Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna- Love, Lust & New York Melodrama

[00:00:15] Hi, this is Asim. This is Sujoy. This is Amrita. And you're listening to Khandaan, a Bollywood Podcast about the three main Khans of the Hindi film industry. Amir, Salman, and Shahrukh. Hi, you're listening to Khandaan, a Bollywood Podcast regular feed. Thank you so much for your support over the years. We now have a Patreon channel with bonus content and exclusive merch for those of you who would like to support us.

[00:00:39] Every dollar goes towards creating more and better content. Visit us at patreon.com slash khandan podcast. Hi, and welcome to a new episode of Khandaan- A Bollywood Podcast. My name is Asim Burney and I'm joined with my lovely co-host Amritha and Sujoy. Hey, Amritha. Hey, Sujoy. Hey, everybody. Hello. Amritha, you okay? Doubt me lag rih ho like. Ye korn aagya haare podcast me?

[00:01:06] Hey, I did something to my brows. Oh, I'm just trying to figure that out. We also have a special guest. We have Parth with us. I see many tats from Instagram. Hello, everybody. Welcome to the pod. Yeah, welcome to the pod. Yes. I was actually going through your Insta and you also run an animation studio. Is that correct? Yes. What's that about, man? That's so cool.

[00:01:28] So basically, my girlfriend is an animator. I am more like a producer at the thing. So we run this studio called Studio Mikudi. It's named after her dog, Miku. In Marathi, when you call somebody lovingly, you just add like a D at the end. So we call him Mikudi at home. So that's like our studio named after that.

[00:01:50] And we do animation, we do branding, design. She's also a very talented illustrator. A bunch of Sudha Moorthy books and stuff she has illustrated, like children's book. And she's also a filmmaker.

[00:02:03] So about two years ago, right when the studio was starting, her film got selected to be pitched at the Annecy Festival in France. So that is kind of how the whole studio and all started. And now we do a lot of animation. We do branding, design. It's quite fun. Oh, great. That's cool. What's the handle? Just as a little plug. At Studio Mikudi. Great. M-I-K-U-D-I. Amazing. Amazing. And you were at Too Many Tats on Instagram, right?

[00:02:33] Yes, I am Too Many Tats because I have Too Many Tats all over my arm. That is a lot of tats. I'm shaving up one spot here, like on the top of my arm, like behind my bicep, as you would call it. There's one artist who is out of Singapore and she keeps working in Korea and like Southeast Asia and stuff like that.

[00:02:57] She does, like if you give her an image, she can do like a photorealistic, like a tattoo of it. And I really want to get the Om Shanti Om ka poster on my arm.

[00:03:37] Wow. Yeah. Yeah. Those are bona fides, you know, like. I feel like I'm deep in the party world on my chest, you know. Yeah. Yeah. Actually, I want to give a shout out to this. I don't know if you guys see it really well. It's probably not going really well. But yeah, I've got a little mug here from our friend Bollywood Classic Collection.

[00:04:03] She sent me this whole amazing merch package with hoodies and sweatshirts and this little mug with Kajal and, you know, Shah Rukh from LLJ. So if you're going to go and order a mug like this, go to Bollywood Classic Collection and she has a lot of work. If you don't know, it was Razia. She was with us on the Dharanda episode, which a lot of people loved. So she's a great guest, amazing content producer and then also sends me gifts.

[00:04:30] So, I mean, Parth, that's your bar now. Yeah, that is competition, you know. It's your bar now. You tell me, yeah. What's it called? Bollywood Classic? Classic Collections, yeah. Classic Collections. Yeah, I'll put it in the show notes for the people. But let's talk about Bollywood. That's why we're here. Our main review is a movie that Parth has picked for us and we hadn't actually discussed it. Parth, what did you pick? I've picked Kabhi Alveda Na Kehna. Amazing, amazing.

[00:05:00] And yeah, it was, I was actually quite surprised that you guys hadn't done it. Because I was like, oh, because I remember when I had just started listening to you guys, I was doing an entire Shahroh Kamir Salman binge. Like, start to finish. So, when I reached Kabhi Alveda Na Kehna, I was like, no way, these guys have not done this. And then I was like, oh, they actually haven't. So, I was like, oh, maybe this would be like an interesting thing. Considering Pati Patni Or Woh Do has released this week.

[00:05:27] Let's talk about a movie with actual infidelity, you know. It's interesting, so the Pati verse dropped, like I was talking about in the previous episode. And then also they announced that they're doing a long-form version of Kabhi Alveda Na Kehna. So, again, it seems to be in the news again, weirdly enough. But yeah, tell me about the... What do you mean a long-form version? Yeah, they're making a series of Kabhi Alveda.

[00:05:53] Karan Johar said that he is making a web, like an OTT thing. And he is currently shopping for OTTs to come buy it. Like, and I don't even know if he has anything more than just a, Isko TV show banate hai? Because it didn't sound like he really... It really sounded like he just said it because he didn't have anything else to say. Maybe they are out of content for Dharmatic.

[00:06:17] And now they have to just start spinning off their own, you know, archive of content. Do you guys remember how they've been trying to do an animated version of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai called Kuchi Kuchi Hota Hai? Yeah, I am so upset that this has not come out. Because I remember as a kid, I had gone to watch some absolute nonsense. Okay, and I'm bored because my parents have dragged me for something.

[00:06:46] It was a Marathi movie. And I'm not a huge fan of Marathi movies back when I was a kid. And suddenly, there are two dogs on my... Animated dogs on the TV screen talking in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, like dialogues. And I was like, no way, this is Shah Rukh. Like, this has to be like an ad for something, right? And then it said, directed by Karan Johar. And I was like, what? Yeah, it was insane. Was it not like Jugal Hansraj doing it?

[00:07:11] Yeah, I think it was like based on Karan Johar directed by Jugal Hansraj. Something like... No, no, but Dharma was fully produced. Yeah, it was produced by Dharma, yeah. Yeah. I wonder... Because they said that they had finished it at some point. And then it never came out. Like, I don't know. I think what happened is that Saif Ali Khan killed it with Roadside Romeo. So they're like, we need to get... You know, we need to reheat some of these nachos.

[00:07:40] And then by the time they finished the movie, I don't think anybody gave a crap about... I don't know. Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, dog version. So... Like, I was like, I guess the ship had sailed by then. I'm assuming. But it would be a great hit on OTT. Like, if they actually do have it done and they can release it today, it would be like a sleeper hit on Netflix. It would be just a sleeper. That would just be a sleeper. That also.

[00:08:10] I do think there needs to be more content for kids generally. I think there's just like not enough that's good content. And animated still feels for at least Desi audiences. They categorize it as kids content, right? Weirdly enough. But yeah. Unless it's like religious stuff, I guess. But... No, I want to hear about Pati Patni Or Do. That's the movie? You watched it? Vodho. Vodho. Okay. Yeah. How was it? Vodho.

[00:08:37] You know the funniest thing is, I went in thinking that of all the things wrong with this movie, infidelity would be up top. But the funniest thing is, Pati Patni Or Vodho has no infidelity. It has homophobia. It has casteism. It has racism. It has misogyny. But it does not have infidelity. And honestly, I was kind of let down. Because I thought that at least, if anything is not, then you'll get it. At least, direct there would be something.

[00:09:06] But it's a money laundering scheme at this point. Like, it's straight up taxiways. And I'm telling you. Because Ayushman is playing the most cringy, like this overacting thing that he has going on. And all the other women are just props. Like, they're literally, they have nothing to do. Like, Sarah Ali Khan is the only one who actually has, like the plot sort of revolves around her.

[00:09:34] And Vameka Gabbi is just there. Rakul Preet is just, they just need a Vodho. Like, they just need a third woman. So, Rakul Preet is just inserted. It's the most pointless movie I have seen in a long time. I think, weirdly enough, Sarah Ali Khan understands the vibe of this kind of movie more than other actresses. But she doesn't make them. And they don't make these movies too much anymore. But I think she's the only one that usually gets it.

[00:10:03] But nothing works for her. And you know, the funniest thing is, she's actually fun. And she's, she's actually fun. Like, just, she's fun, you know? And she's playing the same character from the, like those OTT movies that she didn't know with Vicky Kaushal and all. Like, Zara, Bachke, Hatke and all that. Like, she's playing the same character from that where she is the conveniently introverted and meek and conveniently Mufat, like North Indian girl.

[00:10:32] But it just never comes together as anything. Like, halfway through the movie or like, this can be like a very good three episode miniseries. You know, like, why is this in theatres? And the amount of paid promo they have done is crazy. Because Variety India of all places is like, we need more comedies like Pati Patni and Vodo in cinemas. And I was like, no way. The bills are that high. I honestly don't get how Mudassar Aziz still keeps getting work. Like, as a director.

[00:11:02] I just had a look at what movies he's made. Like, it's all in that, like, shadi verse. It sounds like the one of his life. He's like the evil Surat Vodhate. He's like David Dhawan.

[00:11:29] But if David Dhawan was not funny and competent, you know. Yeah. And if David Dhawan had, like, shit songs in every movie, it's bad. Like, because the songs were so bad. They were so... And, you know, I did, like, this very odd thing where the credit song, which is that, we played the day, whatever. It's by this one duo, which is this small kid. And I guess... Those annoying kids that sing really loudly.

[00:11:59] Yeah. I've seen those, yeah. And that kid had become... Like, that song became famous because that kid became a meme. Because somebody did, like, an AI filter thing where he sounds even more shrill and stuff like that. So they basically did the, this is the mosquito a la gana. Like, literally, the song started playing and my friend was like, oh, isn't this the mosquito song from the reels? And for some reason, that kid and that brother are in, like, the music video and the credits and stuff like that. And they are getting dragged through the mud again.

[00:12:28] And I was like, it's such a weird thing to, like, get a kid who's already gone through so much or whatever. Just show him, like, some money and then be like, now come be in this dog-ass movie and then make, sing that song again. And they made it even worse. Like, it's just... Whatever. Monetize your trauma to the max, you know. To the max, you know. Like, why get traumatized for free when you could be making money off it? Poor kid. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:12:56] Well, I was not planning to go watch this movie. And clearly now I'm even going to be skipping it if it's on streaming or stuff like that. Yeah. Speaking of movie streaming on... Movie streaming? That's how it came out yesterday. Or two days ago. You and me, Sujoy, finished it. But you've watched half of it. Sujoy, what did you think of it? I quite enjoyed it.

