I had heard and read a lot about Devdutt Pattanaik’s books but this is the first time I read a book of his. Devdutt Pattanaik’s ‘Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata’ is a masterful retelling of the ancient epic. Absolutely ideal for young people who are willing to read and know the story of Mahabharata in simple language. It has a perfect blend of storytelling and insight. Pattanaik brings the characters and world of Mahabharata to life, making it accessible to modern readers. His interpretation is engaging, thought-provoking, and filled with fascinating perspectives on the human condition. A great introduction to the Mahabharata, and a compelling read for those familiar with the epic too. And you ate highly mistaken if you think it’s just another mythological fiction, because at the end of every chapter the real facts and data along with dates are also given for the rational thinkers. The anecdotes (somewhat summaries of each chapter) at the end of every chapter reminded me of my childhood science or EVS text books (nostalgic), but since there are so many characters and events these summaries help the reader to keep a track. Absolutely loved it!
After watching both the parts I realised even propaganda can be sold and fed to the audience if wrapped in a wrapper of somewhat well crafted filmmaking and engaging performances by the actors.
Things I didn’t like :
1. One sided narrative.
2. Propaganda, propaganda & propaganda
3. Rubbish facts stuffed in the name of fiction.
4. Complete absence of female roles.
5. Glorification of pseudo masculinity.
Things I liked :
1. Well maintained plot that connects the dots.
2. Music.
3. Engaging performances by the actors.
4. The portrayal of emotions in characters like Major Iqbal (the abusive father scenes), Rehman Dakait (losing his son and family oriented scenes) and last but not the least Jaskirat Singh Rangi (last scene when he’s in the emotional turmoil and dilemma whether to go inside his house or not. Also the scene where he finds his sister as a hostage). The credit here also goes to the actors (Arjun Rampal, Akshay Khanna & Ranveer Singh) of course.
5. Utilisation of music/bgm in plot development.
6. Special mention has to be Rakesh Bedi.
Now, coming onto some facts :
1. The Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) was established on September 21, 1968. Founded under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. (Information was available on the internet)
2. Jameel Jamali was is in Lyari since 45 years, he was sent in 1981 when Indira Gandhi was the PM. (As shown in the film)
3. Ranveer Singh’s character Hamza went to Lyari in mid 2004, when PM was Dr Manmohan Singh. (As shown in the film)
4. Ilias Kashmiri on whom Major Iqbal’s character is based on, died in 2011 in a US Drone attack, when India’s PM was Dr Manmohan singh. (Available on the internet)
5. SP Choudhary Aslam (a real character played by Sanjay Dutt on screen) died in Jan 2014 in a suicide car bombing in Karachi, Pakistan when India’s PM was Dr Manmohan Singh.
So, now please make sense of the whole demonetization narrative shown in the film. Films can’t replace history books I’m sorry to break that bubble! The compelling storytelling and execution made people forget the fact that film is “based on true events” not “the true events” itself.
Slick cinematography and world class production value can’t beat objective reality. Yes, the film uses real dates of events (26/11), real footages (PM’s oath ceremony, demonetization) and real news headlines. It’s a crazy case of cinematic gaslighting where the background is real people assume the hero is real as well. But the protagonist is not.
Dhurandhar is like that viral WhatsApp forward our parents keep sending us, just in a high budget and 4k version. It validates people’s bias. People are buying this narrative because it feels good to them. When people stop being able to differentiate between a screenwriter’s imagination or a director’s vision and actual facts, they become dangerously easy to influence.
Appreciate the craft. Cheer for the acting. Even howl and hoot at the action sequences. But for the love of logic, read a book. Art is meant to move you, make you think and feel, not to be your only source of truth. Use your eyes for the screen, but use your mind for the world. As the iconic dialogue says, “Hindustan mein jab tak Cinema hai, log chye bante rahenge“*. Let’s not be one!
Last time I saw a housefull show of a bengali movie was of ‘Ballabhpurer Roopkatha’ and today it was the much talked about and hyped ‘The Academy of Fine Arts’. And after the movie ended the first thought that came to my mind was if you make such movies crowd WILL definitely come, there’s no need of melodramatic bangali emotion e shurshuri pleas of “Bangla cinemar pashe daran”. Because let’s face it when you are not making a movie you are thinking about your profits you’re not doing charity so why expect that from your audience? Now coming to the movie, I really liked it! The innovative use of on screen texts, out of the box framings in cinematography, amazing application of witty bgms as both diegetic & non diegetic sound, and a genuine performance of Rudranil Ghosh after a very long time. Also, Amit Saha who played the character of Bireshwar Bal absolutely nailed it. The victory of his performance lies in the fact that I hated him and a lot of people in the audience felt anxious whenever he went inside a kitchen (you know if you know, cant give spoiler). Loved the fact that even while portraying tragedy the film didn’t lose it’s realistic approach and deviate into melodrama. Jayabrata Das , being a first-time director has done a splendid job! But this doesn’t make the film flawless though. To be precise I didn’t like 3 things. First, the overuse of breaking of the fourth wall. It constantly broke the flow of the narrative. Maybe that was intentional from the director’s end but i feel the narration voiceover was enough to register everything so the usage of breaking the fourth wall so often every now & then could have been reduced. Second, the lame english accent of Payel Sarkar. She’s the weakest link in the otherwise competent cast who did a fair job in portraying their characters. Third, the 2hr 29mins runtime. A shorter runtime could have been an edge of the seat experience where the constant plot twists would not have felt stretched at times. Well, everything said and done this movie is definitely worth watching. Even if there are faults at least someone attempted to do something different. May our bengali cinema flourish with these kind of cinemas and many more different kind of cinemas with different concepts executed differently in the upcoming future. Because honestly I feel today’s bengali cinema industry has forgotten the fact that India witnessed Indian New Cinema originating from Bengal holding Ray’s Pather Panchali’s hands. So, if Bengal could do it back then, it can do it now as well!
