Season 2 of the Tolly Folly Podcast features a Bengali icon: Byomkesh Bakshi. The various adaptations of Byomkesh, starring some of the best talents of the day, span decades of not just Bengali cinema but also Hindi film and television. Rooted in a uniquely Bengali aesthetic, the Byomkesh murder mysteries are complex sociological constructs that marry pulp with genteel morality. In Episode Three, our season finale, we head to Kolkata to look at contemporary Bengali adaptations - of which there i...
Nov 05, 2020•55 min
Season 2 of the Tolly Folly Podcast features a Bengali icon: Byomkesh Bakshi. The various adaptations of Byomkesh, starring some of the best talents of the day, span decades of not just Bengali cinema but also Hindi film and television. Rooted in a uniquely Bengali aesthetic, the Byomkesh murder mysteries are complex sociological constructs that marry pulp with genteel morality. In Episode Two we discuss the Hindi adaptations of Byomkesh - mainly Dibakar Banerjee's Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! (20...
Oct 29, 2020•1 hr 10 min
This episode we got a chance to speak with the team behind Amazon Studio’s Blumhouse collaboration with Priyanka Chopra Jonas called "Evil Eye" - no streaming on Amazon Prime Video. First we speak with writer Madhuri Shekhar who is mainly a playwright who wrote the Audible play the movie was then adapted from. Then we speak with the directors of the movie, the Dassani brothers- Elan and Rajeev- who are an LA based producers, visual effects artists and directors. They’ve been making TV, sci fi an...
Oct 26, 2020•25 min
Season 2 of the Tolly Folly Podcast features a Bengali icon: Byomkesh Bakshi. The various adaptations of Byomkesh, starring some of the best talents of the day, span decades of not just Bengali cinema but also Hindi film and television. Rooted in a uniquely Bengali aesthetic, the Byomkesh murder mysteries are complex sociological constructs that marry pulp with genteel morality. In Episode One we discuss Satyajit Ray's Chiriyakhana (1967) starring podcast favorite Uttam Kumar. The first cinemati...
Oct 22, 2020•53 min
Tolly Folly, our limited run podcast about Bengali film, anchored by Sujoy, Beth, and Amrita, concludes with this third episode featuring two separate performances by Suchitra Sen in AANDHIi and Uttam Kumar in NAYAK. Aandhi (1975) is counted as one of the most successful films helmed by Gulzar and is frequently lauded for the leading performances by Suchitra and Sanjeev Kumar. The movie was a controversial fictionalized take on the life of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and spoke about the difficu...
Jul 27, 2020•1 hr 22 min
Tolly Folly, our limited run podcast about Bengali film, anchored by Sujoy, Beth, and Amrita, is back for its second episode. Join us as we discuss two vastly different performances that live and die on the basis of the famed Uttam-Suchitra chemistry. First up is Saptapadi (1961), a classic melodrama about individual freedom and culture clash that occupies a unique spot in Bengali film. Next is Chaowa Pawa (1959), a breezy remake of the Hollywood classic, It Happened One Night. Subscribe to our ...
Jul 20, 2020•1 hr 7 min
Tolly Folly is a brand-new limited run podcast about Bengali film, anchored by Sujoy, Beth, and Amrita. The first series focuses on the legendary movies of Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen. Episode One is on Agni Pariksha (1954), one of their earlier efforts that was later remade into Chhoti si Mulaqat, Uttam’s Hindi launch. Join us as we dive into their undeniable chemistry, their vastly different acting styles, our favorite bananapants moments, the presentation of child marriage in Bengali film (i...
Jul 13, 2020•1 hr 3 min
This episode we have a chat with one half of the writer, producer, director duo Raj and DK. You might know their work be it Shor In the city, Go Go Goa Gone, Happy Ending or Stree. Their new show "The Family Man" which is now streaming on Amazon Prime and stars Manoj Bajpayee, Priyamani and Gul Panag about 'a middle class guy but a world-class spy’ We talk about: The challenges of critical praise vs audience appreciation The state of streaming Indian content and its challenges The topic of terro...
