03052025-LSTC-01.qxd 5/2/2025 8:11 PM Page 1 c m y b ESHA DEOL WISHES PARENTS Bollywood actress Esha Deol shared an adorable throwback photo of her parents, Dharmendra and Hema Malini, to celebrate the couple’s marriage anniversary. TRIBUNE Coming up Life Wonder Woman actress Gal Gadot and actor Matthias Schoenaerts are set to star in the World War II thriller Ruin. CHANDIGARH | SATURDAY | 3 MAY 2025 An insider’s take WAVES 2025 GOING GLOBAL NAGARJUNA South Indian superstar Nagarjuna lauded the WAVES 2025 and called it a “great initiative” by the government of India for the film and media industry. “I am very happy to attend, and it’s a great initiative by the government of India that is for the film media industry. It’s a grand global launch,” said Nagarjuna. WORLD FORUM Actor Anupam Kher said that the ongoing WAVES 2025 is historic and compared it with the World Economic Forum in Davos. “It is going to be historical like the Economic Forum in Davos. It will play a big role in the coming years, and it will gather all people from all over the world. It will include entertainers, writers, and artists. The Prime Minister himself has initiated it, and the Ministry of Information Broadcasting and the Maharashtra Government have also initiated too,” said Anupam Kher. ANUPAM KHER AAMIR KHAN ADDRESSES ‘LACK OF THEATRES’ IN INDIA On the second day of the World Audio Visual Entertainment Summit (WAVES), superstar Aamir Khan participated in a panel discussion titled Studios of the Future: Putting India on World Studio Map at JACC in Mumbai. In the panel discussion, Aamir expressed his disappointment at the lack of theatres in India when compared to the population of the nation. The Lagaan actor compared the number of theatres in India with the US and China. With the help of estimated data, the actor highlighted the problem of movie screens in the nation. “I have always believed that we have very few theatres for the size of the country and the number of people living in India. In India, we have around 10,000 screens. In the US, which is one-third of our population, they have 40,000 screens, and China has 90,000 screens compared to our 10,000. And even in this 10,000, half are in the South and half in the rest of the country. So, for a Hindi film, you have a maximum of 5,000 screens,” said Aamir. The actor further underlined the fact that the biggest hits of the Indian cinema have a theatrical footfall of only 2 per cent of the entire population. “Our biggest hits over the years, no matter what language, have had a theatrical footfall of three crore people. That’s only 2 per cent of our entire population. Only 2 per ecnt of our population in a country that is recognised as a film-loving country watches our biggest hits in theatres.” Aamir called for investing in the theatres in several districts and towns of India. “I think that one of the biggest issues that we faced over the decades is that we just don’t have enough screens, and according to me, that is what we should be investing c m y b in. My belief is that we need to have a lot more theatres in India and theatres of different kinds. There are districts and vast areas in the country that don’t have a single theatre,” said Aamir. WAVES 2025 will witness participation from over 90 countries, with more than 10,000 delegates, 1,000 creators, 300 companies, and 350 startups. The summit will feature 42 plenary sessions, 39 breakout sessions, and 32 masterclasses spanning diverse sectors including broadcasting, infotainment, AVGCXR, films, and digital media. — ANI SPIELBERG TOLD ME HE LOVED 3 IDIOTS: KAREENA Indian cinema is being watched by everyone, including Hollywood legend Steven Spielberg, actor Kareena Kapoor Khan said on Friday as she recalled the time when the Oscar-winning filmmaker praised her 2009 movie 3 Idiots. At the inaugural World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit, the actor recounted the story of how she ran into Spielberg at an overseas restaurant soon after the release of 3 Idiots, directed by Rajkumar Hirani and co-starring Aamir Khan. “Even Spielberg is watching our Hindi movies today... I was traveling somewhere and at a restaurant, Steve Spielberg was also there. This was many moons ago, 3 Idiots had just been released. And he came up to me and asked, ‘Are you the same girl who is in that famous Indian film where three students study together?’ I said yes, ‘I am the same girl.’ He told me that he loved the film. I don’t have to act in an English film for him to see me. He watched 3 Idiots, so that is our moment in Indian cinema,” Kareena said. The actor was speaking at the session Cinema: The Soft Power. — PTI