The feeling of watching a movie at the theatres sitting with a bunch of other people after ages is absolutely inexplicable !! So talking about the movie Bell Bottom doesn’t really dissapoints. This is not only Akshay Kumar’s comfort zone genre it’s now his home territory. The movie did keep us on the edge of our seats with that feeling of a espionage thriller throughout it’s 2hr 10 mins runtime. But the VFX and graphics work could have been a lot better I feel cause at few moments it looked like the animated graphics used in mobile games which kind of degraded the authenticity of the scene and situation. Akshay Kumar does sport the look of an agent quite well but don’t expect anything new that we haven’t seen before from him. Vani Kapoor does justice to the short screen time she has. Dolly Ahluwalia as Raavie Malhotra is super cute and adorable. The prosthetic make up used for the transformation of Lara Dutta is absolutely stunning. And she maintains that demeanor with all the authority and grace required. There’s this one dialogue in the end where Akshay Kumar says that we not only belong from the land of Gandhi but we also belong from the land of Bose. This dialogue just melted my heart like anything ❤ So basically as the comeback of theatres in our lives Bell Bottom is a great watch but as I said earlier don’t expect anything new as this is a been there done that to death genre in Bollywood now especially when it’s starring Akshay Kumar.
Noah Baumbach’s film, “Marriage Story” isn’t so much a story of a marriage as it is a story of the stories that are told about a marriage as it dies, the role of those stories in the lives of those who are soon to be exes, and, above all, the frameworks that give rise to those stories and prove to be inseparable from their substance. The movie “Marriage Story” shows how the sphere of intimacy is transformed into a malignant poison as soon as the relationship in which it flourished is broken off.
Divorce is described in Noah Baumbach’s masterful “Marriage Story” as like a death without a body. Something has been lost. There is grieving, anger, denial. In his moving story, Baumbach captures the insidious nature of divorce, how two well-meaning people who still care about each other will do things they would never think they would do. Baumbach portrays divorce as a great equalizer, turning us into versions of ourselves we didn’t expect to become.
And, despite some surprising bits of humor, this is very much a domestic drama. In effect, the entire movie is one of duelling monologues, spoken and unspoken, two hours of sharp, painful, witty, and elegant talk that is nonetheless rooted in the impossibility of communication. Baumbach presents the elusive nature of love, the ineffable spark at its core and the realm of practicalities by which it’s defined and realized. He testifies to the phrase I heard somwhere by someone I don’t remember I i.e.“There’s no such thing as love, there’s only proof of love.”
Marriage Story, is a film where thoughts and feelings are articulated so precisely that viewers know exactly what the characters are going through. This film is a searing portrait of a relationship ending. It is insightful, sympathetic and rather beautifully bewildered.
At the centre of it all, however, are a pair of brilliant performances by Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver, both of whom embrace and inhabit their characters’ flaws and foiblesBoth of them deliver stunning performances. Driver and Johansson portray emotional and complex work very much effortlessly. They’re good throughout, but they each get a “scene” of their own, a background speech from Nicole when she first goes to Nora and a breathtaking one from Charlie at a bar near the end and a scene together, the big fight that we never think will happen with our partners. The one where we say what we shouldn’t say. The one where things change forever. To sum it up Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver excel as a couple caught in the storm of an increasingly vicious and often hilarious separation in Baumbach’s bittersweet heartbreaker.
The two leads own the film, but the ensemble cast is quite remarkable too. In the supporting roles, Laura Dern as Nora Fanshaw is superb, Ray Liotta as Jay Marotta kills it as a lawyer operating somewhere between reasonable and crazy, and Alan Alda as Bert Spitz offers a softening influence, perfectly in tune with the ultimately forgiving attitude that lifts this film to a higher level.
The use of tonal montage is very much evident throughout the film which adds to the creation of a beautiful tone and ambience matching to the feel of the situations. When I started watching this film I couldn’t have imagined of a happy ending in such a story but the ending was an absolute pleasant surprise to me.
Wishing a very Happy 75th Independence day with a tinge of hope inside me that some day we’ll again become truly independent when Freedom of Expression won’t be curbed, Democracy will not be sabotaged, Judiciary won’t be compromised, Minorites won’t be oppressed, Religion will not be a propaganda, Journalists will not get harassed and jailed for standing up for the truth, people will not get called by names like wokes/liberals/feminists/socialists for speaking their point of views and last but not the least irrespective of their religion, status, or gender may everyone be able to breathe freely in our own land…..
