Streaming Smart: Age of Vice

Cla$$ | Cast: Gurfateh Pirzada, Zeyn Shaw, Anjali Sivaraman, Piyush Khati, Madhyama Segal | Showrunner: Ashim Ahluwalia | Hindi | Netflix

Sometimes a social drama about class, caste and religion comes disguised as a teen series. There’s a corrupt builder, with a nexus to a corporator, who converts a burned-down government school into an amusement arena. There are his friends, collaborators in building an empire based on bribery and crime, which ensures they are in and out of Tihar Jail. Their women, with their Botox, fillers and implants, look as young as their daughters. The boys want to be like their wealthy and powerful fathers. And then there is the underclass, the shit-shovellers who mingle with the posh set only when it comes to supplying drugs. Class looks at these dynamics peculiar to Delhi through three scholarship students who are placed in the builder family’s posh school where naturally they become the subject of curiosity and gossip. Uneasy relationships begin across divides that tick off every box—sexuality, class, caste and religion. It sounds formulaic, and indeed it is, being the Indian remake of Spanish hit Elite, but with the freshest faces on screen in a long time, Class is as deeply fascinating as it is disturbing. Showrunner Ashim Ahluwalia, who likes to dabble in the dark underbelly of cities and communities, says it is all too real in a city where the chasms are wide, and widening. What is ‘mood’ to an upper-class girl is the broken furniture in the low caste boy’s rundown house. What is a palace for him is a jail for her, what is a torture chamber for her is bigger than a farm for him. And what is a cool Instagram reel for street-smart Balli is mortifying exhibitionism for everyone else. So who committed the murder shown at the beginning of the season? Acutely observed and moodily shot, Class is thrillingly addictive.

Why watch it ? For a new crop of blazingly talented actors led by Zeyn Shaw, Anjali Sivaraman, Madhyama Segal

The World’s Barmiest Brit

Cunk on Earth| Cast: Diane Morgan Creator: Charlie Brooker | English | Netflix

Diane Morgan is a delight as she goes around the world pretending to be a cross between David Attenborough and Kenneth Clark, asking questions, like why is there such a mystery about the pyramids when everyone knows these are just giant bricks? Or have any of the early cave paintings been adapted into movies? Or who invented civilisation? As the mock presenter Philomena Cunk, she asks these questions to leading scholars and intellectuals across the world, and to see their jaws drop and their eyes roll back is nothing short of sheer pleasure. If you don’t know Morgan’s work, now is the time to plunge into her say-it-how-it-is world, which was used to the hilt in that other sterling comedy about mothering called Motherland. From asking for the sauce in Renaissance, to Jesus Christ being the first victim of the cancel culture, it has the most outrageous declarations that will make you laugh out loud.

Why watch it? For a masterclass on how to deliver the corniest lines with a poker face

In Case You Missed It

Ennalum Ente Aliya| Cast: Suraj Venjaramoodu, Gayathri Arun, Lena  | Director: Bash Mohammed | Malayalam | Prime Video

One couple is desperately trying to conceive, another is trying to control their young daughter. Both are neighbours. There is a brother-in- law who seems to be straight from Slacker Central. It is a comedy of relationships, some new, some old, taking on some taboos. Mildly amusing and modestly mounted, this is a quick watch with many familiar faces. All of it is set in Dubai.

Why watch it? Malayalam comedies are not always the most enlightened but they can be subtly funny

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