01062026-LSTC-01.qxd 5/31/2026 10:37 PM Page 1 c m y b TRIBUNE Fought like lions Life Actor Ranveer Singh reaffirmed his support for Arsenal after they lost 4-3 on penalties to Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League final in Budapest. He praised the team’s “historic season”, and said they they “fought like lions”. CHANDIGARH | MONDAY | 1 JUNE 2026 11 years after Citylights, Hansal Mehta reflects on a film about India’s migrants, the collaborators who shaped it, the director’s cut that never found audience “You cannot reduce her to a number on a scale or a number on the dress or the size or a number on the calendar years. You cannot reduce her to that. She is beautiful. She looks beautiful but she is beautiful inside,” Madhuri said. Madhuri and Aishwarya worked together in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s period romance drama Devdas, which also starred Shah Rukh Khan. Aishwarya first attended Cannes in 2002 for the premiere of the film alongside Shah Rukh. Her appearance on the red carpet in a traditional yellow saree attracted widespread attention and she has since become one of India’s most recognisable faces at the festival. Madhuri criticised the social media discourse surrounding Aishwarya’s appearance, saying it reflected misplaced priorities. “I think people have to realise that when you do these kinds of comments, what kind of message are you sending to the youngsters today? That your worth is on how you look, not on your achievements. I think this is a completely wrong message being sent,” she said. The actor’s remarks come amid growing scrutiny of celebrities on social media. Recently, actor Ananya Panday found herself at the centre of online criticism following the release of her romantic drama Chand Mera Dil. A scene in which her character Chandni performs a fusion of Bharatanatyam and hip-hop went viral, triggering a wave of criticism. Many social media users accused her of “butchering” the classical dance form, while others described it as cultural disrespect. According to Madhuri, social media has simply amplified the voices of people who were always inclined to criticise. “Even earlier, there were people like that. Those who comment, they didn’t have a means to comment. But today, they have the means,” she said. Triptii Dimri, who stars alongside Madhuri in the upcoming Netflix film Maa Behen, echoed those sentiments. “It’s very easy to sit at home in your comfortable pyjamas and comment on people. But being in their shoes, those who have worked hard to achieve something, whether it’s Ananya or Aishwarya ma’am, they both worked hard in their lives. They are achievers,” she said. Triptii, who has also faced trolling over her performances and career choices, acknowledged the anxiety that comes with releasing work to the public. “You do feel anxious. You’ve done something. You’ve spent time, your efforts. Just like in school, after giving an exam, you would get anxious. So it’s the same feeling. But of course, when it’s about your work, whether it’s good or bad, that is acceptable. “It’s the audience’s right to comment on your work because they are paying to watch it. But when they connect it to something else, that’s what irritates me,” she added. — PTI ANSAL MEHTA has made films across every genre. Yet Citylights remains his favourite. ‘Citylights’ is Mehta’s ode to the invisible people — those who populate the pavements we often glimpse from our moving cars. The filmmaker zooms in on the life of one such family, drawing us into their world with such intensity and compassion that we can scarcely bear to leave it, even when their lives become unbearably painful. Citylights possesses a heart large enough to break before our eyes. As Deepak Singh (Rajkummar Rao, that ‘nonactor’ par excellence), his wife Rakhi (Patralekha) and their little daughter relocate from their small universe in Rajasthan to Mumbai, we watch in numbed silence as they are initiated into a world of disillusionment and heartbreak. Hansal, many consider Citylights to be your best work. It started out as a remake. We never watched the original Metro Manila and I still haven’t. I’m told it’s the better film. It probably is. But Citylights became something else for us. We used Ritesh Shah’s script as a canvas and painted our own world upon it — one rooted in the shadows of our city, lit only by whatever light we could find and whatever light we could carry. The film conveys a feeling of unconditional authenticity. The trains in the film weren’t just metaphors. They were our locations. We shot on platforms, in compartments and between crowds. The city wasn’t a backdrop — it was our set, our soundstage, our silent character. We filmed entirely in sync sound, with barely a generator, a few tube lights and a prayer. Where do you place Citylights in your oeuvre? Citylights was one of those films that made me feel like a filmmaker again. Stripped of vanity, it was just craft and chaos. We shot fast. We shot honestly. And somewhere in Still Lingers that urgency, something pure happened. Rajkummar, in what I still believe is his finest performance, was electric in his restraint. A man unravelling quietly, his dignity fraying thread by thread. Patralekha, as Rakhi, was heartbreaking. So still in her suffering, she barely needed words. Manav Kaul, in his first major role, arrived with a presence