At the heart of the Netflix series Mismatched it’s a cute love story. However, it would have been a much better experience had it explored the peripheral storylines. Mismatched comes at a time when we were craving the warm embrace of familiarity. Set against conversations about first love, femininity, beauty standards, queerness, marriage, career, ambition Mismatched creates an air of nostalgia with hints of wokeness that could entrap anyone looking for a comfort watch in its web of lies about reality.
The thing about successfully pulling off a show or a film about young people is that you have to be careful not to make a caricature out of your characters. We’ve seen this happening in many films, where the youth is seen as alcohol drinking, pot smoking, and irresponsible bunch of people. That might even be true in many cases, but that’s not all young people are about. Netflix’s new series Mismatched seems to understand this as it tells the story of a very diverse group of youngsters. However, the show only scratches the surface of this diversity and fails to play to its strength and explore the diversity.
The show is trying to be the classic teenage love story, unpacking the supposed individualism of a group of confused teenagers that are focused on love, alcohol, sex, and app development. And don’t get me wrong, I love cheesy love stories. I loved Rishi’s filmy pickup lines and the classic coming-of-age city exploration montage complete with an original Prateek Kuhad soundtrack for the vibes (I’m absolutely in love with the song Kaha Ho Tum ❤).
One thing the show gets right is the atmosphere of sweetness it creates around the central characters’ love story. Untouched by evils and judgement, the relationship is tender, kind, and consensual. It is the sweet love story a teenage Indian audience deserves to see represented. The chemistry between Koli’s vulnerable sweetness and Saraf’s boyish charm is undeniable. While the characters are painfully privileged and occasionally overdramatic, Dimple and Rishi laughing in the rain and sharing a kiss under fairy lights may be the comfort you need after the year we’ve had.
The different characters in the show make it an interesting watch. However, the show focuses so much on Dimple and Rishi that it does not do justice to other storylines. Broaching on subjects of gay trauma, the show exploited Namrata’s pain as a plot point for Rishi’s character arc.
It left me thinking, when will people learn to let their queer characters be unapologetically themselves? Why are queer characters always considered as character plots for the heterosexual protagonist? I am tired of rejoicing in representation that is subsequently used to harsh pain. If the show has been so comfortable brushing over reality, why was it this character whose trauma was easy to attack? Much to think about.
Prajakta Koli as Dimple Ahuja is sweet and looks confident on screen, she’s a great performer but lacks consistency in this series. Rohit Saraf as Rishi Shekhawat is as usual his cute self best and fulfills the requirements of the character quite well. But I would like to see more layers to the character other than his cuteness. Rannvijay Singha as the cool professor does a fair job and is a fresh treat to watch from his stereotypical MTV shows. And Vidya Malvade as the boomer portrays her role very nicely. The scene where she gets drunk and confides in professor Siddharth Sinha (Rannvijay Singha) is beautiful to watch.
The haphazard, painfully rushed, trainwreck season finale leaves us confused in more ways than one. Mismatched isn’t meant to be the show you think about too much. And it wouldn’t be if it wasn’t for the disaster of a season finale that left me wanting more (i.e. an explanation, really). If you’re looking for a good show, keep looking. But if you’re looking for a few sweet moments and some background noise, this is the binge you need.
Mismatched is a show which should be watched for what it is, a light teenage drama to be binged on a weekend. There isn’t a lot of depth in it, but it really isn’t fair to expect it from the show in the first place.
It’s actually weird how I get a new perspective and information every time I have watched this film till now. Like for example, the use of Bhagwan Dada’s song, O Beta Ji, from perhaps the biggest hit of his career, Albela. After a bit of research I got to know the actor found immense fame and wealth after the film, a 25-room sea-facing bungalow in Juhu, Mumbai, and a fleet of fancy cars. And then, as it happens in life and tragedies, he lost it all. The man who lived so lavishly spent his last days in a dingy chawl, doing bit roles in films, forsaken by his famous friends. Anurag Basu uses the song many times in Ludo, to underline how fate is a cruel mistress. With word and in spirit, the song becomes a part of the metaphor that Ludo is intended to be. It is a strange metaphor to pick when your story is weighing good and evil, and cause and effect while throwing chaos theory in the mix by way of mythology.
Ludo, despite its missteps, keeps it breezy, with its cast helping it to stay the course. It explores the idea how our lives form a chain of action and reaction, often a random act defining our course. I found the idea of Ludo metaphor extremely interesting, where all characters signify the four colours of the game with Pankaj Tripathi’s character playing the dice, or the catalyst.
