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When someone who only watches orthodox movies logs into the digital world of Netflix in this corona-included forced break from theaters, the surprises they encounter can be innumerable. It’s a free world of creativity where masala film formulas are tossed out of the window. No wonder countless actors, writers, directors and producers from mainstream cinema have camped to the digital world to showcase their true potential.

“Guilty”—a Netflix original—is one such film that breaks the boundaries of industrial production and brings a fresh narrative that would not fit into a commercial Bollywood cinema. It is a crime thriller that questions the notion of ‘privilege’—the specific socio-economic advantage each of us enjoys thanks to our unique circumstances and upbringings. 

Guilty builds an alleged crime in a college, and how the police, courts, media and society treats the case depending on whether they are included towards the accuser or the accused. Tanu Kumar (Akansha Ranjan Kapoor), a scholarship student accuses college heartthrob Vijay Pratap Singh (Gurfateh Pirzada) of rape. The accused, his girlfriend Nanki Dutta (Kiara Advani) and Vijay’s friends in turn claim that it was consensual and that Tanu was an “easy woman” whom Vijay did not have to force into anything. 

This allegation is at the root of the story, as both the accuser and the accused strive to be heard. Vijay is the son of a wealthy politician and Tanu a low-middle class student. But despite the vast difference in their economic and social backgrounds, the power struggle between them intense. The story, with ample plot twists and turns to qualify as an intriguing thriller, is a complex interweaving of the harsh realities of the society.

Director Ruchi Narain (also the cowriter) does a commendable job of putting together this highly relatable movie. It is a fight between the rich and the poor; the popular and the unpopular; the oppressor and the oppressed—with each side having their supporters who in turn are influenced by their own agendas. Vijay’s girlfriend Nanki, a ‘problem child’ struggling from a mental disorder, takes it upon herself to investigate her cheating boyfriend. 
We see the change in power dynamics through Nanki’s eyes and there are revelations that surprise, shock and unsettle us. 

Bollywood actress Kiara Advani as Nanki steals the show. Appearing with a host of other actors, some of whom have also appeared in Bollywood movies, Kiara is a fun-loving college student turned protective girlfriend and informal crime investigator, and she convinces in each role. With her own skeletons to hide, Nanki is the most layered character in the film and the most important as her character shadows every other. She takes the audience deep into her mind and repeatedly shocks them.

Who should watch it?

Guilty has moments that make us all question our privileges. Yes, you will be entertained. But Guilty also gives you life lessons and changes how you look at and evaluate others.

Guilty

Rating: 3.5 stars
Genre: Drama/Thriller
Run time: 1 hr 49 mins
Actors: Kiara Advani, Akansha Ranjan Kapoor, Gurfateh Pirzada
Director: Ruchi Narain 

Since officially entering Nepal in 2018, Xiaomi has been able to make a distinct mark in the Nepali smartphone industry. The brand has successfully launched in Nepal its best-selling phones like Redmi Note 8 Pro, Redmi 8A, and Redmi K20 Pro. With high demand for the brand’s products, Xiaomi has expanded its retail footprint.

Xiaomi runs on a triathlon business model with New Retail as one of its cores, inspiring the company’s offline operations. Under New Retail, the brand sells both online and offline but since demand is higher in offline, the brand has been providing its products and services through efficient channels like the Mi Preferred Partners, Mi Studios, and Mi Retail Partners.

Mi Preferred Partner stores are Xiaomi branding differentiated stores, whereas Mi Retail partners are stores which sell Xiaomi phones along with other brands. Since its inception the brand has been able to scale up its offline segment massively. Currently it has over 260 Mi Preferred partner stores and over 1,200 Mi Retail Partner Stores in Nepal and is growing by the day.

The brand also sells its products across four authorized Mi Stores in New Road, Chabahil, Pulchowk and Biratnagar. Mi Stores are an extension of Xiaomi’s flagship Mi Homes that can be seen across the globe. Mi Stores in Nepal symbolize the brand’s immense progress in developing effective New Retail measures across multiple cities to give an enhanced consumer brand experience.

What Happened That Night
Deanne Cameron
Publisher: Wattpad Books
Published: September 2019
Language: English
Pages: 328, Paperback

Don’t judge a book by its cover, they said. But I think I will continue doing so, especially when it’s an author I haven’t read before. Because that’s how I picked up ‘What Happened That Night’ by Deanne Cameron. The cover is eerie—with a barn of sorts partly hidden by leafless trees—and I just felt like there was a good story there. I wasn’t wrong.

Initially posted on Wattpad in 2015, What Happened That Night starts with a murder. Griffin Tomlin, Clara Porterfield’s neighbor and the boy she had been secretly crushing on for years, has been found dead, floating in the swimming pool in his backyard. Next thing you know, Clara’s sister, Emily, is awaiting trial for Griffin’s murder. During his funeral, Emily tells Clara that she killed Griffin for her and that now he can no longer hurt her.

You understand there’s a secret there and that Griffin wasn’t the golden boy the entire neighborhood as well as his school thought him to be. In fact, no one—not even Clara—is as they appear and that’s how the story becomes even more interesting. You are not only trying to unearth the mystery surrounding Griffin’s murder but also slowing untangling the knots that make each character.

