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Wicked good
Dysfunctional, grim, and unapologetic, 'Fleabag' is about an audacious yet charming anti-heroine who is cruising through life on her wild, wicked terms.

Our little un-named mischief maker (played by Phoebe Waller-Bridge) is grieving the loss of her best friend. She is also struggling to keep her café afloat, personal relationships intact, and life from unraveling. She seems to be in, what can only be described as, a perpetual and carefree tug of war with herself and the world. What's absolutely riveting though, is her nonchalance; and her brazen take on her struggles, social constructs and conventional wisdom.

Throughout the show, she keeps commentating upon her life and shares her darkest and deepest of thoughts by looking straight into the camera and breaking the fourth wall. We, thus, become an integral part of her journey, experiencing it not just as a stranger, but as a friend and as a confidant.

Equipping some of the finest, most inappropriate and wry humor imaginable, it's one of those shows that stay with you for a long time. If you have an appetite for borderline cynical, dry and jagged protagonists, this delight will leave you awestruck.
953 views
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Hot mess
A weak script, poor execution and inconsistence are, unfortunately, the terms that end up defining ‘Hasmukh’ despite its very promising plot. Even as a Vir Das fan, this show is hard to like and even harder to watch.

Hasmukh (played by Vir Das), is a meek aspiring comic who has been treated like a doormat his whole life, until one day, when after being denied the opportunity to perform on stage by his "mentor"- Gulati (Manoj Pahwa) despite his many promises, Hasmukh snaps, murders Gulati, walks straight onto the stage only to end up delivering a very successful stand-up performance. That's when he realizes that 'murdering' is actually his ‘Viagra’ which helps him channel his art.

Vir struggles to capture Hasmukh, he struggles with the supposed UP accent, he struggles with the comedy and we as a viewer struggle to get through the shoddy screenplay. On the other hand, his smarmy manager and partner in crime - Jimmy (Ranvir Shorey), is rather convincing as both - a duplicitous human and a shrewd businessman. His portrayal of a morally dubious and conflicted man is far more palatable than Vir’s.

In spite of a very exciting opportunity to create a dark comedy that treads the slippery slope of morality, the show falls flat and ends up as a trite and tiring story of a small-towner leaping for his long shot in show business. Except for a couple of funny one liners and gags, the writing is mediocre and at times repulsive.

The show disappoints in multiple ways, but the good thing is that episodes are only about 30 minutes long, so the disappointment is rather brief and easy to move on from.
562 views
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Humorous and consistent
A surprising addition to the list of Amazon's specials, is this underrated piece of consistent and impressive writing and performances- 'Shaitan haveli' by Varun Thakur. Show parodies everything wrong with Indian horror movies- from white saree clad witches to massive Havelis and terrible sound effects.
The plot follows a famous horror movie director Hariman Singh (Bhupesh Singh), whose last movie - a failed romance drama, has buried him in debt. As a way to get out of it, he goes back to his forte and starts working on his next hit horror film. His cast for the film include a dim-witted gangster's son -Ponty (Adi Irani); his exotic yet astute girlfriend, Julia (Pippa Hughes); a famous self-absorbed Bollywood diva, Prarthana (Neha Chauhan) and a struggling actor, Varun (as himself).

This colorful ensemble of eccentric people alone ensures a witty, humorous and interesting experience. Although there aren't many moments that stand out, the show manages to be fairly captivating throughout, all credit to a strong script and a surprisingly engaging plot. From leads to the supporting actors everyone does a convincing job of portraying their quirky character. Bhupesh Singh's performance especially stands out and his time on camera is something to look forward to.

While you may not be out of breath laughing when watching this mini series, it will however knock your socks off!
597 views
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A safe bet
Amazon’s latest production is an unconventional take on romance with a lot of off-beat stories. The series consists of 8 episodes and 8 different tales based on true life.

From a bipolar girl’s struggle to find love to couples on the verge of falling out, the show covers a variety of themes. Every episode boasts a stellar cast and they deliver convincing performances as expected. What makes the experience more authentic and heart warming is the fact that people have actually lived these stories off-screen and struggled to find their happily ever after.

Amazon took a safe bet with a show of this sort with renowned actors, good-enough scripts and a clean production design. The show is easy to recommend for a binge watching session on a laid back weekend.
1087 views
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Light hearted, cute and different.
Akanksha Thakur and Jitendra Kumar are back as Sameera and Neel in an urban romance and their on-screen chemistry is still as charming as ever. ‘Cheesecake’ is a story of fading love being barely held together by a fragile marriage.

After a distressing day at work, Sameera finds herself feeding a lost dog a piece of cheesecake outside a club who then follows her home. Initially, Neel (Sameera's husband) resists this new addition to their family but eventually as they grow closer to the adorable golden retriever, they start growing closer to each other. Who knew a lost dog was all they needed to revive the lost flame in their marriage? My most prominent and maybe the only problem with the script is the over-simplification of a very complex subject. A dog or a child can't always be the answer to a distraught marriage, and in that sense the story may seem a little trite. But besides the script's precarious treatment of a heavy subject, the show is warm and fuzzy with a lot to offer.

‘Cheesecake’ is a light-hearted drama/romance/comedy. It doesn’t reflect profoundly on the ruthless and fast-paced culture of our modern society or the fragile bonds we build. However, the performances are top-notch, and the dialogue is mature, grounded and thankfully, miles away from being cloy. It’s an easy watch and highly recommendable.
479 views
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Nails the satire
It would be unfair to belittle a unique attempt at voicing the struggles of the oppressed gender but the satirical monotony of the show gets very overwhelming very soon. 'Man's World' is a show answering what if men were treated the same way as women are in a predominant patriarchy.

