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...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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!...

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 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...

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...

We welcome writer Sunny Singh to the show to discuss her fascinating new book A Bollywood State of Mind! Show notes: Thank you Sunny Singh for joining us! A Bollywood State of Mind: A journey into the world’s biggest cinema Heads up, we discuss some spoilers for Jawan if you haven't seen it yet NEXT TIME: Hindi Horror Halloween 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...

We return to the career of Yash Chopra with two iconic mid-70s blockbusters: one, the first film to carry the YRF name and the other, maybe the most influential Bollywood film ever made. Show notes: Past Yash Chopra films we have discussed: Netflix and Dil: High and Low - Cinema Marte Dum Tak and The Romantics and Yaasssh Chopra: Lamhe & Veer-Zaara with Manish Mathur Zanjeer and the Angry Young Man Yash Chopra Rajesh Khanna Thomas Hardy and the cad awareness book "Ab Chahe Maa...

We go to the lawless deserts in Homi Adajania's blood-soaked Hotstar crime drama, Saas, Bahu Aur Flamingo, to find out who Dimple Kapadia will choose as her successor, and see if they will even make it out alive to enjoy their inheritance. Show notes: Saas, Bahu Aur Flamingo Homi Adajania We Want To Be Dimple Kapadia’s Friend: Bobby, Saagar, and Rudaali Netflix and Dil: Forget it, BiFL. It’s Mirzapur Next time: Deewaar Find us on Apple Podcasts! and Stitcher! and audioBoom! and...

After bemoaning the state of Bollywood in our last episode, Karan Johar has given us something worth celebrating! Show notes: Thank you Manish Mathur for joining us (and suggesting we record this surprise episode)! Listen to It Pod to Be You Rocky Aur Rani Prem Kii Kahaani NEXT TIME: Netflix and Dil Saas, Bahu Aur Flamingo 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...

Somehow we are more than halfway through 2023, which means it's time for the midyear review where we discuss 11 Hindi-language films that have come out so far this year. Show notes: Pathaan (Supplemental 14) Almost Pyaar with Dj Mohabbat Shehzada Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar Mrs. Chetterjee vs Norway Bheed INTERVAL ("Bandaa Title Track" from Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai) Bholaa Gaslight Kathal Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai Bawaal Next time: Netflix and Dil Saas, Bahu Aur Flamingo Find us on...

It's been a rough year so far for Bollywood, but luckily there are plenty of new streaming shows that have caught our attention, some might say too many though. That means 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: The Streaming Show Bestseller The Night Manager Tooth Pari: When Love Bites Saas, Bahu Aur Flamingo Dahaad Scoop NEXT TIME: 2023 Midyear Review Our sponsor this...

We welcome Canadian musician and playback singer Shashaa Tirupati on to discuss her career in Indian cinema, as well as winning a National Film Award and what it's like to work with A.R. Rahman and other top composers. Show notes: Shashaa Tirupati and her Youtube channel Shashaa's beautiful Tamil interpretation of Bon Iver's "Perth" #BollywoodMonster Mashup 2023 IG Meet and Greet live on Instagram (@BollywoodMonsterMashup), Sunday July 9, 12 PM EST/ 9:30 PM IST NEXT TIME: Pilot Season...

Strap in Lovers, we’re going on an international chase to catch Asia’s biggest criminal mastermind, Don.  Show notes: It's not only difficult to catch Don (1978), it's impossible “Bachchan ‘76 - ‘78″ The Making of Don Don: The Chase Begins Again  Petronas Towers, as seen in Entrapment Songs: “Yeh Mera Dil,” “Main Hoon Don,” and “Khaike Paan Banaraswala” Comparisons to contemporary Bollywood action Don has read The Game (INTERVAL (“Aaj Ki Raat” from Don: The Chase Begins Again) Don...

We go back to the swinging sixties to get our groove on and maybe solve a murder or two, or ten, if we don’t end up dead ourselves! Show notes: Erin forgets why they wanted to do this episode Ranveer Singh was in a ‘60s pastiche, and it was terrible Ghost World and And Then There Were None Gumnaam Pran is a fashion king Songs: “Hum Kaale Hain To,” “Is Duniya Mein Jeena Ho To,” and “Peeke Hum Tum Jo” (INTERVAL (“Jaan Pehechan Ho” from Gumnaam) Teesri Manzil We are continuing to fall...

We go back to the golden age of filmmaking in Bombay with Vikramaditya Motwane’s period drama Jubilee. Show notes: 68th Filmfare Awards Breaking Free: Vikramaditya Motwane’s Udaan, Lootera, and Trapped Jubilee “Jubilee Is a Beautifully Mounted Show About the 1930s but the Women Pioneers Have Been Erased” Next time: 60s murder mysteries Thank you to Magic Mind for sponsoring this episode. Use our code BollywoodLovers to get 56 per cent off your subscription in the next 10 days, or 20...

Who better to play actors in Bollywood, than Bollywood actors? We discuss two films that present a very different take on the lifestyles of working screen actors. Show notes: Episode 3: Bollywood on Bollywood Should we redo or “react” to our early episodes? MST3K Khamosh Kaamyaab Super-R/geriatric cinema We were also surprised to find ourselves on IMDb (INTERVAL (“Aap Jaisa Koi” from An Action Hero) An Action Hero Nora Fatehi in “Jehda Nasha” #BoycottBollywood and news...

In our second annual Madhuri Madness we discuss two awards-nominated performances from the early 90s. Show notes: Madhuri Madness 2022: Parinda and Dil and The Fame Game   Sadly The Fame Game has been cancelled Saajan “playboy-operator type“ Comparisons to Cyrano de Bergerac Is Sanjay Dutt a convincing romantic lead? Songs: “Bahut Pyar Karte Hain,” “Pehli Baar Mile Hain,” “Mera Dil Bhi Kitna Pagal Hai,” “Dekha Hai Pehli Baar,” and “Bahut Pyar Karte Hain (Male)”   (INTERVAL (“Choli Ke...

We welcome The Romantics director Smriti Mundhra on to discuss her new Netflix docuseries on Yash Raj Films, Bollywood stars' bookshelves, the nepotism question, and whether Befikre will ever find its audience.  Show notes: Thank you Smriti Mundhra! Netflix and Dil: High and Low - Cinema Marte Dum Tak and The Romantics NEXT TIME: Madhuri Madness Bollywood is For Lovers is a member of the Alberta Podcast Network Check out The Well Endowed Podcast Listen to What’s The Tsismis? Find us...

We go behind the scenes to learn about the making of some of Hindi cinema’s most famous and infamous films with two new docuseries. Show notes: Thank you Rakesh KT! Cinema Marte Dum Tak Vice Media The Romantics Smriti Mundhra Yash Raj Films NEXT TIME: Madhuri Madness! Bollywood is For Lovers is a member of the Alberta Podcast Network Check out Telus Storyhive and Edmonton Public School’s Open House Find us on Apple Podcasts! and Stitcher! and audioBoom! and iHeartRadio! and Spotify!...