditya Motwane’s directorial CTRL. On Tuesday, the makers unveiled the intriguing trailer of the film. TRIBUNE Up next Life Adah Sharma will be seen playing a lawyer in the upcoming series, Reeta Sanyal. Directed by Abhirup Ghosh, the series is based on the character created by Amit Khan. LUDHIANA | THURSDAY | 26 SEPTEMBER 2024 It’s her right! Sheetal J ASLEEN ROYAL recently made headlines for the ‘right’ reasons. The playback singer from Punjab moved court against another popular singer, Guru Randhawa, lyricist Raj Ranjodh and music label T-Series for stealing her composition. It’s all in public domain how the original tune was composed by Jasleen during the promotional event of Runway 24, but never made it to the film. To her surprise, Guru Randhawa and Raj Ranjodh used the same composition in the album G Thing’s song All Right. As she secured a positive response from the Bombay High Court with an interim order — that the song All Right be removed from all streaming platforms — Jasleen exclusively talked to The Tribune about the whole episode and why is it important for the artistes to be aware of their rights in this competitive world. Read on! Break How do you respond to Guru Randhawa’s recent statement regarding the lawsuit? ke baad Aarya Babbar, who returns to the small screen with the show Jagriti — Ek Nayi Subah, says challenging roles inspire him to work harder Actor Aarya Babbar is back on television after eight years with ZEE TV’s show Jagriti—Ek Nayi Subah. Based around a fictional Chitta community, whose members are treated as criminals at birth and deprived of basic rights, Aarya says the show will be an eye-opener. “In fact, the show represents the reality of several marginalised communities and unsettled tribes that exist across India,” he says. Having made a return after a break, Aarya plays the role of a negative character, Kalikant. “I’ve always been drawn to characters that challenge me and Kalikant is one of them. When I first read the I have been spending time script, I was immediately with the creative team and captivated by his commy director to get the plexity and the opportunity to explore a new side of nuances of the role right. In my acting abilities. Chalfact, I have been doing a lot lenging roles sure inspire of prep work to get my me. Kalikant is a multifaccharacter’s dialect and eted villain. He’s not just phonetics correct. a one-dimensional bad guy; he’s a man driven by a twisted sense of justice, making him both intriguing and repulsive,” he adds. Essaying such a character required a lot of preparations and Aarya says his transformation journey to become Kalikant was very fulfilling. “Since the first day of the shoot, I have been spending time with the creative team and my director to get the nuances of the role right. In fact, I have been doing a lot of prep work to get my character’s dialect and phonetics correct because the way Kalikant speaks is very different and unique. I’ve also pushed myself to work out, bulk up and look more muscular on screen, making Kalikant look more devious and sinister,” he says. Aarya shares that Jagriti—Ek Nayi Subah follows the brave journey of a young girl fighting against ingrained injustices to reclaim her dignity and freedom. “I believe the impact of our show’s narrative goes beyond entertainment — it has the power to inspire, provoke thought, and spark conversations about the vital issues of dignity and freedom. Being a part of telling such a powerful story is like a privilege for me, but it also feels like a responsibility,” he says. About working with a child actor on the sets, he shares, “I find it incredibly rewarding and refreshing to shoot with a child actor like our little Jagriti on sets. Her boundless energy, unpredictable nature as well as expressions, inject spontaneity into scenes, which in turn uplifts our entire sequence. Having said that, shooting with a child also requires patience and flexibility from the entire crew, which I feel we have in abundance.” — As told to Dharam Pal It’s convenient to distance yourself from the song at this stage and reduce your role to ‘I am just a singer’. The fact is that he claimed credit as the composer, alongside Raj, at the time of the song’s release. So was he lying then, or is he lying now? In any case, passing off someone else’s works as their own seems to have become a pattern. If he was only the singer, why would I have pursued the matter against him? I’m welladvised and haven’t pursued this lawsuit lightly. He can underplay his role at this stage but it’s only making his position worse, not mine. What was your initial reaction when you first saw your song ‘stolen’ through a YouTube video? Singer Jasleen Royal recently moved court claiming that her composition was used in a song titled All Right. She says it is disheartening when fellow artistes resort to ‘stealing’ How long did it take for you to react to this legally? Did you pursue a soft approach earlier by reaching out to T-Series or the artistes? I didn’t see any reason to reach out directly to any of the parties, as their actions demonstrated a clear disregard for my intellectual property. Coming from fellow Punjabi artistes, it was deeply disheartening, and I decided right away that pursuing legal action was the most effective way to address the situation and to protect my rights, rather than attempting a soft approach. Are you happy with the interim order and what’s next in your fight against this ‘stealing’? The action initiated by me has had tangible effects. It has resulted in the ‘infringed’ song being taken down from all platforms and now they can’t use it without a notice to me. That, in itself, is a welcome relief. Now, I must soldier on to protect my work and fight this through. In the music industry, there must be many who must have advised you against the idea of going against T-Series, a big music label; was there any initial pressure to not pursue the case? I’ve always believed in speaking the truth and respecting intellectual property — of my works and that of others. I also like to equip myself with the right advice because I know my music is what defines me. It’s meant to be nurtured, respected and protected. Insofar as working with colleagues in the industry is concerned, it’s unfortunate when someone so accomplished fails to recognise and respect another artiste’s creations. I really hope fellow artistes can borrow from my experience and not shy away from taking steps to protect their works. Usually artistes come together in good faith, for the love of music. But in no way is that a licence for any artiste to disregard and steal the creation of others. Usually artistes come together in good faith, for the love of music. But in no way is that a licence for any artiste to steal the creation of others It was a mix of shock and deep disappointment for me. I couldn’t believe that such a thing had happened, and it took a while for reality to sink in. Once I processed the situation, I immediately decided to seek legal advice to ensure that my rights were protected, and took necessary steps to address the issue through proper legal channels. Stars set to dazzle at IIFA The International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) returns to Abu Dhabi for the third time on September 27. Some of the biggest names of the Indian film fraternity, such as Shah Rukh Khan, Karan Johar, Ram Charan, Rana Dagubatti, Siddhant Chaturvedi and Samantha Ruth Prabhu, are set to add sparkle to the glitzy affair. Siddhant Chaturvedi The IIFA event made its debut in 2000 and has since been celebrated in a variety of picturesque locales, including New York, Abu Dhabi, Toronto, Singapore, Johannesburg, Amsterdam, Dubai, Colombo and Tampa Bay. For the 24th edition, the three-day event will be held at the 18,000-seater Etihad Arena on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. It will conclude on September 29. Rana Dagubatti c m y b This time the event will begin with IIFA Utsavam, which honours the artistic and technical achievements of the South Indian film industry. It represents Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, and Kannada film industries. Rana Daggubati will be taking over the hosting duties for IIFA Utsavam. Then on September 28, the flagship ‘IIFA Awards’ will be celebrated, which Samantha Ruth Prabhu Karan Johar will be hosted by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan. He will be joined by filmmaker Karan Johar and Vicky Kaushal as the co-host. To bring the curtains down on the glittering event, there will be the ‘IIFA Rocks’ event, which will celebrate music and fashion, on September 29. It will be hosted by Siddhant Chaturvedi and Abhishek Banerjee. — IANS Shah Rukh Khan