Bollywood is For Lovers

We watched the latest Vikramaditya Motwane project, Netflix's 2025 hit Black Warrant . We really liked it, which is not a huge surprise. Show notes:  We picked this show on our last Pilot Season episode. Our episode on Motwane's previous show, Jubilee : Bombay's Dream Factory,  Jubilee Our episode on three of Motwane's movies: Breaking Free: Vikramaditya Motwane’s  Udaan ,  Lootera , and  Trapped...

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...

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 F...

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 !

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 au...

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 Wh...

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 , an...

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 "...

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: Ani...

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 R...

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 (INTERVA...

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...

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 B...

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 B...

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...

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...

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 A...

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 B...

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 ("...

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 " f...

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!  F...

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 Fa...

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...

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 !...

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 (" Jaan...