Ep 253- Citadel Honey Bunny And Do Patti Reviews

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[00:00:48] Hi, and welcome to a new episode of Khandaan Podcast. My name is Asim Burney. I'm joined with my lovely co-host Amritha and Sujoy. Hey, Amritha, hey Sujoy.

[00:00:56] Hello, everybody.

[00:00:57] Hello.

[00:00:59] We are talking about two things this episode. We finally caught up with Do Patti, Kritisan and Kajal's movie on Netflix.

[00:01:07] We want to talk a little bit about that. And then we have, basically our main review is going to be Citadel Honey Bunny, the new series by Raj and Dike, starring Varun Dhawan and Samantha Prabhu.

[00:01:20] Yeah. Did you find, like, is there enough excitement for Citadel? I feel it's kind of low.

[00:01:27] Like, compared to the first Citadel, where it was like, you know, Priyanka Chopra, most expensive show. This seems like hulke hulke.

[00:01:37] Yeah, that's what I was trying to say over on Patreon when we posted Sujoy's little mini review for TikTok.

[00:01:47] The first Citadel, when it came out, the promotional push was so strong. Priyanka and Richard Madden were everywhere, you know, like Amazon really went all out for that show.

[00:02:00] And for this one, it seems to have been, like, fairly pika, you know?

[00:02:07] Yeah.

[00:02:08] There have been, like, a couple of events here and there that I've seen, but nothing like a big push.

[00:02:13] Yeah.

[00:02:14] And also, I don't know what the strategy is here. Like, if they were trying to do these spinoffs in different markets, were they then just confining it to that particular market?

[00:02:30] Or are they making an international product that they're hoping will then make that jump into, you know, the international market?

[00:02:40] Yeah. Like an international crossover universe kind of thing that they're doing.

[00:02:45] Yeah.

[00:02:46] Because that's the thing that makes sense, right?

[00:02:48] Like, when you think about it from a writing perspective or a creative perspective, that's what makes sense.

[00:02:54] Like, I've watched the main series. Now you're telling me, like, fleshing out these little side stories that give you the backstory, that tell you, like, what's happening tangentially, blah, blah, blah.

[00:03:07] Well, I want to know that, right? If I cared about Citadel in the first place, then I want to know about all the backstory and stuff.

[00:03:15] And this particular one is the origin story of Nadia, right?

[00:03:19] Like, it's who her parents were and, like, what happened to make Nadia the best Asian that the Citadel ever had.

[00:03:29] So, all of that. And this doesn't seem to have that push behind it.

[00:03:35] Yeah.

[00:03:36] Yeah.

[00:03:36] Yeah, I did see some sort of a push for the Italian one, Citadel Diana, but I haven't watched that series so far.

[00:03:45] I think with the first one, they were really banking on it to become an international success.

[00:03:51] But then the amount and effort and money that they put behind it, and they did not sort of get the rewards for it, I think.

[00:04:01] So, I don't know if Amazon is sort of washing their hands off the series at this point.

[00:04:07] I mean, Pehle Bonalia is so we've got the budget.

[00:04:10] No, they're making season two and they're spending a lot of money on it again.

[00:04:14] So, I don't think they're washing their hands off it, but I think when the trailer came out, I didn't know about the show until the trailer came out.

[00:04:22] It was, like, somewhere in the back of my head, like, Honey Bunny, Aiki, whatever.

[00:04:26] But when the trailer dropped, I got super excited.

[00:04:28] I was like, this is awesome.

[00:04:30] So, let's make it a main review.

[00:04:32] We got, like, press screeners.

[00:04:35] Amazon was great with that and all that kind of stuff.

[00:04:36] And then when it landed, A, there was, like, critically, it got, like, pretty negative reviews, I felt.

[00:04:44] Like, even, like, Rahul was quite negative.

[00:04:47] Udez was quite negative.

[00:04:50] And then just, this doesn't seem to be that much excitement, which I just find very, very surprising, to be honest.

[00:04:57] Yeah.

[00:04:57] Yeah.

[00:04:58] So, let's get into Citadel then straight away.

[00:05:02] Or do you guys want to talk about Dupati first?

[00:05:05] No, let's talk about Citadel first.

[00:05:06] Yeah.

[00:05:07] Yeah.

[00:05:07] What did you think, Sujai?

[00:05:09] I mean, we had your mini review up already.

[00:05:11] You got a chance to watch it before anybody.

[00:05:15] Yeah.

[00:05:16] You want to get into it?

[00:05:18] Did you like it?

[00:05:19] Like, after a bit of marination, after a few days, you know?

[00:05:23] Mm-hmm.

[00:05:24] I think, overall, I liked it a lot more than I expected it to.

[00:05:29] I think this, probably the Russoverse of the spies restricts Raj and DK not to, you know, fly their full flight in some ways.

[00:05:44] But even within that sort of restricted Amazon sphere or however they want to explore with this tale, I think they have managed to pull it off in a way.

[00:05:56] I think this surpasses the original Citadel, which has so much going on for it, but ultimately did not quite land for me.

[00:06:07] It was pretty much all spectacle and no, like, story, you know, in a way or forgettable story even.

[00:06:14] Whereas this, I think, even though people have certain expectations from a Raj and DK series with some sort of memorable characters or memorable lines or memorable subplots,

[00:06:27] I think I got what I was expecting from this and some more, especially the action bit, you know, how Raj and DK would operate within the spy universe.

[00:06:40] I think they sort of delivered.

[00:06:43] I was very, very surprised by the action in this series, the quality of it.

[00:06:50] It's really, really good.

[00:06:51] And I'm very happy to see Varun and Samantha sort of really shine as the titular characters.

[00:06:58] What about you, Amrita?

[00:06:59] What did you think of the series?

[00:07:01] I haven't finished it yet, so I don't know.

[00:07:06] But overall, I think I like it so far.

[00:07:09] Like, it's a very, like, it's not, I don't find it spectacular.

[00:07:14] I know that Sujoy really liked the action and stuff like that, but I'm not an action girly.

[00:07:19] Like, that's not, like, I like action movies, but I'm not, like, an action nerd.

[00:07:23] So a lot of the texture and the special things that Sujoy noticed in it, I did not.

[00:07:32] What I did really like are Varun Dhawan and Samantha.

[00:07:38] Like, they're just so great together.

[00:07:42] And Samantha, she does such a good job of really channeling Priyanka's energy in this.

[00:07:50] I was saying that, you know, they don't necessarily look the same, like, physically, but the way she shot, you could say, yeah, that's her mom.

[00:07:59] Like, in a weird way.

[00:08:00] Like, you were like, yeah, that I could, she could passively be her mom, you know.

[00:08:04] Like, weird.

[00:08:05] I had never thought of that.

[00:08:06] Exactly.

[00:08:07] Like, if you put Samantha and Priyanka next to each other, I would never be like, oh, these are two women who look alike.

[00:08:15] But there's just, like, some ways, especially the way that she would hold her face and profile, et cetera.

[00:08:21] You know, like, it really, like, it's a matter of expression, I think.

[00:08:25] And Samantha does a really good job with that.

[00:08:29] And Varun is great as this sort of little boy lost who is looking for his family.

[00:08:38] It's just absolutely great.

[00:08:40] I will say that there's, like, a few things that I don't understand if I'm supposed to find, you know, mysterious.

[00:08:50] Like, you know, is KK a good guy?

[00:08:53] Like, I'm pretty sure he isn't.

[00:08:56] Right up from the get-go.

[00:09:00] There's a thing in the first episode about, like, how Varun has never met his wife.

[00:09:06] And then, like, you know, like, they meet.

[00:09:10] And I was immediately suspicious.

[00:09:11] Like, I don't know how that's going to, you know, play out in the thing necessarily.

[00:09:18] Because I haven't reached there yet.

[00:09:19] But I'm sure that's going to come back.

[00:09:21] These are things where I'm just, like, if you're trying to sucker punch me, then that has not happened yet with this series.

[00:09:31] But it is very, his Rajan Deek is very capably made.

[00:09:35] It's very capably told.

[00:09:38] It's not as funny as, say, your family man or things like that.

[00:09:42] But it's, you know, it's fine.

[00:09:45] And I like the kid, you know, like.

