Poetry permeates every frame of Heeramandi, a testament to director Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s reverence for the Sufism and Urdu couplets and ghazals. The song Sakal ban, which heralds the spring in the film, draws from an Amir Khusro poem, while nods to Ghalib, Mir, Zafar, and Niyazi abound. Alamzeb (Sharmin Sehgal), is an aspiring poetess. Conversations unfurl like verses, with Alamzeb playfully declaring to her beloved, “I will serve you couplets for breakfast and poems for lunch.” Alamzeb, is the younger daughter of Mallikajaan (Manisha Koirala), who reigns as the madam of Shahi Mahal, a prestigious brothel nestled within Lahore’s Heera Mandi pleasure district. Mallikajaan’s lineage extends further with Bibbo (Aditi Rao Hydari), a renowned singer, who is a secret revolutionary. Lajjo (Richa Chadha), is an alcoholic courtesan living in denial, while Waheedan (Sanjeeda Sheikh), is the younger sister who is forever being duped of her due. Tajdar Baloch (Taha Shah), is an idealistic London-returned nawab who later becomes a revolutionary. Zulfikar (Shekhar Suman) is a debauched nawab, and so is Wali Mohammed (Fardeen Khan). Adhyayan Suman plays the double role of Zoravar and young Zulfikar. Sonakshi Sinha too essays the double role of mother-daughter Rehana and Fareedan

In Bhansali’s universe, Heeramandi isn’t the infamous Lahore red light area but a complex of geisha palaces where patrons are taught culture, music, manners, the art of love, conversation and more. Any sex which happens is secondary. The nawabs do sleep with the tawaifs, of course, but that’s not the only order of the day, or to be more precise, the night. There’s a decorum, tehzeeb, to be maintained all around by all parties. Everyone knows they’re playing a part and relish in it all the same. The series is set in the 1940s, against the backdrop of the Quit India movement. Lahore’s rich nawabs are shown to be least bothered by the revolutionary wave spreading across the country. They’re busy toadying favour with the British in order to gain wealth and power. Ironically, the tawaifs of Heeramandi leech them of their money and kind of bring a balance to the society.

Two strands run parallel in Heeramandi. One is that of intrigue between the various courtesans and primarily between Mallikajan and Fareedan. The duo use all kinds of underhand techniques to win supremacy over each other and the control of two of the biggest pleasure houses. Then, the revolutionaries are shown to be constantly waging a battle against the British. So one samples intrigue on one hand and nationalism on another. It’s not easy to mix such scenarios but to Bhansali’s credit, he has been able to mix and match with aplomb. We wait and as one emotion-laden scene follows the other, leading to a climax which is akin to the reverse of Padmaavat’s ending. There, hundreds of women jointly committed johar. Here, hundreds of women march with flaming torches towards the enemy and sing the song of freedom, demanding an end to the British Raj. It’s a goosebump inducing moment indeed. There’s also the subplot of a rich boy from a respected family falling in love with a courtesan’s daughter. The love story gleefully employs all the tropes of a ’60s slow-burn romance.

At one level Heeramandi is Bhansali’s ode to such films as Mughal-e-Azam (1960) and Pakeezah (1972). The sheer opulence of the set design, especially of the kothas and the havelis takes your breath away. The costume design matches the production design to a T and the combination makes you feel you’ve indeed landed in another era. Add the old world charm to Urdu dialogue to the lot and the illusion is complete. One must add here that in Lahore, one would have expected more people to speak Punjabi, as it was the language of the majority and still spoken widely today. But apart from the servants and the one or two Sikh characters, none of the other characters speak Punjabi. Sudeep Chatterjee, Mahesh Limaye, Huenstang Mohpatra, Ragul Dharuman have offered some sublime cinematography. The tracking shots, use of trolley and excellent lighting was reminiscent of the Guru Dutt brand of cinema.

The series is primarily a musical and Bhansali has again excelled in that department as well. The standout songs are Tilasamein bahein, Phool gendwa na maaro and Sakal ban. Dance choreography is excellent but doesn’t stand out as it normally does in Bhansali’s films.

Bhansali has the habit of drawing his best from his performers and is in excellent form here as well. Manisha Koirala draws all her experience to give us Mallikajaan, a courtesan whose iron will never bends even once. She’s a woman cloaked by contradictions and yet you find yourself rooting for her at the end. It’s one of the finest performances by the actress. Juxtaposed to her is Fareedan, played flawlessly by Sonakshi Sinha. Fareedan is as ruthless as Mallikajaan and yet possesses a vulnerable heart. Their confrontation scenes make the series come alive. Aditi Rao Hydari plays the most layered character by contrast. Her Bibbo is both a tawaif and a freedom fighter and she does ample justice to both facets. She gets her moment in the sun towards the end, when her martyrdom becomes the rallying point for the courtesans. The roles of the men seem restricted. They come and go in flashes and are missing in action most of the time. Fardeen Khan makes a comeback to showbiz as a dapper nawab Wali Mohammed and performs to the expectations of the role. The same can be said of Adhyayan Suman, another actor who was missing from the scene for quite some time. Shekhar Suman makes most of his role, that of nawab Zulfikar, Mallikajaan’s paramour who has secrets of his own. Taha Shah and Sharmin Sehgal have done a competent job as two individuals who not only are star-crossed lovers but also are people who are idealistic to the extreme and hence misfits to their respective societies.

