08042025-LSTC-01.qxd 4/7/2025 8:13 PM Page 1 c m y b FIRST LOOK OF TANVI THE GREAT Veteran actor Anupam Kher has revealed the first look of his directorial project, Tanvi The Great. The teaser, released under the banner of Anupam Kher Studios, hints at a heart-warming and inspiring story based around a mysterious young girl named Tanvi. TRIBUNE Role call Emraan Hashmi is all set to come up with his film Ground Zero, which is inspired by a mission that was awarded ‘BSF’s best operation in the last 50 years’. LUDHIANA | TUESDAY | 8 APRIL 2025 ‘Artistes are getting busier’ Mona O ‘Round 2 for me’ Tahira Kashyap opens up about breast cancer relapse Filmmaker Tahira Kashyap, known for her directorial debut Sharmajee Ki Beti, has revealed that her breast cancer has relapsed after seven years. Taking to Instagram, Tahira shared a heartfelt note reflecting her determination to fight cancer once again. In her post, Tahira wrote, “Seven year itch or the power of regular screening—it’s a perspective, I’d like to go with the latter and suggest the same for everyone who needs to get regular mammograms. Round 2 for me... I still got this.” She added, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. When life becomes too generous and throws them again at you, you squeeze them calmly into your favourite kala khatta drink and sip it with all the good intentions. Because, for one, it’s a better drink, and, two, you know you will give it your best once again.” Tahira concluded her note writing, “#regularscreening #mammogram not shying away from saying it #breastcancer #onemoretime #letsgo. Ironically or not, today is #WorldHealthDay. Let’s do whatever we can in our capacity to take care of ourselves. #gratitude through and through.” Tahira Kashyap was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018. — ANI VER three decades of being in the film industry, actressdancer Rituparna Sengupta is now enjoying the wave of content-driven cinema. Recipient of the National Film Award for Best Actress for the film Dahan, she is keeping busy between shoots, film festivals, preparing for a musical and the release of her film Puratawn. The film marks the return of veteran actress Sharmila Tagore to Bengali cinema after 14 years. A motherdaughter story, the film is significant for Rituparnma. “Working with Sharmila Tagore was special. Even at 80, she has the curiosity of a child. She is so particular about her costumes, dialogues and every other detail on the sets. Her enthusiasm and energy at such an age is a lesson for all of us.” Rituparna Sengupta, who was in Dharamsala for the shoot of a film, shares how content-driven cinema is making a real mark Manasi Ghosh winsIndian Idol Chakraborty, Chaitanya Devadhe (Mauli), Priyangshu Dutta, Manasi Ghosh and Anirudh Suswaram. Adding glamour to the night, Raveena Tandon, Shilpa Shetty, Mika Singh and the cast of Sony Liv's Chamak graced the stage, elevating the entertainment quotient. Hailing from Kolkata, Manasi captivated the judges and audiences alike with her dynamic vocals, consistently earning accolades throughout the season. Subhajit Chakraborty emerged as the runner-up of the season. —TNS merised by the natural beauty of the Dhauldhar range, she says, “I am grateful to our producers for zeroing-in on Dharamsala for the shoot. With snowcapped peaks around us, it was all too surreal.” The shoot was for the film Nazarbandi, directed by Debarati Bhowmick. “Films like this are rare. It’s a thriller with the story revolving around five women.” With most of the crew being dominated by women too, Rituparna says, “We had a blast shooting. Except one, the rest of the cast comprised my juniors. We had great fun shooting the project.” With the spotlight on her films, Ajo- Rituparna is not only one of the significant characters in this story, but also a producer of this project. “The film will see an all India release and dubbed in Hindi too. So, we are all excited about it.” The film bats for remembering our roots while living in the present. “It’s good to be modern but treasuring age-old wisdom is also important.” Recently, Rituparna was in Himachal Pradesh for a shoot with an all-women cast in the lap of magnificent mountains. Mes- Mona Manasi Ghosh has won Sony Entertainment Television's singing reality show, Indian Idol Season 15. The electrifying finale was a celebration of exceptional talent, featuring soul-stirring performances and an emotional culmination of India's quest to find its next singing sensation. Hosted by the charismatic Aditya Narayan, the grand finale saw the esteemed panel of judges—Badshah, Vishal Dadlani and Shreya Ghoshal—cheering for the top six finalists, including Sneha Shankar, Subhajit RITUPARNA SENGUPTA AND SHARMILA TAGORE IN PURATAWN Gift for Punjab Back in the 80s, when actor Girija Shankar was offered the role of Dhritrashtra, he was baffled. Only 28 at that time, with a good physique, he was aiming to play Arjun or Duryodhan. However, the makers