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If you stay in India, you know what a storm the Amazon web series #Panchayat created.  After a super-successful first season, they returned with a second season that achieved the rare feat of bettering its predecessor!  Image source: News 18 With Raghubir Yadav, Neena Gupta, Jitendra Kumar and everyone in the cast turning in assured performances, this series with a solid storyline and a very familiar, lived-in mileu, scripted a rare success story. No one had thought a series set in a remote village, predicting rural life, and everyday issues, would capture the audience's imagination so much. I just loved both the seasons. Everything was so relatable and homely. The squabbles, the bickering, the bonhomie, the bonding between the "Sachiv" and others in the village, the warmth and homeliness of residents, the small enmities, the political interference and debauchery, everything is something we have faced or seen somewhere in our lives.  Also the fact, that it showed the ...

Hi folks, I am trying my luck with writing fiction and stories that connect. Here is one very short story I spun. Tell me how it is? Roses or Thorns? Aaina stood staring at the bouquet of scarlet red roses. Who had sent this bouquet to her on her birthday? Those close to her knew she loved jasmine and gladioli. Then she saw the tag – Rohan Malhotra. She should have known. With a cheesy caption too! She sighed and threw them aside. How typical of Rohan to always do what he preferred. Even his gifts seemed like charity. She thought back to that day when Rohan had first proposed. She had politely declined. Her heart belonged to Shekhar, her childhood sweetheart. Quiet, serious, thoughtful Shekhar, he was everything she wanted in a life partner. They were soon to be married. Aaina’s heart skipped a beat even now, thinking about her true love. Rohan was furious on being turned down and left in a huff swearing under his breath. Aaina had a hunch he would be back soon. He wasn’t the t...

Lokkhi Chhele , Kaushik Ganguly's latest directorial venture, is a must, must-watch. It's so heartening that Bengali films are finally broaching the topic of religious dogmatism and blind beliefs. What a refreshing change from silly detective capers or TV-style family movies! This Bangla film is so, so, so sensitive and moving in its approach. You feel totally immersed in the proceedings, and root fervently for the feisty young do-gooders, who try to save a child's life against all odds. That they risk their lives and take on the might of some detestable hooligans in the process, is something we don't see in our self-serving society any more.  And do we anyway care for those inhabiting the other India? They are people at the fringes, far removed from our secure existence. We click our tongues at their superstitions, mock their customs, and carry on with our lives, secure that our world's will never merge.  This film challenges our smugness and shows us what a little...