We continue our longest running series in which we explore Amitabh Bachchan's career year by year, this time we are in the late 2000s. Show notes: Our Bachchan series playlist We are jumping ahead a bit, because we felt like it 2000 to 2006 Bachchan highlights Amitabh Bachchan's elderly statesman reinvention Cheeni Kum Thoughts on R. Balki 's filmography A "Super R"? (INTERVAL " Mere Buddy " from Bhootnath ) Bhoothnath Oscar Wilde's " The Canterville Ghost " Casper or Beetlejuice ? Bollywood fam...
Jun 14, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 164
There hasn't been much drawing us out to the theatre these days, so we asked ourselves, is there anything to watch at home? That's right lovers, it's time for another pilot season where we watch the pilot of six shows and choose which one we are going to watch, and review, a whole season of! Show notes: Black Warrant Ziddi Girls Dabba Cartel Dupahiya Kauf The Royals NEXT TIME: Mid-2000s Bachchan Find us on Apple Podcasts ! and Stitcher ! and audioBoom ! and iHeartRadio ! and Spotify ! and Google...
May 26, 2025•54 min
In this supplemental we travel to Japan to see Om Shanti Om , Takarazuka style. Show notes: Takarazuka Revue Om Shanti Om: Endless Cycle of Love NEXT TIME: Pilot Season 3 Find us on Apple Podcasts ! and Stitcher ! and audioBoom ! and iHeartRadio ! and Spotify ! and Google Podcasts ! and Saavn ! and Hubhopper ! Thank you to Becca Dalke for the artwork! Follow us on Twitter ! Like us on Facebook !...
Apr 23, 2025•1 hr 3 min
March may be over, but we are still mad, mad for Madhubala! Show notes: Thanks to tommydan Noir '58: Howrah Bridge and 12 O'Clock The Great Epic: Mughal-e-Azam Bollywood Drafts A brief aside on Mahal Tragically struck down too soon INTERVAL (" Thandi Hawa Kali Ghata " from Mr. & Mrs. '55 ) Mr. & Mrs. '55 The Orson Welles of India/The Guru Dutt of Hollywood Limitations of the of the auteur theory Our limited of our knowledge of the Hindu code bills Cleo, don’t get on that plane Romantic c...
Apr 04, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 163
Have we finally been cured of our madness? Find out in our last Madhuri Madness, at least for now. Show notes: Madhuri Madness 2000s Madhuri Devdas vs. Dev.D with Paul Matwychuk Ladies Be Angry: Gulaab Gang, Akira, & Mom Aaja Nachle Steve Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo Comparison with Dil Toh Pagal Hai Creative ego vs community cohesion INTERVAL (" Aaja Nachle " from Aaja Nachle ) Maja Ma What is Rajit Kapoor's accent? More polygraph tests in this movie than anticipated The boner subplot Comp...
Mar 19, 2025•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 162
We watched the latest in the ongoing series of Bollywood family-based puff pieces, Netflix's The Roshans , as well as the debut film of Hrithik Roshan, Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai . Show notes: Thank you Señorita for the review! Previously on Bollywood Family History Story Time: our episodes on The Romantics , and Angry Young Men Three generations, four guys: Roshan , Rajesh Roshan , Rakesh Roshan , and Hrithik Roshan As non-Hindi speakers who didn't grow up with these songs, it can be a little tough ...
Feb 27, 2025•1 hr 16 min
We return to our Anil Kapoor decades series with three films from the 2000s: a double role, an action mystery, and an ensemble comedy. Show notes: Anil Kapoor's 80s and 90s Moving from lead actor to ensemble films Aesthetic shifts in 2000s Bollywood Reflecting on Slumdog Millionaire and its impact Bulandi Remake of Nattamai "Gourd scene" Songs: " Saari Duniya Mein ," " Teri Meri Ik Jind ," and " Ab Bujho Ri Bujho " We don't know Raveena Tandon INTERVAL (" Teri Akhiyon Main " from Bulandi ) Calcu...
Feb 09, 2025•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 161
2024 has come and gone, and before we start to get excited about what movies the new year will bring us, we must first look back at the highs and the lows of Bollywood’s past six months. Show notes: Munjya Bad Newz Phir Aayi Hasseen Dillruba Khel Khel Mein Stree 2 The Buckingham Murders INTERVAL (" B(h)adass " from CTRL ) CTRL Jigra Do Patti Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 Singham Again Baby John NEXT TIME: Anil Kapoor's 2000s Find us on Apple Podcasts ! and Stitcher ! and audioBoom ! and iHeartRadio ! and Sp...
