22072024-LSTL-01.qxd 7/21/2024 10:53 PM Page 1 c m y b TRIBUNE Life Hi Partner! It was a heady dose of nostalgia for the fans of the 2007 Salman Khan and Govinda-starrer film Partner, as the two Bollywood superstars reunited in Mumbai during an event. LUDHIANA | MONDAY | 22 JULY 2024 Digvijay Singh Rathee and Unnati Tomar from MTV Splitsvilla X5 are in no mood to split... Sheetal D ATING, love, betrayal and politics — MTV Splitsvilla X5: ExSqueeze Me Please is all about that and more. And then, there are couples from the show who have taken their relationships forward, outside the ongoing reality show format. One such couple we meet at Press Club on Saturday is Digvijay Singh Rathee and Unnati Tomar. Unnati doesn’t shy away from showing her affection towards Digvijay. She wears a locket with Digvijay’s initials. And the Haryanvi lad, who is a pass-out from SD College, Chandigarh, loves to take Unnati around the City Beautiful, Sukhna Lake and the Geri route included. Talking about their journey, Sardaarji on his way Symbol of LOVE Digvijay shares how the experience of another reality show, Roadies, helps him navigate through Splitsvilla. Unnati, says, “Earlier in my career, I took a lot of pressure to look and act a certain way. But it affected my mental state because I wasn’t being my original self. So, for Splitsvilla, I decided to be myself.” Unnati believes in going with the flow, both in life and career. To which Digvijay adds, “We have a great bonding on screen and our chemistry is organic. So, it makes sense to stay connected even after the show. We miss each other when we don’t find time to meet due to our work commitments.” Digvijay has acted in MX Player show A Day in Our Lives Season 3 and a couple of music videos. On the other hand, Unnati too is in talks for TV shows. She says, “I have no qualms about long format shows also as long as my role is good.” Digvijay looks up to Prince Narula, another Haryanvi, who has made a name for himself in the reality format. “I too want to be part of reality shows like Bigg Boss and Khatron Ke Khiladi. I have done adventure sports like sky diving.” What Digvijay likes about the industry is that it doesn’t differentiate people based on their body of work. “Even if I have done shows in the past, audition is a must and that stands true for all. It’s good that one receives work based on talent.” While media interactions and visiting the city landmarks keep them busy throughout the day, it ends on a beautiful note for both of them at CP67 Mall Mohali. As many as 1,500 fans cheer loudly and root for Digvijay and Unnati. They create memories as they groove to the beats of Waah Ji Waah, the title track of Splitsvilla. ❝ Chandigarh is my hometown. The love we receive from our fans here is overwhelming. I will always feel responsible as how I conduct myself publicly and on social media as many look up to me. — DIGVIJAY ❝ Sharing our journey with the fans in Chandigarh has been an incredible experience. Their energy and excitement are contagious. Interacting with such a lively crowd has been one of the highlights of my Splitsvilla journey. — UNNATI Punjabi superstar Diljit Dosanjh, who has been on a dream run professionally, has another project lined up for release. The actor-singer’s upco ming film Sardaarji 3, has now booked its release date. The film is set to debut in theatres on June 27, 2025. On Sunday, Diljit shared the film’s poster on Instagram, featuring a monochromatic and blurred image of him with his back to the camera, along with a dialogue exchange in voiceover. In the caption, Diljit wrote, “Sardaarji 3 Releasing Worldwide June 27, 2025.” So far, 2024 has been a remarkable year for Diljit. The Punjabi superstar was earlier seen in the biopic Amar Singh Chamkila. The film, which was released on Netflix, garnered great response from all quarters and was noted for its narrative style and a hit soundtrack by Oscar and Grammy winning composer AR Rahman. Diljit also made a cameo appearance in the female-led film Crew, which starred Tabu, Kareena Kapoor Khan, and Kriti Sanon and was well-received upon its theatrical release. Diljit has recently faced controversy over allegations of non-payment to dancers during his Diljit Dosanjh — Dil-Luminati tour in Canada. Some dancers claimed they were not paid for their work, while others were satisfied and honoured to have