Bollywood is For Lovers

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Film Reviews
**Bollywood is For Lovers**

Join hosts Matt Bowes and Erin Fraser for a bi-weekly podcast that explores the wonderful world of Hindi Cinema through the lens of two Canadian cinephiles!

Contact us at bollywoodisforlovers@gmail.com

Latest Episodes:

76: Started From the Bottom: Rockstar, Aashiqui 2, & Gully Boy Feb 20, 2019

Show notes

With Gully Boy finally landing in theatres, we discuss three films about tortured artists and the women who love them.

Show Notes:

Thank you choclaholic67 for the review!
The tortured artist
Why are these films always about men
Rockstar
Similarities to other Imtiaz Ali joints
“Sadda Haq”
Do we like this film any more than when we first saw it?
A sparkless romance
Piratical fashion
Aashiqui 2
We still don’t like Aditya Roy Kapur, sorry
What Price Hollywood? and A Star Is Borns
“Tum Hi Ho” and “Sunn Raha Hai Na Tu”
Are ARK & Shraddha Kapoor better in supporting parts?
Why is RJ an alcoholic?

(INTERVAL (”Mere Gully Mein” from Gully Boy)

Gully Boy
Will Smith loves it
Berlinale
Naezy and Divine
Original “Mere Gully Mein”
Don’t try and steal Alia Bhatt’s man
“Doori”
Comentary on class
Oh, and Nas has a producer credit
Gritty
Comparison to Secret Superstar
The difficult task of explaining why good art is good

NEXT TIME: Netflix & Dil Mirzapur

Bollywood is For Lovers is a member of the Alberta Podcast Network powered by ATB

Check out Vezo

Listen to Putting It Together

Find us on Apple Podcasts! and Stitcher! and audioBoom! and iHeartRadio! and Spotify! and Google Podcasts!

Thank you to Becca Dalke for the artwork!

#GullyBoy, #Bollywood, #Rockstar, #RanbirKapoor, #ImtiazAli, #NargisFakhri, #ShammiKapoor, #Aashiqui2, #MohitSuri, #AdityaRoyKapur, #ShraddhaKapoor, #ZoyaAkhtar, #RanveerSingh, #AliaBhatt, #KalkiKoechlin, #SiddhantChaturvedi, #VijayRaaz, #VijayVarma, #AditiRaoHydari

75: 2018 Year End Review Feb 06, 2019

Show notes

We look back at the most notable Bollywood films of 2018!

Show Notes:

We have new artwork design by Becca Dalke!
Kaalakaandi (our episode on Delhi Belly)
Mukkabaaz
Padmaavat (our episode on Padmaavat)
Pad Man
Love Per Square Foot
Aiyaary
Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety
Welcome to New York
Pari (our episode on Pari)
Raid
Hichki
Baaghi 2 (our episode on Baaghi 1)
Blackmail
October
Beyond The Clouds
102 Not Out
Raazi
Parmanu: The Story Of Pokhran
Veere Di Wedding (our episode on VDW)
Bhavesh Joshi Superhero (our episode on Sacred Games)
Race 3 (our episode on the Race films)

(INTERVAL (“DhayaanChand” from Manmarziyaan)

Sanju (our episode on Sanju)
Soorma
Dhadak
Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster 3
Fanney Khan
Mulk
Karwaan
Gold
Satyameva Jayate
Stree
Manmarziyaan (Poonam & Priyanka Dance, the dancing twins)
Batti Gul Meter Chalu
Sui Dhaaga
Pataakha
Loveyatri
Andhadhun (our episode on Sriram Raghavan)
Namaste England
Badhaai Ho
Baazaar
Thugs of Hindostan
Kedarnath
Zero
Simmba

NEXT TIME: the emotional and romantic lives of fictional pop stars

Bollywood is For Lovers is a member of the Alberta Podcast Network powered by ATB

Check out ATB LendR

Listen to Healthy Lifestyle Design

Find us on Apple Podcasts! and Stitcher! and Audioboom! and iHeartRadio! and Spotify! and Google Podcasts!

