Episode 256: Trailers, News, and Varun Dhawan’s Baby John

[00:00:15] Hi, this is Asim. This is Sujoy. This is Amritha. And you're listening to Khandaan, a Bollywood

[00:00:20] Podcast about the three main Khans of the Hindi film industry. Aamir, Salman, and Shahrukh.

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[00:00:48] Hi, and welcome to a new episode of Khandaan Podcast. My name is Asim Burni and I'm joined

[00:00:53] with my lovely co-host Sujoy. Hey Sujoy.

[00:00:55] Hello everybody. Happy New Year.

[00:00:58] Happy, happy, happy, happy. Happy 2025. Amritha is not here. She's in, I think she's at a wedding,

[00:01:05] I think. Yeah. At a friend's wedding. So she'll be joining us at a future episode soon. But

[00:01:12] as a replacement, we have our lovely Amini. Hey Amini. Hello, hello. Happy New Year.

[00:01:18] Happy New Year. And Papu Charu on Twitter. Are you still on Twitter?

[00:01:22] I am. I'm on Twitter. I'm on Blue Sky also as Papu Charu. Yeah.

[00:01:27] Sujoy, are you on Twitter? I was trying to tag you on something and I couldn't find you.

[00:01:31] I don't know if you hit from me. No, no, no, no, no. I'm still there on Twitter.

[00:01:35] Ah, okay, okay. Yeah. Because we were having that discussion about

[00:01:39] the Yeh Jawani Hai Diwani release, right? You re-watched it in theatre now?

[00:01:45] No, no, I watched it at home because I couldn't.

[00:01:48] I was wondering, I was wondering, did you actually go buy a ticket and go?

[00:01:52] No, no, no. No, I was skeptical. I thought it'd be fun to watch Balam Pichkari on the big screen again

[00:01:59] and it was playing on my favorite screen, which is Screen 16 at Cineworld 02 because I'm a loser like that.

[00:02:05] I have favorite screens at the cinemas. But I thought it would be a fun idea to watch Balam Pichkari there,

[00:02:11] but I couldn't risk going back. I don't have much fond memories of that movie and I wanted to re-validate that.

[00:02:19] So it's already streaming on Amazon Prime for so many years now.

[00:02:22] So I re-watched it at my home and I couldn't stand that movie.

[00:02:27] I checked out after like 30, 40 minutes of that movie, man.

[00:02:30] It's got fabulous songs that have, like that soundtrack is just killer.

[00:02:35] Like Pritam's probably finest work, but like what a boring ass movie.

[00:02:41] And like really unlikable characters. Everything is like, I don't know, like it feels like a very adolescent,

[00:02:50] juvenile way of depicting, like the worldview is so juvenile in that movie.

[00:02:54] Like my 40-year-old self is like straight, like cringing internally so much.

[00:03:01] Yeah, I folded into myself watching that like 40 minutes or so.

[00:03:05] Where do you stand on you, Jawaniya, Diwaniya, Amini? Are you booking tickets for the re-release?

[00:03:09] You know, I didn't realize that the re-release was happening here also.

[00:03:14] But, you know, probably not.

[00:03:16] I think the thing is, it's a very, it's not a film that I, I know a lot of people hold it up to like high regard with like nostalgia and everything.

[00:03:26] For me, it's like, it's there. It's like a perfectly fine like background movie.

[00:03:31] If I'm like sitting and working and I just need something to play in the background.

[00:03:36] So I don't like, you know, distract myself or something.

[00:03:39] It's, it's fine.

[00:03:41] Again, music great.

[00:03:42] I would not say Pritam's finest work, but it's a great, great, great soundtrack.

[00:03:46] It's songs that I listen to very often.

[00:03:49] But yeah, it's really not.

[00:03:51] For some people, it seems to be up there with like DDLJ, you know, Kal Ho Na Ho, like Kabhi Hoshi Kami.

[00:03:59] That's where the standard, like if I look at it on Twitter, right?

[00:04:03] The way people talk about this movie, it feels it's up there.

[00:04:07] Like for a specific generation of people.

[00:04:10] Yeah.

[00:04:10] Yeah.

[00:04:11] Yeah.

[00:04:11] I mean, I don't know.

[00:04:12] I guess I can see that happening because again, this film came out.

[00:04:18] 2013.

[00:04:19] Yeah, 2013.

[00:04:20] So it was like when I was in 12th standard.

[00:04:25] But like, again, I guess.

[00:04:26] Like the perfect age for you though.

[00:04:28] Yeah.

[00:04:29] It would have been the perfect age for me to have like imprinted onto this movie and been like made it my personality through university.

[00:04:37] But the thing is, I didn't watch it when it came out in the theaters because my mother was like board exams.

[00:04:43] They're not going anywhere.

[00:04:45] So I just didn't.

[00:04:46] I watched it like about a year and a half later or something in university when we were in the girls hostel all sitting and figuring out something to watch together.

[00:04:54] So I was like, yeah, it's fine.

[00:04:57] I don't.

[00:04:57] It's not.

[00:04:59] It's not a film that I turned to.

[00:05:01] Like I think another film that came around the same time that I enjoyed even more was like Hassy Toh Fussy.

[00:05:05] So it's like, I think it's fine.

[00:05:10] Yeah.

[00:05:10] I don't think of it as being particularly up there, nor do I think of it as being like a terrible film.

[00:05:17] Like I think Ayaan is a wonderfully competent director.

[00:05:21] But yeah, that's about it.

[00:05:23] I don't really have any strong opinions about this film.

[00:05:26] Yeah.

[00:05:27] I actually just rewatched it with my daughter and my wife not too long ago on Prime actually.

[00:05:33] And the movie still works.

[00:05:34] It still hits.

[00:05:35] But I also get why what, you know, Sujoy is saying, you know, there's like things that I think it's just an age thing.

[00:05:42] You know, I think we kind of miss the window.

[00:05:44] And like, yeah, it is.

[00:05:47] Bunny is not a likable character.

[00:05:48] But the discussion me and me, Sujoy, were having is like a lot of times it's about, oh, red flag bunny and this and that, how he treats Deepika.

[00:05:55] But the discussion was, how does he treat Madhuri?

[00:05:58] Oh, my God.

[00:05:59] Yeah.

[00:05:59] That whole Ghagara song, the beginning of it is so disrespectful.

[00:06:05] Yeah.

[00:06:06] Like to any woman.

[00:06:08] Yeah.

[00:06:08] But then it's Madhuri, right?

[00:06:09] Like the queen of cinema and the way it's written, approached.

[00:06:14] I was like, how?

[00:06:15] So that part I just cannot justify.

[00:06:17] All the rest, the bunny and wanting to travel and all of that.

[00:06:21] I can kind of justify in the sense of bunny was a young guy and he was growing up.

[00:06:26] But he's fully formed when he meets Madhuri.

[00:06:30] He's a professional, right?

[00:06:32] I don't understand it.

[00:06:33] You have anything you're saying?

[00:06:34] No, I remember.

[00:06:36] So one thing I really do remember about that is because around this time, like, you know, it was still like, I mean, Ranbir was a couple of years into his career.

[00:06:45] And I remember he used to go around all these shows being like, you know, Madhuri Dikshir.

[00:06:48] It was like my crush.

[00:06:50] She was the person I always wanted to act with growing up.

[00:06:52] This, this, this, this, this.

[00:06:54] And I also remember back then being very uncomfortable at the scene.

[00:06:57] That's why whenever I watch the film, I always start with like, when they're at the train station going for the trip.

[00:07:04] I don't really care about anything before that.

[00:07:07] So I think you've just bought that back and I was like, oh yeah, he is.

[00:07:12] That's where it hits now.

[00:07:14] That's like, oh my God, this movie.

[00:07:15] Yeah, yeah.

[00:07:16] Maybe your way of watching it is better.

[00:07:18] But yeah, I kind of put that on Twitter and I wanted to tag you because we were having that discussion.

[00:07:23] I couldn't find you, but I think I've been shadow banned on Twitter.

[00:07:26] I've been doing way too many free Palestine tweets and I think it's not hitting anywhere.

[00:07:31] It's fine.

[00:07:31] It's, I don't care, but free Palestine still.

[00:07:34] That's more important.

[00:07:35] Yeah.

[00:07:36] Let's get into the show.

[00:07:38] It's the first show of the year.

[00:07:39] We're still kind of slowly getting into it.

[00:07:42] I don't know about you guys, but Sujoy, I don't know if people ask you a lot, like, what are you doing next on the show?

[00:07:48] So, and my answer is usually, I don't know because it's like nothing interesting is coming out.

[00:07:55] So, we will be doing our 80s Dharmaka series.

[00:07:58] That's what's going to be happening because Hollywood is going to be dead in the next few months anyway.

[00:08:04] But a few trailers dropped and a few news is dropped.

[00:08:08] So, let's get into that before we get into our main review, which is going to be Baby John, a movie that came out for Christmas and nobody gives a shit about anymore.

[00:08:16] But since there's nothing else to watch, that's the one we watched together.

[00:08:19] So, that's going to be the main review.

[00:08:22] But let's get into this, a few of the trailers that came out.

[00:08:25] Literally today, they came out.

[00:08:28] So, there were three of them.

[00:08:30] There was Deva, Skyforce and badass Ravi Kumar.

[00:08:34] Yeah.

[00:08:35] I know what you want to talk about first, Sujoy, but let's talk about Deva first.

[00:08:42] It's a teaser.

[00:08:43] It's a small thing.

[00:08:44] What do you think of Deva, Sujoy?

[00:08:47] I quite enjoyed that teaser.

[00:08:49] It's so brilliantly edited, the pacing of it without revealing much.

[00:08:54] It's going to be violent as f***.

[00:08:56] Like, I feel like Bollywood is really leaning into the whole animal side of toxic, violent, masculine force, whatever.

[00:09:08] We want all our heroes to be molded into that mold in a way.

[00:09:12] It seems like it.

[00:09:14] And all the producers are hoping to make money out of that particular trend at the moment.

[00:09:20] Like, one point in time, we were all making small town movies.

[00:09:23] And right now, it's all about slashing all small town people in a way.

[00:09:29] And Deva seems to be similar.

[00:09:32] I don't know what Shahid would bring new to that genre.

[00:09:38] I miss, like, Chocolaty Boy Shahid era.

[00:09:43] And so, I hate the post-Kabir Singh Shahid that he's become now.

[00:09:50] I also enjoyed Haider Shahid.

[00:09:52] And I guess, you know, or Kamine Shahid even.

[00:09:57] So, the teaser looks fine to me.

[00:10:01] The teaser is really well done.

[00:10:03] It doesn't reveal much about the movie.

[00:10:05] I am cautiously optimistic about it.

[00:10:08] Sujoy likes Kamine Shahid.

[00:10:10] He doesn't like Kamina Shahid.

[00:10:12] That's the one.

[00:10:16] Yamini, what did you think of Deva?

[00:10:19] I mean, I was just, like, going through, like, Shahid's filmography, right?

[00:10:24] And I was like, yeah.

[00:10:26] Again, Shahid is not an actor that I particularly have, like, strong feelings for.

[00:10:33] Again, he's...

[00:10:33] Let me give this one to you.

[00:10:36] Because, like me and Sujoy, you're a community fan.

[00:10:39] Yeah.

[00:10:40] He's the Nicolas Cage of Bollywood.

[00:10:42] He has a 50-50 rate.

[00:10:44] Good movie, bad movie.

[00:10:46] Good movie, bad movie.

[00:10:47] Yeah.

[00:10:48] Is he, like...

[00:10:49] You know, it's like all actors are good or bad.

[00:10:51] Is he the bad kind of good?

[00:10:52] Is he the good kind of bad?

[00:10:54] Like, which one is...

[00:10:56] All right, Avid.

[00:10:57] All right, Avid.

[00:11:00] You know what?

[00:11:01] That is such a brilliant reference.

[00:11:03] Because, you know, maybe...

[00:11:04] I will say it's...

[00:11:05] Because he's not bad in bad movies.

[00:11:08] It's just that the bad movies, I don't want to watch, period.

[00:11:11] So, I don't care about it.

[00:11:13] Whereas, I think he's really good in good movies.

[00:11:16] I...

[00:11:17] I...

[00:11:18] I don't know if I should go on record to say this.

[00:11:20] But I didn't mind Shandar.

[00:11:23] Yeah, there's a few crazy people out there that say these statements.

[00:11:27] Yes.

[00:11:27] Okay.

[00:11:28] Including our top friend, Beth.

[00:11:30] Yeah, it's not...

[00:11:31] I don't think it's a good film.

[00:11:33] I wouldn't be like, oh, it's on, like, my top list of favorites or ever.

[00:11:36] But again, fine enough background movie.

[00:11:39] It's...

[00:11:40] You know, it's on the same realm as Ye Jawani Hai Diwani for me.

[00:11:44] Wow.

[00:11:45] So, that lowers Ye Jawani quite considerably.

[00:11:49] Shandar has a great soundtrack as well.

[00:11:51] Lapitri Vedi killed it.

[00:11:53] So, you know, let's be honest.

[00:11:55] I like that cross-dress song that they had.

[00:11:57] Gulabo.

[00:11:58] Yeah.

[00:11:58] It was a Gulabo.

[00:11:59] Gulabo, right?

[00:11:59] Yeah, the one with...

[00:12:00] Well, the women are cross-dress, not the men.

[00:12:02] It would be funny if he was in a Gagra or something like that.

[00:12:05] Yeah.

[00:12:05] But...

[00:12:06] But...

[00:12:11] But yeah, so I...

[00:12:13] I saw the Deva trailer and I'm like, yeah, I...

[00:12:17] I'm kind of tired of gratuitous violence now.

[00:12:21] I think it's just...

[00:12:24] I...

[00:12:24] Again, like, because we all watched, like, Kill last year, right?

[00:12:28] Yeah.

[00:12:28] Kill was the first, like, really violent film that I saw in a while that I actually felt

[00:12:32] like, oh, I'm watching something new.

[00:12:34] Yeah.

[00:12:34] Like, I really enjoyed it.

[00:12:37] Like, it was tight.

[00:12:38] It was solid.

[00:12:39] It was packed.

[00:12:40] Again, the three of us watched Animal together and Animal, I took a full-blown nap half in

[00:12:45] between.

[00:12:46] Woke up.

[00:12:46] Still violence is happening.

