The Whimsy Bookworm: A Book Blog from India

 Hello, hello, I hope your long weekend has gotten off to a great start!  After a busy week, mine has been slow and lazy, exactly as I wanted it to be!  In case you are planning to be home this long weekend, here are a few series and movie recommendations for you!  1. Destined With You is a Korean series that is a romance but with elements like reincarnation, mystery and magic. It is funny and sweet and totally worth bingeing this weekend. Streaming on Netflix. 2. Wilderness is a suspense/ thriller domestic drama about a woman, who decides to kill her cheating husband during a road trip through the US West Coast National Parks. It is gripping and worth watching. Streaming on Prime Video.  3. Athidhi (The Guest) is a Telugu (dubbed in 7 languages) horror/ suspense series about a man living with his wife in a beautiful home when random strangers start showing up on a stormy night. Streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.  4. No Hard Feelings is a comedy movie about supe...

  It's another weekend and a hot one at that! Or a rainy one if you are in the path of Cyclone Mocha! Please stay safe!  So, if you are looking to stay in and binge a show, then may we suggest Dahaad on Amazon Prime Video.  We binge watched it today and here are five reasons why we think you should watch this show!  1. Loosely inspired by the notorious Cyanide Killer - a serial killer from Karnataka known for killing women with cyanide - Dahaad is, at a very basic level, a serial killer thriller show. However, it is not just that. It is a lovely, nuanced look at general misogyny, the role and place of women in society, issues of casteism and religious intolerance that are so prevalent in our society today. So, if you want to watch a great serial killer cat-and-mouse type show with some thoughtful and intelligent layers, then this is the show for you.  2. The casting is just stellar! Sonakshi Sinha, Vijay Varma, Gulshan Devaiah and Sohum Shah are pitch perfect in...

 Hello, hello, Another weekend closer to Christmas! The lights in our building went up today and I am feeling most festive!  If you are looking for some quick stuff to watch tonight and tomorrow, then we've got you!  Here are some movies and shows that we've enjoyed recently!  1. Blur Blur is a thriller movie streaming on Zee5 starring Tapsee Pannu and Gulshan Devaiah. It follows the story of twins- Gautami and Gayatri- who have progressive blindness. When Gautami is found dead, the police think it is suicide but Gayatri refuses to believe it. As she delves more and more into her twin's life in the days leading up to her death, she uncovers some pretty sketchy and dangerous things that confirm her suspicions.  Though a bit of a slow burn, Blur is quite nicely done.  2. The White Lotus (Season 2)  Season 1 of The White Lotus was weird and slightly problematic but fun. Season 2 is even better!  Set in a beautiful resort in Sicily, the series follows...

The world around us is crumbling. There is death and heartache no matter where you look. We've lost 8 family members and family friends in the past 10 days alone. My sister has lost two colleagues. It is impossible to deal with this situation in any sane way and the only thing we can do is distract ourselves.  So, that is what we did. We watched some web series and here are the ones we liked a bit more than the others.  1. Crash Landing on You: A South Korean heiress- Yoon Se-ri- gets blown off by a tornado, whilst filming a promotional video for her new range of active wear clothing, into North Korea. There she, literally, crash lands on Captain Ri Joeng Hyoek- a North Korean army captain. The rest of this show is just full of cute, heartwarming and funny moments. Highly, highly recommend. Watch on Netflix.  2. Shey Je Holud Pakhi 2: The second season of Shey Je Holud Pakhi involves the police following a slew of leads to solve a very challenging murder case. This is a g...

Hello Loves!  Since it was Ray's birthday yesterday, we've been in a mood for all things Ray, to be fair, we as a household are always in the mood for Ray.  I am currently reading Childhood Days, A Memoir by Satyajit Ray and really enjoying it.  It's full of memories of this childhood and growing up in Calcutta and some truly eccentric relatives.  Also making an appearance are some magnificent Bengalis of the time- Tagore and Nandalal Bose.    Some more Ray inspired loves.  Bookmark from Karubasona.  Pendant from Label Maati.  Feluda is a forever mood.  I spent last night reading Sonar Kella.  And we watched the film too.  A pretty pile.  All good things.  I hope to re-read all of Feluda this year.  I have both volumes on my Kindle and I will slowly read them all.  Apart from this we've been watching some of Ray's films.  Mahanagar (1963): Watched it this evening. A story of a lower-middleclass Bengali...

 Hello!  Since I've been home, since the beginning of the month, I've spent most of my time watching things with my Dad. Web-series for most part and I figured I'd share some of my recommendations.  Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story  If you grew up in the 90s, Harshad Mehta is a name that was all over the headlines. He was a stock broker credited with the largest bull runs in the Bombay Stock Exchange. His antics brought the term 'scam' into the Indian lexicon. This show tells the story of Harshad Mehta's rise and fall and it is so richly nuanced and wonderfully directed and acted!  Highly recommend! This show is streaming on Sony Liv.  Bad Boy Billionaires- India  Apart from my objection to the term 'boys' used to describe these men and their calculated, greedy and heinous acts, everything about this Netflix documentary is just FABULOUS!  Over three episodes we see some of the biggest scams, cons and thefts committed by three (they took off...

