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What if there is a completely different species of humans living among us? What if we are somehow connected to each other in real time? What if there were an inbuilt world wide web of humans? Such questions are taken up in the riveting Netflix show, ‘Sense 8’. Sense 8 is a sci-fi drama that follows the lives of eight ‘sensates’ who can see, feel, and experience the lives of those within their ‘cluster’. It is a form of internet framework that exists within eight individuals, where everyone’s skills and abilities can be pooled together. Using these shared resources and skills, these ‘homo sensoriums’ work through the obstacles in their lives. Still not intrigued? Each season features a big orgy scene! With locations and actors from all across the globe, this show includes them all. Not only that, but this show is also very LGBTQ inclusive. Through this, Sense 8 showcases how people from different cultures, different identities, and different orientations live. What may seem problematic is the insistence of cultural stereotypes in the show. The role of Kala (Tina Desai) who actually sits and talks to Ganesha’s statue feels forced and not relatable to the average Indian. Though, in the larger picture, the show depicts an (exaggerated) tussle between religion and science in our country at the moment. In terms of originality, the show’s creators, Lilly Wachowski, Lana Wachowski, and J. Michael Straczynski have achieved a great feat. A great sci-fi show is one which makes you want to live the lives of its characters. It should neither be too distant from reality, nor, should it let its audience base escape easily. Sense 8 succeeds in  preventing that with ease. While watching the pilot one might lose track of who’s who and what’s happening, but as the show progresses and each character realise their neo-human state, the intra and inter character development reflects the brilliance of the acting abilities as well as of the cinematography of the show. Like any other drama, this show also has a villain, in the form of a research facility called Biological Preservation Organisation (BPO) that is trying to uproot ‘sensates’ from the face of the earth. Again, thanks to the brilliant creators of this show, the reasoning that ties everything is very realistic and logical. BPO came into existence due to the humane fear of the different. Since someone ‘different’ becomes a threat to the rudimentary functioning of society, their first instinct is to get rid of it. In a deeper sense, this explains the origins of prejudice, violence, homophobia, and transphobia. Sadly, since the show couldn’t garner a sizeable viewership compared to its budget, Netflix had to call-off further production of the show. Fortunately, for the Sense 8 fans, a finale is on its way sometime during this year.   Feature Image Credits: Netflix Raabiya Tuteja [email protected]]]>

Nominated for three academy awards including the best picture award, Call me by Your Name was one of the most critically and publicly acclaimed movies of last year. Labelled as a revolution in queer cinema, the movie, based on a novel of the same name, depicts romance in the rawest way. Elio’s Uncle Oliver is visiting the city and is going to stay in his room for his visit. With each moment they spend together, the sexual tension between the 17-year-old and his uncle keeps growing. Elio explores his sexuality and by the end of the film, he realises who he truly loves. Sadly, such love is a taboo, not once but twice. One might argue about the incestuous and pedophiliac plot of the movie, but truth be told, the film does nothing more than delving into queer lives and their honest truths. Unlike, the Bollywood movies where one look at the person makes the character fall in love, Call me by Your Name shows how attraction and desire really works. Not only Armie Hammer (Oliver) and Timothée Chalamet (Elio) did a great job with their characters, the city of Italy played added its own seductiveness. In its plot, there is nothing starkly novel but, the acting, direction, and setting add a transcendental quality. The run-down colour palette of the film elevates the movie to the likes of an art film. One such beautiful use of colour is in the excavation scene ‘Truce’ from the film. Though the scene uses the same sea green colour, its depth and beauty are immense. The film’s direction team did a terrific job at using colour to depict the coolness or warmth of the scene. One thing that I personally did not like in the film is the end. No matter how emotionally charged it is, we’ve had enough sad endings in queer movies. On one end, the honesty can be appreciated but on the other hand, it takes away the hope of ‘happy ever after’ for queer relationships. Fun fact: Though the actors are heterosexual, they play the characters of gay men on-screen! Feature Image Credits: The Playlist Raabiya Tuteja [email protected]    ]]>