[00:12:48] I'm like, wonderful.

[00:12:50] So, yeah, with Deva, I think I'm like...

[00:12:53] It's a well-edited teaser.

[00:12:55] I will give that.

[00:12:57] But I'm like, if Shahid is just going to do a rehash of what he did with Kabir Singh

[00:13:03] but add, like, Randir and Animal, then I'm not really interested in watching this at all.

[00:13:08] Like, I just...

[00:13:09] I don't care.

[00:13:11] Like...

[00:13:12] I liked it.

[00:13:13] I'm quite intrigued with it.

[00:13:16] I don't...

[00:13:17] I get the comparison you guys are making with Kabir Singh, but I don't necessarily feel the

[00:13:23] connection with this movie necessarily.

[00:13:26] There is one point that I want to, like, come on back to, Sujoy, because you were saying

[00:13:31] this too, is that this idea of violence, right?

[00:13:35] Yeah.

[00:13:36] I think this always comes back.

[00:13:37] Like, in Hollywood, you also have this where, like, very gory horror movie.

[00:13:42] There's a certain period.

[00:13:44] I remember we were having all of those Eli Roth movies and all of those...

[00:13:48] Hostel and Saw.

[00:13:49] Hostel and stuff like that, right?

[00:13:50] And I think what we're living through in Bollywood is the equivalent of that.

[00:13:54] Yeah.

[00:13:54] And I think...

[00:13:56] I mean, I read this theory ages ago, is that, you know, like, it's...

[00:14:00] Basically, it's what's happening in the real world.

[00:14:03] And cinema is a reflection of that, right?

[00:14:06] A, there is just so much violence in the world, like, in the countries and, like, around the

[00:14:11] world that horrifically, you know, kind of projected into our screens all the time.

[00:14:18] And then we have to deal with that.

[00:14:20] And this is how creative people deal with it, like, wrapping it up and making it cinematic

[00:14:25] or beautiful.

[00:14:26] Or this time the hero is going to be doing the violence, right?

[00:14:31] But it's also just that it's the only way art can kind of express itself, it seems.

[00:14:37] And I think we're going to be seeing more of these.

[00:14:41] That movie Marco that came out, it's also the same thing, right?

[00:14:45] I was watching the trailer.

[00:14:47] And it's kind of the same thing again, you know?

[00:14:51] So, and I'm sure there's more movies, this is what they're making.

[00:14:54] So, we're going to have two, three years of this.

[00:14:56] Basically, everybody's going to be doing it.

[00:14:58] Yeah.

[00:14:59] We have Bagi for the poster looks exactly like a scene from Animal, like, the final scene

[00:15:05] where Ranbir goes nuts.

[00:15:07] It's pretty much the same sort of framing.

[00:15:10] Yeah.

[00:15:10] With the Kambasa.

[00:15:11] And I also think these movies are in dialogue with young males, you know, young men.

[00:15:18] This is the audience that, I mean, I don't want to, like, genderfired, but this is speaking

[00:15:24] to young men and want to, you know, see violence and do violence and feel that they're the ones

[00:15:30] that can take on a hundred men, right?

[00:15:33] Yeah.

[00:15:33] So, which is, again, kind of an interesting kind of juxtaposition because they're all

[00:15:38] being quite successful, these movies, right?

[00:15:41] Marco is like, again, Animal was a huge hit, killed it quite well.

[00:15:46] You know, Marco is the same thing.

[00:15:48] So, I'm like, you know, they're going to be making more of these.

[00:15:51] I just don't, there's going to be just movies that aren't as well made, like Bagi 4 will

[00:15:55] probably be.

[00:15:57] But I'm fully expecting, like, you know, a poster soon with Ayushman Khurana holding

[00:16:03] a gun in a suit and, like, blood everywhere, you know?

[00:16:06] Like, it would not surprise me if that happens, right?

[00:16:08] Yeah.

[00:16:08] Like, every single actor out there who's making movies right now will probably be cast in one

[00:16:13] of these sort of movies.

[00:16:15] And every one of them will get one, you know?

[00:16:17] Yeah.

[00:16:18] And also, how different is it Sikandar wants to do, right?

[00:16:22] Like, look at the teaser of Sikandar.

[00:16:24] I haven't talked about it because I want to wait for the trailer.

[00:16:27] It's Salman after all.

[00:16:28] It needs a full thing.

[00:16:30] But it is essentially Salman in a suit, which we haven't seen in a while, holding a shotgun,

[00:16:36] you know, reloading with his knee, which is the awesomest thing that you could ever see.

[00:16:40] But, you know, it is essentially the same thing, right?

[00:16:43] Yeah, Yamini, you were saying?

[00:16:45] Um, I mean, with Ayushman, I will be disappointed if he does that because I feel like he just

[00:16:50] did a wonderful, like, kind of commentary on it when he did an action hero.

[00:16:55] Oh, he did actually.

[00:16:56] He already did that.

[00:16:57] Yeah.

[00:16:57] So, it would be like, well, I get why you're doing it, but also, like, there's a superior

[00:17:03] film here already, which kind of...

[00:17:05] Yeah, parodies it, I guess.

[00:17:07] Yeah.

[00:17:07] Yeah.

[00:17:08] But yeah, I am not going to watch the trailer, though, because any excitement I have for

[00:17:13] Deva is probably going to get, you know, sucked out when I watch the trailer.

[00:17:17] This seems to be one of those.

[00:17:19] Second that dropped was Sky Force.

[00:17:21] But honestly, I don't want to talk about it necessarily.

[00:17:24] Like, it seems to be, let's do Fighter, but cheaper and Shitter.

[00:17:28] So, I don't know if you guys have thoughts about Sky Force.

[00:17:32] Otherwise, we can move on.

[00:17:34] I didn't watch the trailer.

[00:17:36] I had a choice between either Deva or Sky Force to watch before this and I chose to watch

[00:17:41] Yeah, good choices.

[00:17:42] Good choices.

[00:17:42] Sujai, you do.

[00:17:43] Like, I think we should...

[00:17:44] I think I'm just going to boycott this movie.

[00:17:46] I'm not going to talk about it on the show.

[00:17:47] I'm going to take it a bit further.

[00:17:49] Like, I don't care.

[00:17:51] I don't want to go viral again on Sky Force this time, basically.

[00:17:55] You can copy-paste the same tweet and just edit out the movie name and that will be similar.

[00:18:01] They dropped a Janab in there, man, very quickly.

[00:18:04] Like, there was a Janab.

[00:18:05] Guys, by the way, we were like at home.

[00:18:06] Like, I was with my family and my sisters and stuff like that.

[00:18:09] We were actively making fun of Janabs.

[00:18:11] Like, Janabs?

[00:18:12] How many Janabs are there?

[00:18:14] So, yeah, stupid.

[00:18:16] Sujai, let's go.

[00:18:17] You want to talk about it?

[00:18:18] I want to hear about it.

[00:18:19] I want to talk about Ravi Kumar.

[00:18:21] We were talking about to cover the 80s Dhamaqa series, right?

[00:18:26] And this movie just came out of the lead film.

[00:18:30] No holds barred.

[00:18:32] Like, in the promotional material itself, it says logic optional.

[00:18:37] 80swala film.

[00:18:38] And like, dialogue buzzy is...

[00:18:40] Like, you know, when a movie is made like a PPT with bullet points,

[00:18:45] like, these are the strong suits that we have.

[00:18:47] The pros and cons of watching this movie.

[00:18:49] And then you find out that Himesh Rashmiya put his own money into it.

[00:18:55] And I'm like,

[00:18:56] Aisa commitment, aisa conviction.

[00:18:59] Dude is gonna make bank, man.

[00:19:02] He's gonna get his return for sure.

[00:19:05] This movie is gonna make money for him.

[00:19:07] Either that or he's going to go for the Ram Rahim way.

[00:19:11] It's like...

[00:19:12] I think this is gonna work, man.

[00:19:14] Either he's going to make bank or he's going to go bankrupt.

[00:19:17] You know?

[00:19:18] I mean, just...

[00:19:19] This movie is going to be so bonkers.

[00:19:22] Like, it has the same setup of that animal scene of the hallway fight.

[00:19:27] He's getting out a chainsaw.

[00:19:29] He's slashing people up in the trailer itself.

[00:19:32] You can see people getting slashed into two halves.

[00:19:35] Like, Jarasandhi in Mahabharat.

[00:19:37] You know?

[00:19:40] And, oh my God.

[00:19:42] And then you think that he is just a badass guy.

[00:19:45] And then he drops a...

[00:19:49] Jay Mahabharat or something.

[00:19:51] Like, Jay Hind at the end.

[00:19:53] Like, there is a patriotism angle to it as well.

[00:19:56] I'm like...

[00:19:57] Did Subhash Ghai, like, coked up?

[00:20:00] And decide to direct this or something.

[00:20:03] I don't know.

[00:20:04] Oh, man.

[00:20:05] This movie will be a treat to watch when you are definitely not in your senses.

[00:20:12] This is what I get from the trailer.

[00:20:14] Yeah, Mini.

[00:20:15] How excited are you for badass Ravikavar?

[00:20:18] Man, I...

[00:20:20] I see potential.

[00:20:22] I see potential.

[00:20:25] In like a...

[00:20:27] You know?

[00:20:28] A gunda room.

[00:20:30] You know?

[00:20:30] The room kind of situation.

[00:20:33] With this film.

[00:20:35] I 100% agree with Sujoy.

[00:20:37] I think it's gonna be like...

[00:20:40] If we go together...

[00:20:44] We will have such a blast.

[00:20:48] We will have...

[00:20:49] We will have...

[00:20:50] We will have...

[00:20:50] We will have...

[00:20:50] We will have...

[00:20:50] We will have...

[00:20:50] We will have...

[00:20:51] We will have...

[00:20:53] We will have...

[00:20:55] I think this is what everybody will be thinking, right?

[00:20:59] Like, this is how you go to this movie and basically make fun of it.

[00:21:02] The thing is, the movie clearly is in on the joke, right?

[00:21:05] They know what they're doing, right?

[00:21:06] I don't know if they...

[00:21:07] Are projecting it as a joke or not.

[00:21:10] Because I think to Himesh, his Delulu mind...

[00:21:14] Totally thinks he's like doing serious business here.

[00:21:17] You know him more than I do because you watch the judging shows, right?

[00:21:21] Yeah.

[00:21:21] I don't know the guy, right?

[00:21:23] Is he...

[00:21:23] He really believes in the myth or is he playing it?

[00:21:27] I think...

[00:21:28] I think he believes in the myth and the legend of himself.

[00:21:32] Like...

[00:21:33] Wow.

[00:21:33] He's like that.

[00:21:34] You know that eye-to-eye guy?

[00:21:36] He's pretty much like the next level of it, yeah.

[00:21:39] Hmm.

[00:21:40] Okay.

[00:21:40] Like, I find it interesting that he is sort of promoting it as the expose franchise.

[00:21:49] The next step in expose franchise, which...

[00:21:51] Like, what the f***?

[00:21:52] You know?

[00:21:53] The long-awaited follow-up to the expose franchise.

[00:21:57] And there's Prabhu Deva as the villain boss.

[00:22:00] Oh my god!

[00:22:01] And he's dressed the way he was dressed in Mukkala Mukabla.

[00:22:06] Yeah.

[00:22:07] Which is even like...

[00:22:08] It's adding to it.

[00:22:09] That's called branding, Yamini.

[00:22:11] That's called branding.

[00:22:14] Yeah.

[00:22:15] I was like...

[00:22:15] Prabhu Deva, like...

[00:22:16] You know?

[00:22:17] He retired directing, which...

[00:22:18] Like, thank goodness.

[00:22:20] But like...

[00:22:20] Has he?

[00:22:21] That's what he said after like...

[00:22:23] Again, kya maalum?

[00:22:25] Like...

[00:22:26] We never know.

[00:22:29] Prabhu Deva's character's name in the movie is Carlos Pedro Panther.

[00:22:34] Dude, you're not telling me this movie is not in on the joke.

[00:22:38] There's no way.

[00:22:39] It's in on the joke.

[00:22:40] Oh my god.

[00:22:45] You know?

[00:22:45] The thing is, right?

[00:22:46] Like, Sujoy brought up like...

[00:22:48] You know where there's a nationalism angle, right?

[00:22:51] Which is the Jaya Mabart, whatever.

[00:22:52] But it comes in the middle of when Tandoori Days is playing.

[00:22:59] Yeah.

[00:22:59] Oh my god.

[00:23:00] Us may be sequel.

[00:23:01] Like, we had Tandoori Nights before.

[00:23:03] Now we are having Tandoori Day.

[00:23:05] Fucking hell.

[00:23:09] I think this is going to be fun.

[00:23:11] I think the movie is like in on the joke.

[00:23:13] I think...

[00:23:14] Like...

[00:23:14] There's way like...

[00:23:15] I don't know what we were watching the other day.

[00:23:18] And...

[00:23:19] Yeah, it was Baby John.

[00:23:20] We were watching Baby John.

[00:23:22] Joy pointed out that short is blue screen.

[00:23:25] And I was like...

[00:23:25] Oh, I wasn't 100% sure.

[00:23:27] This is the opposite.

[00:23:29] Like...

[00:23:29] You are 150% sure everything is on blue screen.

[00:23:32] Like, they don't even hide it.

[00:23:34] But I do feel...

[00:23:35] I had a tinge of excitement when I saw a soundtrack by Himesh Rashmiya.

[00:23:40] I was like...

[00:23:41] Oh, that's been a while.

[00:23:42] Like, you know?

[00:23:42] I could like take a few songs from him.

[00:23:44] You know?

[00:23:44] He's good at that.

[00:23:46] But yeah.

[00:23:47] I just...

[00:23:47] I think this is like the room.

[00:23:49] But with like, you know?

[00:23:51] New technology basically, right?

[00:23:52] And...

[00:23:53] I can enjoy that.

[00:23:54] I think he's in on the joke.

[00:23:56] I don't know if it'll get released in the UK.

[00:23:58] But if it is...

[00:23:59] I'm booking my Cineworld Unlimited card.

[00:24:03] For a ticket.

[00:24:04] And we're all going...

[00:24:04] I'm taking you all.

[00:24:05] You're all going with me.

[00:24:06] Going together.

[00:24:07] I can't do it.

[00:24:09] Yeah.

