Maharani (Web Series) (2021)

Genre - Drama

Cast - Huma Qureshi, Sohum Shah, Amit Sial, etc.

Director - Karan Sharma

No. of episodes - 10

Watch it on - Sony Liv

My View

Despite the good reviews, I was skeptical about watching Maharani for some time. Reason being, most of the dramas on OTT platforms (most prominent examples being Mirzapur, Sacred Games etc.) are loaded with nudity, violence and bad language. One likes to watch good drama, but not at the cost of getting uncomfortable watching a person's eye popped out of his skull on being shot at. Thankfully, Maharani came out totally clean, atleast on the nudity and extreme violent scenes aspect. Considering the plot, expecting abuse free dialogues would be too much.

The series is based on the political scenarios in Bihar in the late 90s. Being a 90s kid, the series just took me back in time when Rabri Devi became the first Chief Minister of Bihar. Although, the makers have tried to stay clear of any possible controversies by clarifying in the beginning itself that the series is fictional, one can easily draw a lot of parallels between the plot and the actual turn of events back then. 

So the story goes like this...Rani (Huma Qureshi), is a simple housewife living in a Bihar village with her three children. While she happens to be the wife of the Chief Minister of Bihar, Bheema Bharti (Sohum Shah), that in no way affects her humility and simplicity. Having no interest in politics, Rani's world revolves around her husband, children, housework and cattle. 

Rani's life changes overnight on an uneventful Chhath eve, when her husband Bheema Bharti is shot in his own village by some unidentified men. The same Rani who had vowed never to leave her village, is forced to move to Patna to attend to her husband. Bheema barely survives the assassination attempt and a paralytic attack however, the future of the CM's seat goes in for a limbo. Amidst joyous opposition leaders and jealous party members, ready to grab the post, Bheema plays a master stroke, by announcing his wife, Rani as the next Chief Minister. 

As an unaware Rani brings a tray of tea cups to serve to party members, she is shocked by the shower of garlands and congratulatory messages. She is shell shocked to find her on the position she has never understood or liked. For the initial few days as the Chief Minister Rani is shown to be furious and non cooperative as a child who doesn't wish to be sent to school.  But when there are attacks on her self esteem and abilities, the queen decides to take charge and famously states in the legislative assembly "The lady who can manage a house, can manage the state." The screenplay, indeed justifies the description as despite being the Chief Minister, Rani is shown to be the loving and caring wife and mother - isn't that the ideal working Indian woman that all husbands and in laws desire?

Struggling to stay afloat in the high tide of political events, the innocent Rani is shown to learn tricks of the trade hard way and often falls prey to conflicts and controversies. As the show progresses, Rani is shaken to discover the muddy reality of the politics that is her husband's first love. But, like the real queen, an honest and sincere Rani is determined to save her state from the corrupted few. In the male dominated political map, she is often compared with Indira Gandhi by her critics and mocked at. Like all women centric political dramas, the protagonist always has to win. Hence, despite all odds, the directors do find some success in throwing some hard to believe events and Rani playing the perfect check mate. 

The screenplay is very gripping and focusses on various issues faced by Bihar in the 90s - caste system, Naxal upsurge, position of women and the infamous scams that once ruled the headlines. 

Huma Qureshi as Rani does justice to the role in every sense and has worked hard to replicate the typical Bihari accent as well. I actually went back to episode 2 after reaching the 8th or 9th episode, just to notice how effortlessly Huma portrayed the drastic transformation from Rani to CM madam.

While Sohum Shah has the obvious meaty role, it is Amit Sial who leaves the audience impressed with his expressions and dialogues, despite being the lead antagonist. For those who have watched Pramod Pathak as the pervert politician in Mirzapur, his portrayal of the loyal Mishraji is a welcome change. Inammulhaq as Pervez Alam with his cute Bangla accent is the hidden surprise. 

Leaving aside some hard to believe scenes, overall the makers of Maharani have proved that a combination of good script and great actors can be the perfect delicacy without the unwanted tampering of nudity and extremely violent scenes.

