09122025-LSTC-01.qxd 12/8/2025 8:00 PM Page 1 c m y b TRIBUNE Life High praise Kartik Aaryan turned up the energy at the Bigg Boss finale as he joined Salman Khan to promote his new film . Salman said, “Every film of yours has a hook step that goes viral.” LUDHIANA | TUESDAY | 9 DECEMBER 2025 Helen wins he rts Neha Saini From the OG ‘vamp’ of the 60s to a fitness icon in her 80s, Helen’s still got some moves F Razzle dazzle The Lifestyle Asia Awards 2025 lit up the red carpet with star power and style as celebrities gathered to honour the LSA 50 Icons —individuals who’ve made standout contributions to entertainment, food, music and more. The Sunday evening in Mumbai, blended glamour with style. Amongst those who graced the occasion Nitanshi Goel, Saba Azad, Urvashi Rautela, Palak Tiwari, Rasika Dugal, Raghav Juyal, Ali Fazal, Aditi Rao Hydari and Dino Morea. — TNS (FROM TOP) ADITI RAO HYDARI, ALI FAZAL, URVASHI RAUTELA & PALAK TIWARI ROM high-energy dance numbers and look absolutely smashing in sequins in the 60s and 70s to a fitness instructor in her 80s, Helen, the OG siren of the Hindi films, has gracefully transitioned into living and loving a slow life. In Amritsar, for a fashion event, Helen Khan, 86, took to stage; slow, graceful in her walk, but not losing touch with those iconic jazz style arm movements that made her a darling of many hearts. “I feel nervous taking to the stage, even after so many years,” she said as she addressed the admiring fans, mostly the millennial and boomers. “I do not go out much and do not attend many events since past many years. But every time I am attending a public event, I get panicked,” she repeats. Hard to believe the confession of someone, who single handedly created the ultimate ‘vamp-seductress’ stereotype in Bollywood of the sixties, with her bold on-screen persona, dramatic eyes and glamour without the vulgarity. In Amritsar, she paid obeisance at the Golden Temple and enjoyed eating sarson da saag and makki roti. “It was delicious. I had not had it in years, decades maybe,” she shared. “I feel blessed when even today I meet people and they tell me how much I am loved. I have felt that love throughout my life,” she said. Choosing only few words to communicate these days, as she keeps her interaction with the outside world to a minimal, Helen said that dance was something she felt passionate about. As a fashion icon, she said, “I have been very original, very myself in my fashion choices whether on screen or off it.” Hindi cinema’s ‘It’ girl, who can forget this screen icon, glorious in her sequined outfits and feathered head pieces! She dominated the 1960s and 70s films, successfully launching Cabaret as a dance genre in Bollywood, making it quintessential in the otherwise classical formula films of the era. Now, she has been active on her social media through the short, yet inspiring fitness videos with celebrity trainer Yasmin Karachiwala, showing off some core workouts at the ripe age of 86. She calls herself a ‘girl of 86’ in these videos. But for her fans, she is a girl who is timeless. THE BA***DS OF BOLLYWOOD CHANGED MY LIFE: Rajat Bedi Rajat Bedi made his comeback on big screen with Aryan Khan’s hyped Netflix series, The Ba***ds of Bollywood. Bedi played a veteran actor, desperate for a comeback. In real life, Bedi almost bordered on the same desperation. “I left the industry 20 years ago ending my career abruptly. When I wanted to come back, I met people, asked them for work and kept on, despite the rejections,” he shared, as he interacted with audience on stage at the Punjab Heritage Fashion show at PITEX in Amritsar. After returning from self-imposed break from Canada, Bedi said that Shah Rukh Khan and Aryan Khan contributed in changing his life. “When Aryan came to me with his offer, he said that if I didn’t take the role, he would scrap it completely. I was grateful for SRK and Aryan for their belief in me and I had one request for them. A former model, Bedi said that reactions to his role in the series have been overwhelming and given him confident for a full comeback. Blueprint of a bigger picture PHOTO: RAVI KUMAR Parbina Rashid “No short-cut in my life!” The statement seemed more of a self-admission. Maybe