What they are ...

Watching in Russia

“Tsar”

Pavel Lungin’s bloody and much-discussed film stars Soviet-era rock star Pyotr Mamonov as Ivan the Terrible.

Reading in India

“2 States: The Story of My Marriage”

Chetan Bhagat‘s novel about Krish and Ananya, deeply in love but from two different Indian states with different cultures, who battle conservative traditions as they try to marry in a country where arranged marriages remain the norm.

Watching in

Afghanistan

“Dahlezha” (“Corridors”)

A weekly true crime show on the popular network Tolo TV that investigates police, prosecutors and medical examiners while probing unsolved killings and other crimes.