#Simmba, #Zero, #Kedarnath, #ThugsofHindostan, #Baazaar, #BadhaaiHo, #NamasteEngland, #Andhadhun, #Loveyatri, #Pataakha, #SuiDhaaga, #BattiGulMeterChalu, #Manmarziyaan, #Stree, #SatyamevaJayate, #Gold, #Karwaan, #Mulk, #FanneyKhan, #SahebBiwiAurGangster3, #Dhadak, #Soorma, #Sanju, #Race3, #BhaveshJoshiSuperhero, #VeereDiWedding, #ParmanuTheStoryofPokhran, #Raazi, #102NotOut, #BeyondTheClouds, #October, #Blackmail, #Baaghi2, #Hichki, #Raid, #Pari, #WelcomeToNewYork, SonuKeTituKiSweety, #Aiyaary, #LovePerSquareFoot, #PadMan, #Padmaavat, #Mukkabaaz, #Kaalakaandi, #Bollywood, #HindiCinema

74: A Very BiFL Christmas: Anjaana Anjaani and Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu Dec 13, 2018

Show notes

To celebrate the holidays we discuss a pair of Christmas movies, or at least a pair of movies set at Christmas time.

Show Notes:

We are drinking mulled apple cider
Matt hates Christmas
“Fairytale of New York” and “All I Want For Christmas Is You”
Thank you listenerinthecity! 10 BiFL points for you!
Christmas movies
Las Vegas
Mental Health and the holidays
Anjaana Anjaani
It’s supposed to be the George Washington Bridge
Blush
Las Vegas geography
How Christmasy is this movie really?
“Anjaana Anjaani” and “Tumse Hi Tumse”

(INTERVAL (“Aunty Ji” from Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu)

Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu
No 13th floor
Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health designed by Frank Gehry, not Guggenheim
Matt wants to fire the receptionist
Christmas Eve wedding!
Casino bathrooms and Imran Khan’s date
Comparisons to Ae Dil Hai Mushkil
Imran Khan is directing his next project, “Mission Mars: Keep Walking India”
Comparisons to Wes Anderson
But how Christmasy is it?

NEXT TIME: our 2018 year-end wrap up

Bollywood is For Lovers is a member of the Alberta Podcast Network powered by ATB

Check out The Well Endowed Podcast

Listen to OtherWise

Find us on Apple Podcasts! and Stitcher! and audioBoom! and iHeartRadio! and Spotify! and Google Podcasts!

#Christmas, #ChristmasMovies, #HolidayMovies, #AnjaanaAnjaani, #PriyankaChopra, #RanbirKapoor, #ZayedKhan, #SiddharthAnand, #EkMainAurEkkTu, #ShakunBatra, #ImranKhan, #KareenaKapoor, #RatnaPathak, #BomanIrani, #RamKapoor, #Bollywood

73: Sriram Raghavan, Pulp Auteur: Johnny Gaddaar and Agent Vinod Nov 30, 2018

Show notes

With his latest movie, Andhadhun, in theatres, we discuss two films from critically acclaimed crime auteur Sriram Raghavan.

Show Notes:

Matt invents BiFL Points
Shaktiflow and Amarjeet Sohi
Canada Post strike
Sriram Raghavan
Raman Raghav 2.0
Ek Hasina Thi and Badlapur
Listen to Episode 25 - Varun Dhawan, Bollywood’s Next Leading Man for our thoughts on Badlapur
Johnny Gaddaar
Vijay Anand and James Hadley Chase
Johny Mera Naam
Matt imagines a Bollywood remake of Johnny Guitar
Parwana
Loose ends
The truth about Canada
Neil Nitin Mukesh
Trash, Art, and The Movies on The Long Good Friday

(INTERVAL (“Raabta” from Agent Vinod)

Agent Vinod
Agent Vinod 1977
“Raabta” and Raabta
“I Will Do The Talking” and “Rasputin”
In and As
How important is the plot?
“Some days you just can’t get rid of a bomb”
Comparisons to Ek Tha Tiger
End credits song, “Pyar Ki Pungi”
Comparisons to Phantom
“Raabta”
Do we even want a sequel?
“Dil Mera Muft Ka”

NEXT TIME: Bollywood Christmas movies, they exist!