My Rating - 3.5/5 

Trippin' with the Kandasamys (2021)

Genre - Comedy/Family/Drama
Director -Jayan Moodley
Cast - Mariam Bassa, Maeshni Naicker, Jailoshini Naidoo, Koobeshan Naidoo, Yugan Naidoo, Madhushan Singh 
Duration - 93 minutes
Watch It on - Netflix

My View

So, Netflix suggested this movie to me on a lazy Sunday afternoon. With masala dosa and sambar dancing in my tummy, the last thing I wanted to watch was something where my brain was required. From the face of it, the movie promised lot of humour and fun! However, only after finishing the movie did I realise that I had accidentally watched the sequel of the famous South African movie series without watching the previous parts! But even if you start with the latest part like me, the warmth of the Kandasamys will make you feel like you have known them all this while.

The plot is pretty simple and relatable to the Indian context. Neighbour cum friends, Jennifer and Shanti are facing the midlife crisis. With their children almost out of the nest and husbands taking them for granted, Jennifer and Shanti had been struggling to get the spice in their married life back. That's when they decide to take a romantic vacation with their husbands. Shanti's 50th birthday was the perfect occasion!

Soon they realise that the vacation they were hoping to rekindle the romance in their life turns out to be a grand family reunion, as their carefree husbands had secretly invited the children and mom in law!

To add fuel to the fire, Shanti's hubby Preggie invites his sister, Baby to accompany them to the vacation. While Preggie justifies the intrusion as his way of helping his sister get over a heartbreak, the bold and beautiful Baby is hardly a deserving candidate for anybody's pity. To Jennifer's horror, Baby is almost always hitting on her husband Elvis, who seems to be enjoying all the attention! 

As if uncaring husbands and a sarcastic mother in law wasn't enough, all hell breaks down on Jennifer and Shanti when Baby announces she is moving in with them for good.  

That's when Jennifer and Shanti wage a secret war against Baby to save their marriages and sanity.

The movie then goes through waves of humour, drama and overwhelming emotional moments. 

Almost all characters, go crazy and silly for their age, including Jennifer's mother in law, who can't hold back her double meaning statements and addiction to gambling. The only sensible characters are Shanti's son Prishen, and his wife and Jennifer's daughter Jodie who, on the face seem like the perfect couple, but deep down are struggling with the agony of the failure to conceive!

There are moments that will make you go LOL, and then there will also be moments that are meant to be funny but fail in tickling the funny bone. 

Like all Indian movies, all goes well towards the end even here, the viewers do feel a bond with the crazy yet strong willed Jennifer and Shanti. How they end up making their husbands realise their worth is well, for you to watch. 

Overall, a good time pass, light hearted comedy. The song towards the end is supposed to be inspired by the big budget Bollywood movies, but rather looks funny, half baked and can be conveniently skipped. 

Now that I have discovered this South African brand of movies, I look forward to spending another lazy afternoon with one of Kandasamys older movies!

My Rating

3/5

Book Review - Here, There and Everywhere - Best Loved Stories of Sudha Murthy

Author - Sudha Murthy

Publisher - Penguin Books

Genre - Non-Fiction

Pages - 243

Price - Rs. 250

First Impressions

This is the first book authored by Sudha Murthy M'am that I have read. I usually address authors in their name, but after watching her interviews, reading about the work she does and reading about her experiences in this book, it would have been very rude of me not to give her the respect we all give to school teachers. Hence, I address her as M'am. 

I am sure if you are a book lover in India, you must have definitely watched or read at least one interview of Sudha M'am. While her simple living high thinking nature impresses us all, one can't help but be charmed by her smile...the kind of friendly smile your mom or teachers would give you when they would give you important lessons in life in a very friendly manner. Hence, the simple and smiling face of Sudha M'am greets you on the cover, as if asking you to join her over a cup of coffee and a warm conversation about life. 

My View

When this book was released more than a year ago, I casually picked it up influenced by the hype. However, life got busy and the book was lying unread and forgotten in my carton of books. Fortunately, few days ago, as I was browsing through videos on youtube, I came across an interview of Sudha M'am with Mr. Shashi Tharoor. While I was obviously impressed by her simplicity and out of the league thoughts, her smile reminded me that I had seen this face somewhere before. It didn't take me long to remember that I had seen this smiling face on the cover of a book lying with me. 

