Screen Time: Truth Seekers and False Gods
A compassionate lawyer takes on a shady godman, a journalist fights to prove her innocence, a father gets his hands bloody, a pair of siblings bond over cricket, and the dark side of boarding school life is revealed. Get ready for more drama this summer.
School of Lies (Hindi)
Disney Hotstar
Which child hasn’t heard all those fun stories about boarding school! Clandestine midnight feasts, ghost hunting in the corridors, sharing tuck (food sent from home) with friends . . . the fun never stops. The prestigious RISE boarding school in the fictional Dalton Town is all this and much more. And it’s not all good. When 12-year-old Shakti Salgaonkar goes missing, the ensuing search reveals some disturbing secrets. Housemaster Sam (a brilliant Aamir Bashir) seems preoccupied with more than finding his missing student, while two seniors—Vikram (Varin Roopani) and TK (Aryan Singh Ahlawat)—are involved in all kinds of shady activities. Then there’s the gardener Bhola, whose son Chanchal was last seen traipsing around the countryside with Shakti. Nimrat Kaur plays the school counsellor who has a tragic backstory of her own. Director Avinash Arun, who co-directed Pataal Lok, one of the best web series to ever come out of India, tells a riveting story that’s rife with tension and foreboding. His ability to bring out spontaneous performances by younger actors is evident here (for another example, watch Killa, his award-winning Marathi film). Shot in beautiful Ooty, this moody and mysterious eight-part series will keep you hooked.
Scoop(Hindi)
Netflix
After the superb Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story (Sony LIV), Hansal Mehta brings another cracker of a series to streaming. This six-part series based on the events surrounding the murder of famed Indian crime reporter J. Dey (with whom I shared office space and a cursory nod or two in my early days as a reporter with The Indian Express in Mumbai) is a compelling watch. When senior reporter Jaideb Sen (Prosenjit) is shot dead, Jagriti Pathak (Karishma Tanna), the ambitious deputy editor and crime reporter from a rival newspaper, becomes the main suspect. Tanna’s character is based on former journalist Jigna Vora, who at the time (2011) was charged with conspiring with an underworld don, Chota Rajan, by providing his sharpshooters with information about Dey’s whereabouts on the day of his murder. She spent nine months in jail and was finally acquitted of all charges in 2018, seven years after Dey’s murder. Mehta tells the harrowing story of Vora’s ordeal using Vora’s 2019 memoir, Behind Bars in Byculla. Tanna shines in her meaty role as the intrepid reporter, while Mohamed Zeeshan Ayub also makes an impact as her editor. His finest performance yet, the actor just gets better with every project. What leaves an even greater impact is the portrayal of a sweet, simple family torn apart by Pathak’s horrific experience in the aftermath of the murder. Pathak’s scenes with her doting grandfather will leave you a weepy mess.
Sirf ek Banda Kaafi Hai (Hindi)
ZEE5
This one, also inspired by true events, recounts the five-year legal battle waged by advocate Poonam Chand Solanki against popular godman Asaram Bapu, accused of rape by a 16-year-old girl who had stayed at his ashram near Jodhpur. Solanki fought hard to get the girl and her parents justice, and Asaram Bapu is still serving his life sentence in prison. Manoj Bajpayee slips into the character of Solanki with ease, gently exhorting young Nu (Adrija Sinha) to stand her ground and fight. The case is highly sensitive. Solanki faces death threats, and his family is endangered, but he is undeterred. Some of the courtroom scenes where Nu is being questioned about the details of the assault are difficult to watch. Sinha radiates strength, grace, and aching vulnerability as she essays a complex role. Vipin Sharma, who plays a lawyer defending Bapu, is excellent in a scene where he must ask Nu if the godman touched her private parts. He is ashamed and overcome, and the court goes silent.
Bloody Daddy (Hindi)
Jio Cinema
Dishy Daddy Shahid Kapoor makes this trippy film by Ali Abbas Zafar (Sultan, Tiger Zinda Hai) immensely watchable. An adaptation of the French film Sleepless Night (2011), the story follows narcotics officer Sumair (Shahid) who must deliver a bag of cocaine to a drug baron, Sikander (Ronit Bose Roy), who has kidnapped his son. But things go predictably wrong and now Sumair has to break some bones and spill a lot of blood to get to his child. Unbeknownst to him, someone in his team is in cahoots with the bad guy. Sumair’s personal life is in shambles as well. His teenage son rolls his eyes at him for not spending time with him while his ex-wife berates him continually for being an irresponsible father. The fight sequences are a lot of fun, as are the comic bits. Watch out for a hilarious scene where Sumair, having lost the bag of cocaine, is trying to pack flour into little baggies in the kitchen of a hotel with the assistance of two petrified Nepali cooks. The fast-moving film is a crazy, side-splitting ride.
Kacchey Limbu (Hindi)
Jio Cinema
If you need some respite from bones and blood, catch this breezy, feel-good, coming of age debut from director Shubham Yogi. I happened to catch this at the Toronto International Film Festival last year and it kept me smiling for a couple of weeks. Aditi (Radhika Madan) is good at cricket and is obsessed with the game. But she’s the girl in the family and must toe the line—learn Bharatanatyam, pretend to like fashion design, and study for medical exams. Her brother Akash (Rajat Bharmecha from Udaan) is an excellent cricketer and, when one of his shots while playing gully cricket goes viral, he is offered a contract with an upcoming Underarm Cricket League. But Aakash is the son in the family, and he too has to toe the line and is goaded by his parents to take up a corporate job and let go of his passion for the game. Hurt by this attitude, he challenges his sister to a game and decides that, if he loses, he will renounce his dreams of being a cricketer forever. What follows is a charming story.
Baisakhi Roy is a culture writer and journalist based in Ontario, Canada. Her work has appeared in The Globe and Mail, Huffington Post Canada, Chatelaine, Broadview and CBC. Formerly a reporter with The Indian Express in India, Roy is an avid Bollywood fan and co-hosts the Hindi language podcast KhabardaarPodcast.com. Email: baisakhi.roy@gmail.com
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