02122025-LSTL-01.qxd 01-12-2025 19:30 Page 1 c m y b TRIBUNE CAMERON SOUNDS AI ALARM Lost deal Life Hollywood filmmaker James Cameron, known for films like Avatar and Terminator, has voiced strong concerns over the rapid growth of generative artificial intelligence in Hollywood, saying the idea that AI can replace an actor and a complete performance from a simple text prompt is “horrifying”. CHAT UP George Clooney has opened up about a careerdefining moment from his early days, recalling how he lost the role of drifter JD in the 1991 classic Thelma & Louise to Brad Pitt. LUDHIANA | TUESDAY | 2 DECEMBER 2025 ‘It’s masala MUSICAL’ ALL EYES ON DHURANDHAR The ticket sales for Dhurandhar have opened earlier than expected and the early trends show that the audiences have been waiting for a film like this. The promotional build-up to this Ranveer Singh-starrer, backed by Jio Studios and B62 Studios, has done exactly what it needed to — turn curiosity into numbers. Producer Anushk a Shah says her late film Christmas Ka st rm is high on directo a r Gurinder Chadha ’s trademark energ y Nonika Singh BOOK RELEASE BY MALINI Renowned folk singer Malini Awasthi on Sunday released the fourth edition of her book Chandan Kiwad at an event held in New Delhi. Awasthi is a recipient of the Padma Shri Award. She has lent her voice to films like Durgamati (2020), Dum Laga Ke Haisha (2015) and Agent Vinod (2012). Malini has also sung the title track of the TV serial Yashomati Maiyaa Ke Nandlala. ZOOTOPIA MAGIC UNFOLDS Walt Disney’s animated Zootopia 2 racked up $556 million in global ticket sales over the weekend. Nearly half of the film’s BO receipts from Wednesday through Sunday came from China. The $272 million tally made it Hollywood’s highest-grossing animated movie in the country. E AST meets West, not just in producer Anushka Shah’s forthcoming film Christmas Karma directed by our very own Punjaban Gurinder Chadha, but also in Anushka’s very being. If Mumbai is home, this alumna of London School of Economics, who worked as media researcher at MIT and currently is the CEO of Civic Studios, is simply bitten by the Bollywood bug. Cinema beckoned when probing the role of state in a citizen’s life, the realisation ‘what a force Bollywood is,’ dawned upon her. She has no doubt that cinema impacts us, in both shaping our thoughts and in reflecting who we are, may be not in linear fashion. As she puts it, “The pathways are not direct, not as simple as; you watch a movie today and change begins instantly, but rather far more complicated.” Since cinema works in so many subliminal ways, she would have nothing to do with movies which romanticise violence, misogyny, patriarchy and masculine toxicity. If socially-driven cinema is her cause celebre, she firmly believes in marrying entertainment with message. Interestingly, she dubs Christmas Karma, based on Charles Dickens’ Christmas Carol, as “masala musical, high on Gurinder’s trademark energy with significant messaging about race, migration et al as its core.” And, with a brown actor, Kunal Nayyar, in the lead for a film aimed at the Western market, it’s as brave as it gets. But she also adds, “Creativity has to be the key and the politics you bring in has to serve the story.” A producer’s job might be widely understood as anything but creative and often perceived as that man/woman with trunk loads of cash. She enlightens us on the contrary. She says, “Lead producer is that person who incubates the entire project, imagines it brings the right team and talent together which could often mean a symphony of 200 people.” Indeed, producers rarely get credit if things work. She winks, “We spend lots of sleepless nights and if the project does not work out, liability is certainly ours.” Associated with a host of projects, including the UK’s 2025 Oscar contender Santosh, her choice is eclectic by all means. She avers, “We at Civic Studios are not wedded to any genre or format.” Nor to big names. Backing new voices SIDDHANT PLAYS V SHANTARAM The makers of V Shantaram on Monday unveiled the first look poster from the film, featuring Siddhant Chaturvedi in the role of the filmmaker, who has been hailed as the original rebel of Indian cinema. Chaturvedi said essaying the role of the filmmaker is one of the “greatest honours” of his life. “The more I read about his journey, the more humbled I