[00:13:21] But there are some bits that are clearly quite hard directional decisions were taken to minimize the footage. The camera panning on the Laluntop guy because he's terrible at acting. Oh my God, you're so bad. Like, because I don't watch Indian TV. So I don't... Like, I only know him... He did a very long interview with Aamir Khan. That's what I knew about him. And I literally thought it was called Laluntop. That's what I thought. But...

[00:13:51] Yeah. And he was like, oh my God. And like... Aamir, you say and then I'll talk about the ending. Because clearly... Like, okay. This is not working. Yeah, because he's supposed to play this like demigod thing. Like, you know, organized religion guy with a prominent figure in that Jhamli town. And he's arranging all these kids. I don't know what... All sort of unscrupulous things that he's doing with these kids.

[00:14:17] And then he's supposed to play this evil, evil Amrish Puri kind of guy, right? And he's got the... Like... Like... Zero percent personality of Amrish Puri. He does not have that screen presence. And he just comes across as a caricature. And like... His acting abilities are just nil. And so the director... I don't know why that creative decision was taken to cast him. So they have to work around it. So every time he starts speaking, the camera just goes to a back shot. Yeah.

[00:14:47] Yeah. And he is like... He's saying the dialogue. And then the camera then pans across to his friend with just his reaction shot when Sef is talking to him. It's hilarious. Amrita, it's so bad. The ending is like, you know, you get the big bad guy or something. Justice happens for him. They just show it in a voiceover. And they just show him on the phone talking to somebody. And you know, a movie couldn't pull all of the themes together when it ends in a narration voiceover, right? Yeah.

[00:15:16] It didn't hit, which is going to tell you what the movie was about. It's safe talking in his accent. And it was like, wow, okay. This clearly didn't work for them. And they just needed to wrap up the whole thing. But you were saying that you didn't even like the accent, which I thought sounded okay to me. But what do I know? I just come from watching the terrible accents in the Pati Patmi movie. So I was kind of like in the weird hangover of that. But I don't know. I was like the little that I saw, I liked.

[00:15:46] Because while the accent is whatever, Sef looks really nice. I think Sanjay Mishra is the guy who is his partner or the Havaldar with him. He is very good. That kid. The kid was really, really good. Yeah, he was really good. But then that Lala and Top fellow shows up, dude. And you're like, dude, this thing is just zapping me out of this movie. And it's not even because he is like an internet personality outside of acting or whatever. He's just bad. Like he's been bad even in the interviews.

[00:16:16] Like I so clearly remember this video where Paresh Rawal went on Lala and Top or whatever. And Paresh Rawal is like, I don't know. I wake up and I drink my own pee. And then the camera cuts to this Lala and Top guy. And you know the, in Kabhi Alvedana Gaina, how that creepy smile Abhishek Bachchan gives Rani Mukherjee. He looks down and he starts smiling like that. That's the look he has on his face. And he just doesn't know what to say because he's like, this guy just said he drinks his own pee. And now he's telling me-

[00:16:45] It's his own pee that he was drinking. Yeah, yeah. Paresh Rawal is like, I woke up, I drink my first pee. And he's telling that guy, you should also drink your own pee. And this dude is like, just so deeply smiling at him. It's the weirdest thing. I saw the clip. I didn't know whose pee he was drinking. Thank God, it's just his own. Yeah, I didn't know how it works. I was like, this is like a very like, you know, thing. I was like, whose pee is he drinking? Like, where does he get the pee from? I had this whole thing. It's his own distillery.

[00:17:15] Ah, okay. Asim is asking the right questions. Yeah, exactly. Interesting. But it's a fun, like, it's an interesting movie because I think Saif has now given up on being like a guy who comes back and like, you know, has like a big theatrical comeback, in my opinion. I think he's okay doing these kinds of movies.

[00:17:39] But whenever this cop who is in town in North India, where abuse of power is happening is the one liner. I always get so annoyed where they don't call out the abuse of power enough, where they love distracting from that thing by there is an unnecessary side plot happening or at the end, the guy just gets arrested or something like that.

[00:18:03] Like, it feels like commentary that is very utopian and it's not being very honest with what's going on today. Because especially if you want to base a story out of UP Bihar today, you really need to accept that, you know, the reality that is there. But they just refuse to do that. So that is what always puts me off by these kinds of show. Because I'm like, if you're not going to call it out, don't have the politician be the villain or like the big guy be the villain.

[00:18:34] And do the gang war or do like, do something else. Which was my biggest thing with that Anil Kapoor movie. What was that? Super bad. Yeah, I was like, there's just no reason why this guy has to, like, that guy was such a paplu. I don't care about this, you know? Yeah. And I would rather have had him fight Mona Singh. But, you know, just... Actually, Amrita, it's not bad. I wouldn't say the movie is bad. It's just that... It's not bad.

[00:19:00] I just feel a lot of it you've already seen in other variations that were slightly better. It has a bit of Seirat in it. It has a bit of Article 15 in it. It has a little bit of, you know, Rat Akelia in it. But none of it good. Like, none of it as good as all of these ones that I've mentioned. Oh, it is, yeah. But it really depends on how much you enjoy, say, Fadi Khan.

[00:19:21] What I also find interesting is that beside the thing that they don't fully mention the problems and the politicians and things like that, they always add this one quirk to this cop, right? And he's wearing white shoes. Like, he likes wearing white shoes. And they make a whole thing. And it has no relevance to the rest of the plot, you know? I thought there was at least going to be some imagery where his shoes would get soiled and that would be like a metaphor of how we all get dirty trying to get into the trenches of corruption. None of that happened.

[00:19:51] I'm a better writer than these guys were. It was interesting. Like, I like the vibe of it, but it is very much kind of a streaming movie. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, but it's not bad. It's not bad. It's better than Jewel Thief, for sure. Oh, yeah. Easily. That's really the part of it held, you know? That's an embarrassment enough for you, Amrita, to watch Kartaviyon. I have to say, none of you are really selling this movie to me.

[00:20:23] It's all like, well, it's kind of made and it kind of resembles all these other good movies, but it's not actually good. And you should watch it. Like, you'll enjoy it. Will I? I don't know. I also have one thing to say, because obviously, there's a lot of like also religious elements in it that I don't get, right? I don't get those, like they're talking about Arjun and other people, which I'm sure it has more meaning to it.

[00:20:48] But it's interesting because this is in Article 15-2, where they're using the main character as a surrogate for the audience, right? And apparently, he's been plopped into this caste system. Like his brother is married to another girl from another caste and it becomes like a Serat kind of situation. But it feels like he's not been part of this. Like, how can this be? And this is so unjust. It's like, dude, you've been part of it for clearly, you know?

[00:21:17] And they said this, they did the same thing in Article 15, where they were like making a point out of it. Like, this guy is not part of this. But that just feels disgenuous because either you make it an audience surrogate and you explain it to me. But this movie doesn't want to name names. They didn't say what caste, who anybody is from. So a lot of times, I just didn't understand the impact of it.

[00:21:41] And then they also pulled away from actually showing some of the atrocities that are happening to the children or to the people from a different caste. They talk about it, but they don't show it. And that's always also a weakness in terms of movies, right? When show it, don't talk about it. And they do this with the finale. And they do this about the God complex religious leader. And they talk about it in the caste system. So a lot of elements that should land, don't land.

[00:22:07] But I mean, just to your point and parts about them pulling their punches. Let's not forget that Saif was basically the harbinger of groom to the Indian OTT space by making another very mid-show where he was playing a politician. You know, like that Tandav that he did for Prime. That groom. Yeah. Like it became a very convenient whipping boy for the government.

[00:22:38] And it became the means by which they basically forced the OTTs to self-police. And this is where we are at. Like it's a very, you know, it's a logical conclusion to where they wanted everything to land. So of course they're going to, you know, like we're in a situation where we don't necessarily have an outright censorship. Although India actually does have censorship also.

[00:23:06] Like we have like an actual board of censor. Technically, you know, you have like freedom of expression. You can say whatever you want, say whatever story you want. And everyone knows that's not true. So I'm not surprised that they're not naming names and they're pulling their punches. It makes a lot of sense to me. I don't know if you probably didn't watch it. I watched it. They're doing these variety interviews with Salman Khan, Ajay Devgan Akshay. And they've been kind of going around. And it's quite funny because they asked Salman.

[00:23:36] And at the end, last minute, he puts in a jibe in there. He's like, yeah, what kind of movies? How do movies work? And he's like, yeah, you should work hard. And, you know, this and that. And now also movies have to be politically correct. End of video. Salman just said it. Like he didn't care at all. But that was just like baller move from him. I want to ask you before. I know we need to move to Kamiya. But I want to ask one thing. What do you think about the Alia hate on Khan? It's ridiculous, right?

[00:24:05] Like I think we discussed this actually briefly right as she was about to go to Khan. Or she just landed in Khan. I mean, it reminds me of Hathahe. Do you remember? Like maybe 10 years ago when Anne Hathaway was criticized for basically just breathing. Like she'd show up and they'd be like, how dare she show up? And she'd be like doing her job. And they'd be like, how dare she do her job?

[00:24:29] And it's hilarious to me that people on Reddit spend so much time talking about PR manipulation and about, you know, like all these different things that sort of hint that they are familiar with media literacy and like how like media campaigns work.

[00:24:53] And then they also are simultaneously unable to see how the, you know, like I don't even know what to call this, the disinformation networks. I don't know. But whatever it is happening, like it's an orchestrated effort. Like I don't know who is orchestrating it.

[00:25:10] But there is no way in hell that there are 10 or like 20 different posts on Reddit within an hour that say the exact same things and post the exact same photos with the same exact narrative. And you have like the exact same people on Instagram who are like seated with the exact same talking points. It's like a very light. You can see it in action, right? If you're paying attention.

[00:25:37] And the same people are like so caught up in it, like the people on Reddit are so caught up in it. I remember there was this one particular post where like a bunch of celebrities, like I don't know, like influencers, TV celebrities, whoever they were. They had like different Instagram stories that they posted that they were saying, oh, you know, Alia looks beautiful, which she did actually.

[00:26:02] And, you know, like this kind of this level of hate that she's receiving and the criticism that she's receiving is unacceptable. And people just need to try and be a little bit kind, like blah, blah, blah. And there was this post on Reddit that legitimately took screenshots of these people and was like, wow, Alia is now paying these people to be nice to her. And I'm like, I think those are her friends who are posting.