As someone who is keenly interested in politics, a dark comedy about elections against the backdrop of the conflict-ridden jungles of Dandakaranya is an absolute must-watch. So naturally, I watched Newton – and I wasn’t disappointed. Newton Kumar, an upright and honest government clerk is sent on election duty to the Naxal-affected and conflict-ridden jungles of Dandakaranya in Chhattisgarh, India. In between the insouciance of the security forces and the fear of attacks by Naxalites, he struggles to conduct free and fair polling for 76 indifferent tribal citizens. Director Amit V. Masurkar and co-scriptwriter Mayank Tewari have crafted excellent characters and written remarkable dialogues that are delivered flawlessly by the talented cast. My favourite was, “Imandari se dil halka hona chahiye” (honesty should make the heart lighter). Newton is stubborn but also vulnerable, and the kind of guy who can easily be beaten up. Despite his impractical and idealistically naïve antics, you’ll find yourself rooting for him. Aatma Singh, played by Pankaj Tripathi, is a practical and experienced Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) commander. Anjali Patil does justice to the character of Malko, a local block-level officer who brings the Adivasi, slightly pro-Naxal perspective, into the story. Loknath, Newton’s colleague played by Raghubir Yadav, is a delightful character who accurately embodies the aloofness and concerns of a middle-class government employee. The film does not have a storyline per se, and for a while, it tends to get slow in the middle. Throughout the movie, several sensitive issues are touched upon such as the practice of strategic hamletting in which villages are deliberately burnt by the armed forces so that villagers can then be moved to makeshift accommodation near army camps, the ill-treatment of tribals by the military, fake surrenders, the lack of supplies for the CRPF, and the “election tourism” orchestrated by the government for journalists.  All these details and nuances are taken from various books such as Hello Bastar by Rahul Pandita and Nandini Sundar’s book Subalterns and Sovereigns. The scene where Loknath suggests that to curb the insurgency, the government should introduce televisions in tribal homes because televisions will instigate greed and greed will extinguish the rebellion is directly picked from Arundhati Roy’s essay Walking with The Comrades. Swapnil Sonawane’s cinematography gauges the aesthetics from each location and shapes each shot perfectly. Naren Chandavarkar and Benedict Taylor’s music must be credited with adding poignancy in a heartbreaking segment where clueless tribals are forced to participate in polling for the sake of cameras. There are no dialogues in that segment, but the haunting music accompanies the crass pretence of democracy. While I laud Newton for highlighting an extremely important subject, I cannot help but discount Amit V. Masurkar for, what I feel is, playing safe. The film hesitates from taking sides and, under the guise of humour and neutrality, dilutes the complex issue of Naxal insurgency into a simplistic, unoriginal take on the state versus the Maoists. Newton could have been the finest political satire we have seen only if the director had chosen to be more overt and brave. Nevertheless, the movie still deserves to represent India at the Academy Awards and I hope it inspires more people to watch it.   Feature Image Credits: Eros Now Niharika Dabral [email protected]]]>

“Kaam karne ke teen tareeke hote hain – seedha, tedha, ulta. Jab aap seedha kaam karna nahi chahte aur tedha aap karke dekh chuke hain, to bachta hai ek – ulta.” Written and directed by Shobhit Bhatia and Arbab Ahmad, Rareview follows the story of three people trying to fix the rear-view mirror of a friend’s car. Arjun, Sood, and Kunal want to make an entrance to a party. However, they cannot do so in the two-wheeler that they own. Therefore, they decide to borrow a car from their friend’s father. Needless to say, the loan comes with a warning – they have to return the car without a scratch. Murphy’s Law states that, ‘Anything that can go wrong will go wrong’. These three friends find themselves in a similar fix when they meet with a small accident and lose the rear-view mirror of the car. In dire need of assistance, they employ Ranjit, an automobile fixer’s help. Upon discovering that Ranjit himself cannot help them, the four of them then decide to steal it from someone else’s car. In a predictable ending, they manage to return the car unscratched only to find that they were not the ones responsible for losing the rear-view mirror in the first place. Navdeep Maggu as Sood manages to get a few laughs with his hilarious portrayal of a friend who says the wrong things at exactly the wrong time. Dewang Mulani as Kunal and Kshitij Mervin as Arjun make their presence felt on the screen. However, the real show stealer is Shivam Pradhan, portraying the character of Ranjit. He leaves the audience gasping with laughter with his to-the-point acting and witty retorts. Shobhit Bhatia and Arbab Ahmad, alumni of Shunya, the theatre society of Ramjas College, do a surprisingly good job in their first production. The initial few scenes are not fully refined and the transitions between the scenes seem abrupt, but the film quickly picks up the pace. The director’s vision to contrast the scenes of simply whiling away time with the intense scenes of the three friends who have met with an accident fail to come across exactly as they are meant to, perhaps due to amateur editing. The direction could undoubtedly be better but considering the tools and the low cost of production, the audience cannot help but appreciate the film. Without a shadow of doubt, the directors in their first venture as amateur filmmakers leave a mark behind. The one thing I found myself appreciating during this thirty-minute film is its background score which throughout provided the intensity that the scene requires. The fact that Shobhit Bhatia and Arbab Ahmad have tried to get the technical aspects of film-making right is evident while watching the film. It is extremely difficult to get a thirty-minute film made at this level and without any resources. However, one does not realise these hardships because the end result is beautiful. For anyone wishing to spend half an hour laughing with their friends, this short film is a must watch! Check out the trailer to the film here. Feature Image Credits: Anukriti Mishra Anukriti Mishra [email protected]]]>

