The Friday List: From a protest music concert to a documentary charting rise of a pop star, your weekly calendar of virtual events
Every Friday, we'll bring you a curated list of online experiences — performances, talks, tours, screenings — to mark on your weekly calendar.
Images via Twitter.
Compiled by Pritha Bhattacharya
Much of 2020 has passed by in studying and understanding a pandemic and taking precautions to protect ourselves and our families from a disease that has led to grave collateral damage across the world. In trying to cope with the new normal, many artists and festival organisers have been taking to the digital stage to keep peoples' spirits up. All the while, the need to stay at home and reduce the risk of contracting the COVID-19 virus keeps on making our leisure time a largely virtual experience. So even as we have eased out of the most stringent of restrictions, the landscape of our engagements and weekly dosages of entertainment continues to be moderated digitally, through the screen.
Every Friday, we'll bring you a curated list of online experiences — performances, talks, tours, screenings — to mark on your weekly calendar. On this week's #FridayList: the virtual edition of TATA Literature Live! 2020, a special online concert by Dua Lipa, and Netflix's new original series Mismatched.
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— Music
On Saturday (21 November) ghazal maestro Pankaj Uddhas will be streaming a recorded version of one of his earlier concerts to raise money for thalassemia patients. The event, which is titled The Ghazal Symphony Concert, will stream on Pankaj Udhas’s official Facebook and YouTube pages for free.
To know more click here
When: 21 November (8:30 pm)
Dua Lipa has announced a special online concert called Studio 2054 in which she will be performing songs from her latest album Future Nostalgia, along with songs from her album Club Future Nostalgia and her debut album. The singer had announced via IGTV that she will be part of Studio 2054, promising a night filled with music, mayhem, dance and theatre. The virtual concert will also include artists like FKA twigs among others performing to their latest songs.
To know more and register, click here
When: 28 November (2:30 pm)
A diverse group of musicians and singers are coming together to sing in solidarity with political prisoners who have been imprisoned based on their ideas, caste and religious identity, in a concert titled Ideas Cannot Be Arrested. Artists like Yalgaar (Maharashtra), Kaladas Deheriya (Chattisgarh), Narayanswamy (Karnataka), along with music collectives like Relaa and Wanandaff, will be participating in this virtual concert. The show will stream a pre-recorded tape of their performances, followed by a live discussion with the performers.
To book your tickets, contact: angarika@maraa.in
When: 21 November (7:30 pm)
— Panel discussions and talks
The Tata Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest 2020, will be hosting acclaimed author Neil Gaiman on Sunday in a session titled Dreaming Up Multiverses. During the session, Gaiman will be engaging in an hour-long conversation with author Jerry Pinto. The session can be viewed for free on the Festival’s official social media pages.
To know more click here
When: 22 November (6 pm)
The Photography Promotion Trust is organising a panel discussion on the visual mannerisms of documentary photography titled In Close Range with photographers Jorge Monaco (Argentina) and Chan Kai Chun (Hong Kong) engaging in a conversation with Yogesh Pawar. The session can be viewed here.
To know more click here.
When: 20 November (7 pm)
— Art Exhibition
Artspeaks India is organising a solo show by painter and sculptor Hemi Bawa titled Bodies of Light, which will showcase glass sculptures, mixed media and paintings created by the artist. The event has been curated by Lina Vincent and visualised by Ashwani Pai Bahadur of ArtSpeaks India. The exhibition attempts to build a dialogue between different aspects of Bawa’s artistic practice, linking her continued engagement with glass as a medium, with her painting and mixed media practices. At the core of her art lies an intuitive spirit, seeking to unearth and present universal truths.
Audience members can catch a preview of the show on 21 November at 6 pm on Artspeaks India’s website. The show will continue online from 22 November 2020 to 15 January 2021.
To know more click here
When: 22 November 2020 to 15 January 2021
— Streaming this week
Mismatched, a Netflix original series, charts the relationship of two diametrically opposite teenagers set up by their families. The show’s lead cast includes Prajakta Koli, Rohit Saraf and Vihaan Samrat. The show is based on Sandhya Menon’s book When Dimple met Rishi and has been directed by Akarsh Khurana and Nipun Dharmadhikari. The first season of the show will stream on Netflix on Friday, you can watch the trailer here.
To know more click here.
When: 20 November
Middle-Class Melodies is a Telugu-based comedy film that follows the struggles of a middle-class man who aspires to become an entrepreneur by selling his famous Bombay chutney amid tough financial circumstances. The film’s lead cast includes Anand Devarakonda and Varsha Bollama. The film has been directed by Vinod Ananthoju and produced by Vennigala Anand Prasad, and will stream on Amazon Prime on Friday. You can watch the trailer here.
To know more click here
When: 20 November
The critically acclaimed film, Boy Erased, featuring Nicole Kidman, Lucas Hedges, Russel Crowe, and Troye Sivan released on Netflix this week. The movie revolves around a Baptist family that forces their son to enrol in a gay conversion therapy program. The film is based on Gerard Conley’s 2016 memoir by the same name. The movie is now streaming on Netflix.
Finally, music lovers and movie enthusiasts can look forward to Shawn Mendes’s Netflix documentary titled In Wonder in which he shares his journey to self-discovery, and reveals details about his relationship with singer Camila Cabello. The documentary has been directed by Grant Singer. Viewers can watch the trailer here.
To know more click here
When: 23 November
A Simple Murder features actors Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub and Priya Anand as a dysfunctional Delhi couple who embroil themselves in a messy situation involving multiple murders and blood money. Udita Jhunjhunwala in her review for Firstpost wrote, "Writing and scene influences skirt the borders of comic crime dramas such as Knives Out and Mr. and Mrs. Smith." This eccentric dark comedy is currently streaming on Sony LIV.
When: 20 November
Also read — Coronavirus outbreak: A database of books, performances, courses available online in these times of social distancing
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