he could read my mind. Looking at him paint a portion of a wall, adjust frames and re-arrange the sources of light just a day before his debut exhibition at 105 Arts, Sector 11, Chandigarh, the thought did cross my mind – what artist would paint the background wall of a gallery to mount his frames? But then, Avijit Dutta, an artist from Kolkata, in Chandigarh to conceptualise and curate the group show Blueprint, had a bigger picture in mind. It’s not just a one-off exhibition for him, but a blueprint for Chandigarh to build on for organising future exhibitions; exhibitions, which in his words, would be “zara hatke”. That’s his gift to the city. He brought along a treasure trove to start with – works of masters, senior contemporary artists and budding ones. The list is exhaustive and awe-inspiring — Ganesh Pyne, Mukul Chandra Dey, Manjit Bawa, Somnath Hore, Prosanto Roy, Anjolie Ela Menon, Jogen Kolkata artist Avijit Dutta curates a unique concept in Chandigarh Chowdhury, Krishen Khanna, Laxma Goud, Prabhakar Kolte, Thota Vaikuntam, Ankon Miotran, Asit Poddar, Avijit Dutta himself, Birendra Pani, Dileep Sharma, George Martin, Gigi Scaria, Gurudas Shenoy, Jayasri Burman, Manjunath Kamath, Pratul Dash, Parvathi Nayar, R Bala Subramanian and more. But big names alone do not make an exhibition unique. So, Avijit thought of this concept — to exhibit the blueprint of a creation, which is the drawing. The creative process which germinates on a blank page with simple lines was exactly what he wanted to showcase for Chandigarh art lovers. “Drawings hold an emotional and creative reservoir, an emblem of art awakenings, and eventually reveal the radiant finale of an artist. The Blueprint is dedicated exclusively to drawings as an art form,” Avijit said, as he inspected the placement of the frames on the walls. Manjit Bawa’s sketch of a woman, Ganesh Pyne’s chaotic pen and ink drawing on paper, Hemant Dhane’s geometry of dreams, Anjolie Ela Menon’s face of a woman, among many others, somehow made c m y b me feel closer to the artist than the end product would have done! “This exhibition will be a dark one, which means the light will be focused only on each individual frame while the halls will be dark by and large,” he dropped it casually. Well, that’s another first for Chandigarh! “Why do, or rather why should people visit a gallery?” it was Avijit’s turn to ask a question. But, to my relief, he answered it himself, “It’s not solely for the purpose of buying or collecting art. I feel it’s with the intent of reflection, of investing wholly and mindfully in a work of art, in a line of thought, in an image that evokes a variety of emotions.” I was still trying to process the gravity of his statement, when he came with another one, “The young generation is so used to watching reels; my aim is to lure them away from the screen and make them stand in front of a painting for at least 30 minutes and have a dialogue with it. My job as an artist-curator is to make that process happen. That’s why I take the visual presentation part so seriously.” It certainly makes sense. The 30minute time frame, however, is debatable. But what’s not is Avijit’s enthusiasm to make Blueprint an ode to identity, to make 105 Arts a new platform for art and artists of Chandigarh. He has taken the first step with conviction and has given the city art patrons a good reason and enough time to take theirs. The exhibition is on till January 6. CHAT UP GAURAV KHANNA WINS BIGG BOSS TROPHY Gaurav Khanna has been crowned as the winner of Bigg Boss 19. The superstar host, Salman Khan, announced Gaurav’s name as the winner of the show’s latest edition, as he defeated the top five on the grand finale. Gaurav was awarded the winner’s trophy along with prize money of Rs 50 lakh. Farrhana Bhatt emerged as the first runner-up on Bigg Boss 19. ‘JOYFUL MEMORIES OF OUR LIFE…’ Hema Malini remembered her husband Dharmendra, on his 90th birth anniversary, reflecting on their life together. “Dharam ji Happy birthday my dear heart. More than two weeks have passed since you left me heartbroken, slowly gathering up the pieces and trying to reconstruct my life, knowing that you will always be with me in spirit,” she wrote on her Instagram.