Bollywood is For Lovers is a member of the Alberta Podcast Network powered by ATB

Check out We Are Alberta, an ATB podcast

Listen to PopCycle

Find us on Apple Podcasts! and Stitcher! and audioBoom! and iHeartRadio! and Spotify! and Google Podcasts!

#SriramRaghavan, #EkHasinaThi, #JohnnyGaddaar, #AgentVinod, #Badlapur, #Andhadhun, #NeilNitinMukesh, #RimiSen, #Dharmendra, #ZakirHussain, #VinayPathak, #AshwiniKalsekar, #DayanandShetty, #SaifAliKhan, #KareenaKapoor, #AdilHussain, #RaviKishan, #PremChopra, #Raabta, #Bollywood

72: The Man of The Hour, Ayushmann Khurrana: Vicky Donor, Hawaizaada, and Dum Laga Ke Haisha Nov 13, 2018

Show notes

With his two latest films blowing up the box office, we discuss one of Bollywood’s freshest leading men, Ayushmann Khurrana.

Show Notes:

We’ve changed up our recording schedule for the rest of the year, we only have three episodes left in 2018
Ayushmann Khurrana
MTV Roadies
Meri Pyaari Bindu, Bareilly Ki Barfi, and Shubh Mangal Saavdhan
Andhadhun and Badhaai Ho
Aparshakti Khurrana
Lack of ego
Comparions and similarities to Rajkummar Rao
Great boyfriend material and BDE
Vicky Donor
Starbuck and Delivery Man
People as sperm, cute sperm
Khurrana’s fertility trilogy
Not a lot of diversity
Challenging conventions of masculinity

(INTERVAL (“Pani Da Rang” from Vicky Donor)

Hawaizaada
Khurrana channels Ranbir Kapoor
We are the only ones who remember this movie
Saawariya and Baz Lurhmann
Boat workshop
Shivkar Bapuji Talpade
Style over substance
Dum Laga Ke Haisha
Bhumi Pednekar
Unlikable hero
“Youth Club”
Mental health issues?
Wife carrying
Metaphor for marriage

NEXT TIME: Sriram Raghavan’s Johnny Gaddaar and Agent Vinod

Bollywood is For Lovers is a member of the Alberta Podcast Network powered by ATB

Check out OtherWise

Listen to The Well Endowed Podcast

Find us on Apple Podcasts! and Stitcher! and Audioboom! and iHeartRadio! and Spotify! and Google Podcasts!

#AyushmannKhurrana, #VickyDonor, #YamiGautam, #AnnuKapoor, #DollyAhluwalia, #Hawaizaada, #VibhuPuri, #MithunChakraborty, #PallaviSharda, #DumLagaKeHaisha, #SharatKatariya, #BhumiPednekar, #SanjayMishra,

71: Halloween IV: Nine-Tenths of the Law Oct 25, 2018

Show notes

In our fourth annual Hindi Horror Halloween episode we discuss three films about women being possessed by malevolent forces.

Show Notes:

Our previous Halloween episodes are here

Thank you so much to Sruguru and Xenia / Cat Green Bike for the Apple Podcasts reviews!

The Exorcist and William Friedkin (and The Devil and Father Amorth which we don’t recommend)

Sexism and the exorcism genre

Naina

The Eye and The Eye

Ophthalmologist controversy

Hot doctor

Dark Messenger, the TV spinoff

Lack of suspense

(INTERVAL (“Bichua” from 1920)

1920

Allerton Castle

Sequels

Christian elements

Revolt of 1857

A real Beguiled situation

Practical effects (granted ripped off of other movies)

Should a horror movie be jusged by how scary it is?