The best aspect of the film according to me is how Basu weaves in romance, drama, thrill, tragedy, whimsy and slice-of-life in one film, while keeping it essentially a black comedy. The world is whimsical and absurd, with a sharp joke around every corner, sometimes said “by” the characters, but mostly aimed “at” them. The black comedy genre is not one that Bollywood has often attempted, possibly because it is challenging as it is and made all the more so in a nation of thin skins. Ludo in its own way and in its own style offers unrelenting entertainment. Despite its 2.5 hours length, it does not flag, held together as it is by some nimble editing and Basu’s deft direction that introduce connections where none were evident, reveal already existing links in small increments at unexpected moments and occasionally opt for arbitrariness just for kicks.
And the second best aspect of this film is the music by Pritam, which is soulful and very much refreshing. Har Dum Humdum and Aabad Barbaad stays with us long after the film is over.
Basu manages to stir emotions at a primal level using colours, a device he has employed in his earlier films as well. Here, the characters are illustrated via the hues where, Abhishek’s red stands for anger and passion, Rajkummar and Fatima’s green signifies survival, Aditya and Sanya’s easy-going romance fits perfectly with the yellow while Rohit and Pearl Maaney’s blue portrays their childlike innocence.
The film may appear frothy, but beneath the bubbles manages to make a point about materialism, true love, parochialism and a news media perched on the lap of the establishment. Pinky and Shruti are not as well-written or acted with as much spark as the other characters, but their respective stories are well rounded off all the same. Not every point is taken to a logical conclusion, but as a sutradhar reminds us, there are no easy answers to life’s most complex questions.
In this interesting ensemble cast, not surprisingly Tripathi and Rao are a hoot as they display faultless comic timing for the nth time in their careers. Bachchan is likeable and shares a pleasant, warm equation with the lovable child actor Inayat Verma whose character crosses paths with him. Verma and Bachchan are this movie’s best pairing. Pearle Maaney, the Mollywood actor making her Bollywood debut here, pulls off the role without descending to the cringey “Madrasi” cliché that was once a Bollywood staple. Aditya Roy Kapur is as usual at his charming best. While Rohit Suresh Saraf cuts a cute picture. And last but not the least Shalini Vatsa who plays a fellow Malayali nurse, is absolutely hilarious and her chemistry with Pankaj Tripathi is very endearing.
Basu, is a multi-tasker in this film. In addition to directing it and acting in it, he also shares a cinematography credit with Rajesh Kalra, is Ludo’s production designer, and has written the story and screenplay. You would think that the overwork would show, but quite to the contrary, he adeptly carries each department on his shoulders.
Ludo examines questions of virtue and vice, sin and goodness, heaven and hell, fate and punishment through intersecting lives. But, the film is good old-fashioned, light-hearted fun. Ludo strikes a fine balance between the naram hawa and garam hawa that passes through the lives of its multiple players. In his last film, Jagga Jasoos, Basu had held out the promise of whimsy but faltered in his execution. Ludo enters the same territory and quietly delivers on its promise.
1. Date – 19.08.2019. Topic – World Photography Day (at Rabindra Sabha Griha, Vijaygarh Jyotish Ray College). Speakers – Dr. Rajyasri Neogy, Principal, Vijaygarh Jyotish Ray College, Dr. Arnab Kumar Banerjee, H. O. D, Dept. Journalism & Mass Communication, Vijaygarh Jyotish Ray College, Sunandit Chaudhury, Asst. Prof. Dept. Journalism & Mass Communication, Vijaygarh Jyotish Ray College, Bakul Srimany, Asst. Prof. Dept. Journalism & Mass Communication, Vijaygarh Jyotish Ray College.
2. Date – 06.09.2019. Topic – Environmental Problems in the Himalaya (at Prof. T.M. Das Memorial Lecture, Vijaygarh Jyotish Ray College). Speaker – Dwijendra Nath Banerjee.
3. Date – 27.09.2019. Topic – Vidyasagar as a Journalist (at Vijaygarh Jyotish Ray College on 200 Years of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar Birth Centenary). Speaker – Prof. Subir Ghosh.
4. Date – 28.02.2020. Topic – National Science Day (at Birla Industrial & Technological Museum organised by Birla Industrial & Technological Museum in Collaboration with The Science Association of Bengal & Vijaygarh Jyotish Ray College). Speaker – Several.
5. Date – 05.06.2020. Topic – World Environment Day. Speaker – Dr. Arnab Kumar Banerjee, Science Communicator, H. O. D. Dept. Of Journalism and Mass Communication, Vijaygarh Jyotish Ray College.
6. Date – 08.06.2020. Topic – World Oceans Day. Speaker – Dr. Manas Pratim Das, Popular Science Writer, Fellow, West Bengal Academy of Science and Technology.
7. Date – 19.06.2020. Topic – Tomorrow’s Habit. Speaker – Dr. Soma Basu, Psychologist, Germany. Dr. Subarna Kumar Das, Information Scientist. Dr. Manas Pratim Das Science Communicator. Dr. Siddhartha Narayan, Virologist. Dr. Debdoot Ghosh Thakur, Journalist. Susanta Chattopadhyay, Public Relation Officer. Dr. Subhransu Roy, Historian & Sports Researcher. Dr. Atanu Biswas, Doctor. Dr. Senjuti Roy Mukherjee, Actress. Dr. Abhijit Das, Economist. Dr. Rajyasri Neogy, Educationist.