[00:09:47] Yeah, she's really good.

[00:09:48] Yeah.

[00:09:49] I also like how they tie in.

[00:09:56] Both of these, Honey and Bunny, they are background people in the film industry.

[00:10:03] Yeah.

[00:10:04] And how Honey is actually, she belongs to a royal family and she sort of ran away from it.

[00:10:11] But she was the rebel one because, you know, how she disagrees with everything her dad wants her to be.

[00:10:17] And she, you know, started learning how to shoot a gun because she had access to that.

[00:10:23] But also how she idolizes Fearless Nadia.

[00:10:28] That was such a good.

[00:10:30] I saw that and I was like, this is catnip for Amrita.

[00:10:35] I was like, this is what's going to get Amrita in the Fearless Nadia bit.

[00:10:41] It's just, this is why I love Rajan DK, right?

[00:10:44] Like it's the, the unexpected little twist that we use to not just Indianize it, but also just use an Indian idiom in a way that is just interesting rather than like, you know, like if it was somebody less talented, then they would basically be like, oh, she saw Shri Devi and she wanted to be Shri Devi.

[00:11:11] Or she always saw like Madhuri Diksha and she wanted to be on Madhuri Diksha.

[00:11:15] But the fact that she saw Fearless Nadia and like, that's where Priyanka's name comes from.

[00:11:21] Like these are just such layers.

[00:11:23] There's no way they would have thought of that while they named her Nadia, right?

[00:11:27] In the original citadel.

[00:11:28] There's no way that they had that thinking.

[00:11:31] So this really must come from Rajan DK, I imagine.

[00:11:34] So I think that was, that was pretty amazing.

[00:11:38] And also like, you know, the, the, the backstory that we have for Samantha's character, you know, like, again, like Rajan DK are Telugu people.

[00:11:50] And I love the fact that they are able to represent a little bit of their culture, even on an international stage.

[00:11:59] They always do that.

[00:12:00] There's always a bit of like South Indian or like Telugu flavor in their shows, which is good.

[00:12:05] But like, even in this, you know, like, and it really brings into sharp focus just how Hindi centric a lot of American or UK content is when they come and they talk about India.

[00:12:18] At the most, they'll, you know, make a sidestep into Punjabi.

[00:12:22] But that's as far as they go.

[00:12:24] And then Rajan DK come in and they're just like, no, no, no.

[00:12:27] We have like a lot more going on.

[00:12:30] But I love that his, his best friend from the orphanage is Chako, which is like an incredibly Malayali name.

[00:12:40] It's just.

[00:12:41] Oh, really?

[00:12:42] I thought it's a nod to Neeraj Vora from Dal.

[00:12:49] That could be too.

[00:12:51] With Rajan DK, you don't know.

[00:12:53] It could be both, to be honest.

[00:12:54] You never know.

[00:12:54] Yeah.

[00:12:57] Yeah.

[00:12:58] Let's talk about the Rajan DK of it all first.

[00:13:01] Like, I want to get into that because I feel they have more than anybody.

[00:13:07] They have this lock on lock, this format of serialized streaming show in India.

[00:13:14] Nobody does it better than them.

[00:13:15] They are able to have a pace of every episode is a story.

[00:13:20] And every episode makes you want to watch the next episode immediately, either by creating an intrigue or creating like a straight up cliffhanger.

[00:13:29] When they end an episode with who is Eagle, I'm like clapping.

[00:13:33] I'm like amazing.

[00:13:34] That's like an amazing way to end an episode.

[00:13:37] I want to watch the next episode.

[00:13:38] And they have that sensibility and they've always had this of having that mix between East and West storytelling.

[00:13:46] It's been a staple for them from the start, from the first movie they made.

[00:13:50] And I feel almost that the content had to catch up with them.

[00:13:54] And now it's caught up and they're doing it like nobody else is doing it.

[00:13:58] I'm actually quite surprised with the critical reviews of this because I felt that what people are criticizing about Honey Bunny,

[00:14:06] they should have made it be criticized about Guns and Gulab.

[00:14:10] Yeah, for me at all.

[00:14:12] I have no interest in necessarily for the second season.

[00:14:15] This one I thought was just, it blew me away like how good this show was.

[00:14:20] The action is on pace.

[00:14:22] Like it's like, so coming back to Raj and DK stuff, they're known for, you know, the, these one shot action set pieces.

[00:14:30] And they deliver us like four or five.

[00:14:32] Like it's insane.

[00:14:34] And even in the episodes that they don't provide us that one or that long shot, they give us something else.

[00:14:40] Like the episode where they have all of the flashbacks of Honey and Bunny.

[00:14:44] They're so well shot the way it's like almost like Amelie Poulain.

[00:14:48] Like I don't know which kind of like old school camera they're using and things like that.

[00:14:53] Like it's really, it's slightly funny, slightly tragic.

[00:14:56] And it's just amazingly shot.

[00:15:00] And yeah, it's...

[00:15:02] And the thing is, and the thing is like their writing is part of their craft.

[00:15:08] Yeah.

[00:15:09] Right?

[00:15:09] Like I think mainly because like they are writers as well as like directors.

[00:15:13] Right?

[00:15:14] So they really understand how they're like plotting the arc and like how to never go too far in one direction.

[00:15:23] Like for example, when you see like Samantha's thing and you know, she gets married to this old man.

[00:15:32] Right?

[00:15:32] And they show her as like the, you know, the young wife.

[00:15:36] And that could have been like a very icky, very terrible look at this woman being degraded sort of, you know, story.

[00:15:46] But then the way they resolve it is like murdering her husband.

[00:15:52] With a grave.

[00:15:55] And that is such a Rajan DK move, you know, where she's like very quietly making sure that he chokes together.

[00:16:05] Yeah.

[00:16:06] It's great.

[00:16:08] Like I love it.

[00:16:09] Yeah.

[00:16:10] It's amazing.

[00:16:11] Even the way they're obsessed about these B-grade movies and you know, like, oh, they retroactively fit them in.

[00:16:18] Like, you know, it's so amazingly done.

[00:16:21] I do feel, and I felt this while I was watching the show, but it became immediately clear when I watched six episodes.

[00:16:30] And then automatically the trailer for Citadel Diana started playing.

[00:16:35] A show that had not been on my radar.

[00:16:37] The reason is because I didn't like the original Citadel.

[00:16:40] So I had no interest in watching the Italian, you know, sequel to it whatsoever.

[00:16:45] And I was watching and I was like, man, they really got Rajan DK and the Indian team on a discount.

[00:16:50] Like the money that they spent on Italy is nowhere comparable to the money that they've spent in India.

[00:16:58] And Rajan DK has done so much with the limited budget where even compared to other Indian show, it looks like they had a big budget.

[00:17:06] But watch the trailer of Citadel Diana and you say they still got it on discount.

[00:17:10] And nobody gives a shit about Diana.

[00:17:13] And Italy is not a filmmaking content producing country, you know.

[00:17:18] I don't feel it's justified that they spent that much money on Citadel Diana and they don't spend the same money on Rajan DK show.

[00:17:26] I have no figures to back this up.

[00:17:28] I'm just going off the trailer.

[00:17:30] But it definitely kind of jumped out to me.

[00:17:34] One negative.

[00:17:35] I think there is some sort of a justification to be made there in terms of money, because the Indian Amazon Prime subscription numbers, the amount that is being paid for a customer is very, very low.

[00:17:48] It's like £10 a year or something like that.

[00:17:51] Whereas if you compare to the Italian or European subscription numbers and the number of people who are speaking Italian who are subscribed to Amazon Prime and how much they are paying for head is way higher.

[00:18:05] So, you know, that's how YouTube revenues are also.

[00:18:08] Yeah, but I think the mistake is then there's more Indians, Pakistanis, Bengalis interested in that content outside of India that are paying a premium than there are all of Italians.

[00:18:20] Like, you know, there's way too many of us, right?

[00:18:24] So there's still a scope there, right?

[00:18:26] And it is literally the number one show of Amazon at this moment where, honestly, I don't know, Diana, nobody talked about that show, right?

[00:18:34] Yeah.

[00:18:35] So I don't know.

[00:18:36] I don't know.