[00:24:13] Yeah.

[00:24:13] Talking of universes.

[00:24:14] There's another one that dropped.

[00:24:16] This three universe.

[00:24:17] This three-niverse.

[00:24:20] This...

[00:24:20] Mad on supernatural universe.

[00:24:23] Yeah.

[00:24:24] MSU.

[00:24:24] MSU.

[00:24:25] Oh, my God.

[00:24:26] They ripped even that off.

[00:24:27] Oh, my God.

[00:24:29] Yeah.

[00:24:31] So...

[00:24:31] Any excitement?

[00:24:32] Like, I've been on record.

[00:24:34] I do not enjoy these movies at all.

[00:24:38] Like, none of them.

[00:24:39] Like, even like Bhool Bhoolaiya.

[00:24:41] I re-watched.

[00:24:42] I'm going to talk about that maybe a bit later.

[00:24:44] I don't like them.

[00:24:45] I don't find them...

[00:24:46] Like, they're horror comedies, right?

[00:24:48] I don't find them funny.

[00:24:49] I don't find them horrific.

[00:24:50] So, it's like, what do I do then, right?

[00:24:52] Like, so...

[00:24:52] I don't enjoy them.

[00:24:53] But I was speaking...

[00:24:54] We were speaking with Pitu and she loves them.

[00:24:57] So, she...

[00:24:58] I'm sure that she'll be excited about it.

[00:25:01] What about you guys?

[00:25:02] Yamini, what do you think of the MSU?

[00:25:04] So, personally...

[00:25:06] So, I'm not a horror fan, personally.

[00:25:08] But I do like horror comedies.

[00:25:10] I really liked Three when it came out.

[00:25:13] I have not seen Munjia.

[00:25:16] I love Bedia.

[00:25:17] But again...

[00:25:18] And that we'll talk about it later.

[00:25:20] But I...

[00:25:20] Again, I'm on the Varun Dhavan train.

[00:25:22] I've been on the Varun Dhavan train for like a couple of years.

[00:25:25] I want to see him succeed.

[00:25:27] And Bedia...

[00:25:28] I adore him in Bedia because he's just genuinely like...

[00:25:33] He's so funny.

[00:25:34] Like, in Bedia, I thought.

[00:25:37] And...

[00:25:37] But I think that's also the same thing as you asked him.

[00:25:39] Because you're like...

[00:25:40] I like the people involved in it.

[00:25:42] Which is like Varun and Kriti.

[00:25:43] Therefore, like...

[00:25:44] I like Bedia.

[00:25:46] But...

[00:25:47] That also being said, I did like Bedia as a film.

[00:25:51] I...

[00:25:51] I am interested to see what happens.

[00:25:55] But...

[00:25:55] Personally, I didn't care much for 3-2.

[00:25:59] I didn't understand why.

[00:26:00] Like, when I watched it, I walked out a little bit disappointed.

[00:26:03] It was a massive hit though, right?

[00:26:04] 3-2 is one of the biggest hits, isn't it?

[00:26:06] The thing is also, right...

[00:26:08] I feel like you see a dip in the quality.

[00:26:10] Because the first one was written by Raj and DK.

[00:26:13] Like, this was the...

[00:26:14] It was proposed by them.

[00:26:16] It came from like...

[00:26:18] The whole...

[00:26:19] Like, Ostri Kalana...

[00:26:21] That thing.

[00:26:21] Like, my mom said, you know...

[00:26:22] When they were younger, like in the towns and everything.

[00:26:24] That was the thing that they used to write in Telugu.

[00:26:27] So, it is obviously like...

[00:26:28] It connected to them.

[00:26:30] And it was...

[00:26:30] I thought it was just a really tightly written film.

[00:26:34] Whereas, I feel like every one of the films since then...

[00:26:38] Again, haven't seen Munjia.

[00:26:40] It's again getting like looser and looser.

[00:26:43] Because...

[00:26:44] I don't think they thought of it as a franchise when they first wrote 3.

[00:26:48] Which is, again, my biggest issue with franchises.

[00:26:52] It's like...

[00:26:53] If you have a plan to make a franchise from the beginning...

[00:26:56] You see the difference as opposed to...

[00:26:59] When you're like...

[00:27:00] Oh, let's jump on the franchise.

[00:27:01] You're sort of retrofitting everything now.

[00:27:03] Retrofitting everything.

[00:27:04] Yeah, reverse engineering.

[00:27:05] Because you see that with 3 too.

[00:27:07] Like, I...

[00:27:08] Like, when I was watching it, I was like...

[00:27:09] Well, there's a bunch of like...

[00:27:12] Plot holes that they've tried to like...

[00:27:14] Cover up by...

[00:27:16] Creating...

[00:27:16] Like, you know...

[00:27:18] Backstories or something.

[00:27:19] But it doesn't really make sense when you go back and watch the first one.

[00:27:22] Because you're like...

[00:27:24] Why would she say this?

[00:27:25] Or why would she do this?

[00:27:26] You're retrofitting it.

[00:27:27] And that's gonna keep happening now with the rest of the series.

[00:27:30] Yeah.

[00:27:30] So, I...

[00:27:32] I'll watch them.

[00:27:34] But I don't think I will have a strong opinion about any of them as much as I do about the first three.

[00:27:40] Because I really did really like the first three.

[00:27:42] So, yeah.

[00:27:43] That's where I'm at with it.

[00:27:44] But there's like 20 of them now.

[00:27:46] Like, how many movies have they announced, right?

[00:27:48] There's not like...

[00:27:49] You know...

[00:27:49] Eight, yeah.

[00:27:50] Eight.

[00:27:51] And two every year, right?

[00:27:52] So, there's...

[00:27:53] Yeah.

[00:27:54] There's Thama.

[00:27:55] Which actually, I thought...

[00:27:56] I was very excited for it when it was called Vampires of Vijayanagar.

[00:27:59] They changed it to Thama.

[00:28:01] And I'm like...

[00:28:01] That's not a nice title.

[00:28:03] Vampires of Vijayanagar sounded cool.

[00:28:06] The rest, I don't even remember.

[00:28:08] I know there's a street in there somewhere.

[00:28:10] And there's like a Mahayudh, Mahayudh, something.

[00:28:22] It's Thama.

[00:28:23] And 31st December is Shakti Shalini.

[00:28:25] Which I think, like props...

[00:28:27] That's an interesting name.

[00:28:29] That's a nice name.

[00:28:30] Yeah.

[00:28:30] Next year, it's Bheria 2 and Chamunda.

[00:28:33] And then 2027 is 3.3 and Mahamunjia.

[00:28:37] Yeah.

[00:28:38] Those are the releases that they have proposed so far.

[00:28:41] Eight movies till 2028.

[00:28:43] That's very Kevin Feige of Madness films to do that.

[00:28:48] Yeah.

[00:28:49] I have like zero excitement for these.

[00:28:52] But I'm happy that Bheria is getting a sequel.

[00:28:55] Yeah.

[00:28:56] Yeah.

[00:28:56] Yeah.

[00:28:58] That's pretty much the only thing that I'm happy for in this.

[00:29:02] Actually, guys, like quickly without...

[00:29:04] Like because I have it in front of me.

[00:29:06] I think I undersold how big of a hit 3 was.

[00:29:09] Because it's actually the number one movie of 2024.

[00:29:12] Yeah.

[00:29:13] It made 800, almost 900 crores.

[00:29:15] Do you know the other four movies in the top five that made the most money?

[00:29:19] In volume?

[00:29:20] Without Wikipedia.

[00:29:21] I want to get a guess from you guys.

[00:29:24] I'm guessing.

[00:29:25] Because I'm trying to remember the films.

[00:29:28] Can I open up my letterbox list?

[00:29:31] No.

[00:29:32] Okay.

[00:29:33] Let's do it now.

[00:29:33] Okay.

[00:29:35] Pushpa would be number one, no?

[00:29:38] Pushpa would be Bollywood.

[00:29:39] Oh, Hindi only.

[00:29:42] Such a memorable year to 2020.

[00:29:44] I can't believe it.

[00:29:45] What are the films we watched together?

[00:29:47] Fighter would be there?

[00:29:49] Yeah.

[00:29:50] Fighter is there.

[00:29:50] Bulbulea 3.

[00:29:52] Yeah.

[00:29:53] And...

[00:29:54] I don't think Singam again.

[00:29:55] Is that also there?

[00:29:56] It's number three.

[00:29:57] Singam again is number three.

[00:29:58] Okay.

[00:29:59] Fair.

[00:29:59] Okay.

[00:30:00] I'll give you the last one because you won't guess it.

[00:30:01] It's Shaitaan.

[00:30:03] What?

[00:30:03] Yeah.

[00:30:04] Okay.

[00:30:05] Fair.

[00:30:06] I don't know what in 2020.

[00:30:07] So, the funny part is like, Stree 2 made 875 crores.

[00:30:12] According to Wikipedia.

[00:30:13] So, it's not like 100 for guarantee.

[00:30:16] Then it's Bulbulea Singam 3.

[00:30:17] How much do you think Singam again made compared to Stree?

[00:30:21] So, Stree made 875.

[00:30:23] How much do you think Singam made?

[00:30:25] 300?

[00:30:28] 389.

[00:30:29] Okay.

[00:30:30] Isn't that crazy?

[00:30:31] Like, just like the amount of money they spent.

[00:30:34] The people they got involved.

[00:30:36] The push that they get.

[00:30:38] Like, all of the...

[00:30:40] Yeah.

[00:30:41] No, no, no.

[00:30:41] Go for it.

[00:30:42] All of the, you know, like cow-toeing to, you know, religious sentiment.

[00:30:48] Yeah.

[00:30:48] Political sentiments.

[00:30:50] All of it.

[00:30:50] Like, sell out completely.

[00:30:52] And not even make a third of Stree 2.

[00:30:56] Like, it's crazy to me.

[00:30:58] Like, it's insane.

[00:30:59] Wow.

[00:31:00] Pankhastrupadhi.

[00:31:02] More thank you will start than Ajay Dev.

[00:31:04] Yeah.

[00:31:06] It's crazy.

[00:31:07] It's crazy.

[00:31:07] I will say though, I do think like, even if we're not that excited about the Maddox

[00:31:11] supernatural universe, I do think like the films are going to do well just because of

[00:31:14] how starved Bollywood is for comedy.

[00:31:18] Like, we haven't, like, again, we haven't had good comedies.

[00:31:23] Madgaon.

[00:31:23] We had Madgaon, I think.

[00:31:25] Madgaon.

[00:31:25] Yeah.

[00:31:25] But again, like Madgaon is like...

[00:31:27] Madgaon didn't make enough money.

[00:31:29] No.

[00:31:29] It didn't.

[00:31:30] Yeah.

[00:31:30] Yeah.

[00:31:30] Maybe our comedy is just different from other people's comedy.

[00:31:34] That's the problem.

[00:31:35] Yeah.

[00:31:36] Okay.

[00:31:36] Let's get into some of the stuff we watched.

[00:31:40] I want to hear from you, Yamini.

[00:31:41] You watched Rifle Club.

[00:31:43] Yes.

[00:31:44] Yes.

[00:31:44] I watched Rifle Club.

[00:31:45] So, like a friend of mine, he was like, you know, I think you should go watch Rifle Club.

[00:31:49] You know, like Anurakashap is the villain and everything.

[00:31:53] Because basically this friend of mine, he, when we met, he was like a little bit angry

[00:31:57] at me for Pushpa because he's like, you guys turned our Fahad Fasil into a joker.

[00:32:01] What the hell?

[00:32:02] And I'm like, yeah, like I wrote the film, right?

[00:32:05] Yeah.

[00:32:05] I was like, why are you?

[00:32:07] He's like angry at Telugu people by and large.

[00:32:11] But I think Rifle Club, it's a, honestly, I remember someone had used this adjective on

[00:32:18] Twitter for it.

[00:32:19] And I agree by the time I got to the interview, it is a delicious little film.

[00:32:24] It is.

[00:32:25] It's, it's, again, it's not like, you know, it doesn't have like the massive highs or any

[00:32:33] massive lows that you expect.

[00:32:34] It's like breezy.

[00:32:36] You just get to the interval before you realize it.

[00:32:38] And it's like tight.

[00:32:40] It's at one hour, 55 minutes.

[00:32:43] Essentially.

[00:32:44] So I'll just like give you like a, what's the word?

[00:32:47] A summary.

[00:32:49] It's basically like there's these two people who are kind of on a run because they accidentally

[00:32:54] killed the son of this Don, played by Anurag Kashyap.

[00:32:58] And they kind of seek refuge in this Rifle Club, which is in the Western Ghats.

[00:33:04] So somewhere like I'm assuming Bayanaridiki, like the mountains of Kerala.

[00:33:09] And that night at the Rifle Club, like the reason they go there is because the Rifle Club is

[00:33:13] hosting this actor who is going to be playing like a hunter in his next film.

[00:33:20] So they're like, okay, you come hunting with us in the night.

[00:33:22] And these people know him.

[00:33:23] So they're like an influential person.

[00:33:25] And it's basically now the Don is like determined to seek revenge for the death of his son.

[00:33:30] And it's how these club members basically save their club, save the Rifle Club.

[00:33:36] They're all like master shooters.

[00:33:40] And, you know, they're just great at like shooting.

[00:33:46] And honestly, I think like 2024 was not a great year for most industries.

[00:33:52] But the Malayalam industry was just like putting out banger after banger.

[00:33:58] Like, like every month, like you turn around, there's one film that's getting like critical acclaimed.

[00:34:04] And even the mediocre one was still better than a lot of the Hindi movies, like the bigger hitters.

[00:34:09] Yeah, yeah.

[00:34:10] Because like, I just I remember like every month I was hearing about like, one film that was just like killing it.

[00:34:17] And yeah, again, the Malayalam industry is now like because they don't have high budget.

[00:34:22] So they also don't make a lot of money like yeah, Telugu industry for years we've been like,

[00:34:26] Telugu Hindi is like 100 crore 500 crore like,

[00:34:30] the most highest grossing Malayalam film to date was Manjimal Boys, which made like 250 crores or something.

[00:34:36] But it was made on a 10 crore budget.

[00:34:39] So like, obviously, it's gonna like, it's just the margins are amazing.

