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www.newsindiatimes.com – that’s all you need to know Rani Mukerji Honored With Raj Kapoor Special Contribution Award A ctor Rani Mukerji was honored with the Raj Kapoor Special Contribution Award at the 62nd Maharashtra State Film Awards ceremony in Mumbai on Wednesday, September 9. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fad- navis presented the award to Mukerji at Ra- vindra Natya Mandir in Prabhadevi. Cultural Affairs Minister Ashish Shelar and several other dignitaries and members of the film fraternity were also present at the ceremony. Mukerji, who was born and brought up in Mumbai, said the award holds a special place in her heart as it came from the state where she has spent nearly three decades working in cinema. The actor also spoke about receiving an award named after Raj Kapoor. “I think that’s what makes this moment truly special for me since I’m receiving this recognition frommy very own people and from the place I belong to. To receive an award named after the legend of Indian cinema Raj Kapoor ji is, in itself, hugely humbling. And I truly hope I can live up to this honor,” she said, quoted in a press release. “Mumbai has given me my identity. It has given me an audience. It has given me a career. And it has been my home, my safe place, my everything. So this award will hold a very special place in my heart because whenever I look at it, I will not just see an award. I will see my Mum- bai, my Maharashtra,” she said. Mukerji has played several strong female characters in films including ‘Black’, ‘No One Killed Jessica’, ‘Hichki’, the ‘Mardaani’ franchise and ‘Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway’. Talking about the kind of stories and characters she has chosen over the years, Rani said, “I have always silently worked to represent the powerful girls and women of In- dia through cinema that has its heart in the right place.” She added, “I chose characters that felt truthful, that I felt instinctively drawn towards for their story, their journey and their resilience. Characters who had courage. Characters who had flaws. Characters who refused to disappear into the background. Women who were never waiting for someone else to rescue them.” Talking about her relationship with the in- dustry in Maharashtra, she said, “I have never considered cinema merely a profession. For me, cinema is a deep emotion. And Maha- rashtra is the home of that emotion.” She also spoke about the many people working behind the scenes in the state’s film industry. “There are thousands and thou- sands of people here who wake up every morning with one dream: to tell a story. And those stories don’t remain here. They travel fromMumbai to Maharashtra, fromMaha- rashtra to India and from India to the entire world. That is the magic and power of the film industry that thrives in this state.” Mukerji dedicated the award to Maharash- tra and the people working in its film industry. “So, with the deepest gratitude, I dedicate this award to Maha- rashtra. To its people. To its artists. To its technicians. To its filmmakers. To the entire film fraternity that calls this beautiful state home. And to the generations of storytell- ers who came before us and made it possible for a girl like me to dream.” - ANI Franchise Chess? Traditionalists Are Skeptical — But Just Watch A s both players’ clocks go under 10 seconds, hands are flying over the board. Uzbek grand- master Javokhir Sindarov is pressing for the win, but his time is ticking away. Eight seconds, seven, six … and then suddenly he blunders into a check- mate! It’s Danish grandmaster Jonas Bjerre who wins and secures the trophy for his team. For 1,500 years, chess has been the game of kings, played in quiet rooms: a slow-paced battle of brains, a profound quest for artistic brilliance. With the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League (GCL), which kicked off its fourth season on Saturday in Bengaluru, India, every- thing is different. Inspired by cricket’s Indian Premier League, the GCL launched in 2023 as a franchise league with exotic team names such as SG AlpineWarriors, Chingari Gulf Titans and Ganges Grandmasters. Mostly owned by Indian companies and entrepreneurs, the teams have included top international grandmasters who swapped business casual for brightly colored team shirts. If this isn’t alienating enough for the traditional chess fan, the league’s format is also peculiar, with entirely different rules for scoring, team composition and time controls. In the GCL, players earn three points for a win withWhite but four for a victory with Black. In chess, White makes the first move, an advantage similar to hav- ing the serve in tennis. So this points system rewards the “receiving” player more. The GCL is a double round-robin format with six teams, none of which are affiliated with cities like in traditional sports leagues. (The top two finishers will play in the final this Sunday.) Each six-player team - drafted by managers from a pool of grandmasters - must have two female players and at least one youth player. All this is combined with a “rapid” time control. Each player gets just 20 minutes to make all their moves (though more time is added if the game exceeds 40 moves). This leads to faster play than at traditional tournaments and can negatively affect the quality of the moves. Blunders will be made; blood will be spilled. For the purists, there is enough to be skeptical about. Does chess really need to be sportified for a modern au- dience and turned into a made-for-TV product? I had my doubts, too, but not anymore. To begin with, I really like the idea of including women in the teams. Although their participation rate has im- proved in recent years, female players are still underrep- resented in chess even though they are no less capable. In the GCL, they can be wonderful role models for young girls taking up the game. Furthermore, a faster time control basically guaran- tees entertainment. When the first season was ultimately decided in a single sudden-death game between Bjerre and Sindarov, it was a thrilling apotheosis. True, such entertainment should not come at the cost of quality chess, but there is plenty of that in the league thanks to the participation of world-class grandmasters - including Magnus Carlsen, the GOAT. More often than not, games are decided by good moves, not by the clock. When Bjerre delivered that checkmate, the playing hall witnessed scenes unlike the tranquility normally associ- ated with chess. His teammates cheered loudly, jumped in the air and hugged him, while a dejected Sindarov was comforted by his teammates. Those moments showed what sports are all about. Chess has enjoyed an incredible boom in popularity since the pandemic began and Netflix launched “The Queen’s Gambit.” Chess.com, the biggest online platform, has over 276 million members and adds roughly 140,000 daily. Many of those newcomers are teenagers and young adults trying their first games on a smartphone before discovering chess can also be played on a physical board with actual pieces. And thanks to social media influenc- ers, the new generation is the first to fully embrace chess as a spectator sport. By experimenting with new formats and shorter time restraints, the GCL has great potential to tap into a growing market of young people interested in an ancient game. One investor who sees this potential is former Spanish football star Gerard Piqué, who recently became a strategic shareholder in the team FYERS American Gambits. He said he was attracted by “the ambition to take chess to a new level and its long-term vision for the sport.” The GCL is already bringing in new audiences. During its third season, in December 2025, over 15,000 spec- tators enjoyed the show at the Royal Opera House in Mumbai while listening to commentary on headphones. The league’s content has generated more than 270 mil- lion views across digital platforms such as YouTube and Twitch, alongside networks such as Eurosport, Saudi Sports Channel and Fox Sports. “Hundreds of millions of people know how to play chess. Far fewer know how to watch it,” Peeyush Dubey, chairperson of the league, told me in an email. The GCL contributes to making the game more approachable to a casual audience. Count me among the converted: This is the future of chess. - Special to TheWashington Post By Peter Doggers Entertainment/ Sports News India Times (September 12, 2026 - September 18, 2026) September 18, 2026 27 PHOTO MAHARASHTRA STATE MARATHI FILM AWARDSVIA ANI Rani Mukerji receiving the Raj Kapoor Special Contribution Award.