The Long Take

In Phir Aayi Hasseen Dillruba , Taapsee Pannu and Vikrant Massey return as the murderous couple of hell who were introduced in 2021’s Haseen Dillruba . The sequel boasts an entirely different visual aesthetic and its romantic-thriller tone stands in contrast to the tongue-in-cheek pulpiness of the first film. We discuss what a huge mistake this is, while also trying to wrap our heads around the fi...

Longlegs is the rare psychological horror movie that truly gets under your skin. Featuring an instantly iconic performance by Nicolas Cage, the movie creates an ominous atmosphere with the help of a measured pace and an unsettling reliance on silence. We discuss the film’s grounded first act and its rapid descent into full-blown supernatural horror. We also talk about director Osgood Perkins’ imme...

They might as well have called Maharaj “Junaid Khan’s Launch Vehicle” because naming it after the villain makes even less sense. We discuss the film’s many irredeemable flaws, which include shaming the victim of sexual abuse, projecting a red flag male character as the protagonist, and resorting to the problematic trope of “fridging.” We also talk about the film’s obvious technical inadequacies, l...

In its third and potentially final season, Kota Factory seems to be responding to past criticism. We discuss the show’s sudden bout of self-reflection, and the confused manner in which it examines the harsh realities of towns like Kota and the industries they service. We also talk about its aversion to human moments, and why the handful of them this season stand out. Later in the episode, we wonde...

Dibakar Banerjee is going to have to make two good movies to compensate for whatever hellish assault on the senses Love Sex Aur Dhokha 2 was. We discuss the film’s muddled social commentary, the frustration oozing out of every frame, and the general incoherence of the arguments. We also compare LSD2 ’s aesthetic and thematic shortfalls, especially when compared to Banerjee’s past work, while wonde...

Crew , the new heist movie starring Tabu, Kareena Kapoor Khan, and Kriti Sanon, effectively weaponises middle-class angst against corporate overlords. We praise the film’s dedication to punching up, the instant relatability that it is able to generate for its characters, and its tightly constructed first half. But we also criticise its endless product placement, and the relatively disappointing se...

Writer-director Kunal Kemmu’s Madgaon Express smartly avoids taking the sleazy route and mostly succeeds in finding the soul of its cartoonish characters. We talk about the film’s familiar set-up, and how it transports a Hangover -like premise to India. We also discuss the performances of Divyenndu, Pratik Gandhi and Avinash Tiwary, while noting the tightrope walk actors have to pull off in absurd...

Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar , director Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s big-budget streaming debut, is yet another high-profile Netflix failure. A summation and culmination of Bhansali’s lifelong ambitions, the show represents everything that is wrong with his sensibilities and style-over-substance storytelling. We discuss the show’s flawed understanding of feminism, aestheticisation of female suffering...

In addition to being a thought-provoking movie about how close we are to disintegrating as a society, Alex Garland’s Civil War is a rollicking cinematic experience. We discuss the film’s affection for journalism, the intricate character work that Garland is able to accomplish via action sequences, and the film’s stand-out moments. One of them involves a scene-stealing cameo by Jesse Plemons, and t...

Is Amar Singh Chamkila a long-awaited return to form for director Imtiaz Ali, or is it another let-down from the once-promising filmmaker? We discuss the film’s inventive approach to the music biopic genre, if not narratively then at least formally. We also talk about Diljit Dosanjh and Parineeti Chopra’s central performances as the slain husband-wife folk singer duo and address the ‘Hindi gaze’ t...

Aattam , the latest Malayalam-language gem that further solidifies the industry’s artistic stronghold on the cinema landscape of the country, offers an inventive spin on the whodunnit genre. We discuss the film’s gripping narrative, ambitious social commentary, and director Anand Ekarshi’s bold voice. We also talk about the many moral quandaries that the movie puts its characters in, and how willi...

Is Fighter another in the long and increasingly problematic line of hyper-nationalistic Indian action movies, or is its biggest problem that it can’t look beyond star Hrithik Roshan? We discuss the many missteps that director Siddharth Anand makes in his follow-up to Pathaan , the unnecessary songs and the momentum-killing asides, but we also talk about how the movie goes out of its way to not pai...

Murder Mubarak lowers the bar even further for Netflix India, and feels like a particularly annoying missed opportunity. We talk about the inept filmmaking, the strange structure, and the over-the-top performances of its ensemble cast. We also wonder how the finished film can look like something that was snatched away from director Homi Adajania and handed over to editors who’ve never met him. And...