st century because of its themes of dreams, aspirations and rebellion against the societal norms. Maggie’s need for love and acceptance makes her one of the most likeable characters in the novel as it becomes very easy to resonate with her. Though Tom’s character might seem unfavourable at lot of places, it does not become impossible to empathise with him.  It is a book which will leave a mark behind and will stay with you long after you have finished reading it.   Image Credits: E-Books Directory Anukriti Mishra ([email protected])]]>

This post contains spoilers. Please read at your own discretion.

After a long, long, long time, the penultimate season of Game of Thrones is finally here. I’m sure a few of my hair strands have turned white. This season brings a lot of loose ends to a definite end – at least, that’s what everyone’s hoping. With only seven episodes this season, it’s shorter than the typical 10-episode seasons in the past. Season 7 will primarily focus on the battle between the living and the dead: the Great War is here.

The King in the North is busy gathering men, women (proto feminist Jon Snow), and children to fight against the ghastly Night King. This is one of the few times where Jon Snow knows something. The tension between Jon and Sansa is very palpable, predictive of massive disagreements between the siblings. Littlefinger continues to irk Brienne. He’s like a woodpecker that will keep pecking onto Sansa’s head unless he achieves what he wants. However, Sansa, who is seen subtly admiring the Mad Queen, Cersei, has learnt her tricks from the best manipulator in Westeros. It’s the least to say that she’s no longer a 14-year-old naïve dove. Amidst this brewing tension, Tormund is occupied with attempts to land a date with Brienne of Tarth.

From across the sea, Daenerys with her enormous armada, three fire-breathing dragons, and a witty Hand, Tryion, has crossed the narrow sea. Anchored at Dragonstone, Daenerys Stomborn has finally reached home. Khaleesi is now back in the game, and hopefully she’s to stick around for more than a minute. Back in King’s Landing, Cersei resumes to necking wine at an admirable rate and military plotting. Standing in the middle of the freshly painted map of all the kingdoms, she’s shown emphasising to Jaime the allegiance of Daenerys with Tryion, her younger brother whom she despises with all her heart. This conversation obviously leaves Jaime in an awkward situation and you can already see the possibility in which he would have to make a choice between his sister and his brother. Later in the episode, Cersei shocks Jaime with a prospective allegiance with Euron Greyjoy, who proposes marriage to Cersei in exchange of his fleet. This makes Jaime uncomfortable, leading to an overall not-so-great day for Jaime, to be honest.

Arya Stark after removing Walder Frey’s name from her list poisons the remaining Freys in their own castle. There’s one thing for sure – let the host gulp his wine before you sip it. Ed Sheeran makes an unsubtle cameo and Arya shares a roasted rabbit with him, and that’s a sentence I never thought I’d say. Oh wait! There was also blackberry wine and a couple of other soldiers. The Hound finally witnesses the Lord of the Light and cracks up jokes.

At the Citadel, Sam is bored with his monotonous routine and is curious to find substantial information about the white walkers. And Little Sam has learnt to say ‘Mom’, how cute! In one of the cells is an anxious Jorah who is desperately waiting for Khaleesi. The grayscale has gotten drastically worse.

