LUPIN Season 2 @NetflixSA #Lupin #Crime #Drama #2300Post

Hi Friends, 

Lupin Second Season or the next 5 episodes were released on Netflix yesterday on 11-June-2021 and I have been waiting for the storyline to complete and eagerly people must have been wanting to see the conclusive end to Diop's revenge story. I loved watching the show but the show this time was not as engaging and everything was so clear that you could predict what's going to happen next so easily. I think it was a marketing strategy of the Netflix team to divide the show into 2 parts considering the first 5 episodes are really something worth watching and the next five are not up to the mark. 

Coming to the second season, it consists of 5 episodes where they start of the beach in France and Raoul gets kidnapped. The story of chase begins which continues for some episodes and then the next episodes bring the same old story of making a girl fool as we have seen in multiple movies via chance encounters where everything is planned. This series also focussed on the friendship between Assane and Benjamin Ferel as police and Pellegrini's men both try to catch them. Some new characters are also introduced in these episodes which doesn't leave as much impact and they seem to be fake from the start and you could predict what they are up to. 

A lot of flashbacks are shown as to when Assane Diop's character as a kid starts to do the first small robbery for someone he loves i.e. Claire and gets caught. Some scenes are showcased about his father getting recruited by Hubert Pellegrini. A lot of focus has been showcased on the voice calls and using some software to do the changes and making anyone fool using the extractor tools. Youssef Guedira is able to find Assane but unable to get hold of him along with the other police officers. He then becomes a whistleblower within his police force to catch all the participants in the murder of Diop's father. 

The second season is more about daring and less about the classic theft and using the charm as showcased in the first one. There is nothing that will inspire you out of curiosity as to how Diop will perform the next robbery but it will be something you will be able to calculate and think about by yourself. But you should definitely watch the same so as to get the conclusive end of the story. It's not something you wished for but it's something that's practical and more physical. I think the director's focus has been inconsistent as far as the second season is concerned though the trailer looked good. It always happens as when you try to close some story, you try to tie us all the loose ends and in that process sometimes you are not able to create as remarkable as season 1 was where the story was building up. 

It may happen with the other series Money Heist too as they are still building up the storyline in the last 4 seasons and the final season is divided into 2 parts which will give conclusive end needs to be checked if it matches the intelligence level of the professor or not? Meanwhile, we can definitely go and watch this one on our favourite platform of Netflix. 

RATING - 3/5

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LUPIN Season 1 @NetflixSA #Lupin #Crime #Thriller

 Hi Friends, 

LUPIN caught my attention due to the Louvre museum and the theft happening around the same and I was missing the Money Heist so thought of watching the same. They also showed Monalisa painting on the show in one of the scenes inside the Louvre. I also saw that this was only 5 episodes long so thought it will be finished soon but little did I know that the story won't end in the first 5 episodes and I will have to wait for 11th June 2021 for the second season to watch the next 5 episodes. Also came to know that the third season is also in the making considering its huge success after the first season came out in the French Language first in Jan 2021. 

You will definitely fall in the love with the main lead character played by Omar Sy and the story from the famous novels Master Thief named Arsene Lupin which is a character created by Maurice Leblanc. The novel even was compared with the Sherlock Holmes trying to find Lupin in one of their novels is what I could gather from the material available on the internet. I am definitely going to go through the English version of the books. For the time being, I am reading the Complete Adventures of Feluda by Satyajit Ray which is printed by Penguin Books. 