Jan 16, 2025•2 hr 2 min•Ep. 160
Hindi Horror Halloween turns 10! And for this landmark entry in our longest running series, we're going back to the beginning and giving horror auteur Ram Gopal Varma another chance... to scare us! Show notes: This our tenth Hindi Horror Halloween ! We still know nothing about Ram Gopal Varma Bollywood Drafts Erin thinks Matt just remembers that David Cronenberg made a film with Marilyn Chambers Raat Sam Raimi's shaky cam How this movie redefined Bollywood horror INTERVAL ("Barbie Girl" from Kau...
Oct 23, 2024•46 min•Ep. 159
We continue the tricky journey of following Amitabh Bachchan's career through its most treacherous stretch: the '90s. Show notes: Thank you DT24x Time for a Tezaab rewatch? The Big B recap Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Begun, the Dadscension has Khuda Gawah Buzkashi , the national sport of Afghanistan Why did Badshah Khan actually go to jail? Amitabh Bachchan's School for Gifted Youngsters (INTERVAL " Sona Sona " from Major Saab ) Major Saab Rushed ending Medical beards Matt considers joining the...
Oct 02, 2024•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 158
Alongside Nim (@MapleBrownie), we discussed the opening night event of the tenth annual India Film Festival of Alberta, as well as a workshop put on by film archivist Shivendra Singh Dungarpur. Show notes: Bollywood Drafts Podcast India Film Festival of Alberta Ghoomer Our coverage of the 2017 India Film Festival of Alberta, where we saw A Death in the Gunj Celluloid Man Film Heritage Foundation NEXT TIME: Nineties Bachchan, we swear Find us on Apple Podcasts ! and Stitcher ! and audioBoom ! and...
Sep 18, 2024•1 hr 27 min
We checked out the latest talking heads documentary about Bollywood cinema, Namrata Rao's Angry Young Men . Did we learn anything? Show notes: De Palma Friedkin Uncut Netflix and Dil: High and Low - Cinema Marte Dum Tak and The Romantics Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th The Story of Film: An Odyssey Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror Angry Young Men NEXT TIME: Nineties Bachchan Find us on Apple Podcas...
Aug 28, 2024•55 min
It's midyear review time! We check in on the first six months of the year and all of the Bollywood (and Bollywood-adjacent) movies that made it in front of our eyeballs. Show notes: Merry Christmas Fighter Article 370 Laapataa Ladies Murder Mubarak ( Episode 154 ) Crew INTERVAL (" Ghagra " from Crew ) Monkey Man Amar Singh Chamkila ( Episode 155 ) Love Sex Aur Dhokha 2 Kalki 2898 AD Sharmajee Ki Beti Kill NEXT TIME: it's a surprise! Our sponsor this episode is #BollywoodMonsterMashup, the LARGES...
Jul 16, 2024•1 hr 43 min•Ep. 157
We travel back to the mid-2000s with one of Bollywood's most fearless actresses, Preity Zinta. Show notes: The Stanley Cup finals are on (we lost) Bollywood Drafts Preity Zinta (has not made an impression on Matt) We would really like to see Sangharsh Heaven on Earth (and its gorgeous poster) Erin's thesis on Preity Zinta INTERVAL (" It's Time to Disco " from Kal Ho Naa Ho ) Kal Ho Naa Ho Toronto plays New York The film's approach to homosexual jokes Anand comparisons Erin hates "movie diseases"...
Jun 27, 2024•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 156
We travel back to the opulence of 1940s Lahore with Sanjay Leela Bhansali's lush Netflix period drama Heeramandi . Show notes: Heeramandi Tawaifs Be Kind Rewind - Sofia Coppola and the Godfather Part III Disaster Next time: Preity Zinta Find us on Apple Podcasts ! and Stitcher ! and audioBoom ! and iHeartRadio ! and Spotify ! and Google Podcasts ! Thank you to Becca Dalke for the artwork! Follow us on Twitter ! Like us on Facebook ! #Heeramandi, #SanjayLeelaBhansali, #ManishaKoirala, #SonakshiSi...