On paper what sounds like a intriguing enough concept, actually feels more like a pseudo-feminist propaganda than a progressive attempt at equality. The agenda aside, show does offer some great performances, elegant cameos, and entertaining dialogues. Each episode addresses some double standards and manages to hit hard a few, if not all prevailing prejudices with appropriate use of humor.

What feels unnatural about the show is how it tries to project all traits associated with a woman as more of a curse rather than nature. Everything from child bearing to menstruation has been portrayed as a burden to be condemned than a blessing to be embraced.

The show is a light-hearted attempt at exploring gender biases and is best seen as that. Looking beyond the surface or reading between the lines will prove rather futile.

668 views
Naomi Read
@Amish Gupta Regarding the show being pseudo-feminist propaganda, I found it to be the opposite. It was an intriguing show and it highlighted some of the more visible issues that women face in society in a clever manner (by making the male protagonist walk a mile in women's shoes). I find it fascinating that it never occurred to you that a possible reason as to why it may seem unnatural to you to see a portrayal of childbearing and menstruation as a curse (although I didn't see it portrayed as such) may be due to the fact that you haven't experienced either personally (my apologies if I mistakenly assumed your gender). Speaking from firsthand experience, it's hellish and it was accurately depicted because women do feel tremendous pain and are hindered (at their work, in their social/daily life, etc.) due to both, blessing or not.
Amish Gupta
@Naomi Read I admit that being a biological male I have no credibility when it comes to commenting upon the emotional or physical stress caused by child bearing or menstruation, I however have a hard time wrapping my head around the idea of demonizing both of those experiences instead of trying to destigmatize & normalize them, especially menstruation. Making the protagonist scream while lying down on a road as soon as their period starts seems a tad regressive to me. I get the intent of the scene is to highlight how awful the society thinks it is to menstruate, but it simply reinforces that very idea without making any attempt to shift the discourse.

The only reason I label it pseudo-feminist is because despite the show's attempt to to talk about both male and female 'privilege', the discussion is heavily one-sided. Not to deny that almost everything shown in the series is unfortunately still the reality for millions of women, I however was hoping for a more gray than black & white narrative.
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Overwhelming but intriguing.
My advantage while framing this review is that I have neither read ‘The Witcher’ books nor played its very popular video game adaptation. So, my ignorance enables me to comment upon the show as a stand-alone entity, and so far I must say, I am intrigued.

The series is a work of fantasy fiction following Geralt of Rivia -a rather righteous Witcher (mutant who kills for living) who’s destiny has much wilder plans laid out for him than his everyday routine of hunting monsters. The plot is dense, and ‘The Witcher’ universe jam packed with enticing characters. With a great deal of scheming and conspiring throughout the storyline, it can become a little hard to follow so the only downside is that you might end up pressing rewind a lot more than you anticipated, much like I had to.

What lacks in story telling is readily made up by exquisite CGI work, top-notch performances and expensive production. Plus, there’s humor, sword fights and even a few catchy ballads. The series may not be the best fantasy fiction production out there, but is entertaining enough to transcend any comparison with its counterparts (GOT, LOTR etc.) and establish a cult following of its own.
604 views
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Simply delightful
After putting out consistently awful content for far too long, Netflix finally offers a pleasantly engaging experience with ‘Taj Mahal 1989’. Delightful performances take center stage and even when the script struggles, there is enough charm in the production design to keep one hooked.

Love is a tricky subject but we get to see a lot of its shapes and forms in the show. For Sarita (Geetanjali Kulkarni) and Akhtar (Neeraj Kabi), love is elusive and nearly lost. The passion in their relationship is long gone, and an empty marriage haunts their future. While for Rashmi (Anshul Chauhan) and Dharam (Paras Priyadarshan), love and lust are synonymous. For Angad (Anud Singh Dhaka), as he cleverly puts it, “love is nothing but the choices available”. Writing at times is poetic and soulful, the other times sappy, much like the character development, which is also a hit and a miss.

With enough romance, wit, humor, substance and drama, ‘Taj Mahal 1989’ is a rather out of the ordinary show that will keep you entertained.
471 views
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“Singapore” is secondary.
To be fair, reality TV targets viewers with a certain appetite for so called 'unscripted drama', but “Singapore Social” might just be a no go even for hardcore reality TV enthusiasts.

On the surface, the show seems to have curated an interesting mix of people. We have a fashion influencer, an entrepreneur, a youtuber, a singer, a burlesque dancer and a philanthropist/actor hanging out together far too often than their busy work schedules should permit, however, as the show progresses most of their already trite on-screen personalities turn into a bland mix of conceit and indifference.

Besides their common cry over hard to please Asian parents, there are hardly any culturally relevant premises. The term “Singapore” can be very well be struck off from the title and still make no difference to the show.
623 views
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Adorable and consistent
Starring Kenneth Sebastian as a cutesy guy- Kenny and Vidyuth Gargi as his no-nonsense best friend Rohan, on their quest to become hit musicians, the show follows the peculiar hurdles they must cross for their dreams to become reality. Long story short, things go wrong for our aspiring duo more than they go right and their unconventional problems turn into humorous plot-lines. The show is set in the year 2004, while the essence of the era could have been captured better, the retro, feel-good vibes are warm enough.

An interesting aspect of the show is its many, many entertaining side characters. They are written and performed quite well. From Kenny hitting on women in clubs for music inspiration to make-shift recording studios, the show is stuffed with witty one liners and clever innuendos.

The show surely doesn't have any mind-bending twists or hysterical highs and may even remind of a comedy sketch that has been stretched out a little too long but is consistently adorable and engaging. It's a great pick to fill a laid-back evening.

590 views
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