[00:18:36] I still feel that they can invest a little bit more if they want this market to grow also, right?

[00:18:41] Give the Indian audience a reason to subscribe and watch the show.

[00:18:45] So two negatives and coming to the point that Amrita is making is Raj and DK also have this and it almost feels like something Christopher Nolan said when he was making The Dark Knight.

[00:18:57] Like a lot of criticism was about the camera angles that they don't make sense in the shot.

[00:19:02] And Christopher Nolan was, nobody cares.

[00:19:05] If you're on board of the story, nobody cares.

[00:19:07] And I think I was thinking of that when I was watching Sita Dil because there's a lot of these moments where they just play so fast and loose with the storytelling.

[00:19:15] It's like, what's going on?

[00:19:16] Like, how did Honey become such a great agent in one mission?

[00:19:24] You know, like, what is KK's recruitment agency?

[00:19:28] They never really explain it.

[00:19:29] It goes really, really fast, all of these things, right?

[00:19:32] But I think it's fine.

[00:19:35] Like, because you are on board with the storytelling.

[00:19:37] You are on board with these people.

[00:19:39] But there were a lot of times where I was like, there was a film plot here.

[00:19:42] There was a plot.

[00:19:43] Like, even the whole stuntman film thing, I thought it was going to be like an Om Shanti Om type of situation.

[00:19:50] And they just completely dropped that, you know?

[00:19:52] And I was like, I was really enjoying that.

[00:19:54] But yeah, it's like also, but then it hurts them when they have this big intrigue, like,

[00:19:59] who is the spy in Citadel?

[00:20:01] And you're like, there's two people.

[00:20:03] It's one or the other.

[00:20:03] Like, you've literally only seen two people.

[00:20:05] Like, who could it be?

[00:20:06] And also, after the reveal, now what?

[00:20:08] Like, it's so inconsequential in the big term, you know, in the big picture.

[00:20:15] So, yeah.

[00:20:15] So, these are the minor problems I had.

[00:20:19] But it's nowhere near, I feel, the negative reviews the show is getting.

[00:20:23] I really, really...

[00:20:24] I think it's one of the better shows that I've ever seen made from India on these...

[00:20:29] But I'm saying that because it truly appeals to my sensibilities, right?

[00:20:34] Like, the humor, the action shots.

[00:20:37] Varun Dhawan and Samantha, who are two extremely hot people.

[00:20:41] Which, again, give me two extremely hot people, I will watch it, you know?

[00:20:46] They look so hot in that sequence where they're in 92, where they're kind of dating together.

[00:20:50] And they're watching that movie in that hut.

[00:20:52] I was like, man, this is so hot.

[00:20:53] I love that.

[00:20:54] I love that scene.

[00:20:55] I love that scene.

[00:20:56] I love that scene.

[00:20:56] Like, Varun's entry where he just slow motion, you know, adjusts his jacket, goes on that bike.

[00:21:02] And it's a long tracking shot.

[00:21:03] And he just does that stunt.

[00:21:05] It's like, he hasn't had that even in his father's movie, you know?

[00:21:10] Samantha with the hair extensions and the retro glasses.

[00:21:13] I was like, Samantha and Varun are 92.

[00:21:21] They know what's up.

[00:21:22] They know what's up.

[00:21:24] What did you think of Samantha?

[00:21:26] And let's give them justice.

[00:21:29] Let's break it down one by one.

[00:21:31] Let's not pile them together.

[00:21:32] Let's do Samantha first.

[00:21:33] Because I have not seen a lot of her movies from, you know, before.

[00:21:40] But everything I've seen from the second version of Samantha, because I feel there's a, like,

[00:21:44] second version of Samantha, you know, if I'm not mistaken.

[00:21:47] Of course, Family Man and all of that.

[00:21:49] Yeah.

[00:21:49] And yeah, they have that relationship from Family Man with her.

[00:21:53] But, like, everything I've seen of her has been amazing.

[00:21:57] Like, even, like, Super Deluxe, she was amazing in that one.

[00:22:01] The Pushpa song, she was amazing in that.

[00:22:04] And Family Man, these are, like, four such different things that I've seen of her, right?

[00:22:09] And she's been just amazing in all of it.

[00:22:12] And I thought she, I loved her as a honey?

[00:22:17] Honey, right?

[00:22:18] Yeah, honey.

[00:22:18] I loved her as an actress trying to find her space in auditions.

[00:22:25] I love her kicking the casting director's balls when he was trying to harass her.

[00:22:32] I love her falling in love with Varun.

[00:22:36] I love her being a mom.

[00:22:38] And just, you know, getting battered and bruised and knived and, like, just not keeping, keep telling your daughter, you know, I will always protect you.

[00:22:49] I thought that was, like, such an amazing role.

[00:22:52] And in a way, the show is more about her than it even is about Varun, I feel.

[00:22:57] So, I was completely blown away by her.

[00:23:01] Sujai, what did you think of Samantha?

[00:23:03] This particular scene, you already see it in the trailer, but you get to see more of it where she's auditioning.

[00:23:10] And she's like, oh, first, surprised, then shot.

[00:23:14] And impressed.

[00:23:15] Now do it in the same way.

[00:23:18] So funny.

[00:23:19] And you get to see Captain Jetag.

[00:23:24] Captain Jetag, yeah.

[00:23:27] Yeah, all these people.

[00:23:28] Yeah, it was funny.

[00:23:30] I really enjoyed that she plays Alicia Chinay to her son, to her daughter, you know, in the fight sequence where she plays the Walkman for her.

[00:23:42] Yeah, I thoroughly enjoyed her.

[00:23:46] Yeah, she is really capable of action as well.

[00:23:50] And, yeah, that was surprising to me.

[00:23:52] I feel like this is perhaps the kind of stuff that we all wanted Katrina to do.

[00:23:57] But I feel like Samantha does a much better job of it.

[00:24:01] Like, I believe it, you know, like she really does a good job of selling herself as an action star.

[00:24:08] And we've already discussed, you know, like how she is a very convincing familiarity to Priyanka.

[00:24:17] And when the series started, and it starts with her talking to her daughter.

[00:24:23] And I had a moment as it was playing out where I was like, well, is she going to be able to pull this off?

[00:24:31] Especially in Hindi, because, you know, like Samantha is not a Hindi film actress.

[00:24:37] And then, of course, I didn't need to worry about it because Raj and DK did the whole retrofit where, you know, they talk about like how she's not actually from a Hindi speaking region of India.

[00:24:49] And, you know, like she herself mentions it, like, you know, like when he asks her, oh, did you write the dialogues yourself?

[00:24:55] And she's like, yes, it's in English.

[00:24:57] So, of course I did.

[00:25:00] But there is a quality to her performance that is so much more assured today than it was when she first came on the scene.

[00:25:09] Right.

[00:25:10] And again, I haven't seen a lot of Samantha either.

[00:25:14] I think, you know, like she was in Eager, right?

[00:25:17] Like, yeah, she was in Eager.

[00:25:20] And then she was in like, I think a couple of other movies that I've seen.

[00:25:24] But I was saying they seem all very like classic male centric kind of movies.

[00:25:28] Like I was just going through IMDb, like what else should I watch?

[00:25:32] And it was like clearly that she was, you know, like the way Ileana DeCruz is in Bollywood movies, like that kind of movies.

[00:25:39] And I was like, yeah, this is probably not that interesting necessarily.

[00:25:41] And then somewhere along the way, she just decided that she wanted to do different things and she wanted to have a more interesting career.

[00:25:52] And she has worked her butt off for it.

[00:25:55] And I'm all for it, you know.

[00:25:57] And I think she surprised a lot of people with Family Man when she came in it.

[00:26:04] Was it last year?

[00:26:05] Was it the year before?

[00:26:06] When was it?

[00:26:07] It was like two years ago.

[00:26:09] Yeah, it might have been.

[00:26:10] Yeah, I can check.

[00:26:11] Yeah.

[00:26:12] I think it was like 2020 or 2021.

[00:26:15] But that really changed, I think, a lot of people's perception of her and what she was capable of.

[00:26:22] And I don't think Honey Bunny is proving any of them wrong.

[00:26:29] It's 21.

[00:26:30] So it came out probably in three years ago, if I'm not mistaken.