Watch the series for its grandeur and for the inspired acting displayed by the entire cast.

Allan Lichtman, often dubbed the “Nostradamus of US presidential elections,” has garnered a reputation for his uncanny ability to predict election outcomes. With a track record of accurately foreseeing nine out of the past ten US presidential elections, Mr Lichtman’s methodology has earned him both acclaim and scrutiny. 

To accurately predict who will occupy the Oval Office, Mr Lichtman has designed what he calls “13 keys to the White House,” a groundbreaking method that revolutionised election forecasting.

The keys, comprising a series of true or false questions, assess various factors, including economic performance, social stability, and incumbent charisma. Through careful analysis spanning historical data since Abraham Lincoln’s era, Mr Lichtman has crafted a predictive model that transcends conventional methods used by traditional psephologists.

“I have not made a final prediction yet but I do have a model for 13 keys to the White House which have been correct since 1984 – 10 elections in a row – and the way it works is if six or more of the 13 keys go against the White House party (incumbent) they are predicted losers and if fewer than six then they are predicted winners,” Mr Lichtman told NDTV. “Right now a lot would have to go wrong for Joe Biden to lose this election. He’s at the moment down by just two keys.”

Biden is expected to be challenged for a second time by Donald Trump who is increasingly likely to be the Republican party’s face for the 2024 US Presidential elections scheduled for November. With Biden enjoying the advantages of incumbency and a relatively uncontested primary, Mr Lichtman sees formidable odds for his challenger. 

What Are The 13 Keys?

Despite initial skepticism from the forecasting community, Mr Lichtman’s methodology proved its worth time and again. From Ronald Reagan’s re-election triumph amid economic recession to Bill Clinton’s victory against George HW Bush, Mr Lichtman correctly predicted crucial poll contests in the US.

The 13 keys to the White House as designed by Mr Lichtman are as follows: 

Party Mandate: Post-midterm elections, the incumbent party secures more US House of Representatives seats than in the previous midterms.

Nomination Contest: There’s no significant challenge to the incumbent party’s nomination.

Incumbency: The sitting president represents the incumbent party.
Third-party Factor: There’s no noteworthy third-party or independent campaign.

Short-term Economic Stability: The economy doesn’t face recession during the election period.

Long-term Economic Growth: Real per capita economic growth equals or surpasses the average growth of the preceding two terms.

Policy Shift: The incumbent administration enacts major alterations in national policy.

Social Stability: There’s no prolonged social unrest throughout the term.

Scandal-Free: The incumbent administration remains free from major scandals.

Foreign/Military Mishaps: No significant failures occur in foreign or military affairs under the incumbent administration.

Foreign/Military Triumphs: The incumbent administration achieves significant successes in foreign or military matters.

Incumbent Charm: The incumbent party’s candidate possesses charisma or enjoys national hero status.

Challenger Appeal: The opposing party’s candidate lacks charisma or national hero status.

Biden vs Trump

US voters see Trump as more favourable for the economy compared to President Biden, as indicated by a recent Reuters/Ipsos survey. In this three-day poll, 41 per cent of participants favoured Trump’s economic approach over Biden’s, while 34 per cent favored Biden’s. The remaining respondents either expressed uncertainty or felt neither candidate had a superior stance.

However, Mr Lichtman said that early polls should be taken with a pinch of salt. 

“Early polls have zero predictive value. They are momentary snapshots. for example, they say, ‘If the elections were held today, this is where the candidates stand’ – but the election is not being held today so polls are of not of any value for prediction. Early polls often lead you astray,” Mr Lichtman told NDTV

“As we saw in 2016 when I had predicted Donald Trump’s victory contrary to the polls. Or in 1988, when George H W Bush as late as May and June of the election year was 17 points behind his opponent Mike Dukakis and went on to win with a 25-point swing. That’s why I tell everyone, to get the polls, to get the pundits keep your eye on the big picture as gauged by the keys,” he added.

Mr Lichtman’s predictive prowess faced its most significant test in the tumultuous 2000 election between Al Gore and George W Bush. While he forecasted a victory for Gore, the controversial outcome cast a shadow over his prediction.

In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mallikarjun Kharge, the Congress chief, expressed his concerns regarding the Prime Minister’s recent communication to NDA candidates. Kharge pointed out that the language employed in the letter seemed to reflect a sense of desperation and anxiety, which he deemed inappropriate for the esteemed office of the Prime Minister.