So the next day itself I pampered myself to this book. Before I had finished the 100th page, I couldn't resist ordering few more books of hers, as I had already fallen in love with her writing!

Here, There and Everywhere, as the title suggests, is a compilation of stories and incidents from Sudha M'am's life. These may not be stories that have been garnished with flowery language, illustrations or elaborate description of the subjects to hold readers' interest, but these are stories of the common people we come across in our daily life. Yet, these are stories that will leave the readers hooked on till the last page. 

We all have had conversations with our mothers/teachers/aunts/grannies where they shared incidents from their life inspiring us to become a better version of ourselves. While reading the book, that is the same feeling one gets. 

The stories are basically snippets from Sudha M'am's life. The subjects are diverse, ranging from a beggar in the train to a multibillionaire in the US, to a devdasi in a temple. But the common thread that binds all stories is the fact that the situations and the subjects seem very relatable. These may be the people we may have come across and ignored in our busy lives. But the author, in her subtle and simple fashion reminds us of what we could have done with a little more compassion and empathy in that interaction. 

One may say that it is easy to have such incidents to quote, for Sudha M'am has been a globe trotting philanthropist. However, as you read the book, you come across several inspiring people who, without any money or resources have been able to contribute to the betterment of their fellow human beings. Be it the amma from the remote village who treats every child delivered by her in the village as her own, or Sudha M'am's own grandfather who taught her the value of giving the best while donatng, or Kashibai, who raised the orphaned son of her Muslim neighbour as her own. There are however, some stories which are eye openers about the reality of relationships that we so heavily count upon. 

Many stories are just lessons from the life of a young woman growing up, stories of her struggles, triumphs and failures. But the common message one gets is that one shouldn't give up on efforts when the intent is right.  

Hits

The best part about the book is that Sudha M'am pours her heart out in each story, which makes the narration so powerful that by the time one flips the last page, the heart is already introspecting upon our understanding of compassion and empathy. 

The language is very simple and crisp so anybody can read this. The writing is so powerful that one literally enters the world of the protagonist. Ultimately, it is the message that matters, not the packaging. 

I remember while in school, our curriculum had Hindi and English books which had inspirational stories which taught us to be better human beings. In today's times, when children automatically gravitate towards immense materialism in their formative years, making them read such books in their academic life will not only make them value the quality of life they have, but also understand the aspects of life which really matter. 

My Rating

4.5/5

Easy Eggless Ragi Biscuits

Getting Ragi in my daily routine had been on my wish list for quite sometime, especially after moving to Maharashtra and getting to know about the benefits of this superfood. 

My chai is incomplete without biscuits, be it any time of the day. In my quest to adopt healthy lifestyle, I recently realised that I was eating about 5-6 Marie biscuits per cup of tea! 

Even though packaged Marie biscuits look innocent and the labels try to further convince you they are healthy, the fact is that they are loaded with hidden calories. I realised it more when I began my attempts to bake my own biscuits. I could never get the perfect texture or finish and I would wonder how the packaged biscuits get it right in every single piece! Well, the secret lies in the various chemicals masked under the head raising agents mentioned in the ingredients. Don't believe me, read one yourself! Except for Amul biscuits, I have hardly seen biscuits that use even pure good butter. Mr. Hubby once ordered online some nice homemade biscuits made with wholewheat flour, jaggery and ghee. However, after reading the price label, I couldn't even eat one!

Necessity is the mother of invention. So, after various failed attempts and learning from my mistakes, I finally got them right. 

Here's the recipe

Ingredients

Ragi/Finger Millet Flour - 1/2 Cup

Wholewheat Flour - 1/2 Cup

Butter (Cold solid) - 1/3 Cup, cut into cubes

Powdered Sugar - 1/2 Cup (U may even use powdered brown sugar/jaggery powder)

Baking Powder - 3/4 tsp

Vanilla Essence - 1 tsp

Cold Milk - 1-2 tbsp

Oil - for greasing the baking tray

Method

1. Roast the Ragi flour on low-medium flame till you can notice the aroma. We do not need to roast till the colour change. Just enough to let go of the rawness. Once done, remove and set aside to cool.