Merry Christmas , director Sriram Raghavan’s follow-up to the critical and commercial hit Andhadhun , is nothing to celebrate. We discuss the film’s lack of discernible aesthetic, the complete absence of any spark between stars Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi, and its baffling climax. Along the way, we discuss the decision to reduce an important child character to a plot device, and the increasi...

Dune: Part Two is being called one of the greatest sequels ever made. It isn’t. We discuss the problems that we’ve had with both Dune films, our issues with their cold tone, the seemingly rushed plot despite a nearly three-hour run-time, and the sheer number of characters to keep track of. But we also appreciate director Denis Villeneuve’s handling of the action, particularly the sandworm sequence...

All India Rank , the feature directorial debut of Varun Grover, is a refreshing change of pace for Bollywood, but still not as good as it could have been. We discuss all the ways in which the coming-of-age drama avoids making the same mistakes as 12th Fail or Kota Factory , its ability to evoke a particular time and place, and its reliance on tried-and-tested narrative tropes. We also talk about t...

Dunki , the third and final Shah Rukh Khan film of 2023, wastes all the goodwill he had built with  Pathaan  and  Jawan . Directed by Rajkumar Hirani,  Dunki  ranks among the worst films we’ve covered on the podcast and is outdated to the point of being offensive. We talk about the film’s most insensitive scenes, Hirani’s disinterest in taking real-life geopolitical issues seriously, and ignoring...

Bhakshak , starring Bhumi Pednekar, is the latest socially conscious call-to-action from Shah Rukh Khan’s production company, and even though it’s a more grounded film, its sensibilities aren’t too dissimilar from Jawan . We discuss what we liked and disliked about the film’s portrayal of hyperlocal journalism, its depiction of real-life atrocities, and its tendency to shed all nuance and scream a...

Joram , the fourth feature film from director Devashish Makhija, juggles multiple tones and narratives. But is it successful at it? We discuss Manoj Bajpayee’s mostly silent central performance as a displaced tribal man running for his life, and the film’s heavy handed socio-political commentary. We also wonder if the movie would’ve worked better as a tight 90-minute thriller, and point out a worr...

Animal , starring Ranbir Kapoor, is hardly as offensive as director Sandeep Reddy Vanga probably intended it to be, but it’s aggravating on many levels nonetheless. We discuss the film’s infantile approach to its themes and Vanga’s dedication to being edgy at the expense of storytelling and character development. We also talk about the film’s unbearable length, inconsequential subplots, and the od...

Is Salaar the worst movie we’ve covered on the podcast? It might be. We discuss the incomprehensible plotting, Prashanth Neel’s overwhelming direction, and debate about the film’s three major action set-pieces. We also eat our words about Salman Khan’s dedication and Zack Snyder’s poor world-building after having seen a disengaged Prabhas and an under-confident Neel’s work here. — Hosted by Akhil...

Shockingly,  Tiger 3 —the fifth overall instalment in the  YRF Spy Universe —isn’t entirely unwatchable. But the movie could’ve been so much better with just about any other star in the lead role instead of Salman Khan, who not only struggles to emote but also seems pained to move physically. We talk about the film’s  Pathaan -like progressive politics, flat visual effects, and Emraan Hashmi’s per...

Is 12th Fail actually one of the best Hindi movies of 2023 or is it massively overrated? We find ourselves wondering why writer-director Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s latest film is getting rave reviews, because all we could see was a deeply problematic, all too simplistic story about a young man let down by society. We also talk about Vikrant Massey’s performance, and the egregious brown-face makeup that...

Kho Gaye Hum Kahan , the new film from the team behind The Archies , is a rare Bollywood movie about millennial malaise. But like its characters, it’s too distracted by social media and the desire to say something about our addiction to it. We talk about the performances of its three leads—Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Panday and Adarsh Gourav—and discuss the many ways in which it honours and underm...

Rebel Moon is the worst film of Zack Snyder’s career, and that’s saying something. We talk about the director’s uninspired homage to the works of Akira Kurosawa and George Lucas, his unusually bland visuals, and the film’s wooden writing. We also wonder why the project looks so cheap, seeing as it comes from a streamer that is often willing to invest $200 million on less-deserving movies, and why...