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We all have secrets, regrets, and other bottled-up emotions that we successfully hide, often from ourselves. The monsters resurface every now and then but are quickly buried deep in the crevices of our heads and hearts. Perhaps by doing so we are locking up an essential part of ourselves and thus we are never completely healed and whole. What if we confronted those dark feelings and we were honest about who we are? Maybe someone would judge us, like us a little less, but why should that matter when, by tackling our demons, we can finally be at peace? 

‘The Authenticity Project’ by Clare Pooley, with its myriad characters, one of which you are sure to relate to, makes you think of this and other conundrums of life. You realize no one is perfect and you aren’t either but not all flaws should be embraced. It’s human nature to change and evolve and working on our weaknesses and niggles can make us a better version of ourselves. 

The book begins with 37-year-old Monica, who runs a cafe in London, finding a green notebook, titled The Authenticity Project. Julian Jessop, 79-year-old artist, has written some truths about his life and left it at her cafe. In it, he asks the person who finds it to write his/her story and then leave the book for someone else to discover. Monica does as instructed and then lets it go. From then on, the journal falls into the hands of various people—an addict, a tourist and an Instagram influencer. As they all tell their own stories before leaving the book for others to come across, the characters end up forging a bond among themselves. By doing so, they realize the power of community, friendship, and the importance of staying true to oneself.  

 The language is easy albeit a bit clichéd here and there but that doesn’t take away from a story that brims with hope and positivity. There are moments of clarity when you feel like everything in life is manageable, every problem solvable, if you can just muster up the courage to be your authentic self. The Authenticity Project is fiction but, in a way, it is self-help too. It will make you re-evaluate your thinking and look into your actions to see what subtle changes you can make to significantly alter your life. The book also conveys a powerful message on the importance of fostering good relationships and being kind. All in all, it’s a cozy, feel-good book that reminds you to be a little easy on yourself as well as those around you.

3.5 stars
Fiction
The Authenticity Project
Clare Pooley
Published: 2020
Publisher: Penguin Random House 
Pages: 404, Paperback

I only heard about the movie “Ghampani” recently through a Twitter post. Someone had posted a scene from the movie, admiring its attention to detail and how cleverly the filmmakers had disguised a hidden message in the scene. Impressed, I decided to watch the movie, available officially on ‘HighlightsNepal’ YouTube channel, for this week’s review.

Turns out, the lighthearted social drama, the debut work of film critic turned writer/director Dipendra Lama, was a box office success when it released in theaters back in 2017. Right through his filmmaking career, Lama has given an impression of being someone rooted to society and its realities even in his works of fiction. Ghampani is one such representation that sums up Lama’s style of writing and directing stories, characters and settings that are the mirrors of our society. 

In Ghampani, the peaceful existence of a rural village is disrupted when two people of different castes fall in love. Furba Tamang (Dayahang Rai) and Tara Sharma (Keki Adhikari) are childhood friends who grew up together and found comfort in each other’s company. While Furba is a local school teacher, Tara goes to Kathmandu for higher education and in one of her visits home, the affection between Furba and Tara grows deeper as they confess their love to each other. 

Their families, especially Tara’s, are totally against this relationship. Tara’s father Pitambar (Prakash Ghimire) and Furba’s father Maila (Puskar Gurung) are the best of friends and neighbors. This duo of inseparable friends who fight for each other now fight against each other as they do not want their children to get married. Then enters Kamal Adhikari (Ankeet Khadka), a police assistant sub-inspector, into the scene. Pitambar arranges for his daughter to get married to Kamal, which creates further conflict.

Through the love story of Tara and Furba, Ghampani highlights the inherent casteism of Nepali society. People may seem to live in peace and harmony on the outside, but it only needs one little spark to trigger a communal conflagration and raise inherent caste-based differences. Tara and Furba are victims of this caste-based system as their own families and friends become their foes just because they decided to be with each other. 

Writer/director Lama sets the scene of a typical Nepali village. He keeps the film grounded in reality and organic in the sense that even the fictionalized account of Furba and Tara could well be a real story of an inter-caste couple in Nepal. There is little exaggeration in storytelling and the same artistry is applied in acting as well. 

The caste of Ghampani fit their nearly custom-made roles. Even the supporting characters have well-defined objectives and they proficiently fulfill them with the simplicity required in the setting. Unlike most Nepali movies that depend on putting their central characters in the spotlight, almost every supporting character stands out in Ghampani, which shows the amount of effort the writer has put in. 

Coming to the leads, established actors Dayahang Rai and Keki Adhikari are their natural self. Their performance in their respective lead roles is not otherworldly but there is nothing much to criticize either. Both fit into their roles comfortably and deliver what is expected. The actual show-stealer though is the relatively new actor Ankeet Khadka.

Khadka plays Kamal, a lecherous and corrupt policeman who has his eyes on Tara as well as other women in the village. The conniving Kamal, who tricks Tara’s father Pitambar into agreeing to his marriage proposal, is the villain in the love story. Actor Khadka manages to invoke every bit of hatred required by his character. At the same time, he does not let his character get too dark and keeps to the film’s lighthearted nature. Khadka puts in an excellent performance despite getting much less screen time.

Who should watch it?

The film was a hit so there's a high chance most of our audience might have already watched it. But considering how the film is not talked about much, we can assume there are still plenty of those who are yet to see it. If you like Nepali films that have an organic story instead of wirework stunts and brain shaking dialogues, Ghmapani will most definitely entertain you. Don’t miss it.  