2. Sift together the Ragi Flour, Wholewheat Flour and baking powder and mix well.

3. Sift in the powdered sugar into the flour mixture and mix well.

4. Add the cold butter cubes and rub with the flour using fingers until the mixture gets a crumble like texture.

5.  Make a bay in the centre and add the vanilla essence.

6. Slowly, add little by little milk and bind the mixture. Do not knead. Just enough milk to bind the mixture will do.

7. Refrigerate the mixture for 20-30 minutes or till it gets firm.

8. Dust a working table. I have used my granite Chakla on which we prepare Chapatis. Gently roll the dough into a 1" thick sheet. Honestly, I used my hands to do most of the flattening. However, it depends on one's comfort.

9. Using a cookie cutter, cut the biscuits in desired shapes. I used the lid of the baking powder bottle.

10. Arrange the biscuits on a greased baking dish and bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for about 15-20 minutes.

11. Remove and keep on a wire rack for cooling. The biscuits will appear soft when hot however, please dont be tempted to overbake or you will end up with jaw breaking biscuits (been there, done that!). They will automatically get firm once they cool.

12. One cool, store in an airtight container and enjoy guilt free!

60 seconds of sisterhood

At the busy BKC-CST Road signal, when I was sulking over how each day traffic multiplies
I caught gazing at me from the adjacent Auto, a pair of eyes.

This was no eveteaser, the gaze didn't have an uncomfortable feel,
This was a pair of beautiful Kohled eyes, gazing at me from behind a veil.

Perhaps my blue sleeveless blouse and green saree caught her attention,
The narrowing corners of her eyes hinted at a complimenting smile and I smiled in reciprocation.

A mixed bag of emotions behind those eyes could be seen.
Sadly, the sisterhood lasted 60 seconds and the signal went green.

Just then, her gaze signalled me to look down,
The sight would have surely made her mother frown!

She pulled up her Burqa for a moment & I spotted chic red pencil heels,
But the trendy pair of jeans covering her calfs was the real fashion steal!

My curious look turned into a look of awe at once.
I smiled at her, signalling "Ja Simran, Jee le Apni Zindagi" coz you only live once!

(Inspired by a true incident)

Easy Eggless Bournvita Cake

Mr. Hubby has a habit of picking up stuff on impulse which, if he doesn't like is left to my mercy to be either thrown out or remixed. Few months ago, while shopping at D Mart, he picked up two packets of Amul Pro (Amul's counterpart of Bournvita. I will refer to it as Bournvita still as people are more familiar with that brand). As expected, the Bournvita fever lasted for few days and one day he said "I realise this has too much sugar and calories. I would rather have plain milk." While a part of me was happy for his health consciousness, the other part went in the thinking mode. Now what to do with a packet and half of Bournvita left with me? I am not fond of it in my milk either. 

The baker in me then put on her thinking cap and came to the leftover Bournvita's rescue and prepared a cake!

Ironically, Mr. Hubby called the next afternoon from office, telling me that the cake was a hit with his friends and you had to see his face in the evening when I told him about the Bournvita secret! 

So, presenting my version of easy, eggless and healthy Bournvita cake!

Ingredients

Whole Wheat flour/atta - 1 1/2 Cup

Bournvita/Amul Pro - 7 heaped tablespoons

Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp

Baking Powder - 1/4 tsp

Melted Butter (i used salted) - 1/2 Cup

Condensed Milk - 1/2 Cup

Jaggery Powder - 3/4 Cup or to taste

Bananas - 3 no. overripe, mashed

Cinnamon Powder - 1/4 tsp

Vanilla Essence - 1 tsp

Lukewarm milk - 1/4 cup or as required

Chopped Walnuts - 1/2 Cup

Method - 

1. Blend together the bananas, Bournvita and Jaggery Powder into a smooth puree.

2. In a mixing bowl, take the melted butter. Add the condensed milk, vanilla essence and mix well.

3. Add the banana-Bournvita-Jaggery Powder mix and mix well to form a uniform mixture. Wet mixture is ready.

4. Grease and dust the cake tin. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees Celcius.

5. Sieve together the wheat flour, baking soda and baking powder.

6. Add in the cinnamon powder and mix well. Dry mixture are ready.

7. Add the dry mixture (step 6) to the wet mixture (step 3) and gently fold in using cut and fold method till the mixture achieves a batter consistency. You may add in lukewarm milk only if the batter feels very stiff. I didn't require.

