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Out today:
This week, we’ve got “Class of ‘83” hitting Netflix: the film, produced by Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment, marks Bobby Deol’s streaming debut (what year are we in?) and I am truly hesitant to dive in. If you can’t wrap your mind around this, never fear: Deol will also be headlining MXPlayer’s upcoming web series, “Aashram” — more on that later.
Things I’ve watched recently
“Gunjan Saxena” (Netflix)
Ahhh, nepotism. Based on the life of Gunjan Saxena, India’s first female Air Force pilot, this film shows the struggles she faced as she pursued her career in a world dominated by men. From the lens of a universal theme like women making a mark in a patriarchal society, the film is actually surprisingly good. But Jhanvi Kapoor continues to be forgettable: literally any other actress would’ve done this role more justice. I was into how the film aptly captured the way men act when they think women are not as strong/smart/human, though (who isn’t!!). And the true star of this one is Pankaj Tripathi, who brings his incredible acting prowess and deadpan humor to his role as Gunjan’s dad. He elevates the film as whole and definitely steals the show every time he’s on screen. (I want a film just with him as this dad! I also want him to play my future on-screen dad, but that’s for my real dad and my therapist to sort out.) Despite being somewhat sanctioned by the real Gunjan Saxena, the film has also drawn loads of criticism, including claims that the portrayal of the Indian Air Force being THAT sexist and patriarchal is not accurate: color me shocked.
“Lootcase” (Hotstar)
Honestly, I loved this little nugget of a film. True fans of “Raja Hindustani” who have, like me, followed Kunal Khemu’s glow up will be thrilled by another solid notch in his consistent acting record. A lighter fare, the story follows Nandan (Khemu) and his delightful trials and tribulations after he stumbles upon a suitcase full of money. Simple comedy brought to life by Khemu’s on-screen persona of expressing with ease make this a wonderful palette cleanser in a world of mediocre abundance. He remains a severely underrated actor, and I hope to see him continue to star in lead roles like this for the foreseeable future.
“Churails” (Zee5/Zindagi)
This web series from Pakistan was full of promise, especially with director Asim Abbasi (“Cake”) at the helm. Taking on the patriarchy are four women, brought together by accident/life, who form a detective agency to stand up to the men who abuse, cheat, harass and more. While the premise is strong, the series begins to lose steam after the first episode. Interweaved with complicated back stories of each of the women and longwinded cases, you start to wonder what exactly the point is. Why do they need 7 people to work in this agency? Why is there a dude among them? Why is the lesbian couple gone in the blink of an eye? Spoiler alert: I only got four episodes in, because to be honest, the moment you start cutting up a gay man a la Sweeney Todd, you lose me. What’s it going to take to get some authentic portrayal of women and queer folks around here?
What I’ve Been Reading
This doesn’t count as reading, but if you’ve got some time, check out this essential conversation on caste and colorism in the most polarizing show of modern times, “Indian Matchmaking.”
Stand with the women behind “Patriot Act.” While social media kicked up a storm about the show’s cancellation, we need to also think of, and support, the women who have spoken up about their experiences working on it.
Speaking of Bobby Deol, I revisited this incredible profile of him from 2017 by HuffPost India’s Ankur Pathak, in which Deol talks about the good old ‘90s and the birth of cell phones: “If you used it a lot, your bill could shoot up to Rs. 50,000!” Truly essential reading. (Remember when he was pursuing a career as a DJ for five minutes and we were all scared?)
Coming Soon to a Couch Near You
“Masaba Masaba” | Netflix, August 28
Why does the fashion designer Masaba Gupta need to play a fictionalized version of herself? I’m not sure, but I’m in, if only to see her + the legend herself, Neena Gupta, on screen together.
“Aashram” | MXPlayer, August 28
Come to figure out what MXPlayer is, stay for another Bobby Deol fix. Also, this is directed by Prakash Jha (“Raajneeti,” “Aarakshan”), which should give you a sense that this may be another story of holding those in power accountable.
“Sadak 2” | Hotstar, August 28
With perhaps the only power viewers have before it comes out, the trailer for this much-awaited sequel to the ‘90s classic has become one of the most-disliked YouTube videos of all time — in record time. So, this should be a fun release for all.
Bad Boy Billionaires: India | Netflix, September 2
Tell me you’re not gonna rage-watch a documentary that includes Vijay Mallya’s downfall!!!
That’s it for this time! Next week, I’ll dig in to Amazon Prime’s “Bandish Bandits,” my new favorite Pakistani drama and some other picks, while Amazon continues to tease us about when Season 2 of “Mirzapur” is coming out!