Lessons in Chemistry - TV Show Review

Review: Lessons in Chemistry (TV Show, Apple TV+, IMDB rating: 8.3/10, no spoilers)

Dr. Akif Khan

Lessons in Chemistry is not just a tv show and it is not just about chemistry at all. It is lessons in life, lessons in kindness, love, forgiveness, struggle, perseverance, resilience, commitment, determination, enthusiasm and passion. Do not fear the name of the show because of the word “chemistry.” It only touches the subject (sometimes not very accurately) and builds upon it and weaves the story like chemical bonds in a beautiful composite. It won’t bore you. 

Lessons in Chemistry explains the struggle of women in 50s, the first wave of feminism and civil rights movement, the challenges women faced back then in US, and are still facing in many parts of the world, especially marriage, childbirth, misogyny, “illegitimate” births, societal expectations and roles of women in society. The show also covers the homophobia and civil rights movement, including the reference to Martin Luther King Jr. How the African-American population was discriminated against and subjected to violence and systemic racism. The show also beautifully describes the matters of reason, science and faith and leaves things to the imagination of the viewer. It’s amazing how all these important and hotly debated topics are beautifully covered in this mini-series, which leaves a viewer thinking and commiserating. 

Then there is food. It reminds me of an interesting encounter. Once a friend asked me how’s your cooking. I told him I love to cook and the people who taste the food I cook tell me I am not bad. He said he would have been surprised if I weren’t good at cooking. I asked why’d he say that. He said because he believes I was a good chemist and he would’ve been surprised if I were not good at cooking. “A good chemist must be a good cook,” he said. It was kind of a revelation to me, but then it reminded me how I’d run my imagination on what must’ve been going on during the process of cooking whenever I cooked food, exactly the same way when I’d setup a reaction. The show beautifully caters to this concept. The people who love chemistry must try cooking. They’d enjoy it. 

The show is based on the book by Bonnie Garmus. I haven’t read the book, but the show does justice to it from what I have read about it. Interestingly, it was her debut novel and was NYT bestseller. Brie Larson did great as wonderful and smart chemist Elizabeth Zott. She is also the executive producer of the show and has smartly washed off the superhero tag of Captain Marvel from her career, coming about as a smart and serious actor. I rarely comment on and review stuff I read or watch now, but this show didn’t leave me a choice. I will admit there might be some bias because of chemistry, but truthfully the show is worth giving a shot. It’s light-hearted, smartly written, with good character arcs and happy moments with light comedy. You get shocked at times but there are also happy surprises waiting for you around the corner. 

Definitely 4.9/5. 

Javed sb, You Didn’t Have to Eat Your Heart Out Here

I used to be a fan of you, your rationality, your humanism, the way you thrashed unreasonable people such as Sadh Guru in debates, your bravery in the face of orthodoxy and all, despite your aloofness, which I think comes naturally with age and experiences of life. But there was no need to act dense at a place where you were invited as a guest.

Looks like this is not novel of you. Bushra Ansari’s sister Neelum Ahmad Bashir in her travelogue on India recalls her visit to your house accompanied by your sister - the way you acted impolitely to your sister in the presence of guests and to the guests themselves, even though you were warmly welcomed by Bushra in the past where your wife was laden with gifts by her as well. People must not have taken that account seriously when it was first published. Maybe you had your reasons. But guess what, that will make sense to people now.

You complained that Indian icons, poets or showbiz legends, are not welcomed warmly in Pakistan the way Pakistani ones are welcomed in India. You said this in a ceremony where you were invited and in the country where you were being celebrated at that very moment. You even received applause on your statement. Not so rational of you. This was also the ceremony held in the name of someone whose daughter was deported by Indian government. Let’s be more honest about it. Indian icons who have visited Pakistan have always been welcomed here, from Dillip Kumar to Raj Kapoor, Naseeruddin Shah, Mahesh Butt, Pooja Bhatt, Salman Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Emraan Hashmi, Arbaaz Khan, Johnny Lever, Urmila Matondkar, Kalki Koechlin, Kim Sharma, Preeti Jhangiani to your highness among many. You complained Pakistan doesn’t celebrate Indian legends such as Lata G. People love Hollywood movies and music legends here, from Kishore Kumar to Arjit Singh. And truth be told, Pakistani actors are only invited in India when they have some commercial value. In the wake of recent events, they are also banned from working there (Fawad, Mahira and others) while you were sitting in the cultural capital of Pakistan.

"You were denied accommodation in Mumbai because of your Muslim identity despite you being an ardent secular and an open atheist. Please fix your own house before lecturing others. There are enough people in Pakistan who are vocal against extremism and at a very high cost unlike you."

