Web Series IPF: Disappointing and Just A Simplified Time Pass!

Rohit Shetty’s directorial abilities are at stake, as far as the supposed OTT version of his famed police franchise is concerned. The first and the best movie of the franchise continues to remain to be Singham (2011); even though the Singham sequels and other movies like Simmba (2018) and Suryavanshi (2021) are fairly gripping and absorbing. But Indian Police Force-Season 1 (IPF)  that release on Amazon Prime Video recently is not. Obviously, the ebullient director has not properly concentrated on developing the plot and the script. His favorite scenes of cars crashing and blasting in air, punchy fights and elaborate gun-fights and chases are all there; but he should’ve understood that such scenes, though very well shot, do not create the desired effect on the small screen as these do on the big screens of PVRs, INOXs, Cinepolis’s and so on. Even if we overlook this particular aspect, we’re in for further disappointment as the action drama unfolds.

There’s just no suspense in the cop saga as it goes on with the most predictable turns and twists. The main characters of the IPF—all cops—looked promising with Sidharth Malhotra, Vivek Oberoi and Shilpa Shetty carrying the story with élan and a likeable and endearing rapport between them as well as with the Chief cop played by Mukesh Rishi. But in a perplexing development of the script the character of Vivek Oberoi was knocked off, barely into the third episode, which knocked us off too as we were getting excited at having the trio with the tough cop Sharad Kelkar joining later (in fact, he came in the last episode) in the Seasons to follow, and the act also put paid to our hopes of watching Vivek’s wife Shweta Tiwari’s future exploits. One more similar casualty unfolded too—the dead wife of the hero cop Siddharth played by Isha Talwar putting up lovely flashback scenes with Sidharth, leaving us perplexed as to why she should be dead, because Kabir, the character played by Sidharth, doesn’t at all look like a frustrated, depressed and consequently a trigger-happy cop. I think the knocking off of Vivek and presenting a dead Isha Talwar are the two cardinal mistakes of Rohit, pushing a building-up lively drama to the dead wall. More resultant woe is still in store.

The killing of Vikram, played by Vivek Oberoi, has somehow deadlocked the story itself, because it led to the transfer of Kabir to an insignificant department thanks to some politics in the highest circles we are led to believe, and this has created a most unnecessary time-interval in the drama that was actually building up through the first three episodes. The sleeper-cell leader terrorist played by Mayyank Taandon has become triumphant and taken his time to reappear in a different city for another round of serial blasts as our hero Kabir keeps on struggling to join the investigations, even clandestinely.

Apart from the goings-on in the police circles the simplification antics are all there to watch: the kids with the time bomb and another kid helping to draw a sketch of the dreaded terrorist; one ominous-looking drug lord of Goa wanting to kill both Kabir and Tara Shetty (Shilpa Shetty) in his den, but not going for the guns at all, and finally escaping from his own den after the exhaustive fist-fighting utterly exhausts his army of goons; the dreadful-looking elderly woman who turns up with the main terrorist wherever be it and whatever be the situation; the main aide of terrorist captured alive is kept in an unguarded police van from where he simply runs away while the cops didn’t even bother to find out if the aide had any information about another bomb; almost all of the operations against the terrorist hideouts, ostensibly in collaboration of police and ATS, look simplified too by being devoid of any strong strategy and the terrorists keep on winning. Notwithstanding the patriotic fervor that never ceases to singe the proceedings throughout.

While we cannot escape from the rather obvious fact that the IPF is basically aimed at boosting the sagging image of Delhi Police, we also smell an elitist bias in the Series as all the hero-cops shown are from IPF (read Indian Police Service) with the possible exception of the tough bulky cop Nikitin Dheer whose affiliation was never clear, and all other non-IPF junior cops shown only manage to get the bullets from the terrorists. Maybe this bias is to be taken care of in the coming Seasons.

However, I don’t quite agree to the general criticism that the terrorist doesn’t look inhibiting and deadly. I think the character is very much in sync with the modern-day terrorists who are always highly educated, civilized, suave and just like the next-door boy. And Zarar alias Haidar does look ominous and chilling as he nonchalantly handles the time bombs and equally impassively places them at the crowded junctions. But again, what harms the script hard is his romantic angle built-up in unnecessary elaboration with his love, the innocent Nafisa played by Vaidehi Parshurami.

Rohit Shetty would do well to come up with much more gripping and mature Seasons in the future. With a stellar cast, though rather diminished, at his full command and with an explosive subject like this anything is possible for the better. 

