iWorld
Laboratory – a Hoichoi Original Film for Rabindra Jayanti
MUMBAI: Hoichoi, the world’s largest digital Bengali entertainment content platform, today started streaming Laboratory, the popular story by Rabindranath Tagore as a Hoichoi Original Film.
The “Tagore special film” got uploaded on the OTT platform on 9th May, the day Rabindra Jayanti is widely celebrated. Rabindra Jayanti is a cultural festival celebrated in remembrance of Kabi Guru Rabindranath Tagore’s birth anniversary. It is mostly prevalent among Bengalis and by ardent followers of Tagore. The festival is commemorated on the 25th day of Bengali Calendar’s “Boishakhi”.
Laboratory starts off with Nandakishore Mallik (Kaushik Sen), an engineer of the Indian Railways. He dreams of a nation where thousands of scientists would be able to carry out their research works without bothering about the financial obstacles that pre-independent Indians used to face. He is setting up a science laboratory by buying different instruments used in different scientific experiments. He gets married to Sohini (Nandini Ghoshal), a punjabi lady and they give birth to a girl called Neela (Darshana Banik). After Nanda’s death Sohini is now looking for a young talent who can take up the responsibility of the laboratory. Sohini comes to know about Rebati (Anirban Bhattacharya)‚ a bright talent in the field of science. Rebati is mesmerized through Neela’s charm. Sohini notices it. Rebati joins the laboratory but he is continuously distracted by Neela. He is slowly shifting away from his attention towards his research. Neela’s friends keep persuing Neela so that she gets Nanda’s property. A tussle follows between Sohini and Neela regarding Rebati resulting in an adverse outcome.
Hoichoi has recently completed 6 months since its inception. For OTT, research has indicated that most of the new internet consumers want to consume content in their local language. According to an industry report, there would be 42 million Bengali internet users by 2021, second only to Marathi internet users (51 million) amongst all Indian languages excluding Hindi. Coupled with the fact that 45% of time spent on mobile is on entertainment, Hoichoi is well positioned to capture the market, as the world’s largest digital content platform exclusively for Bengali entertainment.
iWorld
Why Peaky Blinders is one of television’s biggest hits that still deserves more attention
Six seasons, multiple awards and the release of Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man bring the Shelby saga back into the spotlight
In the crowded universe of streaming content, only a handful of shows manage to leave a lasting cultural footprint. Peaky Blinders is overwhelmingly considered one of the biggest global hits of the past decade. Yet many viewers still haven’t fully explored the dark, gripping world of the Shelby family.
Originally produced for the UK’s BBC and later finding a massive global audience through Netflix, the series quietly grew from a British period drama into a worldwide streaming phenomenon.
Created by Steven Knight, the show follows the rise of the Shelby crime family in post-First World War Birmingham. What begins as a gritty street-gang story gradually expands into a sweeping narrative about ambition, politics, power and survival.
At the centre of the saga is Thomas Shelby, portrayed with extraordinary depth by Cillian Murphy. The casting of Murphy is widely regarded as perfect for the role. With piercing eyes, restrained dialogue and an almost hypnotic screen presence, he transforms Shelby into one of the most unforgettable characters in modern screen storytelling.
Murphy’s brilliance lies in his restraint. He rarely shouts or performs theatrically. Instead, a quiet stare, a calculated pause or a subtle shift in expression conveys the emotional storms within the character. Beneath the ruthless gang leader is a war veteran carrying trauma, guilt and loneliness. Murphy captures this complexity with remarkable precision, making Thomas Shelby both terrifying and deeply human.
Beyond its central performance, Peaky Blinders stands out for its unfiltered portrayal of reality. The show does not romanticise crime. Instead, it exposes the harsh social conditions of early 20th-century Britain, from poverty and class struggle to political extremism and the psychological scars left by war.
The series also presents powerful female characters who hold their own within the Shelby empire. Polly Gray, played by Helen McCrory, is the strategic backbone of the family and one of the most formidable figures in the story. Women in the series shape decisions, influence power structures and challenge the rigid social norms of the time.
Across six seasons, the narrative grows dramatically in scale. What begins in the smoky streets of Birmingham evolves into a story involving political conspiracies, fascism and international criminal networks.
The series has also earned significant critical acclaim. It won the BAFTA Television Award for Best Drama Series in 2018 and multiple National Television Awards for Best Drama, cementing its reputation as one of Britain’s most celebrated modern shows.
Another defining feature of the series is its iconic music. The show’s opening theme, Red Right Hand by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, became instantly recognisable and widely associated with the Shelby universe. Combined with a powerful soundtrack featuring artists such as Arctic Monkeys and Radiohead, the music helped shape the show’s dark, stylish identity and became hugely popular among fans.
And the Shelby story is not over yet.
In fact, its legacy is unfolding right now. The long-awaited feature-length continuation, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, was released on March 6, 2026, bringing the Shelby universe from streaming screens to cinemas and giving fans a new chapter in the saga.
For viewers who have not yet stepped into this world, the timing could not be better.
Six gripping seasons are ready to binge on Netflix. A new film has just arrived in theatres. And at the heart of it all stands one of the most magnetic performances in modern drama by Cillian Murphy.
So if Peaky Blinders has been sitting on your watchlist for years, this weekend is your moment.
So, by order of the Peaky fookin’ Blinders, consider this your cue to finally step into the ruthless world of Thomas Shelby. Pour yourself a drink, clear your schedule and press the play button. Because when the Peaky Blinders give an order, you listen.
