11082026-LSTL-01.qxd 8/10/2026 7:59 PM Page 1 c m y b TRIBUNE Apologies Life Avika Gor and Jasmin Bhasin have rekindled their friendship on the sets of Khatron Ke Khiladi 15. Avika apologised to Jasmin for misunderstanding her in the past and intentionally maintaining a distance from her. LUDHIANA | TUESDAY | 11 AUGUST 2026 Yash, intoxicating At the trailer launch of Toxic, Yash bows down to the stage before stepping onto it, speaks in Kannada before switching to English, takes self-deprecating digs and opens up about the larger vision he has for the film Pregnancy GLOW Anne Hathaway flaunts her baby bump at LA premiere of The End of Oak Street Basking in pregnancy glow, Anne Hathaway on Sunday made a stunning red carpet appearance during the Los Angeles premiere of her film, The End of Oak Street. She styled her classic blue denims with an ice-blue cape-style top featuring a dramatic, floor-grazing trail at the back. The flowy silhouette beautifully highlighted her baby bump, while she completed the look with dewy makeup and a sleek, high ponytail. Speaking at the London premiere of The Odyssey recently, Hathaway described balancing motherhood and a packed release calendar as “extremely surreal”. “I’m excited. This is very, very fun. It’s extremely surreal,” Hathaway said. “But I’m at an age and a moment in my career where I know stuff like this doesn’t come around very often and certainly doesn’t last forever,” she added. The actress said she plans to make the most of the moment. “So, I’m just gonna surf this wave for as long as it lasts, I’m going to enjoy being on my board,” she said. — ANI Mona “I believe in one thing… now there is no more Kannada, Tamil, Telugu division… Toxic is an Indian film,” opens Yash, the pan-Indian superstar, who is risking everything that he has built over the decades to put an Indian film on the global stage. “This movie is not Yash’s film, this is an Indian film, where all the top stars, where all the successful people have kept their insecurities, their goals and even their self-interest aside to just come with one cause,” he adds. No starry airs, Yash bows down to the stage before stepping onto it, speaks in Kannada before switching to English, takes self-deprecating digs at himself multiple times, and then opens up about the larger vision he has for Toxic. After KGF transformed him into global phenomenon, he risked it all on an experimental, edgy plot. “It is not a perfect commercial package film,” he admits. He describes it as “a very unique combination and very unique attempt.” And in this attempt, he literally threw every caution to the winds. The film, which he has co-written and co-produced, and in which he plays a dual role, has Geetu Mohandas as its director. “I always believe in a director’s passion than their past success,” Yash says. “When I see peo- YASH, IN HIS TEAM’S EYES “He is passion in motion and hard work in motion. And that is contagious and infectious.” — Venkat K. Narayana, co-producer “I walked onto the set as a fangirl, but you invited me as a collaborator. Thank you for that generosity. That is the spirit I will carry onto every set I work on — to be a strong collaborator.” — Rukmini Vasanth, actress “Rocky bhai… the first time I met Yash, I saw that the larger-than-life image of him is exactly how he is in person. Beyond that, I have never ever seen a more hardworking actor. I have so much love ple, all I see is if they are passionate, if they are able to dedicate their time and energy and believe in what they believe. That’s it. That makes me go for it.” That is what he saw in Geetu — “a burning passion, desire” and the determination to show the world what she could do. A woman helming a gangster saga is a philosophy that mirrors Yash’s own journey. His career has been built on betting on himself. “When you want to do something in life, nothing should stop you,” he says. If someone tells him something cannot be done, he sees “that person’s lack of imagination.” and respect for you, Yash — for the actor you are, the producer you are, the human being you are, the husband you are, and the family man and father you are. I have huge respect for you. You are where you are today because of your incredible hard work.” — Nayanthara, actress “Yash to me is not just my wonderful producer, not just a brilliant actor or an amazing co-writer. Yash, to me, is an emotion — a very deep emotion. I don’t know what my path is going to be after this movie, but I am going to carry a part of you with me in everything I do.” — Geetu Mohandas, director Toxic demanded that conviction. Yash reveals that the film involved around 200 days of shooting, across two versions — Kannada and English. “You know my English, yaaa…,” he laughs. “Making a film itself is like you are going through a war against the whole world.” There were delays and rumours along the way, but Yash insists the team kept pushing. He warmly acknowledges his wife Radhika Pandit’s role in this journey. “I want to thank my wife. Trust me, I’m a very difficult person to be with. On top of it, this particular film was very demanding. I had 2-3 different looks and too much time was