8. Date – 02.07.2020. Topic – COVID-19: How America is Coping with the Pandemic. Speaker – Laura Ungar, Midwest Editor/Correspondent, Kaiser Health News, USA, Formerly with USA Today and The Courier Journal, also visiting faculty in University of Missouri.
9. Date – 03.07.2020. Topic – Natural Disaster & our Social Life : Human Sufferings in Two Pandemics, Hundred Years Apart. Speaker – Dr. Manas Pratim Das, Program Executive,Science Cell, All India Radio.
10. Date – 04.07.2020. Topic – Natural Disaster & our Social Life : Human Rights in Perspective of Natural Disaster. Speaker – Dr. Jatindra Kumar Das, Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Calcutta.
11. Date – 06.07.2020. Topic – Natural Disaster & our Social Life : Education & Natural Disaster. Speaker – Dr. Dulal Mukhopadhyay, Ex Prof. Dept. of Education, University of Kalyani, Ex Director of NSOU.
12. Date – 05.07.2020. Topic – How COVID-19 will change the way Businesses manage Workforce and cater to Customers. Speaker – Krishnaleena Sarkar, Marketing Consultant, Doha, Qatar.
13. Date – 17.07.2020. Topic – Introduction To Development Communication. Speaker – Dr. Saayan Chattopadhyay, Assistant Professor & Head, Dept. of Journalism & Mass Communication, Baruipur College.
14. Date – 18.07.2020. Topic – News Agency And Its Significance in The Age Of Digital Media. Speaker – Soumyajit Majumder, Principal Copy Editor, Press Trust of India (PTI).
15. Date – 20.07.2020. Topic – Communication And Development Paradigms : An Overview. Speaker – Dr. Indrani Raha, Associate Professor, Dept. of Journalism and Mass Communication, Muralidhar Girls College.
16. Date – 23.07.2020. Topic – Radio Jockey. Speaker – Aditi Das, Assistant Professor & Head, Dept. of Journalism & Mass Communication, Ramakrishna Sarada Mission Vivekananda Vidyabhavan.
17. Date – 25.07.2020. Topic – Community Radio. Speaker – Dr. Debastuti Dasgupta, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Journalism and Mass Communication, Asutosh College.
18. Date – 26.07.2020. Topic – করোনা ও কুসংস্কার ঃ বিজ্ঞান সংগঠনের ভূমিকা Speaker – Dr. Siddhartha Narayan Joardar, Dr. Manas Pratim Das, Dr. Atanu Biswas.
19. Date – 28.07.2020. Topic – Indian Mass Media with Special Reference to New Media. Speaker – Dr. Enakshi Roy, Assistant Professor, Department Of Mass Communication, Towson University, USA.
20. Date – 29.07.2020. Topic – Public Health Management: COVID-19. Speaker – Dr. Isha Patel, Assistant Professor, Department Of Pharmacy Practice, Administration And Research, Marshall University School Of Pharmacy (MUSOP), USA.
21. Date – 29.07.2020. Topic – Role of Media in Development – An Overview of the Indian Perspective. Speaker – Dr. Sourav Gupta, Senior Assistant Professor, Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, Central University of Odisha.
22. Date – 31.07.2020. Topic – Film Making Through Mobile : Opportunities During LockDown. Speaker – Sambhram Pattanayak, Lecturer, Film And TV Production, Department Of Media Studies, AMITY University, Dubai.
23. Date – 01.08.2020. Topic – Educational Radio in Developing Countries. Speaker – Sonarekha Chattopadhyay, Head, Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, Vidyasagar College.
24. Date – 02.08.2020. Topic – Radio in Democratic Periphery. Speaker – Dr. Soumya Dutta, Assistant Professor, Department of Journalism & Mass Communication, Loreto College, Kolkata.
25. Date – 02.08.2020. Topic – করোনা পরিস্থিতিতে বিজ্ঞান সংগঠনের ভূমিকা Speaker – No Particular Speaker
26. Date – 04.08.2020. Topic – News-Writing for Online Media. Speaker – Divyanshu Dutta Roy, Deputy News Editor, NDTV Convergence.
27. Date – 05.08.2020. Topic – Changing Paradigm of Indian Broadcasting System. Speaker – Biswajit Das, Faculty, Department of Journalism & Mass Communication, Maharaja Manindra Chandra College, Guest Faculty, C.U. & Radio Jackey, All India Rodio.
28. Date – 06.08.2020. Topic – Social Media Impact on PR.- How Professionals are Adopting and Using Social. Speaker – Debabani Mukherjee, Media Educator & Teacher Trainer.
30. Date – 07.08.2020. Topic – Cyber Media and E-Governance. Speaker – Dr. Reshmi Naskar, Assistant Professor, Department of Mass Communication, St.Xavier’s University, Kolkata.
