So you wanna watch something...

Anything’s Possible: This coming-of-age movie follows Kelsa (Eva Reign)—a young trans Black teen—as she navigates a tumultuous high school senior year. Kelsa has a YouTube channel where she documents her love for animals, her transition, a very colourful fashion style and a supportive mother—who is understandably afraid that her daughter’s identity will forever define her. And there’s a love story in the mix—when she meets the self-effacing Khal (Abubakr Ali) in an art class. 

New York Times says the movie—a directorial debut for actor Billy Porter—is bogged down by contradictions, as it struggles to find middle ground between wokeness and teenaged romance. But AV Club disagrees: “far from a cynical appeal to Gen Z wokeness, [it] makes an impassioned call for empathy and understanding to which any viewer can relate.” In any case, the trailer is lovely and looks promising. Stream it on Amazon Prime today.

Dr Arora Gupt Rog Visheshagya: Set in Madhya Pradesh, Imitiaz Ali’s new web series follows sexologist Dr Arora (Kumud Mishra) as he travels across cities to treat a diverse range of patients. Although his services are widely sought, some of his patients are less than open about their problems. The series uses a healthy dose of humour to explore the awkwardness and taboos that still surround sex and sexuality—especially in more traditional, suburban settings. There are no reviews yet, but the plot has us hooked. We’re definitely binge-watching this one. Catch it today on SonyLiv.

Meme Boys: Memes can be powerful—that’s the premise of SonyLiv’s first original series in Tamil. The series follows four students in a college who start a meme page, which soon draws the ire of their dean. A tug-of-war soon follows between the dean and the student body. The series explores the vivid meme subculture, campus life, oppressive power structures and the turbulent life of a college student. According to director Arun Koushik, “[the] series is a dramedy and is strongly rooted in Tamil cinema pop culture.” There are no reviews yet. Watch it on SonyLiv today.

RK/RKAY: Here’s something a little different. Rajat Kapoor plays a film director RK who is making a 1960’s-inspired film—with him as the hero, Mahboob. But RK finds himself increasingly unhappy with his movie—and adding to his troubles is Mahboob, who runs away from the set, wanting to be more than the figment of some filmmaker’s imagination. Hijinks ensue as the cast and crew scramble to find their protagonist and finish filming. 

Variety appreciates the “heightened sense of quirky fun” of this “crowdfunded labour of love”—but feels the treatment of its themes and characters are a bit shallow. NDTV says the film’s sustained level of “wit and flair” and “delightful” performances by the cast—which includes Kubbra Sait, Ranvir Shorey and Manu Rishi Chaddha—save it from veering into a cliché. We think ‘RK/RKAY’ promises to be a light-hearted weekend watch. Premiers today in theatres.

A list of good reads

• Two good India-related pieces in BBC News: one, a tribute to the beloved daulat chaat of Delhi; two, why Maruti is resisting adding more airbags.
• Slate explains why the colours in the James Webb Space Telescope photos are fake—and why it’s okay.
• Wired has two good pieces: one, the alarming trend of long Covid patients seeking ‘blood washing’ treatment; two, the equally alarming diets of Silicon Valley CEOs that require extreme deprivation.
• The Guardian is here to tell you all about naked yoga and what it feels like.
• Article 14 has an important piece on hundreds of residents who are stranded on Lakshadweep Islands—because the government cancelled most of the ships to the mainland.
• Two interesting pieces in The Wire: one, an analysis of Kali’s aboriginal roots; two, why the outrage over Pegasus didn’t lead to any kind of real change.
• Well+Good offers an unexpected but useful guide to…washing your armpits.
• Boom Live looks at the strange trend of Indians staging fake marriages on YouTube.
• The New Yorker explains the latest billionaire obsession with super yachts.
• Quartz reports on the alarming rise of mass fish death in India’s ponds and lakes.
• Elle spotlights the popularity of upscale, intensive marriage retreats—as a fix for infidelity and other marital woes.
• Deutsche Welle reports on the lack of diversity in genome sequencing projects—and why it matters.
• Eileen Jones in Jacobin explains why Netflix messed up trying to add Fleabag-style irreverence to ‘Persuasion’.
• Omair Ahmed pens a thoughtful thread on why so many Indians prefer traditional medicine to dealing with doctors.