[00:26:33] Yeah.

[00:26:34] What about Varun?

[00:26:36] Apna Hero.

[00:26:38] Yeah, 21.

[00:26:39] I liked him in this.

[00:26:41] Again, like, you know, like, he's not the, he's not an actor with an incredible range.

[00:26:48] But when he gets material that serves to who he is as an actor, he knocks it out of the park nine times out of ten.

[00:27:01] And that's what he's doing here, right?

[00:27:02] Like, he's the hero.

[00:27:03] He's the mawali.

[00:27:05] But he's also, like, got a purpose.

[00:27:08] He's like a kid with, like, a good heart.

[00:27:11] He is a family man.

[00:27:14] Like, all of these are themes that Varun does really well.

[00:27:45] You know?

[00:27:48] And he comes on to the set with, like, a bit of swagger.

[00:27:51] And he's just sort of, like, doing the walk and everything.

[00:27:56] And I was like, oh, I'm not sure how I feel about this.

[00:27:59] And then immediately, like, you know, he does the stunt.

[00:28:04] And I was sold.

[00:28:06] I was like, okay.

[00:28:06] So this is something that, you know, it's in Varun's wheelhouse, definitely.

[00:28:12] But in a good way.

[00:28:14] Yeah.

[00:28:14] I also just loved his relationship with KK.

[00:28:18] Because he plays that lost boy so well.

[00:28:22] Like, lost orphan boy.

[00:28:26] And clearly, I mean, you haven't seen, like, there's a repeat.

[00:28:29] There's a mirror between him and Saqib Saleem's character.

[00:28:33] Yeah.

[00:28:33] The way KK is basically recruiting and abusing these young boys, right?

[00:28:38] And obviously, the real-life argument is, you know, be it, like, you know, terrorist organizations

[00:28:45] or stuff like that.

[00:28:46] They do that.

[00:28:47] They'll, you know, recruit young boys.

[00:28:49] But it's a system that literally everybody uses.

[00:28:52] From your bank to your sport team to religion, you know?

[00:28:55] You get them young.

[00:28:56] And then they're part of whatever team that they've joined, you know?

[00:28:59] A cult.

[00:29:00] Yeah, exactly.

[00:29:02] So I just love that, how they kind of play with that father figure and the abuse that

[00:29:09] he's putting on these boys.

[00:29:10] They literally call him Baba.

[00:29:11] Yeah, yeah.

[00:29:12] Like, he forces them to call them Baba, right?

[00:29:14] He knows very well what he's doing, right?

[00:29:17] But then they also add that burnt chicken humor in there too, which is, again, such a

[00:29:21] Rajdi.

[00:29:21] Like, the grape and the burnt chicken is, like, very Raj and Niki to kind of top it

[00:29:26] off with that joke instead of making it, like, super tragic and, oh, he was the father

[00:29:31] I never had.

[00:29:32] They actually never say that in that melodramatic way, I think.

[00:29:36] But he does say how, you know, when the Saqib Saleem scene is playing out, he can recall

[00:29:43] it at the finale and say, oh, that's what he did to you because he did that to me.

[00:29:47] And that says so much about the patterns of, you know, abuse that these men kind of

[00:29:54] perpetrate.

[00:29:54] I thought that was a great, great way.

[00:29:58] But you're right, Amrita.

[00:30:00] He's good at certain things.

[00:30:02] He's not great at other things.

[00:30:03] But I think I'm excited for this new Varun that's come out because he's had some rough

[00:30:09] years.

[00:30:09] He seems to be, you know, reinvigorated finding his groove again.

[00:30:14] And, you know, just seeing him kick ass with fingerless gloves is just an amazing sight,

[00:30:19] you know.

[00:30:19] And I'm glad Raj and DK gave that to us.

[00:30:24] Sujoy, Varun, how did it work for you?

[00:30:26] I can only, like, remember two sides of him in this.

[00:30:31] And those are the action bit and the bit where he gets to meet Nadia and sort of go back to

[00:30:40] that side of his life that he lost.

[00:30:43] I think he really played that, you know, oh, shit, I'm a father now.

[00:30:47] And, you know, I am responsible for her.

[00:30:51] I think she really played that really well.

[00:30:54] And the action bits, man, he really, you know, stepped up for it.

[00:30:59] I think it shows that he's good at action.

[00:31:02] And this only excites me more to see him in Baby John after this.

[00:31:06] It does, but it also worries me because the action choreography in this show is so good.

[00:31:12] Like, the blocking, the steadicam work.

[00:31:15] Like, it's, I don't know how they do this every time.

[00:31:18] Like, because we've seen it.

[00:31:21] Like, they've been doing this since Family Man, right?

[00:31:23] Like, the one-er shot in the hospital that they had there.

[00:31:26] But this is so kinetic.

[00:31:29] Like, when the, Amrita, you've probably not gotten that far, but the final shootout is at Honey's Haveli.

[00:31:40] So, all of this army comes down on that Haveli and they have to kind of protect it as the last stand.

[00:31:48] And the way they use the location and the camera work and all of the props they...

[00:31:53] And smoke.

[00:31:54] It's so amazing.

[00:31:55] I was like, literally, like, please do not destroy this Haveli because it's like some, you know, architectural gem.

[00:32:02] But it looks amazing.

[00:32:03] And it has that...

[00:32:05] It's something in Dramalgy City.

[00:32:08] It looked really good, though.

[00:32:09] It looked really good.

[00:32:11] But it's amazing because, like, it's so kinetic the way the camera is moving around them.

[00:32:16] And then the other thing is also they're doing a lot of their stunt work and their action work.

[00:32:20] But there's some things they cannot do.

[00:32:22] There's a shot where the villain picks up Samantha and really throws her against a wall.

[00:32:28] She goes crashing through it.

[00:32:30] And the camera follows the fall.

[00:32:33] It goes back on the villain.

[00:32:35] And then it goes back on Samantha.

[00:32:37] But in the meantime, they've done the Texas switch, right?

[00:32:41] So, the stuntman fell through the wall.

[00:32:44] When the camera goes through the villain, the camera comes back.

[00:32:46] Samantha is obviously lying there for the next shot.

[00:32:49] That's how they do these kind of things.

[00:32:50] But because the camera is constantly moving...

[00:32:53] You don't notice that.

[00:32:54] You don't notice it.

[00:32:55] But it's also so kinetic.

[00:32:57] Because in the olden days, there used to be a cut, right?

[00:33:00] Or they hide...

[00:33:01] Like, the Texas switch is always the...

[00:33:04] If you don't remember, the naked gun.

[00:33:07] That's kind of the classic one.

[00:33:08] Where the stuntman is doing backflips.

[00:33:11] He'll backflip behind the sofa.

[00:33:13] And then Frank will come out of the sofa.

[00:33:15] Less details.

[00:33:16] Yeah, that's how they used to do it.

[00:33:18] That's the old way.

[00:33:20] But here, the camera moves instead of having a prop hide it.

[00:33:23] Which is just an amazing way to do it.

[00:33:26] And I mean, it's like, who does it this way, right?

[00:33:28] It's really Raj and Dike.

[00:33:30] Yeah.

[00:33:32] Any sequences or any shots that's now...

[00:33:36] How far did you get, Amit, in the show?

[00:33:38] I am halfway through the third episode.

[00:33:41] Right.

[00:33:41] Okay, okay.

[00:33:42] Yeah.

[00:33:43] Any short sequences, Sujoy, that stood out for you?

[00:33:46] That you're like, oh, this are we thinking of?

[00:33:48] Yeah, I think the first episode is the strongest for me, overall.

[00:33:53] It's not saying that the rest of the show is crap or anything, or mediocre.

[00:33:57] It's a really strong series, I think.

[00:34:00] But the first episode, they really push it to the limits, I think, for me.

[00:34:04] Especially, there's one in the recap in 1992, in the hotel, when they're trying to trick

[00:34:12] Farmeet Sethi's character.

[00:34:13] Kuljit.

[00:34:14] David, I think.

[00:34:14] Yeah, Kuljit.

[00:34:16] And yeah, that whole hotel action sequence with Varun is really solid.

[00:34:21] The bike chase after that is very, very solid.

