We do not whistle for Hathiram Chaudhary. And yet the bond we feel towards him is spontaneous, almost effortless. This is because he shares something of our too-ideal dreams, our wry acceptance of our limitations, our useful frustrations, and our pointless sprints, explains Sreehari Nair.
'I insisted only Jaideep could play Inspector Haathiram Chaudhary.' 'Yes, Jaideep is a really good actor but this was not just about the performance.' 'Even that tired walk of him reflects the mood and theme of the show.'
After a four-year wait, The Family Man 3 returns with Shrikant Tiwari facing his most personal battle yet.
Saif Ali Khan made his first media appearance after his shocking stabbing incident last month, and looked happy to announce his latest film, Jewel Thief: The Heist Begins.
'He was the Michael Jackson of the community.'
In 2025, OTT series were entertaining enough, even though most were in the crime genre.
'If you are trying to tell an authentic Punjab story, it's almost impossible that the NRI fascination or the NRI characters will not be a part of it.'
'...you won't have to announce it yourself -- people around you will tell you it's time.'
Paatal Lok 2 breaks the second season curse and spins yet another engrossing mystery, observes Mayur Sanap.
Despite the Delhi police's tarnished reputation in recent months, viewers find themselves rooting for Inspector Hathiram Chaudhary because he displays both vulnerability and remorse, observes Ranjita Ganesan.
'Your relationship with your child is changing every single day, ditto your relationship with your parents.'
Writers and creators are telling more authentic stories based in states and cities that we may not have seen much of in mainstream media, such as Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh. Or ones that we have some mistaken notions about like Punjab, Delhi, Haryana, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, highlights Vanita Kohli-Khandekar.
'I will never ever forget Paatal Lok 2 because I left for the shoot the night I got married!'
'There is simply too much to watch, read and absorb.' 'Just online consumption (news, entertainment, social media) in India was 2.5 hours a day in November 2024.' 'Add TV (just under 4 hours), other media, and the figure is closer to 7 to 8 hours a day for over one-third of Indians,' points out Vanita Kohli Khandekar.
'We wanted to explore the divisions in India -- be it class, caste, language, religion or gender.'
Paatal Lok is definitely a must watch show. The credit for its success goes to the writers who enthralled us with their unique characters, but also to the wonderful band of actors who grabbed the opportunity to showcase their frightening raw talent, notes Aseem Chhabra.
'When I am working on a series, be it Paatal Lok on Amazon Prime or Kohrra on Netflix, I never take it for granted that we will be back with another season.' 'It's only at the end of the season that I ask myself if I still have it in me to take the story further and if I would like to meet the characters again.' 'If the answer is yes, then I find ways to make the journey exciting for myself, like taking Inspector Haathiram Chaudhary to Nagaland.'
'We want to push boundaries; we want to push the envelope as far as content is concerned...'
'He was once a hero. He was the poster boy of investigative journalism.' 'Then suddenly, because the TRPs of his channel were down, his boss decides to sack him.'
From convincing film-makers to do shows for online, to having a slate with some of the best films and shows, Amazon Prime Video has come a long way since it came to India four years ago.
If Irrfan could have been our finest professor of empirical philosophy, and Nawaz is our foremost poet of that space halfway between the gutter and the stars, then Jaideep Ahlawat has to be our greatest artist-scientist, asserts Sreehari Nair.
