Latest news with #improvisational
New York Post
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
‘Gone Girl' star Rosamund Pike reveals she was punched in the face during ‘horrible' mugging incident
Rosamund Pike experienced a traumatic robbery nearly ten years ago. The 'Gone Girl' star, 46, recently appeared on U.K.'s 'Magic Radio' and revealed that she was mugged in London in 2006. 'I was on the phone to my mother – on a mobile phone walking along a road – and I was mugged,' Pike recalled. 'The phone was snatched so all she heard was me scream and a thud and the phone went dead.' 5 Rosamund Pike on 'Magic Radio.' Magic Radio/YouTube 5 Rosamund Pike in 'Gone Girl.' 20th Century Fox Licensing/Merchandising / Everett Collection 'And then I just walked to the pub and called her there when I met my friends,' Pike said of her mother. 'For her, it was probably a pretty horrible 15 minutes.' The 'Wheel of Time' actress claimed that the mugger was 'some kid on a bicycle' who physically assaulted her as she stole her phone. '[They] punched me down the side of my cheek and snatched my phone out of my hand,' Pike said, adding that she was 'angry' in the moment. 5 Rosamund Pike at the UK screening of 'Hallow Road' in London on April 28. Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/WireImage Pike appeared on 'Magic Radio' with Matthew Rhys to promote their new thriller film 'Hallow Road,' in which they play parents who get a distressed phone call from their college-age daughter and have to help her. Director Babak Anvari told Collider in an interview last week that the film explores a parents' 'worst nightmare.' 5 Rosamund Pike seen at CBS Studio in New York City on March 26. GC Images Rhys, 50, also spoke to the outlet about working with Pike on the intense project. 'It was probably the improvisational work we did at the beginning. We did some improvisational rehearsals. It wasn't really a shock; I don't think you said 'action,' but you said you can kind of begin whenever you want, and it's like a switch with Rosamund, the intensity, the 'now it's game time' switch,' he explained. 'It's kind of startling. It's so immediate and so deep. I went, 'Oh, it's time to step up.' There's no easing our way into this, and I think that's how she attacks every day and every scene,' said Rhys. 5 Rosamund Pike attends the 'My Master Builder' West End opening night in London on April 29. WireImage Last year, Pike made headlines when she attended the 2024 Golden Globe Awards in massive headpiece to hide injuries she sustained in a skiing accident. 'I had an accident over Christmas — I had a skiing accident and I had to think, you know, not what you want when you're coming to the Golden Globes on the seventh of January,' the 'Saltburn' actress told Variety on the red carpet. 'So on the 26th of December, my face was entirely smashed up,' she continued. 'And I thought I need to protect I need to do something.'
Hindustan Times
11-05-2025
- General
- Hindustan Times
Chandigarh's slum demolitions: Urban order or displacement dilemma?
When Chandigarh was envisioned by Le Corbusier and his team in the 1950s, it was meant to embody a vision of organised, humane living—free from the chaotic sprawl of older Indian cities. Yet seventy years later, the city's ongoing issues with informal settlements, and their recent demolition, reveal the persistent gap between idealistic planning and the messy, evolving realities of how cities actually grow. In recent weeks, Chandigarh witnessed a wave of demolitions targeting slum clusters, particularly in Sector 25 and parts of Dhanas. The drive, undertaken by local authorities following high court orders, displaced hundreds of families. The situation calls for an analytical look—at planning intentions, legal mandates, and the pathways Chandigarh must now consider if it wishes to remain both a model city and a compassionate one. The planning ethos & its frictions Chandigarh's original master plan was rooted in ideals of functionality, hierarchy of movement, and clear segregation of spaces based on land use and income group. The city included earmarked zones for economically weaker sections (EWS), with modestly designed homes meant to accommodate essential service providers—those whose labour was indispensable to the functioning of the city. However, over time, the influx of migrants far outpaced the capacities envisioned in the original blueprint. Many of these migrants arrived in search of construction jobs, domestic work, or informal trade opportunities but found formal housing either unaffordable or entirely unavailable. As a result, informal settlements gradually took shape along the city's margins, often occupying vacant parcels of government land. The emergence of these settlements highlighted a fundamental mismatch between Chandigarh's rigid, top-down planning model and the dynamic, improvisational nature of real human settlement. Despite repeated attempts at relocation and rehabilitation through schemes like the EWS Housing Plan and the Chandigarh Small Flats Scheme, the cycle of encroachment and eviction continued. The latest demolitions are not a new chapter, but rather a continuation—one shaped by decades of unresolved urban pressures. Demolitions: Legal frameworks vs human realities The recent eviction operations were carried out under directives from the Punjab and Haryana high court, which emphasised the need to clear unauthorised constructions from public lands. Authorities justified the action on the grounds of city aesthetics, public safety, and the right to planned development. From a legal standpoint, the demolitions are consistent with principles of planned urbanism and the safeguarding of government-owned land. Chandigarh's unique status as a Union Territory gives its administration direct accountability to the central government, increasing pressure to comply strictly with judicial directives. Yet from a human and sociological lens, the situation becomes far more layered. Many of those evicted had lived in these areas for years—sometimes decades—contributing to Chandigarh's labor force and social infrastructure. Voter ID cards, ration cards, and other official documentation had, in many cases, validated their presence and blurred the line between illegal occupation and de facto residence. While the administration stated that eligible residents would be considered for rehabilitation under existing welfare schemes, ground reports suggest that many were left homeless with little notice. The absence of immediate alternative housing or livelihood options raises difficult questions about the ethics and effectiveness of implementation—especially when legal justification exists but humane execution falters. A case for inclusive urbanism As Chandigarh continues to expand its infrastructure and economic ambitions, it must confront a deeper, more existential question: who gets to claim space in the 'City Beautiful'? There is an urgent need for policy frameworks that recognise informal urbanism not just as a problem to be erased, but as a reality to be understood and integrated. Planned cities may begin with geometry and order, but they endure through the lives that unfold within them. Future strategies might include in-situ upgrades, development of affordable rental housing, and participatory planning models that center the voices of the marginalised. Chandigarh now has a chance to evolve from blueprint to belonging—a shift that honours both its legacy and its future. (The writer is a Chandigarh-based architect & interior designer)