[00:34:44] And I think Rifle Club is the probably the last of that like it's, it's, it's an interesting one,

[00:34:53] because it does have kind of like a lot of these people who you would have seen in different Malayalam films.

[00:34:59] You just have a bunch of characters, all these people who are really passionate about shooting.

[00:35:05] And one thing I will say, so I did my research, right.

[00:35:08] So it was sort of like a because there's this actress called Vani Viswanath.

[00:35:12] And she done like a I know like her from a couple of Telugu films in the 80s and 90s.

[00:35:17] But she was basically known as like the action queen of Mollywood, like the Malayalam industry.

[00:35:23] And she basically plays this character called Ittianam.

[00:35:26] And she's the best shooter of the club.

[00:35:29] Like, so a lot of people were like, because I could see in the theater, like it was a small one, but like it was full when I went.

[00:35:37] And everyone like the moment she came on screen, the moment like, you know, she's doing the shooting and everything,

[00:35:42] you could see like a collective wave of like, oh, shit, like this was actually like this lady who is like badass.

[00:35:49] And we were young, like, it's so amazing to see her play the best shooter.

[00:35:56] Like she is the best shooter, like everyone.

[00:35:58] Like there's a scene where, so there's this character who's her ex-husband in the film.

[00:36:04] And when they're all kind of shooting like for defense and everything.

[00:36:07] And he goes like, Ittie, you know, like you are terrifying as a wife, but you are like the best shooter of the club.

[00:36:13] But please kill them.

[00:36:14] Like, you need to do this.

[00:36:18] And it was, it was just nice.

[00:36:20] It was a good, fun, breezy film.

[00:36:22] I would recommend it.

[00:36:25] I think it does exactly what the director wanted it to do.

[00:36:28] I don't think he was going for like a massive, big, you know, spectacle.

[00:36:35] But it's, it's nice.

[00:36:36] Like the highs are great.

[00:36:38] And there's some beautiful frames.

[00:36:40] And there's some great kick-ass dialogues.

[00:36:42] And I think it translates really well, even if you don't know Malayalam.

[00:36:46] So, yeah.

[00:36:48] So you didn't get a chance to watch this, right?

[00:36:50] No.

[00:36:51] It sounds intriguing though, right?

[00:36:52] I'm like, I think I was, while you were talking, I was just checking if it's still playing.

[00:36:57] But it's not.

[00:36:58] And it kind of came and went.

[00:36:59] I just completely missed it.

[00:37:00] I was traveling when it happened.

[00:37:01] I'm not 100% sure.

[00:37:03] When did you watch it?

[00:37:03] I went to Ilford.

[00:37:04] So I...

[00:37:05] You had to go to Ilford?

[00:37:06] I went to Ilford.

[00:37:07] Yeah.

[00:37:07] No, no movie is for me worth it.

[00:37:10] Except Mola Jat.

[00:37:12] I'll go for it.

[00:37:15] Okay.

[00:37:16] Yeah, no.

[00:37:16] I'll have to catch it on streaming when it comes out for sure.

[00:37:21] Are we going to Game Changer?

[00:37:22] Is anybody excited for Game Changer?

[00:37:25] I...

[00:37:26] What is Game Changer?

[00:37:28] It's the new Shankar movie, right?

[00:37:29] The Ramcharan Kiara one.

[00:37:32] Oh.

[00:37:33] Should we go?

[00:37:34] Yeah.

[00:37:34] Should we go?

[00:37:35] Yeah, I don't mind.

[00:37:37] Yeah, let's go.

[00:37:37] Let's go.

[00:37:38] Let's book tickets for next week.

[00:37:40] Yeah, because we're going to be watching Glass Blower, the first Pakistani anime movie.

[00:37:46] Me and Sujoy are going to go.

[00:37:47] So we're going to talk about that.

[00:37:49] And yeah, I don't know.

[00:37:51] I think it's going to be shit Game Changer.

[00:37:53] But let's try to catch it.

[00:37:55] I'm going to be gone.

[00:37:57] I'm going to be gone.

[00:38:09] Are you engaged with Twitter and the discussions, Sujoy?

[00:38:12] Or are you completely off of it?

[00:38:13] I don't see you too much engaging.

[00:38:16] No.

[00:38:17] It's a one-way channel for me.

[00:38:19] I'm just dumping my own thoughts and checking out.

[00:38:21] It's kind of like that.

[00:38:22] I don't want to engage with anyone right now.

[00:38:25] Yeah.

[00:38:26] It feels like...

[00:38:27] Yeah, I get totally bogged down.

[00:38:29] Especially Twitter, which is like a cesspool of just Elon Musk's ego.

[00:38:34] It's unmanageable, right?

[00:38:35] It's like, I don't know what I'm doing there.

[00:38:37] Like a lot of times it's like, yeah, it's weird.

[00:38:39] But there's a lot of discussion going on about the Anurag Kashyap interview.

[00:38:43] And I think actually it's because of that YouTuber, Jami Pants, I think.

[00:38:52] Basically, Anurag Kashyap...

[00:38:54] And the thing is, I was watching the interview and Anurag Kashyap,

[00:38:57] he almost reminds me of Kevin Smith to a certain degree.

[00:39:00] You know what I mean?

[00:39:01] Okay, yeah.

[00:39:01] Where he was kind of like part of this new hope of cinema.

[00:39:08] And I think he didn't translate that into like box office success.

[00:39:14] Yeah.

[00:39:14] And like Kevin Smith, sometimes he's more interesting listening to

[00:39:19] than watching the movies itself, right?

[00:39:22] And I was just kind of making that parallel.

[00:39:25] And I think his interviews are fascinating, right?

[00:39:29] Like I...

[00:39:30] And he was talking about how he's got five movies that he's already shot.

[00:39:35] And he...

[00:39:36] The producers just don't want to release them.

[00:39:39] Yeah.

[00:39:39] One that we watched together, Yamini Kennedy, right?

[00:39:42] Like we watched it last year.

[00:39:44] Yeah.

[00:39:44] Kennedy has still not released, right?

[00:39:47] Yeah.

[00:39:47] It's weird.

[00:39:49] And remember Kennedy, I think we reviewed it on the show, if I'm not mistaken, which I...

[00:39:54] I'm not like 100% it's amazing as a movie, but it's interesting, right?

[00:40:00] And it comes from an interesting artistic place.

[00:40:02] And I think it should get a release.

[00:40:03] But on the other hand, I also don't know if in the current landscape, even if you release it,

[00:40:10] can it actually make money, right?

[00:40:12] And I think for a producer, that's always kind of the thing.

[00:40:14] Like if I release it, it has to make money.

[00:40:16] But on the other hand, they have made the movie.

[00:40:19] So what are they even waiting for?

[00:40:20] They're not going to make money off of it if they just drop it on streaming, right?

[00:40:25] I heard like Patch is getting a theatrical release this year.

[00:40:29] Finally.

[00:40:32] I'll be able to watch it without the watermark.

[00:40:35] Yeah.

[00:40:37] Preview screening or something.

[00:40:38] Yeah.

[00:40:39] So and then the Jammie Pants tweet was basically, you know, oh, if you can be part of the solution,

[00:40:45] why are you raising being critical?

[00:40:48] Be part of the solution.

[00:40:49] And a lot of people took umbrage from that.

[00:40:51] They were like, you know, he's already made his movies.

[00:40:53] Like he's proved his mettle.

[00:40:55] Like what more do you want him to do?

[00:40:57] Right.

[00:40:58] And I think there was a lot of pushback on that.

[00:41:01] So I kind of watched the whole interview.

[00:41:02] I thought, again, it was like a very interesting thought.

[00:41:05] I don't think any of those remarks were like critical of anybody.

[00:41:10] Like he even talks about like, not directly, but slyly about all of the people that he made

[00:41:16] phantom with.

[00:41:17] So I'm guessing that's Vikas Bal and that's Vikram Aditya Motwani.

[00:41:22] And who else was in there?

[00:41:23] I'm not 100% sure who was in there.

[00:41:25] Madhum Mantena.

[00:41:26] It was in there too.

[00:41:27] Yeah.

[00:41:28] And he was just saying that we came together for eight, nine years.

[00:41:31] And then the dream kind of broke because it was only my dream.

[00:41:35] Everybody, that's not like, I cannot impose my dream on everybody.

[00:41:39] We cannot be this creative collective and then make all of these movies, all of us together.

[00:41:44] But there was, I guess, also just a bit of slight disappointment because he was saying

[00:41:48] like, when I want to make a certain movie, even my famous actor friends, they just ghost

[00:41:54] me.

[00:41:54] They won't even take my phone call anymore.

[00:41:56] And that he was going to move out of India, that he was going to move out of Mumbai.

[00:42:00] He was going to move to South.

[00:42:02] Yeah.

[00:42:03] And he was, he was very like, praiseworthy of South cinema and like how collaborative it

[00:42:09] is.

[00:42:09] And it reminds me of his days back in Gangs of Wasipur when they were kind of making that.

[00:42:15] And it was an interesting conversation.

[00:42:18] I really liked it.

[00:42:20] It is long.

[00:42:21] And it is also just a lot of ranting and raving going on.

[00:42:25] So I also understand that people are like, what the hell are you talking about, man?

[00:42:28] Because things weren't that great either when you were making Gangs of Wasipur, you know?

[00:42:34] It was a weird era, man.

[00:42:35] Like I was watching Chandni Chowk to China with my daughter.

[00:42:41] Okay.

[00:42:41] Because I was like, oh, this might be like...

[00:42:43] The Nikhil Adwani masterpiece.

[00:42:44] So it was like, it's that era, right?

[00:42:49] It's that studio era where all of these studios were coming in, spending a lot of money.

[00:42:54] And those movies didn't work at all either, right?

[00:42:56] Savaria as well, right?

[00:42:58] And then Khub Surat.

[00:43:00] Yeah.

[00:43:01] There's that doggy picture.

[00:43:03] I personally really like Khub Surat.

[00:43:06] I really enjoyed it.

[00:43:07] Yeah, I really liked Khub Surat.

[00:43:09] But there were a lot of these made and I mean, it wasn't like a massive hit Khub Surat,

[00:43:12] right?

[00:43:12] It was like, okay, right?

[00:43:14] Um, so, but it was just the fact that like, uh, Chandni Chowk, my daughter didn't last 20

[00:43:20] minutes.

[00:43:20] She was like, Papa, this is interesting for me.

[00:43:22] And I was like, yeah, my daughter makes good choices.

[00:43:24] It's good.

[00:43:24] It's okay.

[00:43:25] Uh, so the movie still doesn't work and it's like completely bigoted.

[00:43:28] I like forgotten.

[00:43:30] Nikhil Adwani is a bigot.

[00:43:32] Like there's, there's, he has a lot of elements and it's like one of those liberal bigots, you

[00:43:36] know?

[00:43:37] Like, oh, I just love my country so much, but it's like every other country sucks.

[00:43:40] And I was watching it and I was like, wow, this is a really racist word Chinese people,

[00:43:44] man.

[00:43:44] Uh, but you used to get away with that back in the day, I guess.

[00:43:47] Um, but yeah, uh, I was just saying that Anurag Kashyap was talking about the streaming

[00:43:53] companies coming in and messing up the ecosystem.

[00:43:56] But I was like, at that time, the studios came in and they messed up the ecosystem too.

[00:44:00] Right.

[00:44:01] And I think it's just harder and harder to make these movies.

[00:44:03] So I, I, I, I don't know.

[00:44:05] I don't know what the solution necessarily is for them.

[00:44:08] And I mean, you watched Kennedy.

[00:44:10] Yeah.

[00:44:11] I watched Kennedy, but honestly with him saying like with you seeing the studios thing and

[00:44:15] you're saying that the streaming things also, like, I think, I, I think Anurag just kind of

[00:44:22] needs to like reevaluate what he's doing because I feel like what didn't work for him worked

[00:44:28] for someone who used to be his partner, like Vikram Aditya Motwane because a film like AK versus AK or

[00:44:36] Control would not have worked if it was put in the theaters.

[00:44:39] Those are very streaming movies and it works for some creators.

[00:44:43] And it's, I feel like Anurag Kashyap's films actually work better on streaming if it actually

[00:44:51] was, if he could find a way to get like Kennedy onto a streaming service.

[00:44:56] Because again, like India is kind of messed up right now with censorship and everything.

[00:45:01] Like at least until the censors weren't, you know, poking their nose into streaming services,

[00:45:08] it was still fine because of a lot of stuff that was coming.

[00:45:11] And once that happened, it's now getting even harder for like filmmakers and creators to

[00:45:16] put their work in there.

[00:45:18] So.

[00:45:19] But the thing is with both, like, I don't think Vikram Aditya Motwane takes any stands in his

[00:45:25] cinema.

[00:45:25] Right.

[00:45:26] Like there's no stand there.

[00:45:28] Right.

[00:45:28] It's just like movies.

[00:45:29] Right.

[00:45:29] I think Anurag does.

[00:45:31] He does take a stand.

[00:45:32] I think Kennedy is, it is a movie definitely that has things to say about the government

[00:45:37] and how they handled COVID and kind of the darkness of it and just the nihilism in it.

[00:45:42] Right.

[00:45:43] So he is saying things which I think is probably more dangerous than anything Vikram Aditya

[00:45:48] Motwane or Vikas Bhal do.

[00:45:50] Right.

[00:45:52] And he also has movies that he came out on streaming and they didn't work either.

[00:45:57] Right.

[00:45:57] Like he had that almost DJ Pyar Vyar, whatever that movie was called.

[00:46:01] Almost Pyar with DJ Mohabbat, I think.

[00:46:04] Yeah.

[00:46:04] Something like that.

[00:46:05] It was like a complicated title.

[00:46:07] Right.

[00:46:08] Yeah.

[00:46:08] Yeah.

[00:46:08] Yeah.

[00:46:08] So he's tried that too.

[00:46:10] Right.

[00:46:10] So it's not that.

[00:46:12] So I will say one thing.

[00:46:14] I think I also understand why the South kind of appeals to him.

[00:46:19] I think Amrita had made this point actually, I think last year or the year before, couple

[00:46:23] of years ago when there was this Telugu film that had released called Virata Parvam with Saipa

[00:46:29] Lavi and Rana Dagubati, like the one where he's playing a communist.

