The genesis of Hindi cinema occurred in homegrown entertainment forms like yatra, mujra, and tamasha. Consequently, whatever was produced included sizeable chunks of theatrical elements and routine songs and dances. Even in films that claimed to be “socials”—1941’s Behen (Sister), 1943’s Paraya Dhan (Other’s Treasure), or 1945’s Bachpan (Childhood)—melodrama was more of the sentiment.

In May 2020, in the backdrop of the migrant housing crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) announced the Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (ARHC) scheme for urban migrants. This policy intervention became the fifth initiative under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban (PMAY-U) and forms the only scheme directed at rental housing provision.

On January 16, 2021, India began Phase-I of what may be the world’s largest vaccination drive, aiming to vaccinate nearly 300 million frontline workers against COVID-19. This rollout featured India’s indigenously developed Covaxin (Bharat Biotech/Indian Council of Medical Research) and indigenously produced Covishield (Serum Institute of India/Oxford-AstraZeneca), marking the beginning of a potential end to the pandemic’s eleven-month siege.