Rating: 4 stars
Genre: Drama
Actors: Dayahang Rai, Keki Adhikari, Ankeet Khadka
Director: Dipendra Lama
Run time: 1hr 53mins

When I first read the description for Netflix’s latest “Clickbait,” I was not very impressed. Don’t know why. I thought it was just another crime mini-series that used technology as a central theme and focused on technological jargons throughout to confuse the audience. But a couple of days later, I was clickbaited into watching the American-Australian miniseries.

Created by Tony Ayres and Christian White, and directed by Brad Anderson, Emma Freeman, Ben Young, and Laura Besley, the eight-episode series is about how the internet has become a means of inciting violence but it also does not focus entirely on technology as a problem and solution. Instead, Clickbait follows its humans—the characters in the story who give their unique POV in each episode.

Clickbait begins with a minor feud at a family dinner, where following an altercation between the siblings Nick (Adrian Grenier) and Pia Brewer (Zoe Kazan), the latter rushes out of the house and in a frenzied mood, ends up binge drinking and partying all night. Next morning at work, Pia comes across a video on the internet that has Nick—visibly beaten and bruised—carrying placards that read “I ABUSE WOMEN” and “AT 5 MILLION VIEWS I DIE.”

Shocked and rattled, Pia races against the time to find out the whereabouts of her brother. In her search, she is aided by the Oakland Police Department detective Roshan Amir (Phoenix Raei), Nick’s wife Sophie (Betty Gabriel) and news reporter Ben Park (Abraham Lim), among others. The search for Nick then opens a can of worms, one after another, in the lives of the people connected to him. Multiple characters in the series come across as suspects and are duly acquitted as the search for Nick also reveals their dark secrets. At one point, even Nick’s personality comes under scrutiny following some serious allegations that lead his family and friends to question his credibility.

Clickbait uses its characters to narrate the story. Every episode, besides the finale, is named after a character and their relation with Nick. So the audience gets to see multiple sides of the story and try to figure out what is happening. But figure out, most will not. There are some outrageous twists and turns to keep the audience thinking.

Using Nick and his family to tell the story, Clickbait also mirrors the lives of millions of people who have been wronged on the internet one way or the other. Many of us regular users have become victims of the world wide web that extends beyond our countries or continents. At the same time, we knowingly or unknowingly become perpetrators too.

By accident or some people with pure malice, internet users have breached someone’s privacy or directed hate towards them on social media or given solicitation to immoral and illegal activities. Clickbait exposes this vulnerability as well as the voyeuristic nature of people online.

Clickbait has amazing acting by all its characters and the cinematography is on the spot. But the storytelling is so captivating that it doesn’t let you point out individual performances. The whole series is a package of excellent craftsmanship and is thoroughly enjoyable. 

Who should watch it?

Intensity is at the core of all the 42-52 minute-long episodes. Every episode gets the same treatment and by the time one ends, you want to jump to the next. I initially thought I would watch one episode and continue the next day but I ended up pulling off an all-nighter. All crime/thriller/suspense movie lovers will relish Clickbait without doubt. Also, the fact that there is little physical violence might lure people who otherwise don’t have a stomach for blood and gore.  

On Netflix 
Rating: 4 stars
Actors: Adrian Grenier, Zoe Kazan
Directors: Brad Anderson, Emma Freeman, Ben Young, and Laura Besley
Run time: 5hrs 30mins (approx.)

Shirley Jackson is best known for her short story ‘The Lottery’ and the novel ‘The Haunting of Hill House’ that is considered the best haunted-house story till date. It has also been made into a movie, twice. Published in 1962, ‘We Have Always Lived in the Castle’ was her final work. Jackson died shortly thereafter in 1965. She was just 48.

The Blackwood girls, Mary Katherine, also known as Merricat, and Constance, and Uncle Julian are the last surviving members of a grand old family. The rest of the clan were all murdered. Someone put arsenic in the sugar bowl and the family added it to their dessert. Merricat survived as she had been sent to her room before supper and Constance didn’t have sugar. Uncle Julian only took a little so he didn’t die even though it led to tons of health issues later on.

Constance is believed to have been behind it all because she cleaned the sugar bowl before the police arrived. There was a spider in it, she said. The three, and a cat named Jonas, live in the castle where the massacre took place, with only Merricat going into town every now and then for groceries and books.

The story is basically about how the three of them live their lives on a day-to-day basis, isolated from the rest of the town folks and hated (also somewhat feared) by them too. Then a cousin arrives. Charles claims to be worried about them and just visiting but he never leaves, especially after he finds out that the girls keep a lot of cash in the house. While he warms up to Constance, Merricat hates having him around and tries to get rid of him. That eventually complicates things even more.

Narrated from Merricat’s perspective, we only get a sense of what she sees and feels. But she’s neither an amicable person nor a reliable narrator. She hates everyone she meets and though there are many characters in the book, they are all portrayed in an unfavorable light. The mystery is easy enough to figure out with only one main twist a little more than halfway into the story. What makes it charming and creepy is the claustrophobia-inducing setting. You feel trapped in a castle with three eccentric characters, one of whom seems troubled and determined to go to any length to protect her family. There isn’t anything supernatural in this book but you get the feeling that something’s lurking somewhere all through. It spooks you and makes for a compelling read.

3.5 stars
Fiction
We Have Always Lived in the Castle
Shirley Jackson
Published in 1962 by The Viking Press
The current Penguin Edition published in 2016
(For the 70th Anniversary of Penguin Classics)
Pages: 146, Paperback