[00:26:28] Like these are like people that I've seen her interact with, you know, it's wild, man. It's wild. I just also find it interesting because it's such a it's such a negative space, but it's kind of a bubble in a way. Because Vogue, L'Oreal Paris has done amazing videos on Alia and they've released it on social media, got tons of hit, got tons of praise.

[00:26:52] A lot of like non-desi white fashion influencers have been doing videos on Alia and how amazing her dress was, how amazing her styling, her makeup was. And this lands on my feet. This is not things that I'm following. Right. Right. But so much praise has been it's the same thing that happened with Karan Johor too. There was a lot of negativity within the desi space, but outside of it, people were so praiseworthy of it. And it's the same thing with Alia. You're saying who's funding it.

[00:27:21] But my thing is to what end? What is the point of breaking down one of the biggest and most talented actresses that we have at the moment? Like I don't even understand what the point of it is. And it's funny because at this moment, I think yesterday, Sanam Saeed, the Pakistani actress, also did her thing, her debut at Cannes, which is kind of amazing because it's the first Pakistani actress that's doing it in a long, long time.

[00:27:46] And she had done a video, I think, before where she was praising Pakistani actresses like Shamimara about the legacy and this and that. And a lot of Pakistani people were complaining about it, like, oh, she doesn't even follow this and that. And then I was like, what else is that? Like we can just not enjoy anybody's success. It's just like crabs in a bucket, trying to pull each other down, especially when it comes to beautiful women. I don't know, man. It's just like, I don't know how.

[00:28:12] Just like people are acting as if Alia has told Loria, please, go take me. Yeah. Yeah. The hell? She's not here. And I got so pissed a little while ago when I saw that video of Anurag Kashav complaining that too many people want to walk the red carpet and then not watch enough movie. Yeah, because I don't know, she's been called by a brand.

[00:28:34] Like, why are we acting like Alia has a movie in the competition and instead of going for her own screening and like, I don't know, marketing for Indian cinema to take a next step. She is too busy getting clicked on the red carpet. She's been called to do a job and she did the job really well. I don't think he was talking about Alia. He was talking about these BT listers that come for Khan. I don't think that's a lot. I just think that Anurag Kashav just keeps this whining and whining and whining. And I'm like, you make a picture first.

[00:29:02] You make a picture first. First, you want to, literally everybody who told me to watch Kennedy, your struggle and your bad time in Bollywood cannot be the marketing of the movie. Everybody just told me watch this movie because, oh, it took so long for it to release and stuff. I was like, what do I do? Just keep it. And it was, I didn't like the movie that much. I was like, oh, it's an okay movie.

[00:29:27] So I'm like, just dude, make a better movie and then start going and complaining about how cinema is taking the thing. You become an actor only, you're being villains in South movies. It's funny that you say that, Vapak, because like, you know where else I've heard this whole thing about like, oh, but there's so much effort that has gone into it. Prabhas movies.

[00:29:52] Like, literally every time one of those incredibly shitty movies comes out, they're like, well, how can you say that about Prabhas? Do you know how hard he works? He like personally feeds people with his hand. And like, he's like doing all, and I'm just like, I don't care. I want a watchable movie. People want to act like Prabhas is the mother Teresa on set. Yeah. Like they want to act like Prabhas is saving us, you know. Like I said, the lighting dada can't hold the light.

[00:30:21] Probably Prabhas will go hold it. I'm like, what? I highly doubt this. And you know, when they announced the Bahubali animated thing, the guy who's directing it, I met him at like an animation event, like a student and stuff. And tabi, he had just said that, oh, I'm working on something big. Like, I can't tell you. And all that. So, okay, cool. And then when it got announced, my first reaction was, thank God, I don't have to see Prabhas. Animated Prabhas any day. I don't have to see real life Prabhas. 50% of the problem is solved, you know.

[00:30:51] Parth, I think in the last few movies, you have only seen an animated version of Prabhas. It's actually bad. You were not there. What are you seeing right now, which is that horror house movie, Raja Saab or whatever. It was so, like I tried watching like on like a link online, whatever, for like five minutes. And I just couldn't.

[00:31:18] There is like some alligator jumps out and all or someone like absolute. It's like, it's like Toonpur ka superhero levels of CGI. Where I'm like, that was intentionally like that, you know. This, they think that they've made a masterpiece with Prabhas, you know. I saw a clip. I think it's from that same movie. But there's like a sex scene. And it's him. And I forget who the leading lady is. I think it's like Puja Hegde or somebody. But the line.

[00:31:45] It's Malika Mohan or like I think that's her name. Okay. Yeah, I think that's her name. They're both in bed and they're both weeping. And I'm just like, yeah, I would also weep if I had to do that clink scene. It was so bad. But yeah, anyway, this has nothing to do with Kattevya. But yeah, I don't think I'll be watching it, guys. Sorry. Let's move on to our main review. We've talked a lot about other things that were not as important as this movie.

[00:32:16] But you chose Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna. Why did you pick this movie? A, it's a little bit recency bias because I just saw it a few weeks ago. And I was like, my God, they just don't give me this much movie in three hours. You know? Like if they like the ROI on the ticket price that people probably paid and do is so high because about 45 minutes in I was like, I'm just 45 minutes in it's so much has happened.

[00:32:45] I thought now it's interval time, you know? But this is just a movie that is A, so different from what like brand Karan Johar is known for. And it's such a, I don't know, like it was such like a controversial movie when it came out. Despite everybody around, like all the adults around me being like, oh, like despite the cheating and the them sleeping together in a hotel room and stuff like that.

[00:33:39] It's still a very, very good movie. And I was like, guys, we are relaxed. No, I understand what Karan was thinking. I understand. Sometimes, you know, I feel I have this psychological understanding of Karan Johar and watching this movie, I could really analyze it. Sujohar, you wanted to say something? Having said that, Oscars, the Academy just released a reel, which is an edit of all the movies with New York as the protagonist.

[00:34:08] And Kabhi Alvidan Akhena makes it like the three seconds of shark holding Rani with the Manhattan Bridge behind him. That shot makes it into the showreel. So it's considered one of the canon New York movies of all time, you know, alongside Godfather and all of that. Plus, there's a lot of praise for marriage story where, you know, Kylo Ren and Black Widow are screaming each other and banging the walls. It's pretty much Kabhi Alvidan Akhena. Exactly.

[00:34:39] You know, not that big of a difference. How did you feel revisiting Kabhi Alvidan Akhena? I'm assuming you saw it, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yes, I... Well, I didn't realize just how old this movie was for some reason. The fashion, right? The fashion gets you. Yeah, like... And everybody is like... Like, I forgot, like... It sounds weird because we watch these movies all the time.

[00:35:07] But I'd forgotten how people dressed in these movies, you know? Like, the... It's not even just the fashion. It's the choices, you know? Like, everybody is just, like, dressed in a way that, like, people just aren't anymore. Kapriti's eyebrows were so... I'm a slave for you. You know? I was like, that's exactly that. And, yeah, it was just...

[00:35:35] It was just fun. I mean, I wasn't really thinking about it in terms of, like, you know, is this better? Has it held up? Et cetera. I don't know if it particularly holds up as such. I don't know if it held up even back then. But it's... It's funny because, like, it's sort of turned into... Like, so much of it has turned into the backdrop for a lot of Bollywood-related stuff. And you just sort of, like, see little bits and pieces. And you're just like, oh, yeah.

[00:36:03] Like, yeah, this is where that comes from. Or, like, you know, like, the whole, like, creepy Amitabh Bachchan stuff. You know, like, you... Everyone talks about, you know, like, K3G being... Where, like, the Tharkey AB uncle meme starts from. But, like, this one, like, you know, Sam is, like, basically the OG. Like, the hardcore. It's like Karan Johar saw K3G and was like, you know what?

[00:36:32] I can do better. I can just lean and hard. It's very salty. It's very sweet. Sam needs to go through all the, you know, spectrums of kinkiness, you know. He just has to... Just pull the lever to 11 for this time around. But also, this movie is such an education for, like, auntiedom, you know. Like, I can see, like, Karan Johar being, like...

[00:37:01] My core audience is, like, the Behenji at home who needs to understand about BDSM. And I am going to, like, bring about a sexual revolution. Like, I can see how... I have a theory about this, but this is just a theory. Can I share my theory? Yeah, go for it. I think what happened is, obviously, Karan Johar is a... He was a boy growing up that wasn't comfortable in his skin, right?

[00:37:30] And he tasted a lot of success after his first two movies. Like, to a point where you become the talk of the town. So, I think he just had a very... A lot of unfulfilling, sad and angry sex after that. And a lot of that has been put into his movies like this. Because my theory about Karan is, like, he puts a lot of himself in the movies, right?

[00:37:56] Like, you can see in Ain Dil Hai Mushkele, you can see that's Karan. You know, you can see... And for me, his angriest movie is Student of the Year. And this is his era. And his... My Name Is Khan is his era where he wanted critical praise. You know? But he has to put so much of himself in there. Like, the bullying of the fat kid, right? That's things that Karan has heard. Like, he has heard that and he's putting that in his movie.

[00:38:26] You know? Unrequited love. Eating food alone. That being the epitome of sadness. That's Karan. Or, like, even the fact that Arjun is not, like, a manly... Like, he's not a very boyish... Yeah. That's 100%. Played by a girl. Played by an actual girl, right? And so, that's Karan that he's putting himself in there. And, like, even there's a joke, like, oh my god, thank you, I'm gay or something like that. You know? He puts it in there.

[00:38:55] But I think this... Coming back to the kink. Because that also is something that he puts in Rocky or Rani, right? To a certain degree. Where the bra shopping scene... Like, the sex shop scene in this... Is it sex shop or is it Victoria's Secret? I don't even know what was going on in the 2000s. It had a whip and all of that. Yeah. It's like a proper... Yeah. And summers. Yeah. And that's... But yeah, I think... So, that's my theory, Amrita. I don't know. How do you feel about that?

[00:39:25] No, yeah. I mean, 100%. Like, there's... For Karan, his movies are definitely personal. A lot of it is aspirational. Like, you see, like, you know, him just sort of, like... You know how, like, all of us play Monday Morning Quarterback? Where we're just like, oh, like... If only I'd said this. And, like, if only, like, this had happened. Karan basically writes a movie based on that. He's just like... This person broke up with me. How dare he?

