"In India when you tell a story you always add a little masala," says Sudha Pradeep, a Gujarati surgeon and mother of three, in the upcoming Amazon Prime show The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh. "This is America, here we like our stories plain," replies a cop questioning the eponymous family for an incident in which they are suspects. The Vijal Patel-created show follows the adventures of the family as they try to adapt to a whole new world. Partly inspired by Patel's family's experience moving to the US, the show stars British-Indian actor Naveen Andrews (best known for Lost) as Mahesh, the overtly optimistic patriarch who looks to excel in the "land of opportunity". For Andrews, the series offered him the rare opportunity to do a sitcom and also essay a character whose attitude amidst adversity is "something to aspire to".
This story is from the October 28, 2024 edition of India Today.
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This story is from the October 28, 2024 edition of India Today.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
CHINESE THREAT IN INDIAN DRONES
The use of Chinese-made components in Indian drones being supplied to the army runs the risk of compromising national security through the hacking of data. A concerned military is now tightening regulations
DEBATE OVER QUANTUM OF PUNISHMENT
The verdict in the RG Kar rape and murder case was delivered on January 20 as additional sessions judge Anirban Das pronounced life imprisonment for the main accused, Sanjay Roy.
MAKING A BEGINNING
In the crisp mountain air of Uttarakhand, the unsettling sense of being on the frontier blends with a more rooted conviction in its status as a safehouse for ancient civilisational ideals. The two contraries got entwined on January 27, when Uttarakhand was taken to the very frontline of a contentious constitutional experiment—one that seeks nothing less than to legislate ways of living. Putting into active mode a proposed code drafted by the Pushkar Singh Dhami government, it became the first Indian state to implement a Uniform Civil Code (UCC). This legal step, which comes on the back of one of the most polarising debates in India's history, aims to standardise personal laws governing marriage, divorce, inheritance, live-in relationships and succession, cutting across religious lines.
Caught in an Oily Situation
The world may be reeling under new US president Donald Trump's 'one-policy-change-a-day' regime, but it's one of his predecessor Joe Biden's parting shots that have shaken up oil markets. It's a new clampdown on Russian oil trade, and taking the worst hit will be the world's biggest oil importers-China and India. India sources cheaper crude from Russia and if supplies are hit, an inflated oil import bill could hurt the margins of its refining companies. That won't be good news for the Modi government, already battling high inflation and slow domestic growth.
COPING WITH A FALLING MARKET
Numerous factors may trigger stock market volatility, which could result in a sharp, sudden increase or decrease in the value of your portfolio. Don't make hasty decisions about your investments
MADHYA PRADESH: INDORE'S BATTLE AGAINST BEGGING
Indore, seven-time winner of India's cleanest city honour, has in the past year been on another clean-up mission—eliminating beggary. Launched in February 2024, the anti-begging initiative has shown promising results, offering a model that could potentially be replicated nationwide. Spearheaded by the district administration and the women and child development (WCD) department, it is a three-phase programme that combines counselling, rescue and enforcement.
FIGHT FOR SURVIVAL
A BESIEGED ARVIND KEJRIWAL LAUNCHES A DESPERATE BATTLE TO REGAIN HIS CROWN AS DELHI CM IN THE FACE OF AN AGGRESSIVE BJP CAMPAIGN TARGETING HIS TARNISHED IMAGE AND THE FATIGUE OF AAP'S DECADE-LONG ANTI-INCUMBENCY
KERALA: REBUILDING WAYANAD
Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has always had a knack of finding form when crisis is upon the state, especially in the face of natural disasters. The 2018 mega floods tested his abilities as captain of Kerala, followed by the Coronavirus outbreak in 2020. His steady hand then had much to do with him earning a second innings in 2021.
GRAVEYARD OF OLIVE RIDLEYS
On January 10, 2025, nature enthusiast Rajiv Rai, who stays near Injambakkam beach, 16km from Chennai's Marina Beach, had a sighting he wished he hadn't seen: three large Olive Ridley carcasses on the sand. Next day, he found 11 carcasses; the day after, another 10. Though he alerted the Tamil Nadu forest department and fellow naturalists, he learnt later that the dismal carousel of 70-80 carcasses he kept encountering almost every day till the end of January were amongst the over 1,000 that had washed ashore Chennai's Marina, Kovalam and Chengalpattu beaches. An alarming situation because Olive Ridley, an endangered species, is crucial in maintaining the healthy balance of the marine ecosystem.
WIZARD OF WORDS
Padma Shri-awardee Prasoon Joshi on his foray into theatre with his first musical Rajadhiraaj: Love, Life, Leela, and more
