India’s Oscar entry takes you on an intimate pandemic journey. The other films and shows reviewed here focus on fractured family homes, political thrills, sports-led hope, and underworld sagas. Long after the credits roll, the sights and sounds will linger.
Homebound (Hindi) Netflix
Watching Neeraj Ghaywan’s Homebound at the Toronto International Film Festival in September last year was emotional, to say the least. There were audible sighs and sniffles in the theater as the story of Shoaib (Ishaan Khatter) and Chandan (Vishal Jethwa) unfolded, with the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic serving as a devastating backdrop.
The film is set against the unprecedented humanitarian crisis triggered by India’s sudden nationwide lockdown, which forced millions of migrant workers to attempt perilous journeys home—often on foot, or packed into unsafe vehicles. The story comes from a 2020 New York Times article by journalist Basharat Peer. The essay chronicled the lives of two migrant workers, Mohammad Saiyub and Amrit Kumar, who were stranded in Surat and desperately tried to return to their village in Uttar Pradesh. Ghaywan adapts this material with restraint and empathy, resisting spectacle in favor of intimacy.
What ultimately lingers is not just the scale of loss, but the tenderness with which the friendship between Shoaib and Chandan is portrayed. Their bond, marked by loyalty, shared silences, and quiet care, becomes the emotional center of the film, making Homebound not only a story about displacement but about dignity, friendship, and the human cost of being forgotten. A must-watch tearjerker, the film is propelled by solid performances from Khatter and Jethwa. It made it to the Oscar shortlist in the Best International Film category.
Perfect Family(Hindi) YouTube
Perfect Family is set inside the Karkaria household—a space that will feel uncomfortably familiar to many Indian families. The series begins when the youngest grandchild, Daani, develops severe anxiety, forcing the family into group therapy and exposing years of unresolved tension, silence, and emotional neglect.
The show looks closely at generational trauma and the pressures of middle-class respectability. Somnath Karkaria (Manoj Pahwa) is a patriarch driven by appearances and “log kya kahenge,” often at the cost of emotional honesty. His wife, Kamla (Seema Pahwa), has spent her life in a self-sacrificing domestic role, expressing her frustration through quiet resentment. Around them are familiar figures: a son (a brilliant Gulshan Devaiah) crushed by the pressure to succeed, a capable daughter overlooked, and a daughter-in-law who gave up her career for a marriage that offers little emotional support.
What makes Perfect Family important is its willingness to talk about mental health directly and without euphemism—something Indian audiences urgently need. It shows how emotional harm can exist even in stable, well-to-do homes, and how acknowledging it is the first step toward breaking the cycle.
The Family Man Season 3 (Hindi) Amazon Prime Video
The series returns with everything that has made it such a popular watch: sharp writing, technical polish, and Manoj Bajpayee’s effortlessly relatable Srikant Tiwari. Set largely in Northeast India, with Nagaland at the center, the season shifts its geopolitical focus to insurgency, drug networks, and crossborder tensions, adding a new regional and political layer to the show’s familiar spy-versus-family balancing act. At seven episodes running close to an hour each, the back-and-forth narrative can feel cluttered, making it harder to track timelines and motivations. Still, the show’s emotional core remains intact.
On the home front, Srikant’s family life continues to evolve. His awkward attempts to connect with his children—a socially aware, anxious daughter, and a son navigating bullying—provide some of the season’s most human moments. Priyamani’s Suchitra, now fully invested in her career, adds further strain and depth to a marriage that feels worn but not broken.
Season 3 may not be the strongest chapter, but it remains engaging and relevant.
Real Kashmir Football Club SonyLiv
This sports drama series is inspired by the true story of Real Kashmir FC, the first professional football club to emerge from Jammu and Kashmir. Starring Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub and Manav Kaul in lead roles, the series, directed by Mahesh Mathai and Rajesh Mapuskar, brings to the screen a chapter of modern Kashmiri history rarely explored through sport. Ayyub plays Sohail, a journalist who walks away from his career to help create the club. Early on, the show makes it clear that this is not about bureaucracy or politics slowing things down. Instead, it focuses on forward momentum, choosing optimism over realism when obstacles appear. That choice sets the tone: this is meant to be a feel-good story, not a procedural one.
The series works best when it shows everyday life in Kashmir—moments of quiet struggle, broken routines, and young men unsure of their future. Sohail’s mission is simple but powerful: restore izzat, or self-respect, through sport. To do that, he must convince parents, sponsors, and coaches that football is not a distraction, but a lifeline. Kaul is strong as Shirish, a Kashmiri Pandit businessman who becomes the club’s sponsor, bringing warmth and balance to the story. The performances are grounded and sincere. Ayyub brings calm determination to Sohail, while Kaul avoids stereotypes, giving his character emotional depth.
Nishaanchi (1 & 2) (Hindi) Amazon Prime Video
This two-parter opens up the troubled world of two brothers, Babloo and Dabloo, growing up in Kanpur under the long shadow of their father’s violent past. Shaped by loss, poverty, and the quiet dominance of local power structures where crime and politics overlap, their lives are divided early on. Babloo, the elder brother, is impulsive and drawn to violence, while Dabloo is restrained, responsible, and longing for stability. When their father is killed, the divide sharpens—Babloo slips deeper into the criminal world, and Dabloo is left trying to hold what remains of the family together. I revel in these epic sagas. It wasn’t too long for me. Across both parts, Aaishvary Thackeray is the standout, convincingly inhabiting two sharply different brothers with control and confidence. This is a world that one wants to revisit time and again—almost, dare I say, like a piece of art.
Baisakhi Roy is the editor of Canadian Immigrant. Her work has appeared in leading Canadian media outlets,
including The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, and CBC. She specializes in stories at the intersection of immigrant life and
culture in Canada, with a strong focus on workplace issues and diversity.