[00:39:54] I'm going to write a movie called Air The Leglish Girl where he dies of cancer. Of cancer, yeah. Because that's what he deserves. I'm going to shave his head first. He's got cancer. So, yeah. It's... Yeah. It's definitely that. But it's funny because I was just talking about this movie to a friend of mine earlier today. And she was talking about... She's much younger than I am.

[00:40:20] And she was talking about, like, how when this movie came out, all the mummies that she knew were big fans of Shah Rukh. And all of them were just like, I cannot believe that he would cheat on his wife. Yeah. Like, they were so heartbroken that their one perfect man had gone and, like, cheated on his wife. Even if it was with Rani. Yeah. It's funny. Like, these are like... It's become a sort of, like, cultural touchstone.

[00:40:45] Even though a lot of people would say that Kank is probably their least favorite Karan Johar film. And I understand where they're coming from. But it's also probably one of his most discussed movies ever. Yeah. No, there's like a story where... Sorry. Like, just like... When you said that all the aunties were like, oh my god, how could Shah Rukh do this? Apparently, when this movie had released, Karan Johar was in New York or something like that.

[00:41:14] And he went to watch, like, a screening of Kabi Alwadaan again. And this lady walked out at the interval or, like, I think just after the movie with her daughter who was crying her eyes out. And she yelled at him being like, I took my daughter who's going through a terrible divorce to watch a Karan Johar movie because, oh, it'd be, like, so happy. Shah Rukh will be romancing and everything. And this is what you have made. And, like, he always mentions that whenever anybody asks him about Kabi Alwadaan I'll say. So, it's, like, really...

[00:41:44] We need to talk about, like, how the cast of this film and even the people that are not part of the cast, like Kajol, they're, like, so weird about this movie. Like, we have to have a discussion about that because there's, like, so many weird things about how they're reacting. I want to hear from Sujwaya because this podcast is going to be three hours because this is, like, we have a lot to talk about. But Sujwaya, Kang, how did you feel then? How do you feel now? Then I was just exhausted by it.

[00:42:11] This time, I watched it in four parts because I just couldn't finish the movie. It just kept going on and mostly because how unlikable Shah Rukh is and without any sort of redeeming quality that was given to him. I think that's the flaw of the writing in my part. As an audience, like, I need to connect with Shah Rukh. And this time around, I didn't feel that.

[00:42:37] Back then, I just watched it for the big screen spectacle of it. And Anil Mehta delivers that in spades. Like, the way he captures the entire landscape of this movie is immense. But this time around, obviously, that's still there as this, you know, this entire ambience of the movie is so gorgeous. And the people in it are so gorgeous.

[00:43:04] But then you look underneath the surface and these people are so unlikable. And that's why it was so hard for me to keep up with this movie. And I had to just break it down into four parts. There is a reason, I think, why he is named Dev. And because whenever people call him as Dev, Dev, Dev, the hangover of Dev Das comes to me.

[00:43:28] And people might have sort of connected with that version of Dev Das, of Shah Rukh's Dev Das. But I don't know. There is a certain redeeming romanticism about Dev Das, about SLB's Dev Das, about Shah Rukh's Dev Das, which I didn't find in this. Here, he just feels irritated, angry at the world, angry at himself, sad about himself. He's violent, physically violent with everybody.

[00:43:55] He's fat shaming within the first five seconds of the movie when his character is introduced in the park. For no reason. He is just there. Yeah, I just felt very, very difficult to watch through this movie. The drama of this movie still hits. Like, there are scenes which are still, like, really shot well, really acted well. There are scenes which are, like, really long.

[00:44:21] Like, there is a one-take scene on that bench, which Karan Johar is very famous or infamous for. And they really, you know, deliver on that. Because when Shah Rukh is talking, Rani is reacting. And when Rani is talking, and Shah Rukh is reacting. And all of that is happening in just one shot for a long, long period. And you can see the, you know, the expertise, how seasoned these actors are. And none of that you see in the current crop of actors.

[00:44:50] So, that is very, very apparent. But other than that, yeah, it's no man. It didn't land for me. Wow. Okay. No, for me, I remember back in the day, I liked the movie. And honestly, this time, it even worked for me again. It gets to the point to where I end up liking it at the end of it. Because the second half, I feel, is much stronger than the first half. But I want to start on a kind of giving Karan Johar his props to a certain degree.

[00:45:18] Because, I mean, we're a pro-Karan Johar podcast just generally for a lot of the things. And I think if this movie didn't exist, Gehraya wouldn't exist. Lust stories would not exist. Oh, easily, easily. You know, it broached topics that at that time were not being discussed at all. And it changed the landscape of cinema. But it was too early. And it's not well made. I like the movie because it's Karan. And I like his kind of idiosyncrasies.

[00:45:48] I like all of the actors. I like the grandeur. I love the songs. You know, that kind of thing. But I also understand this is not a well made movie. And I think the main weakness of this movie is the dialogues. That none of the dialogues actually hit. None of the tragedy. None of the things that you know that, you know, Karan Johar is so well known for. You know, after watching this movie, I couldn't remember one line or one dialogue that really, really, really hit me.

[00:46:14] I think earlier I was saying that this was, he had a massive success. And I think always when we joked about the Met Gala thing, Karan Johar has been aching for critical acclaim, you know. And in a way, he's, you know, Sandeep Redivanga. He has massive commercial success. He has the love of the audience, but he just wants critical acclaim and he's not getting it. And here he tried really well.

[00:46:42] And I think what he's trying to do is some sort of French relationship drama. That's what he's trying to do. And also he's trying to do something like 70s movies where, you know, when I talk about, you know, they meet up in a train station later on and they've been divorced and they're wearing ugly glasses, that kind of movie, you know. I'm not talking about his ritual. Okay, go ahead. Are you talking about Ajaasad?

[00:47:06] Yeah, there needs to be a series where like Ajaasad describes art movies from like the 70s and 80s. I will put money for them. I think those are the two influences. But the third most important influence, and I only picked up on this when I was watching some of the interviews. And this is a crazy one. He says infidelity is very in, in one of his interviews.

[00:47:36] And I was thinking, what is he referring to? You know what he's referring to? Murder. And I basically put the whole chart with the red threads. I enjoyed it. And what come here? Ajaasad is smirking. Mitsuha Tejaza.

[00:48:04] So earlier in the podcast, we asked Asim to tone down his volume so that his volume doesn't distort. And he's gone and swallowed it instead. I'll level it. I'll level it. I shouldn't do this out. But come on, man. That is the insight of all insights, though. Yeah, definitely. It was all about Imran Hashmi and Malika Sharawat after all.

[00:48:33] Yeah. Yeah, that's really what it was about. Let's talk a bit about the performances. Let's be... Sujoh, you mentioned Shah Rukh. Paart, what do you think of Shah Rukh's character, Dave, in this? Dave. I think I agree, like, a lot with... I'm sorry. No, but... Honestly, I think it is Dave. It's Dave. You guys. You guys get Karan. I get Karan. Dave.

[00:49:03] You know what I think? Dave Chappal. Dave Chappal. No, but, you know, I felt that... A, I think the characters are named a certain way. Because I think Shah Rukh is named Dave because he is the center of his own universe. He constantly has to make everything about himself like a god. I thought that Maya is named that way because for her, love is like an illusion.

[00:49:29] Her marriage is also like an illusion where she's in it and she keeps seeing things that are not there. And I felt Rishi is named... I mean, I don't know. Like, if it's Rishi in like the religious sense, he's like always trying to have sex, you know? So, I was like, whoa, whatever, you know? So, like, that is my biggest... Like, that's the simplest way to put it, you know? But I thought that, yeah, like I do agree with Sujoy.

[00:49:56] When I was watching this movie again, like firstly, when this movie came out, I was six. So, I didn't like watch this movie back then. I think I saw it well into my teens. And even then, I was like, there's nothing likable about Shah Rukh. Like, Rani being so upset with her life is the only anchor to this whole love thing. Because there is...

[00:50:23] If they had just made him at least a little bit more, like, feel some kind of sympathy for him. Maybe if they had played into the fact that his injury of his leg is like a big thing in his life. Or the fact that maybe Preeti Zanta is genuinely like an absentee mom. They just don't do any of this groundwork. But they make him this complete a-hole.

[00:50:46] And then you're like, he's literally being rude, obnoxious, Loki harassing everybody around him. And he's just like an evil guy. Like, and from the get-go, like this is... Before the accident. Yeah, before the accident. Before the accident, he's already like that. And yeah, and then it just becomes 10x post the accident and like the five-year time jump, I think, that they take. And it's just like, there was no need for him to be this evil.

[00:51:15] Like, it constantly feels like Karan Johar has this idea of Shah Rukh, which is in all of his other movies. So when he decided to make this, he's like, since I'm asking all of these actors to play somebody completely opposite, and I'm also making a completely opposite kind of movie, I need Shah Rukh to go from being completely lovable with absolutely zero flaws to only flaws, yet a character is falling in love with him. You know?

[00:51:41] I wonder if that was also like just the way that Shah Rukh chose to play it. I think so. Because Shah Rukh is also one of those people who is very given to the idea of the anti-hero. And you know, at that point, like by the time that Kang had come out, he pretty much played a version of like Ram for like 10 years straight. You know, he was just like the perfect son, the perfect husband, the perfect everything.

[00:52:07] And then I think he literally thought of Kang as being like his one opportunity to really sink his teeth into like a meaty asshole character. And there's that thing that Shah Rukh always says that, you know, like he can play like the most evil character and he will still like sell it to his core audience. Like they will, he'll still make him likable. And honestly, I feel like he didn't make him likable. But yeah. In this particular.

[00:52:37] I think by 2006, he had gone nuts. He like, I'm playing this good boy, family loving and the ladies also behind me that he was a year. I will do Kang also and I'll do Dawn also. Like they're both the same year, I think. So he was like, let me just go all out. I have a friend of mine who is a longtime Shah Rukh hater. And when he saw Kang, he was like, Hakla ta pelle se itha bi langla bi hai. Pura movie langla.

[00:53:08] And he was like hating on the movie even more. Also that is like what Path just said about Dawn coming out this year. Basically, Shah Rukh did a movie about infidelity and then he made a movie. Where he starts being infidel. I see all the little notes. I see all the dots. Everything's connecting. 20 years later, you know. Yeah, no.

