31032024-LSTL-01.qxd 3/30/2024 11:58 PM Page 1 c m y b ACCIDENTAL STUNTMAN Actor Aamir Ali, who is receiving a lot of positive response to his recently released streaming series Lootere, shared that he did his own stunts in Khayelitsha, as the stunt double didn’t show up considering the reputation of being one of the most dangerous townships in South Africa. He essays the role of an undercover agent. TRIBUNE Geet talks Life Kareena Kapoor Khan has shared that her iconic character, Geet, from the film Jab We Met inspired a lot of people. “Geet has inspired people... she has a certain level of confidence.” LUDHIANA | SUNDAY | 31 MARCH 2024 Hathi Ram unplugged Sheetal Julian Friedmann, Atika Chohan and Bhaskar Hazarika In another session, there was a discussion about the effect of AI on the scope and future of creative cinema. From touching aspects like its impact on screenwriting to how it can help, the panellists, including author Julian Friedmann, screenwriter Atika Chohan, and director Bhaskar Hazarika, had an interesting discussion. Julian Friedmann says AI is being used widely. “People are already using it for screenplay.” Comparing it with the fear of internet that mankind has survived, he says AI can be used for generic answers but it’s not original. “I am worried about AI & cinema keeping up to the technology, how to use it. Yes, trashy movies will be made thanks to AI but most of which will end up on YouTube.” He says the bigger worry is the energy consumption by AI. Bhaskar emphasised on learning how to use it as we are at point where we can’t avoid it. “I never thought it would replace a job that involved emotions — not writer, poets, painters. But people have lost jobs because of AI. I can’t combat it, so how is it that I can utilise it. Honestly, it’s working as my assistant writer and what a person does in three weeks, AI does it in three days.” Atika focused on the need for laws and regulations to monitor the use of AI, especially in creative fields. “There are no regulations and people are definitely using it. We are looking at a different kind of economics in India. Here there are no opportunities, the remuneration or the basic contract framework is also missing. In a situation like that, if AI comes into picture, we are in deep need for censorship and ethics. It is better to talk about it than ignore it.” Oh darling! Then we had a session dedicated to the journey of Darlings actor Roshan Mathew. He says, “I never went after films because I thought it was inaccessible. I was happy doing theatre as I loved it but it got difficult managing a living with theatre. I had to fend for myself and It was a natural choice.” Roshan Mathew You know him as Khalid Mir in Raazi, Hathi Ram in Paatal Lok and Pradip Kamat in Three of Us. Read on to know the man behind those faces… Ya kaam acha ho ya paise, ghar se nikalne ke liye kuch motivation jaroori hai! (There should be some motivation to do a project, either a great script or a fat cheque) And, it’s important because that big cheque will take care of your needs when you next take up a project with a great role and less money. PHOTOS: RAVI KUMAR T here are stars and then, there are actors. Jaideep Ahlawat is a star-actor, in a league of his own, which we are told by Namrata Joshi, who moderated a session with the actor on Day 4 of Cinevesture International Film Festival at TajChandigarh. We couldn’t agree more with her, though the actor would rather have us believe that he is a mere product of a writer’s creation and a director’s vision. What he says may be true, but like Joshi said, he indeed is a star-actor. The jam-packed ballroom at Taj-Chandgarh bore testimony to the actor’s stardom! While his career spans over a decade, Ahlawat is also one of many actors who have benefited from the OTT boom. He credits his success to one basic thing – good writing. “Good writing is what makes my character look good on screen. It’s not just me who did a great job in Paatal Lok, it was the writer, director, cinematographer and many others. I was only the face of that collective effort,” he explains. He is old fashioned when it comes to reading his scripts too. “I prefer to have a hard copy of the script and read it, rather than hear it from someone as part of narration. When someone narrates it, he puts in his own emotion to the character, but when I read it, I make my own impression. It’s raw and authentic,” he says. On the contrary, while shooting for a scene, the intense JAIDEEP AHLAWAT Ahlawat prefers to have instructions and comments from his director and writer to get into the skin of the character. And, as another Netflix outing, Three of Us, is being appreciated for its unique tale told in a simple manner, he says, “It’s the digital medium that has given freedom to writers and directors to experiment and tell a tale in the long format and in many seasons.” Which reminds us of the second season of Paatal Lok, which is in the offing. Ahlawat calls filming for Paatal Lok is a ‘beautifulpainful feeling, which is satisfying as well’. He adds, “It’s an example of complicated, nuanced writing.” Talking about his personal journey from a village near Rohtak, Haryana, to Mumbai, Ahlawat says acting was- n’t the original career option for him. A student of medical stream in Jat College, Rohtak, like many of his peers, his aim was to get into the Armed Forces. But he couldn’t crack the SSB exams, and it broke him completely. After watching the play Oedipus, which moved him to tears, he found his calling in theatre. The stage liberated him. “Plays became my mode of survival. Acting brought me happiness, I could eat and sleep again, and get out and meet friends,” he says. And this is source of happiness that propelled him to pursue a postgraduate course in FTII Pune. “I never thought of making money through acting. Even if you are an average actor, you can sustain yourself in Mumbai. So, it was always about good work.” For