11092025-LSTL-01.qxd 9/11/2025 12:05 AM Page 1 c m y b MR & MRS KHILADI Akshay Kumar, who is known for his early morning routine, didn’t let his birthday slip away from his schedule. Twinkle revealed that their celebration kicked off at “7 am” sharp. She took to Instagram to share a fun picture from the bash, where the two were seen posing behind a giant Joker playing card cutout. TRIBUNE Bro vibes… Life Tom Felton made his Indian film debut with Hansal Mehta’s Gandhi, which premiered at TIFF to a standing ovation. On Instagram, he called co-star Pratik Gandhi “brother,” celebrating their bond. LUDHIANA | THURSDAY | 11 SEPTEMBER 2025 Nidhi Saxena’s Secret of a Mountain Serpent, explores loneliness, longing & liberation Breaking traditions, bending myths NonikaSingh “Cinema has its own language…” and how beauteously Nidhi Saxena’s film Secret of a Mountain Serpent brings it alive. Each scene is like a painting, every frame poetic and metaphors tell their own jabyie Punaye o ha g stories. As the film opened at the recently held Venice Film Festival, rave reviews followed. In an exclusive zoom interview, the talented director talks about why less is more, how sounds, more than verbose dialogues can accentuate a film’s beauty. Her artistic film blends myth with woman’s sexual desires that rarely find expression. She adds, “Women’s desires are always suppressed. They don’t allow themselves to fall in love and even after ch Jimmy Fallon tries bhangra with Karan Aujla Punjabi singer Karan Aujla made sure to take ‘desi vibes’ to the world stage as he appeared on American television, where he taught Jimmy Fallon bhangra on The Tonight Show. In the video shared by The Tonight Show on Wednesday, the singer, who recently released his new album P-Pop Culture, was seen greeting Jimmy with a hug before announcing, “So, I am going to teach you some bhangra today.” Jimmy, dressed in his usual suit, looked unsure and joked, “I am too stiff.” But with Karan’s help, he quickly loosened up and joined him in grooving to Gabru from the singer’s latest album. Karan wore a classic black kurta-pyjama with a sleeveless jacket for the show. In no time, fans chimed in the comment section, calling it a proud day for Punjabi music and culture. One fan wrote, “Making us all proud!! Super excited to watch this episode.” Another added, “Punjabi chha gaye oye.” Some even laughed at Jimmy’s first clumsy steps, saying, “At least he tried; Americans look so funny doing bhangra.” Karan’s appearance on Fallon comes just weeks after he dropped P-Pop Culture, his third studio album, which was released in Montreal during a sold-out concert. Next, Aujla is set to perform at Rolling Loud India on November 23, 2025, in Navi Mumbai. The lineup also includes Don Toliver, Westside Gunn, Sambata, and more. — ANI Adil Hussain, Nidhi Saxena & Trimala Adhikari Punjab’s dark past It’s actor writer Jarnail Singh’s 150th project, and it’s special. “It’s not a web series but an ‘emotion’ that makes it to screens after years of simmering in my heart,” says Jarnail Singh, some of you might know him from Siyane Kehnde Ne. The ‘emotion’ in question – 84 Toh Baad, a web series that dropped on Chaupal recently. Not taking sides, Jarnail speaks of neither Sikhs, nor Hindus but ‘Punjabis’. “Nobody was to be blamed but that they were born in Punjab. When there is rebellion in the air, it spreads.” The series that is a crime thriller, directed by Guramanat Singh Patanga, moves back and forth between the past and the present. The story follows innocent people caught in a dark chapter of Punjab’s history, where they are hunted by militants and tortured by police officers. The poignant narrative reveals how their fight for survival becomes their only crime. The series sees actor Kuljinder Sidhu, in the role of Bagarh Singh, “Playing a character like Bagarh Singh was a very intense experience. His is a story that connects with everyone who has faced injustice,” he says. Sidhu was moved by the story. “I had seen those tough times up close and personal. Challenge was that a character like Bagarh Singh would invite lots of criticism,” he shared. His prejudice was rooted in experience. He played character Pali Brar in film Shareek and was hounded by a village Tayi (aunt), who took him to