required. Radhika managed all the responsibilities and still managed to be a huge support for me. Thank you so much. Nothing will go waste,” he promises. He speaks at length about the contributions of his ensemble rather than simply presenting himself as the centre of the film. He also takes the bull by the horns, addressing controversies around the film. The very bold song Tabaahi saw people trolling Kiara Advani, a wife and mother, for doing such hot scenes, while nobody trolled Yash, a much married man with kids as well. He tells Kiara, “It’s unfortunate what you had to go through. Trust me, people will celebrate, people will appreciate. It is just that we are ahead of times.” He thanks Nayanthara, calling her the “most bad*** sister one can have,” and applauds her for showing up to promote the film — something she rarely does. He calls Huma Qureshi the “brand ambassador of Toxic,” admits he has “learned a lot” from Akshay Oberoi, and credits Sudev Nair for stepping in whenever shooting schedules went haywire. He speaks with pride about Karnataka girl Rukmini Vasanth and her journey. He promises his fans that he doesn’t take their love for granted, and assures them that Toxic “is going to blow your mind.” Toxic hits cinemas on August 26. PHOTOS: VISHAL KUMAR Sunny Deol sat with Batwara 1947 story for 16 years before finally collaborating with director Rajkumar Santoshi ‘I feel proud to have made chandigarh Batwara 1947’ play, “But we wanted to have him to represent the younger generation, to complete the full arc,” said Sunny. Batwara 1947 reunited Sunny with director Rajkumar Santoshi after nearly three decades. Grown up listening to Partition stories from his maternal family, Sunny remembers how his father, late Dharmendra, once narrated him a story of his grandfather. “My grandparents sheltered a young Muslim girl during Partition and sent her back to Delhi safely. These stories were filtered down but my kids never really got exposed to them. That’s why he believes that oral history on Partition is important. “The film is based on such stories that are preserved and passed down to our next generation. Visiting the Partition Museum was heavy as we saw elements and stories that made us connect more with the pain,” he said. Batwara 1947 also takes him back to a time when he debuted in the film industry with socialist films like Arjun and Dacait. “I was rebellious, I did not want to do the kind of films everyone else was doing. I grew up with films of the 60s and 70s. So, now I am coming back to what I love doing,” he said. GHEVAR GOES GLOBAL C ELEBRATING the festive spirit of Teej and Raksha Bandhan, celebrity chef Harpal Singh Sokhi has introduced a unique festive twist to the traditional ghevar at Karigari, Chandigarh, and has called it Tiramisu Ghevar. play SOUND ROUND G ET ready for an exciting Mahjong Divas × Club Aqua experience, presented by Divya Dhanda. This fun and engaging session will break down the South Round The event will take place on August 13 at Club Aqua. love KARAN AND SUNNY DEOL c m y b HOT eat ludhiana Asghar Wajahat’s classic Jis Lahore Nahi Dekhya O Jamyai Nai has remained one of the most significant and celebrated works of Partition literature adapted for the stage since it was first staged in India by Habib Tanvir in 1989. Its relevance in 2026 only becomes stronger as it now takes cinematic shape in the form of Sunny Deol-Raj Kumar Santoshi’s latest film Batwara 1947. It turns Partition into a human story, with Sunny Deol, Shabana Azmi, Preity Zinta and Karan Deol—all playing a part in it. It is an important story and needs to be told with passion and honesty. And, the reason Sunny Deol had to wait almost 16 years to make a film on it. “I am not much of reader or writer, so when Raj narrated the subject to me back in 2009-10, it remain stuck with me. Once I like something, I just want to do it. But times were tough then. Since Gadar 2’s release last year, things got better for me and producers came forward. Aamir Khan had read the story and we talked about it. This project did not need finance but passion and to get the story right,” said Sunny. Sunny and Karan Deol were in Amritsar, to visit Partition Museum and to interact with media before the film releases on Independence Day weekend. For Gen Z or someone, who doesn’t know anything about the history of Partiton, the film is a lesson. “I just want youngsters, the new generation, to watch the film with heart and go back home and hug their mother. The film has so many layers but love and humanity is the soul of the story,” he said. With Batwara 1947, Karan also found a way to know about his own Partition inheritance. “Working on the film was an eye opener. Through the story, I got to experience and learn about the trauma and grief that displacement brought,” said the younger Deol, who is now three films old in the industry. Karan’s character is not found in the original chandigarh Neha Saini WHAT’S VOCAL RECITAL P RACHEEN Kala Kendra is organising its 322nd Monthly Baithak programme, featuring a vocal recital by noted vocalist Archi Bhattacharya. Today at 6:30 pm at the ML Koser Auditorium, Sector 35-B, Chandigarh.