Vikash K Thakur

Curse of the Third season

I recently finished the latest seasons of two popular Indian web series, both third seasons respectively, both having had well received first seasons. The series are Delhi Crime, and The Family Man. And what can I say about my deep disappointment with both.

And then it struck me, this is not the first time a ‘Third season’ has let me down. I’ve been here before. Mirzapur, The Inside Edge, and recently Special Ops had the same trajectory. Stellar first seasons, wayward third seasons. Web series are a new phenomenon in India, worldwide even. Very few have had anything beyond the first season, and even fewer have maintained quality throughout. The third season seems especially where they drop the ball.

Delhi Crime and The Family Man seem to have some common ailments. Both stretch thin premises too long. Both tried to make the villains look more menacing by dumbing down the heroes. Both seem stuck in the first season status quo for their main characters. Same struggle beats are repeated, no significant character growth is seen despite actors playing them having visibly aged, significantly in fact.

What could be the reason for this prominent pattern? It got me thinking. I feel the answer lies in the usual story structure of Indian media. Western movies and visual media at large works in three act structure. The setup, the struggle/journey, and then the resolution. Indian movies and its derived stories rather work in a four act structure. The intermission breaks the struggle/journey in two parts. A twist, usually presented as a short cliffhanger adds new direction to the journey.

The act structure can work over multiple broken down parts too. Baahubali and KGF duologies are good examples of it, four acts played through individual movies, as well as through overarching arcs over two movies. This structure has seeped into the overarching structure of the Indian web series. That’s why we usually see a cliffhanger at the end of the first seasons of most web series. Almost every series is trying to set up something for later instead of telling a self contained story within one season.

But here’s where we run into the third season problem. A setup only works when there’s a payoff. And the payoff is usually the climax, where the story wraps up. But in ever stretching season schedule, the wrapup never comes. It’s just one cliffhanger after another. And after a while, it seems to be going nowhere. The characters seem to be stuck in the same loop. Writers seem afraid to give them any meaningful development, fearing they’ll lose their attraction amongst the audience. While the truth is quite opposite. Because those very audience are growing up too. Seeing those characters act the exact same way as before is like remembering your teenage years. What was fun at the time invokes cringe now.

It’s especially exacerbated when the gap between two seasons is long, as is the usual case these days. The audience grows a lot more than on screen characters. Animated characters can stay the same age indefinitely, but live action actors age. Yet, their characters are beholden to story arcs which refuse to resolve, and timelines which keep slipping out of sync with the time passed in the real world. This further enforces the perception of slow character development.

A four act structure works only when there’s a definite resolution at the end. You can always tell a new story, a new chapter in the life of the character. But if there was no satisfactory end to the previous chapter, it becomes a grind. I must digress, that Delhi Crime doesn’t fall strictly in this category. It is more of an anthology than an overarching story. Every season has a self contained story. Its problem lies in the fact that later seasons didn’t have a similar gut wrenching and relevant premise as the first one. In trying to match the same gravitas, they fumbled the execution.

But the rest are definitely struggling with this four act formula. Hardly a few series are trying to tell a self contained story. Many drop off after the first season, leaving an unresolved story. Some who get to come back still refuse to let go with a second season. And the result is what we see, the tired versions of the characters we once adored. Writers have to abandon the act formula for a more cohesive story structure. They need to let their characters grow. They need to resolve struggles. They need to bring the story to the end.

Be the citizen worth fighting for

Today’s flavour of woke liberal messaging, writing poems about the suffering of soldiers and their families. Trying to paint a picture, as if in India only poor people go for forces because they have no other options, and are now forced into conflicts at the whims of elites.

People living in their bubbles, who actually never had any first hand knowledge of the real scenario, only they can form such opinions. They probably heard ‘Fortunate son’ for its lyrics rather than its fantastic riff. Why wouldn’t they, they are intellectuals after all. But our intellectuals have no idea how India is. All they have learnt about the military life scenarios is through hollywood media.

India is not a military state with perpetual wars. We don’t send people on deployment overseas to protect our ‘interests’. We don’t have an oversized military, which has to chase recruitment targets, and carry out marketing when it falls short.