[00:53:38] And Karan Johar as a director, it felt like this movie honestly came out of nowhere. Like if it really is his thing that oh like murder happened and like whatever infidelity is in or whatever. It's such an odd thing. Because in my head, Karan Johar is one of the few directors in the country who has stuck to the theme of romance throughout his entire career. And to me, he seems to be making movies which are like the evil versions of his other movies.

[00:54:07] Like for example, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil is such a break. Like that guy like Ranbir is so childish in that movie. And it's such a juvenile, immature form of love. But contrast to that, he's made like a My Name Is Khan where this guy is willing to fight against an entire country and like basically end racism and stuff like that. You know, like that or like let's say even take a K3G where love has united the family and all of that.

[00:54:36] And here love has absolutely destroyed everybody's lives around him. And something happens like I guess the college stuff ended too soon so student of the year. It's kind of like that. So in my head, it felt like it makes sense why he would make this movie. But it just didn't make sense why he made it at the time he made it. And I think because he made it at that time, some of the choices that this movie makes like like how you said, like the dialogues didn't land.

[00:55:04] I think I thought that the dialogues were very good, but they were just in the wrong setting. These are all modern people who are living in New York and stuff like that. But then when they just keep saying, this is a relationship and this is a love. And it becomes a bit too melodramatic where you're like, okay, no, like I want you to talk like real people. Because Abhishek Bachchan will be calling his dad dude. But then when he's talking to Rani Mukherjee, he'll just go to like suddenly a 90s type hero being like, what's your life in our relationship?

[00:55:36] And you know, all of that stuff. And like when they can't find a word, it's all Hindi, Hindi, Hindi, Hindi. And then you'll suddenly say something in a vacuum cleaner. They're like, what the hell is happening? You know? Yeah, I don't think writing like normal people is like Karan's strong suit. Like I don't think, I think that that's also the reason why like he loves Dilchata Hai so much and why he was so intimidated by Dilchata Hai. It's because he just heard people talk like normal people.

[00:56:04] And he was like, wait, you can do that? How are you going to do that? And what's going to happen to me if this is what we're going to do? Because in like in Aidul Hai Mushkil, for instance, right? That entire movie is in like one very childish tone, like you were saying part. And then Shah Rukh comes and then Shah Rukh is suddenly talking about like, Yeh jo mohbat hai, yeh ithaam hai. And you are just like, what just happened?

[00:56:32] Like I know a lot of people who love that cameo, but I'm just like, it's like Shah Rukh just parachuted in from like a completely different decade and like came into this movie because it's so different. But that is also weirdly enough, the most like true feeling, like authentic part of that movie because, you know, that's the part that Karan wrote and he was writing it for like a character

[00:56:58] and a person that he really understood versus like the rest of the movie. But yeah, this is Hank. I think the main issue with why Shah Rukh is so angry is because they have to punish these people because they're cheating on their spouses, right? And I think it's a burden that both Shah Rukh is carrying more than Rani is because Rani, I mean, Rani, like, you know, like there's a lot of discussion.

[00:57:27] Maybe I've made this joke before, but there's a lot of discussion about women being love jihad in India, but there's so many women that have gotten Dil Toh Pagal Dhai in India, right? And I think we don't talk about this enough. And here also Rani gets Dil Toh Pagal Dhai because of Amitap. And I think that's the main burden she's carrying, right? She gets, she has to marry Abhishek. And both of them are saying Shah Rukh and it's literally the first scene because they're playing

[00:57:55] off of their previous movie about love is friendship, right? That's the key theme that they took and they want to play around with. But none of these people are actually friends. Is there a moment where Rani and Abhishek, you can say these were actual ever friends? No, they weren't friends. Neither was, there's not a moment that Preeti and Shah Rukh are friends or even friendly.

[00:58:20] So they have to pull up these emotional stakes so high that, you know, Rani owes Amitap something that never even defined why she had to marry Abhishek. And Shah Rukh has to define this anger based on his accident happening and then Preeti getting, you know, a lot of work and getting very successful. But he was already a very angry person before that accident happened. He was being very, very passive aggressive and things like that.

[00:58:50] So I think it is trying to balance quite a few things together. And the balance is just off, at least for me. And there's this also this, there's always a weird anger also in Karan's movies where there's this humiliation ritual, right? Especially for fat kids and gay people and stuff like that.

[00:59:12] But like, I forwarded the scene where Rani knocks at the Bachelor thing and she's wearing those SNM clothes. Why is she blindfolded? And why did she enter blindfolded is my point. Yeah. It never made sense to me, like, why she's blindfolded. Like, that makes no sense.

[00:59:37] Also, like, I would say, like, blindfolded and whipping things at the same time is unbelievably dangerous. For every kid that has nunchucks when he was eight, you get hurt a lot. Moves are worse. I had before. And it's worse because she is such a clean freak. And at the end of the movie, when Amishik Bachchan loses his shit, he just has breaking things in the house and virtually everything is made of glass. Yeah.

[01:00:05] Like, if she really whips something blindfolded, she's going to create a mess, she's going to have to clean. I was like, this is such a short-sighted thing, you know? Speaking of short, though, and we are a podcast where we mention a lot about why is Amir so short. But Rani is so short in that scene when she enters and Amitav is the one opening the door. Amitav is just standing next to her. And she's wearing heels in that and she's still so short.

[01:00:35] She's still short, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But I just felt it was almost a humiliation ritual for Rani, which was not needed. And I think a lot of this movie is basically getting dating advice from a men's right activist. Like somebody who doesn't know shit about anything. And maybe it was just about Karan being emotionally relationship-based immature.

[01:01:04] You know, that he is trying to give you ideas and tips about what marriage should be, what healthy communication, healthy sexuality in a marriage should be. But none of it really lands because he doesn't seem to have any real experience with any of it. I mean, all of this could have been resolved by just one counseling session. No one decided to do that. It's hilarious.

[01:01:33] And also... Stuff, it just keeps going on and on and on. Like, this movie should have been easily, at the very least, 45 minutes lesser than what it ended up being. At the very least, and I'm saying. Could be more, you know? Sujoh, you were saying? Yeah, sorry. Sujoh, you were saying. You forgot. I've lost my train of thought. Talk about Preeti. I'm so sorry. Talk about Preeti and Abhishek, Sujoh. No, no, no. I was talking about the previous scene.

[01:02:01] So, Shah Rukh and Rani, they go into that bed store and then Rani gives that advice of the massage. And then they walk into that Ann Summer store to buy a slutty dress for Rani, right? And then Shah Rukh goes to give that same massage to Preeti. And I completely forgot about that scene where they referred to like, Tumhare maatha, tumhara naak, tumhara chera, sab blue hai. Jadu hai.

[01:02:32] It came out of blue. It was such an off-theat-time reference. Like, nobody will understand that reference in 10 years, you know? But it's hilarious. That way he decided to put it that. So, what do you think of Preeti and Abhishek in this movie? I thought they were gonna hook up. But I was like, what's the point? These two people, Mere jhoombarabar jhoom, when kab jhoomenge?

[01:03:01] And they did not jhoom. That was actually good. I think it made sense. Why would they, right? Like, plus you have Arjun Rampa, Lambi Reska Ghoda, who's been like trying to seduce her for 15 years or something like that. Promotion per promotion dheera and she's still not getting it, you know? Yeah. Ubechara. I thought this movie, like, in terms of performances, the Bachans delivered. Like, for me, those were... Straight up. Those were five.

[01:03:30] Like, I remember when I watched it 20 years ago, I thought Abhishek's breakdown, two sequences where he completely breaks down, were the strongest. Just, like, just this thing of when he says, why don't you love me, right? It just broke my heart. And then when... And I thought, like, it hit then, but 20 years ago, I was a lot immature than I am now, right? So I was like fully team Abhishek on this one. Now watching it, I understand that he's very, very annoying to a lot of extent, right?

[01:04:00] But it is also this dynamic that both of them had created. But Amitab, who's playing... Sexy Sam, I understand he's annoying, but these are consenting adults. So let's, you know, look at that for 2026. It's fine to a certain degree. But the moment where he... And this is Amitab, right? He can make you cry with one line delivery when he says to Abhishek, any messages for your mom? It just broke me. Like, it broke me.

[01:04:30] Just that one line delivery. And those are, man, bachhans, man. Not just that, you know, when... At the dinner scene where they're having that intimate dinner with just the two couples and Amitabh and Kiron Kher, right? And then Shah Rukh gives that whole speech because he's been silent throughout this dinner and he gives that speech. That he's confessing that he's cheating on his wife and he's now in a relationship with Maya. And then finally breaks saying, no, that was a joke. A joke achane laga.

[01:04:58] And you see the stare of the silent stare of Amitabh just staring down. It reminded me of him in Aks and Ake. It is kind of a serious, you know, father figure, but also very much like, I can kill you through this, you know, dinner. Yeah, it was amazing, amazing. He's the first to clock it. There's even a moment where he sees Shah Rukh looking at Rani and he knows like, this is not kosher.

[01:05:54] But yeah. It is. It is. Like that scene is played so well and you kind of, in those moments, you forget that he is Sexy Sam also. Yeah. You know? Or even when he gets on stage after the party and he like, he sees the first fight because he's not seen like that they're actually fighting that much because they've been so passive aggressive, right? Before that. But there he sees it and he tries to like, tell the story about, you know, apologizing and missing his wife and all of that. And then he switches it back to Sexy Sam.

