Paatal Lok Season 1 Review

paatal lok must blog

Paatal Lok is an Amazon Original series streaming on Amazon Prime Video. The show is a crime thriller and stars Jaideep Ahlawat, Neeraj Kabi and Abhishek Banerjee. It has been produced by Clean Slate Filmz, the production house of Anushka Sharma and her brother Karnesh Sharma. So first and foremost, I would like to thank Anushka and Karnesh for backing such unique content. Their banner has been continuously taking a chance on scripts that may not seem typical or mainstream, right from their first production, NH10. They followed this up with Phillauri and Pari, trying to tell stories that were away from the cliches of Bollywood. Paatal Lok falls perfectly in line with this pedigree, as it is bold, blazing and brilliant.  ...  More

Handmaid’s Tale Book Review

hand maid collage

The Handmaid's Tale tells the story of a dystopian future, told in the first person by Offred. The society as we know it has crumbled. What's taken its place, is a totalitarian system that oppresses women across social class by establishing an extremely patriarchal society. The narrative has 3 sides, 'The Then' where Offred talks about her past and recalls major events leading up to the fall of the government. 'The Now', which gives us a view of the life of a typical handmaid. The third side is sort of like a dream state or a state of thoughts, where Offred is wondering about a certain event or time in her life - past, present, and future. These 3 sides mix and overlap one another so the narrative switches between past and present seamlessly. There are many themes that the book touches upon, from feminism, inequality to politics, and religion.  ...  More

Dark (Netflix) Review – Season 1 + Season 2

dark-1 must blig

Dark will soon be releasing its third and final season in a few months, and hence, I thought this is the right time to talk about this amazing show. Dark is a rare show because of many reasons, the first being that it is the first German TV series coming out as a Netflix original. That's an amazing reach for a show that otherwise no one would have even heard of halfway across the globe. Hats off to Netflix for being able to scout for such brilliant shows and having the eye to know their global appeal. Dark is set in a fictional small-town called Winden in Germany and going by the season 1 trailer, it may come across as a murder/kidnapping mystery, falling very much into the Crime genre. But that may not be a correct assessment.   ...  More

Njan Prakashan (Malayalam) Movie Review

njan 4

Njan Prakashan (transl. I am Prakashan) is hilarious from the word go. Prakashan or P.R. Akash, as he likes to be known, is a superbly written character. He comes across as someone who is lazy, pretentious, a compulsive liar, and highly insecure. Prakashan, I mean P.R. Akash, hopes to land a secure comfortable job abroad. For that, he makes all the efforts to court a simple girl who has landed a job in Germany. How things pan out for Prakashan, oops, P.R. Akash, and where he goes from there, is what the film is all about.  ...  More

Forty Rules of Love – Book Review

forty rules blog

I don’t usually read books around spiritual themes but this one came highly recommended by and I am glad I followed their recommendation and picked it up. The book centers around Sufism and draws a parallel between the life of a regular homemaker, and the journey of Shams & Rumi (13th-century poet). It is full of mysticism and pushes you towards deep introspection at various junctures. The writing is deep and if I am being very honest, some of it I just could not relate to. The book also talks about the fact that to become a Sufi, you need to understand the perspectives of everyone, big and small. Hence, the narrative is written from the point of view of different characters including a beggar, a drunk, and a harlot. Every time I left the book after reading a portion, I started liking it more by pondering over what I had just read. I strongly feel that this book can be read multiple times and each time it may offer something different, perhaps something more. ...  More