that demanded attention. film less than what it could have been. But I’ve learned to make peace with those contradictions. They are part of the process. Part of the journey. Today, 11 years later, I crave that kind of experience again. That kind of hunger. That kind of madness. A time when storytelling was instinct and cinema a form of survival. Citylights, like Bimal Roy’s Do Bigha Zameen, was about rural migration. Citylights was about those the city forgets — the migrants, the invisible, the faceless foundations of urban India. What is your take? The studio, perhaps in its own insecurity, made us create a cut that I can’t fully own. The director’s cut was raw and unvarnished. Maybe it was long. Maybe it was too still. But it had a soul. That’s a version only a few people have seen. I hope that, someday, it finds its way out. It’s ironic that my post about The Studio was about empathy, especially for the very people whose diktats made this Karisma’s leap into Brown Actor Karisma Kapoor has revealed that she initially turned down the lead role in the upcoming series Brown before ultimately being persuaded by the strength and complexity of the character. Speaking at the trailer launch on Saturday, Kapoor said she was reluctant to commit to the project because of its Kolkata shooting schedule. “Earlier, I refused to play the role in Brown. I was like, ‘How will I go to Kolkata for so many days?’ So, I turned down the role,” she said. “Then, I met Abhinay (Deo). After hearing the role, the character, the rawness, I said yes.” Kapoor described her character as both vulnerable and resilient. “She is so broken, but she is strong, too. She has softness and hardness, too. I think the audience sees this uniqueness,” she said. Reflecting on her career, Kapoor noted she began working at a very young age and now approaches projects more selectively. “I don’t like to work so much. I have done it a lot. I was very young when I started working. I have a different pace. I have a different mood. I work from my heart. So, if I like it, I will do it. Otherwise, no,” she said. The trailer for Brown was unveiled on Saturday. Headlined by Kapoor as cop Rita Brown, the neo-noir psychological crime thriller also stars Surya Sharma, Jisshu Sengupta and Soni Razdan. According to the makers, the series is set against the haunting beauty and moral chaos of Kolkata and follows Rita Brown, once the city’s finest police officer, now a disgraced alcoholic haunted by her past. Directed by Abhinay Deo and produced by Zee Studios, Brown will premiere on June 5 on ZEE5 Hindi. — ANI Actor says she initially rejected the crime thriller before being won over by its raw, complex lead character c m y b Was the film not edited to your liking? Liam Payne’s death still feels surreal: Niall Horan Singer Niall Horan has opened up about the death of his former One Direction bandmate Liam Payne, revealing he was initially in denial after learning of the singer’s death. Horan said he had spent time with Payne just a few weeks before his death and was grateful that their final meeting was a happy one. “I’m glad of that, it means my last memory of him was happy,” Horan said. — ANI WHAT’S chandigarh You cannot reduce her to a number on a scale: Madhuri defends Aishwarya against trolls Subhash K Jha Light shimla Actor Madhuri Dixit has come out in support of her Devdas co-star Aishwarya Rai Bachchan after the latter faced online trolling and body-shaming over her appearance on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival. Aishwarya, a Cannes regular for more than two decades, became the target of negative comments on social media after photographs and videos from the festival circulated online. Madhuri said Aishwarya’s contributions and achievements far outweighed any discussion about her appearance, stressing that the actor had represented India with distinction on the global stage. “She has been going there for 20 years. She has done the whole country proud. She is a global star. As a Miss World, she has done so much for the country. The H chandigarh Madhuri backs Aish in body shaming row HOT eat SUMMER SIPS T HE Oberoi Sukhvilas Resort & Spa, Chandigarh, has unveiled an evocative new Summer Cocktail Menu at Anant Mahal and Raunaq Bar, presenting a sensorial collection of handcrafted creations inspired by the poetry of the season. The menu showcases regional fruit profiles alongside sophisticated, spiritforward combinations. play WAX & WONDER H ANDMADE candles with captivating aromas are drawing attention at Shambhala, an ongoing mixed-media art exhibition being held at the historic Gaiety Theatre on The Mall. The exhibition features a diverse range of artworks that have been receiving praise from visitors. Among the highlights are the handcrafted candles, which have emerged as a major attraction for attendees. love WORDS UNITE A NEW literary collective, Writers’ Forum (WF), has been launched with the aim of promoting literary culture across the Tricity. Founder Sudha Aggarwal, an acclaimed poet and author, said the forum seeks to foster a supportive and inclusive environment for writers. “The Writers’ Forum is not merely another literary group. It is a sincere effort to build a creative community where writers can express themselves fearlessly, participate meaningfully, and evolve collectively through dialogue and mutual respect,” she said.