Hello there!

I welcome you, fellow dweller of the internet. It has been a week well spent and well survived. Hope you enjoyed last week’s edition. I am back here, bearing gifts. As always the newsletter is divided into videos, movies, music, podcasts, and finally a reading segment.

Watching

Casablanca is one of my all time favourite films. It just gets me every time. Bogart and Bergman, I always root for them. I would highly recommend the film. But for now, you would enjoy this little experiment.

What if Casablanca came out today and had a contemporary trailer?

The video has all the greatest lines from the film and also shows how our movie watching sensibilities have changed in the last 80 years.

Moving on. There is something cool about a brooding figure sitting on a typewriter punching keys with fervour. A laptop would never have the same effect. This video catches it succinctly and in fact, makes it a bit joyous than it actually is.

Watch it for the beautiful editing, amazing sound design, and of course for the love of the movies. Believe me, you will not regret.

Movies

Whodunit times!

Bad folks getting stuck together on a rainy night, in a bad bad place. There are secrets and there will be blood. What is not to love? Here are this week’s movie reccos.

First up is Irul. Released this week on Netflix, this would probably be all over social media but by recommending this , I am making an exception for Fahadh Chettan. If you are in the mood for a mystery, give it a shot. More questions than answers might just be what you crave.

But if you like your murder mysteries lit up by Hollywood A listers, then I have you covered. I am talking Dakota Johsnon, Jeff Bridges, John Hamm and Chris ‘Lord of Hammers’ Hemsworth (Playing a Charles Manson-esque cult leader!) .

Drew Godard made the absolutely fantastic Cabin in the Woods and this is his follow up. Give this film some love.

And of course, there is always Knives Out available for a re-watch.

Music

Mali

The first time I heard of Maalavika Manoj aka Mali was last year. The song was ‘Age of Limbo’. Just like Weeknd’s Blinding Lights, this is a song that has become pertinent considering the raging pandemic. The lyrics speak of a all too familiar world. Shrill voices all around, uncertainty, polarisation. She captures it all and then poses the all important question.

“Have you been watching from the sidelines? “

Mali has released her debut album this past week and it is called Caution to the wind. You can listen to the album here.

Hasan Raheem

Now from the other side of Radcliffe line, we have Hasan Raheem. This boy from Gilgit came to Karachi to become a doctor but music happened and I, for one, am damn glad that was the case.

Check out the incredibly DIY looking Aisay Kaisay

Follow it up a more peppy track called Joona. Again, love the DIY video.

Podcasts

THIS IS LOVE

This particular story is the perfect lift-me-up that anyone could ask for.

GG Vest, a British lawyer in the early 1900s, while fighting a case in court, made an impassioned statement “A dog is a man’s best friend”. (Vest’s client’s dog had been murdered by a neighbour.)

This podcast episode sets out to test that statement and in fact goes further, as it answers the question “Do humans deserve dogs?”

This is love - A group of producers who have making the hit investigative podcast Criminal, look into investigating love!

Quiz Time India

This week on the podcast we have an excellent (If I may say so) quizzing/trivia exchange session. We sit down across from Manas Deep and discuss Cricket, Bollywood, History, Biology, Football, Ecology and more.

Design Pataki Podcast

Cindy Allen is the editor in chief at ‘Interior Design’ magazine. A magazine which turns 90 years old. I had quiet a time editing this one. Some interesting points made which are applicable to any young artist promoting their work.

Reading

Who is the most googled artist in your country?

India loves DaVinci,

America loves Van Gogh,

and Estonia loves a Georgian restaurant!

Read the article here - The most Googled artist in every country in the world

Batman - The Animated Series

This is the story behind ‘the’ famous batman series. How a bunch of folks got the key to the mansion and just ran with it. From finding the voice of Batman and then casting the epitome of hero-giri Luke Skywalker as Joker. This hit the sweet spot.

Read the article here - An Oral History of Batman: The Animated Series

Dressing for the Surveillance age

How do we see what we see and how long before computers will be able to see all that we see. You see?

An intriguing New Yorker story.

Read the article here - Dressing for the Surveillance age

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