Filmi Ladies

Is it true in your corner of filmi fandom that people just don't talk about Mala Sinha much? That's our experience, so we were glad to take this opportunity to look at her filmography. Pitu watched Hariyali Aur Rasta and Beth watched the Bengali film Khelaghar. However, we've walked away with as many questions as we had at the start: what is her unique set of skills and strengths? What...

Happy Rekha Divas to all who celebrate! Our queen turned 72 a few days ago (October 10—get it on your calendar, mortals!) so we decided to celebrate her IDGAF era with two controversial films she starred in: Kamasutra (1996) and Aastha (1997). Have you seen either? What are your thoughts? Subscribe to Filmi Ladies on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/7Ib9C1X5ObvN18u9WR0TK9 or Apple Podcasts ht...

We recently watched Lust Stories 3 and enjoyed it a lot! Have you seen this anthology? What are your thoughts? Do you agree with Pitu that the third segment is a little too talky and a little too long? Do you agree with Beth that the appearance of Konkona Sen Sharma solves everything? Click here to see our episode on Lust Stories 2.https://youtu.be/pwhdWVNwgMs?is=vf5gi_DZ83goQXDUSubscribe to Filmi...

She is wicked and stunning, a fashionista and a scheming paisewali, and we love her to bits! We discuss retro baddie Nadira in Aan, Shree 420 and Kahin Din Kahin Raat. What are your thoughts on Nadira and would you let her crush you under her stiletto? We would! Read about other Jewish actresses in Hindi cinema: https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/jewish-actresses-bollywood

Dor completes 20 years! Such a sweet, heartwarming film about friendship, and women supporting each other despite harrowing circumstances. Have you seen Dor? What are your thoughts? Subscribe to Filmi Ladies on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/7Ib9C1X5ObvN18u9WR0TK9 or Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/filmi-ladies/id1642425062 @filmiladies on Instagram Pitu is @pitusultan...

It's equal parts awesome and horrendous, it's melodramatic, silly and campy and we had to do an episode on it! We are discussing 1991's blockbuster Saudagar! Have you seen it? What are your thoughts about this unhinged movie? Does it maybe just need to be MORE unhinged???

It has been 10 years since Konkona Sen Sharma's debut film 'A Death In The Gunj' released and boy does it hold up! Absolutely amazing direction and wonderful acting from an ensemble cast in this movie athat is a murder mystery but also a film about games people play. A great piece from the Hindustan Times about the history of McCluskieganj https://www.hindustantimes.com/static/mccluski...

It's a celebration of Rishi! In honor of his birth anniversary, we pick our top 5 Rishi performances and songs! Expect much nostalgia! Tell us your favorite Rishi moments. And which of his films from the late 80s into the early 2000s should Beth watch? Here's our qawwali episode with special guest Sujoy from Khandaan! https://youtu.be/wTINpaD0Htc?si=Wdpw94Pnr6FU_2O6 Subscribe to Filmi Ladies on Sp...

For the second episode of our Retro Ladies series, we take a look at Geeta Bali, who starred in 75 films and worked in the film industry for 2 decades. This is an actor we know very little about, and we were very charmed by her ebulience, natural acting, and girl-next-door wholesomeness. Pitu watched the delightful Albela (1951) and Beth watched Pocket Maar (1956), where her co-star is Filmi Ladie...

To mark Sridevi's birthday this year, we gave ourselves an assignment: finally watch some of her films that have been on our lists but we just haven't gotten around to yet. Pitu picked Jaag Utha Insan, and she will explain her choice and regrets. Beth picked Sri's first Hindi film as a lead, Solva Sawan, which was, frankly, rough going. Then we have a long discussion on the perpetual i...

Come celebrate the 25th anniversary of the very iconic Dil Chahta Hai! Let's peek into this sunny, golden, aspirationally emotionally open world inhabited by Akash, Sid, Sam, Shalini, Tara, Pooja, and Deepa! There will be much discussion of 2000s fashionz too. Forgive us for forgetting about Deepa, the deeply relatable queen of unrequited love. Way back in 2006, a friend challenged fellow writers...

(This episode contains spoilers!) We are always curious to see what Akshaye Khanna and Sunny Deol are up to these days so we watched Ikka (2026), a courtroom drama on Netflix. Although we watched it for them, the only actor worth watching turned out to be Tillotama Shome, who we didn't even know was in the film. Ha! Did you watch Ikka? What did you think? Subscribe to Filmi Ladies on Spotify h...

It's the 20th anniversary of Omkara! Does this movie belong to Saif's evil Langda Tyagi? Absolutely! But we are also excited to discuss Omi, Kesu, Dolly, Indu, and Billo! Tell us what you think! Our friend Vikas Raheja and his guest discuss Omkara as their #1 Indian film of 2000–2025 in this episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/my/podcast/e48-the-5-best-indian-movies-of-the-21st/id172461512...

