Film: Qala
On: Netflix 
Director: Anvita Dutt
Actors: Tripti Dimri, Swastika Mukherjee, Babil Khan
Rating: 3/ 5

In terms of mediocrity and talent, jealousy and ambition, think of Qala as anti-thesis of, say, A Star Is Born—the templated film, with multiple remakes on the same theme. It is just as external, as this one is internal—drawing out the lead character’s struggles within, while she’s unable to express it to the world outside. 

So much so that all through, as the period film seamlessly flits between past and present, I kept wondering about its exact setting in history. We know the heroine, as a young adult, has a marriage proposal from a suitable boy, serving in Royal Air Force, which means it’s pre-independence.