Jaideep Ahlawat again portrays Hathi Ram Chaudhary in the second season of Paatal Lok, the haggard cop whose memory serves both as a crime-solving device and as moral code to leave no life unforgotten. By Karan Madhok

Rural India takes centre-stage again in Season 2 of Panchayat, a series that follows the thread of comic absurdity to stitch up a progressive lens on village life. By Karan Madhok

What’s The Chakkar? Episode 21: We’re reading books by Dinesh C. Sharma and Maggie O'Farrell; listening to music by Goatsmoke; and watching Season 2 of Panchayat. Featuring Shaista Vaishnav, Anurag Tagat, and Prateek Santram. Hosted by Karan Madhok.

Modern Love (Mumbai)’s greatest realization lies in the offering of the city’s palette: an architectural marvel in the Sea Link, an underlying bedrock in Thane, a warm enclosure in cutting chai. The city is steeped in the love its characters exude towards themselves and others. By Raunaq Saraswat

What’s The Chakkar? Episode 19: We’re listening to The Revisit Project; watching Guilty Minds; and reading books by Nev March and Marlon James. Featuring Anurag Tagat, Harshita Murarka, and Shaista Vaishnav. Hosted by Karan Madhok.

What’s The Chakkar? Episode 17: We’re listening to Mir Kashif Iqbal; watching Gehraiyaan; and reading Chandan Pandey and Alice Munro. Featuring Anurag Tagat, Prateek Santram, and Shaista Vaishnav. Hosted by Karan Madhok.

What’s The Chakkar? Episode 12: We’re reading books by Wendy Doniger and Sophia Naz; watching Lagaan; and listening to Dot. Featuring Saurabh Sharma, Prateek Santram, and Ady Manral. Hosted by Karan Madhok.

It’s impossible to watch the biopic Sardar Udham without identifying how the past still haunts India’s present, how old imperialism continues in the form of the new state. By Karan Madhok

“There will be laughter every minute.” From Kalaivanar to Improv, theatre to film, satire to stand-up, Padmaja Jayaraman reveals a brief history of comedy in Chennai.

What’s The Chakkar? Episode 10: We’re reading books by S. Hareesh and TJ Klune; listening to music by Tejas; watching The Family Man. Featuring Shaista Vaishnav, Ady Manral, and Prateek Santram. Hosted by Karan Madhok.

In Amit Masurkar’s man-versus-wild thriller Sherni (2021), a disturbed tigress is on the loose, spreading alarm and fear. But, with critiques of industrialisation, politics, and greed, the film is instead a mirror reflecting the wilder side of humanity itself. By Nidhi Choksi Dhakan.

The diversity of Hindi-language web series over the calendar year was truly remarkable, featuring shows that thrilled, entertained, and pushed forward Indian storytelling more than ever before. From Paatal Lok to Aarya, and Scam 1992 to Panchaayat and beyond, Jamie Alter picks ten of the very best.