[00:46:34] And I do feel like South cinema because of the way politics, like politics in the South,

[00:46:41] especially in say like places like Tamil Nadu and Kerala, it is quite removed as a result

[00:46:48] of, you know, there not being like a stronghold of like, because like now Telangana has like

[00:46:55] a Congress leader.

[00:46:56] So it's clearly like opposition and stuff like Tamil Nadu and Kerala don't exactly fit.

[00:47:02] Like they fit into the coalition, but like, you know, they still do whatever the hell

[00:47:05] they want.

[00:47:07] And as a result, like the kind of cinema that comes out of it, you have, you have filmmakers

[00:47:12] who have been able to get increasingly political.

[00:47:15] People like Paranji, people like Marisa Alvaraj from the Tamil industry at least, who have things

[00:47:22] to say and who are able to see it because their immediate surroundings are not suppressing

[00:47:30] that.

[00:47:32] Whether or not like the censor board does it, it's still fine, but they're at least able

[00:47:37] to make the film and they're still like, they know that they have an audience, which is

[00:47:42] why I guess Anra Kashyap is like moving south.

[00:47:46] Yeah.

[00:47:48] Because he's like, shouldn't he have a film nerd audience though?

[00:47:50] Like, like the guys that go to Mami, shouldn't they all be watching his movies?

[00:47:55] How much of the Indian audience is that Mami audience?

[00:47:59] It's not enough to generate profits.

[00:48:02] Yeah.

[00:48:02] Because I was going through his filmography and like Ghost Stories, Choked, Dobara, Almost

[00:48:08] Piar with DJ Mohamed, they were all streaming releases pretty much.

[00:48:11] Right.

[00:48:12] So he has been doing the streaming game, but Kennedy still can't find a place.

[00:48:15] Kennedy.

[00:48:16] Yeah.

[00:48:16] Right.

[00:48:17] So yeah, it's just kind of, yeah, I get his frustration and I mean, I enjoyed it.

[00:48:23] I think it's on THR if I'm not mistaken, the interview.

[00:48:28] So if you haven't checked it out, I would suggest, you know, check it out.

[00:48:30] But it really bums you out, man.

[00:48:32] It bums you out.

[00:48:35] We've got a few more things, but I think let's shift that to Patreon.

[00:48:38] I think I have watched Bhol Bholaiya 3.

[00:48:42] I watched RRR Behind and Beyond the documentary.

[00:48:46] And then we have a few non-desi things that we wanted to talk about like Squid Game, Shrinking

[00:48:53] Nosferatu.

[00:48:54] But that's going to be a Patreon exclusive.

[00:48:56] So that's, if you want to listen to that part, join Patreon.

[00:49:00] It's going to be another episode there.

[00:49:02] Let's get into our main review, which is Baby John.

[00:49:18] Yeah.

[00:49:28] Baby John revolves around a DCP who transforms and travels to a different place in order to

[00:49:34] safeguard his family.

[00:49:36] Okay.

[00:49:36] That's it.

[00:49:37] Yeah.

[00:49:38] Yeah.

[00:49:39] So it's directed by Khalees.

[00:49:43] If I'm mispronouncing, I'm not sure if I'm pronouncing it correctly.

[00:49:46] It stars Varun Dhawan, Vamika Gabbi and Kirti Suresh in it.

[00:49:53] And Jagishov, obviously.

[00:49:55] Did you say it's a remake of Theri?

[00:49:57] Yeah.

[00:49:57] It's a remake of Theri.

[00:50:00] Yes.

[00:50:00] Sujo, you and me watched it in an absolutely empty theater.

[00:50:04] There were a couple behind us.

[00:50:06] Yeah.

[00:50:08] And what, like, I don't know, like, we came slightly late.

[00:50:12] It wasn't the, like, I'd gone to my parents for Christmas break.

[00:50:17] So I came in and the movie had already flopped.

[00:50:20] Like, it was clear that nobody was watching it.

[00:50:23] Empty theater pretty much on, I think we went on Boxing Day.

[00:50:27] No, on New Year's Eve, actually.

[00:50:29] Yeah.

[00:50:30] 31st.

[00:50:30] So we went on Tuesday.

[00:50:33] It released on the Friday.

[00:50:35] Yeah.

[00:50:35] And the Tuesday evening show.

[00:50:37] And, like, it was four people in a super screen audience.

[00:50:42] So it was amazing.

[00:50:43] As soon as I came out, I texted Yamini because I had told her, come watch this, discuss this movie on the show with us.

[00:50:50] And I was like, as a big brother, I cannot let her watch this movie.

[00:50:55] I was like, Yams, please, it's really bad.

[00:50:57] I don't want you to go alone.

[00:50:59] Like, it's going to be so bad.

[00:51:01] So I did my duty.

[00:51:03] But, yeah.

[00:51:05] Sujai, I know what you feel.

[00:51:07] Yamini, I want to hear what you feel about Baby John.

[00:51:09] It's like, what do you have to do with your favorite podcast?

[00:51:13] I can't come to you, right?

[00:51:15] You can't come to you with content, right?

[00:51:18] The price is not to be fixed.

[00:51:23] Yeah.

[00:51:25] Yeah.

[00:51:26] The thing is, right.

[00:51:27] It's a nearly short-for-shot remake of Terry.

[00:51:32] It's pretty much like, I mean, there are some things.

[00:51:36] I feel like there is just a lot more, like, unnecessary gratuitous violence against women in this one as opposed to Terry.

[00:51:44] It's very intense.

[00:51:46] And I was all sitting and thinking.

[00:51:49] And I was like, you know, I get why Varun did it.

[00:51:53] I get, like, you know, because one, it's actually produced it.

[00:51:56] Like, Jawan was one of the biggest hits of 2023.

[00:52:00] He gets to play, like, a masala cop, all of this.

[00:52:04] But the thing is, right, from time has really changed from when Terry came out to right now.

[00:52:12] Like, Terry came out in 2016.

[00:52:15] Pre-when we had, like, internet, like, anything.

[00:52:19] It was, like, just pre the Jio revolution with making internet, like, cheap and accessible and everything.

[00:52:29] It's, it's, it's your run-of-the-mill masala thriller.

[00:52:33] It's, it's, you know, it had, like, a couple of good songs.

[00:52:35] It had, like, Vijay with his star power, whatever.

[00:52:41] And it was not something that, like, people hadn't seen before.

[00:52:44] It was just, again, it was just, like, your regular...

[00:52:46] Cookie cutter movie.

[00:52:47] Cookie cutter blockbuster thing.

[00:52:51] The thing is, that movie came out when I was 20.

[00:52:55] I am nearly 29 now.

[00:52:57] And I am, like, this is not stuff I've seen.

[00:52:59] Like, we've seen a revolution happen, right?

[00:53:00] We saw pandemic come in.

[00:53:02] We've seen, like, many of these films.

[00:53:05] We've watched, we've gone back and watched, like, Hindi films that were also like this.

[00:53:12] It's, it's just, I, I don't know.

[00:53:16] And also, honestly, I feel bad.

[00:53:18] I felt like it was, like, a hate crime against Malayalis.

[00:53:20] Like, it was, like, it's, like, we're, we're, what's the word?

[00:53:25] We are punishing you for doing so well with your industry this year.

[00:53:35] Like, Suno, listen to Varun Kavan speak in Malayalam.

[00:53:38] Like, which, when that happened, I was, like, why couldn't they just set it?

[00:53:46] Like, the thing is, setting it in Kerala doesn't really add anything to the story.

[00:53:51] They could have just as easily set it in, like, a coastal town in Maharashtra

[00:53:56] and have Varun speak in Marathi, a language he actually knows.

[00:54:00] Hmm, yeah.

[00:54:01] Yeah.

[00:54:03] So, it, I was, like, yeah, I mean, if you want to show, you want to do this, whatever.

[00:54:09] But I, yeah, I wasn't sold on it.

[00:54:11] I, I thought Varun was really cute with the kid.

[00:54:14] But I think that's about it.

[00:54:16] Hmm.

[00:54:18] Yeah, it was just, like, a whole load of, I don't know why they made the changes.

[00:54:22] There was that, there was that weird, like, wanted reveal of, like, Vamika Gabbi.

[00:54:28] That is so weird.

[00:54:30] That is, yeah, yeah.

[00:54:31] I want to talk about that because I, I, I don't agree with such short-for-short remake, actually.

[00:54:36] I think this movie has a very different directorial stamp and vision.

[00:54:43] And it has a massive influence of what Jawahan tried to do.

[00:54:46] Yeah.

[00:54:46] Like, that's where the different directorial style is coming from.

[00:54:50] And that's what makes this movie different from theory.

[00:54:53] But, Sujai, quickly, what are your thoughts about Baby Jai?

[00:54:57] So, before watching this movie, I, I am actively disengaged with the conversation.

[00:55:03] But even then, the whole negative reviews and the, the response to this movie had seeped into my timeline, in a way.

[00:55:12] I knew, like, this was not going to be a fun movie.

[00:55:15] We watched it expecting that.

[00:55:18] And even then, I got disappointed how badly this movie has been executed.

[00:55:22] Sujai was getting actively mad in the theater.

[00:55:25] I could see him, like, getting, like, enraging about it.

[00:55:28] Like, this movie on a script level, just a story level does not make sense.

[00:55:33] Like, it, it tries to do something and then it undoes the same thing in the next scene.

[00:55:38] And I'm like, like, it feels like a group assignment and nobody quality checked the final draft of this movie.

[00:55:46] Like, there is a scene that has happened.

[00:55:48] And then the next scene, Jack Kishroff forgets that he's already known that Varun is alive.

[00:55:53] Yeah.

[00:55:53] And, like, what the hell is happening?

[00:55:56] Like, he's already made that, you know, the school bus derail and fall into the thingy as a badla to say that, oh, I am coming for you.

[00:56:07] And he's already in prison.

[00:56:08] But then the next scene, he's out of prison.

[00:56:10] And he is getting all surprised that Varun is out.

[00:56:13] It does not make sense.

[00:56:15] Like, it's such a terrible, terrible job done in this movie.

[00:56:20] And I feel so bad.

[00:56:21] The overall tone of this movie is, like, very 2016 Vijay, which I don't think Varun can replicate because Varun does not have that star power.

[00:56:32] Like, I don't buy Vijay's star power.

[00:56:34] I'm not part of that fandom.

[00:56:36] But I know that that particular fandom exists.

[00:56:38] And so 2016's Theri is a sort of nod, a wink to that fandom, right?

[00:56:45] And that's why Theri exists as a star movie, whatever.

[00:56:49] But Varun does not have that fandom, does not have that pull to be doing all of those, like, you know, twinkle, twinkle little star bit.

[00:57:00] Or the moment he has done, you know, a villain pitai or a villain revenge, a rape revenge on the villain.

[00:57:10] He is winking and putting on sunglasses and, you know, putting his feet up like a hero.

[00:57:16] It's just a stark, you know, shift of pitch.

[00:57:20] Like, you are making the hero righteous, but also you're trying to make him look like, you know, a comic book character.

[00:57:30] It's just so terribly done.

[00:57:32] Like, if you really wanted to remake, why not make it, you know, keeping in mind that this is a Varun Dhawan-led movie.

[00:57:40] So you have to keep that, that what is his strengths.

[00:57:43] He can do comedy, but it's not like right how he is cosplaying Vijay in this movie in a way.

[00:57:50] And it's so terrible.

[00:57:52] So to Yamini, why they, you mentioned they picked Kerala as the backdrop of this movie.

[00:57:59] Why did they do that?

[00:58:00] I can tell you the specific reason why they did that.

[00:58:03] And it is for so that Rajpal Yadav could wear that wig and become a Malayali.

[00:58:10] And yeah.

[00:58:11] Oh my God.

[00:58:14] So they had not revealed Rajpal Yadav.

[00:58:16] Like the first song where Varun is playing with the daughter and he's being very happy.

[00:58:22] And you see this really lovey-dovey relationship and you see this other character being with them.

[00:58:27] And I was like to Asim, that's Rajpal Yadav, right?

[00:58:31] And Asim was like, what?

[00:58:33] Really?

[00:58:34] In that wig?

[00:58:35] And then obviously you get that reveal that Rajpal Yadav used to be his colleague before and all of that shit.

[00:58:41] But yeah, this movie did not work for me, man.

[00:58:43] And even with all those scathing reviews that this movie has got, it really, like, I went with really low expectations.

[00:58:53] And it just managed to even go below that.

[00:59:01] And obviously we will talk about that cameo, which feels like, yeah, it feels like a big brother, a big boss episode cameo.

[00:59:11] It feels like nobody scripted that and Salman was given free reign.

[00:59:15] And they kept rolling and they went for all the Indian festivals.

[00:59:19] It felt like a spoof of a cameo.

[00:59:22] Yeah, we will talk about that in detail, I guess.

[00:59:24] Let's talk about it now, to be honest.

[00:59:26] Because, like, I think they've been, like, these are the second cameo Salman has done now, right?

[00:59:32] After Singham.

[00:59:34] Singham again.

[00:59:34] And this one.

[00:59:36] And they hyped this up so much, both times.

[00:59:38] They hyped it up so much.

[00:59:40] I don't know why.

[00:59:42] Like, Salman is just an actor, right?

[00:59:45] He's just a star.

[00:59:46] Like, I don't understand where 30% of the marketing of the movie is based on Salman Aega.

[00:59:53] Like, why?

[00:59:54] Like, is this all just Pathan?

[00:59:57] Is this all the Pathan hangover?

[00:59:58] You know?

[01:00:00] And given that they are doing that, this movie has flopped so hard.

[01:00:06] I don't think there is going to be any possibility of making the franchise that it wants, obviously wants this to become, right?

[01:00:13] They introduced Agent Baby John.

[01:00:15] Then they introduced Wamika as Agent something.

[01:00:18] I can't remember.

[01:00:19] Adira.

[01:00:19] Adira.

[01:00:20] And then, obviously, the last of them is the Master's Rogue, Agent Bhaijaan, which is...

[01:00:27] It doesn't make any sense.

[01:00:28] It took literally two brain cells to write that, you know?

[01:00:31] The cameo is so bad that it makes the Singham cameo look better.

[01:00:35] Like, that was a terrible cameo, you know?

[01:00:38] Also, the cameo is so bad, but they are banking on it so much that it really negates the importance of the protagonist of the whole movie.

[01:00:47] Like, Baby John is a baby now.

[01:00:50] Yeah.

