Filmi Ladies

Whether beaks, claws, or fins, animals are humans' friends in Indian cinema. We discuss some of our favorite animal characters, their amazing skills, and the truly great tradition of snake films. Read Todd Statdman's great series Animalympics (be sure to go in reverse chronological order so you don't spoil yourself on the winner!) on his blog. https://diedangerdiediekill.blogspot.com/s...

It will not surprise you to learn that we ADORE The Namesake, both book and film. Topics of discussion include: the Gangulys' relationship, the universal American-ness of the story, Golgol's imperfections, and Ashima's journey. Subscribe to Filmi Ladies on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/7Ib9C1X5ObvN18u9WR0TK9 or Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/filmi-ladies/i...

Spoilers in this episode! We read Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca, watched the 1940 Hithcock adaptation, then watched Biren Nag's 1964 Hindi adaptation Kohraa. There's much to love in all of them (especially the novel!), but, not surprisingly, Waheeda Rehman as the second Mrs de Winter is our favorite performance, complemented fantastically by Lalita Pawar. If only they'd cast someone...

...and here's a companion piece to last week's episode: men characters we hold with great affection. Some of them elicit heart-eyes emojis, but others are just people who stand out in a good way. As with the previous discussion, good writing and good performances by actors we like are often a part of these choices, but we don't absolutely require it. Subscribe to Filmi Ladies on Spotif...

This week's episode is exactly what it says on the label: women characters we hold with great affection. They're not necessarily the best written or the most memorable, and we might not want to be friends with them, but we have a soft spot for them anyway. Subscribe to Filmi Ladies on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/7Ib9C1X5ObvN18u9WR0TK9 or Apple Podcasts https: //podcastsconnect.ap...

This 1988 revenge drama starring goddess Rekha is, in our opinion, is an absolute masala masterpiece, touching on issues of self-determination, inner strength, the evils of greed, a walkoff over a decade before Zoolander, and, of course, gold lamé. What more could you possibly want? Oh, did you also want Kabir Bedi in a teeny swimsuit? Rakesh Roshan provides. Do we need t-shirts that say "Rek...

Finally an Aishwarya film worthy of our queen! Pitu loved Ponniyin Selvan 2, but due to various annoying life circumstances Beth hasn't gotten to see it yet, so this is a very one-sided episode! We discuss the smoldering chemistry, how smart it was to film both parts in one fell swoop, and what other Indian historical eras we'd like to see on the big screen. Subscribe to Filmi Ladies on Sp...

In which we discuss why certain stars (or not) have disappeared. Underneath it all, we're really just wondering why people we will never meet—but about whom we have thoughts and feelings!—make the decisions that they do. Perhaps the gossip experts and other keen analysts among you will be able to answer some of our questions. Tell us in the comments: are you, like Pitu, ready for the return of...

So far in our superstar series, we've discussed people that are consistently regarded by most as great actors. Now we come to an actor that we think was underrated, despite her fine performances in multiple languages, many genres, and many decades: Sharmila Tagore. Her films we discuss in detail are Devi, An Evening in Paris, and Barnali (available with English subtitles here https://www.youtu...

We watched adaptations of Tagore's short story The Hungry Stones: the Bengali Kshudhita Pashan (1960, dir. Tapan Sinha) and the Hindi Lekin (1990, dir. Gulzar). While not as drastically different a pairing as Duvidha and Paheli, these two films create different worlds with the source material, a feat of creativity perhaps necessitated by the fact that Tagore left his story so unresolved. Stron...

Next up in our series about women superstars: Vyjayanthimala, forever the dancing princess of our hearts! The films in particular discussion are Amrapali, Devdas, and Nagin. (The latter two and a few more of her films are available on the fantastic Tommydan55 channel: https://www.youtube.com/@tommydan55/search?query=vyjayanthimala!) What are your favorite Vyjayanthimala films? Subscribe to Filmi L...

In our first book club episode, we discuss Rishi Kapoor's 2017 auobiography Khullam Khulla (written with Meena Iyer). If you love vintage film world gossip as much as we do, this is the book for you! At times overly honest and at others strangely (or not) quiet, Rishi's observations of his own career and the cinema worlds he has experienced are fascinating and insightful. Long live the jum...

In this episode, we discuss each of our number one favorite Hindi film!  Even though they're very different films—different eras, different types  of directors, though one cast member in common!—we find fascinating  common ground.    Tell us your very favorite Hindi film in the comments, and if we've seen  it we will tell you one thing we like about it too!   Sub...