[01:06:24] It's like, there's a skill towards it and also just the fact that you, like, Amitabh is hot enough to still be Sexy Sam, right? Like, you know, Amrish Puri cannot be Sexy Sam, you know what I mean? Like, it has to be Amitabh. So, it is a skill set and then the character is written the way it's written and obviously 20 years ago, people would not, I did have a problem with the whole Chandigarh aspect of looking at Kiran Keir's ass a lot of times. That was a bit like,

[01:06:54] but, I mean, again, consenting and all that, she seems to enjoy it. yeah. More than Preeti and Abhishek, I thought there would be some note about these two getting together, Kiran and Amitabh. But I guess that's something that then they continued and Rocky and Rani to a certain degree. I was just about to say, I think he couldn't do it then so he did it. With Rocky. And I oddly thought that Kiran Keir was not very interesting

[01:07:24] and like, she's a good actress and stuff, but I thought that when they find out and the fact that she just said nothing to Shah Rukh there in that field, I think, outside the house, like on the lawn or whatever, she never says anything. Anything to her son. She never says anything and then at the end, she is just like, now that you've kicked out my son and he literally doesn't earn any money, I think I should just stay with you. You cannot stay with your house. Yeah, I cannot just stay with you. I cannot stay in the big house. Yeah,

[01:07:53] I cannot stay in the big house. I cannot stay in the big house. I cannot stay in the big house. I cannot stay in the big house. Another odd choice, I thought, was that maybe it is to play off as like, Rishi is such a reactive character where every time Maya will say something, he has like a very, like a very outward reaction to it. I thought that the choice that Dave is so outwardly mean and rude and just like,

[01:08:22] obnoxiously an asshole to his own wife, but she never says anything except when the movie wants her to have a fight. I was like, there's no way somebody like Preeti Sinta is just taking it, you know, like day in, day out, this dude is just at the dinner table at like picking up the kid just at breakfast. He's just like berating her almost and how much, like how fulfilling is your job that you're okay with this? After a point, I was like, I would come home and I'd beat the crap. Dude, I'd break his other leg

[01:08:51] after a point. Yeah, like if Sharuk said this shit to me, I'd beat the crap out of him. What the hell? He's just like, you're too successful and you're such a shit mom and you're such a horrible wife and everything. And even the movie realizes because when Sharuk really wants to say something mean to her, he doesn't say anything actually mean. He just says, this is the most important You're our own. And I was like, that's just so not you. Like, you know,

[01:09:20] you're literally belittling her three seconds ago, you know? But that, but that to me was like very real, especially for its time because like it really was unusual to find Indian women in that sort of like high profile jobs back then, especially if you were like working in like something like, you know, like the New York digital world or whatever. And to me,

[01:09:50] it made like a lot of sense that that was her soft belly and that was where he was attacking her where he was just like, well, you know, like you're a shit mom and you're not like, you're not like a good woman basically. And I could see The entire thing that she said back to him like clock it, like she got it. Yeah. She got his ass. Amrita, I praise the bachhans quite a bit. Do you have something to say about that? Yeah, I mean, they're fine. They're fine. I'm speaking a lot passive.

[01:10:23] I want to hear about because for me, Abhishek was kind of the like, you know, what do you think about his appearance in this? I don't think he can be like the emotional linchpin of this movie because again, like he plays it like he is a fine actor and he plays this character really well. And you're right. Like if there is a sympathetic character apart from the child in this movie, then it's Preeti and Abhishek, right? Like, sure.

[01:10:54] I get all of that. But Abhishek's register is always like one or two tones lower than where this movie lives because this movie lives at current Johar tones, right? And then like, and Amitabh can match it. Amitabh can like turn it back up, turn it back down. So that whole sexy Sam stuff that he does is very much in that register. And then when he needs to bring in the gravitas, he can drop it back down. But Abhishek can't do

[01:11:23] that fluctuation. He can only do it at like one level, which is like a couple of registers down. So I don't know if I agree that he was like the emotional heart of this movie or anything, but it was a fine performance. Let's talk a bit about the cheating because obviously that was the big aspect of it, right? Oh my God. Yeah. I mean, I've talked about this before, but the way that, so apparently Shah Rukh directed this part, right? Because I can't remember why Karan couldn't.

[01:11:53] Oh, it's thrills. Was it a thrill? Thrills by Shah Rukh. Is it thrills by Shah Rukh? Thrills and intimacy coordination by Retilius. Intimacy coordination. So I can't remember why Karan couldn't do it, but they apparently went to Amitabh Bachchan and asked him to do it. No, no, I'm not going to do that. And so Shah Rukh did it. So Shah Rukh was the one who directed the entire thing. And, you know, and I've said this before, Shah Rukh, bless his heart, but at his core,

[01:12:23] he is very much a Punjabi uncle from Delhi. Right? You know, he is 100%. That's why like so many aunties love him across India. You know, they're just like, he's like our husband, but like better. And he was just so traumatized. even today, when he talks about, you know, he sounds legitimately traumatized about the fact that he had to like cheat on his partner in the film.

[01:12:51] So the way that, that scene, that scene is shot, it's like the two of them are off to murder somebody. They're just like skulking around like pillars. And then they're like sort of slinking up. And then when like, you know, they're in front of that fire and everything, it looks like he's about to like do a ritual sacrifice and like slit her throat. And I'm just like, what is happening here? It's very culty in that sense. It's very culty. And right in the middle of the Carnatic Alab by Shankara

[01:13:23] in Where's the Party Tonight. Yeah. It's funny because we always talk about the infidelity interlude in Where's the Party, but not about the classical Indian dancing interlude. Suddenly they start doing Bhangra. That's like the ultimate Karanjohar fantasy. White people loving Indian shit, you know, that's the thing that he did. Yeah. You know, they have to, if he is going to cheat to find a hotel with a fireplace

[01:13:52] in New York, you know, it's a effort. But I also appreciate the fact that like this was, you know, because there have been other movies in Hindi cinema. Very notably, there's like, I can't remember the name of it now, but Ismala Sinha, Sunil Dat, and Ashok Kumar and was remade as that film, that terrible film with Anil Kapoor, Kareena and Akshay Kumar. I can't remember the name. Anyway. Chocolate.

[01:14:22] No, no, not chocolate. There's another one with a T- Beva-Fa. Beva-Fa. Beva-Fa. That's a movie. But the original had like Sunil Dat and Ashok Kumar and Mala Sinha. And those are the kind of movies that you were talking about, Asim, you know, they're like very contained character dramas that are like, you know, it's just set pieces with like two people, three people talking to each other and all this drama happening. But what I appreciated

[01:14:51] about Kank is that they went there. Like they actually had these two people having sex. Like it wasn't just that, oh, I'm like emotionally cheating on my wife or I'm having an emotional affair or like, you know, like our souls are meeting and therefore that is cheating. No, they're like literally they're doing like, you know, P&V, like cheating, cheating they're doing. And Kank like shows that.

[01:15:21] And I felt that that was a bold choice to make. And it feels weirdly brave even now, 20 years later, which is ridiculous because, yeah, what do you think people do when they cheat? Like, yeah. Yeah. But it is that balance of time at that era and things that they could show that they couldn't show. And like, for example, they've already clearly had sex together, right? Like we've seen it in other songs. But when they get together

[01:15:50] and, you know, they're, sorry, they have that passive aggressive Desi dinner and then they get caught by Kiran Keir and Amitab at the train station where everything seems to happen in front of that train station. And at that moment, they're not kissing. They're just like nose nuzzling and stuff like that. It was just a weird thing when you have crossed that barrier, you are in New York, then kiss, you know, then that's what real intimacy should be. But it's not. It's still that old school ballroom

[01:16:19] nose against nose nuzzling that. No, that was back when Shah Rukh still wouldn't kiss on screen. So he wouldn't do it until, you know, Yash Chopra was making his last movie and that's when he was just like, fine. Once he did it, he was just like, well, I'm just going to kiss everybody now. Shah Rukh is like, let's start with Katrina and then see where it goes. Even in the, like the hotel room scene, I don't think they ever like actually kiss.

[01:16:49] It's still just nuzzling and with the like lions. So many people. Yeah. Not so many people. Like their biggest thing is that this is where it crossed the line. They are okay with the movie until that hotel room scene comes. And they are like, oh, so what do you mean they actually had sex? And what do you mean they're like, you know, we're not implying like ideally when they go to that hotel room and I was watching it for the first time, I genuinely thought that it will be

[01:17:18] like the door closes and as the door closes, I don't know, I guess they fall on the bed and that's it. But then they actually went there and I was, yeah, like it does feel like a bold, brave choice like for that. And that's where it oddly that disconnect comes with this movie is that the writing, the way the characters are, the way that they do randomly bold things like this. it feels like, yeah, that is 2007. But the rest of the movie, like the editing

[01:17:48] or say sometimes when the camera will just randomly zoom into somebody's face and stuff like that, that still feels 1999, you know, like that. It's transitional. It's, yeah, it's a transitional movie. There's a lot of editing choices which very much emulate like Balaji Telefilm's daily soaps in this. Like there's a lot of white flashes, then the, the hard transitions like zoom, zoom, zoom, zoom. That's very Balaji, you know, they have made it infamous now. They also have

[01:18:17] great moments like the scene where Abhishek screams at Rani and tells her that, that fight. When she's walking away, the camera tracks across the three, four windows that that house has. And then it stops when he grabs her. And I thought that, oh, wow, maybe the scene will continue through this frame. But then it just doesn't, it just again cuts to like over the shoulder, over the shoulder. And you're like, oh, why did this happen? You know, like it's such a,

[01:18:46] and also in Abhishek's house, whenever Abhishek is talking, I thought that the sound quality was so bad. Like I could just hear like this echo and like the reverb. Yeah, they were doing like sync sound, but oddly, like some scenes he was actually dubbing some lines because it was very unclear. And then you can tell how the sound quality swaps between the two. Yeah, yeah. And it oddly happens when they're at that kitchen dining table island. Every scene that takes place there,

[01:19:16] Abhishek's voice is just, you can barely make out like what's happening. But then the moment they move away, it's suddenly all okay. At some point when Priti says, I'll go to London, big house. And I was like, this is about a house? This is about a house? How big is the house in New York? Where the hell are they staying in New York by the way? They're in Jersey, I'm pretty sure. Like it's not New York. They're like a foster over. They have that

[01:19:45] massive lawn and stuff in front of the house. tragedy of Kank is basically that Karan had a vision and he had conviction. And he was like, you know, like, and this is something that, you know, what Asim was saying about infidelity being in, if you see like the early seasons of Coffee with

[01:20:15] Karan that came out around this time, if you see like the various things that he said, you know, in interviews and stuff, he very clearly understands that infidelity is rife where in his society, the way that he lives and the people that he sees, right? Like he sees that and he's seen that a lot in Bollywood, obviously. And I think he had the conviction to make this movie

[01:20:43] and unfortunately he cast a whole bunch of people in it who are all like incredibly, not just prudes like your garden variety prudes, but like moralistic boars about everything, right? So I think that's also why this movie seems uneven in tone because I can only imagine that every time that they did something, you know, where he committed to the bit,

[01:21:13] his cast was just like, are we going to do this? Oh my God, like I, you know, I disagree. You need a whole like Ranveer basically. Basically, basically. And I feel like, you know, like that's I think probably one of the reasons why Rocky or Rani felt like more tonally correct than anything since like Kuch Kuch Hota Hai probably because like Ranveer is like very much a director's actor to the point where he's like, oh, you want me to like jump off a roof? I'll jump off a roof

[01:21:43] in real. That's the kind of actor he is. Right? Whereas I'm sure like Shah Rukh was fighting him every step of the way and so was like Kajol flat up said, nahi, I won't do this and you're all wrong and perverts and degenerates and like even like years after this movie came out like they're all still I haven't seen Rani apologize for this movie honestly. No, she's actually

[01:22:13] very like pro this movie. She's like very much on, yeah. And she put in like, you know, you were talking about like the emotional heart of this movie and like Abhishek's performance, etc. To me, that's Rani. I feel like Rani really holds this movie together in a way that like she they really gave her an opportunity to do that. And this was, I think, one of her best leading lady roles that I've ever seen her in.