[01:00:51] Yamini, you were going to say something?

[01:00:53] You know, I missed that part of the online conversation where Salman had a cameo because when I walked into this film, I had no idea that Salman was going to be in it.

[01:01:08] But then the thing is, like, in the end, right?

[01:01:10] Like, when the moment they started going, like, you know, yeh ayega yeh ayega, I was like...

[01:01:16] Why do I feel like it's Salman?

[01:01:18] And in the moment I saw Salman, I was like...

[01:01:20] Yeah.

[01:01:21] Like, okay.

[01:01:21] So, there's something common between the Singham cameo and this cameo that both cameos are not at all combined with the plot, right?

[01:01:33] They don't matter in the scheme of things, of the story.

[01:01:36] Like, at one point where I see the main characters of this movie cornered and they can't escape, I thought that would be a pivotal point to introduce this character if they really want to integrate into the plot.

[01:01:47] But obviously, they could probably get one day to shoot because Salman is busy shooting Big Brother.

[01:01:55] So, they make him do these inconsequential one-day shoots where I don't know even Varun got to meet Salman Khan or not, if they are in the same room or not, or just green screen, whatever.

[01:02:06] And then they shoot those scenes as, like, a sort of a teaser of what things could be.

[01:02:12] But they are not even interested to make this thing possible or this thing interesting enough.

[01:02:17] Yeah, it's just a terrible choice after terrible choice.

[01:02:21] And also that cameo, like, the slow motion, like, 360 degree that this Kalis guy is so obsessed with.

[01:02:28] So obsessed with it, right?

[01:02:29] It happens three, four times.

[01:02:31] It makes you dizzy.

[01:02:33] It's literally like, because I was always very interested in the main character getting in a monologue and the camera work is just...

[01:02:40] Yeah.

[01:02:41] I told the story earlier that Varun basically cheated me to watch Dilwale.

[01:02:48] I don't know.

[01:02:48] I told the story at a previous episode.

[01:02:52] And I have to say again, I think, Varun, you need to stop lying.

[01:02:56] That's one of the problems you're having here.

[01:02:58] I remember that clip, right?

[01:03:00] He says in one of the press interviews, like, if you liked Inception, you will like Dilwale or something.

[01:03:04] And it's just like...

[01:03:05] Yeah.

[01:03:05] And here he said,

[01:03:07] You will get to see OG brothers in baby John.

[01:03:10] This is my promise.

[01:03:12] This is the promise that you will see the original Salman in it.

[01:03:15] This is a basic lie, Varun.

[01:03:17] If you don't want to attract, you know, the evil eye, stop lying about this stuff, right?

[01:03:23] Like, I understand promotion.

[01:03:25] It's going to be like Varun.

[01:03:26] It's going to be like Varun.

[01:03:26] Yeah, 100%.

[01:03:27] Like, that's why his movies isn't working.

[01:03:29] Like, he's cursed at the moment, you know.

[01:03:30] And just like, huge Salman Khan man, you know this already.

[01:03:34] Everybody knows this.

[01:03:35] We are all Varun fans as well.

[01:03:36] Yeah, we all want Varun to do well.

[01:03:39] Salman looks terrible in both cameos.

[01:03:41] I don't know who's styling him at the moment, what the hair piece is, what the beard thing is going on.

[01:03:47] Who's dressing him.

[01:03:48] He doesn't look good.

[01:03:50] He looks good in Sikandar.

[01:03:51] He looks great in Sikandar.

[01:03:53] Why does he look so bad?

[01:03:54] And why is this being approved as the cameo?

[01:03:57] I don't understand.

[01:03:59] Yeah, Yamini?

[01:04:00] No, I was so convinced like in the Singham cameo, like, it's not him.

[01:04:06] It's just like, kisi ke moho pe like, they put green screen and put Salman's face on him.

[01:04:11] Kisi ka moho, kisi ka bhai.

[01:04:13] Kisi ka bhai.

[01:04:15] Literally.

[01:04:16] This one also, like when he turned up, I was just like, yaar, like uncle ko like rest karne do yaar.

[01:04:22] Why are you doing this?

[01:04:23] Like, it's, ya.

[01:04:25] No, for me, it's not the uncle part of it.

[01:04:28] Because he's old.

[01:04:29] We all accept he's an older man.

[01:04:31] I can understand like he can still kick ass cinematically.

[01:04:35] That all makes sense, right?

[01:04:37] But at least, you know, check his visuals.

[01:04:43] Like, check his dressing.

[01:04:44] That's literally the job.

[01:04:47] Yeah, that's the job.

[01:04:48] Check lighting.

[01:04:49] Check camera angles.

[01:04:51] Like, this is all I'm saying, you know.

[01:04:52] I'm not saying he shouldn't do it.

[01:04:54] He's not a badass.

[01:04:55] He's not like, he has a presence.

[01:04:57] He's a star.

[01:04:58] All of that.

[01:04:59] But just check his hair, yaar.

[01:05:01] Check the filter you're putting on him.

[01:05:03] Like, that part I know.

[01:05:04] The thing is, Asim, they're not even doing it in films where Salman is the main actor.

[01:05:09] Why would they do it for like a cameo?

[01:05:11] Yeah.

[01:05:11] True.

[01:05:12] So, my thoughts on Baby John, to come back to this.

[01:05:16] I've said this before.

[01:05:18] Vijay is one of those actors that I don't understand.

[01:05:20] He makes cinema that's not for me.

[01:05:24] It is overtly sentimental.

[01:05:27] It is overtly gruesome.

[01:05:29] And it's filled up with inherently dumb shit.

[01:05:32] Like, that's how I see Vijay movies.

[01:05:35] But I watched Baby John.

[01:05:37] And then I went back to watch Theri.

[01:05:40] It's Theri, right?

[01:05:41] Theri or Theri?

[01:05:42] How do I pronounce it?

[01:05:43] Theri with a H.

[01:05:44] Theri.

[01:05:45] I watched it.

[01:05:46] And even I can admit that Theri is a better movie than Baby John is.

[01:05:49] Like, it knows what it wants to be.

[01:05:52] It knows it's delivering to its audience.

[01:05:54] And it's delivering it quite well.

[01:05:56] I enjoy Theri more than I did than Baby John.

[01:05:59] And I like Varun a lot.

[01:06:02] I want him to do well.

[01:06:03] But this is not it, man.

[01:06:05] Like, it's just a lot of things they've chosen to remake shot like exactly the same.

[01:06:12] And some things they've decided to completely change.

[01:06:15] And everything that they've changed is a bad choice.

[01:06:18] Yeah.

[01:06:19] You know, like, they, for example, like, even the things that they remade are bad choices.

[01:06:24] One of the things they do is they have these comedy horrific villains.

[01:06:28] Like, Jackie Shroff wants to be a horrific villain.

[01:06:31] But he also wants to do some comedy on the side.

[01:06:34] And I think that seems to work in Telugu movies or in South movies.

[01:06:38] It's not a thing that works in Hindi movies, I don't think.

[01:06:41] Like, Amrish Puri needs to be Amrish Puri.

[01:06:44] Yeah.

[01:06:45] Right?

[01:06:45] And then on the side, you have somebody else that is doing the comedy.

[01:06:48] I don't think, like, you know, Jackie Shroff doing a speech on how would you feel if you ordered some food from Uber and then the driver ate your food.

[01:06:59] And then making that about, you know, human trafficking and raping women.

[01:07:04] Like, I don't understand how, what am I supposed to feel here?

[01:07:06] Am I joking at the idea that we've all had, oh, if we order food, some Uber driver is going to eat it or spit in it?

[01:07:14] And then compare it to rape.

[01:07:16] Like, how does that, like, work, right?

[01:07:18] Or when the beggar is, you know, he has, like, a begging network.

[01:07:25] And you have this horrific shot of where he's put, like, a rod in the eye of the little cute girl and he's blinded him.

[01:07:32] But he's also then, oh, he's so hot, let's seduce her with Kirti Suresh, the doctor.

[01:07:37] Like, how are we supposed to match those sentimentalities as Hindi viewers?

[01:07:43] Because I think within a span of five minutes, right?

[01:07:45] That whole scene is like the, we've rescued these little poor kids.

[01:07:50] But the next scene they're flirting and then like, oh, my shift is done, you'll get it all in the bus.

[01:07:55] Yeah.

[01:07:56] But I mean, that's there in theory as well.

[01:07:58] That's what I mean.

[01:07:59] I think in theory it works because the audience accepts that kind of thing.

[01:08:02] I don't think Hindi audiences, we accept that.

[01:08:05] It doesn't work for us.

[01:08:06] This is too sudden a shift.

[01:08:08] And I think just remaking those exact same shot doesn't work.

[01:08:11] Like the shot of the kid eating the chocolate because he got 10 rupees back from the evil builder.

[01:08:18] I think I'm sure that works in Telugu movies.

[01:08:20] It does not work in Hindi movies.

[01:08:22] It does not work.

[01:08:24] So those are the things that they just remade wholesome that were bad choices, right?

[01:08:29] Then there's things that they change.

[01:08:32] And those are also bad choices.

[01:08:34] The entire, yeah, that's what I want to talk about.

[01:08:35] The entire like women trafficking ring angle is not there in theory.

[01:08:41] No.

[01:08:41] Like theory, the whole, it's just a basic revenge thing, right?

[01:08:46] Like where like the villain is angry at Vijay because you killed, like he killed his son.

[01:08:51] And that's what he's trying to do and ends up killing his wife.

[01:08:54] He's just a politician.

[01:08:55] He's just a politician.

[01:08:56] He's just a politician.

[01:08:57] Here he's some Heath Ledger Joker type of psychopath with human trafficker rapor going on in there.

[01:09:04] And it's not necessarily needed, right?

[01:09:07] And just, we are in 2024, guys.

[01:09:10] We are saying that Jackie Shroff, who is a tilak-wielding villain with his chair and all, like he's marowing ustra on everybody.

[01:09:20] And at the very second, the next scene where his son just pops up from nowhere with all the tattoos.

[01:09:26] We're like, ye toh marayga abi.

[01:09:27] And he's like, meriko minister banna hai.

[01:09:30] And Jackie Shroff is like, haa, tu chal finance minister tere ko banna hai.

[01:09:34] Like, what the hell is happening?

[01:09:37] And the scene that super disturbed me, which is like what you said, Asim, is a scene that they add, which is a terrible choice,

[01:09:45] which is basically choosing to burn this little girl who is being raped as they try to save her.

[01:09:55] That's not there in Tere.

[01:09:56] In Tere, it's directly she's in the hospital and she's not a child.

[01:09:59] She's like an IT worker.

[01:10:01] She's an IT employee who's obviously like, you know, been assaulted and everything.

[01:10:07] But what Atlee doesn't choose to show that happening on screen.

[01:10:13] When you raise that kind of gruesomeness towards the women character, then you also raise that gruesomeness towards the revenge you're exacting on the men.

[01:10:23] And that is also not necessary.

[01:10:25] The gruesomeness of how Jackie Shroff's son is killed, they really freeze on it, right?

[01:10:32] And that's not necessary.

[01:10:34] That doesn't impact us the way it needs to impact us, right?

[01:10:37] It doesn't make any sense.

[01:10:39] So that whole scene is again like the logic of this movie when they reveal the son being killed, right?

[01:10:46] And you see because that's pretty much the scene before the whole reveal that Varun himself reveals to Jackie Shroff that I killed your son, do whatever you like, right?

[01:10:55] Just before that, like the doctor comes in with the autopsy because the autopsy report hasn't done because the body is still there on site.

[01:11:03] And she's already like, oh, this feels like an act of passion because all of this has already been done.

[01:11:11] And she can tell that just by looking at the corpse.

[01:11:14] And like, what the f*** is happening with this movie?

[01:11:17] She's a criminologist, criminal profiler as well.

[01:11:21] She's a criminal psychologist.

[01:11:24] In theory, he just kills them and hangs them upside down on the bridge.

[01:11:29] But because they have to burn the girl, they now have to burn the thing and show his body.

[01:11:34] And that's like, why are you doing this?

[01:11:37] These are choices.

[01:11:38] These are actual choices where they're changing things and these choices don't work.

[01:11:44] The other thing is also the movie Theory.

[01:11:46] It's about this guy, Joseph, with his daughter.

[01:11:50] That's where the movie starts, right?

[01:11:52] Like here it's already in.

[01:11:54] So you missed it because you came in slightly late.

[01:11:57] This first shot is women getting trafficked in meat sacks, right?

[01:12:03] And then these women are like, I believe somebody will come save us.

[01:12:08] Title shot, Baby John.

[01:12:11] That's how the movie...

[01:12:12] So we already know Baby John is some sort of badass.

[01:12:15] You see in the credit sequence already, you know, Varun Dhawan's six-pack and his hair flowing and the bloody thing.

[01:12:22] So the whole idea of this big reveal happening later on is already busted, right?

[01:12:28] We've seen constantly these things of these women are getting trafficked, they're getting raped and all of this stuff is happening.

[01:12:34] And somebody will be the savior and that savior is Varun.

[01:12:37] When in theory, that's not the case at all, right?

[01:12:40] It's almost like...

[01:12:41] What's that movie?

[01:12:43] History of Violence.

[01:12:44] When it's almost like, oh my God, what's happening here?

[01:12:46] He's actually a badass.

[01:12:48] And we know Vijay is a badass that's gonna happen.

[01:12:50] But the movie has to follow some sort of rules.

[01:12:54] And Baby John refuses to do that.

[01:12:56] And I think that's where the mistake lies.

[01:12:59] And then it's also these exaggerations that they put in, right?

[01:13:03] Like there's this...

[01:13:04] The idea that Varun Dhawan has gone away or Vijay's character has gone away and then he comes back as a vigilante, right?

[01:13:13] But why is he then dressed in full cop uniform?

[01:13:16] That doesn't make any sense, right?

[01:13:18] Like why would he do that?

[01:13:19] I think in Vijay movies, that can make sense.

[01:13:22] I think again, in Hindi movies, that does not make sense.

[01:13:24] Why would you even wear that whole...

[01:13:26] It's raining.

[01:13:27] You're gonna kill people in a warehouse.

[01:13:29] Why would you wear the hat?

[01:13:30] It doesn't make any sense, right?

[01:13:33] But then there's also just like the idea where...

