151: 2023 Year End Review

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 Amar Singh Chamkila Comparisons to western hip hop The Mr. Holland's Opus problem Jodi The use of archival images NEXT TIME: Heeramandi 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 us on Twitter! Like us on Facebook! #Qala, #AnvitaDutt, #TriptiDimri, #SwastikaMukherjee, #BabilKhan, #AmitSial, #SameerKochar, #AbhishekBanerjee, #AmarSinghChamkila, #ImtiazAli, #DiljitDosanjh, #ParineetiChopra, #NishaBano, #RahulMittra, #Netflix, #HindiCinema, #Bollywood

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 Bakshi Comparisons to other famous fictional detectives Kosuke Kindaichi 1940s setting The music and the violence go too hard INTERVAL ("Calcutta Kiss" from Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!) Murder Mubarak Is Sanjay Kapoor one of our guys? "In a movie about rich people you can't kill the help" Karisma Kapoor's first film in 12 years Fantasy casting The Thin Man NEXT TIME: Singer Movies 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 us on Twitter! Like us on Facebook! #DetectiveByomkeshBakshy!, #ByomkeshBakshi, #DibakarBanerjee, #SushantSinghRajput, #AnandTiwari, #NeerajKabi, #SwastikaMukherjee, #MeiyangChang, #MurderMubarak, #HomiAdajania, #PankajTripathi, #SaraAliKhan, #VijayVarma, #KarismaKapoor, #DimpleKapadia, #SanjayKapoor, #Bollywood, #HindiCinema

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 ("Kay Sera Sera" from Pukar) "Que Sera Sera" Pukar "Hai Jaana Hai Jaana"  Are we Rajkumar Santoshi fans? Torturing Anil Kapoor Madhuri Dixit's emotional range and appeal NEXT TIME: Detective movies 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 us on Twitter! Like us on Facebook! #MadhuriDixit, #Aarzoo, #LawrenceD'Souza, #AkshayKumar, #SaifAliKhan, #PareshRawal, #AmrishPuri, #Pukar, #RajkumarSantoshi, #AnilKapoor, #ManrataShirodkar, #OmPuri, #Danny Denzongpa, #PrabhuDeva, #LataMangeshkar, #Bollywood, #HindiCinema

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" from Lajja) Lajja A real multi-starrer Manisha Koirala learns about feminism Tonally inconsistent Ajay Devgn's whip sword NEXT TIME: MD & SRK 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 us on Twitter! Like us on Facebook! #MadhuriDixit, #Mrityudand, #PrakashJha, #ShabanaAzmi, #OmPuri, #ShilpaShirodkar, #MohanJoshi, #MohanAgashe, #HarishPatel, #Lajja, #RajkumarSantoshi, #ManishaKoirala, #Rekha, #MahimaChaudhary, #JackieShroff, #AnilKapoor, #AjayDevgn, #JohnnyLever, #InternationalWomen'sDay, #Bollywood, #Feminism, #FeminisminFilm, #HindiCinema

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!  Follow us on Twitter! Like us on Facebook! #Bollywood, #JaydeepSarkar, #HindiCinema, #HindiTV, #IndianTV, #Docuseries, #Documentary, #AmazonPrime, #LGBTQ+, #LGBTQ+India

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 Fail Tiger 3 Animal This is the only Bullet Machine we respect in these parts The Archies Kho Gaye Hum Kahan NEXT TIME: Surprise Netflix and Dil! 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 us on Twitter! Like us on Facebook! #Bollywood, #2023Bollywood, #HindiCinema, #Neeyat, #RockyAurRaniKiPremKahaani, #Jawan, #JaaneJaan, #Khufiya, #ThankYouforComing, #12thFail, #Animal, #TheArchies, #KhoGayeHumKahan

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, not one million listens) NEXT TIME: 2023 year end wrap up 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!

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! and Stitcher! and audioBoom! and iHeartRadio! and Spotify! and Google Podcasts! Thank you to Becca Dalke for the artwork! Follow us on Twitter! Like us on Facebook! #VidyaBalan, #BobbyJasoos, #SamarShaikh, #AliFazal, #ArjanBajwa, #KiranKumar, #RajendraGupta, #SupriyaPathak, #TanviAzmi, #Neeyat, #AnuMenon, #RamKapoor, #RahulBose, #DipannitaSharma, #NeerajKabi, #AmritaPuri, #ShashankArora, #PrajaktaKoli, #ShefaliShah, #Bollywood, #HindiCinema, #DetectiveMovies

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 ("Jaane Jaan" from Jaane Jaan) Jaane Jaan The Devotion of Suspect X and Keigo Higashino Comparisons to Drishyam "Aa Jane Jaan" from Intaquam The Kalimpong atmosphere  NEXT TIME: Detective Balan 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 us on Twitter! Like us on Facebook! #Noirvember, #FilmNoir, #NeoNoir, #SujoyGhosh, #Kahaani, #VidyaBalan, #NawazuddinSiddiqui, #SaswataChatterjee, #ParambrataChatterjee, #IndraneilSengupta, #JaaneJaan, #KareenaKapoor, #KareenaKapoorKhan, #JaideepAhlawat, #VijayVarma, #TheDevotionofSuspectX, #SuspectX, #KeigoHigashino, #Bollywood, #HindiCinema

Happy (belated) Halloween Lovers! We may be late but our tradition of exploring all things spooky that Hindi cinema has to offer lives on! This year we are sinking our teeth into Netflix's romantic horror-comedy Tooth Pari. Show notes: This episode is quite late as we were our of the country and Erin got sick Neighbours trailer Tooth Pari: When Love Bites Pratim D. Gupta and X: Past Is Present NEXT TIME: Noirvember 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! #ToothPari, #ToothPari:WhenLoveBites, #PratimD.Gupta, #AnishRailkar, #TanyaManiktala, #ShantanuMaheshwari, #Revathi, #TillotamaShome, #SikandarKher, #SaswataChatterjee, #AdilHussain, #HindiHorror, #NetflixIndia, #Bollywood