03042025-LSTC-01.qxd 4/2/2025 10:49 PM Page 1 c m y b COY JOINS CAST OF LANTERNS Treme and The Walking Dead actor Chris Coy has joined the cast of HBO’s upcoming drama series Lanterns, based on the Green Lantern DC comic. In a guest-starring role, Coy will play the new character of Waylon Sanders, an intelligent survivor or nervous truck driver. TRIBUNE He’s back Life Hollywood star Brad Pitt is set to return as Cliff Booth, his stylish stuntman character from Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, in a follow-up project from filmmaker David Fincher. CHANDIGARH | THURSDAY | 3 APRIL 2025 Scenesational! As Laapataa Ladies lands in controversy for plagiarism, here’s a look at films that faced the heat in the recent past Mona ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ LAAPATAA LADIES I e RK spottpodt S air r at Mumbai Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan returned to Mumbai in the wee hours on Wednesday. He was spotted at Mumbai International Airport as he returned from a long trip. Often seen in a mask and hoodie, Khan’s latest airport look has surprised his fans. In the visuals, the Jawan actor looked handsome in a black shirt and loose blue jeans. Shah Rukh complimented his outfit with black sunglasses. The actor greeted his fans before he hopped into his car. He was accompanied by his manager, Pooja Dadlani. Shah Rukh recently hosted an IPL 2025 opening ceremony, which signified a beautiful crossover between cricket and Bollywood. The highlight of the event was undoubtedly the moment when SRK called former RCB captain Virat Kohli ‘GOAT’ and shook a leg with him on his blockbuster song Jhoome Jo Pathaan. The entire Eden Gardens erupted into loud ‘Kohli Kohli’ chants. Like the audience, SRK could not resist himself and chanted ‘Kohli Kohli’. — ANI NDIA’s official Oscar entry Laapataa Ladies has landed in controversy, as a clip from an Arabic film Burqa City has gone viral. The uncanny similarity between the police station scene in both the movies is in question. So, is it inspiration or plagiarism? In a hyper-connected world, that it took a year for this to surface comes as a surprise. Though it’s not the first time that Laapataa Ladies has courted controversy. Actor-director Ananth Mahadevan had called out the makers for a similar storyline to his TV film Ghunghat Ke Pat Khol. The film was both written and directed by Ananth Mahadevan in 1999. He recently addressed the concerns, posting on social media, “Ghunghat Ke Pat Khol just made a clean sweep of something called IIFA awards… including best original story! Of course with another title…but then a rose is a rose by any name.” The story of Laapataa Ladies, which begins on the same note as Ghunghat Ke Pat Khol, takes a different turn. As for Burqa City, the premise is the same but the Fabrice Bracq’s directorial is a short film of only about 19 minutes. All these three, however, offer a challenge to patriarchy. While the EMERGENCY L2: EMPURAAN PUNJAB 95 CHHAAVA makers of Laapataa Ladies are yet to address the issue, we take a look at some controversies that rocked Bollywood in the first quarter of this year. ■ Touted as the most expensive Warrior spirit Vikrant Parmar Essaying the role of a warrior on screen is fraught with challenges, but actor Ankit Anil Sharma enjoyed each moment of the shoot for the recently released period film Chhaava, headlined by the much-talented Vicky Kaushal. Just like he is doing on the sets of Geetu Mohandas’ film Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown Ups, featuring KGF actor Yash in the lead role. About his experience of working with the Kannada superstar Yash, Ankit shared, “Yash is very detail-oriented; he understands each scene deeply and also offers suggestions for improvement. Behind a happy-go-lucky guy is a very serious actor. It was great fun being with him on sets.” Known for his roles in Gulaab Gang, TurTHE BIGGEST CHALLENGE tle, Waah Zindagi, Mimamsa and WAS ACHIEVING A WARRIORthe successful series Taarak LIKE PHYSIQUE WHILE Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, MAINTAINING FLEXIBILITY TO Ankit was overjoyed when he SWING SWORDS AND MOVE was offered the role of Santaji QUICKLY. A WARRIOR NEEDS TO Ghorpade in Chhaava. BE LIGHT ON HIS FEET, BUT “The film was based on the life STRONG WITH THE HANDS. I of my idol, Sambhaji Maharaj, so I ADOPTED TRADITIONAL was really happy. I also wanted to METHODS. work with Laxman sir and Maddock Productions, so you could say that this one film brought everything together for me,” he begins. When one is playing a role of such enormity, where the past is being recreated ❝ and that too on a lavish scale, there are bound to be challenges, but Ankit took them up with much enthusiasm. “The biggest challenge was achieving a warrior-like physique while maintaining flexibility to swing swords and move quickly. A warrior needs to be light on his feet, but strong with the hands. I adopted traditional methods, imagining how Santaji Ghorpade might have trained. I joined an akhada and focused on the basics, like dandbethak and uthak-bethak, repeating them countless times. The idea was to do fewer variations of exercises, but with a high number of sets to build endurance and strength.” Ankit learned the nuances of horse-riding and sword fighting for the role too, especially traditional Maharashtrian shastra vidya. “By the time we were performing action sequences on set, the footwork had become second nature to us,” he beams. Talking about Vicky Kaushal, Ankit says he was incredibly supportive and cooperative. “He was always there to help us and I still remember how he would personally give us cues during scenes. I’ve never met someone as genuine and simple as Vicky. He’s someone who ensures everyone moves forward together. Rashmika was equally impressive. I was amazed to see how she had memorised all her Hindi lines perfectly and delivered them so fluently. I genuinely enjoyed working with both of them,” he signs off. Malayalam film ever, L2: Empuraan came under fire for the name of antagonist, violence against women, riot scenes and a track involving Mullaperiyar Dam. Some Christian associations also registered a protest for For each role he essays, Ankit Anil Sharma goes the distance. Just like he joined an akhada to play Santaji Ghorpade in the recent film Chhaava c m y b scenes involving the Church. However, the makers announced over 17 voluntary changes. The film was released last week after a re-censored version that addressed the sensitive content. Vicky Kaushal-starrer Chhaava might have been labelled a success, but it faced much opposition before its February release. Battling accusation of distorting historical facts, for ■ which director Laxman Utekar apologised, questions were also raised over a Lezim dance, which was eventually deleted before release. The controversy around it refuses to die though, as post the release the film battles accusation of igniting religious hostility. ■ Kangana Ranaut-directorial Emergency, which aimed at a 2023 release, saw the light of the day in January 2025. The film was released theatrically after being cleared by the Censor Board after about 13 cuts and alterations. The changes included cuts on a few violent scenes and a dialogue in reference to Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. ■ Another film waging a CBFC war is Honey Trehan’s Punjab 95. First, the film’s title was in question and CBFC advised 120 plus cuts, which wasn’t acceptable to the makers. The film, based on insurgency period in Punjab, is a biopic on human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, a role essayed by singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh. The film’s fate hangs in balance though, but the director vows to take it to the audience. As we await a response from the makers of Laapataa Ladies on the fresh controversy, we remembers French and Swiss film director Jean-Luc Godard’s words, “It’s not where you take things from—it’s where you take them to…” Val Kilmer passes away Val Kilmer, the brooding, versatile actor who played fan-favourite Iceman in Top Gun, donned a voluminous cape as Batman in Batman Forever and portrayed Jim Morrison in The Doors, has died. He was 65. Val died from pneumonia. He had recovered after a 2014 throat cancer diagnosis that required two tracheotomies. 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