The whole series is shot from flashbacks to the present moments and keeps you glued to your seats. The characters are nicely developed during the first 5 episodes and it all starts with the guy trying to find the real reason behind his father's death who was framed for the theft of an expensive diamond necklace. The main lead is Assane Diop which has his unique way of living his life despite all the bad happening around him. He tries to master the book on Arsene Lupin gifted to him by his father on his birthday just before his death. He secretly imbibes all the characteristics, behaviour and thinking pattern of the master thief from all the books written on him. He starts living his life as a gentleman and develops a charismatic personality and is being helped to gain the right education from a secret person providing for all his expenses to go to a good school after being an orphan. Meanwhile, it's shown that he does a lot of robberies as a con man fooling the whole people around Paris and making a living out of the same. Then came a time after the initial 25 years, when he starts to plan for an act of revenge as he is able to decode the last letter from his father where he gets a confirmation that his death is a forced murder rather than a suicide. The story starts building up from there and the first episode keeps you glued as there is a theft involved while some parts of the other episodes throw some light on his childhood and other parts of life to date. 

I really loved watching the whole series but the first episode is much more fast-paced as the diamond necklace is stolen once again as compared to the later parts of the episodes where the whole process is explained and then again the story starts picking up speed from time to time as the main protagonist picks up several clues about his late father and similarly slows down too as the main character always stays in control and one step ahead of the police and other parties i.e. Pellegrini family who is behind the death. This keeps on happening until the final episode where he is taken aback as his son gets kidnapped and the viewers are left wanting for more action and mystery to be disclosed. Definitely worth your time on a weekend or if you want to wait till 11th June 2021, you can binge-watch the whole 10 episodes then on Netflix South Africa. Till that time -  keep reading and stay safe! RATING 4.5/5

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#TheLifesWayReviews AARYA @DisneyplusHSVIP #HotstarSpecials #Aarya #Thriller

Hi Friends,

Aarya is the latest web series launched on Disney + Hotstar online platform and marks the comeback of Sushmita Sen after a gap of 10 years. Aarya has a good storyline with a lot of twists and turns. Sushmita Sen hasn't aged and seems extremely fit to be in the role of mother of 3 children, two being teenagers. I watched the whole series on the day of the launch i.e. 19th June 2020 on Hotstar Digital Platform but didn't get the time to write the review to date.

Also, I found the 9 episodes to be running too slow and it would have made it more thrilling if the speed of the serial has been increased 10-15% as I got disinterested in the series in the first 2 episodes which I watched at the regular playback speed and when I increased the same to 115% then it was working more and kept me on the edge of the seat. 9 episodes in total will take around 7 hours 45 minutes to finish and you can easily binge-watch them on the tour of Rajasthan and the first few episodes are more like marriage ceremonies of the big fat wedding.

The web series stars Chandrachur Singh which also makes a comeback as Jay Sareen, husband of Aarya Sareen played by Sushmita Sen. Namit Das as Jawahar and Ankur Bhatia as Sangram who is the younger brother of Aarya. These 3 persons are handling the business once run by their dad Zorawar played by Jayant Kripalani. Sikandar Kher as Daulat is Zorawar's, right-hand man and later helps Aarya in all her tasks to run the business. Alexx ONell plays Bob with which younger sister of Aarya, Soundarya is getting married played by Priyasha Bhardwaj. Flora Saini also plays a small role of Radhika/Rads as a lover of Zorawar. Sohaila Kapur plays the ex-wife of Zorawar. Sugandha Garg also makes a comeback as Hina but got nothing much to do as the fiancee of Sangram. Maya Sarao plays Jawahar's wife role as Maya. Maya, Aarya, and Hina are best friends in the web series.

The story revolves around the greed of getting rich despite Jay's warnings to Jawahar and Sangram led to the murder of Jay in front of his son. The reign is then handled by Aarya as she overcomes all kinds of challenges and fighting the cause to keep her family close despite several threats from the police and the Shekawat played by Manish Choudhary whose heroine they tried to take and become rich. She herself tries to find the person behind the murder of her husband Jay which keeps you glued to the screen. Sangram runs the operation from jail and ACP Khan played by Vikas Kumar tries to find the culprit. The overall story has many elements which you will like as the fighting spirit of Aarya and the selfish tendencies of Jawahar while all the hell comes loose and there is chaos all around. I really loved the acting of Vishwajeet Pradhan as Sampat - right-hand man of Shekawat. The story tells an emotional part of the afterlife of kids as their father dies and how each one of them tries to handle the situation despite their loving mother and other family members. It's a real struggle inside their hearts, mind, body, and soul and showcased greatly in this web series. Veer (eldest son) is played by Viren Vazirani, Aaru (daughter) is played by Virti Vaghani and youngest son Adi is played by Pratyaksh Panwar. Veer's love interest Pallavi is played by Gargi Sawant.