him, there is no compromise when it comes to a quality product. Even if it means chopping of his own lines from the script, which could have made or marred his image in his debut film Aakrosh. Ahlawat recalls how he asked writer Aditya Dhar to cut down his eight-line scene to three, as those extra lines made no sense to him. “I do poetry recitation in Hindi and Urdu. Poetry is all about brevity. A poet expresses in two lines what a writer does in 200 words. So, I went to Aditya and told him that ‘ye teen char linein to bakwas lag rahi hain’. And he said it was the first time a new actor was reducing his own lines. He was shocked by my suggestion, but we are friends till date because of that incident.” Be it Khalid Mir in Raazi, Shahid Khan in Gangs of Wasseypur, Hathi Ram in Paatal Lok or Pradip Kamat in Three of Us, he enjoys every performance because ‘acting is breathing’ for him and everything else, money or expensive clothes just ‘a bonus’. Punjabi cinema — good, bad & ugly A session on Punjabi Cinema – Resurgence at CIFF saw the participation of film directors Anurag Singh, Gurvinder Singh, Smeep Kang and Jagdeep Sidhu. The discussion on the roadblocks and also milestones achieved in Punjabi cinema was engaging. All praise for fellow panellists, Anurag said directors in Punjabi cinema should stand by their choices. “I remember I approached a big Bollywood star for Chauthi Koot and he refused to do it. It was the same for Adh Chanani Raat. I had requested a popular Punjabi actor and he refused citing, ‘meri image khraab houjugi’. So, if Om Puri, Shabana Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah could work on both commercial as well as art cinema why can’t our stars,” he said. Smeep, who is known for giving commercial success in the comedy genre, said, “To make an art film is one thing but to promote an art film is a different story. I made Lock in 2016, which was an adaptation of Malyalam film Shutter. It had Gippy Grewal and Gurpreet Ghuggi. But the audience didn’t accept it.” Jagdeep put forth the heightened sensibilities of people in the age of social media where directors like him are afraid to even put a surname to the characters in film. Parineeti’s Rihanna moment Gone too soon Daniel Balaji, who worked primarily in Tamil films, has passed away at the age of 48 due to cardiac arrest. He died while going to a hospital in Chennai. His mortal remains are at his Purasaiwakkam home for the last rites. Born in December 1975, Daniel Balaji made his acting debut on TV with a Tamil show Chithi, in which he played the role of Daniel. — ANI Diljit Dosanjh shares hilarious BTS video from Chamkila Actor-singer Diljit Dosanjh, who is gearing up for his upcoming biopic Amar Singh Chamkila, shared a BTS video from the film’s shoot on Saturday. The BTS video is from the last day of shooting schedule of Diljit’s co-actor in the film, Parineeti Chopra. In the video, Diljit can be seen singing a Punjabi track, while Parineeti gives rockstar vibes next to him. Both the actors can be seen dressed in the outfits of their characters. Diljit wrote in the caption: “Amarjot Ch Rihanna Aa Gai C (The spirit of Rihanna has entered into Amarjot). Chamkila April 12.” — IANS ‘World doesn’t want me in it’ Singer-songwriter Lizzo has slammed her critics. The singer, 35, shared a lengthy statement on her Instagram page and expressed that she’s “getting tired of putting up with being dragged by everyone in my life and on the internet”. Lizzo wrote, “All I want is to make music and make people happy and help the world be a little better than how I found it. But I’m starting to feel like the world doesn’t want me in it. I’m constantly up against lies being told about me for clout and views... being the butt of the joke every single time...” The singer didn’t reveal what prompted the statement. — IANS Goodbye Gossett Oscar-winning actor Louis Gossett Jr passes away at 87 Yesterday once more Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor Singer-songwriter Lizzo says she is tired of lies being told about her Tamil actor Daniel Balaji dies of cardiac arrest at 48 Anne Hathway’s Flowervale Street to release in 2025 A long wait Director and writer David Robert Mitchell’s mysterious new feature film has finally got a release date and a title. It features Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor. It is titled Flowervale Street and will be released on May 16, 2025, in Imax. Mitchell will direct the script he wrote c m y b for the film, which he’ll also produce alongside JJ Abrams, Hannah Minghella, Matt Jackson and Tommy Harper. Although the film’s plot is still unknown, it has previously been called a thriller. Maisy Stella and Christian Convery complete the main cast. — ANI A sequel to the 2003 version of Freaky Friday, starring Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis, is in the works and both the stars are in talks to reprise their roles. Disney has tapped Nisha Ganatra to direct a sequel to its 2003 family comedy. According to reports, the original film’s stars, Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan, are in talks to return to their roles as the mother and daughter duo. Curtis shared a picture of herself and Lohan on Instagram. — ANI Lindsay Lohan, Jamie Lee Curtis are in talks to reprise their roles in Freaky Friday 2 Louis Gossett Jr, who won an Emmy for Roots and an Academy Award for An Officer and a Gentleman, has passed away. He was 87. The actor died at a rehabilitation centre in Santa Monica, California. Although Gossett’s exact cause of death is unknown, he had recently battled respiratory illness and prostate cancer. Gossett was menacing in a variety of tough roles, most notably in Taylor Hackford’s Officer and a Gentleman (1982), where he played Gunnery Sgt. Emil Foley. He was the second Black man to win an acting Oscar, following Sidney Poitier in 1964. — ANI
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