8. Add the chopped walnuts and fold into the batter.

9. Transfer the batter to the greased cake tin. Level the batter and tap the tin slightly to evenly spread the batter across and remove any air. Bake at 180 degree Celcius for about 45 minutes.

10. Cool on a wire rack.

11. Once cool, cut and enjoy!

The cake lasts for 5-6 days if stored in refrigerator. But it turns out so yummy that I assure you it won't last beyond two days!

Instant Vegetable Rawa Idli

There are days when you want to eat something good and healthy, sitting in the comfort of your house, but feeling too lazy too prepare something elaborate. Then, what to do? Of course, you may say order food or prepare something ready to eat. But, as my awareness about food quality is increasing, I am increasingly getting skeptical about eating outside, unless it is a trusted outlet. So, I still prefer to cook rather than eating out.

Come change in season and viral fever comes knocking on the door, especially if you have children in the family. Few days back MIL & I wanted to eat something light and different, but as the children were not well, we couldn't go for anything elaborate. 

So, prepared this yummy, instant veggie rawa idli n enjoyed with freshly prepared coconut chutney. Surprisingly my elder one too relished this as he too wanted some change in taste.

There are other such quick fix recipes on my blog too which save my day. 

Easy and Healthy Sattu Sandwich

Healthy Methi Mathris

Pahadi style urad dal khichdi

Easy instant dhokla

Wholewheat flour eggless pancakes

5 minute papad in gravy

Easy eggless Carrot Omelette for kids

Veggie Vermicelli

The lazy chef's quick Misal Pao

Ingredients (Makes approx 15 Idlis)

Thick Rawa/Sooji/Semolina - 1 Cup

Curd - 3/4 cup

Oil - 1 tbsp + for greasing the Idli mould

Onion - 1 small, chopped

Garlic - 3-4 pods, chopped

Carrot - 1 small, chopped

Chana Dal - 2 tsp

Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp

Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp

Green chillies - 3 small chopped + 3-4 whole for garnishing

Curry Leaves - 5-6 no.

Ginger - 1 small piece, chopped

Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp

Salt - to taste

Green Coriander - 1/2 Cup, chopped

Water - 1 Cup, or as required

Eno - 1 sachet

Brown Raisins - 2-3 per idli

Method

1. Heat oil in a pan and add the asafoetida and mustard seeds.

2. When the mustard seeds begin to splutter, add the chana dal.

3. Add the curry leaves and let them splutter.

4. Add turmeric powder and mix well.

5. Add the chopped onion, garlic, ginger, carrot and green chillies. Mix well. Cover and cook for 3-4 minutes.

6. Next add the rawa and mix well. Reduce the flame to low and bhuno/saute well till nice aroma starts coming as the rawa gets cooked.

7. Turn off the flame and cool the mixture.

8. Add the curd, salt and chopped coriander and mix well. You may adjust the consistency with water in case the mixture appears thick. It should be like a batter consistency.

9. Cover and keep aside for 15-20 minutes.

10. Grease the idli moulds and add 2-3 raisins to each cavity. I also added whole green chillies to few cavities but it is completely optional.

11. Add the Eno sachet to the mix and fold gently. Immediately Transfer to the greased idli moulds and steam on high flame for about 15-20 minutes.

12. To check if the idlis are done, poke a knife in the idli. If the knife comes out clean, the idli is done.

13. Remove and serve hot with coconut chutney.

P.S. Since we had some extra batter which we couldn't keep for long as Eno was already added, my MIL used it to prepare yummy Dhokla by adding sweet water and tempering. You may refer to my Dhokla recipe for tempering details.