Culture & Living
From glamorous entertainers set abroad to the gritty streets of Mirzapur, this month had something for everyone
This month was packed with promising titles and it delivered, week after week. After waiting for two long years, fans of Pankaj Tripathi and Ali Fazal starrer Mirzapur finally got a second season of the crime thriller. Sex and the City creator Darren Star also returned with a glamorous, Parisian adventure through Emily in Paris, a well-intentioned attempt that didn’t land as well as he would have hoped. We also got stunning insights into some of the biggest financial scams in the country through Bad Boy Billionaires and the critically acclaimed series Scam 1992.
Here are all the shows and movies that everyone watched and talked about this month.
Based on a book by Sucheta Dalal and Debashish Basu, this web series quickly became a critic favourite and is currently the highest rated Indian web series on IMDb. As the title suggests, the story is about India’s first massive financial scam, orchestrated by stockbroker Harshad Mehta. The show attempts to give an insight into the complex story of what happened and the people involved. It all offers a fascinating look at what the economic landscape of our country looked like back then, with liberalisation bringing a huge change in the market.
Streaming on Sony Liv
This Darren Star show had a lot of people talking, both good and bad. Like Star’s other noteworthy creations, this one featured a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed protagonist in a city filled with character and her many misadventures in this glamorous city. The show follows Emily (Lilly Collins), who gets the opportunity of a lifetime when she is chosen to replace her boss on a one-year trip to Paris to give an ‘American perspective’ to a marketing firm they’ve acquired. Emily soon realises that she faces an uphill battle to charm her new co-workers and deal with the culture shock. The show was criticised for its depiction of the French people and culture, with many people claiming that it was riddled with boring cliches and stereotypes.
Streaming on Netflix
The much anticipated second season of Amazon Prime Video’s hit crime thriller series Mirzapur dropped this month. The show revolved around the struggle for power in the lawless town of Mirzapur, rife with drugs, guns, and so much violence. The second season had some new additions to the already brilliant cast that includes Pankaj Tripathi, Ali Fazal, Shweta Tripathi, and Divyendu Sharma.
Streaming on Amazon Prime Video
Mira Nair’s adaptation of Vikram Seth’s novel of the same name finally aired on Netflix this month in the form of a mini series. Set in 1951, in a newly independent India, the story revolves around Lata (Tanya Maniktala) who has to make the tough choice between family duty and romance as she is courted by three promising suitors. The six-part series also stars Tabu, Ishaan Khatter, Rasika Duggal, and Ram Kapoor.
Streaming on Netflix
This critically-acclaimed film, starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Aakshath Das, was based on the book of the same name by Manu Joseph. It offered a satirical look at the role of caste in our social construct. The movie tells the story of Ayyan, a middle-aged Dalit man who is tried of his circumstances, and his quest to make a better world for his ten-year-old son. He uses the system that is stacked against him to manipulate it into giving his son golden chances and opportunities.
Streaming on Netflix
Horror fans had a reason to rejoice as the second part of Netflix’s The Haunting anthology series released this month. This one follows the story of a young governess who is hired to look after two children at the Bly Manor. Things get spooky when she starts experiencing paranormal activities at the estate, including apparitions that haunt the house. It’s an adaptation of Henry James’ novella The Turn of the Screw.
Streaming on Netflix
As the title suggests, Aaron Sorkin’s historical legal drama follows the trial of the infamous Chicago Seven, a group of anti-Vietnam War protestors who were charged with a conspiracy to incite riots in Chicago after their peaceful protest turned violent because of the police force confronting them with tear gas and rifles. It stars Sacha Baron Cohen, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Daniel Flaherty, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Keaton, Eddie Redmayne, Noah Robbins, Carrol Lynch, Mark Rylance, Jeremy Strong, and Alex Sharp.
Streaming on Netflix
A new adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s 1938 novel Rebecca released this month on Netflix. Starring Lily James and Armie Hammer, the movie tells the story of an unnamed and naive 20- something woman who gets swept up in a romance with the mysterious and wealthy widower Maxim de Winter. The newly-wedded bliss, however, ends shortly after she accompanies her husband back to his estate and encounters Mrs Danvers, the sinister housekeeper who is hell bent on protecting the legacy of the former Mrs de Winter.
Streaming on Netflix
Fans of Big Little Lies had something to look forward to with this Nicole Kidman starrer. An adaptation of a 2014 novel by Jean Hanff Korelitz, ominously titled You Should Have Known, the show revolves around Grace (Kidman) a therapist who leads a seemingly perfect and happy life with her husband (Hugh Grant) and son in the Upper East Side. Things take a violent turn after a brutal murder takes place within their circle and reveals the ugly layers of socio-political violence in the upper crust of New York.
Streaming on Disney+ Hotstar
Based on a 1983 novel of the same name by Walter Tevis, the mini series explore the life of a fictional chess prodigy Beth Harmon as she grows up to become the greatest chess player in the world. The seven-part series take us through her compelling journey of battling addiction as she skyrockets to the top of the competitive chess world. On the face of it, a story about chess players and their competitions might not seem like the most thrilling to watch, but The Queen’s Gambit is highly watchable with its brilliant performances, storytelling and 1960s costumes.
Streaming on Netflix
This Netflix original docuseries focusses on the lives of some of India’s most infamous tycoons who have been accused of corruption. It gives a comprehensive look at the scams pulled off by Indian billionaires Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi, and Subrata Roy. The series features people who are close with or have followed the incidences involving the ‘bad boy billionaires’ in question, to give an insight into what happened and examine the resources that allowed them to become powerful and influential enough to pull these off.
Streaming on Netflix