Kinara Mohanty

Let us not be brainwashed and bound by rules in situations that call for a moral awakening.

The writing is so weak and all over the place. Can’t fault the actors for any of this.

A few genuine laughs, outstanding performance by Vicky Kaushal. For me that’s where the positives of this movie end. In my opinion, the movie shows forced problems and their complex solutions. As a viewer, I was not moved by the characters’ reasons to want to move to UK or even opt for the Donkey Route. Did they weigh the risks of this decision against their issues in life? This falls so pale against the issues of real refugees from was torn regions where running away from their countries by taking up a life threatening route seems like the only option. Yes, the movie does show that people faking good lives abroad become a source of motivation for others back home to see UK and US as the land of opportunities and prosperity. The chemistry between the main leads is lack lustre. Towards the end, the characters would be 50-55 at max as per the story line. Why do they appear to be 70? Shahrukh Khan is older in real life than the age he should have been in the movie 25 years later! The message at the end of removing visa altogether - would India be able to entertain people coming in without visas into the country? How would a country decide this is the maximum capacity of refugees they can handle at the moment? The movie just poses naive questions to affect the audience emotionally but doesn’t hint at any practical solution. P.S. - what the hell happened to tourist visa for Sukhi??

4 stars for the first 4 episodes but overall 3 stars. From the fifth episode onwards the story starts derailing. It seems like they had a contract with Netflix for 7 episodes of 1 hour each and they felt compelled to add too many backstories. I personally found the first 4 episodes to be very interesting but then onwards it got a bit too dramatic and did not keep track of the core storyline. It diversified into too many things and stopped being organic. Not every character needs a backstory. If it had stayed true to the core story line it would have been so much better. Special mention about Mona Singh - she did such a fabulous job. I wanted to see more of her in the series. Ashutosh Gowariker, the actor and director, needs to be back full time in both roles. Also, thanks to Biswapati Sarkar for leaving small bread crumbs leading to Odisha in most of his work like in this one - naming one fictional location in Andaman Nicobar islands as Lathikata :) I hope they stop writing stories with commercial targets in their minds as the primary goal. If the story is weak there will be be no comebacks for the next season.

What an amazing show! A what-might-have-been kind of story, in a different era. The journey of a woman in times when independence of women was rare. It’s also a story of what happens when women have each other’s back. Susie and Midge - so different from each other, yet to similar when it comes to fighting for what you deserve. (P.S. - For some reason, Midge always reminds me of Elizabeth Montgomery - may be her confident delivery and wit.)

Beautifully crafted. I am not sure if the main characters were as expressive about their emotions in real life but from a story telling point of view this is genuinely one of the best shows our country has come up with. We need more shows throwing light on the lives of people who shaped the nation through their contributions that led to India’s development in the fields of science, economy and education. Hope we can have some shows on the lives of APJ Abdul Kalam, Jamsetji Tata, JRD, Varghese Kurien, Babasaheb Ambedkar, Savitribai phule etc . Today when we realise how India is respected all over the world because of what ISRO has achieved, it puts the efforts of Dr. Homi Bhaba and Dr. Vikram Sarabhai into perspective.

Pranks don’t need to be so dramatic for them to work. This looks more like scarring people for life.

It’s a beautiful show which uses magic to demonstrate life lessons - how to handle issues you might face while growing up, how to handle stress, how to deal with grief, change, valuing friendship, family. It’s such a beautiful show which focuses on teenage emotions and life in general. It does not have petty backstabbing, being glued to the phone or social media. It made me nostalgic of my school days.