31. Date – 08.08.2020. Topic – Nuances of Basic Editing. Speaker – Soumma Chandra, Assistant Editor, NCERT, New Delhi.
32. Date – 09.08.2020. Topic – দুর্যোগ মোকাবিলায় আমরা কি প্রস্তুত ? Speaker – No Particular Speaker
33. Date – 13.08.2020. Topic – Ray’s Men of 1970 : Looking Back 50 Years at “Aranyer Din Ratri & Pratidwandi”. Speaker – Amitava Nag, Film Critic & Writer, Editor of Film Magazine ‘SILHOUETTE’.
34. Date – 15.08.2020. Topic – Independence Day Celebrations / স্বাধীনতা দিবস উদযাপন Speaker – Several.
35. Date – 16.08.2020. Topic – জনস্বাস্থ্যের সঠিক তথ্য প্রচারে বিজ্ঞান সংগঠনের কী ভূমিকা থাকা দরকার Speaker – Dr. Pritam Roy, Public Health Expert, WHO Neglected Tropical Diseases Coordinator, West Bengal.
36. Date – 19.08.2020. Topic – World Photography Day. Speaker – No Particular Speaker.
37. Date – 20.08.2020. Topic – Scientific Temparament And Our Society. Speaker – Mukta Dabholkar, Science Communicator.
39. Date – 22.08.2020. Topic – Career Opportunities Post 10+2. Speaker – Sanchari Bhattacharjee, Career Counselor and Coach.
40. Date – 23.08.2020. Topic – Open Ended Experiments For Better Understanding of Science. Speaker – Dr. Rintu Nath, Senior Scientist, Vigyan Prasar, Dept. of Science and Technology, Govt of India.
41. Date – 25.08.2020. Topic – Journalism in The Age of Social Media & YouTube. Speaker – Prodipto Goswami, Independent New Media Journalist, Content Editor.
42. Date – 26.08.2020. Topic – Future of Radio Technology. Speaker – Rashmi Singh (HES I), HOD & Assistant Professor in Mass Communication PCLS Government College Karnal, Haryana.
43. Date – 27.08.2020. Topic – Film Festival And Film Distribution Process. Speaker – Pradipta Bhattacharyya, Filmmaker.
44. Date – 30.08.2020. Topic – Role of Science in Dealing with Arsenic Pollution / আর্সেনিক সমস্যা সমাধানে বিজ্ঞান সংগঠনের ভূমিকা Speaker – ড. অভিজিৎ দাস, সহকারী অধ্যাপক, বিজয়গড় জ্যোতিষ রায় কলেজ, বিবর্তন ভট্টাচার্য, চাকদা বিজ্ঞান ও সংস্কৃতি সংস্থা, জয়দেব দে,কাঁচরাপাড়া বিজ্ঞান দরবার।
45. Date – 31.08.2020. Topic – Library Orientation Programme. Speaker – Sudipta Shee, Librarian, Vijaygarh Jyotish Ray College.
46. Date – 31.08.2020. Topic – Proof Reading. Speaker – Jayita Roy Chowdhury, Proof Reader.
47. Date – 01.09.2020. Topic – Lifestyle Diseases in Present Situation. Speaker – Dr. Junaid Jibran Jawed, Assistant Professor, School of Biotechnology, Dept of Life Science, Presidency University, Kolkata.
POSTER NOT FOUND
48. Date – 02.09.2020. Topic – Indian Spices : Traditional and Medicinal Properties. Speaker – Dr.Amit Krishna De, Advisor, Former Executive Secretary, Indian Science Congress Association (under Dept of Science and Technology, Govt of India) and Science Communicator.
49. Date – 05.09.2020. Topic – Teacher’s Day Celebration / শুভ শিক্ষক দিবস Speaker – No Particular Speaker.
50. Date – 06.09.2020. Topic – আর্সেনিক সমস্যা সমাধানে আমরা কী করতে পারি Speaker – প্রদীপ সেনগুপ্ত, ড.মানস প্রতিম দাস, ড.সিদ্ধার্থ নারায়ণ জোয়ারদার, ড. অভিজিৎ দাস,জয়দেব দেবিবর্তন ভট্টাচার্য, ড. গৌতম ঘোষ, জয়ন্ত দাস, অধ্যাপক হরষিত মজুমদার, ড.শতাব্দী দাস, ড.রাজা রাউত
51. Date – 07.09.2020. Topic – Immunology and Vaccination. Speaker – Dr. Manas Chakrabarty, Professor, Calcutta Institute of Pharmaceutical Technology & Allied Health Sciences (CIPTAHS), Uluberia, Howrah.
52. Date – 09.09.2020. Topic – Role of Electronic Media in Disaster. Speaker – Kazi Sarfaraz ur Rahman, Srinjoyee Das, Rohit Debnath, Sunidhi Lakhandri, Akash Majhi, Sreeparna Roy, Rohit Das, Nilanjan Saha, Arpita Basu (All students of Journalism and Mass Communication Department, Vijaygarh Jyotish Ray College)
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53. Date – 12.09.2020. Topic – শতবর্ষে সত্যজিত রায়: চলচ্চিত্রে ডায়ালগ, ইমেজ এবং মিউজিকের বহুমাত্রিক ব্যবহার । Speaker – রাজীব নন্দী, সহকারী অধ্যাপক যোগাযোগ ও সাংবাদিকতা বিভাগ, Chattagram University, Bangladesh, And Coordinator in Indo – Bangla Media Educators Network, মহিন সুমন, Software Engineer, Musician, Observer and Researcher of Satyajit Ray’s songs, Atlanta, U.S.
