09082026-LSTC-01.qxd 08-08-2026 20:53 Page 1 c m y b TRIBUNE Hospitalised Life Chandigarh-born architect Asees Prab’s shorts Act! Citizen and Otherness open a dialogue on Chandigarh CHANDIGARH | SUNDAY | 9 AUGUST 2026 Beyond the grid Ananya Verma Asees Prab grew up in Chandigarh, left for Australia to pursue her PhD, and came back with a question — why does the rest of the world find this city fascinating while the people who actually live here barely know it? That question translated into two short films — Act! Citizen and Otherness. Making films was never the plan. “These films were not supposed to be films. They were just footages that turned into films as the whole process unfolded,” she said. “These are not cinematic objects but research Timeless tradition Kumar Gandharva’s grandson Bhuvanesh to perform in Chandigarh Bhuvanesh Komkali grew up speaking the language of ragas. Born into one of India’s most storied musical families, the grandson of the legendary Pandit Kumar Gandharva and son of Shri Mukul Shivputra, Komkali carries the artistic heritage of the Gwalior gharana with quiet authority. Trained by Vasundhara Komkali and Madhup Mudgal, Komkali’s performances are as commanding as they are rooted. Learning from such accomplished teachers, he says, has deepened his appreciation for his legacy and shaped his resolve to carry it forward. This is especially visible in Komkali’s efforts to preserve his musical inheritance by digitising Pandit Gandharva’s music archives. He also serves as Secretary of the Kumar Gandharva Pratishthan in Dewas. Balika Vadhu actor Avika Gor has been hospitalised after testing positive for Dengue, following five days of high fever, her husband Milind Chandwani revealed. Komkali’s artistic abilities have been widely recognised, earning him a scholarship from the cultural department of the Government of India, as well as the Shanmukhananda Shiromani Award (2009), the Mallikarjun Mansur Yuva Puraskar (2010), and the Sangeet Natak Akademi’s Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar (2012). Chandigarh audiences will get a chance to experience this legacy first hand today, when Komkali performs at Varsha Ritu Sangeet Sandhya, an annual monsoon concert hosted by the Indian National Theatre, Chandigarh, in association with the Durga Das Foundation. The concert is free and open to all music lovers. Today at 6:30 pm at Newton Hall, Strawberry Fields High School, Sector 26, Chandigarh. Dwayne Johnson defends Moana Dwayne Johnson has defended Disney’s liveaction Moana remake following its mixed critical reception, saying he remains proud of the film despite the criticism. “Our first two reviews came out,” Johnson said. “I’ll never forget it ... They were amazing. I was like, Wow. (Then) it went another way, as sometimes happens…If you love it, great. If you don’t, no problem,” Johnson said. c m y b artefacts. The idea is not to conclude Chandigarh. It’s to provoke and open a dialogue.” Act! Citizen follows a kabadiwala who had spent 25 years in Chandigarh without ever visiting the Capitol Complex. “He had absolutely no idea about his own city,” she said. Her second film, Otherness, takes on Le Corbusier’s modularity — the design principle behind everything from Chandigarh’s doorknobs to its entire sector grid — and asks who it leaves out. Street vendors still finding their corners. Women navigating spaces not built with them in mind. “ As a female, I feel maybe we are the sexualized others. What about designing for universal accessibility? Where do we have the ramps?” she said. She chose film over a conventional thesis because the research was always meant for Chandigarh ’ s people, not an academic journal in Australia. “I kept thinking, I’m doing my research there but for the people here. What am I going to do with that research if I can’t bring it back?” she said. Act! Citizen and Otherness were screened at Tagore Theatre on Saturday. The Odyssey earns over $1 billion Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey has earned over $1 billion at the global box office. Featuring Matt Damon as Odysseus, Tom Holland as Telemachus, Zendaya as Athena, Robert Pattinson as Antinous, Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra, Anne Hathaway as Penelope, among others, the film released globally on July 17.