05122025-LSTL-01.qxd 12/4/2025 7:48 PM Page 1 c m y b EUPHORIA LEAPS INTO ADULTHOOD Euphoria Season 3, the HBO Max drama starring Zendaya and Sydney Sweeney, is set to return in April 2026, four years after its second season. The series, created by Sam Levinson, will see the return of its central cast, including Zendaya, Sydney Sweeney, Jacob Elordi, Hunter Schafer, Alexa Demie and Maude Apatow. TRIBUNE No regrets Life Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio has clarified that he has “no regrets” about turning down the role in Boogie Nights to star in James Cameron’s 1997 epic Titanic. LUDHIANA | FRIDAY | 5 DECEMBER 2025 The Dhurandhar dispute reignites the debate on rights, representation and risks in cinema inspired from true events Nonika Singh Whenfacts meetfilms Regular cinegoers are all too familiar with long-winding disclaimers especially if the film is steeped in facts. The caveat, ‘inspired by facts’ is a regular enough rider to escape both legal liability and factual veracity. But more often than not films run into trouble even before their anointed tryst with silver screens. Latest case in point is much anticipated Dhurandhar. Before all eyes could rest on Ranveer Singh’s chameleon act in the spy-thriller, martyr Major Mohit Sharma’s parents slapped a case against the makers. Their grouse — the producers have not taken permission from the family. Director-producer Aditya Dhar’s defence is simple — the film is not based on the late army officer. But hyperactive netizens have been quick to point out uncanny similarities even though they have only seen the trailer. Not too long ago Haq too faced a similar quandary which revisited Shah Bano’s landmark verdict. Bano’s daughter had filed a case which was duly dismissed by the Madhya Pradesh High Court. Of course, the director had chosen a safe path. In the film her character is called Shazia Bano though credits tipped the hat to Shah Bano as well as Jigna Vora’s book Bano: Bharat ki Beti. More recently Farhan Akhtar’s 120 Bahadur too came under the line of fire as protestors demanded the film be titled 120 Ahir Vir, to honour the valour of the Ahir community in the Battle of Rezang La. Dhurandhar is kind of atypical in the sense that the family wants the makers to acknowledge that the film dovetails, their son, an exceptional brave-heart’s life as undercover agent in Pakistan. But even when there is a biopic be it Neerja, Mountain Man, Rang Rasiya and many more, there is controversy. Things become even more ticklish when the person on whom the film is based is not alive. Clearly family members, understandably so, are more sensitive. Precisely, why, perhaps DHURANDHAR REWIND & RAMBLE NEERJA the Delhi High Court asked the CBFC to reexamine Dhurandhar’s certification. The board’s contention is; Major Mohit Sharma’s life has little bearing on Ranveer Singh’s Hamza. As of now we rest our case, since we have not as yet seen the film, the question that arises is; how paramount is the permission of the person and the family? Legally speaking, what’s in public c m y b domain ought to be for public consumption. Simultaneously misrepresentation does tantamount to defamation. In a country where even negative characters are whitewashed in our cinema, should the family fear that heroes, especially a martyr’s life, will not find a fair representation? To be just many makers do extensive research before putting their imagination to flight. For the biopic on Sardar Udham Singh, director Shoojit Sircar had even sent one of his team members to The Tribune office for a detailed look at the archives of the pre-independence period. Yes for the sake of entertainment quotient, a romantic angle, few songs could be added to make the story palatable to audiences who clearly want more than a factoid. So even the story of celebrated athlete Milkha Singh in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag had a peppering of songs and extra masala which some critics thought was reason enough for censure. Fair enough; not all films which marry facts with fiction are superlative. Often the line runs so thin that as viewers we are forever befud- dled as to what is true and what isn’t. But to allay the misconception of family members, not just in the case of Dhurandhar, but otherwise too let it be remembered that our makers can mostly be faulted for an overtly sweet portrayal of real men and women. As a rule, fault finding is neither their intention nor purpose, not even when the subject demands so. Controversial figures like Punjabi singer Amar Singh Chamkila are dealt with sense and sensibility, if the maker is of the caliber of Imtiaz Ali. Of course, that does not stop family from crying foul. Flirting with facts has consequences… but then even films which fall in the fictional realm are somewhere based on events and happenings around us. Though Aditya has claimed that as and when he does make a biopic on the Ashoka Chakra Awardee, he will seek all necessary permissions, judging by the hoopla around his film, one wonders if he would. But if and when he does, the naysayers must remember what noted filmmaker Ketan Mehta once said; biopic is as much about a person as an idea. Yami slams extortion-like trend of paid negativity Yami Gautam has called out what she describes as the growing culture of ‘extortion-like’ hype and paid negativity, and has also urged her colleagues in the film industry to end the practice of creating ‘hype’ through marketing tools. In a detailed note shared on Instagram, the actress expressed her deep concern about the growing practice of pressuring filmmakers to buy manufactured publicity. Gautam, who referenced the upcoming Ranveer Singh-starrer Dhurandhar, opened up about how the project, directed by Aditya Dhar, is experiencing attempts at targeted ‘negativity’ even before its release. She wrote, “There is something I’ve been wanting to express for a long time, and I feel today is that day & I must. This so-called trend of giving money, under the guise of marketing a film, to ensure good ‘hype’ is created for a film, or else ‘they’ will continuously write negative things (even before the film is released), until you pay ‘them’ money, feels nothing but a kind of extortion,” — ANI