Our military is genuinely for our homeland defence. We actually have one of the lowest active personnel to population ratio, close to very peaceful demilitarised nations. And on achieving recruitment targets, one has to spend a day in selection camps to see it. To see how many want to join, but how few are ultimately selected. The candidates aren’t from some destitute backgrounds either. They come from good families, be it urban or rural. In fact a poor kid making through becomes news in the area.

They go through the grind of difficult selection and training, not because they have no other options, but because they want this life only. They are there to prove their mettle. They seek glory, they walk the path of honour. They are the Kshatriyas, the protectors of society, and they have chosen this life.

But what our woke poets are doing. They’re infantilizing the warriors. In their own timid bubbles, they are so divorced from human experience, that they can’t fathom that some people would volunteer to risk their lives for greater good. The concept of bravery is alien to them. And through this ignorance, they deny our soldiers the very thing they seek.

Growing up, I wanted nothing more than serving the motherland in that uniform. But a few attempts later, I realised I was not going to make the cut. And since then, I haven’t really felt much dismay on missing out, I did end up flying anyway. But, there are occasions, when I’m hit with ‘what ifs’. This is one of those scenarios. These are the times which anyone joins the forces for.

Don’t pity the brave. Pity the cowards who can’t even honour Balidaan with a straight spine. Be the citizen worth fighting for.

The Patriot-Nationalist spectrum; an Indian’s perspective.

A very common theme I find in some people’s self declaration is that they are Patriotic, but not Nationalists. A head-scratcher for many, is there really a difference? Aren’t they just synonyms?

In the basic sense, yes they are. Most middle school teachers won’t cut your marks for using one instead of the other in the essay. But where they differ is the degree, or intensity, or even some ontological priorities. In simple terms, they could be seen in the same degree of variance as words Hot and Scalding differ. In fact, if you search for the difference, you’ll find detailed discussions on the topic. An example could be seen in these articles

1) https://www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/patriotism-vs-nationalism
2) https://www.dictionary.com/e/patriotism-vs-nationalism/

By giving the disclaimer, people simply are trying to signal their understanding of this nuance, and their position on the spectrum. But, are they really thinking through the nuanced lens, or is it just an attempt at wordcelling to obscure one’s agenda.

Let’s look at simple definitions for one, taken from dictionary.com

Patriotism is, “devoted love, support, and defense of one’s country; national loyalty.”
While Nationalism is defined as “the policy or doctrine of asserting the interests of one’s own nation viewed as separate from the interests of other nations or the common interests of all nations.”

While any thinking person may easily decipher, that Patriotism is milder while, Nationalism can be excessive. But, here the question lies, those who emphasize being Patriotic rather than Nationalist, are they really practicing what they preach. How often do you see them weakening the defence in garb of criticism? How often do you see them supportive of one’s own over others? How often do you see them being fully devoted?

A key difference between Patriotism vs Nationalism is, that Nationalism often dives into a regime of one’s superiority over others. But nowhere in the definition of Patriotism, does it mean to compromise one’s own in favour of others. But alas, the degree of loyalty needed to at least be a Patriot is lost on many.

For all post-modern thinking obscuring the definition of Nationalism, it still has another meaning, “a nation’s wish and attempt to be politically independent.”

Being politically independent is not just about having democratic elections, it is about our Nation’s place in the world. It is about not having to worry about outsiders in countering a threat which hampers the nation in any way. It is about having a say in global affairs, and not having to tow someone’s line. We may have gained independence over 75 years ago, but we still have some work to do before we gain Political independence.

I don’t know where I lie on the post-modern Patriot-Nationalist spectrum, but I don’t care. In my own eyes, I am a Nationalist. I don’t need any self justifications for it. I’m not blind to the challenges my nation still has to overcome, but overcoming those and keeping their own interests above anything are all the same.

When intellectual cowardice becomes intellectual dishonesty

Every time in moments of crisis, you see people with muddled views, cognitive dissonance, and sometimes outright rejection of reality. They visibly lack the courage to state the obvious, and would frame statements that beat around the bush. They are too scared to offend, too unoriginal in speech, their words sound hollow, and their intentions feel disingenuous.