Sep 24, 2019•26 min
This episode we had the opportunity to speak with director Anubhav Sinha whose new film Article 15 is having it’s worldwide premier at the London Indian Film Festival tonight – 20th June. It is on general release next week and it stars Ayushmann Khurana, Mohammad Zeeshan Ayub, Sayani Gupta and Isha Talwar. We talk about: Global politics The horror's of casteism in India The mistakes of Ra.One Why he didn't cast Muslim actors in Mulk Head over to London Indian Film Festival for more information a...
Jun 20, 2019•28 min
This episode we’re talking to Parineeti Chopra who is starring with Akshay Kumar in this week’s Hindi release Kesari. Kesari is about The Battle of Saragarhi in 1897 between Sikh soldiers of the British Indian Army and Pashtun Orakzai tribesmen. Parineeti’s debut was in 2011 with Ladies vs Ricky Bahl and her career has seen some ups and down which we discuss in our chat. We talk and about her likeability as an actor, if she pushes back against that image and if that sense of familiarity can turn...
Mar 20, 2019•11 min
Made in Heaven is the new Amazon series from Excel Entertainment. Written by Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti, this critically acclaimed miniseries follows two wedding event planners in glitzy, high society Delhi as they battle their personal demons while simultaneously serving as front row audience to some of the most deep-rooted problems facing Indian society. It’s rich people behaving badly - in a recognizably Indian way. This episode features two interviews: one with Reema Kagti and another with ...
Mar 15, 2019•56 min
On this episode of Upodcast Bollywood Edition we talk to director Shelley Chopra Dhar about her about the first commercial female queer love story in Hindi cinema, Ek Ladki Ko Dekha To Aisa Laga. We speak about the marketing of the movie, the challenges of making a movie as a first time director surrounded by veterans as well as the challenges of making a queer love story. We also get into some spoilers about key images and themes. Ek Ladki Ko Dekha To Aisa Laga is currently playing in UK theate...
Feb 12, 2019•21 min
Together with Josh Hurtado and Omar Ahmed, we discuss the line up for this year's London Indian Film Festival. The 9th edition of the Bagri Foundation London Indian Film Festival, runs at 15 cinemas, across London, Birmingham and Manchester, from 21st June to 1st July, with 27 films, including features and short films, in competition. It is the largest South Asian film festival in Europe. Buy your tickets via this website, at respective cinema box offices: http://londonindianfilmfestival.co.uk/...
Jun 20, 2018•38 min
We catch up with Asim Abassi director of the Pakistani film Cake releasing in UK theaters on the 29th of March. Asim talks to Asim if there is an actual revival of Pakistani cinema, claiming a cinematic identity and “gola-ganda” cinematography. Subscribe to our new feeds and share if you like what you hear! If you haven't seen it yet, click here for the trailer for Cake!
Mar 22, 2018•19 min
This week’s episode is filled with tons of goodies! We speak to the amazingly talented Richa Chadha about Fukrey Returns which is the Hindi theater release from last Friday. I do keep mistakenly calling the movie “Fukrey two” which is not the name of the movie- my bad! We talk about: Shooting and fun on […]
Dec 13, 2017•15 min
This episode we speak to the luminescent Mahira Khan about her movie releasing in theaters today, Verna. We recorded the interview last week, before the controversy surrounding the release became big news, but glad to hear everything seems to be sorted out and people can go out and watch the movie everywhere. Mahira talks about: […]
Nov 17, 2017•19 min
British-Pakistani director Sarmad Masud’s t MY PURE LAND is this week’s Upodcast Review and it was also announced as Britain’s selection for submission to the Academy Award® in the category of Foreign Language Film . Based on true events, My Pure Land has been described as a Pakistani western, to break it down for our […]
Sep 29, 2017•56 min
This is one from the secret Upodcast vault! We spoke with the wonderful Taapsee Pannu during the release of Naam Shabana but never managed to post the episode. Since we talk a little about Judwaa 2 and the release is around the corner, what better time to than now to put our conversation up! In […]
