Pradipta Dutta

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As a woman, who prizes her freedom more than anything else - and who believes that the pain and sacrifice of millions of women have brought us here, right where we are, such that we can get an education, make a livelihood for ourselves and have agency over our life choices, Finding Ola was a liberating experience. I would strongly implore even men to watch this show to get a perspective over what’s it’s to be a woman, her insecurities and the way he can easily overwhelm her in a relationship, for as Hisham says, “I made you bury the person I fell in love with,” and I find that’s such a powerful thing to admit - because that is a commonplace not only for women but also men - in that sense, it’s a series for everyone. It gives you the lesson - do not sacrifice yourself at the altar of any relationship. The more fulfilled you are from within, the more you can give. By the time Hisham realises his patriarchal inertia, and how he has taken a lot for granted, it is too late. Although I understand why the filmmaker didn’t make it more about Hisham, I would have wanted him/her to - because Hisham is such a quintessential character - someone who always leaves havoc behind him, because he doesn’t know who he is, he’s so chronically dissatisfied, that he channels and puts the blame on the women he’s with, leaving them when his frustration gets beyond him - partially due to a very complicated Mother figure, who never allows him the validation of good choice-making. Ola, on the other hand is the Kind Mother, who despite her own misfortunes, allows her children to breathe, and dance and isn’t afraid of expressing her vulnerabilities - because that’s what makes for confident children in their own skin. I would like to congratulate all the actors, writers, and crew of this show and Montessaer, for the gift of his schnozz! Wonderful film!

Ethos or Bir Baskadir is a show that can be watched over and over again. Yes, I constantly go back to this show, and I cannot tell why. Perhaps it is the rawness of the series, the beautiful weaving of the show into delicate and intricate moments, the brilliance of each and every actor who was a part of this show or the beautiful music, music by stalwarts like Franck Pourcel which found new meaning when it was included in this show. I am an Indian, but Turkish society has always attracted me - and I love watching Turkish shows and films - and I have enjoyed each and every moment on this show. I believe the show tries to tell the story from three different perspectives - at one far end is the orthodox God abiding strata that looks down upon the modern non-believing society, where women are independent and make their own choices, be it their sexuality or their education. The next strata of the society is the elite one - the modern one, which is repulsed by the idea of an orthodox society - where women wear headscarves and have a religious mentor, and remain bound by the rules put forth by patriarchal hegemony. At the core, both these groups are basically the same - they judge each other and the choices each one makes. Judgement creates all difference in the society, judgement is what creates intolerance. The third group shown in this series are a group of people who fall on both ends of the spectrum, they maybe religious and old-school or they maybe modern and agnostic - but this section of the society is free of judgement, they are the empathetic and compassionate ones who believe in tolerance and “live and let live”. My conclusion was how these three different perspectives of the society sometimes clash with one another, and eventually learn to coexist together, told through the personal struggles of each person. What binds humanity, is the common question - what is human suffering? How does human suffering impact human consciousness, and what is resilience? What is the importance of “emotion” in today’s world- where there is growing extremism everywhere, growing intolerance and judgement everywhere... You will be surprised to find the ending of this beautiful series, it will bring together so many concepts together - it will really clear the air in so many ways. As an international audience, I would like to congratulate the makers of this beautiful show for creating such a genius and I want to thank each and every actor for such excellent performances, performances I have never seen in my life. At the end, you will fall in love with each and every character - my personal favourites are all of the characters. Brilliant brilliant acting and direction and cinematography and background music. This show deserves a 11 on 10. I will never forget this beautiful film. I have suggested this to so many, and if you’re reading my review, go watch it!!!!!