And I’m not including ideologically polarised individuals to this mix. They have absolute clarity for their position. They won’t leave their ideological camps for any reason, whatever reality may transpire. Any muddled speech or disingenuous position they display is purposeful. Some may hide themselves better than others, but their stance is almost always clear. They are always ready with defence of indefensible.

I’m not talking about fence sitters and ideological grifters. The ones who go with the flow, become what their surrounding people are or whatever the current cool thing is. The ones who take pride in their intellectual and moral superiority, jumping to pontificate in defence of some obscure cause. But what is the root of their outlook. What real world experience is basis of their thoughts. Because whenever something real happens, they usually don’t have a genuine reaction or something cohesive to say. Either they wait for someone from their circle to make a move, or go on a different tangent all together.

Not always but many a times, such people come from privileged backgrounds. People with highbrow accents, sometimes significant higher education as well. But it only reflects in the choice of their vocabulary rather than message. Education must equate with critical thought, but even their occasional display of critical thinking is disconnected from reality. They love moral grandstanding, but their inclination is more towards what sounds good rather than what is a real greater good.

What is the reason of this lack of objectivity? Are they actually ignorant due to living in a bubble? Is it because they fear being judged for a strong stand? Or the fault lies in the uncontextualised education they’ve got? Less privileged people often display a higher degree of clarity than highly privileged ones. They often rely on lived experience and can’t survive without clarity. But despite living in higher safety net, the elites look more afraid. Their cowardice converts into intellectual dishonesty. For the fear of being cast out, they become sellouts.

Exuberance of youth and Risk taking appetite

Sputnik moment, they say in the field of AI, when DeepSeek R1 was revealed to the world. It has sent American incumbents into tailspin, and even ruffled the lazy feathers of the rest of the world, including India, which was so far comfortable letting the ‘big boys of silicon valley’ do the heavy lifting. The mere projection of an exorbitant budget needed for any such undertakings has kept many from even attempting a foundational model. What High-Flyer has achieved at their claimed budget has shattered this presumption.

Then there’s another angle to it, the age factor which has caught attention. The founder himself is barely 40, and the team which created the model has an average age of below 35. Yet, they achieved this landmark outcome. And then, we roll back to a very recent debate in India, which became absurd as it went. “Youth must work 70 hours a week”, an old stalwart exclaimed publicly. “Work 90 hours, why are you wasting your sundays staring at your wife”, said another veteran in a private affair, but got leaked to the public anyway.

So when DeepSeek rose from the east, the nocturnals burning the midnight candle serving their clients on the other side of the globe, and the early risers trying to do their best with what they have, got startled all the same. Obviously the ball of accountability saw itself getting passed in courts at first. Some saw it as an affirmation of the stance, that youth must work more. Others saw it as a lack of vision with leadership, which is busy shipping internet coolies rather than building something fundamental.

But I see another aspect of it. I don’t just see the average age of the working group. I see the age of the leader, or basically the public face of leadership. The gentleman began when he was just 30, and has achieved this milestone before turning 40. Obviously, he wouldn’t have done it without the patronage of big bosses in the Chinese government. But, it still happened, because someone in the big chair was listening to a person with fewer gray hairs.

Every veteran is busy telling youngsters, they need to work more. But, are those veterans willing to listen to those youngsters when they say how they could work better? Do they patiently listen when the hurried up youngsters speak? How many times have you seen a youngster suggesting something in public forums, and not getting a lecture in return? How many youngsters do you think refrain from saying something to avoid getting lectured back? You want them to work, but are you ready for them to lead or work for themselves?

Yes, youth are inexperienced. They lack wisdom which comes from relevant experience, relevant being the keyword here. Experience at times is irreplaceable. They make mistakes. They are in a hurry. They want things too fast without putting in the same work. BUT, if you look at the last sentence from another vantage point, it’s the definition of EFFICIENCY.

If old ways of doing things were always better, we’d still be living in mud huts waiting for rain to sprinkle our fields, which our ancestors did work very hard on for long hours. Then some lazy chaps had to invent things to shorten or lessen the workload once in a while, and here we are in the modern age, working so little with our hands than them. Sarcasm in the last statement aside, things changed because some people, often in comparably younger years throughout history, wanted more for doing less or wanted something different altogether.

