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, and haphazard structure. We also talk about why the immaculate visuals and costumes that Bhansali is known for don’t contribute to his narratives. — Hosted by Akhil Arora and Rohan Naahar, The Long T ..read more

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 the other is an extended climactic action sequence that works viscerally and emotionally. — Hosted by Akhil Arora and Rohan Naahar, The Long Take is fully bootstrapped. Please consider donating if you ..read more

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’ that Ali brings to this inherently Punjabi tale. Along the way, we also discuss the nature of high and low art and the film’s many defences of Chamkila’s controversial music. — Hosted by Akhil Aro ..read more

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 willingly it invites audiences to gaze inward and participate in the proceedings. We also debate the merits of its final moments, which we compare and contrast with Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower M ..read more

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 paint all of Pakistan as evil terrorists. Along the way, we also talk about the film’s many aerial fight sequences, the final showdown, the nonsensical attempts at comedy, and Anil Kapoor’s parallel ..read more

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 for the second time in two weeks, we find ourselves noting missing scenes from a big-budget movie featuring major Bollywood names. — Hosted by Akhil Arora and Rohan Naahar, The Long Take is fully boo ..read more

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 increasingly illogical behaviour displayed by both central characters. — Hosted by Akhil Arora and Rohan Naahar, The Long Take is fully bootstrapped. Please consider donating if you enjoy our work. The Long Tak ..read more

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, and the film’s technical achievements. — Hosted by Akhil Arora and Rohan Naahar, The Long Take is fully bootstrapped. Please consider donating if you enjoy our work. The Long Take is available ..read more

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 the toxicity in the Indian familial set-up that the movie calls out in its own understated way while making larger statements about aspiration and ambition. — Hosted by Akhil Arora and Rohan Naahar, The ..read more

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 the tragic love story at the film’s centre. We also talk about the film’s tonal imbalance, tendency to rely on cliches, and inability to make the best use of screen time. — Host ..read more