[00:34:25] Like, the camera, you know, how it moves through.

[00:34:28] And like, the stunt work in that.

[00:34:30] Like, you have bikes flying in that shot.

[00:34:33] And it's really cool.

[00:34:35] But I think the best action sequence, I've already mentioned it, is the car action sequence

[00:34:44] with Samantha, when she's been captured and she's trying to escape.

[00:34:48] And it's shot like a warner.

[00:34:50] It's, yeah.

[00:34:51] And then Aaj Ki Raad drops in there too.

[00:34:53] Yeah.

[00:34:54] It's so amazing.

[00:34:55] What a music drop.

[00:34:56] It's so, so good.

[00:34:58] I also like the fact that there's so much physical violence against Samantha.

[00:35:05] But there's never any sexual violence.

[00:35:07] Like, you know, like, they're basically, even if she's in a very dangerous situation,

[00:35:14] she's treated as an equal.

[00:35:16] You know?

[00:35:17] Like, we're just going to punch you.

[00:35:18] We're just going to stab you.

[00:35:19] You know?

[00:35:20] And I thought that was kind of really a cool kind of vibe to the thing.

[00:35:26] We haven't actually talked about the little girl who's really, really good too.

[00:35:29] Like, I know Amrita, kids annoy you.

[00:35:31] I'm sure this one didn't.

[00:35:33] No, I actually really like this kid.

[00:35:35] Yeah.

[00:35:37] And yeah, I felt bad for that dude who was in the pilot where he was the uncle,

[00:35:47] you know, who's clearly like interested in Samantha and tries to do the best he can.

[00:35:54] But obviously, like, you know, has to pay a heavy price for it.

[00:35:57] But she's like really good when she understands that, you know, like he's probably hurt.

[00:36:05] And you can see, like, when he's telling her the story about Shavan getting killed by mistake

[00:36:15] and the sins of fathers being visited upon the children, etc.

[00:36:19] When, you know, when she looks at him and she's like, well, next time tell me like a happy story.

[00:36:25] And he's like, well, you're the one that asked me to tell you this story.

[00:36:29] It's a great little interaction.

[00:36:32] And I think like 9.99% of children would play that a little too cute.

[00:36:41] Yeah.

[00:36:41] And therefore be annoying.

[00:36:44] Whereas with her, like, you know, she's able to bring like this wealth of affection

[00:36:49] to the way that she interacts with that guy.

[00:36:52] And that's like, that's a very talented little girl.

[00:36:56] I think the...

[00:36:57] Sorry, go ahead.

[00:36:59] No, I also liked the little girl that plays the young Samantha.

[00:37:06] She's also, yeah, she's also like really great, I thought.

[00:37:10] Yeah.

[00:37:11] So I was saying like little Nadia, she is obviously brought up in a very grown-up

[00:37:21] where she has like from a really young age has been told the realities of life

[00:37:26] of the space where Honey operates, right?

[00:37:31] Like the dangers that she is able to navigate through and how they navigate.

[00:37:37] They have a coded system and coded language through the pagers and stuff.

[00:37:41] Yeah.

[00:37:42] It's so, so cool.

[00:37:43] I wish I had done with my daughter the same thing.

[00:37:45] Like I haven't done that.

[00:37:46] Like shit.

[00:37:49] Yeah.

[00:37:50] So yeah, that makes it less annoying for sure.

[00:37:54] I also like that she does still have that child aspect in it too, where she's like, oh,

[00:37:59] I'm going to miss his patties.

[00:38:01] You know, like it's such a child thing to say, like he died, but I miss the patties.

[00:38:06] I thought that was really, really sweet the way it was done.

[00:38:08] And also shout out to the production design of the show.

[00:38:12] Like 92 really feels like 92, like the cars, the clothes, the fashion, the Walkmans, you

[00:38:18] know, it's really well done.

[00:38:21] There's a weird tech joke in this where Ludo is the computer guy, right?

[00:38:26] And in 1992, when they're trying to crack and he's like,

[00:38:29] I remember, I remember.

[00:38:34] Or something.

[00:38:35] Yeah.

[00:38:37] Especially when they're hacking.

[00:38:39] Go ahead.

[00:38:39] Yeah.

[00:38:39] And he says like, not 8 MB.

[00:38:42] GB.

[00:38:43] I don't know how much GB.

[00:38:47] Also just the fact that when he's hacking the file in the compound and then you see

[00:38:54] the files flying 72%.

[00:38:56] Like how many times have we sat there, like just watching the files get copied that way,

[00:39:01] you know?

[00:39:01] And now we would just do like an airdrop for the same file, you know?

[00:39:06] It's amazing.

[00:39:07] The other thing I also want to shout out again, that Raj and DK humor is having Chakku and Ludo

[00:39:17] replay the car crash meme.

[00:39:19] Like, what are you going to do?

[00:39:22] Poppeh's Delhi?

[00:39:22] It's like doing that in 92 in Belgrade is just so inherently funny to me.

[00:39:29] You haven't seen it yet, Amrita.

[00:39:30] I think it comes in the Belgrade assassination sequence.

[00:39:34] It's just so funny.

[00:39:35] It's just like cracking up, you know?

[00:39:37] It's that Indian and Pakistani uncle fighting in Birmingham or something, right?

[00:39:41] Yeah.

[00:39:42] Yeah.

[00:39:42] Exactly.

[00:39:43] Exactly.

[00:39:44] Yeah, I really, really like the show.

[00:39:47] It does take a while.

[00:39:49] Like, I think it never loses its momentum, but it is a lot in six episodes.

[00:39:58] Like, there's a lot.

[00:39:59] So, Amrita, when you said you couldn't finish that, I get that.

[00:40:02] Like, I would have ideally liked a day or two extra to kind of pace it out.

[00:40:06] I had to watch like two, three episodes a day.

[00:40:08] And I think that was a bit too much.

[00:40:11] So, I think a little bit of pacing might actually help the show.

[00:40:14] But I do love that they just did six episodes and they're done.

[00:40:17] If this works really well, it builds up to a second season, definitely.

[00:40:22] And there's like emotional stakes in it.

[00:40:24] There's like an action beat in it.

[00:40:25] Again, it ends like on a cliffhanger pretty much, right?

[00:40:29] Like, we want to know what happens to these characters next.

[00:40:32] Just as they've kind of found each other, right?

[00:40:35] You know, little Nadia says something.

[00:40:37] And that was really touching where she says, you know, she comes and sits between Honey and Bunny.

[00:40:44] And she says, Papa is here.

[00:40:46] Can we come out of play mode now?

[00:40:48] And I thought that was like such a sweet thing to say, you know, can we be a proper family?

[00:40:52] And no, they can't because the stakes are so high.

[00:40:55] Even his final shot with Saqib Saleem, I thought was amazing where they finally, you know, get to talk.

[00:41:04] Because that's the other thing with abusers.

[00:41:06] They will pitch people against each other, right?

[00:41:09] To kind of get the best out of them.

[00:41:11] And that's what KK is doing with Varun and Saqib Saleem's character.

[00:41:15] Indeed.

[00:41:16] Yeah.

[00:41:17] Oh, one thing that I also thought was really cool.

[00:41:20] We don't see a lot of military mercenaries in Indian cinema, right?

[00:41:26] We either see good army people or we see goons, right?

[00:41:31] Goons.

[00:41:32] But this super cold-blooded assassin mercenary character that Saqib Saleem is playing, I thought it was quite fresh to see that.

[00:41:41] We saw Jim in war.

[00:41:43] Yeah, yeah.

[00:41:45] We do.

[00:41:45] Yeah, yeah.

[00:41:46] But again, he's become like international terrorists.

[00:41:49] Like, there's a level where, you know, he's like super villain.

[00:41:52] This is like just a grunt, you know?

[00:41:54] Yeah, yeah.

[00:41:55] And I thought that was like a very fresh take on that character.

[00:41:59] So, that also, I think Saqib Saleem does a good job here.

[00:42:02] And he's probably not going to get it.

[00:42:04] Yeah, I mean, being based in like sort of the Citadel universe, it's also taking away the trappings of all geographical rivalries or whatever.