[01:22:42] And she really plays that, you know, that when she's in love with Shah Rukh and she's falling in love with Shah Rukh, but then she's also like completely frigid with her own husband and the, you know, the guilt that she feels and the weight and the burden that she's carrying, but also how she's like light even when, you know, Shah Rukh is being like a mean a-hole to her. She does it, she navigates it so well and she sells it, you know, like I believe all these things

[01:23:12] that is happening. So yeah, I really enjoyed Rani's performance in this. By the way, looks amazing throughout the whole movie. Like it is crazy, like how good she looks. I think she has some of the best outfits and even the makeup. Yeah. I felt that her makeup was the most right. Yeah. There are times when Preeti's makeup is so much that in that scene when she says, I'm a house of people and

[01:23:42] stuff like that. Like there's so much eye makeup that like I can't tell what's happening. It's like almost like her face doesn't move a little bit. This is peak cocaine era. That's what's happening. She seems very disconnected throughout this whole movie to me. And weirdly enough, this is also the last year she had any hit movies. This was done after this. She made more movies, but none of them were hits. I like Rani or Preeti? Preeti, sorry. No, Rani

[01:24:11] had no coke era. But yes, it's funny because two careers are kind of on the descent and ascent. Like this was the last year for Preeti Zinta where she made big movies, Veer Zara and everything was over. And this was where Abhishek was climbing his bluff master era and all of those movies that he came out. So they kind of crossed paths in this one. But she seems very disconnected and a lot of times she feels awkward and not fully engaged in it.

[01:24:41] Although when you watch the making of, she seems very much like she's having fun and very you know. So I don't know what happened here with her mentally. But with Preeti it feels like the kind of character that Rhea is, she is not meant to be a lot in this story because that is the whole fatal flaw. Right? That she's so busy working. She neither has time for her husband nor her kid in order to be in the movie. But when you cast somebody like a Shah Rukh, you're like, I can't

[01:25:10] just get any non-A-list actress to play his wife because it also has to feel as intense that oh Shah Rukh really despises her. And if it is somebody who's not an A-lister, the audience is just going to be like, huh, because she's not like a really good looking, famous, whatever. They will have that notion about it, which is why they're like, we need to cast somebody who can go toe-to-toe with him, which is why Preeti was cast. But then

[01:25:39] almost two thirds into the movie, I was like, she's not had much to do apart from one fight. She really is the biggest victim of everything. Had no part to play in it, got screwed over. Let's talk about the soundtrack quickly before we start wrapping up. Because I think the soundtrack is still ace. And I think the whole movie, I think Karan really brought his A-team. He brought the dream team back. Farah Khan

[01:26:08] on choreography and set design and songs and then the music via Shankara Hissan Loy. Amrita, what were the standout tracks? And also in terms of picturization, what stood out for you? That four seasons thing, right? It's just amazing. It's still the most beautiful. That autumn sequence where all the colors are so... You don't really see a lot of burnt orange in Bollywood

[01:26:38] choreography and picturizations. So it's still just so beautiful. beautiful. And this time around, I really was obsessed with Tumi De Khuna. Like, Mitwa has always been my favorite song. But Tumi De Khuna this time around, I couldn't stop playing it back over and over and over again. But songs which... Sujai.

[01:27:08] Sujai. No, wait, Sujai, please. Yeah. Tumi De Khuna picturization-wise is the ace in the deck of cards. I think Anil Mehta pulls out all his tricks. It's gorgeous to look at. This time around, I found when it transitions from the blue winter to all the seasons, and then it comes back to, I think, either it's St. Paddy's Day or it's Christmas with the green at the end. And I saw Ayaan Mukherjee

[01:27:37] in the crowd. He's carrying a big, you know, wrapped Christmas present in the extras. So, yeah. Tumi De Khuna, I really enjoy Rock and Roll Souvenir. It's very much what Karaj wants to do. And, you know, the sort of homage to Mumtaz in The 60s theme. It's such a banger of a track. And that

[01:28:07] whole Karajol cameo, I really enjoy that. And what else? And Mitwa. I mean, Shafkat's one of the few Shafkat songs that we have in Bollywood. He aces it. But I don't enjoy one thing, and it's that the main character, Dave, he's such a football fan, but he's an American, so he should be calling it soccer, but he keeps saying football, football, football, and I don't like it. I do like in,

[01:28:36] I think it's in Mitwa, right? He has the dream sequences, right? And it's not that he's just romancing Rani in those sequences, but he's also running. I thought that was a very nice touch in the song that in his dreams, he's not just, he has the woman, but he can also run, he can also express joy again, and I thought that was a really nice little touch. By the way, I think Ayaan was carrying the script of Ramastran, that bag that he was carrying.

[01:29:07] I think this is my favorite soundtrack of all time. It's just all hits, not a single miss, and I felt that for a movie that is so, that takes itself so seriously at times, but at the same time is able to do like really let go and do like sexy Sam or whatever that stuff is, or even the comedy in the thing where like the jadu thing he does with like the face mask or whatever,

[01:29:37] all of that, I felt that the soundtrack really represents the tone of this movie, like one is to one, like when it needs it to do mitwa, it can do the mitwa, when it needs it to do you see, yes, rock and roll, where's the body, it just nails every single one and surprisingly my least favorite of the soundtrack is the title track. I'm not a, I love the score, like I love the instrumental version of it,

[01:30:06] but I felt that oh no, like I just couldn't get into it. I love that song, but I think there's a few moments that that song just pushes it too much and there's one sequence where you know, like Shahrukh is walking everywhere and he's like, I don't know, he's just walking to graveyards and stuff like, but there's a moment where he's like drinking coffee from a Starbucks cup and the coffee logo is color coordinated with the gate in the back

[01:30:37] and that's where it pushes it a little bit more but I absolutely love this soundtrack so much. The Rock and Neal Sony I love because I just love Abhishek and Amitab dancing together and it has this Kajrari vibe to it, 200% that it has that. But also like Abhishek gets to be in his writer right now, Bluffmaster sort of I missed that. He's so cool,

[01:31:07] right? He's so cool. Yeah. And then where's the party tonight which I thought was a reference because this is actually Rishi Ki Party, you know, like from this is the party. So I think it had a lot of like Dil Chata references to like the way it was short, like I thought that was there. But yeah, I thought it was like speaking of other references I caught, I got one more reference. when they meet up three years later, right? I think

[01:31:37] Abhishek is styled as he's wearing the same coat with the fur lining that Amitabh is wearing in Zilsala. Yeah. Same, like different color coordination, but I think that's like how Karan's brain works, like that kind of references and updating it. Although I think 50% of why Shahrukh was angry in this movie is because he's dressed in Abercrombie and Emporio Empari clothes, which look ugly as F, like it's so terrible. I would be mad, you know, I would be mad.

[01:32:07] Yeah. Any random notes? The way all of these things are shot and the way they are edited and solidized is really nice, which is why when the final title track comes, when they are just all being sad at different locations, I was like, this is the most Karan Johar that he is. Like he leans back into that safe space of now that I need to somehow, you know, get these two characters back at the same thing. I need to do this overly melodramatic song that was on for

[01:32:37] a little bit too long. You know, that was the only thing that I had. If I had editing skills, the one edit I would make is about how Bollywood portrays ultimate sadness as eating alone. You know, it's like Geet in Jabri, right? Eating her sandwiches, you know, Shah Rukh eating the saddest noodles in the world, you know, that kind of things. This one really kind of like, it's one of those desi things where my wife was there when she walked in and she was like, you know, your levels

[01:33:06] in desiness is eating together as a family is the happiest. Eating alone is sad and not eating is the worst thing that can ever happen to you. You don't Yeah. Yeah. That's like the most main scale of desi people. Sitar, any random notes about the movie that we haven't covered? When they introduced Catherine three years later, I was like, Cathy with a K or a C? That's a very

[01:33:36] Chandler wing joke. Arjun Rampal, I thought, was this when they realized he's the Ravan? They did a lot of shoots in that three years time jump after that. They did a lot of shoots in the Brownstones Sex and the City area of New York where Rani's character is now living, which I found an interesting thing. This is a New York movie, so they wanted to explore that side of New York

[01:34:06] as well. They litter a lot in this movie. I hated that. You didn't like the chingham throwing away thing? Amrit, I need random... When he spits the chingham at Preeti and Kiran and they're making some cake or some shit and he just spits the cake. I was like, oh my god. The 2000s was wild, man. We used to just do that stuff, you know.

[01:34:37] I really liked the part where in the middle of their big fight when Abhishek starts off by saying Maza Aya to Rani because he's not... That was such a good line because it's not that he's... Obviously, he's mad that she's been cheating on him and that she's having this affair with another man, but the way that he's seeing it is also in that he tried so hard and he's

[01:35:07] failed. That's not a common perspective that you see in these sort of situations, especially on film where the man who's being cheated on is just like, well, but I tried so hard. I thought that was something, there's a little twist that I thought was really good. It's so consistent with him being a guy who uses sex as a weapon. Throughout the movie, his biggest flaw in my opinion was that he's a

[01:35:37] guy who constantly tries to use sex as a weapon against Rani Mukherjee and a part of that is also because they tried having a kid and she couldn't. And he constantly attributes somewhere to that like, he's so childish in that sense that, you know, that, oh, if we didn't have a kid, maybe having more sex will satisfy that thing in me. I don't know, that was a really good touch. I think he's looking for connection more than that.