Padma Vibhushan Dr. Prabha Atre (1932-2024): The Complete Artiste Breathes Her Last

On the eve of Uruka, Magh Bihu, this Saturday morning delivers us a shattering blow—more devastating because of its suddenness and unexpectedness. The legendary Hindustani Classical Vocalist and the senior-most artiste of the Kirana Gharana, Padma Vibhushan Dr. Prabha Atre has passed away in the wee hours at his Pune residence at the age of 92. Ragini’s Guru cum friend-philosopher-guide cum an away mother for both of us for a span of nearly 35 years has ceased all of a sudden, leaving us helpless and perplexed. It is very sudden and unexpected as, defying even the nineties, she’s had always been lithe, lively, active and spirited; she’s had been commuting between Mumbai and Pune constantly—still climbing the three flights of stairs in her Matunga flat in Mumbai and doing her creative work and teaching in her Gurukul residence in Pune. Madam, as we called her since 1990, was to perform tomorrow in Mumbai at the Sureshbabu Hirabai music conference that she herself started in 1991 at the Tilak Vidyalaya Premises, Vile Parle. Only last week she called up Ragini asking about her music and everything, and as always asking about me ‘Chinmay kya karta hai’ and asking us to come to Pune to stay with her. Our grief has increased all the more because we’ve been planning to visit her positively this time, during the last week of January, and this has come to a naught. We also feel helpless: in a repetitive cycle we invariably fail to be with our closest ones during times of death  or distress for reasons beyond our control which, naturally, are interpreted by others as mere excuses; this time too we’re unable to at least go and have a last darshan of the legendary artiste in Pune, because Ragini had a surgery in a Thane hospital in the last week of December 2023 and has been strictly instructed by the doctor to not travel for one month. We ask Madam for forgiveness and pray for the eternal bliss of her great soul.

Memories flood in. Ragini’s Guru Birendra Kumar Phukan and her father Sangeet Jyoti Bibekananda Bhattacharyya had suggested Dr. Prabha Atre as her future Guru in Mumbai. Accordingly, one day I went to the SNDT Women’s University at Marine Lines, Mumbai where she was the then Head of Music. On being directed to her practice room I peeped in asking the few ladies present inside for Dr. Atre. Her profound simplicity and modesty struck me the moment she came out into the passage with a warm sweet smile. I introduced myself and told her about the purpose of my visit. She listened very carefully and then gave me a telephone number to call her after a few days. For about fortnight she kept us hanging which, we understood later, was just to test Ragini’s sincerity and dedication to music learning and to pursue a career. Finally, she called us over to that SNDT practice room and asked Ragini to sing, also allowing me to sit on the carpeted floor of the room where a few other disciples were also present. And Ragini qualified to be the legend’s disciple along with some sound advice and instructions. That was sometime in 1990 and since then Ragini has been learning from her in various ways—in her direct class lessons, from the telephone conversations and through the conferences/stage concerts/lectures.  In her classes at her Mumbai flat as well as in all stage concerts I too was most welcome whenever I could make it. We were also blessed to have the love and attention of her lovely parents who lived with her in Mumbai. 

In less than two years I came to know the great artiste from very close quarters and discover the greatest human being in her. We got bold enough to invite her to Assam in March 1992 for stage concerts. To our ecstasy she accepted immediately and spontaneously, without bothering about the fees she normally charged that time. She performed at Ravindra Bhawan in Guwahati and also in Nagaon. She stayed in our Sankardev Nagar residence and in Bauli Bahor, Nagaon, like a most intimate member of the family. In a souvenir published for the Guwahati concert I wrote an article on her describing her as ‘The Complete Artiste’. To my profound delight and gratitude, she praised the article like anything, and later got it translated into Marathi and published it in a Marathi music journal.

Over the decades Ragini stayed and traveled with her on various occasions; both of us lived with her for some time in her Matunga residence; and she also came to stay with us at our Wadala government quarters for a few days along with her associate Dr. Bharathi MD. She occasionally involved me in hers books too and acknowledged my contribution accordingly. Apart from being a performer par excellence she’s also been an organizer of music conferences-workshops-competitions, musicologist-author and an avid music teacher-Guru.