[01:13:35] You know where there's an accident that's happened and the woman goes to complain about my daughter's been kidnapped.

[01:13:42] And the cop is just munching on this biryani in the most disgusting way, right?

[01:13:47] That's added.

[01:13:48] That's not there in Theli.

[01:13:49] Like the whole biryani sequence is not there.

[01:13:53] But again, they have to ramp it up.

[01:13:55] Make him even more villainous than he needs to be.

[01:13:57] Not only is he a disgusting cop, but he also eats disgustingly.

[01:14:01] I don't know what that adds to the movie.

[01:14:03] And also that whole scene is shot again like Varun is some sort of a ghost.

[01:14:08] It very much looks like a scene from Bholbulaiya.

[01:14:10] Yeah.

[01:14:12] It's a completely departure from the rest of the aesthetic of the movie.

[01:14:16] Like they show that, oh yeah, baby John has come back or whoever.

[01:14:20] Well, Surya something.

[01:14:22] What's his other name?

[01:14:23] Satya.

[01:14:24] Satya has come back.

[01:14:25] The legend of Satya has come back.

[01:14:27] But then it shows like what the hell is happening, right?

[01:14:31] It's just...

[01:14:31] But that's the other thing.

[01:14:32] This idea of this hero cop, right?

[01:14:35] Like this hero cop, but not also hero cop.

[01:14:38] He's also the savior of women.

[01:14:39] Like they...

[01:14:41] And this obviously is coming from Jawan, right?

[01:14:43] This is what Jawan was trying to do.

[01:14:45] And I think because obviously Atlee does the...

[01:14:48] He's the producer of it.

[01:14:50] They wanted to add this kind of sensibility to this movie too.

[01:14:54] And I think that's just again a complete misstep, you know, to do that and do it this way.

[01:15:00] Because then you need to make him like some sort of cop savior of women.

[01:15:05] You know, it's like, bhaiya, save me and all that kind of thing that's going on.

[01:15:09] But the movie doesn't care about these women.

[01:15:12] There's like, all of these women are kidnapped.

[01:15:14] They're being treated horrifically.

[01:15:16] Do you know the name of any of these women?

[01:15:19] Can you...

[01:15:20] If you put them in a lineup, can you even tell you this was her daughter or that son or anything like that?

[01:15:26] You know?

[01:15:26] Even the scene where the girl gets kidnapped.

[01:15:30] Like a really tiny girl that they take to rape, right?

[01:15:33] Why does the father have to also be a mute?

[01:15:36] That's not there in the original movie.

[01:15:39] He's just like a poor guy.

[01:15:40] And he can make a speech and say, you know, look what they did to us.

[01:15:45] Nobody's going to care about this.

[01:15:46] We're not going to get justice.

[01:15:47] But in this version, he also has to be a dumb mute.

[01:15:51] Like, why?

[01:15:52] Why add that layer to make it elevated when the movie is not there in terms of quality of filmmaking or storytelling?

[01:16:00] I think that's where the mistake lies with Baby John.

[01:16:03] That it's not even being a straight-to-straight remake because that wouldn't work, right?

[01:16:09] A remake wouldn't work.

[01:16:10] So they have to elevate it.

[01:16:12] They have to exaggerate it.

[01:16:14] They have to make it javan.

[01:16:15] And they failed on that on every front.

[01:16:19] And I think that's one of the problems with Baby John, unfortunately.

[01:16:23] And Varun's lying.

[01:16:24] Stop lying, Varun.

[01:16:27] Is this also the only movie where Shiva Chadda is killed?

[01:16:33] I have not seen her die on screen.

[01:16:36] No, I have not.

[01:16:37] That's such an odd observation.

[01:16:40] I'm trying to remember all the films.

[01:16:43] Because she's always like the happy-go-lucky or like mother or the chachi.

[01:16:49] She's good in it.

[01:16:49] I do think she was...

[01:16:51] I like her.

[01:16:51] I like her.

[01:16:52] Her scenes were fun.

[01:16:53] What did you think of the women?

[01:16:55] Kirti Suresh and Vamika Khabhi?

[01:16:58] I actually like Sanya Malhotra's cameo more than ever.

[01:17:04] Like I was saying, I think Varun and Sanya should do a movie together.

[01:17:08] They really have matching energies.

[01:17:10] Both are the same.

[01:17:12] Yeah.

[01:17:14] No, honestly, I get that you're right.

[01:17:16] Because I feel like the two of them...

[01:17:17] And the two of them are both really good at like physical comedy.

[01:17:21] Yeah.

[01:17:21] So I think it would just like work out very well.

[01:17:24] They would be amazing in a David Dhawan movie, I think.

[01:17:28] Yeah.

[01:17:28] Oh shit, yeah.

[01:17:32] I did not like Vamika in this movie.

[01:17:38] Yeah, again, they add this whole story.

[01:17:40] And again, Theri is not a masterpiece.

[01:17:43] Theri is not a masterpiece.

[01:17:44] I watched it.

[01:17:45] Amy Jackson is in there.

[01:17:47] I was like, Amy Jackson is like...

[01:17:48] She has the Deepika from 83 Vig.

[01:17:50] It's really bad.

[01:17:52] Yeah, the 83 Vig.

[01:17:53] The 83 Vig.

[01:17:55] She's really bad in it too.

[01:17:56] Like that whole plot is ridiculous.

[01:17:58] But at least they established that there's a love story between the teacher and Vij's character, right?

[01:18:06] Hey, did you ever feel that there was any love between being developed between these two?

[01:18:12] No, right?

[01:18:12] No, but also they sort of cut that love story short by revealing that there is an ulterior motive behind Vamika's character pursuing Varun.

[01:18:26] But does that pay off?

[01:18:28] Like she becomes the agent, sure.

[01:18:29] But what the f***?

[01:18:31] Why?

[01:18:31] Why was she an agent?

[01:18:33] Why was she even agenting?

[01:18:34] It makes no sense because honestly, when that happened, I was like, why did they give her the, you know, Pokeri wanted like that sudden reveal?

[01:18:44] Like, oh, she was a police inspector agent all along.

[01:18:48] And I'm like, but this is not a twist.

[01:18:51] Like this makes no sense to me.

[01:18:53] She went undercover to find Varun's undercover.

[01:18:56] Yeah.

[01:18:57] Is that what the mission was?

[01:18:59] I was wondering what the mission was.

[01:19:00] Yeah, yeah.

[01:19:01] That's why she went undercover as a school teacher in a locality where she probably thinks Varun's daughter goes, right?

[01:19:09] If the mission is to find him, she found him.

[01:19:13] Like why did I need to teach her?

[01:19:14] Because Google search and found him.

[01:19:17] It's a text.

[01:19:18] It's like, Milia, that's it.

[01:19:20] That and also like, you know, the bit where she takes the traffic girl to the police station and she takes Varun where he has his like Malayalam monologue.

[01:19:32] Like why did she have to put his name?

[01:19:35] Like then if she's already an agent, like it makes no sense.

[01:19:39] Yeah.

[01:19:41] Also like the bad dubbing in this movie, man.

[01:19:44] So much bad dubbing in this movie.

[01:19:47] Yeah.

[01:19:48] I did like Keerti Suresh though.

[01:19:50] I'm looking forward what's next for her.

[01:19:54] I thought she had like a very pleasant experience.

[01:19:57] Presence.

[01:19:58] Yeah, presence.

[01:19:59] Yeah.

[01:19:59] I thought she was nice.

[01:20:00] I have not seen any of her other work.

[01:20:02] I have not seen any of her work.

[01:20:04] You have not seen like Mahanati?

[01:20:05] Mahanati.

[01:20:05] No, that's the only movie that I watched of her and she was amazing in it.

[01:20:10] She's brilliant.

[01:20:11] But the thing is like, okay, I feel like people who are like Keerti Suresh fans, I genuinely feel like Mahanati was a massive look for Keerti Suresh.

[01:20:22] I think because the thing is right, she did Mahanati and it was I thought it was like a stroke of brilliance, like from Nagashwin to like cast her as Savitri Ma and like all of that.

[01:20:34] But every film that she's made since then, I have hated.

[01:20:38] I think she's like fine when she does these roles because I think the first like sort of like masala heroine role she did was in this film with Mahesh Wabu called Sarkarwari Pata.

[01:20:51] Which was like, yeah, she was just playing like a flowerpot role.

[01:20:54] It was what it was.

[01:20:55] Again, this role, she's nice.

[01:20:58] It's like what you said, she's pleasant.

[01:20:59] But I don't think like her being in it adds to.

[01:21:06] But to be fair, I feel that way about Vamika as well.

[01:21:08] I don't think that this is, it's just, these could have been played by any women.

[01:21:14] It's this being her Bollywood debut is like, I'm like, okay.

[01:21:21] I think they had higher experience.

[01:21:23] They really thought they would knock it out of the park with this one.

[01:21:26] I think they thought this was going to be a massive hit, right?

[01:21:28] So I think that's what they were probably hoping for.

[01:21:31] No, I think she...

[01:21:32] There is a whole mismatch between the promotion of Baby John and what we got.

[01:21:38] The promotion obviously went from the first teaser drop, hyper violent, oh, Bollywood ka John Wick, you know, in a way.

[01:21:46] Because that whole action sequence where he's going bam, bam, bam, bam.

[01:21:50] It almost, it was also released when Monkey Man was coming out, right?

[01:21:54] And we were like, at least for me, I was like, okay, we are doing something new.

[01:21:59] And I'm really excited to see Varun try this genre because that's what I thought.

[01:22:05] And then I got to know that it's a theory remake.

[01:22:07] And I was like, hmm, okay, maybe they can do something new with this.

[01:22:12] And obviously there is, our friend Justin Rao did a whole article on THR about how the promotions that came after the initial teaser

[01:22:23] went heavily on the songs and dance and the romance aspect of this movie.

[01:22:29] And everybody sort of got confused whether this was a romantic movie or an action thriller or whatever.

[01:22:35] And then Varun obviously in the promotional run of this movie was more about, you know, joking with the actresses and all of that.

[01:22:45] But the initial promise of those action scenes of the movie and what we got to see in this movie,

[01:22:52] they are brilliantly shot for sure, like really hyper slow motion, but it's nothing new at all.

[01:22:58] Like the action scenes and also the thing that propels those action, like the first reveal of Satya,

[01:23:07] like being revealed as Satya, is the supporting character, the Sardar police officer,

[01:23:13] just making that same typical Telugu film gold mines template dialogue.

[01:23:18] Like, you don't know who it is.

[01:23:20] You will throw up your window on your wall.

[01:23:24] You're a Surya.

[01:23:27] It's pretty much that.

[01:23:36] And I'm like, you know,

[01:23:40] Khoda Pahaar Nikla Chuhia.

[01:23:42] It's very much that, you know.

[01:23:44] I want to get back to the Kirti Suresh character a little bit because

[01:23:50] I actually watched Theri because Samantha was in it.

[01:23:53] That was the reason why I was like,

[01:23:55] initially I was like, I'm not going to enjoy the Vijay movie.

[01:23:57] I was like, oh, Samantha is in this.

[01:23:59] And I've never seen her do like a flower pot role before.

[01:24:03] Like, I've only seen her in Super Deluxe and Honey Bunny,

[01:24:06] like all of these other things, you know, like Family Man 2.

[01:24:08] I've never seen this Samantha.

[01:24:10] So I was quite surprised to see her this way.

[01:24:13] But it really struck again to me how sensibilities do not translate always.

[01:24:20] Right.

[01:24:20] It's okay.

[01:24:21] It's one country, but that sequence where she gets killed.

[01:24:25] Right.

[01:24:26] She's asking him, what kind of wife am I?

[01:24:29] And his answer is, you are another mother to me.

[01:24:33] I don't think, like, I don't know.

[01:24:35] Maybe that's me.

[01:24:36] I'm even more detached from Desi culture than you are, Sujoy.

[01:24:40] Is that the final words you would say to the person you love?

[01:24:42] You are another mom to me?

[01:24:44] No.

[01:24:45] Right.

[01:24:45] Like, I don't understand.

[01:24:47] I was, if this is the big gajani sequence, right?

[01:24:51] This is what it's supposed to be, right?

[01:24:52] Yeah.

[01:24:53] If that's your final thought about your wife, I don't get it.

[01:24:56] Like, I don't know what I'm supposed to feel with that, you know?

[01:25:00] I don't compare my wife to my mom.

[01:25:02] Like, it's a weird thing to do.

[01:25:05] I want to circle back to that again.

[01:25:07] Like, that whole sequence of them meeting the parents, right?

[01:25:11] Yes.

[01:25:12] Like, when we were watching that sequence, because the theater was empty,

[01:25:17] we were pretty much having a mini podcast of our own,

[01:25:20] me and us, actively discussing the movie whilst we were watching it.

[01:25:22] And, like, it's so clear that just dudes wrote this movie, right?

[01:25:29] Yeah.

[01:25:29] And it's so clear that when Shiva Chatta and Kirti Suresh,

[01:25:36] like, the Maa and Bahu meeting scene happens,

[01:25:39] like,

[01:25:40] Mera,

[01:25:40] Mere Maa nahi thi,

[01:25:41] you will be my mother.

[01:25:43] And she's like,

[01:25:43] Mere beti nahi thi,

[01:25:44] tu meri beti vano gi.

[01:25:45] And then the same thing happens when Varun meets his father,

[01:25:48] like,

[01:25:48] Mera baap nahi tha,

[01:25:50] tu mera baap nahi ga.

[01:25:51] Aap sab mere khandan mein khani.

[01:25:54] Yeah.

[01:25:54] Like,

[01:25:56] kya chal rahe hai?

[01:25:57] Baharat milaf and everything else.

[01:25:59] It's just,

[01:26:00] oh, man.

[01:26:01] It's just a freaking,

[01:26:03] like,

[01:26:05] yeah,

[01:26:05] bache log wrote this scene, man.

[01:26:08] The other sequence was also,

[01:26:09] and we're wrapping up,

[01:26:11] honestly,

[01:26:11] I'm wrapping up here,

[01:26:12] but,

[01:26:12] um,

[01:26:13] there's,

[01:26:14] the sequence where at the finale,

[01:26:16] um,

[01:26:17] the little girl,

[01:26:18] who,

[01:26:18] by the way,

[01:26:19] I thought is a very cute little girl.