The novel shuffles back and forth between the present day and the events prior to Griffin’s murder as Cameron weaves a narrative that keeps you guessing what must have happened that night up until the very end. For someone who has been able to predict how most thriller novels end for quite a while now, that was a surprise.

What I liked about What Happened That Night is that the characters, unlike in most thriller novels, aren’t black or white but a shade of grey—just like in real life. And Cameron is really skilled at bringing in twists and turns just when you least anticipate it. You almost make up your mind about something or someone when the complete opposite seems to be true, and that keeps happening again and again till you don’t know what to think anymore.

It could have all been confusing and chaotic but Cameron, who’s been writing and posting on Wattpad since she was 16, knows what she’s doing and is crystal clear about her characters and where her story is headed. If you enjoy a good murder mystery then you definitely don’t want to miss out on What Happened That Night.

This is how we figure the meeting at the Renault Headquarters must have gone when they came up with the Renault Triber.

“Here is what this car has to achieve,” someone at the meeting must said. “It has to be able to seat seven people comfortably. It also has to be an MPV that comes in the price bracket of a B-segment hatchback. We can’t skimp on the equipment and features, and it has to be under the four-meter mark.
Good luck.”

Surely, a stunned silence must have followed as the fellow walked out of the room, leaving the rest to figure out a way of achieving this task of boiling the ocean.

As impossible as it seems, Renault have achieved more or less everything they set out to with the Renault Triber… at least on paper. We thought it sounded too good to be true, so we asked the good folks at Advanced Automobiles Pvt Ltd (distributors of Renault Cars in Nepal) to give us the keys so we could test it out for ourselves.

It does NOT look like an abomination.

Consider for a while the task the designers had at hand with the Renault Triber. Creating an MPV that seats seven people while staying under the four-meter mark and still making an aesthetically appealing car could not have been easy. Let’s give credit where it’s due: Renault have done a great job with the Triber in achieving a good design.

The Triber is based on a modified version of the CMF-A platform which underpins the Kwid. When you view its profile, you will notice two things. The first being the steeped roof that adds headroom for the rear passengers. You will also notice that the wheels have been pushed as far out towards the bumper as possible in order to extend the wheelbase, thereby improving the legroom for the occupants of the car. And the side cladding, well, those are just stickers.

Once you decide to get into the car, the car unlocks automatically.

That’s provided you approach it with the keys in your pocket. It also locks itself when you walk away from the car after you’ve parked it. The good thing about the cabin is that it’s spacious. There is plenty of legroom and headroom. We reckon there will be slightly less usable space in the third row (the seats weren’t provided), however, Renault promises it will be usable for adults.

It is clear that the Renault Triber is built to be practical. The second row is very comfortable for two adults and you can slide them forwards or backwards to your liking as well as fold them individually. You also get aircon vents on the B-pillars which will be very welcome once summer comes along in full swing. You can control the rear aircon vents via a nob that’s placed behind the handbrakes. Even the third row gets roof mounted a/c vents.

To further the cause of practicality, there is plenty of useful storage space. You get a storage bin under the front seat that can hold up to 1kg. Also very useful is a deep 4.3L storage space in the center console that gets cooling. And there is plenty of boot space on the Triber, 625 liters of it. But that’s because the Triber comes as a five-seater in Nepal. You do, however, get the option to put in the third row yourself. With the third row installed, the boot space shrinks to 84 liters.

Here is how it is to drive…

Powering the Triber is a 1.0L 3-cylinder petrol engine, a tweaked version of the one that you get in the Kwid. You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to tell that it isn’t a powerhouse. Nevertheless, the 71BHP@ 6,250rpm and 96Nm@3,500 rpm gets the job done. You’re not going to get anywhere fast, but it will get you there. If you really ask a lot from the engine you will be met with a lot of noise and vibrations.

Driving in the city is adequate, but on the highway you will be working the engine hard. The light clutch doesn’t make things a lot of fun, but the 5-speed gearshift is decent. You’ll make the best of it if you’re driving it at a passive speed like the MPV that it is, and not like a maniac. This will also help keep the body-rolls in check.

The ride quality is decent and the Triber soaks up minor bumps and potholes well. However, it isn’t always a cushy ride. The suspensions did better with passengers in the rear seat as compared to the seats being vacant. The electric power steering is decent and is great for in-city driving or when you find yourself in a tight parking spot. Even on the highways the steering wheel weighs up nicely.

In terms of safety, all variants of the Triber get ABS + EBD as standard. You also get four airbags in higher variants, however it is still far from the safest offering in the market. The brakes work as expected and will get the job done well.

So where does this bring us with the Renault Triber?

Once again, the Renault Triber is focusing on making the Triber as practically usable as possible. So we understand why the performance plays second fiddle to utility. The possibility of transporting seven people from one place to another in relative comfort, with a bit of luggage, will always win against corner carving and/or an exhilarating driving experience. But the experience you get when you’re driving it is nothing to write home about.

The Renault Triber does not feel like it’s trying to compete against any existing product; at least not directly. What Renault has done with the Triber is create a differentiator and filled a void in the market that they discovered. A better engine would have been great but that can be said of almost any car in the market today. But the moment they fit a better motor, the Triber will no longer be available at this price point. This car is for the average income level family that has to accommodate an above average number of family members in a car that comes under a budget.

The distributors in Nepal offer the Renault Triber as a 5-seater but we still see the Triber filling the unique needs of a large family.