10092026-LSTC-01.qxd 9/10/2026 12:42 AM Page 1 c m y b LEADER IN THE MAKING Shiv Aryan Films and Black Panther Movies Ltd (London) have announced the signing of filmmaker Kalees, director of the action entertainer Baby John, for its upcoming pan-India project, titled Leader. TRIBUNE Hopeful Life UG threw me back into life Actress Julia Garner has said she still believes the long-shelved Madonna biopic, in which she was to headline as Madonna, could eventually make it to the screen. CHANDIGARH | THURSDAY | 10 SEPTEMBER 2026 Mahesh Bhatt, whose documentary on UG Krishnamurti wowed The Telluride Film Festival, talks about his love-hate relationship with the radical anti-guru It’s different Subhash K Jha T HE world premiere of the emotionally jolting documentary The Natural State about the radical Indian “anti-guru” UG Krishnamurti took place at the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado on September 7. The film explores the seismic effect Krishnamurti had on his followers. It is built from hundreds of hours of previously unseen archival video footage and personal journals kept by Julie Thayer, a wealthy New York resident, who abandoned her family and life in 1989 to follow UG into the Swiss Alps, documenting their intense, often devastating psychological interactions. The documentary marks the ambitious directorial debut of composer Matt Dougherty. It is executive produced by Oscar-winning filmmaker Jane Campion—who knew UG personally and modelled Holly Hunter’s character “GJ” in the series Top of the Lake after him—alongside Mahesh Bhatt. The filmmaker spoke about it after the Telluride screening. I had the privilege of watching the documentary. I came away drained, unable to understand U G Krishnamurti… Not understanding UG is not a failure of the film. It may be the film’s final achievement. If the audience walks away saying, “Now I understand UG,” the film has probably betrayed him. What he leaves behind is not an answer but the collapse of our demand for one. I was especially drained by his brutal treatment of Julie Thayer, the woman who loved him blindly? What I say about Julie is crucial: his brutality was perhaps the last kindness. “You think you can buy me?” is devastating because it destroys the final transaction—the hope that devotion, proximity, money, sacrifice, years spent beside him might purchase what she had come looking for. Nothing could. Because, according to UG, there was nothing to acquire. years, I cannot explain him. That is beautiful. The aftertaste UG leaves behind is the frustration of not being able to make sense of the magic and mystery of life. Your relationship with UG was quite stormy. In the documentary I saw you openly challenging him? Why was he so contemptuous of his followers, specially Julie, who gave him everything? My relationship with him was different. I did not love him because he gave me enlightenment. I loved him because he drove me out of the marketplace of enlightenment. He threw me back into life. Into filmmaking. Love. Family. Failure. Desire. Death. The ordinary world. The real world. And still, after all these I think, in the end, he ‘liberated’ Julie. Brutally. When she came to him with that final offer to give him all her wealth, he said, “You can’t buy me”. That cruelty contained the truth he had been telling her all along: You are not going to get anything here. What she was looking for, he did not have. Nobody has. Ajay Devgn wants Malayalam superstar Mohanlal to watch the upcoming third part of the Drishyam franchise and give his approval to the family crime thriller. Speaking at the trailer launch of Drishyam The Conclusion in Goa on Wednesday, Ajay said the new film has a completely different story from the Malayalam version and that he would be happy to have Mohanlal’s approval. — ANI He completely rejected his devotees’ faith in him... He tore everything down. But he never said: replace it with me. “The messiahs have made a mess of this world,” he said. Filmmaker Jane Campion You were enamoured then disillusioned by UG? For me, the greatest love story of my life was with this man. He cured me of the spiritual question and threw me back into the real world. Do I understand him? No. Do I love him? Yes. I love him as I have loved nothing else in my life. He is the breath of my breath. And he disturbs me even now. I can’t make sense of this rude thinker who says nothing matters? I cannot make sense of UG for you. Perhaps nobody should. If this film leaves you with that thirst—with the CHAT UP WHAT’S HOT learn chandigarh A TOUCH OF MOROCCO C REATE a stunning Moroccan tile design with vivid blue and gold pigments at this hands-on workshop, set under a beautifully decorated tent with desert music and mint tea for company. The session covers geometric patterns and traditional colour techniques. At Cafe Coffee Day, Sector 16, on September 13. play OFF TO BERLIN The ambitious Indo-German feature film The Bombay Blood, produced by Neel Kothari, Gaurav Hrishikesh Thakur and Daniel E Pajak is gearing up for a significant international milestone with an upcoming special screening at the Indian Embassy in Berlin on September 11. EMOTIONAL MOMENT Spanish stars Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem’s upcoming film Bunker received a 16-minute standing ovation following its screening at the Venice Film Festival on Tuesday, with the applause marking the longest ovation for a premiere at this year’s festival so far. The new film, written, directed and produced by Florian Zeller, stars Cruz and Bardem alongside Stephen Graham, Paul Dano and Patrick Schwarzenegger. Video from the event showed Cruz becoming emotional as the audience applauded the cast and team of Bunker. — ANI DJ SNAKE TO RETURN TO INDIA chandigarh JUST BEAT IT T HE Lost Carnival brings a night of highenergy music, spectacular lights and unforgettable party vibes to the city, featuring live performances by Vishal and dynamic beats by Atharva. The fivehour set spans Bollywood, disco and EDM. At MOBE Elante, on September 13. Ranveer, Deepika celebrate Dua’s second birthday with a baby bump reveal Portrait of a happy family laugh Ananya Verma Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone marked daughter Dua Padukone Singh’s second birthday on September 8 with a black and white family photoshoot that doubled as a pregnancy reveal. Ranveer shared the pictures on Instagram with the caption, “Baby Dua and our hearts are getting bigger. Thank you for your blessings.” The photographs show a LAUGH OUT LOUD chandigarh mystery still intact, with no answer to carry home—then perhaps it has brought you as close to UG as anyone can come. Not to an answer. To the fire. You heard Julie’s response to the question of why she loved him? “He was fire. He flows through my ‘veins’ like my blood.” C OMEDIAN Jaspreet Singh brings his solo act Straight Up to the city, packed with observational humour and relatable everyday stories. The show runs for an hour and thirty minutes in Hindi and English, drawing on the comedian’s signature style of finding comedy in the mundane. At Tagore Theatre, from September 12 till September 26. ISTOCK c m y b beaming Dua flanked by her parents, with Deepika’s baby bump clearly visible. The pictures sent the internet into a frenzy, with congratulatory messages pouring in from across the industry. The couple had first announced this pregnancy in April 2026 through a heartwarming post featuring Dua holding a positive pregnancy test. The second baby is expected around Diwali. EDM star DJ Snake is set to return to India as the latest addition to the lineup of Sunburn Festival 2026. His announcement comes after The Chainsmokers and Sebastian Ingrosso were revealed as headliners for the festival, which is scheduled to take place in Mumbai in December. MIRZAPUR EARNS ~150 CRORE Mirzapur: The Movie, featuring actors Ali Fazal, Divyenndu and Pankaj Tripathi, among others, has earned over Rs 150 crore at the domestic box office. The film, which released on September 4, marks the first big-screen outing for the Mirzapur universe, which began as a streaming series in 2018.