Change is risky. Anything new breaks the status quo. And our beloved experience, which is so much praised for its virtue, often makes us risk averse. In fact, aversion to risk is unironically an aspect of wisdom. In aviation we often say, a superior pilot is someone who uses his superior judgement to stay away from situations which may need his superior skills. Experience nurtures that judgement. The history of aviation is written in blood, and safety is paramount.

But, everything isn’t aviation. In fact, if staying away from situations where you might be at risk was such a hallmark of human virtues, we wouldn’t even have taken to the skies in the first place. Real wisdom is also in watering a plant whose fruits you may never eat. That enthusiastic youth is that plant. The youth needs guidance as plants need water. If you drown it, it’ll wither and die. Give it just the right amount and it’ll flourish, and you the fruits when the time is ripe.

The Archetype of Exiled Prince

When JRR Tolkien went about writing Lord of The Rings, he just didn’t set out to write an engaging fiction, he set out to write a Mythology for Britain. He noticed that in myriad of great literature Britain had produced, it lacked a definitive cultural epic.
So in writing Lord of The Rings, he took to building a world so deep, it’ll become a standard in world building. But his stories were mostly setting driven. As far as characters were concerned, they mostly followed certain archetype rather than layered complexities.

It’s curious that while building his central hero in Aragorn, the character journey mirrored so much of the journey followed by central characters of 2 quintessential epics coming from India, Ramayana and Mahabharata. Both Shri Ramand Yudhishthir, princes born with claim to throne, both epitome of moral duty and bravery. Both having to spend significant time in exile away from royal luxuries, and having to prove their worth in great wars.

There are few more parallels found in interrace alliance against great evil. Maybe JRR Tolkien found his inspiration from those Epics. He was a well read scholar, and without a doubt aware of Hindu historia.
Regardless of if he took inspiration or not, the common theme of exiled Prince, epitome of morality triumphing in a great war, and establish a just rule is notable.

I fix Brahmastra: Part One

Spoilers ahead:

There’s no doubt Brahmastra has been one of the most awaited hindi movies in a long time. Promising to kick start a franchise in line with famous ones in Hollywood, I was one of the hopefuls as well. But when the marketing dropped, my hopes started dropping too. Too much songs with newly married leads, too little world-building. Early reviews were indicative of the same, I still went to see it for myself, and God it was such a let down.

Juvenile dialogues, inconsistent characters, unconvincing acting, and a very surface level exploration of world it was aiming to build. Even the love story they wanted to be heart and soul of this movie fell flat. The ancient Indian wisdom creators claimed to be inspired from was just there as lip service. Astra as per epics is generally the name for enchanted projectile weapons, but over here they were shown as wearable talismans, they should have been called yantras instead. Even how do they work wasn’t clarified, everyone is wearing one, but the hero has it in him. Even the working and history of secret society Brahmansh has been glossed over in exposition. What is their role in society, what have they contributed too, how do they select members, nothing has been clarified. Even the antagonist remains an anomaly, why is he in a statue form, how has he got those three followers, how does he transfer powers to them, while others have to wear those Astras on them.

All these questions shouldn’t have been raised if the storyboard was worked on with same focus as the special effects. What ended up on screen looked like a school play in terms of storytelling. The premise was decent, nothing wrong with that, but the execution was immature, even an amateur story writer like me can say that. It has been jogging my mind for past couple of days, how could I have written that? How would have I improved character motivation and given the universe more depth? Here’s my take on it with the same premise.