May 28, 2024•42 min
We are belting our hearts out with two Netflix features on the turbulent lives of popular singers. Show notes: Straight-to-streaming films are legit now Qala Comparison to Amadeus Halloween VI: Hell Hath No Fury, Stree and Bulbbul with Matthew Stepanic Elvis and Norah Jones Style over substance INTERVAL (" Baaja " from Amar Singh Chamkila ) Dil-Luminati Tour Wee Book Inn Amar Singh Chamkila Amar Singh Chamkila Comparisons to western hip hop The Mr. Holland's Opus problem Jodi The use of archival...
May 09, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 155
We are polishing our magnifying glasses and donning our deerstalkers, because once again, murder is afoot! Show notes: We just love murder mysteries! Our Noirvember playlist To Those Who Killed Me and Call of the Void , the mystery books Matt has edited You can't have too few or too many characters in a murder mystery Detective Bymokesh Bakshy! "When the Hindu Right Came for Bollywood" Byomkesh Bakshi Comparisons to other famous fictional detectives Kosuke Kindaichi 1940s setting The music and t...
Apr 18, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 154
To wrap up Madhuri Madness 2024 we're joined by our good friend Rashmeet to discuss two action films in which our beloved heroine finds herself at the centre of a deadly love triangle. Show notes: Welcome Rashmeet! Madhuri Madness Madhuban Performing Arts and Urja Yeg Aarzoo Gaslight, Girlboss, Gatekeep Obsession gazebo Darkman " Dosti Karte Nahin " and " Mil Jaate Hain " St. Andrews INTERVAL (" Kay Sera Sera " from Pukar ) " Que Sera Sera " Pukar " Hai Jaana Hai Jaana " Are we Rajkumar Santoshi...
Mar 30, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 153
To celebrate International Women's Day, we are kicking off Madhuri Madness 2024 with two feminist consciousness raising ensemble dramas. Show notes: Happy International Women’s Day Madhuri Madness Every film industry is patriarchal (except Paradise Island ) Hollywood vs Bollywood women’s pictures Mrityudand Shabana Azmi and Om Puri Prakash Jha ’s political filmmaking INTERVAL (" Badi Mushkil " from Lajja ) Lajja A real multi-starrer Manisha Koirala learns about feminism Tonally inconsistent Ajay...
Mar 07, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 152
We welcome filmmaker Jaydeep Sarkar, series director and executive producer of Rainbow Rishta , a new docuseries available now on Amazon Prime. Show notes: Jaydeep Sarkar Rainbow Rishta NEXT TIME: Madhuri Madness Find us on Apple Podcasts ! and Stitcher ! and audioBoom ! and iHeartRadio ! and Spotify ! and Google Podcasts ! and Saavn ! and Hubhopper ! Thank you to Becca Dalke for the artwork! Follow us on Twitter ! Like us on Facebook ! #Bollywood, #JaydeepSarkar, #HindiCinema, #HindiTV, #Indian...
Feb 14, 2024•37 min
Somehow we made it through 2023, which certainly was a year in Bollywood. Did Tiger 3 hit the jackpot? Did we soldier through Jawan ? Find out now! Show notes: The 69th Annual Filmfare Awards (nice) Neeyat ( Episode 150 ) Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani ( Supplemental Episode 17 ) Jawan Jaane Jaan ( Episode 149 ) Khufiya INTERVAL (" Dishoom Dishoom " from The Archies ) Thank You for Coming 12th Fail Tiger 3 Animal This is the only Bullet Machine we respect in these parts The Archies Kho Gaye Hum...
Feb 07, 2024•1 hr 57 min•Ep. 151
It's hard for us to believe, but we've reached two million downloads! To celebrate, we wanted to look back at the evolution of the show and apologize for everything we have gotten wrong over the past eight and a half years. Show notes: Thank you to all of our listeners near and far for lending us your ears two million times! Supplemental Episode 8: 60 Questions (which was to celebrate 100 episodes, not one million listens) NEXT TIME: 2023 year end wrap up Find us on Apple Podcasts ! and Stitcher...
Jan 05, 2024•44 min
We are on the case with Bollywood's leading actress, the incomparable Vidya Balan, will we solve it before she does? Listen to find out! Show notes: Vidya Balan Star power and acting prowess Bobby Jasoos Feminist themes Many spinning plates INTERVAL (" Sweety " from Bobby Jasoos ) Neeyat Character actor cast Anu Menon Split diopter and split screen NEXT TIME: 2 million Find us on Apple Podcasts ! and Stitcher ! and audioBoom ! and iHeartRadio ! and Spotify ! and Google Podcasts ! Thank you to Be...
