DT e-Paper 08 March 2017

Showtime
23
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, 2017
DT
Palki and Aparajita set to
air 400th episode
Varun’s awkward
moment
• Showtime Desk
Two of Deepto TV’s drama series,
Palki and Aparajita, are set to air
their 400th episode today. These
shows came on air doing the early
days of Deepto TV.
The story of Palki revolves around
an ordinary girl whose life suddenly
takes a complete turn, when she is
faced with dire situations within her
household, and even comes face to
face with death.
On the other hand, Aparajita
is based on a novel written by
Ashapoorna Devi. The drama depicts
a strong woman who constantly
fights against all odds, in order
to save her brothers and sisters.
Aparajita will be aired at 6:30pm
today, followed by Palki at 7pm. •
• Showtime Desk
Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt
recently made a guest appearance
on Sony TV’s musical talent show,
Indian Idol 9. They laughed, had
fun and then an incident made
Varun’s appearance impossible to
forget.
Varun and Alia were playing
matchmakers for all the
contestants. Malvika Sundar was
the last contestant, and she sang
the number “Bolna” from Kapoor
And Sons. After Malvika Sundar’s
performance, Varun asked her
about the qualities she looked for
in a man. Malvika told him that the
guy has to be a die-hard romantic
like Shah Rukh Khan, and most
importantly should know the
famous Kuthu dance of Chennai.
Varun Dhawan then joined
Malvika to do the traditional dance
form of Madras, and in the process
his trousers were ripped. Even
though the chemistry between
the two was fabulous throughout
their performance, it was quite
hilarious as well.
Varun, who had never
experimented with the dance form
was willing to give it a go, and
joined Malvika on stage.
Varun laughed and hurriedly
tried to find a corner, and the host
Karan Wahi dashed to his rescue,
hauling him over his shoulder and
carrying him off the stage. “An
unfazed Varun quickly changed
into another pair of pants in his
vanity van and returned to the
stage with the torn ones dangling
from his neck. Making light of
the incident, he announced that
he wanted to auction them. But
before anyone could bid for them,
the actor threw the pants into the
audience and completed the kuthu
dance with Malvika. •
Beauty and the Beast facing trouble in Russia
• Showtime Desk
Beauty and the Beast creators
have created uproar after it
was revealed that the liveaction
remake would feature
an exclusively gay moment for
the first time in Disney history.
“LeFou is somebody who
on one day wants to be Gaston
and on another day wants to
kiss Gaston,” Condon said.
Since his announcement,
Russian MPs and Christianrun
cinemas in America have
threatened to boycott the
film because of its inclusion
of a gay character. Christian
owners of a cinema in rural
Alabama said they would
only show “family-orientated
films” so its customers
were “free to come watch
wholesome movies without
worrying about sex, nudity,
homosexuality, and foul
language.”
Meanwhile Russian
Culture Minister Vladimir
Medinsky is facing mounting
pressure to assess whether
the film violates the country’s
controversial ‘gay propaganda’
law which prohibits children
from material “advocating for
a denial of traditional family
values.”
One thing that seems to
have been overlooked by
critics of the film’s gay subplot,
however, is the films
main storyline that sees Belle,
the protagonist, fall in love
with a buffalo.
The studio’s ‘first’ LGBT
character was monumental,
but the amount of controversy
surrounding the character
has forced the Beauty and the
Beast director to comment on
the public meltdown saying
it’s “all been overblown.”
Bill Condon, who also
directed Dreamgirls and two
of The Twilight Saga movies,
recently sat down with a
reporter to speak about the
huge amount of attention
surrounding the scene.
LeFou, Disney’s first openly
gay character, is played
by actor Josh Gad, who is
best known for voicing the
beloved snowman Olaf in the
blockbuster cartoon Frozen.
The movie has been at
the centre of huge public
debate since the scene was
announced.•