Hanuman saves the day!

The House Next Door

This is not a Bollywood film, it’s a Tamil film

Films shot simultaneously in different languages

Kadhal 2 Kalyanam

Silent Hill (Naomi Watts is not in the film)

Chinese Ghosts

Subverting expectations

NEXT TIME: thoughtful leading man Ayushmann Khurrana

Bollywood is For Lovers is a member of the Alberta Podcast Network powered by ATB

Check out We Are Alberta

Listen to The Well Endowed Podcast

Find us on Apple Podcasts! and Stitcher! and audioBoom! and iHeartRadio! and Spotify! and Google Podcasts!

#Naina #Urmil Matondkar #AnujSawhney #ShripalMorakhia #1920 #VikramBhatt #RajneeshDugga l#AdahSharma #Aval #Siddharth #AndreaJeremiah #AtulKulkarni #PrakashBelawadi #Horror #Posession #Exorcism #Bollywood #TheHouseNextDoor

70: Something Happened: Kuch Kuch Hota Hai at 20 with the Khabardaar Podcast Oct 10, 2018

Show notes

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai we welcome Aparita Bhandari and Baisakhi Roy of the Khabardaar Podcast to reminisce and evaluate how the film holds up to today’s standards.

Show Notes:

Welcome to Aparita and Baisakhi of the Khabardaar Podcast!
TIFF 2018
Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota or The Man Who Feels No Pain, Reason or Vivek, and Bulbul Can Sing
Indian films at festivals and Indian genre cinema
Streaming services and South Indian and regional cinema
The missing market of Hindi podcasts
Kuch Kuch Hota Hai
The affection for 90s Bollywood
Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar, Rockford, Student of the Year, and 3 Idiots
Karan Johar
Twinkle Khanna
Beverly Hills, 90210 and Archie comics
Koochie Koochie Hota Hai

(INTERVAL ("Kuch Kuch Hota Hai" from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai)

Matt shames Erin for her love of “Dil Tu Bataa”
Does anyone working in Bollywood know how to play basketball?
Rani Mukerji has very small writing
A one kid, one grandma Parent Trap
The Neelam Show
So much summer camp
Matt thinks all of the suits are too big
KKHH then and now
SRK’s worst flirting techniques
Negging
Traditional ideals in a modern package
“Only death can save you from Ranbir Kapoor”
Karan Johar’s version of summer camp
Parzaan Dastur
The origin of the Dharma Productions logo music
The SRK-Kajol jodi

NEXT TIME: our 4th annual Hindi Horror Halloween episode

Bollywood is For Lovers is a member of the Alberta Podcast Network powered by ATB

Check out We Are Alberta

Listen to Otherwise

Find us on Apple Podcasts! and Stitcher! and audioBoom! and iHeartRadio! and Spotify! and Google Podcasts!

#KuchKuchHotaHai, #KaranJohar, #ShahRukhKhan, #Kajol, #SalmanKhan, #SanaSaeed, #FaridaJalal, #AnupamKher, #JohnnyLever, #Bollywood, #RaniMukerji, #KKHH

69: Play Nimmi For Me: Aag and Mera Naam Joker with Beth Loves Bollywood Sep 26, 2018

Show notes

We welcome Beth Watkins of Beth Loves Bollywood to discuss two films starring, directed, and produced by Raj Kapoor.

Show Notes:

Welcome to Beth Loves Bollywood!
Mujhse Dostu Karoge!
Shree 420
Bengali cinema and Satyajit Ray
Raj Kapoor
Take that Hugh Jackman
Prithviraj Kapoor and the Kapoors
Comparisons to Charlie Chaplin
Aag
“Dude’s got a type”
Chiaroscuro lighting
“Raat Ko Jee Chamke Taare”
Nimmi(s)
Comparisons to Orson Welles
Kapoor as India

(INTERVAL (”Jeena Yahan Marna Yahan” from Mera Naam Joker)