54. Date – 13.09.2020. Topic – জ্যোতিষ শাস্ত্র এবং বিজ্ঞান। Speaker – সৈকত গাঙ্গুলী, ভারপ্রাপ্ত শিক্ষক, কলস হাই স্কুল।
55. Date – 14.09.2020. Topic – প্রবাসীর চোখ: অন্য আমেরিকার গল্প … Speaker – ড. পার্থ ব্যানার্জী, মানবাধিকার কর্মী, লেখক, গবেষক এবং অধ্যাপক ব্রুকলীন, নিউ ইয়র্ক, মার্কিন যুক্তরাষ্ট্র।
56. Date – 15.09.2020. Topic – মানুষের জীবনভাষ্যে থিয়েটারের প্রভাব । Speaker – অলক পাল, নাট্যকর্মী, বগুড়া থিয়েটার বাংলাদেশ।
57. Date – 16.09.2020. Topic – Female Stardom & 1990s Popular Hindi Cinema. Speaker – Dr. Nandana Bose, Film Scholar, Author And Educator, (Former) Associate Professor, Department of Film Studies, University of North Carolina, Wilmington.
58. Date – 17.09.2020. Topic – বাংলাদেশ ভারতের গণমাধ্যম। Speaker – ড. গোলাম রহমান, অধ্যাপক ড. অঞ্জন বেরা, অধ্যাপক ড. সহিদ উল্যাহ, ড. মৌসুমী ভট্টাচার্য, ড. অর্ণব বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়।
61. Date – 04.10.2020. Topic – জঙ্গল ধ্বংস করে ভূসম্পদ আহরণ কি জরুরী ? Speaker – Ayesha Khatoon, মনিকা টুডু, মানি হেমরম, খোকন মাজি, Mangal Mandi, Babulal Tudu.
62. Date – 09.10.2020. Topic – হৃদয়ে লেখা নাম – শতবর্ষের আলোকে সঙ্গীত জ্ঞাপক মান্না দে। Speaker – ড. রাজীব কর চৌধুরী, শ্রোতা গবেষক, দূরদর্শন কেন্দ্র, কলকাতা, বিশিষ্ট সঙ্গীত শিল্পী ও সুরকার (আকাশবাণী ও দূরদর্শন)
63. Date – 17th to 18th October, 2020. Topic – Ankur 2020 Youth Documentary & Short Film Festival. Speaker – Several.
64. Date – 11.01.2021. Topic – National Youth Day Speech Competition on Relatability of Swami Vivekananda in inspiring today’s Youth. Speaker – Students of Journalism and Mass Communication Department of Vijaygarh Jyotish Ray College.
65. Date – 23.01.2021. Topic – Quiz competition and e-tabloid publication on the occasion of 125th Birthday of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. Speaker – Several.
66. Date – 28.02.2021. Topic – National Science Day, Future of Science, Technology & Innovation. Speaker – Dr. Rintu Nath.
67. Date – 07.04.2021. Topic – World Health Day, 2nd Wave of Covid-19 & Vaccination. Speaker – Dr. Siddhartha Joardar.
68. Date – 14.04.2021. Topic – 130th Birth Anniversary of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, Social Justice & Ambedkar. Speaker – Dr. Soumen Chakrabarty.
69. Date – 21.04.2021. Topic – Earth Day Celebration, Experience of Antarctica. Speaker – Dr. Pradip Malhotra.
70. Date – 25.04.2021. Topic – Hands on Workshop on Cloud Computing, Exploring DevOPS – The Tool for the Future. Speaker – Dr. Parijat Chakrabarty, Dr. Arnab Kumar Banerjee, Mr. Malay Sharma.
71.Date – 05.06.2021 & 06.06.2021. Topic – World Environment day Celebration. Speaker – Several.
72.Date – 13.06.2021. Topic – Cyclone. Speaker – Dr. Rajyasri Neogy, Mr. Ratul Dutta, Alekhya Chakrabarty, Dr. Arnab Kumar Banerjee, Mr. Ankan Pal, Mr. Rajjyeswar Saha.
74. Date – 05.07.2021. Topic – Workshop on How To Create Tabloids. Speaker – Rajrupa Das & Akash Majhi.
75. Date – 17th July to 30th July. Topic – Two Week’s Online Workshop on Daily Newspaper. Speaker – Several.
76. Date – 14.08.2021. Topic – 75th Independence Day Celebration. Speaker – Several.
77. Date – 19.08.2021. Topic – World Photography Day. Speaker – Mr. Rangan Dutta, Dr. Debkumar Mukhopadhyay & others.
78. Date – 21.08.2021 & 22.08.2021. Topic – Student Mentorship Programme, Future of Journalism and Mass Communication and Film Studies after Graduation. Speaker – Several.