Brahmansh, a society built by Rishis who were trying to find the secret behind world’s working through tapasya and yagnas. They unlocked the energy driving forces of nature, they created yantras to invoke, contain and control them. They named them after their properties, calling the elemental powers as such, and calling other powers the name of animals they resemble in nature, just like we used to name stars and constellations. They turned those powers in tools, weaponised them and called them Astras. They intended to help society with these powers, protect it and give it direction. At the end of it, they unlocked the supreme energy, the ultimate energy of creation and destruction, the Brahma energy. They didn’t know how to control it, now that it was released. It was laying inconceivable destruction, and Brahmansh were helpless. Then the elders sacrificed themselves to contain the power into a Chakra, and called it Brahmastra. Now keeping Brahmastra away from other humans, and to keep its powers contained was one of the prime directives of Brahmansh. They went back to civilisation, started helping them in the ways they can. To be a Brahmansh, you needed innate capability to be able to channel the Astra’s powers. For this reason, the numbers kept dwindling for a lot of history. To find a potential Brahmansh, they had a Manas Astra in form of a headband, which gives the users psychic powers. But still, travelling in old days was a difficult task, and only a few Brahmansh could achieve full potential of their Astras. The capability of Astras were also dependant on capability and emotional state of users, so they had destructive tendency if user lost control over themselves. That’s why Brahmansh avoided lust for power, as it was detrimental for their own good. A few instances had shown that, resulting in inner conflicts. That’s why they depended on societal leadership. If the rulers were good, they flourished and created monuments, if rulers were bad, they would scram into shadows. The worst phase happened during colonial rule, when British subverted Indian culture, and Brahmansh were reduced to a skeleton crew, only good enough to protect Brahmastra.

After independence, they start rebuilding again. They build their new Ashram in an island in Andaman and Nicobar, near the Kalapani prison where many members were imprisoned before, and away from large population. Then comes Dev, a child from a well off family which lost everything to freedom struggle. Having lost last of his family and recently orphaned, he is picked up by Brahmansh leaders to be a new member. He has innate capability never seen before, he masters not one but multiple Astras. But he also is emotionally volatile, and that roots from deep trauma. He believes Brahmansh could have taken active leadership and guided the society with its power instead of hiding away. That way, his family and many others wouldn’t have suffered. With modern communication and travelling, it would be easier to grow Brahmansh into a large and formidable force. The elders know this isn’t the right way of thinking, and has never bore good results in past. But Dev is too good and powerful to listen to them. Only person who can calm him down is Amrita, his love, his one true guiding light. She keeps his ambitions from straying away. She has become powerful too with Dev. But things change when she informs him that she’s pregnant. Dev’s ambition resurface. He can’t let his child be born in this unsafe world. He can’t let his child lose everything like he did. So he decides to take things in his own hands. He gathers some of the Astras he has mastered, including Kavach and Manas, and goes to master one Astra nobody has ever been able to, Brahmastra. The powers it contains, will allow him to make the world a safe place, for everyone he loves. And he is the master of Agniastra, the closest Astra to Brahmastra in nature. But Brahmastra is untameable, nobody has even invoked it in millennia. The uncontainable Brahmastra starts wrecking chaos, but Dev is undeterred. He is determined to master Brahmastra at any cost, and he has Agniastra, the power of which allows him to withstand its might. Brahmansh are helpless, but Amrita is not. She, a master of Jalastra confronts her husband. Nobody knows what exactly happened on the island, it went underwater, and only two pieces of broken chakra of Brahmastra made it to other island on Amrita’s boat. The couple is nowhere to be seen. Dev lost the very thing he wanted to protect.

Brahmansh has to scatter again, the elders decide to move Ashram close to Himalayas, where they first assembled. With Manas Astra gone with Dev, its difficult to track new potential Brahmansh, so the growth of society is again slacked. The two pieces of Brahmastra are given to two bright young members, an artist and a scientist. The members of Brahmansh tend to be bright people, for they have an innate understanding of world and the energy driving it. The scientist is living in Delhi, working in his penthouse on his next astrophysics project. He is ambushed by two men, both demonstrating near superhuman capability. He hides Brahmastra with illusion and dons his Vanarastra to escapes them. Thinking he eluded them, he goes back to recover the hidden piece, but is ambushed by a third lady. This one has real superpowers, psychic capability which immediately subdues the scientist as he is taken by surprise. The lady binds him and starts piercing his mind, this is the power of Manas Astra. She starts getting glimpses of all Brahmansh, but this search triggers telepathic flashes in an unsolicited character. Shiva, a carefree yet selfless guy, working as a guardian at an orphanage by day and DJ by evening is in Dussehra mela, suddenly starts getting visions of people he has never seen before. They are weak at the moment, nothing but light flashes. During the festivities, he gazes upon a face, most beautiful face he has seen. Suddenly the selfless carefree guy wants someone for himself. She’s standing a the front of puja pandal. The automatic fireworks designed to burn Raavan effigy miscues a bit, and a stray streak fires a bit too low. It’ll land close to where the girl is standing, so Shiva, who’s pyrophobic though, is suddenly over his fear and twitches at the fire. He doesn’t know how but the stray firestreak deflects towards sky away from everyone, and burst in an unreal fashion. Everyone is enthralled, and overwhelmed Shiva passes out. The events from here till Shiva reaching the Ashram could follow the same story, with some improved dialogues.