Mera Naam Joker
“Duff beer For Me, Duff Beer For You”
Kseniya Ryabinkina
Shankar Jaikishan
Creepy clown doll
No one likes clowns (at least they aren’t as bad as mimes)
Why do auteurs like the circus?
Hot for teacher
Is the Russian comprehensible?
Entitlement and the male ego
Dom DeLuise
Black and white vs. colour
“Jaane Kahan Gaye Woh Din” and “Angh Lag Jaa Baalma”
They do sell the clown doll
Ajooba

NEXT TIME: Kuch Kuch Hota Hai with Khabardaar Podcast

Bollywood is For Lovers is a member of the Alberta Podcast Network powered by ATB

Check out We Are Alberta

Listen to Otherwise

Find us on Apple Podcasts! and Stitcher! and audioBoom! and iHeartRadio! and Spotify! and Google Podcasts!

#RajKapoor #Aag #Nargis #KaminiKaushal #NigarSultana #ShashiKapoor #MeraNaamJoker #RishiKapoor #SimiGarewal #Dharmendra #RajendraKumar #KseniyaRyabinkina #Padmini #Bollywood

68: Goin’ Down the Road: Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd., Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, and Piku Sep 12, 2018

Show notes

We bid adieu to the summer season with a trio of road films.

Show Notes:

We were out late partying at our friends’ wedding
Thanks vcx100
Karwaan
The road movie
Matt remembers a robot museum in Wisconsin
Is the road movie a genre? How is it different from a chase movie? or a travelogue?
Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd.
Just like Sorcerer
Reema Kagti
The film’s super twist
Radio DJ narrator
“Sajanaji Vari Vari”
Public versus private lives

(INTERVAL (“Dil Dhadakne Do” from Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara)

It’s the following evening, Erin made a cocktail
Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
Customary explanation of Katrina Kaif’s accent
Running of the bulls
“Senorita”
Masculine vulnerability
Bagwati
La Tomatina and “Ik Junoon (Paint it red)”
Piku
Age difference bwteen love interests
“The sexual power of Irrfan Khan”
Coming to terms with loss
Parineeti Chopra turned the title role down
While Irrfan Khan turned down The Martian
Understated romance
Howrah Bridge

NEXT TIME: Raj Kapoor with special guest Beth Loves Bollywood

Bollywood is For Lovers is a member of the Alberta Podcast Network powered by ATB

Check out LitFest Alberta

Listen to The Well Endowed Podcast

Find us on Apple Podcasts! and Stitcher! and audioBoom! and iHeartRadio! and Spotify! and Google Podcasts!

#HoneymoonTravelsPvtLtd, #ReemaKagti, #BomanIrani, #ShabanaAzmi, #KayKayMenon, #RaimaSen, #SandhyaMridul, #VikramChatwal, #AmeeshaPatel, #KaranKhanna, #RanvirShorey, #DiaMirza, #AbhayDeol, #MinisshaLamba, #ArjunRampal, #ZindagiNaMilegiDobara, #KatrinaKaif, #ZoyaAkhtar, #FarhanAkhtar, #HrithikRoshan, #KalkiKoechlin, #Piku, #ShoojitSircar, #AmitabhBachchan, #DeepikaPadukone, #IrrfanKhan, #roadmovies, #Bollywood, #NaseeruddinShah

Netflix and Dil: Ghoul's On Film Aug 29, 2018

Show notes

Netflix has released their latest Hindi project, the three part horror series Ghoul, and we were so impressed we decided to record a quick supplemental episode.

Show Notes:

NEXT TIME: we get road trippin’

Bollywood is For Lovers is a member of the Alberta Podcast Network powered by ATB

Check out The Well Endowed Podcast

Listen to Repodcasting

Find us on Apple Podcasts! and Stitcher! and audioBoom! and iHeartRadio! and Spotify! and Google Podcasts!

#Ghoul, #Blumhouse, #PhantomFilms, #PatrickGraham, #RadhikaApte, #ManavKaul, #Horror, #Netflix