29092020-LSTL-01.qxd 9/28/2020 11:04 PM Page 1 c m y b TRIBUNE Baby boy! Oscar winner Joaquin Phoenix and his fiancee Rooney Mara, have become proud parents to a baby boy. It’s the couple’s first child together. LUDHIANA | TUESDAY | 29 SEPTEMBER 2020 Spreading million smiles Everybody knows about Kaun Banega Crorepatiand its iconic host Amitabh Bachchan, but have you heard about its show-runner? If not, here’s catching up with Sujata Sanghamitra preparationgoes into that. Right from the audition for which we have travelled across the country to our teams reaching out to every nook and corner, covering our contestants, we have had our hands full. And to see lives change, forever, right in front of our eyes has been an amazing experience. Mona T KANGANA RANAUT Mind games Through the pandemic Mommy of the show I joined the show as an executive producer right at the inception. The very moment I first saw Mr Bachchan, I froze. The man from Deewaar and Trishul was right in front of me!It’s only over the years that I have started seeing him as our host. I progressed to the supervising producer, then creative director and now the showrunner. I am basically the ‘mommy’ of KBC, everything must pass through me. So like most mommies, I am strict, but also a giver; basically the rule-keeper of this house. Kangana shares Trump’s tweet asking Joe Biden to take drug test Amid the ongoing drug probe in Bollywood, Kangana Ranaut has shared Donald Trump’s tweet asking presidential candidate Joe Biden to take a drug test. President Trump had tweeted on Sunday, “I will be strongly demanding a drug test of sleepy Joe Biden prior to, or after, the debate on Tuesday night. Naturally, I will agree to take one also. His debate performances have been record setting uneven, to put it mildly. Only drugs could have caused this discrepancy???” Sharing the tweet, Kangana wrote, “It’s not the content of this tweet but the context of it that I appreciate, accusations of taking drugs is used as a slur… We as a society must know what is it that we recognise as truly shameful.” A song of hope Shatrughan Sinha and Sonakshi Sinha join hands for a musical initiative The citizens across the nation are overwhelmed with the challenges that have arisen from the economic slowdown. So, Republik of Musik in association with Beyond Music & White Billionaire Records is set to present Zaroorat, a campaign for hope in the form of a song. The narrative of the WENTY years and 12 seasons old, Kaun Banega Crorepati is set to return with a new season on September 26 and Sujata Sanghamitra, the show-runner, couldn’t have imaginedthe same when they started out in March. As iconic Amitabh Bachchan turns host once more, Sujata spills the beans on what it’s like to return to the mega-show. upcoming song has been headlined by veteran actor Shatrughan Sinha and his daughter, actress Sonakshi Sinha. They have come together for the first time for a musical initiative. The music video of Zaroorat will feature personalities from diverse fields. Talking about Zaroorat, Sonakshi says, “Kudos to all the artists for executing the initiative of inspiring people to be resourceful and kind to each other. We are tackling big problems right now - economic slowdown, internal conflicts and tension at our borders. Now more than ever, it has become pertinent to lend a helping hand or a kind word or even a smile.” Zaroorat will be available on all streaming platforms on October 1. For the first time in the history of KBC, we would have a show sans the audience. The format has been rejigged to suit the new times. We couldn’t have risked any lives. Now instead of 10, there would be eight participants to begin with keeping in mind MR BACHCHAN IS ALWAYS social disPUSHING US TO DO BETTER. tancing. HE IS A TRUE ROCKSTAR, WITH The hot HIM AS HOST, HE NEVER LETS seat is now ANY COMPLACENCY SET IN. farther ducing from the SUJATA SANGHAMITRA reality bites. host. While The show on there would be the surface may seating for those seem simple in format, but who accompany the contestthere are layers and a lot of ant, therewould be no live ❝ KBC through the years We have evolved with time. From a simple quiz show to changing formats, we have covered quite a distance. We have been pioneers in intro- B-town wishes its Ma Saraswati Lata Mangeshkar turned 91 on Monday, and celebrities took to social media to greet the living legend. Actress Kangana Ranaut tweeted: “Wishing legendary #LataMangeshkar ji a very Happy Birthday, some people do what they do with such single mindedness and absolute focus that they don’t only excel in their work but also become synonymous to what they do. Bowing LATA MANGESHKAR down to one such glorious Karma Yogi.” Singer Shankar Mahadevan called Lata Blame game The Narcotics Control Bureau recently arrested filmmaker Kshitij Prasad, who is an exemployee of Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions, in connection with the ongoing drug probe related to Sushant Singh Rajput’s death case. The agency reportedly demanded his custody till October 3, 2020, but, Kshitij, on Sunday, denied all allegations before the court and Mangeshkar Ma Saraswati. “Happiest Birthday Ma Saraswati! Please bless us and keep blessing us