task for killing a character in the film brutally. “I tried telling Tayi that nobody died, I was acting, she rebutted, ‘But I never saw him again.” So intense is Bagarh’s character that Pali would be relegated to the back, but despite the fear of people hating him, Kuljinder enjoyed the challenge. “As an actor I loved playing him.” Kuljinder started as a producer in the industry with Mini Punjab and his love for acting made him turn an actor. He wrote, produced and acted in Sadda Haq, "I played a militant in Sadda Haq, now playing a cop, it's like life has come full circle." rooted in Biblical references are obvious, but what isn’t is how she deconstructs the allegories to arrive at the crux. Genesis of her film came from time spent in Almora where she realised, “Society often idealises soldiers’ wives, without acknowledging them as women who endure long separations and the emotional strain of waiting.” On choosing Adil Hussain as answer to the male absence, the part of mythical serpent, she is effusive, “A snake can’t be a young person. It is an ancient thing, besides Adil is born to play romantic roles. On the sets he was all there, knew so much about snakes, about their emotional memory. In the 14minute long take where he transforms into a crying snake, both me and my cinematographer Vikas Urs had goose-bumps and I even forgot to say cut.” Life for indie makers like her who don’t belong to the Bollywood school of filmmaking, is never easy. Such an experimental, experiential film was only possible through Venice Biennale Fund. Her first film, Sad Letters of an Imaginary Woman, was financed by the Korean government. As for her voice, how come both her films deal with loneliness? Her reply is introspective, “Don’t we women, who try to do things differently, feel lonely?” But, make no mistake she connects with the world with her vision of what true cinema is. In her next, we will see her exploring the life of female prisoners and there is another one brewing on her mind about a nomad. She says, “I am in all my films.” Cinema, she would like to be associated with, is one which has its own language, is emotional, spiritual and liberating too. Who will present the Emmy? 84 Toh Baad revisits Mona marriage find it difficult to form a romantic relationship.” Secret… celebrates women’s sexuality out of confines of tradition. The narrative set in the backdrop of Kargil conflict is very much an antiwar film. Nidhi observes, “We see antiwar films from the point of view of men, guns and borders, but back home for women its gloomy sadness.” As sounds are integral to her cinematic lexicon, she lends an ominous ring to the telephone ringing, movement of vehicles carrying soldiers. Symbols, apples in particular form a persistent thread, so much so she laughs, “Often I would say jokingly; my film is about eating apples” The significance of the forbidden fruit and serpent BTS moments from Talakhon Mein Ek spark excitement Raashii Khanna has given audiences a fresh reason to look forward to her next big project. The actress took to social media to share her first look from the behind-the-scenes of Talakhon Mein Ek, in which she stars opposite Vikrant Massey. The candid stills immediately caught the attention of fans, who were quick to shower love. Currently shooting alongside superstar Pawan Kalyan, she offered fans a sneak peek at her mass song shoot for the film, captioning it: “One frame. A thousand stories... ” KULJINDER SIDHU & JARNAIL SINGH The Television Academy has announced the names of all the presenters of the upcoming 77th Emmy Awards on September 14, 2025. Sydney Sweeney, Stephen Colbert, Tina Fey, Jenna Ortega and Mariska Hargitay are set to present the 77th Emmy Awards. They will join host Nate Bargatze as the Emmys air live from downtown Los Angeles’ Peacock Theatre. Sydney Sweeney is currently basking in the critical acclaim for her movie Christy, the boxing drama that was recently premiered at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. As for Stephen Colbert, the host garnered headlines earlier this year for the cancellation of his show The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. Jenna Ortega’s much-awaited sequel to The Wednesday was recently released on Netflix. —ANI JENNA ORTEGA c m y b