Have you ever heard anyone say they don't like Sunil Dutt? No, you haven't coz it's not allowed. We shine a spotlight on his acting career, directorial work as well as his specific "brand". There is also a Venn diagram of "decent, green flag men." Movies discussed are Humraaz (1967), Bhai Bhai (1970), Reshma Aur Shera (1971), and Ganga Aur Suraj (1980). Look at Beth...

We watched Priyadarshan and Akki's latest venture - Bhooth Bangla (2026) and had several thoughts about bhoots, haunted havelis, bad wigs, demons, bats and horror comedies as a genre. Subscribe to Filmi Ladies on Spotifyhttps://open.spotify.com/show/7Ib9C1X5ObvN18u9WR0TK9 or Apple Podcastshttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/filmi-ladies/id1642425062@filmiladies on Instagram Pitu is @pitusult...

Just a catch-up episode where we discuss movies and tv shows we are watching or plan to watch. Beth discusses Alpha and Single Salma, and Pitu discusses Disclosure Day and America's Sweethearts. What are you guys watching? Subscribe to Filmi Ladies on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/7Ib9C1X5ObvN18u9WR0TK9 or Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/filmi-ladies/id1642425062 @...

Love and cherry blossoms are in the air! Our actors Sadhana, Asha Parekh, and Joy Mukherjee x2 fall in love, hijinks, and misadventures in Love in Simla (1960) and Love in Tokyo (1966). Subscribe to Filmi Ladies on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/7Ib9C1X5ObvN18u9WR0TK9 or Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/filmi-ladies/id1642425062 @filmiladies on Instagram Pitu is @pitusul...

It's a new series, fully embracing the RETRO LADIES we are at heart! (Some of these people should have been in our superstars series the first time through, and we beg their forgiveness.)Where better to start than Meena Kumari, one of the great queens of all time? We look at Azaad (1955), Sharada (1957), Aarti (1962), and—finally—Pakeezah (1972), with the latter two forming the bulk of our dis...

To mark our 200th—yes TWO HUNDREDTH—episode, we chose a film that celebrates cinematic history. Harishchandrachi Factory is a Marathi film about the making of the very first feature film in India, and it's a peculiarly light-hearted approach to an event with massive consequences. Dadasaheb Phalke is portrayed as a less crabby Willy Wonka, surrounded by people who mostly say yes, easily, to all...

So much to say about Maa Behen! Madhuri, Triptii, and Dharna portray wily, crafty, endearing, complicated, entrapped, strong, powerful, confusing ladies in this character study of what it means to be a woman in our world. This episode is spoiler-free until we issue a warning at 24 minutes in! Subscribe to Filmi Ladies on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/7Ib9C1X5ObvN18u9WR0TK9 or Apple Podcast...

If "Feroz Khan"="more is more," then the theme of today's episode is More More Is More. How perfectly filmi! We needed to escape the nonsense and disappointment of the modern world, so we traveled back to a mod Mumtaz in Apradh (1972) and shiny Sanjay Dutt in Yalgaar (1992), all in the very good company of the always macho, always winkingly fun Feroz Khan. For more FK, chec...

Pitu said "Let's watch Saif's new film!!" and Beth said "OK!" before realizing what it was about, and then she wanted to scream into the abyss. Overall we found this a rough watch - but only because it's far too real. This episode starts with a spoiler-free general discussion, and we tell you when we're getting into spoiler territory later on. Subscribe to Filmi...

Affable, energetic, talented, excellent hip swiveler and very versatile Varun Dhawan takes center stage in this episode. We discuss Badlapur, Dishoom, October and Street Dancer 3. For more VD discussion, here are links to the Alia and Bhediya episodes. https://youtu.be/aGoFNXxQm3o and https://youtu.be/JYyRDXVWWPw What are your favorite Varun films? Do we need to watch Baby John or Border 2? (Pleas...

A doctor and a nurse having a romantic moment at the hospital, drinking coffee in the moonlight...this romantic drama from 1960 ticks a lot of boxes (and we literally keep count). Meena Kumari, Nadira, and Raaj Kumar star. Subscribe to Filmi Ladies on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/7Ib9C1X5ObvN18u9WR0TK9 or Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/filmi-ladies/id1642425062 @film...

This movie is everything the title promises plus so much more! Starring half of the 1980 film industry and putting most of them on a speeding death trap is a recipe for a great time. We discuss what makes this work so well (bravo to editors R. P. Bapat, S. B. Mane, and Pran Mehra), its songs, and what various players bring to their roles. Watch The Burning Train in youtube with English subtitles h...