24022025-LSTC-01.qxd 2/23/2025 8:57 PM Page 1 c m y b FIRST STUNT, FIRST INJURY Guru Randhawa has suffered an injury. The Patola hitmaker took to Instagram and shared a picture from the hospital. He wrote, “My first stunt, my first injury, but my spirit remains unbroken. A memory from the sets of Shaunki Sardar movie. Bahut mushkil kamm aa action waala (action is a tough job) but will work hard.” TRIBUNE Life They did it! Richa Chadha and Ali Fazal’s maiden production Girls Will Be Girls has been feted with John Cassavetes honour at the Independent Spirit Awards 2025. LUDHIANA | MONDAY | 24 FEBRUARY 2025 PHOTOS: RAVI KUMAR HOT amritsar WHAT’S eat BEST OF AWADHI AND PUNJABI CUISINE T Hoshiarpur WO rich, robust cuisines of North India find a symbiotic relationship when it comes to the contemporary Punjabi food. The essential dum-style cooking technique of Awadhi cuisine and tandoor or oven-cooked delicacies of Punjabi cuisine find a common ground at The Earth’s food menu. With dishes like yakhni biryani, tandoori kebabs, galoutis with rumali roti and many more such rich dishes, the food menu offers the best of both worlds. SHE IS OK There should be a separate universe for mothers’ guilt, says Kalki Koechlin, who is coming up with a talk show I Am Ok. In Chandigarh for a lit fest, the actress talks about her projects Nonika Singh play NATURE FEST-2025 T HE second edition of Nature Fest— a five day mega event comprising various adventure activities, got underway at Lajwanti Sports Stadium, Hoshiarpur, on Friday. The event, organised by the Tourism and Cultural Affairs Department, Punjab, and the local administration, has people visiting for an array of adventure activities like bird watching at Pong Dam, hot air balloon ride, cyclothon, off-roading to Kukanet, jungle safari and boating near Chohal, night camping, trekking, meditation, nature photography, kite show, folk dancing and night live band. love SHARVARI’S DATE WITH HISTORY A HOT & HAPPENING! Lisa Ray might proclaim to be an introvert but sure knows how to charm her audiences. In Chandigarh for Chitkara Literature Festival looking stunning in a white and gold saree, she spoke of how City Beautiful is ‘very close to her heart.’ After all, it was here that the Oscar nominated film Water actress trained with her director Deepa Mehta’s best friend Neelam Mansingh Chowdhry’s theatre group. In her words “still hot at 52”, however, she shares how being called pretty can often be a cage. She says, “One needs to move on and work on one’s inner-self and find meaning in things other than success.” Calling herself ‘an accidental actress’ she spoke about how she trumped life-threatening cancer and decided to go public about her disease. “The idea of secrecy is tied to shame and I saw no reason to keep it a secret.” Author of a memoir, Close to the Bone, she also shared how when she was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a part of her said “I am going to be ok.” Today, the multicultural halfPolish half-Bengali model, actress, author and activist, who just had a spiritual experience at Mahakumbh, believes in JOMO (joy of missing out) rather than FOMO (fear of missing out). From fans getting upset over IIT Baba’s predictions on Indo-Pak match to stars bonding over it, cricket ruled the day CRICKETMANIA amritsar CTOR Sharvari, who took Bolllywood by storm with three back-to-back powerful films, including Veddha, Maharaj and the blockbuster horror comedy Munjya, was seen having a date with history at the Partition Museum in Amritsar. Sharvari took a tour of the museum and expressed how she was deeply moved and inspired by the testimonials and archives of the traumatic division of India. Calling it our shared history, Sharvari said, “Most of us from this generation have limited knowledge about it. So, to see the archives, the material as well as oral history about Partition was truly educating.” Later, she also visited the Attari-Wagah border to see the Retreat ceremony, where she greeted and clicked photos with them. After the ceremony, she took time to interact with BSF personnel. She also enjoyed some Amritsari delicacies on her brief personal visit to Holy City and paid obeisance at Golden Temple. S HE identifies as an Indian, is named after the 10th avatar of Vishnu, doesn’t reject her French origins and has a strong connect with The Eiffel Tower. The beautiful and talented actress Kalki Koechlin, however, is very much her own person, with a mind that is razor-sharp. Full of beans, wit and humour permeate most of her responses, be it on the stage or interacting with the media. Indeed, her great grandfather worked as the chief engineer during the making of the Eiffel Tower, but she laughs, “It doesn’t mean I get a discount