Sep 08, 2017•15 min
This week’s Upodcast review is for Hotel Salvation (Mukti Bhavan) which came out last year in India, has been cleaning up awards at film festival and now is getting a UK release through the BFI. We are joined by the always-entertaining Shah Shahid from the Splitscreen Podcast and Blankpage Beatdown. This episode we talk about: […]
Aug 25, 2017•1 hr 13 min
We spoke to Shubhashish Bhutiani, director of Hotel Salvation (Mukti Bhavan), at the London Indian Film Festival just before his UK festival premier. The movie is releasing this week through the BFI in the UK so it was the perfect time to post this interview. We talk about: Opening night at LIFF How to get […]
Aug 23, 2017•17 min
On this week’s episode of Upodcast, we are talking to Bhumi Pednekar who is starring in Toilet Ek Prem Katha with Akshay Kumar, which is releasing in theatres this FRIDAY. We talk about to Bhumi about: Game of Thrones and her love of the show The issues that Toilet deals with Melding a romantic story […]
Aug 09, 2017•14 min
This week’s episode of Upodcast we talk to the amazingly talented singer Neeti Mohan who is joining AR Rahman on his “Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow” concert at SSE Arena Wembley on Saturday 8th July 2017. “Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow” marks the first in a global series, celebrating 25 years of the timeless music of AR Rahman and […]
Jul 07, 2017•24 min
The London Indian Film Festival (LIFF), regarded as Europe’s largest Indian film festival returns for its 8th edition to London and Birmingham and we are joined by Josh Hurtado from Screen Anarchy to help us navigate through broad choice of movies. On this episode, we pick out the movies that excite us or intrigue us. […]
Jun 22, 2017•48 min
This week we review Baahubali 2 The Conclusion also known as the most successful Indian movie every to be released. And for this mammoth task we have brought in the most knowledgeable and best online voices to dissect this breaker of records. On ep 223 we are joined by Sujoy (aka @9e3k), Amrita Rajan (@amritaIQ) and […]
May 09, 2017•1 hr 37 min
We were lucky enough to attend the UK press junket for what was supposed to be the UK premiere of Baahubali The Conclusion with director SS Rajamouli in attendance. Since the movie had already released and is a massive success we had the opportunity to dig in a little deeper about the movie and it’s […]
May 05, 2017•19 min
We’ve got a jam-packed show today and not only because of the amazing roundtable of guests we’ve put together. After all a Shahrukh Khan movies needs the best of the best of bollybloggers to come together (of course we’re not including Asim to that list) This week we are joined by Amrita, Beth and Sujoy […]
Jan 30, 2017•1 hr 30 min
After many troubles Ae Dil Hai Mushkil finally released this weekend and we’re joined by Anisha Jhaveri (@Jhavanis) writer for Indiewire, to talk about Karan Johar’s new movie starring the all star cast of Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Fawad Khan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. We talk about: Our expectations walking into a Karan Johar movie […]
Nov 02, 2016•1 hr 2 min
Our best episodes are the ones where we see things completely differently. Rakesh Omprakash Mehra’s adaptation of the Mirza Sahiban folktale is one such movie. Mirzya stars Harshvardhan Kapoor, Saiyami Kher (Check out our interview with her by clicking here), Art Malik and Om Puri and hits theaters today after it’s European premier at the […]
Oct 06, 2016•1 hr 1 min
“This experience has been life changing…” We speak to Saiyami Kher who is making her big screen debut this Friday in Rakesh Omprakash Mehra’s Mirzya, a re-imagining of Mirza Sahibaan’s legendary folk tale. We talk about her preparation for her role, her background as a marathon runner and how the experience was for an outsider […]
Oct 05, 2016•13 min
New Podcast for your Ear holes! This week we take to task the Buddy Action revival directed by Rohit Shetty starring younger brother Varun Dhawan, John Abraham and Jacqueline Fernandez. We are joined by Hani from wonderful podcast The Bollywood Project and Sujoy aka @9e3k. (Here is a link to our appearance on their show) […]
Aug 04, 2016•54 min
