www.indiAneXPreSS.com Drawing out the Silence From a childhood accident that led to a loss of hearing to finding his artistic voice. In his centenary year, a look at Satish Gujral’s journey across silence, displacement and artistic reinvention AHMEDABAD, MARcH 22, 2026 SCREEN Meet Navtej Singh Rahel, whose two-decade-old song is leading Dhurandhar 2, taking over Gen Z feeds lAte city 14+4 PAgeS ₹6.00 d A i l y f r o m : A h m e d A b A d , c h A n d i g A r h , CHETAK SCREEN AWARDS APRIL 5 Screen Academy unveils: Here are the nominees for the finest in film... Dhurandhar, Saiyaara, Homebound top 3 in nominations; 50-member Academy, revamped judging criteria honour best of Indian cinema Express News Service Mumbai, March 21 WITH INDIAN cinema scaling heights and pushing boundaries,ChetakScreenAwardsreturn on April 5 with a renewed approach and a star-studded evening to honour the best works of 2025. The nominations position AdityaDhar’sespionagethriller Dhurandhar—a massive boxoffice success—as the frontrunner with 24 nods. It is followedbyMohitSuri’sromantic musical saga, Saiyaara,with 17 nominations,andNeerajGhaywan’smovingtaleoffriendship, Homebound, with 15. Backed by a powerful blend of editorial credibility, cultural legacy and digital reach, the awardsacross31categories,will »CONTINUED ON PAGE 8 d e l h i , j A i P u r , k o l k A t A , l u c k n o w , m u m b A i , n A g P u r , P A t n A , P u n e , v A d o d A r A STRIKES TO CONTINUE UNTIL THREATS REMOVED: ISRAEL DEFENCE MINISTER Iran fires two long-range missiles at Diego Garcia, says its Natanz n-site hit PMspeakswith IranPresident, flagsattackson energyinfra, shippinglanes Winding down ops, let countries that use Strait of Hormuz police it, says Trump Jana Choukeir, Idrees Ali & Phil Stewart Dubai, Washington, March 21 PRESIDENT DONALD Trump said the US was considering “windingdown”itsmilitaryoperationagainstIran,asIranand Israel traded attacks Saturday and Iranian media said the nuclearenrichmentfacilityinNatanz had been attacked. Iran fired two ballistic missiles towards the US-British military airport on the island of Diego Garcia, 3,800 km away in the Indian Ocean but did not hit the base, the Wall Street Journal reported. AsourceatBritain’sdefence ministrysaidtheattackhadoccurred before the government gave specific authorisation Friday for the US to use British military bases to carry out strikes on Iranian missile sites. In a social media post, »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 During Eid al-Fitr at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Grand Mosque. AP First op use of IRBMs by Tehran, way beyond West Asia theatre of war Abhishek Chakraborty New Delhi, March 21 IRAN’SBIDtotargetDiegoGarcia, a joint US-UK military base intheIndianOcean,with ballistic missiles has madetheworldsitup.Because Diego Garcia is around 4,000 km away from the Iranian mainland. Whileneitherofthetwoballistic missiles reached the is- land — one was said to have failed mid-flight and the secondwastargetedbyanSM-3interceptor launched from a US Navy warship — this was the first time that Iran had disclosed and deployed intermediate-range ballistic missiles. The IRBMs, with a rangeof3,000-5,500km,bridge thegapbetweenmedium-range E. »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ‘Cessation of aggression by US, Israel,’ must to end war: Iran Shubhajit Roy New Delhi, March 21 AS THE war in West Asia entered its fourth week with no signsofalet-up,PrimeMinister Narendra Modi spoke to IranianPresidentMasoudPezeshkian on Saturday, flagging growing concerns over attacks on “critical infrastructure” and the importance of “safeguarding freedom of navigation.” Tehran, for its part, made it clearthatan“immediatecessation of aggressions” by US and Israel was a “pre-requisite for ending the war.” In the call, Modi’s second »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Ahmedabad MOVE TO PREVENT COST ESCALATION Govt to scrutinise all Jal Jeevan projects costing Rs 100-cr plus Harikishan Sharma New Delhi, March 21 AMID CONCERNS over the inflatedcostofworksundertaken in the first phase of Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), the Centre is set to undertake a rationalisation exercisebyscrutinisingprojects costingoverRs100crorebefore fundsarereleasedtostates,The Indian Express has learnt. TheJalJeevanMissionaims to provide potable water of at least 55 litres every day to every person through functional tap connectiontoeveryruralhousehold.Originallyscheduledtobe completedby2024,themission deadline has now been extended to 2028. According to sources, the UnionMinistryofJalShakti,the nodalministryforimplementationoftheJMM,informedstates about the proposed cost rationalisationandapportionmenton March 14 — four days after the Union Cabinet approved extension of the JJM from 2024 till 2028, with an additional outlay of Rs 1.51 lakh crore. »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2