We feel sorry that we couldn’t meet in her in person for the last few years, particularly after my transfer from Mumbai. However, she kept up constant contact with us, with words of advice, encouragement and persistence, both as a Guru and as a mother. Thanks to my stint in Mumbai Doordarshan News the legendary artiste was humble enough to request me for publicity for her various events that continued till now. In the meantime, she started her YouTube channel broadcasts and I used to get the publicity matter, dot on time every time. The last time she talked to me directly on phone was in September 2022 (her Birthday on 13^th September) when the celebrations were going to for her 90^th Birthday.  She gave an invaluable article on various music theories and guidance to upcoming vocalists that she wanted me to try publishing in leading newspapers as well as in my blog. In Kolkata that time , I put in my maximum efforts to justify her confidence in me and published the article also in my blog. Luckily, I still have the link to that invaluable article.

We have lost one of the closest persons on earth for us, but we feel she’ll be with us for the rest of our lives and that her music is all set to go on, forever. A Salute to The Complete Artiste. 

(A while ago I've received the confirmatory email from Dr. Prabha Atre Foundation along with the artiste's full bios.)

USA First-Time Co-Host of T20 World Cup-2024: New York to Buzz with Cricket!

Announcing the confirmed complete schedule of the forthcoming ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup-2024, the International Cricket Council has expressed its happiness at the expansion of the tournament with never-before 20 cricket nations participating and the United States of America coming in as a co-host, the first time ever for a manor ICC event. Referring to America as the biggest sports market the ICC said that this would provide a huge stimulus to world cricket in the coming years. The 9^th version of T20 World Cup is set to kick off on June 1^st in New York and conclude with the Final to be played in Barbados on 29^th of the same month, the West Indies being the other co-host. The tournament, divided into four groups of five teams each, will have 55 matches in all out of which 16 league matches are to be played in the USA, and 8 out of 16 to be staged at the 34,000-capacity new modular cricket stadium coming up at the Nassau County, Long Island, New York, including the blockbuster India-Pakistan encounter on 9^th June. Team India is placed in Group-A along with Pakistan, Canada, Ireland and the hosts. Top two teams from each group will make it to the Super-8 which is further divided into two groups and the top two teams from each group will make it to the knockout stage. All Super-8 and knockout matches are to be played in the West Indies.

The other two USA venues are Dallas and Lauderhill, Florida. The tournament opener will be played between USA and Canada in Dallas on 1^st June 2024. While the USA, Canada, India, Pakistan and Ireland are to play all their league matches in the USA, a few matches featuring South Africa, Sri Lanka, the Netherlands, Bangladesh and Nepal are also to be played there. The rest of the teams will be based in the West Indies for all their league plus Super Eight matches that are to be played in the six venues there: Guyana, Saint Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda, Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Barbados. The group-stage league matches are scheduled during 1-18 June, the Super Eight encounters from June 19 to June 24, the two semi-finals are on 26^th and the 27^th in Guyana and Trinidad respectively and the Final on 29^th June in Barbados.

The League Stage—20 Teams:

Group A: India, Pakistan, Ireland, Canada, USA

Group B: England, Australia, Namibia, Scotland, Oman

Group C: New Zealand, West Indies, Afghanistan, Uganda, Papua New Guinea

Group D: South Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Netherlands, Nepal

The Americas are always known to us as the centerstage for soccer and tennis, apart from their excellence in Olympics sports. However, cricket used to be immensely popular there in the past till baseball took over in terms of popularity. And now, the reverse seems to be happening—baseball losing it and cricket gaining back popularity at a fast rate. The huge chunk of the South Asian immigrants there, the cricket leagues and the live cricket streaming platforms are largely among the factors to establish cricket as a major sport in the Americas, which is all very promising for the future of this money-spinning game as we mentioned earlier. This assumes more significance as Cricket returns to the Olympics after 128 years and for the fact that Olympics-2028 is going to take place in Los Angeles, USA. With the USA being one of the hosts for the T20 World Cup-2024, LA28 is set to further expand cricket not only in the Americas, but across the globe.

Having said all that, the format of the T20 World Cup-2024 remains disappointing: it’s too many groups all the way, except for just three knockout matches which basically means that nearly half of the twenty teams are never going to face each other. The round-robin format adopted in the one-day World Cup should have been there at least in the Super Eight stage of the tournament. In a genuine international event involving twenty cricket nations there are only 55 matches in all to be played in a period less than a month while the famed IPL features 74 matches for just 10 franchises, consuming around two months. The ICC should realistically rearrange its calendar to heighten the spirit of competition among cricket loving nations.