79. Date – 28.08.2021. Topic – Career Progression Opportunities, Content Creation- Discover Endless Opportunities. Speaker – Manjari Ganguly.
80. Date – 04.09.2021. Topic – Student Mentorship Programme, Sharing Knowledge Through Stories. Speaker – Selva Ganapathy.
81. Date – 07.10.2021. Topic – Student Mentorship Programme, সাংবাদিকতার বাংলা বই. Speaker – Dr. Baidyanath Bhattacharya, Mr. Sujit Ray, Mr. Santosh Debnath.
82. Date – 30.10.2021. Topic – Online Lecture Series – 01, Preserving Heritage Audio Visually, Coping up with climate change in Sundarban. Speaker – Subha Das Mullick & Dr. Pranabesh Sanyal.
83. Date – 11.12.2021. Topic Environmental crisis – it’s way out. Speaker – Samar Bagchi.
First things first “SPOILER ALERT” So finally I watched the most awaited season 2 of Family Man!! And as it happens with almost all web series that they lose the impact and charm in the 2nd season thankfully that’s NOT the case with Family Man. Obviously there are minute flaws but I loved it and am not dissapointed at all!
Manoj Bajpayee is a stellar actor he just owns Srikant Tiwari like no one could! The best part about this character is the fact that he’s so real and human unlike other cop films that portray the protagonist as larger than life heroes. And the way Manoj Bajpai portrays all the shades of emotions of the character whether it’s anger, frustration, humour, vulnerability, etc is absolutely commendable. One of the most emotionally effective scene that brought me on the verge of crying was the scene where Srikant calls up Suchi in a very vulnerable state and is about to break down but holds himself up to carry on with the mission. Manoj Bajpai takes us on the journey of Srikant Tiwari where we cried and laughed with him, feel for him and fell in absolute love with him.
Milind (played by Sunny Hinduja) and Zoya (played by Shreya Dhanwantary) are thankfully safe and back but are traumatised. And the fact that they portrayed the state of a mental disorder i.e. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) so well only proves that they are such natural actors. The scene where Milind dies and the TASC officers raise a toast for him and his glass and radio was kept on his desk and the song “Sach Mere Yaar hai” plays was absolutely heart wrenching.
From the moment Seema Biswas Biswas enters the frame as PM Basu she takes full charge of the character and brings a hard to overlook resemblance with Mamata Banerjee which was great by the way!
Dhriti (played by Ashlesha Thakur), does a great job portraying the teenage angst and the climax scene with Kalyan aka Salman had my jaw dropped! Priyamani as Suchi does a fair job portraying the conflict and baggage, emotional exhaustion inside her very well. The scene where she breaks down hugs Srikant when Dhriti is missing was really emotional and very well enacted. Atharva (played by Vedant Sinha) is a stunner and steals the show in every scene he’s present in.
Honestly speaking I have mixed feelings about the casting of Samantha Akkineni as Raji. Not because she’s not a good actor, she has done an excellent job the way she portrayed the actions sequences and maintained the command over the character was great to watch especially her eyes they had that burning fire in them full of rage. The scene where she kills her boss and the way she gets rid of the body gave me goosebumps and also the face off scene between her and Jk gives so much of adrenaline rush. But the fact that she’s so fair skinned and they used so much of make up to make her look dark was a bit disappointing. It’s great that the makers managed to get most of the cast on point and Samantha Akkineni’s acting skills bring out the monster Raji has become, but the make-up to darken skin is jarring and took me a second to get used to in every scene she appears. Instead of that if a dark skinned actress would have been casted that would have been better I guess.
There are way too many jump cuts in the series which sometimes gave us the required amount of suspense and kept us on the edge of our seats but sometimes it was unnecessary and just built up some pseudo tension.
JK played by Sharib Hashmi is soo good with that tinge of humour he’s a great actor I feel and the chemistry between him and Srikant is one of the major highlights of the series. That scene where Srikant visits JK in the hospital is so emotional yet adorable and both the actors pull it off so well that you already have “khushi ke aansoo” in your eyes!
The subtle humour in the whole series let’s you know that you are watching a Raj&DK product. That’s what sets The Family Man apart from the dozens of other, more popular streaming series, the playful tone that Raj and DK bring to the party. It also maintains the light – heartedness in an otherwise dark and serious track. But one point where I felt they contradicted their theory is that the series wants to stress that terrorism isn’t limited to one particular community, but can’t seem to resist the temptation of putting militant-minded Muslims in antagonistic roles. Also, the fact how they have shown the Sri Lankan Tamil rebel’s psychology, their past, their purpose of the mission. That hasn’t been the case with Pakistani terrorists.
The counseling scenes somehow felt a bit prolonged and boring to me and the fact that it was treated with a tinge of careless attitude and the way insensitive jokes and quotes from the internet were used doesn’t help at all. The chase and action sequences are so thrillingly crafted that you’ll happily ignore some glaring shortcomings in the CGI department. To sum it up the series is breezily paced, impeccably acted, and charmingly unrefined.
Rajrupa Das 3rd Sem (Blog Assignment) 