Television
Package of hope

FOR a production house known for its soapy tearjerkers, this one is as good as it can get. Hats Off Production’s Ek Packet Umeed every Tuesday at 8.30 pm on NDTV Imagine is both sensitive and imaginative and sure to tug at your heart for its theme of love and courage against all odds.

It is the story of a handful of women who have come to terms with their unfortunate past and have started life afresh. They are not related to each other by blood, but by heart. They are united by their desire to live with dignity and they voluntarily slip into roles of grandmothers, mothers, aunts and sisters living together in a crumbling old-age home called Umeed Bhavan. They work hard, they celebrate festivals and enjoy holidays, worry about trivial matters, and seek emotional dependability and financial independence. They sell food articles of small value, but offer a package of hope to all the lives they touch. A must-see for all those who enjoy heart-warming serials.

IT is the intimate story of the relationship between two filmmakers and a leopard which they find when it is just eight days old. With the most sensitive methods they follow her, at first with her mother, and then alone, as she matures into a powerful young lady. Living With Big Cats (February 24 at 8 pm) on the National Geographic Channel tells us of the relationship that develops between them and this leopard who seems to love human company. It is passionately told, and in many ways is a story of internal conflict, testing the boundaries of bondage. There are very few real life stories about the connection between the man and the beast, especially in the wild. This is one that is told in an intelligent and engaging way. — NF

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