You were right about extremism but again you were not honest about it. Who is roaming free in Pakistan? The main culprit of 26/11 was hanged in your country, the rest were killed, and the masterminds are behind bars in Pakistan. You know who is roaming free? The perpetrators of APS attack. We, the Pakistani people, are suffering to the levels unimaginable to you. The audience sitting in front of you who applauded your comment are the ones who are against this extremism and terrorism. You didn’t need to say that to them in their face. They were your allies. And bitter truth be told, you are in no moral position to lecture us on that when your own house is collapsing under the weight of extremism and your premiere has a shady history. You were denied accommodation in Mumbai because of your Muslim identity despite you being an ardent secular and an open atheist and that too, long before BJP came in power. Please fix your own house before lecturing others. There are enough people in Pakistan who are vocal against extremism and at a very high cost unlike you. I do not disagree with your stance, but I disagree with the occasion.

And to those who are saying that Javed sb’s comments are a mirror etc, please open your eyes. You know who is endorsing his stance? People like Kangana Ranaut – Bhakts and Sanghis, RSS and BD goons, the extremists on the other side – even when Javed sb “doesn’t consider them important.” The damage is done. The hate won. Ghus kay maara. Have some self-respect. Stop blindly following ideological icons (just like the ones you criticize) in order to show off your rebellious nature and to look different. You don’t need to be politically correct about it. This was plain stupid. It will also damage the future prospects of visitors to both countries. It will damage peace. Nobody will invite anyone anymore.

Only when things start to get better, some idiocy ruins the whole thing. The people were happy. They welcomed you and you had to ruin it. Please, remain vocal on matters of concern but be wise about it. More is expected from you. Don’t lose your admirers and don’t benefit the haters.

Why is Waar a Poor Propaganda Flick

Being a movie buff, I could not ignore the hype of a Pakistani movie rated 9/10 on imdb.com. So, I bought this DVD of Waar as soon as I saw the poster of its availability on a local shop. Cutting the chase, there was I watching it while a similar Islamabad fiasco of Imran Khan was being unfolded on 13th August; Superb choice on Independence Day?

To my disappointment, the opening scene of the movie was so substandard that a movie rated 3 on imdb would be better off. Two men in an interrogation room were having the sacks removed from their heads. And lo and behold it seemed like the guy just exited a saloon after a perfect haircut, freshly trimmed beard and even whitening powder applied on his face. The much-talked about ‘talented’ young director could do better than that. Anyways, at last I was watching the most awaited movie, which is, in fact, an epic amalgamation of official Pakistan studies curriculum and popular conspiracy theories – surely what more could be expected from an ISPR production.

Pakistan: An interactive guide for Hollywood and Bollywood Movie Makers

IT is often very funny to see the international media, especially TV and Film Industry, portaying Pakistan as some country where women are covered in black overalls or shuttlecock burqas, people having beards and no moustaches with a checkered cloth over their shoulders, riding donkeys, wiping their behinds with stones, narrow streets, dusty roads, people speaking Arabic, goats on highways, people travelling in Jeeps and 70s Trucks.

In Pakistan, people think that it is a western conspiracy against them. To me it is sheer ignorance and laziness on the behalf of TV and film industry. One could see the example of this, recently, when fourth season of a TV Series, Homeland started airing. Where Islamabad is shown as some dusty city with narrow streets, people speaking wrong Urdu, everyone bearded, Americans walking in Miran Shah without being noticed, Taliban commanders having sex with their wives in the presence of a guest in the exact room. Similarly, in the movie Zero Dark Thirty, common people were shown speaking Arabic in Pakistan (Not 1% of the population speaks Arabic in Pakistan.) I do not take any pride in Pakistan being a modernised country. It is not a symbol of development to me. However, if you consider that you can depict Pakistan with some orientalist mindset as a completely backward, tribal, under-developed country of retards, you would be very wrong there bro! It is called cultural ignorance. And this mindset is not only targeting (purposefully or unconsciously)  Pakistan, but also Iran and Middle East.

Movie Review - The Devil Inside

Since the advent of 21st century, the world has moved away from superstitions and heading more towards rationality. However, still there are conscious efforts being made to divert people from rationalist behavior. This movie, "The devil inside", is a similar futile attempt in this regard.

Released by paramount pictures this january, the story revolves around the life of a girl who investigates the condition of her mother who is being held in a psychiatric institute in Italy. Tracing back her childhood memories, one finds out that her mother committed three murders of her family members, while possesed by a demon. The girl investigates the reality of exorcism and after believing, involves two exorcists to free her mother. The mother happens to possess multiple demons and during the exorcism one of the demons transfer to the priest's body, eventually causing his death.