musicians so that we work hard and strive for excellence! Loads of love,” Mahadevan wrote on Instagram. Shreya Ghoshal posted throwback pictures of Lata Mangeshkar and wrote: “My pranaams to Swar Samragyi Ma Saraswati #LataMangeshkar ji on her 91st Birthday.” —IANS audience poll as helpline. The audition process moved to online for Season 12. Our reality teams couldn’t go shooting, so contestants have shot their realitybites. With their phones, kids have turned little moviemakers for their mothers! The entire process was as exhaustive though, at times our virtual creative meetings having lasted for eight hoursat a stretch. The host rocks The first day on the sets was scary. Mr Bachchan was just back from hospital and we were all apprehensive about his health. But the legend that he is, he showed up with the same spirit and even more enthusiasm. He is always pushing us to do better. He is a true rockstar, always attentive to the minutest detail. With him as host, he never lets any complacency set in. In the current times, we all are surrounded by stress, anxiety and negativity. Our contestantsand how they dealt with circumstances to emerge victorious is bound to inspire everyone. It’s a family secret! Bollywood’s power couple Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan always give us major relationship goals. Gauri recently revealed during an interaction that her residence, Mannat, was not managed by her or SRK but her mom from Delhi, “Most of my house’s organisation has been remote-controlled by my mom who is in Delhi. She is always on the hotline with the staff…” Sharing details about their days in quarantine, Gauri said, “During the lockdown, we were initially scared to even order food from outside. So ‘ghar ka khana’ was made by Shah Rukh himself and we are enjoying it! He loves cooking and I enjoy eating.” SRK cooked ghar ka khana during lockdown Kshitij Prasad alleges NCB forced him to implicate Karan Johar said the officials forced him to falsely implicate Karan Johar and the rest of the executives of the company. Now, Mutha Ashok Jain, Deputy DG Jain of NCB has denied these reports and said allegations made against the central agency by Prasadwere false. He has further added that the agency has carried out the investigation in a professional manner. Prasad had appeared before the court on Sunday through a video conference. Kshitij’s lawyer Satish Maneshinde has stated that Kshitij’s statement was not recorded as per narration. KSHITIJ PRASAD As the title Love, Guaranteed suggests, this Netflix original is all about love and romance Gurnaaz Kaur Susan Whitaker (Rachael Leigh Cook) is a lawyer and a moralist; good-willed, selfaware, kind and caring. She runs a boutique law firm with two employees and mostly fights pro bono cases, but is struggling to make ends meet. One day, her luck turns around when a handsome man, Nick Evans (Damon Wayans Jr), comes with a case – he wants to sue a dating website that guarantees love. Susan finds it unusual, but takes the case anyway because it can pay the bills and save her firm.This is the broad premise of Love, Guaranteed, a Netflix original. Nick has been using dating app Love Guaranteed (owned by lifestyle guru Tamara Taylor, played by NET, FLICKS & MORE A love-ly setting Film: Love, Guaranteed Director: Mark Steven Johnson Cast: Rachael Leigh Cook, Damon Wayans Jr, Heather Graham Rating:  Heather Graham) and has so far gone on 986 dates. The website promises love within 1,000 dates! As she begins the case, Nick shares a dossier describing the red flags and quirks of all the women he has met through the dating app. It is hard for Susan to believe his claims and she thinks he is an opportunist, so decides to meet some of the women he went on a date with. Surprise, surprise! The women tell her what a gentleman Nick is; large-hearted, c m y b caring, kind, self-aware and honest. Susan has a change of heart. With the case getting stronger, Nick and Susan also start feeling strongly for each other. By now you must have already guessed the end! So, let’s talk about the lead pair. Susan is a workaholic, orders Chinese food and stocks it for the whole week; week after week. She drives a vintage VW jalopy, named Zorro, whose music system is stuck playing Tiffany’s ‘I think we’re alone now’ on loop and at a high volume. The door handle of her car comes off every time she opens it! Despite these hiccups and being hard pressed for money, her world is nearperfect. She has a loving sister, who is her next-door neighbour. Her brother-in- law is very generous and doesn’t charge much rent. Her employees are willing to work overtime and weekends without batting an eyelid! Nick is a former sportsman,who couldn’t pursue the game due to an injury. Being a compassionate soul, he now works as a trained physical therapist. If he wins the case, he wants to donate money to a children’s ward. Two perfect persons more like each other’s reflection! Love, Guaranteed may be about overblown promises of a dating app, but it is an old-fashioned rom-com that will entertain you, make you laugh and then you’ll forget about it. In this fastpaced life, such short and sweet stories can serve as pleasant breaks. SHAH RUKH KHAN AND GAURI KHAN