[00:42:12] You know, this is just an international organization which is trying to benefit of, you know, state secrets or whatever and trying to control power on a global scale.

[00:42:23] And that manifests in many other ways.

[00:42:25] Like, Citadel is good in some ways and bad in some ways.

[00:42:29] You know, you have to decide which side you are on based on, you know, whatever biases you have, I suppose.

[00:42:36] So, that's interesting for sure.

[00:42:38] I do feel the Russos have kind of given a shit sandwich to everybody that's like following up with them because the premise of Citadel is too weak.

[00:42:45] Like, I don't understand Citadel as an organization or an agency really.

[00:42:49] And because they wanted to twist it and convert it so much in the original one.

[00:42:55] At the moment, I was like, wait, who's working from who and what are the stakes here, you know?

[00:43:00] And they don't really necessarily explain it, Raj and Nikky, because they play fast and loose with certain things.

[00:43:05] And I also think probably they don't want to hurt the franchise by creating something that, you know, isn't approved by the Russos.

[00:43:12] And Russos are not great filmmakers necessarily, you know?

[00:43:16] They need like a good base around it.

[00:43:18] Because since the, you know, the last Avengers, everything they've done has kind of been disappointing, Citadel included.

[00:43:25] Okay, well, I want to hear if people agree, if they watch it.

[00:43:31] And also, if they also feel that maybe the critical reviews have been a bit negative.

[00:43:36] I really like the show.

[00:43:37] I had a lot of fun with this.

[00:43:38] I definitely also think it's better than Guns N' Gullabs.

[00:43:41] But yeah, also Amrita, if you manage, you think you're not finishing the rest of the show or you think we're good?

[00:43:47] Yeah.

[00:43:48] I think it's good enough that I, but this is the kind of show that I would have playing in the background while I'm like doing other things.

[00:43:56] You know what I mean?

[00:43:57] But I don't mean that as a diss.

[00:43:59] Like there's like a lot of stuff that I watch in the background while I'm doing other things.

[00:44:03] Yeah.

[00:44:03] I think me and Sujai obviously do get like, you know, obsessed with the action choreography and like all of that, which maybe is not, you know, the thing that is on the background for you.

[00:44:16] Yeah.

[00:44:44] Yeah.

[00:44:46] Like everybody has regretted my apologies.

[00:44:51] But I think I like this more than a lot of people out there is Amrita included.

[00:44:55] Like you didn't like this at all.

[00:44:57] It feels like what was, what was up with Tupati?

[00:44:59] This is such a stupid movie.

[00:45:01] Like it is, this is what happens when actors become producers and they start like making projects because they immediately choose projects that, you know, you can tell because they're just looking at their part and thinking, oh, like this gives me so much scope to become an actor.

[00:45:19] And then they make this film and it's just so badly written and plotted.

[00:45:25] And you're just sort of sitting there going like, this makes no sense.

[00:45:31] And what's even worse is that, I mean, obviously Kriti gets, Kriti Sanan produced this movie and she obviously gets like, you know, the author backed role.

[00:45:42] If we can even use the word author for whatever Kanika Dhillon did with this movie.

[00:45:49] But Kajol and I cannot, like the 90s kid in me cannot believe that she's saying these words.

[00:45:57] But we saw Raveena Tundon play precisely the exact same character two years ago.

[00:46:08] Where she was playing like a Pahadi policewoman investigating like murder or, you know, like whatever.

[00:46:18] And I cannot believe I'm about to say this, but she did a much better job, a much more believable job than Kajol.

[00:46:26] And the thing with Kajol in this one is that a, like on a performance level, it's very inauthentic, right?

[00:46:36] Like I don't believe a single word that's coming out of Kajol's mouth.

[00:46:40] Her Hindi inflections of move to Jat and Haryanvi and then back and forth to Marathi.

[00:46:47] And I don't believe any of it.

[00:46:49] And then also you can see like, you know, like she's got, like when Raveena played that character, she wasn't afraid to look unattractive.

[00:46:59] You know, like the way she pulled her hair back, the lack of makeup, like all of that.

[00:47:07] Kajol has these like very like specific strands of hair that are like framing her face.

[00:47:14] She's wearing these very like, you know, giant like model, you know, sun shades that are like a lavender hue.

[00:47:24] And I'm just like, I don't believe any of this.

[00:47:26] Like what, what is that?

[00:47:28] You know, like are you saying that you speak with that accent and you work in this one little town in the middle of nowhere in the Himalayas?

[00:47:36] But also you're like walking around with those shades?

[00:47:39] Like what?

[00:47:40] But also you're an inspector, but you're also a lawyer.

[00:47:44] What is that?

[00:47:45] Who thought of the Raja Babu meme?

[00:47:47] Who thought of the Raja Babu meme when you were watching that?

[00:47:49] A doctor bhi ho?

[00:47:50] Main lawyer bhi ho?

[00:47:52] Like what is that?

[00:47:54] Like who, like only Kanika Dilan could have like come up with like that kind of stupidity.

[00:47:59] It's such a throwaway line where his, her colleague says,

[00:48:03] Oh, humnei madam ji ke ghar mein wo certificate dekha hai law degree ka.

[00:48:08] And also like if she is, you know, if she is...

[00:48:15] Prosecuting this guy for whatever, then that means she's a prosecutor.

[00:48:20] So she's like an inspector and like a government prosecutor?

[00:48:25] Yeah.

[00:48:25] How does that work?

[00:48:26] It's like a conflict of interest, right?

[00:48:28] You can't really be the prosecutor as well as the lawyer.

[00:48:32] Raja Babu can.

[00:48:33] Yeah.

[00:48:36] Yeah.

[00:48:36] This was stupid.

[00:48:37] This is like incredibly stupid.

[00:48:39] Yeah.

[00:48:40] What I wrote in my notes is this plot is our relationship subreddit plot that somebody wrote for a Reddit karma.

[00:48:49] Like it's totally made up and it's so fake that it's made up, you know?

[00:48:54] Oh my God.

[00:48:55] It's so stupid.

[00:48:56] So, so stupid.

[00:48:57] Do you didn't like the movie?

[00:48:59] I did not.

[00:49:00] Like I so did not like this movie.

[00:49:03] Oh my God.

[00:49:04] It's a big bad mess for me.

[00:49:06] It's like, I can see that Kriti is trying her best because you can tell by the way she's presented in both Shelly and Somya.

[00:49:17] How she has, you know, put her heart, sweat, blood, tears, everything into creating these two very separate identities.

[00:49:26] And kudos for that.

[00:49:27] But oh my God, everything around it is so, so bad.

[00:49:32] It's so bad.

[00:49:33] Like the whole trigger for abuse for this husband to get annoyed happens because he is stuck in a situation where the Mantriji cannot stand people drinking at his house.

[00:49:50] And the second bit when she feeds him a very spicy meal.

[00:49:54] And I'm like, who thought of this?

[00:49:57] Oh my God.

[00:49:58] It's so far-fetched and so stupid.

[00:50:01] The abusive husband finds that one Mantri who's like moral, but also wants to make shady business deals.

[00:50:07] You know, it's like a very fine line to find.

[00:50:11] I like this movie.

[00:50:12] Like it's not great, but I enjoyed watching it.

[00:50:15] I think I was thinking a lot because the movie is not great.

[00:50:20] I was also thinking a lot while I was watching this movie.

[00:50:23] So my, you know, my hamster wheel was burning at the same time, you know.

[00:50:28] I think, first of all, I think the space Kriti Sanan is in, I applaud that if she's not getting the roles that she wants, she's producing the roles that she wants.

[00:50:39] She's seeking out a writer like Kanika Dylan, who has had a track record of making like very female centric movies.

[00:50:47] And she's making this.

[00:50:48] She's choosing to make this.

[00:50:50] She's also chose to make this on Netflix.

[00:50:53] She's not had any ambition to make this a theatrical release and pushing it, making us get out of our couches to watch this and buy a ticket.

[00:51:03] Right.

[00:51:03] So I appreciate that.

[00:51:05] And I was then also thinking, right, like a woman producing, a woman writing, compare this to what men are producing and writing.

[00:51:16] Right.

[00:51:17] Right.

[00:51:17] So Salman's movies, all of the ones that he's produced.