Dec 15, 2023•53 min•Ep. 150
To celebrate Noirvember this year, we delve into the catalogue of Sujoy Ghosh with the (not exactly noir) thrillers Kahaani and this year's Netflix release Jaane Jaan . Show notes: Noirvember and our Noirvember playlist Sujoy Ghosh Adventures in the Public Domain: Aladin and Arjun: The Warrior Prince Kahaani Kolkata as asphalt jungle The effectiveness of a pregnant detective INTERVAL (" Jaane Jaan " from Jaane Jaan ) Jaane Jaan The Devotion of Suspect X and Keigo Higashino Comparisons to Drishya...
Nov 30, 2023•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 149
Happy (belated) Halloween Lovers! We may be late but our tradition of exploring all things spooky that Hindi cinema has to offer lives on! This year we are sinking our teeth into Netflix's romantic horror-comedy Tooth Pari . Show notes: This episode is quite late as we were our of the country and Erin got sick Neighbours trailer Tooth Pari: When Love Bites Pratim D. Gupta and X: Past Is Present NEXT TIME: Noirvember Find us on Apple Podcasts ! and Stitcher ! and audioBoom ! and iHeartRadio ! and...
Nov 13, 2023•52 min
We welcome writer Sunny Singh to the show to discuss her fascinating new book A Bollywood State of Mind ! Show notes: Thank you Sunny Singh for joining us! A Bollywood State of Mind: A journey into the world’s biggest cinema Heads up, we discuss some spoilers for Jawan if you haven't seen it yet NEXT TIME: Hindi Horror Halloween Find us on Apple Podcasts ! and Stitcher ! and audioBoom ! and iHeartRadio ! and Spotify ! and Google Podcasts ! and Saavn ! and Hubhopper ! Thank you to Becca Dalke for...
Oct 19, 2023•1 hr 11 min
We return to the career of Yash Chopra with two iconic mid-70s blockbusters: one, the first film to carry the YRF name and the other, maybe the most influential Bollywood film ever made. Show notes: Past Yash Chopra films we have discussed: Netflix and Dil: High and Low - Cinema Marte Dum Tak and The Romantics and Yaasssh Chopra: Lamhe & Veer-Zaara with Manish Mathur Zanjeer and the Angry Young Man Yash Chopra Rajesh Khanna Thomas Hardy and the cad awareness book " Ab Chahe Maa Roothe " Comp...
Sep 24, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 148
We go to the lawless deserts in Homi Adajania's blood-soaked Hotstar crime drama, Saas, Bahu Aur Flamingo , to find out who Dimple Kapadia will choose as her successor, and see if they will even make it out alive to enjoy their inheritance. Show notes: Saas, Bahu Aur Flamingo Homi Adajania We Want To Be Dimple Kapadia’s Friend: Bobby, Saagar, and Rudaali Netflix and Dil: Forget it, BiFL. It’s Mirzapur Next time: Deewaar Find us on Apple Podcasts ! and Stitcher ! and audioBoom ! and iHeartRadio !...
Sep 07, 2023•38 min
After bemoaning the state of Bollywood in our last episode, Karan Johar has given us something worth celebrating! Show notes: Thank you Manish Mathur for joining us (and suggesting we record this surprise episode)! Listen to It Pod to Be You Rocky Aur Rani Prem Kii Kahaani NEXT TIME: Netflix and Dil Saas, Bahu Aur Flamingo Find us on Apple Podcasts ! and Stitcher ! and audioBoom ! and iHeartRadio ! and Spotify ! and Google Podcasts ! and Saavn ! and Hubhopper ! Thank you to Becca Dalke for the a...
Aug 20, 2023•1 hr 22 min
Somehow we are more than halfway through 2023, which means it's time for the midyear review where we discuss 11 Hindi-language films that have come out so far this year. Show notes: Pathaan ( Supplemental 14 ) Almost Pyaar with Dj Mohabbat Shehzada Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar Mrs. Chetterjee vs Norway Bheed INTERVAL ("Bandaa Title Track" from Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai ) Bholaa Gaslight Kathal Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai Bawaal Next time: Netflix and Dil Saas, Bahu Aur Flamingo Find us on Apple Podcasts ...
Aug 04, 2023•2 hr 7 min•Ep. 147