Hello, hello, Another weekend in the Lockdown! Since most of us are staying home, I thought I'd share a few movies and series that I've been enjoying recently, in case some of you are at a loose end in terms of what to watch! 1. The Baby-Sitters Club  Whether you grew up reading the books or not, The Baby-Sitters Club (streaming on Netflix)  is guaranteed to make you feel warm and fuzzy and make you miss your childhood friends!  Especially, for those of us, who grew up in the simpler times of the 80s and 90s, the bonds between a gang of girls and the simple things that bring them joy will warm the cockles of your heart! Seriously, this is such a wholesome (without being corny) and heartwarming show! Watch it! Show it to your kids! Just watch it! 2. Desperados  In the mood for watching something hilarious? Look no further! Desperados on Netflix is a laugh riot!!!  After Wes drunkenly sends an angry email to her new, pe...

Hello!  Another month is over and what an inordinately long month this has felt like.  Seriously, some of the things that happened in the beginning of the month feel like they happened in another lifetime.  I have quite a few favourite things from this month, so let's get started.  1. Favourite Web Series: This was a month of binge watching things and losing myself in another world. I honestly watched more than I read this month, which is not my usual normal. But in this new normal it's sure been nice to just quiet my mind and find a story, a world beside mine to concentrate on.  Paatal Lok was pretty much the best thing I watched all month. It's so good. Dark and hard to watch at times but so is our reality. All the buzz is justified. Please watch it if you haven't already.  Never Have I Ever was a happy revelation. I know everyone kept buzzing about this since it came out, but I am not big on romance or desi stories in A...

We just finished binge-watching Paatal Lok on Amazon Prime Video and here are our 10 reasons why this web series is an absolute must-watch! 1. Paatal Lok is a layered and nuanced cop drama. The basic premise of the show centres around the four hired "killers", who are arrested by the Delhi Police for an assassination attempt case just as they were leaving the city. The case is then handed over to the inexperienced local thana inspector, Hathi Ram Choudhry, who, along with his rookie junior, Imran Ansari, sets about to solve this case and get to the bottom of who these four hired guns are and who hired them to kill a top, honest journalist. 2. So, while Paatal Lok sounds like a thriller or a whodunnit it is so much more! It is a searing reflection of our times- of the harsh reality of caste politics, of religious discrimination, of dirty politics and it shines a light on the privilege of urban, middle-to-upper-middle class Indians, who live in a cocoon, blissfully u...

Hello, hello! I hope the Lockdown (round 3 this time!) is treating you well! I hope you are physically and mentally well and are managing to find food to eat and entertainment to keep yourself engaged whilst cooling your heels at home! Basically, I hope you are safe and healthy! My sister and I have been re-watching some wonderful and, might I add, recently uploaded to YouTube, classic Doordarshan serials from the 1980s. For any non-desi readers, Doordarshan is India's public/ government broadcaster. Before the advent of cable TV in India, which happened with the onset of the Gulf War in 1990, Doordarshan or DD was the only entertainment option for TV viewers all over the country. Surprisingly, it turned out some very high quality, progressive, "modern" content. Don't believe me? Watch some of these shows that I am recommending below and see for yourself! *grin* 1. Trishna is the best Indian adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice. If yo...

Hello May!  May you be the answer to our problems.  May you be full of goodness.  May you grant us the strength to live through these trying times.  Be magical May!  May is not my favourite month of the year. It's too hot.  Too muggy.  Too humid.  My way of coping with May is usually hiding indoors and reading myself into slumber. So in some ways this May won't be all that different...almost.  I started my month with little comforts.  Milkshake.  Chaat.  And I've spend most of today comforting myself with an absolute favourite film of mine- Karz.  A way to remember Rishi Kapoor and lose myself in film that has my heart.  Simi looked so gorgeous!  I don't remember when I first saw Karz, I must have been a little over 6 or 7, and it was love at first viewing. Something about this film, it's theme of reincarnation just spoke to me. And ever since it's b...

Hello!  Ah! April.  Where do I even begin?  What a month!  Once again I find myself thinking long and hard at finding things I loved this month and my first impulse was to skip listing faves for this month and let this shitfest of a month be gone and done with. But honestly, even in all this mess, all this uncertainty, fear and anxiety there have been small moments of respite.  Little silver linings.  Finding bread.  Making malpuas .  A perfectly done pocha . A breezy day.  Long afternoon naps.  Cold showers.  Writing again.  Even in all this darkness there were moments of light.  So here are some of my favourite things from this month.  1. Colouring: I can happily just zone out and colour for hours on end and never be bored or lost in my anxious thoughts. This little colouring book has kept me happily occupied and happy for most of this month. So glad I am a little hoar...

Hello, hello! I hope all of you are doing well and staying home as much as possible. Tomorrow, March 22nd, has been declared as ' Janta Curfew' (People's Curfew) by our Prime Minister, where we've been urged to stay home between 7 am to 9 pm. I know a lot of us are feeling stir-crazy already, so, I thought I'd share some web series and movies that you can watch/ binge on tomorrow to make the self-imposed curfew easier. Asur: Voot Select's new web series is a contest of wits and will between a deadly serial killer and two CBI Forensic Officers. This mysterious serial killer is on a spree and, for some reason, he is taunting two of CBI's top forensic officers. The series is a mix of mythology and science and is quite interesting. We're still in the process of watching it and are very hooked! Little Fires Everywhere: If you've read the book or not, this is a series that explores complex family dynamics, different styles of mothering and just...