[00:51:21] But even further, Manoj Bajpai, when he decides to produce a movie, he makes Bahiaji.

[00:51:27] Right.

[00:51:27] That's the movie he chooses to make.

[00:51:29] And I was thinking like the men want to make movies where they save the world.

[00:51:34] And women are making movies where can we just save ourselves first against these abusive men?

[00:51:39] And I thought that was just kind of an interesting thing.

[00:51:42] I think immediately I was on Team Shelly.

[00:51:45] Like she has such I'm going to fuck shit up energy at the moment she walks in.

[00:51:50] I was really applauding it.

[00:51:53] And the reveal of Soumya and the abuse and stuff like that, all of that really didn't make sense.

[00:52:00] Kajol absolutely didn't make sense to me as a character.

[00:52:04] And one pet peeve I always have in filmmaking is inconsistent voiceover narration is when it comes in and goes out.

[00:52:12] And this movie does that crime too.

[00:52:15] But I don't know.

[00:52:17] I think I just didn't want to be too negative about this movie because I know it's very, in a way, very calculated in the way it's making what it's making.

[00:52:26] And it's basically telling us, you know, just ghar pe bait ke deklo, it's not that bad.

[00:52:30] And I feel like I've seen worse from Netflix, you know.

[00:52:34] I think, I mean, those are good points, Asim.

[00:52:37] But like, I feel I would share those thoughts if this had been made by someone other than Kriti Sanan and Kanika Dilong.

[00:52:48] And they're the co-producers.

[00:52:50] Like Kanika wrote it and Kriti is acting in it.

[00:52:53] But they're also like co-producing this film.

[00:52:55] And I feel like the bar, that bar, the bar that you're describing is incredibly low in 2024.

[00:53:05] Because we've already come to a point where we have had people like Anvita Dutt who are on Netflix and making like truly feminist movies like Bulbul.

[00:53:16] You know, like everything that you'd said about this movie is something that has happened with Bulbul.

[00:53:21] Except Bulbul is an incredibly, like, it is a far superior movie than anything like this.

[00:53:29] So I expect better.

[00:53:32] But Kriti's not getting those roles though, right?

[00:53:34] That's what I'm saying.

[00:53:35] Like, if you are saying that Kriti Sanan is going out there and creating work for herself and making her own projects.

[00:53:44] I support that and I celebrate that.

[00:53:46] But she also needs to understand that that comes with a certain responsibility.

[00:53:51] It's not enough for her to be like, well, I, you know, like I need a participation trophy for what I've tried to do.

[00:53:58] She needs to then go out there and find those projects and like make good work.

[00:54:05] Because the kind of thing that she is doing, like she can do it because she's Kriti Sanan and she has a certain level or amount of credibility or power in the industry.

[00:54:16] And it's a very limited amount of power.

[00:54:19] Let's not get, you know, let's not get it twisted.

[00:54:21] The power difference between say an Alia Bhatt and a Kriti Sanan as producers is like morning and night, right?

[00:54:32] Like it's not the same level playing field whatsoever.

[00:54:35] But I'm saying that if Kriti Sanan is going out there and saying that, you know, like I am doing this as a strong independent woman.

[00:54:44] I'm like creating the kind of work that the industry won't give me.

[00:54:48] Then she also has the responsibility to create good work because otherwise it just comes off as a vanity project.

[00:54:59] And it's not really, it's not really furthering the cause for the people who are waiting behind her and hoping that she's going to do a great job of it.

[00:55:09] Because there is no, like, it's not like people are going to watch Dhopati and be like, oh my God, you know what?

[00:55:17] Like I also want to become like a producer.

[00:55:20] I also want to become a director.

[00:55:22] I want to write something.

[00:55:23] Or like Netflix is watching like how Dhopati is being received by the audience and being like, you know what?

[00:55:29] We need to make more Dhopatis.

[00:55:32] Whereas with something like Bulbul, for instance, and I keep coming back to Bulbul because that was one of my favorite films that came out on Netflix and has nothing to do.

[00:55:41] It's not even like, you know, my favorite film by a woman director kind of a thing.

[00:55:45] But it genuinely was like one of my favorite films ever to come out of Netflix India.

[00:55:51] That is the kind of project that then gets other projects greenlit.

[00:55:56] And I don't think like Dhopati is going to do that.

[00:55:59] I mean, the comparison with you mentioned Bulbul, I would go the Alia way and compare this with what Alia did with Darlings, right?

[00:56:11] It's sort of in that similar story verse of, you know, dealing with abuse and a very violent husband and domestic abuse and the comeuppance against it in a way.

[00:56:21] And that does not, in a way, trivialize the whole dark aspect of domestic abuse.

[00:56:30] Here it sort of feels like because of how it has been treated, how comical it is, how silly it is,

[00:56:38] it sort of cheapens that whole seriousness of that particular subject in how Dhopati plays with it versus you can see how Vijay Verma in Darlings is,

[00:56:49] how he is so loving towards his wife.

[00:56:53] And then the flip happens so sudden.

[00:56:55] It's so much more shocking.

[00:56:58] And here it just feels like the actor could not, you know, carry it.

[00:57:04] The writers could not carry it.

[00:57:05] The director could not carry it either.

[00:57:08] It just feels like this is so, so silly.

[00:57:13] Yeah, I actually have a point about that because I, so the actor is Shaheer Sheikh.

[00:57:20] And I think he got a lot of criticism generally, right?

[00:57:25] But I think the comparison with Darlings is interesting because I do feel that this movie could have been better if it just had a better male actor next to Kriti.

[00:57:35] It could have added that nuances that in Darlings it does have where like a lot of times,

[00:57:41] a lot of the story is about these two versions of Kriti Sanan, who is going to get the guy, right?

[00:57:48] And we don't want either to get the guy because the guy is terrible, right?

[00:57:52] And I think that's a, that's a big problem.

[00:57:56] It's very unbelievable that both the Kritis are falling for this guy.

[00:58:00] Yeah.

[00:58:01] You know, but that's village life, man.

[00:58:03] There's like, just like this, there's not many men available.

[00:58:06] So this is apparently the one that they need to go after.

[00:58:10] And I think that's just like...

[00:58:11] He is a Udita and he has a tattoo.

[00:58:13] Wow.

[00:58:14] Yeah.

[00:58:14] Yeah.

[00:58:15] So I think that, I think there needs to be from the audience, at least some sort of idea that, you know,

[00:58:21] oh, this man is desirable, even though he's toxic.

[00:58:24] Right.

[00:58:25] And I think Darlings did that well.

[00:58:28] Well, but that is what I mean by the power differential between a Alia Bhatt and a Kriti Sanan,

[00:58:34] because Darlings was a Richelies production, you know, like they, like, and I have my opinion.

[00:58:39] I know that we all have our opinions about Richelies as a production house, but let's not pretend that Richelies doesn't know what it's doing when it comes to something like this versus what Dhopati is.

[00:58:56] So, yeah, I don't know.

[00:58:58] I don't know how I feel.

[00:58:59] I mean, my feelings are overwhelmingly negative.

[00:59:03] Yeah.

[00:59:04] But I wish Kruti the best.

[00:59:08] Like, I don't wish ill on her.

[00:59:10] Also, like, if you're going the Darlings route of comparing again, the comparison of Shefali Shah and how Tanvi Azmi's character here is, is, again, night and day, right?

[00:59:23] You don't, you see Tanvi Azmi's character, Maji, to be introduced in a way that she would play a very crucial role in the story, but it comes to nothing.

[00:59:35] Vivek Mushran, nothing, you know?

[00:59:38] But that's Kanika Dilan's fault, right?

[00:59:40] That's not necessarily, you know, that's clearly her fault, which I feel, you know, when you speak about Anvika Dutt and all of these other filmmakers,

[00:59:48] because I think Kanika Dilan is very good at marketing herself as the woman writer.

[00:59:54] And I'm not sure if the work has kind of justified the positions she's taken, because those movies that she's really done, not, for me, they've personally not worked as well.

[01:00:06] But she's great at marketing herself, for sure.

[01:00:09] And I think, I don't know, man.

[01:00:12] I just think, I've been, I've watched Kriti, Kriti, she's working in Shahzada, she's working in Ganpat, Hero Panty 2, Adi Purush.