Some of the issues showcased are just introduced in the story to accommodate everything like ACP Khan to be gay as there is no development of character or something and there is no focus on the same too afterward. Also, the love with the old Bollywood songs is just like as showcased in the Karan Johar's movie Ae Dil Hai Mushkil where it was introduced just to match someone's from the production house thinking it will suit the audience and they will like it and here also in this series there are long sequences of the old Hindi songs. It's not like I didn't love those songs but it doesn't make any sense in today's world of web-series unless you are advertising them for SAREGAMA's Carvaan Music player. 

Overall, this web series has a huge star cast with great sets and cinematography and they have kept the ending open so as to make another season. It is not announced yet but in the days to come - it will be as the web series is getting good response from all the fans of Sushmita Sen including me. The web series is produced by Ram and Amita Madhvani along with Endemol Shine India and is based on Penoza a Dutch Drama series by Pieter Bart Korthuis. I also liked the background music done by Vishal Khurana and the story is written by Sandeep Shrivastava and Anu Singh Choudhary. Aarya is directed by Ram Madhvani himself along with Sandeep Modi and Vinod Rawat. Watch it this weekend on Disney Hotstar. RATING 3.5/5

Sawubona!

Contact Aashish Rai Jain at thelifesway@gmail.com or editor@thelifesway.com to send your products, launch event invites, and services to be consumed. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra #7YearsofTheLifesWay. Follow me on www.instagram.com/thelifesway for all travel-related photo posts and subscribe to my YOUTUBE Channel too where contests will be held in the month of July 2020. Namaste!

#TheLifesWayReviews ASUR #YourDarkSide @VootSelect #AsurOnVoot #Crime

Hi Friends,

I watched ASUR on VootSelect in a single day and totally loved the story intertwined just like reading one of the Amish Tripathi or Ashwin Sanghi's novel combined with James Patterson serial killer novels. ASUR brings Arshad Warsi on the video on demand platform web series for the first time and what an amazing comeback as he brings his powerful performance as a Senior Forensic Expert Dhananjay Rajput (DJ) in CBI. Also worth mentioning is the amazing background music this web series has which not only brings focus but also a thrill in your heart while the crimes are being committed by the serial killer.

The way the storyline mixes Indian Mythology with the present-day technologies along with the serial killer on the run makes this a worthy binge watch. You will be taken back to the ghats of Benaras and to the Hindu scriptures about the origins of Sura and Asura. All these are then connected with the astrology and chemistry setting up the plot for the serial killings which are done at separate locations in India. Season 1 consists of 8 episodes totaling 5 hours 43 minutes at an average length of 43 minutes per episode.

Barun Sobti plays another Forensic Expert Nikhil Nair who has a family in the USA working for CBI earlier and joining the FBI and then becoming a University Professor for the last 7 years or so. His wife's role is played by Anupriya Goenka which is one of my favorite heroines. To be frank I was searching for all her TV and web serials when I found this one and thought of watching the same seeing Arshad Warsi in the main role. I think I am attracted to her screen presence in various movies and web series. Ridhi Dogra also plays an important character as Nusrat Saeed also working for CBI along with Sharib Hashmi who plays a Police Inspector assisting CBI.