Duvidha (1973) and Paheli (2005): two very different films from the same source material, both fantastically successful in their own ways. Lots of spoilers in this episode!  Subscribe to Filmi Ladies on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/7Ib9C1X5ObvN18u9WR0TK9 or Apple Podcasts https: //podcastsconnect.apple.com/my-podcasts/show/filmi-ladies/aacadcfe-4195-40a4-ba 16-e528118ec892  @fil...

FINALLY we   1) have as guest star the truly wise, witty, funny, and delightful Sal (twitter: @salandthebadpun)   2) dig into Bengali cinema 3) try to enact dramatic poses inspired by our subject matter (spoiler: one of us fails utterly)   Suchitra Sen is a unique figure in Indian cinema: she's the sine qua non of Bengali films (no one woman is as critical to an entire body of a lan...

After learning that we both love Feroz Khan, we knew we had to do an  episode on his films! We love his stylish, action-packed, surprisingly  complex and nonjudgmental films in which MORE IS MORE! Or as Pitu phrases it, "Why half-a*s anything when you can go for the  jugular?" This episode focuses on Qurbani, which maybe gets Beth's vote for most iconic FK film, and Janbaaz, because...

We discuss the new Netflix documentary series The Romantics plus some other Yash Chopra-related topics.   Tell us in the comments: Did #TheRomanticsOnNetflix make you think or feel differently about any Yash Chopra or YRF films? Did you need this many clips of Mohabbatein? Were you annoyed that Juhi and Madhuri were included only briefly? And do you agree comedy uncle side plots are for...

Happy Galentine's Day (a day late) to all our filmi ladies of every gender identity! Today's episode looks at women's friendships in Hindi cinema. There are very few films that focus on this incredibly important aspect of life, but we found a few—and many more that have it  in the background or as a surprising bit of texture.    Beth apologizes to all Parks and Rec purists for misre...

👏🏽 We guarantee you will be singing your heart out by the time this  episode ends: very very special guest Sujoy from the Khandaan Podcast  joined us to talk about film qawwalis!    The king of the qawwali? You won't even need 3 guesses. 👏🏽 👑 👏🏽    Here's our playlist, which includes our favorites plus everything submitted to us on twitter! https://www.youtube....

#PATHAAN We saw it and we loved it! Highlights of our conversation: • his hair • loving Dimple Kapadia • being pleasantly surprised by John Abraham • taking joy in everyone else's joy in this film   • the insanity of living with this level of stardom   • what this film can teach you about your career potential   The Cakes of Bollywood Instagram  https://www.insta...

The extremely talented and wonderfully luminous Nutan is next up on our  series on women superstars of Hindi cinema! Both hosts are relative  newbies when it comes to Nutan's career, so come along with us as we  start learning. We watched Tere Ghar Ke Samne (delightful concoction!),  Saudagar (impactful feminist drama!), and  Saraswatichandra  (self-sacrificial dreck—...

This week's episode is a general catch-up on the films—and tv—we've been  watching in the last few weeks. Some are great, some are meh, and  others are full AVOID YAAR. 🙅🏽‍♀️   Subscribe to Filmi Ladies on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/7Ib9C1X5ObvN18u9WR0TK9 or Apple Podcasts https: //podcastsconnect.apple.com/my-podcasts/show/filmi-ladies/aacadcfe-4195-40a4-ba 16-e528118e...

Filmi lady Isha from the amazing Instagram account @DesiDrapes joins us to discuss #sarees  in Indian cinema! She drops some fantastic knowledge and opinons as we  think about sarees from different eras, costume designers—including the  great (and we do mean great) Bhanu Athaiya, who is responsible for so  many iconic looks—directors, and performers.    Isha really kn...

What happens when a performer plays against type? We talk through what it can mean for Hindi film stars to go actively against what they're known for—instead of just doing something that's different from other things they've done—and a zillion examples of people doing things we  don't expect. Subscribe to Filmi Ladies on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/7Ib9C1X5ObvN18u9WR0TK9 or App...

"Party song" is a concept we all think we understand, but this  decades-old building block of Hindi cinema deserves a closer look. The  one and only Amrita from  www.youtube.com/@khandaan-abollywoodpodcast3134  is here to be the party police—in a GOOD way—and offers a great working definition that we expand across the years and look at songs from the 1960s through today. Her de...