[01:00:21] These are the movies she's getting, right?

[01:00:23] So, I'm applauding her for doing this.

[01:00:26] And then men are making Salar and KGF7 and stuff like that, which are just f***ing boring, right?

[01:00:31] So, I mean, I just want to give her some sort of credit on what she's trying to do.

[01:00:37] And I do feel...

[01:00:38] And it did work for her with, like, Mimi, for example.

[01:00:43] Yeah, yeah.

[01:00:43] It has worked for her.

[01:00:44] Mimi, I think she wants to make Mimi.

[01:00:46] That's the kind of movie she probably wants to make.

[01:00:49] But I think this is kind of maybe, hopefully, the first steps to that.

[01:00:53] And I do feel like Kajal and, you know, Kriti and Kanika, those names just make you do click on the movie, right?

[01:01:03] And I think that's all that matters for Netflix, right?

[01:01:05] Like, there's no box office necessarily.

[01:01:07] They have a set budget.

[01:01:08] They're going to get some promotion, some numbers out of it.

[01:01:11] So, I'm hoping this worked out well for Kriti, at least.

[01:01:18] Because she's trying.

[01:01:19] And I can applaud only that.

[01:01:21] I like Kriti.

[01:01:22] I didn't mind that the item song in the leather leotard was not in the movie.

[01:01:26] I was thinking that would be in the movie at the end or something.

[01:01:28] I didn't see it.

[01:01:30] But, yeah.

[01:01:32] I'm sorry.

[01:01:32] I forced you guys to watch this movie because I thought it had, like, more in it than, yeah, you guys seem to find in it.

[01:01:39] But, yeah.

[01:01:41] I literally texted Amrita saying, I'm one hour in and this is so bland and boring.

[01:01:48] And Amrita saying it doesn't get better.

[01:01:51] Oh, dear.

[01:01:53] Yeah.

[01:01:54] Kajol was a trip though, man.

[01:01:55] Like, I don't know what she was on here.

[01:01:57] Like, it's so, like, wow.

[01:02:00] Because there's that sequence where he visits her, the villain guy visits her in her kitchen.

[01:02:05] What the hell was that scene?

[01:02:07] Yeah.

[01:02:08] Yeah.

[01:02:08] And it's suddenly, again, it's this idea, I think, that this guy is appealing, right?

[01:02:13] I almost felt there was, like, a sexual thread going on between him and Kajol.

[01:02:17] But I was like, if Kajol is a badass, why didn't she, like, pull a belcha or something and hit him over the head?

[01:02:22] I thought that was going to be Kajol's scene and she doesn't do anything with that.

[01:02:26] But again, I just feel the writing is off there and the casting is off.

[01:02:31] But yeah, I don't know.

[01:02:33] That was Do Patti.

[01:02:34] It's out on Netflix if people still want to watch it.

[01:02:36] And a lot of people probably have.

[01:02:38] So let us know what you think about it.

[01:02:40] Also, I want to say that, you know, the way that Do Patti is written is P-A-T-T-I.

[01:02:47] And in Malayalam, we do have a word that is, like, P-A-T-T-I, but we pronounce it as Patti, which means dog.

[01:02:58] So my trilingual brain was just, like, Do Patti the whole time.

[01:03:03] And I was just, like, two dogs?

[01:03:05] Like, who?

[01:03:06] What?

[01:03:06] What is happening?

[01:03:08] And then to this day, like, you know, my first reaction is, like, two dogs.

[01:03:13] And then it's, like, no, no, no.

[01:03:15] Two cards.

[01:03:16] Cool.

[01:03:16] I think this is it for this episode.

[01:03:18] We're doing another Patreon bonus episode, too, which I think is going to be maybe more interesting than, you know, the discussion we had on Do Patti.

[01:03:27] So follow us on Patreon.

[01:03:29] Join us and listen to what we're saying there.

[01:03:31] I think we might talk a little bit about the elections in the U.S. for a couple of minutes.

[01:03:36] So if you're interested in some current events, you know, follow us there.

[01:03:41] And a few other things.

[01:03:43] I saw Biswa live in London.

[01:03:44] I want to talk about that.

[01:03:45] That's going to go on Patreon, too.

[01:03:47] So, yeah.

[01:03:48] Join us.

[01:03:49] But otherwise, drop us an email at youbroadcasting at gmail.com.

[01:03:53] Amrita, where can people find you online?

[01:03:55] You can find me at AmritaIQ on Blue Sky, where I'm spending more and more time.

[01:04:03] I'm on Twitter still.

[01:04:05] And I'm still AmritaIQ.

[01:04:07] But I'm trying to sort of peter out.

[01:04:10] I was having a conversation yesterday with our top friend, Beth.

[01:04:15] And she was also saying she's on Blue Sky now.

[01:04:18] And I was like, what's going on?

[01:04:19] Like, you and Amrita are going to Blue Sky.

[01:04:21] Now I have to join because you guys are there, too.

[01:04:24] So, after the chat with you and her, I had to revalidate and re-login to Blue Sky, re-find my password.

[01:04:32] So, I'm back.

[01:04:33] I'm back on Blue Sky, too.

[01:04:35] We are so back.

[01:04:36] No, but Blue Sky literally feels like Twitter from, like, 12 years ago.

[01:04:41] You know?

[01:04:42] Like, it's a much quieter place.

[01:04:44] There's no, like, porn.

[01:04:45] There's no bots.

[01:04:46] There's no blue-tick incels.

[01:04:49] There's porn.

[01:04:50] Oh, there is?

[01:04:51] Okay, well, it's not on my feed.

[01:04:52] Has Sujoy found it or has the porn found Sujoy?

[01:04:55] That's the question.

[01:04:57] Well, find it on Patreon.

[01:05:02] The answers shall be revealed.

[01:05:05] So, yeah, we're back all on Patreon.

[01:05:07] And, you know, Amrita is pushing Blue Sky the way I push Do Patti.

[01:05:11] So, I'll have to take it, I guess.

[01:05:14] Sujoy, where can people find you online?

[01:05:16] You can find me still on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok at 93K.

[01:05:20] And you can also follow Khandan Podcast on all our socials at Khandan Podcast.

[01:05:25] Great.

[01:05:25] And, yeah, we're on TikTok.

[01:05:27] Follow.

[01:05:27] Also, if you have watched the Kareena Kapoor episode on YouTube, the video I said,

[01:05:32] leave us a comment there.

[01:05:34] That kind of boosts it up.

[01:05:35] If you haven't watched it, I'll add the link in the show notes.

[01:05:39] Oh, Asim, I have to point this out.

[01:05:42] One of my friends who is also a listener always, he complained that we promised that we will

[01:05:48] leave stuff in the show notes and we never do.

[01:05:51] And he was like...

[01:05:51] That was exactly what I was going to say now that I'm promising it now.

[01:05:56] But the last episode, we had a Mamta Kulkarni essay and a link to the song.

[01:06:03] And I completely forgot adding both of them.

[01:06:06] And I've been thinking about it for the last three days that I should really update the show notes.

[01:06:10] I actually should.

[01:06:11] I really should.

[01:06:11] I think it's unfair.

[01:06:12] So, if you've not listened or go back, I'll add it to the show notes.

[01:06:15] Try my best.

[01:06:16] So, yeah.

[01:06:17] The thing is, like, a lot of times we're just, like, pushing these episodes out so quickly, quickly.

[01:06:21] And I just forgot.

[01:06:23] So, yeah.

[01:06:24] I'll take the blame.

[01:06:25] I won't blame Amrita, who does the actual show notes.

[01:06:28] But I'll take the blame.

[01:06:30] Guys.

[01:06:33] Excuse me.

[01:06:33] All the links are, like, 100% awesome.

[01:06:37] It is not my fault.

[01:06:37] I'm cutting this off of the episode episode.

[01:06:40] It doesn't matter.

[01:06:40] I'm editing this out.

[01:06:43] Guys.

[01:06:44] I'll catch you guys later.

[01:06:46] Follow us on Patreon.

[01:06:47] Thanks for listening.

[01:06:55] Bye.

[01:06:56] Bye.

[01:06:56] Bye.

[01:06:58] Bye.