The storyline starts with the crime locations sent to Nikhil in the USA which he then forwards to someone at CBI and a third crime is showcased in full in the first episode of the series. DJ maps the crime with the earlier done crimes and comes to the conclusion that it's done by the same person making it a serial killing. Nikhil leaves his family and job in the states and comes back and joins the DJ on this mission to find the criminal and in the same episode found that the evidence points to DJ as the criminal behind the third murder. DJ is sent to Jail and in the very next episode, Nikhil gets kidnapped by the serial killer making him work for the serial killer to kill other victims and finding strategies to do the same. Now DJ has to work from inside the jail to work on the case and save Nikhil. How DJ and Nikhil communicate with each other and how the flashback brings the history into their own lives is what ASUR - Your Dark Side is based on?

This series will keep you on the edge of your seats and if you love mythology you will enjoy the series very much with power-packed performances from all the main characters especially Arshad, Barun, Sharib, Anupriya, Ridhi, and Vishesh Bansal as Shubh a highly intelligent priest on the Banaras Ghats. I do love reading novels based on mythology written by various Indian writers and this web series brought back all those memories of Amish, Ashwin, and various other writer's famous novels. Do watch it asap but currently, Voot is only available in India, and in the end, you will want more as the story doesn't end at Season 1 with much more unanswered questions flickering in your mind just like Stree or Andhadhun movies from the last year. RATING 4/5

Namaste!!!

Contact Aashish Rai Jain at thelifesway@gmail.com or editor@thelifesway.com to send your products, launch event invites, and services to be consumed. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra #7YearsofTheLifesWay. Follow me on www.instagram.com/thelifesway for all travel-related photo posts. Namaste!

The Importance of #SocialMedia Screening @FamaHire

Hi Friends,

With the increased importance of social media in social life, it is only reasonable that social media presence plays a greater role in the hiring process. The analysis of the social media accounts of applicants allows a greater level of filtering than has ever before been possible. Using social media screening, companies have the ability to weed out candidates that would reflect poorly on the company's brand and reputation.

A social media background check allows a company to identify red flags in candidates before they are hired and even before an interview takes place. Instances in social media of crime, bigotry, and violence are warning signs that can be used to disqualify applicants early in the process. This is a process that keeps the company a safe place to work and increases the value of each hire.

It is critical to the brand of a company that employees have a social media presence that not only does not reflect poorly on the company but creates positive brand awareness. Employees not only represent themselves on social media, but also the company, even when using personal accounts. It is increasingly important to screen candidates on their ability to present themselves, and thus the company, well on social media, as well as a general lack of anti-social behavior.

It is also crucial that recruiters understand the risks inherent in utilizing information found on social media for screening applicants. Choosing not to hire someone on the grounds of race, sex, sexual orientation, age, or religious beliefs can lead to discrimination suits that would cost a company vast amounts of money in damages. Ensuring that hiring is done on the basis strictly of merit is the caveat of social media screening.

Social media analysis can be used to determine whether or not an applicant would fit with the company's values. Employees functions as much as ambassadors for the company as anything else in the information age. The company will be judged for the presence of its employees on social media. Therefore, it is crucial to screen the applicants well for social media statements that are contrary to the company's values.

Using an automated social media analysis system like Fama can be useful to mitigate the resources needed to investigate the background of applicants and also prevent allegations of discrimination. An automated system allows the easy screening of a pool of applicants in a far shorter time than a manual investigation would. This is more relevant than ever with the entry of the millennial generation into the workforce, that often have literally thousands of social media posts, making a social media check sometimes impossible to accomplish to any meaningful depth without use of automated analysis tools. As social media becomes more prolific and the intensity with which it is used increases, performing social media background checks becomes simultaneously more and more important and more and more difficult.

It has become a necessity for companies to screen applicants on the basis of their social media presence. Doing so has the ability to weed out applicants that display anti-social behaviors such as violence, bigotry, and crime. Greater screening of applicants on the basis of their social media background and how they represent themselves and will represent the company as employees creates a better work environment.

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