convinced him by saying that Mahabharta happened between Krishan and Dhritrashtra. And, he finally agreed! Rest, as they say, is history—the BR Chopra series enjoyed grand success and he gained fame. In Chandigarh on Monday, Girija Shankar brought along a documentary Sadi Virasat (Heritage of Indian Punjabi Cinema), which charts Punjabi industry’s journey from its very beginning in 1935 to 2000. At one hour and 45 minutes, it dives deep into films, artistes, how well they fared at the box-office and other interesting tidbits. Working on its release plans, he has another documentary that clubs together the period from 2000 to 2025. Rooted to Punjab, Patiala being his hometown, he moved to Mumbai and later Los Angeles to pursue acting. Being in Hollywood, but with the heart in Punjab, he came up with the idea of an international Punjabi film festival; his dream project—Punjabi International Film Festival Los Angeles (PIFFLA). In Chandigarh, Girija Shankar, the Dhritrashtra of Mahabharta, is all set to put Punjabi films on the world map with his initiative Punjabi International Film Festival Los Angeles PHOTO: RAVI KUMAR “PIFFLA Hollywood will not only showcase the creative brilliance of the Punjabi and North Indian communities, but also offer international artistes a chance to collaborate,” Shankar said. Putting together the website, Shankar aims to get it rolling by August this year and dreams of making it a platform like Sundance. “There have been niche film festivals, but we still lacked one for the Punjabi industry. PIFFLA will claim that space,” shared Shankar, who was accompanied by Mandeep Singh Sidhu, author of the book Punjabi Cinema Da Sachittar Itihaas. “Starting with very first c m y b Punjabi film Ishk-e-Punjab/ Mirza Sahiban in 1935, many a times our industry saw such dips that it seemed to have no future. But, it was always resurrected. It’s our duty to treasure and encourage young talent,” shared Shankar, who acted in both Hindi and Punjabi films, apart from television. He got into direction with English film Banana Brothers and is happy traversing continents, wherever work takes him. “While living abroad, I realised the immense potential of Punjabi cinema, music and folk art. The time has come to take our stories to the world through this platform,” he signed off. gya, Distances and Puratawn at the ‘I View World International Film Festival’ in Delhi, Rituparna was in happy space. Through acting and producing films, dance has stayed as her first passion. She still performs extensively with her dance troupe. Trained in Odissi and Manipuri, she prefers fusion forms. “In fact, I am in the middle of writing a musical right now,” she reveals. She shares that each film of her career has given her something unique. “I am in the industry for the love of acting. How a film does is secondary; the first thing is to give my best.” When not acting, or dancing, Rituparna likes to read and write. She is into writing a short film these days, as she preps for a musical along with it. One of her recent projects is Ittar, which marks a comeback of actor Deepak Tijori. “It is a mature love story,” Rituparna informs. Then there is Kal Trighori, a horror film by Arbaaz Khan. Salt with Chandan Roy Sanyal, Jihad, directed by Agnidev Chatterjee, and couple of Bengali films, including Madam Sengupta with Rahul Bose, are also in the pipeline for her. “I have been fortunate to have gotten my audiences’ love and I love them equally,” says Rituparna. She is happy that alongside commercial films, now an audience has been cultivated for content-driven films too. “Formula is going to stay in cinema, but the contours of the industry are changing. Artistes are getting busier,” she signs off. Safety saves Bollywood actor Sonu Sood recalled the recent road accident of his wife Sonali to convey an important message, which highlights the importance of seat belts for the passengers sitting on the rear seat of cars. Taking to Instagram, he credited the seat belt in the cars for the safety of his wife, nephew and sister in a recent horrific accident in Nagpur. He said, “There is a very important message. Last week, there was a very big accident in Nagpur, in which my wife, her nephew and her sister were inside the car. The whole world has seen the condition of the car. You know that if anyone saved them, it was the seat belt.” Sood pointed out the common practice of not wearing a seat belt while sitting in the back seat. He recalled the day of the accident and said that the car crash occurred minutes after his wife, Sonali, asked his sister-in-law Sumita to wear the seat belt, which eventually saved them. He continued, “Ninety nine out of 100 people who sit in the back seat never wear seat belts. They feel that wearing the seat belt is only the responsibility of the person in front. I request all of you not to sit in the car without the seat belt.” — ANI Sonu Sood urges people to wear seat belts on the rear seats of the car too