The story could have begun in film where it did, with addition I said shown through flashbacks and narration. The reason why some people need to wear Astras while some can channel the energy within themselves would be because of Dev’s mastery. He was able to master many astras, Agni, Manas, Kavach, Jal, Vanar, and Nandi to include some. He was able to use basic powers of Astras even without wearing them. And through powers of Manas Astra, he had learnt to share powers with anyone he wanted. That’s why Amrita, whom he loved most was more powerful with her Astra than others. When Amrita went to stop him, he wouldn’t listen, so she channelled all her powers to break the Brahmastra Chakra, but that unleashed even more destructive power. With his wife and unborn child in danger, he tried to contain the energy himself, but even he was unable to. Amrita gives her Jalastra to him, to help him use both fire and water. In containing the Brahma energy, Dev turns into a statue, one of the mysterious powers of Brahmastra. Thinking her husband is gone, Amrita takes one piece of Chakra and disappears. She’ll keep doing her task of protecting Brahmastra, but doesn’t want her child to go down the same path as her husband. The remaining pieces are handed over to Dev’s best protégés, masters of Vanar and Nandi Astra, while next most powerful Guru is made the new leader, as former leaders fell trying to stop Dev. But Dev is still alive inside that statue, not fully conscious, but in emotional consciousness state. He’s yearning for his family, keeps looking for them with Manas Astra. Amrita is trying to fight his advances, she has understood, in this form, he is unstable. She doesn’t want him to know that they have a son now. Dev grows impatient, trying to look for her. In his anger, he inadvertently activates Agniastra. Amrita sacrifices herself, but protects her son. A young Shiva, who has power of Agniastra through his connection to his father, is unharmed, but unable do anything to protect his mother. He doesn’t even understand what’s happening. But Amrita’s sacrifice has protected him from his father’s discovery.

The broken soul of Dev has nothing left to care for in the world. He’s just a manifestation of his anger and ambition now. Through his Manas astra, he starts looking for potential allies, kids who could have become Brahmansh. He picks one Junoon as his primary disciple. Through psychic connections, he brainwashes her and teaches her use of Astras. He does the same with two others, Zor and Raftaar. As he’s physically not present, it takes some time. He transfers Astra powers he has mastered psychically. As he doesn’t posses Vanarastra and Nandiastra physically, Raftaar and Zor only have fraction of the powers, which they gain fully later. Then he sends his disciples after Brahmansh. Most live a private life, but scientist Mohan Bhargav is quite famous, so he’s discovered first. When Junoon uses the Manas Astra to discover all hiding Brahmansh, this reactivates the psychic link in Shiva which had been broken for years, now he can see glimpses of what his father sees through the powers he shared. This, coupled with his yearn to protect Isha, the same yearn his father had to protect his family, activates his Agni powers. Every time, he feels the need to protect her, his power comes forth. Guruji helps him in channelling that power. After the final showdown, when the once again connected Brahmastra goes out of control. Isha is right in way of danger, and Shiva jumps to her rescue. Shiva is ready to sacrifice himself for her, and this calms down Brahmastra, just as the sacrifice of first elders had in the beginning. Brahmastra can only be tamed with selfless sacrifice. But in this process of rejoining and calming, Brahmastra has absorbed its stray energy. Thousands of kilometers away, the statue breaks, and Dev, who has regained his physical form flies up in the sky. He has spent decades trapped with Brahmastra’s powers, no one knows what that has resulted into, and what mental state he is in. That is a question for another day.

This storyline, coupled with some mature dialogues could have resulted in a deeper world, that I am certain of. A lot of questions still arises, but they are of intrigue rather than confusion. For a franchise, a lot of plot points are needed to be left for a sequel, but if you don’t put a solid foundation first, there would be no excitement for it. I still hope the series continues, and the story matures with coming installments. Till then, it’ll remain an unfulfilled potential.