17012026-LSTC-01.qxd 1/16/2026 7:06 PM Page 1 c m y b READY FOR A DRAGON RIDE Cate Blanchett is set to ride the dragons again, this time in the live-action sequel. The two-time Oscar winner, who is known for voicing the character of Valka, Hiccup’s long-lost mother in the How to Train Your Dragon animated film series, has now inked a deal to reprise her character for the upcoming live-action. Mona TRIBUNE Coming soon Life The makers of Bhumi Pednekar-starrer Daldal on Friday unveiled the teaser. Daldal is set to premiere on Prime Video on January 30. CHANDIGARH | SATURDAY | 17 JANUARY 2026 What is Muzaffar Ali envious of? ...the people of Chandigarh, who call this glorious city their home, the filmmaker-artist-poet confessed, as he delivered a lecture encompassing art, migration, pain, poetry and peace P ANJAB UNIVERSITY witnessed a rare confluence of art, culture and conscience on a balmy Friday morning as eminent filmmaker, poet, painter and cultural visionary Muzaffar Ali delivered the 4th Prof Urmi Kessar Memorial Lecture at the PU Law Auditorium. “Dil se har mamla chale the saaf, kehne mein baat badal gayi,” he chose to speak spontaneously, ditching his prepared speech, taking the packed auditorium through his life and works. PASSION UNLIMITED Muzaffar Ali’s passion for art runs so deep that he never goes anywhere without a notebook and pencil. His engagement with art—be it painting, cinema or music—remains undiminished. He is currently penning a book of ghazals, and his longcherished dream project Zooni, which had stalled due to the insurgency in Kashmir, is now back on track. “My son, Shaad Ali, has found a way to restore and complete it,” he shared. Painting, poetry & peace PHOTO: PRADEEP TEWARI Art as responsibility The director of the timeless classic Umrao Jaan, Ali asserted that “cinema is not recreation; it is a responsibility.” His address unfolded not as a formal lecture but as a heartfelt narrative — woven with poetry, memory and lived experience. He spoke of art as a moral force, one that must uphold dignity, truth and human connection, rather than spectacle or charity. “Justuju jiski thi usko to na paaya humne,is bahaane se magar dekh li duniya humne,” he recited. Drawing from his polymathic career — spanning cinema, poetry, painting, music ...with wife Meera Ali and design — Ali described art as a continuum, where forms remain fluid and inseparable. “All arts are connected,” he said, “with poetry as the mother art, giving words to ideas, emotions and characters.” Stories of pain and belonging Ali reflected on his landmark films such as Gaman, Anjuman, Umrao Jaan and Jaanisaar, describing them as chronicles of migration, separation and invisible pain — especially that of women. “Gaman is about leaving,” he said, “but what never leaves is the pain of leaving the soil.” His adaptation of Umrao Jaan, based on the novel Umrao Jaan Ada, he described as ‘a young girl turning loss into poetry, root- ed in Awadh’, the region that deeply shaped his sensibility. He acknowledged the influence of poets such as Kaifi Azmi, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Faiz Ahmed Faiz and mystics Rumi and Amir Khusro, whose work continues to A S PA R K L I N G inspire his vision of art as devotion and dialogue. Village and the seed of art One of the most moving moments of the lecture came when Ali spoke of his father and his ancestral village Kot- N E W D E S T I N AT I O N FOR FINE JEWELLERY N O W O P E N AT ZIRAKPUR & MOHALI Mia by Tanishq Stores: • Zirakpur - LGF-03-25, Raksha Business Center, M: 98765-42202 • Mohali - SCF 26, Phase 3B2, M: 98157-21717 c m y b wara. “This village is my debt,” he said. “How do I ever repay it?” His father’s deep humanism, attachment to nature and society, and concern for rural dignity planted the seed of Ali’s lifelong creative journey. This ethos later found expression in initiatives like Kotwara Design House, which he clarified was “never about fashion, but about restoring dignity to craft and artisans.” Art, he insisted, must empower — not patronise. Ali shared that painting came to him in childhood and never left him. From early exhibitions in Kolkata to showcases in Paris, the canvas remained his most honest companion. “A canvas never lies,” he remarked. His experiences in Aligarh, where he initially studied science, proved transformative. Ali spoke briefly about Jahan-e-Khusro, the international festival he founded, which brings together mystic music, dance and poetry from across the world. He described it as an ecosystem where art becomes conscious — where devotion becomes dialogue and oneness becomes possible. In a world of fragile peace, he said, such artistic spaces are urgently needed. Politics, religion & humanity During the ru-ba-ru session, Ali was characteristically honest and disarmingly lighthearted about politics. He admitted, “I contested elections four times and found myself sandwiched between voters and leaders—neither truly understood me. So, I chose to stay with my art to convey my thoughts.” Quick-witted and reflective, he emphasised that understanding the sacred lives of people—irrespective of religion—is what ultimately drives humanity. “Anything that creates divisions between human beings,” he said, “is the very opposite of peace.” Concluding his lecture, Ali reminded the audience that every story an artiste tells is a forgotten history reclaimed. Whether through cinema, poetry, painting or music, art remains humanity’s most profound resistance against violence, displacement and erasure. “Not everyone can heal pain,” he said softly, “but the artiste can understand it — and turn it into art.” In honouring Prof Urmi Kessar’s legacy, Panjab University and Kessar family not only celebrated a towering cultural figure but reaffirmed the timeless belief that where art becomes conscious, peace becomes possible.