06022025-LSTC-01.qxd 2/6/2025 12:20 AM Page 1 c m y b TRIBUNE My cafe Life Kangana Ranaut is set to open a café, The Mountain Story, in Manali, Himachal Pradesh. She shared a video and captioned it as, “A childhood dream comes alive… #TheMountainStory Opening 14th February.” CHANDIGARH | THURSDAY | 6 FEBRUARY 2025 People are more open in relationships today but the simplicity of love still exists, says renowned filmmaker Sooraj Barjatya, who debuts on OTT as showrunner with Bada Naam Karenge PREM REDEFINED Mona H Vicky Kaushal opens up on how he prepared for his role in Chhaava KEEPING IT SIMPLE Bada Naam Karenge is what he calls komalata se bhari hui kahani. It’s about two youngsters from small places, living in Mumbai, trying to fit in while also trying to stay true to who they are. Do the audience get the quintessential hero ‘Prem’ back in Bada Naam Karenge? “To some extent, yes. I always get blamed that my heroes are too politically ‘correct’. I have asked our story writer Manasvi and director Palash Vaswani to take liberty and expand.” The lead pair comprises newcomers Ritik Ghanshani Maine Pyar Kiya and Ayesha Kaduskar, who play Rishabh and Surbhi, respectively. They want to make big in this world while also taking the families along. “How these two fall in love and try to balance both the worlds forms the crux of our show,” avers Barjatya. TIES OF LOVE Love has been the central themes in all his films, and this one is no different. Has the definition of love changed from his very first Maine Pyar Kiya in 1989 to now in 2025 with Bada Naam Karenge? “People are sure more open in relationships today, but that simplicity of love still exists. Prince Charming has stayed, as has the desire to marry someone who has qualities of one’s mother. So many Korean shows today are essentially Mills and Boon stories. So, love has stayed through it all.” In the times when stories are full of blood and gore, Barjatya wants to stick to his formula. “All kinds of stories should be made—all nav ras. True love exists and these are the stories we want to keep telling.” He recalls how once when he met his guru Mahesh Bhatt (he assisted him in Saaransh), he was asked about what he was up to. Sooraj told him that they were shooting a scene of juta chupana for Hum Aapke Hain Koun. “He told me, ‘jab tak joote chipate rahoge success milti rahegi’. What he meant was as long as I was true to myself, all would be well.” Barjatya has taken his master’s lesson well. GOOD THINGS IN THE WORLD Awards, blockbusters, commercial success and now a National Award for his last directorial Uunchai, what does he want next? “Not many youngsters come to watch my films, but those who come bring their bau ji, mamis and buas along. That gives me immense happiness.” Despite being firm in his beliefs, Barjatya doesn’t want Rajshri to be constricted to his viewpoint only. The reins of business are also being held by his sons Avnish Barjatya and Devaansh Barjatya. Avnish is a director, who helmed Dono recently, while Devaansh heads TV and OTT division. “Maine Pyar Kiya and Hum Aapke Hain Koun came decades back and I still get love for those films. On the weekends, the films are still aired on TV So, I tell my sons . Avnish and Devaansh and now that Plash (Vaswani) has joined us, to stick to Rajshri’s core but also feel free to expand. Its 75 years of Rajshri legacy, take it forward.” Hum Aapke Hain Koun A STIL FROM BADA NAAM KARENGE Yo Yo Honey Singh to join forces with Shael Oswal Twin melody Honey Singh While we have loved the world Sooraj Barjatya paints, when not working he loves to read Hindi literature. He has just finished the Bhagavad Gita and is into reading the Purans now. He meditates regularly. “Earlier, I would do one film in four to five years, now there are films, TV shows and OTT and the business side as well, so barely get free time,” he shares. Among his most favourite films, he counts Sound of Music as the top. “It’s a lovely family story, a kind of a dream where the ‘right’ wins,” he says. Among his favourite actors, of course, there are Salman Khan and Madhuri Dixit. Among directors, he names Raj Kapoor as his favourite. Ask him about a song, and he croons Gadi Bula Rahi Hai from the film Dost. “I believe growing up in Agra and watching trains touched something in my core. Gadi Bual Rahi Hai has stayed with me ever since.” E says stories of love and togetherness, of sentiments and sanskar. After winning the audience with his blockbusters Maine Pyar Kiya, Hum Aapke Hain Koun and Hum Saath Saath Hain, among others, Sooraj Barjatya is all set to bring his trademark style of storytelling to OTT. He debuts as a showrunner with Bada Naam Karenge, which is all set to premiere on SonyLIV on February 7. The leading man of Rajshri Productions, Barjatya was open to OTT but on demand always was a racy, crime thriller aimed at urban audiences. ‘The audience is not yet ready for family entertainers,” he was told during multiple meetings with different platforms. When SonyLIV approached him for a ‘Rajshri’ show aimed at family viewership, Barjatya was pleasantly surprised. “Post the pandemic, different generations subscribed to the OTT. And many I met expressed their desire to see something beyond violence and vulgarity, kind of a family entertainment. When Sony approached us to make a show that brings families together, it was very inspiring and exciting.” ‘I GAINED 25 KG’ Actor Vicky Kaushal, who is gearing up for the release of his film Chhaava, has shared how he prepared for the role of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj. The movie has been directed by Laxman Utekar. Produced under the banner of Maddock Films, Chhaava is a period drama that portrays the legendary story of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, played by Vicky Kaushal. The film is set to depict the courageous Maratha ruler’s legendary reign, beginning with his coronation in 1681. During the film’s promotion in Jaipur, Vicky said, “A biopic needs a lot of preparation work not only for an actor, but for the entire team. Working on a historical subject is really challenging because of the huge budget required for creating a different era on screen. We have tried to make it as realistic as possible,” he said. “As an actor, the preparation is not only physical but also mental. There was action training, bodybuilding training and also research on the history, as it was important to understand that period,” he added. The film also stars Rashmika Mandanna and Akshaye Khanna. Vicky recalled how during the shooting of Zara Hatke Zara Bachke director Laxman Utekar told him about the film. “He told me this would be our other film. I had read about Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj in history books, so got very excited about the project. But I needed to do more research to know finer details. I never played the character of a fighter before and there was an emotional connection. Moreover, I had never done a historical film.” Zara Hatke Zara Bachke is a 2023 film starring Vicky Kaushal and Sara Ali Khan. Chhaava is touted to be a ‘stirring tale of the courageous warrior whose coronation in 1681 marked the beginning of a legendary reign’. He continued, “Laxman sir showed me a sketch and I said ‘he looked like a lion’. He said ‘I want a lion’. I needed time, so we took seven months in which I gained 25 kg, learned horse-riding and sword-fighting, and then when he was satisfied finally, we started shooting. So, overall it took four years to complete this film.” The movie is slated for release in theatres on February 14. —ANI PERSONAL NOTE Music lovers are in for a treat as the maestro of melody, Shael Oswal, will be joining hands with rap king Yo Yo Honey Singh. Given that both artistes master a different genre of music, their collaboration is expected to bring out something unique. Shared Yo Yo, “Bringing my rap game to Shael’s signature romance is a vibe like never before! This track is gonna be a whole mood— get ready for 2025.” Shael stated, “Music is all about evolution, and this collaboration with Yo Yo is something fresh, unexpected, and absolutely electrifying. Can’t wait for the world to hear what we’ve created.” Over and above this, it looks like Yo Yo Honey Singh is set to enter another professional association soon. Recently, Pakistani singer, Ali Zafar dropped a picture with the rapper on his official Instagram account. The photograph shows both musicians seated in a music room filled with large speakers, a massive screen and a small one. — IANS SPADEWORK SATISH NARULA It’s time to take care of your plants before they sprout Deciduous plants like peach and plum are without leaves at the moment and you might not have noticed any bud sprouting, but the swelling says it’s almost time! However, I would like to warn my gardener friends about the appearance of aphids on such plants. In case of peach and plum, the common malady is the curling of leaves, so much so that the plant looks very sick with almost all the leaves twisted beyond recognition. Aphids appear at a time when there is bud swelling, c m y b which is now. Spray the plants with some systemic insecticide, the one that goes into the system. One such chemical is Rogor, which can be sprayed at one-and-a-half ml to a litre of water. You may ask why it should be sprayed at a time when the leaves have not yet sprouted. Well, this is the correct time, as the eggs are simultaneously laid by the aphids with the swelling of the buds and, normally, one is caught unawares. Keep an eye and spray the same chemical in the same quantity after about a week or 10 days. Even after this, if you find any leaf or twig infested, it would mean you missed that part of the plant. Time is almost running out for sowing of such plants, as these are planted when still dormant. Once they start sprouting, Of plums & peaches they cannot be carried barerooted or without the earth ball and planted. The chances of mortality in that case increases. Another thing important for peaches is that only those varieties should be planted that are early ripening, as the late ripening types are prone to fruit fly attack. Most of the early ripening varieties give fruit before the middle of May, well before even the pre- monsoon showers. Now, a very tricky question. Why some trees bear profuse flowers but fail to give fruit? This will keep happening till you make sure you are getting specific varieties. There are two types. One is suitable for hills and other for plains. If the hill varieties are planted in plains, their chilling hours’ requirement is not met, with the result that they flower profusely but fail to give fruit. The varieties meant for plains are low chilling types, so these flower and fruit as well, profusely. (The author is the Chandigarh-based horticulturist)