felt. He wasn’t just a pioneer of Indian and global cinema, he was a visionary,” he said. women The actor’s first look as Air Force officer from Border 2 unveiled Diljit Dosanjh’s first look from the Anurag Singhdirected Border 2, which is a sequel to JP Dutta’s 1997 superhit Border, was unveiled on Monday. The first look of the poster shows Diljit as an Indian Air Force officer sitting in aircraft during a combat situation, with injuries on his face and hands amidst enemy attacks. The poster shows Diljit’s Sidharth Malhotra on Sunday stepped out in the city for work commitments. He appeared at the We The Women Asia event in Mumbai, where he opened up about life after welcoming his daughter with his wife, Kiara Advani. Though Kiara could not attend in person, she shared her love for Sidharth virtually, posting a clip from the event on Instagram with the caption, “My forever hero.” Others who attended We The Women event were fashion designer Masaba Gupta, actors Ishaan Khatter, Milind Soman, Malaika Arora, Neha Dhupia, Janhvi Kapoor, Mini Mathur and Dia Mirza. — ANI intense look, the caption reads, “Iss Desh ke Aasmaan Mein Guru ke Baaz Pehra dete hain IN #Border2 in cinemas 23rd January, 2026.” Dosanjh also shared a reel on instagram, where he can be seen wearing an Air Force uniform walking in full swag as Border track Sandeshe Aate Hain plays in the background Border 2 is produced by TSeries in association with JP Films. The film features Sunny Deol, Varun Dhawan, Dosanjh, Ahan Shetty, Medha Rana, Mona Singh and Sonam Bajwa in key roles.—PTI Samantha weds Raj Nidimoru Samantha Ruth Prabhu is married now! Samantha has finally made her relationship with filmmaker Raj Nidimoru Instagram official as she dropped pictures from their intimate wedding ceremony. The Family Man 2 actress took to Instagram on Monday afternoon to post a series of pictures from the traditional event, MALAIKA ARORA & SIDHARTH MALHOTRA c m y b “No matter how big you are, how many hits you have given, you are never safe; you have to constantly reinvent yourself.” Only she is not just transforming herself but enabling others to claim and reclaim success. Among her other enablers is a one million pound corpus fund to promote environmental concerns. She elaborates, “Cinema with messages on climate, not as doomsday scenarios but with positive solution oriented approach, is eligible for funding.” Clearly she not only talks about her social responsibility but walks the talk. Christmas Karma, which releases in India on December 12, however, she promises will talk in the language of fun and merriment. And the icing on the Christmas cake would be as she puts it, “You will walk out feeling motivated.” After all, ‘change yourself for the better,’ isn’t just another line in the trailer. Anushkha is determined to make the world better with better cinema. Diljit’s fierce avatar Celebrating ISHAAN KHATTER & JANHVI KAPOOR with gumption like Ishan Shukla, who found an interesting intersection between gaming and cinema in Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust, is very important for her. A Gujarati by birth, her Punjabi connect too runs deep. Her upcoming series Ikatthe, directed by Hardik Mehta and created by Gursimranjeet Khamba, follows three generations of a Sikh family. Even more exciting is a film on Saadat Hasan Manto’s Toba Tek Singh to be directed by award-winning director Pan Nalin. Enthused about the film, she observes, “Through the lens of insanity and sanity and switching it around, Toba Tek Singh, set during India’s Partition is ever relevant; not just in South-Asian context but globally what with land-based conflicts becoming the order of the day.” One day would she care to turn a director and the answer is prompt and in negative. She reasons, “There is an excellent plethora of talent in India. I would like to create spaces for them rather than be the talent. I am an out and out nerd about systems.” Working with big names such as Gurinder and Pan has taught her, marking the date “01.12.2025” in her caption. The ceremony appeared to be simple and personal. In the first image, Raj is seen placing a ring on Samantha’s finger as the two stand before Linga Bhairavi. Another picture shows Samantha holding Raj close while proudly displaying her engagement ring. Additional pictures capture the couple performing rituals. — ANI