[01:26:21] I,

[01:26:21] like,

[01:26:21] I saw a lot of criticism about how annoying this kid is.

[01:26:24] The kid is not annoying.

[01:26:25] Like,

[01:26:25] the kid is fine.

[01:26:26] Like,

[01:26:27] you just,

[01:26:27] there's a certain,

[01:26:28] and I see this with a lot of,

[01:26:30] like,

[01:26:31] uh,

[01:26:32] film reviewers.

[01:26:33] They're of a certain,

[01:26:33] men of a certain age,

[01:26:35] you know,

[01:26:35] like,

[01:26:35] they're,

[01:26:36] like,

[01:26:37] not married,

[01:26:38] yeah,

[01:26:38] they're close to commitment with Doné.

[01:26:40] There's a moment where they're like,

[01:26:41] they become very,

[01:26:42] like,

[01:26:42] I don't like kids.

[01:26:44] And I just find that very,

[01:26:45] a funny age of men.

[01:26:47] And it's,

[01:26:48] it then projects in their film criticism.

[01:26:50] Like,

[01:26:51] all these kids are,

[01:26:52] no,

[01:26:52] it's just a kid,

[01:26:53] man.

[01:26:53] Like,

[01:26:53] it's fine.

[01:26:54] Like,

[01:26:54] you don't have to have a kid now.

[01:26:56] Do not,

[01:26:57] do not project your fear of commitment to every other child around you.

[01:27:02] Like,

[01:27:02] these things are not connected.

[01:27:04] I just find it funny.

[01:27:05] Aside,

[01:27:05] the thing is,

[01:27:06] the original kid was like this too.

[01:27:08] This was the same kind of kid.

[01:27:10] The kid is actually a short for short remake,

[01:27:12] right?

[01:27:13] But then they have this sequence with Jackie Stoff at the end,

[01:27:16] where she's calling him Dadu.

[01:27:18] Like,

[01:27:18] Dadu,

[01:27:19] why did you kill my mom?

[01:27:20] And stuff like that.

[01:27:21] And becomes this whole thing about how I raise my children towards how you raised your children.

[01:27:26] And I was like,

[01:27:27] again,

[01:27:28] this,

[01:27:28] this point was also a point that the movie was trying to make.

[01:27:33] And I,

[01:27:34] again,

[01:27:34] it didn't land on me.

[01:27:35] And these are supposed to be these big emotional moments,

[01:27:38] right?

[01:27:39] Kirti Suresh dying,

[01:27:41] him calling her mom,

[01:27:43] the father,

[01:27:45] his parenthood versus her parenthood,

[01:27:48] the saving of the children,

[01:27:50] Wami Ka Gabi being Salman Khan,

[01:27:52] Salman Khan being Salman Khan.

[01:27:54] All of these moments,

[01:27:55] when you look at it in a screenplay,

[01:27:57] these should have been the high points,

[01:27:59] right?

[01:28:00] Yeah.

[01:28:00] And all of them consistently are disappointing,

[01:28:04] not underwhelming,

[01:28:05] disappointing.

[01:28:06] I think that's kind of the problem with this movie.

[01:28:08] Like,

[01:28:09] none of the highs hit,

[01:28:10] and the lows are very low.

[01:28:13] Like,

[01:28:13] even the songs are not memorable at all,

[01:28:15] you know?

[01:28:16] I think...

[01:28:17] And it's so sad,

[01:28:18] because they are mounted on such a huge scale,

[01:28:20] right?

[01:28:21] You can see,

[01:28:22] production is put in the production.

[01:28:22] Yeah.

[01:28:24] And Varun is dancing his ass off.

[01:28:26] Such a good dancer also.

[01:28:27] Such a good dancer also.

[01:28:28] But the song is shit.

[01:28:30] Yeah.

[01:28:31] I think it's a song,

[01:28:32] who will not make any real.

[01:28:34] Yeah.

[01:28:34] And they try so much.

[01:28:36] Like,

[01:28:36] Nain Matakka,

[01:28:37] and all they tried it,

[01:28:39] you know?

[01:28:39] Like,

[01:28:40] no.

[01:28:41] Nobody's buying it,

[01:28:42] Varun.

[01:28:42] Stop lying.

[01:28:43] Stop lying.

[01:28:45] Why are you f***ing lying?

[01:28:47] I'm f***ing lying.

[01:28:50] Yeah.

[01:28:51] Yeah.

[01:28:51] So sad.

[01:28:52] So sad,

[01:28:52] Varun.

[01:28:53] No sad,

[01:28:54] and we,

[01:28:54] I was excited,

[01:28:55] man.

[01:28:55] I was like,

[01:28:56] Baby John.

[01:28:57] Dude,

[01:28:58] when we did the countdown for 2020,

[01:29:00] like the 2025 wrapped,

[01:29:01] we were like,

[01:29:01] oh,

[01:29:02] Baby John still hasn't released,

[01:29:03] so we don't know yet.

[01:29:05] Yeah.

[01:29:07] I have to point out,

[01:29:08] as an avid listener of Khandan,

[01:29:11] only you said that,

[01:29:12] Sujit.

[01:29:14] Sure.

[01:29:15] I'll take it.

[01:29:16] I'll take it.

[01:29:17] do you really think

[01:29:18] this will be?

[01:29:20] Like,

[01:29:20] like,

[01:29:21] that was the amount of goodwill

[01:29:22] I had in my heart.

[01:29:23] Varun just gave us

[01:29:25] Citadel honey bunny,

[01:29:27] and he excelled in it.

[01:29:30] Like,

[01:29:30] I really enjoyed

[01:29:31] what Raj and DK

[01:29:33] did with the plot,

[01:29:34] and how they introduced action

[01:29:36] in Varun's world,

[01:29:37] and Varun really,

[01:29:39] like,

[01:29:39] brought the masala in that.

[01:29:41] He has the funnies,

[01:29:42] but also the badassery,

[01:29:43] right?

[01:29:43] Yeah.

[01:29:43] So I was team Varun.

[01:29:45] I was going into this.

[01:29:47] Sab haggatia.

[01:29:50] And also,

[01:29:50] Varun doesn't even look bad

[01:29:51] in a police uniform.

[01:29:53] I thought even the

[01:29:54] The haircut is so good.

[01:29:56] It looks good.

[01:29:57] Like,

[01:29:57] yeah.

[01:29:58] It's very East London boy haircut.

[01:30:01] Yeah,

[01:30:02] I mean,

[01:30:02] he has experience

[01:30:03] with East London boy haircut.

[01:30:07] That's a demographic.

[01:30:09] Not because of any other reasons.

[01:30:12] No,

[01:30:12] but he looks good.

[01:30:13] Sometimes,

[01:30:13] like,

[01:30:13] you know,

[01:30:14] you wear the uniform

[01:30:14] and it just looks,

[01:30:16] you know,

[01:30:16] it doesn't fit,

[01:30:17] like Salman in Patthar Ke Poole,

[01:30:18] you know,

[01:30:18] it's not sitting well.

[01:30:20] But he looks good in it,

[01:30:22] you know,

[01:30:22] so,

[01:30:23] yeah,

[01:30:23] it's a shame.

[01:30:24] It's a shame.

[01:30:24] It's a,

[01:30:25] I think he really relied on

[01:30:26] Attlee and Khalees

[01:30:27] to kind of lead this.

[01:30:29] And I think this is ultimately

[01:30:30] the failure of Khalees,

[01:30:32] like,

[01:30:32] as a,

[01:30:32] as a team,

[01:30:34] and the team behind it.

[01:30:35] Yeah.

[01:30:35] For sure.

[01:30:35] Because he promoted

[01:30:36] the crap out of it.

[01:30:37] Like,

[01:30:37] I think,

[01:30:38] I think he's a bit like,

[01:30:40] because he's from the

[01:30:40] Karan Johar school

[01:30:41] of promotions,

[01:30:43] right?

[01:30:43] That the more he pushes

[01:30:45] something,

[01:30:45] the worse the movie is.

[01:30:46] I think that's what's happening.

[01:30:49] I feel,

[01:30:50] I actually feel really bad

[01:30:51] for him.

[01:30:52] I do too.

[01:30:52] I really like him.

[01:30:53] I really like Varun,

[01:30:54] and I hope he gets,

[01:30:54] like,

[01:30:55] yeah,

[01:30:55] it's not been a few good years

[01:30:57] for him.

[01:30:57] I hope he gets out of it.

[01:30:58] I want to see what else

[01:31:00] is on his plate right now,

[01:31:01] other than Bheria 2.

[01:31:03] Yeah,

[01:31:04] I don't know.

[01:31:06] Okay,

[01:31:07] so,

[01:31:07] this year,

[01:31:08] there's something called

[01:31:09] Sunny Sanskari ki Tulsi Kumari.

[01:31:11] That's

[01:31:12] a Dharma movie,

[01:31:13] I suppose.

[01:31:14] Oh,

[01:31:15] that's with the guy

[01:31:16] from his previous movies,

[01:31:17] no?

[01:31:18] Shashank Khaitan,

[01:31:19] no?

[01:31:19] Yeah,

[01:31:19] so the Humti Dumti.

[01:31:21] Yeah,

[01:31:21] yeah,

[01:31:22] the Humti Dumti.

[01:31:23] Humti Sharma ki Tulanya.

[01:31:24] Yeah,

[01:31:24] yeah,

[01:31:25] Humti Badrina.

[01:31:28] I think this one is with Janvi,

[01:31:30] right?

[01:31:31] There's like 12

[01:31:33] upcoming projects on his.

[01:31:34] This one has Sanya Malhotra.

[01:31:36] Oh!

[01:31:37] It's Janvi and Sanya Malhotra,

[01:31:39] so maybe this is...

[01:31:39] that'd be good.

[01:31:40] That could be really good.

[01:31:42] He also has

[01:31:43] Hai Jawani Toh Ishk Hona Hai,

[01:31:45] which I don't know.

[01:31:46] What a song.

[01:31:47] What a song.

[01:31:48] Yeah.

[01:31:49] So,

[01:31:50] so,

[01:31:50] so,

[01:31:50] so,

[01:31:50] so,

[01:31:51] so,

[01:31:51] so,

[01:31:54] so,

[01:31:56] it by David Dhawan.

[01:31:57] That's the one.

[01:31:58] Obviously,

[01:32:01] it's their own song,

[01:32:03] so.

[01:32:03] Apparently,

[01:32:04] there's no entry too,

[01:32:05] but that seems like a fan-made poster.

[01:32:08] Okay.

[01:32:08] Diljeet Dosanj,

[01:32:09] Arjun Kapoor,

[01:32:10] and he's Basmi.

[01:32:12] Hmm.

[01:32:13] Hmm.

[01:32:13] He's also in Border 2.

[01:32:14] Is there a Border 2 that's coming?

[01:32:17] Yeah,

[01:32:17] Border 2 is happening,

[01:32:18] right?

[01:32:19] Obviously.

[01:32:21] Yeah.

[01:32:22] Okay.

[01:32:23] Yeah,

[01:32:24] he's got a few in development things too,

[01:32:26] so,

[01:32:26] yeah.

[01:32:27] Hopefully,

[01:32:28] he can figure this out,

[01:32:29] man.

[01:32:30] That's all I want.

[01:32:32] Chara.

[01:32:32] That's it for this episode.

[01:32:35] We're going to do another bonus for Patreon,

[01:32:37] but follow us there.

[01:32:40] Yamini,

[01:32:41] where can people find you online?

[01:32:42] Hi.

[01:32:43] So,

[01:32:43] I am at Papu Charu on Twitter and Blue Sky,

[01:32:47] and on Instagram,

[01:32:48] I am at yaar.minute.

[01:32:50] So,

[01:32:50] yeah.

[01:32:51] How was it filling in for Amrita's shoes?

[01:32:55] Just,

[01:32:56] I would have loved to hear Amrita's reactions

[01:32:59] to Badass Ravi Kumar.

[01:33:01] That's what I'm saying.

[01:33:02] Please,

[01:33:03] please get her to do it next time.

[01:33:05] We'll try to get it.

[01:33:06] It will be a Patreon special if we do that,

[01:33:09] because you have to give us money for Amrita

[01:33:11] to watch Badass Ravi Kumar's trailer.

[01:33:14] Yeah.

[01:33:14] That money straight goes to

[01:33:18] the bank account of Amrita's.

[01:33:20] Yeah.

[01:33:20] Sujoy,

[01:33:20] where can people find you online?

[01:33:22] You can pretty much find me on Instagram,

[01:33:25] posting pictures now.

[01:33:26] I am a bit disengaged with social media chatter,

[01:33:30] but I still get some sort of information overload,

[01:33:33] and I need to dump everything.

[01:33:35] So,

[01:33:36] that's happening on Twitter and Blue Sky,

[01:33:38] also at 93K.

[01:33:39] But,

[01:33:39] for all things Khandan,

[01:33:41] you can find us on all our socials

[01:33:42] at Khandan Podcast.

[01:33:44] Yeah.

[01:33:44] We're on Patreon.

[01:33:46] Follow us there.

[01:33:47] And,

[01:33:48] I'm at Asimberni on Blue Sky

[01:33:50] and Twitter and everything else.

[01:33:52] Yeah.

[01:33:53] Thank you for listening.

[01:33:53] I think,

[01:33:55] I don't know what we're doing next.

[01:33:57] I think we have a few more episodes

[01:33:58] before we get into our 80 series,

[01:34:00] and we'll be announcing

[01:34:01] which those movies are.

[01:34:02] We have locked in our 15 movies.

[01:34:04] So,

[01:34:05] we'll be announcing that on social media

[01:34:06] and making like little promotional reels

[01:34:09] and stuff like that.

[01:34:09] Yamini will be helping us with that too.

[01:34:12] So,

[01:34:12] I'm very excited for that.

[01:34:13] And otherwise,

[01:34:14] drop us an email at

[01:34:15] youpodcastingatgmail.com

[01:34:16] If you are a Vijay fan,

[01:34:18] if I completely misread it,

[01:34:20] you know,

[01:34:20] if I don't get it,

[01:34:21] like explain it to me

[01:34:21] what works or what doesn't work.

[01:34:23] And,

[01:34:24] yeah,

[01:34:24] we'll be back with a new episode soon.

[01:34:30] What do you mean?

[01:34:31] What do you mean?

[01:34:33] Get forward to it.

[01:34:34] It's in good.