when I visit the iconic place.” Speaking the Unspeakable… perhaps few literary sessions have a more befitting title. But dressed to the nines as she arrived for Chitkara Literature Festival on Saturday, she was as unplugged and candid as the writing in her debut book is. Her book, Elephant in the Womb, a clever spin on the expression elephant in the room, addresses issues post childbirth, which rarely get talked about. And one elephant, the film industry, she feels must acknowledge is, “How large majority of the films are not working and there is hardly any money.” Of course, Kalki has been a part of many blockbusters like Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani… As the demand for sequels to much loved films never dies down, she is not sure whether sequels really work. Besides she says, “Isn’t this question better answered by directors Zoya Akhtar and Ayan Mukerji?” Having worked with the very best filmmakers, there are many like Nitya Mehra and Dibakar Banerjee, who are on her ‘my favourites’ list… You bet her ex-husband Anurag Kashyap figures prominently too, not on the top though. Working with him in Sacred Games Season 2 was as comfortable as being part of his Dev D for, “much time had lapsed since our breakup.” For someone, who wears her relationships up her sleeve, she agrees there is always a danger of the media blowing up things out of proportion. Only she understands, “That is the nature of the beast, it’s all about hogging the headlines.” Why even her PR team tells her to be in the limelight every two weeks. But she would rather not fall prey to this click-bait and is not afraid to disappear either, “for it’s important to be yourself and rejuvenate.” This might mean the pace of work for the National Award winning actress slackens every now and then. But she strongly believes, “I am going to be around till I am 90.” OTT has anyway changed the rules of the entertainment game and “women can be the heroes of the show.” Of course, her upcoming web-series Bhay is not woman-centric but about the mystery around Gaurav Tiwari, a paranormal investigator, who died by suicide. Playing a journalist (in the series), who is a non-believer, in real life too Kalki is more of an agnostic. Yet, she does not discount otherworldly experiences which others have had and she may not have been privy to. Among her many experiences, roller-coaster of motherhood is right now one that has changed her perspectives like no other. Like all working moms, indeed she suffers from mother’s guilt and quips, “There should be a separate universe for mothers’ guilt.” One advice she would like to give her daughter is, “Be the best version of yourself. Wear you own shoes and do not take the beauty market too seriously.” Ready with her stand-up show I Am Ok, actually about not being ok, inspired by her book on motherhood, the Ranveer Allahbadia controversy has not dented her belief system. And she upholds freedom of speech above all. But then Kalki who was once quizzed about ‘having a baby out of wedlock,’ is not the one to not speak her mind. Sonam A Kapoor Ahuja with Anand S Ahuja c m y b IIT Baba ji match par majak nahi pls…read one of the memes as India met Pakistan at Dubai International Cricket Stadium for the ongoing Champions Trophy on Sunday. The newly famous baba from the Maha Kumbh reportedly predicted the loss for India that had cricket fans get upset over X. Cricket was the flavour of the day, as millions took to TV screens to witness the action live. Some lucky one like actors Chiranjeevi and Sonam A Kapoor Ahuja with husband Anand S Ahuja from the entertainment industry, made it to Dubai to watch the match. The India-Pakistan cricket rivallry is legendary but the empty stands at the starting of the match raised questions if the cricket fever was on the wane. The speculations were soon put to rest as spectators trickled in during the match. “Electric atmosphere here at the Dubai stadium. Come on Indiaaaaaa,” Indian cricket commentator and former player Irfan Pathan posted on social media. Cricket and film world share a blended bonhomie in India, and cheering on Team India were celebs like Varun Dhawan. “I used to watch with my dad, now she’s cheering for #teamindia with me,” posted Dhawan, sharing an adorable picture of his daughter Lara in his lap and his pet Joey in the frame. Bringing the stars of both the worlds, former India cricket captain MS Dhoni and Bollywood actor Sunny Deol were seen watching the match together at a special screening at JioHotstar Studio to witness the fierce encounter at Dubai International Stadium. Dhoni and Deol shared hugs and also had a brief interaction during the match as seen in the video shared by broadcaster Star Sports on Instagram. – Agencies