Caught up with work and not sure what to watch, read or listen to when you get home? Don’t worry! Our weekly picks have you covered for the perfect unwind.
Dabba Cartel
Dabba Cartel is a Hindi-language web series that follows a group of women who run a small dabba (lunch-box) business with a narcotic twist. Their plans to establish a clandestine drug empire are hindered as they encounter both law enforcement and internal conflicts, all unfolding against the backdrop of metropolitan Mumbai.
The show features a pan-Indian ensemble cast, with renowned Hindi film actress Shabana Azmi portraying the cartel’s steely matriarch. She is joined by Jyotika, Shalini Pandey and Nimisha Sajayan – prominent actresses from the Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam film industries – alongside Anjali Anand, a well-known name in Hindi television.
Drug-related crime dramas have consistently proven to be a hit on Netflix and Dabba Cartel is no exception. Released on Feb 28, it entered Netflix’s weekly global top 10 for non-English shows, with over 10 million hours viewed.
Thank You For Leaving
Rithvik Singh is an up-and-coming award-winning Indian poet with over half a million followers on Instagram (@wordsofrithvik). His latest book Thank You For Leaving is a collection of poems and short reflections catering to those who feel everything too deeply.
Published on Feb 14 by Ebury Press, the book is currently the bestseller in the Poetry category on Amazon India. Releasing the book on Valentine’s Day is ironic, given that its contents delve into the musings of a broken heart. In the preface, Rithvik likens the book to an ocean of emotions, one that will make you cry. The title currently has a 4.6 out of 5 rating on Amazon, with some readers praising how deeply it resonates with them.
Run It Up
Kerala-born rapper Hanumankind dropped his latest track Run It Up on March 6, and it is buzzing across social media. In collaboration with producer Kalmi, the song blends Kerala’s traditional chenda drums with modern hip-hop production, merging his unapologetically Indian identity with global hip-hop appeal.
The highly anticipated music video, released a day later, amplifies its energy with imagery from Indian martial arts and rituals. The track is a personal manifesto, celebrating Hanumankind’s journey from Kerala to Houston and back to India. He redefines what it means to be a rapper from India, using his heritage as a foundation for universally relatable art.
The phrase “run it up,” which refers to making money, achieving success or building momentum, perfectly aligns with Hanumankind’s trajectory, building on the massive success of his breakout hit Big Dawgs, which came out last year and boasts over 392 million streams on Spotify.