[01:36:07] I think he's looking for a way to connect and he's trying emotionally, he's trying relationally and he's trying physically and he hits a barrier every time. And I think it was interesting that he speaks about Mazaya because it does speak about female pleasure to a certain degree. But I think the movie has ideas, it doesn't explore them well enough. It was too early. Nobody had the language 20 years ago to talk about a lot of these things. But I have a question to all of you,

[01:36:38] which is so Shahrukh and you know like Kajol, Kajol is funny because Kajol wasn't even in the film, but Kajol has so many opinions about this film. But Shahrukh has been on record saying that he doesn't think that the happy ending at the end of this film with Maya and Dave is going to last. Like it was just basically a happily ever after for now rather than happily ever after. Do you guys agree?

[01:37:07] Like what is your sense? Like will Maya and Dave be able to make it? Given the circumstances where they finally end up, right? They have already had that penance period of three years that where they had to be satisfied with the thinking that the other partner, their dream partner is happy. And then they now are jubilant that, oh no, that was all fake and they both sacrificed it. That means they have a much

[01:37:37] bigger connection than just the infidelity thing. There's more to it. I believe that they would be happy together because they are meant to be miserable together. But what do you think? No, I don't think they would. I think it's also that the movie does a very good thing of saying that for them to realize that they are in unhappy marriages and then to let's say even cheat. It's so long. Like I think the kid is almost what eight, nine,

[01:38:07] ten years old by the time like Preeti kicks Shahrukh out. So I think that even if they are miserable together and they think that they are happy initially, I think by the time that they realize that the thing that we destroyed our marriages for that was supposed to keep us happy and we ended up here, to accept that yes, this is also not working out would take another two decades and I think by then they would be too old to be like

[01:38:37] let's do something about it. I think Shahrukh is saying that because of his inherent uncle-ness that he's saying this. They don't deserve to be together. But I think my take is I can believe in eternal love but I don't necessarily believe eternal marriage is a thing. There's a moment where if you're not happy anymore, you're not happy and it's best to just separate. I think the problem that Maya and Dave will have more than relational and romantic problems is economical problems. Because they were married to these

[01:39:07] rich people. They were 26. She's a teacher. He's a gym trainer. Both of them are a job. They have to live in Toronto. Toronto prices are crazy at the moment. I think that's what's going to break the relationship. solution for that. They are both going to become the next copycats of Black Beast and they're going to start kidnapping children. Black Beast. That's a stupid. I don't even know what the point was of that. Yeah. What was that? Because Delhi 6

[01:39:36] also had that thing, right? Like about kidnapping children. The thing is Karan Johar tries to do every genre outside of thriller in his movies. And somewhere he realizes that I can't do this. But he locks in. He's like, no, I will still do it. Like comedy is just not a thing for him. Especially situational comedy. He's very good at when the character's personality makes them funny. Like there are times when they're in that sex shop and Shah Rukh just says, like he's

[01:40:06] holding that doll with the bra on and he says, he's your daughter or something like that. Like it's really funny because you believe that quits, you know, even in Rocky Rani, like Ranveer is funny because Ranveer is the kind of person that he is. Whenever he tries to do this circumstance or this scenario is like a comedy scene. When he tries to be David Davan about it, he just flops really badly, you know? Amrita, do you think they'll end up together? Yeah, I do think they'll end up together actually.

[01:40:35] It's like what part is saying. No, because I think part is also on your team only because like, you know, like he said, like it's going to take the like Rani is not the kind of woman who quits, you know? The only reason she quit her marriage is because they forced the issue. And Dave is like, who's he going to find? Like he's he's got the personality of a jackass. Like he's not going to patow anyone else. Like the only reason he was able to patow Maya is

[01:41:05] because Maya was in a shitty situation. to start with. And she's apparently like, you know, she basically had like this one little, you know, like weak moment and Dave just swooped in and like sort of like became like, yeah, I'm your friend actually. And then surprise, we love us. like, you know, I'm sure like, you know, even though

[01:41:35] the rich part of it is fine, because I'm pretty sure sexy Sam has set up some sort of like, like, situation for his ward, you know. So, you know, like, you know, he can move into her nice fancy brownstone. He's used to it anywhere living off, you know, you know. Exactly. Nothing changes for Dave. So, there you go. Like, I think they're like, basically set up for life and they're clearly

[01:42:05] sexually compatible because, you know, Rani's found like the one man who works for her. She's frigid, he's langla. It's, you know, it's sexy Sam. Rabna banadi jodi. I have another question for you guys. If they do make the remake today, let's say they make an OTT show, who would you cast from the

[01:42:34] today's crop of people? Apart that, I mean, no, the thing, but it's going to be some, like, influencer people, right? Like, it's going to be, like, you know, like, I'm saying, I'm saying, let's say that. You can be. No, but if they, if they really go serious, like, who do you think could play these characters? No, if anyone who's on the A-list would play these characters today because it's Nobody would want to play this, you know?

[01:43:04] It's weird because we are, like, we've reached this point where we are much more open about sexuality sexuality and sex acts and all that kind of stuff, but we've also relegated it to the B-list. So, you know, yes, there's, like, a lot of sexy bits on TV, but it's all on, like, alt-balaji. Like, it's not on, like, you You're not doing B-bal anymore, right? Yeah. You know?

[01:43:34] So, it's that weird two-tier system that we've come up with where, like, we can talk about stuff, but as long as it's not somebody who is supposed to be on the A-list. Like, if, say, a Ranveer Singh or a Ranveer were to, like, do this kind of movie today, they would get crucified and they would have, like, a lot of people would just basically bring their personal life into it, you know? Well, you know, here's Ranveer playing his true-to-life form, like, you know, I think they wouldn't say yes for the pure reason that their

[01:44:04] personal lives are so dragged into it. And if you go really young, who are you going to cast the word? Ahan Bandai is Dave. Who else is there? Who else is even going to play this guy? Who would you cast to play, like, Sexy Sam? Because, like, that's, like, Amitabh again. Amitabh again. Honestly. Shripathi. Pankaj Shripathi. Pankaj Shripathi. Lalutop. Lalutop. Lalutop could do it, yeah. They just shoot him from

[01:44:33] behind all the time throughout the movie. You know who, like, seriously, you know, who would be a good contender for Sexy Sam? Like a Sunil Shetty. Like, today the week, like, he does his beard and everything. Like, he looks his age. He would probably be, like, a good sexy Sam, you know, who knows. And then he'd open his mouth and he'd say something and you'd be like, hmm. That is true. No, no, no, that will dub. No, the dubbing will still be Amitabh. For the look, I think we should have.

[01:45:03] As a successful woman who's boss lady, it could be that Kusha Kapila. She's acting, she's an influencer. She wants to be... But she's terrible at both. Which is like, no, I think she's... Like, I think that, like, if I'm really, like, thinking, like, because I think this is above, this is below Janvi, Ananya level of actors, right? So you need to go slightly lower. And Ananya will say I've already done Gehra Gya. Yeah, yeah. So you need to go slightly lower.

[01:45:33] So I'm thinking, if you're thinking of these guys, like, you know, that Rohit Saraf guy. Correct, correct, correct. You know, that's the level I'm thinking of. Sanya Malhotra might be... No, too low. Quite... She's too high, man. Yeah, we need to come lower. A little lower, lower. Yeah. Who was the other girl? The one who was with her in Dangal. Fatima Sanashe. Yeah, Fatima would be... Fatima would make like a... Fatima would do

[01:46:02] like Rani's role. Rani, yeah. She could do as well. I think Tripti Dimri might also be quite good. She wouldn't do it, but... But she wouldn't do it. She'd be good, but she wouldn't do it. Yeah. Too busy making manga movies. Who else? Are there no other actors left? Tara Ali Khan, what? I think that's the tragedy of it, right? You know, the worst part is they would do, figure out, I'm telling you, Rakul Preet will somehow turn up in this movie. I'm telling you, mark my words,

[01:46:32] if they give them free reign, somehow, I don't know, every movie that is about inappropriate romance, infidelity, women are absolutely being dragged through the mud in the movie, somehow Rakul Preet always reaches there. She's first. Like, I'll take it Please, please, guys. And I'm not kidding, every six months, I think the industry tries to relaunch Rakul Preet. Like, every six months is just another thing. And I had seen the Ajay Devgan and her,

[01:47:02] that age gap movie. What is that? Day, day, day, day, day. And I really wanted day, day refund day. But for me, it's like a lot of these actresses, I have that problem with Kiara Advani and Rakul Preet. I have a concept of they exist. I've seen their movies. I couldn't tell you anything about them. You know, like, I don't know who these people are. Any other girls who are in welcome movies, or in the welcome to the jungle or whatever.

[01:47:31] I have no clue. Or the household movies. You know, I have no clue. Which movie are you talking about? Is it Ravina Tandon and Jacqueline Fernandez? No, the new ones. Disha Patni. Pooja Ahe Gde. But then you have to gender swap, right? Like, that would be good. Like, let's do, that would be actually. Let's gender swap now. It's not between man and woman that the thing is happening. It's between women. Like, wasn't that a show with Martin Short and like something like that where the husbands

[01:48:01] get together after this long friendship and then the Jane Fonda. Grace and Frankie. Grace and Frankie. That's the way to go. That had four seasons, you know. You know, if you watch that movie, Juk Juk Jio, and I don't know if you guys have seen it, that fight between Varun and Chiara, it felt the most Khabhi Alvidana kaina fight I have seen since Khabhi Alvidana to be very honest. The way they talk and the way they move their bodies and the way the camera set, it felt like

[01:48:31] Karan walked in and he said, guys, I know my shit, you know, I'll do this part. You can see this part. final words, where can people find you online? They can find me on Instagram at too many tats and I am nowhere else. Amrita? I'm still on a social media break, so good luck finding me anywhere other than patreon.com slash khandan podcast,

[01:49:00] which is where I still sort of, you know, hang out. And I've been a little low in presence there as well, because there's been like a whole bunch of things happening, but that's going to change this month onwards. So come find me on Patreon, which you can join for as little as a dollar. So, Joy? I'm mostly on Instagram at 93k and you can check out khandan podcast content on YouTube as well

[01:49:30] at khandan podcast. Drop us an email at follow us on YouTube. We're dropping a lot of stuff there. I think a new episode should be dropping either next week or the week after, depending on when Yamini is back from her amazing holiday. And yeah, Patreon is the place. I think we're going to be doing another listener episode soon too. So watch out for that and thank you for listening.