Kaisi Ye Dor feels like an ode to the Sooraj Barjatya school of filmmaking. It’s set in a smalltown, is vocal about family values and family bond, and is teeming with people who are super sanskari. And the conflict in the film, which is designed as an old-fashioned love triangle, gets resolved without much effort. It also contains good old-fashioned music, reminiscent of the golden era of Hindi films, which utilised folk melodies.

Tripathi Ji (Brijendra Kala), is a strict cop who isn’t at all happy with his wayward son, Abhimanyu (Nikhil Pandey), who is a tourist guide in Benaras but in reality cons foreign tourists into spending more and more money into frivolous things.Abhimanyu is of the belief that the end always justifies the means and can’t seem to reconcile himself with his father’s honest ways. Though he doesn’t get along with his father, his mother, (Sunita Rajwar), always supports him. Things take a turn when he falls in love with Rashmi (Jashn Agnihotri), a rich girl who has come to explore her roots. They start off on the wrong foot but later become close. His father thinks that he would wake up to the realities of life after marriage and forces Abhimanyu into an arranged wedding with Vidya (Ratna Neelam Pandey), a traditional and well-educated girl. There’s no connection with them at all. He refuses to consummate his marriage and doesn’t even speak to her. Things thaw up when he notices how diligently she’s taking care of his parents. But in the meanwhile, he’s also reconnected with Rashmi and soon, has to take the decision to choose between the two.

The film was shot at real locations at UP and that lends authenticity to the film. It feels like it was shot guerilla style, as it has crowds gawking at the camera at some places. The camerawork also suffers from jump cuts at times, which is understandable, given the circumstances. The film is told in linear progression, but the editing isn’t that much up to the mark. As said earlier, the music, while not in sync with today’s scene, does hold your attention because of the melody and well-versed lyrics. The good thing about the story is that it doesn’t turn the other girl into a vamp. One sympathises with her as well. The commendable thing is that the in-laws are shown to be totally supporting the bahu. The plot could have been more taut, though. And the ending is too abrupt. The film has been directed well otherwise by Ratna Neelam Pandey and Sandeep Choudhary.

The three leads, Nikhil Pandey, Ratna Neelam Pandey and Jashn Agnihotri, have all acted well and have done full justice to their characters. Veterans Brijendra Kala and Sunita Rajwar have lent able support, as usual.

It’s an old-fashioned, family oriented film, reminiscent of the ’60s socials. In an era where toxic masculinity is the byword, its softer narrative might just surprise you.

Suhana Khan, Khushi Kapoor, Dot, Agastya Nanda, Yuvraj Menda, Dot, Mihir Ahuja, and Vedang Raina recently featured on the latest episode of Amitabh Bachchan’s Kaun Banega Crorepati 15 to promote their recent film, The Archies. The film’s director, Zoya Akhtar, also joined them on the show.

Amitabh Bachchan enjoyed interacting with the young actors, and he was surprised when Suhana seemed unaware of her father Shah Rukh Khan’s 2005 Padma Shri honour.

During the KBC episode, Amitabh Bachchan posed a question about Shah Rukh Khan to Suhana, Vedang, and Zoya in the ‘Super Sandook’ round. Amitabh was astonished when Suhana revealed her lack of knowledge about her father’s Padma Shri honour. The question was: “Shah Rukh Khan has not yet received which of these honours?” The options were: “(a) Padma Shri, (b) Legion of Honour, (c) L’Etoile d’Or, and (d) Volpi Cup.”

Upon Big B’s question, Suhana promptly responded with “(a) Padma Shri.” Her answer surprised both Amitabh and Vedang. Vedang expressed disbelief, saying, “How could you get that wrong?” Amitabh questioned how Shah Rukh Khan’s daughter could be unaware of the award her father received. It’s worth noting that Shah Rukh Khan was honoured with the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2005.

Amitabh Bachchan, responding to Suhana’s lack of knowledge, humorously remarked, “Beti ko pata nahi hai ki pita ko kya mila hai. Keval baap ne itna hi bata ke bheja hai ki wo saamne baitha hai usne tumhare baap ka kirdaar adaa kiya hai. Toh unko bol dena ki bhaiyya jara aaram se sawaal pucho. Abhi itna aaram se sawaal pucha phir bhi uska jawab nahi de payi ye.”

Suhana appeared embarrassed for not knowing the correct answer. The right answer to the question was option (d) Volpi Cup.

Meanwhile, The Archies was recently released on OTT on December 7, 2023.

See Also: Shah Rukh Khan’s advice to Suhana Khan leaves Amitabh Bachchan amazed 

The Indian man charged in an alleged plot to kill Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun had been detained at the request of the United States, the government of the Czech Republic has told NDTV. Nikhil Gupta was detained at the Prague airport in June and, the Czech government said, the US had submitted an extradition request two months later.

Responding to a series of queries sent by NDTV, the Czech Republic’s Ministry of Justice said the extradition had been requested for conspiracy to commit “murder for hire”.

“The Ministry of Justice of the Czech Republic can confirm that Mr. Nikhil Gupta was apprehended and afterwards taken into provisional custody in the Czech Republic at the request of the competent authority of the USA, which subsequently submitted the request for extradition of Mr Gupta to the USA in August 2023. The extradition of Mr Gupta was requested for the crime of conspiracy to commit murder for hire,” the ministry said.

The ministry said the Municipal Public Prosecution Office in Prague conducted a preliminary investigation and then filed a motion to declare the extradition admissible.

“Upon this motion, the Municipal Court in Prague ruled that the extradition of Mr. Gupta to the USA is admissible. However, the decision of the Municipal Court in Prague is not yet in legal force,” it added.

To a question on access to Czech court records, the ministry said the decisions of courts are not publicly available online.

The US Department of Justice has charged Mr Gupta with conspiring with an Indian government official to assassinate Pannun on American soil. The Khalistani terrorists holds citizenship of both the US and Canada.

Mr Gupta, 52, is accused of attempting to hire a hitman, who turned out to be an undercover US federal agent. 

In their indictment, US federal prosecutors have addressed the Indian official as “CC-1” and claimed he masterminded the plot from India to eliminate “an attorney and political activist who is a US citizen of Indian origin residing in New York City”. If convicted, Mr Gupta, faces up to 20 years in prison.

Supreme Court Hearing

Mr Gupta moved the Supreme Court on Friday, through a family member identified only as Mr X, and claimed multiple violations of fundamental rights. In his petition, he has also requested the Indian government to intervene in his extradition.

A Supreme Court bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti termed the matter an “extremely sensitive issue for the Ministry of External Affairs” and told senior advocate CA Sundaram, representing Mr Gupta, to approach a court in the Czech Republic, according to news agency PTI. The court said it will take up the matter on January 4.