The episode, Dragonstone, isn’t a very fast-paced episode with nerve-wracking tension. It serves the purpose of sketching out what’s to come later this season. It definitely prepares the viewer to witness colossal and interesting battles. As Game of Thrones lurks closer to the end, it’s becoming more and more difficult to wait for every episode. With all the hype that has been created around this season, and a huge filming budget, the viewers are definitely expecting a fantastic two months. Pretty much all the characters are at the peak of their journey and the show is inching closer towards the climax. The lingering question of who – or, as Ser Davos said, whose skeleton – will sit on the Iron Throne is yet to be answered.
Feature Image Credits: YouTube

Rashim Bagga
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Ambience: The first thing that catches the eye is the vivid and intriguing interiors, based on an interesting upside down concept, well suggested by the café name. The ceiling is adorned by colorful inverted lamps, tables, windows and even stairs while the antique telephones, bicycle and clocks embellish the walls. The open-view kitchen surrounded by real and unreal frames, mirrors and brick setup successfully enhances the aesthetics of this strangely fascinating café.

Food and Menu:

The menu contains numerous options for both vegetarians and non-vegetarians. Owned by Punjabis, the menu is characterized by certain ‘Hatke’ amalgamations like Nawabi Murg Makhani Pasta and Makhani Achaari Pasta. The other items include varieties of soups, salads, pizza, sandwiches, burgers, pasta, appetizers, beverages and desserts. The special dishes keep changing on a weekly basis. The first item we ordered was Golgappa shots. Filled with minced chicken or cheese, it’s a must try on any foodie’s bucket list. Another impressive dish was Hot Chicken wings, served with barbeque sauce. The outer crust was tangy and crispy while the spices were extremely consistent and decent. The chicken also seemed well cooked. Our next order, Stadium nachos, with an overwhelming and tasty flavour also didn’t fail to match the expectations. Talking about desserts and beverages, Oreo cheese cake and Sharatta strawberry shake are a must try. The smooth texture and subtleness give you the exact taste you’ve been waiting for. [caption id="attachment_39636" align="aligncenter" width="480"]Golgappa Shots Golgappa Shots at Cafe Hera Pheri[/caption] Music deserves a special mention in this cafe. In addition to some incredible food, the one thing that manages to impress every customer is the hospitality, where each and every customer is treated with sheer love and attention. The customers are also given Polaroid instant snaps by the owners as a symbolic memory.

Final Verdict:

The food prices come to be roughly 350 per person, inclusive of drinks or desserts. Overall, Café Hera Pheri proves to be that impeccable place for students who want to enjoy some amazing music along with budget-friendly food. Image Credits: Udit Malhotra for Zomato]]>

Dhaba’, a north Indian Mughlai cuisine restaurant located in west Delhi. Close to major shopping and cinema complexes including Shoppers and waves, this restaurant attracts a whole bunch of visitors including videshis.

Ambience

This desi-themed, literally dhaba styled restaurant will take you onto a journey to suburban food eateries in India. As soon as you enter, you get the feel of the rural food eatery you once visited when on a trip to Punjab. Adding to that, the restaurant also features a truck! Yes, a truck inside the premises to grip you into the exact same rural-cultured theme, the designers of this restaurant have so strategically carved out. [caption id="attachment_36474" align="aligncenter" width="168"]Dhaba, Rajouri Garden The truck inside the premises of ‘Dhaba’ at Rajouri Garden.[/caption]

Delicacies

You must have already guessed the main delicacy of this place. Yes! The butter chicken we all so love. You can also try ‘chicken khurchan’, a special Mughlai delicacy they offer. For the vegetarians, the dal makhni is the dish to be ordered. But wait, what about the starters? Don’t miss out on the roasted and afghani chicken or the paneer tikka.

Pocket Bump

Well, to be honest, eating at this restaurant will not dig a hole in your pocket and the food costs are at same average 4 star restaurant level. If you do plan to visit the range of restaurants at Rajouri Garden, all of them come at the same average pricing of thousand bucks for two.

Rating

The place deserves 4 stars from me. ****   Brij Pahwa [email protected] Image credits: zomato.com, 361degreeshospitality.wordpress.com]]>