performed with Diljit. Diljit’s manager stated that the dancers who raised the allegations had not contacted them regarding the payment dispute. — IANS PHOTO: RAVI KUMAR Diljit Dosanjh’s Sardaarji 3 set to debut in theatres on June 27, next year Seema Bhalla says her book Ganika, which delves into the lives of courtesans, will inspire people to view these enigmatic performers objectively Anandita Gupta Ganika in the Visual Culture of 19th-20th Century India is a beautifully crafted portrait of some of the most intriguing figures in Indian culture and history — the courtesans. Interestingly, the release of this anthology coincides with the release of acclaimed filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Heeramandi— The Diamond Bazaar—a series that also celebrates the courtesans, among other things, as connoisseurs of art! The anthology highlights the courtesan as the artist in her own right—as a poet, dancer, multilingual and style aesthete. It depicts the courtesan’s cultural contribution to society— from her presence in the music to cinema, particularly classical music, the gramophone era, in film promotional memorabilia and her portrayal in post-Independence Hindi cinema. Contributed by eight scholars with their expertise in the area, this fascinating anthology was released, with limited copies, on the International Museum Day at the National Crafts Museum, New Delhi on May 18. The contributors of this book include Swarnmalya Ganesha, Seema Bhal- Retelling the story of courtesans The rich visual appeal of Ganika — In the Visual Culture of 19th-20th Century India comes from its inclusion of paintings, miniature paintings and handicrafts that capture the life and essence of the courtesans. PHOTOS: VICKY la, AK Das, Shweta Sachdeva Jha, Yatindra Mishra, Sumant Batra, Ira Bhaskar and Richard Allen. The book has been edited by Bhalla, the acclaimed art historian, curator and researcher from Chandigarh. The anthology draws inspiration from a six-week exhibi- tion on courtesans (with the same title) that Seema had curated in October 2022. “All exhibits were related to the tradition of courtesans. Most c m y b of them were from a private collection, including paintings, Picture post cards, cigarette cards, match box covers printed in Sweden, Czecho- slovakia, Austria, Japan etc, film posters and lobby cards. I had also collaborated with the National Crafts Museum, New Delhi, to include the tex- tiles and jewellery from their collection,” informs Seema, who has also contributed two chapters of this anthology. This pictorially rich book covers different aspects of courtesans, tracing the trajectory from the tradition of devdasis to their depiction in post-Independent Hindi cinema. “Ganika is the term used in the Rig Veda for a woman who performs in public. I have used this term for Courtesan. The book delves into various facets of courtesans that will inspire people to view these enigmatic, highly accomplished performers objectively,” says Bhalla. Obsessed with India’s culture and heritage, Bhalla has a PhD in Indian miniature paintings from Panjab University, Chandigarh. She takes great pride in creating awareness towards culture and heritage, as it makes people take pride in their roots, and become responsible humans and citizens, according to her. Seema’s strong affinity to all things old, steered her way to becoming an art historian. “Since childhood, I was drawn to antiques, palaces, old traditions etc. I always would get in trouble for stopping my mother distributing all the old colonial furniture, her heavily zari embroidered velvet wedding suits and shawls, old brass utensils, etc,” laughs Seema.
The Tribune, now published from Chandigarh, started publication on February 2, 1881, in Lahore (now in Pakistan). It was started by Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia, a public-spirited philanthropist, and is run by a trust comprising four eminent persons as trustees.
The Tribune, the largest selling daily in North India, publishes news and views without any bias or prejudice of any kind. Restraint and moderation, rather than agitational language and partisanship, are the hallmarks of the paper. It is an independent newspaper in the real sense of the term.
The English edition apart, the 133-year-old Tribune has two sister publications, Punjabi Tribune (in Punjabi) and Dainik Tribune (in Hindi).