Luck By Chance: Bollywood's Greatest Inside Story

[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. Every dollar goes towards creating more

[00:00:41] and better content. Visit us at patreon.com slash Khandaan Podcast. Hi, and welcome to a new episode of Khandaan Podcast. My name is Asim Burney and I'm joined with my lovely co-host Amritha and Sujoy. Hey, Amritha, hey Sujoy. Hey everybody, my dear Bawreys. Hello, hello. We are, this episode's review is Luck By Chance, which is our Patreon pick.

[00:01:11] If you join specific tiers from Patreon, we let you choose a movie we're going to be discussing on the main show. This is a pick by Mira and she picked Luck By Chance. So I think I was really excited to watch this movie. Honestly, I realized I hadn't seen it since it came out. And weirdly enough, it's one of those movies that I do feel I have seen so many times, but

[00:01:37] because clips get constantly uploaded and they end up going viral every time like, you know, like, oh, she was speaking the truth and you know, we didn't realize it back then. But it's a movie that's still very, very relevant. But I think quickly I want to talk about this because I was kind of keeping this before because Amritha wasn't there last week. It's a weird parallel that at the moment, there's a

[00:02:04] huge clash going on between Ranveer Singh and Excel, the outsider that made his way in Bollywood and has now pulled away from a movie that he'd already committed to, to a production house that had a very long history with him and had already invested 45 crores or something like that in the development of Don3. And yeah, I just wanted to kind of get your thoughts about all of that. Like, I mean, you know,

[00:02:33] my bias is a lot of times about Ranveer Singh, so I didn't want to kind of like jump straight in. But Sujo, have you been following the news? Where do you kind of like, are you team Ranveer? Are you team Excel? Or are you a team? I don't care. I'm pretty much a team. I don't care. I want to, I don't know if I'm at all excited about Don3 to begin with, you know, and like to see Ranveer in Don or Farhan go down this

[00:03:00] route of directing another Don rather than making something else, you know. So I wasn't on team either of them. The noise that it has generated is not. What irks me the most is how team Dhurandar and the fandom of Dhurandar has just become this, like, I don't know, like they are the next saviors of

[00:03:26] cinema and they are all jumping on, becoming, how it has fused into Ranveer fandom, but it's basically team Dhurandar itself behind it. By team Dhurandar, I don't mean the makers of Dhurandar, but this subreddit of Dhurandar who are still very much alive and they are just pulling down everything. Oh, this means that and this means that and Farhan is wrong and Excel is wrong and the whole producers guild or

[00:03:54] whatever, the body of filmmakers that banned Ranveer apparently was wrong and how this is how they treat, you know, non-Nepo people in Bollywood, whereas actually Ranveer is a Nepo kid. He's part of the industry and at this point he is no longer an outsider, excuse me.

[00:04:16] So yeah, all of this is just noise. I don't know who benefits by generating this much buzz out of nothing. And yeah, it's just a distraction from all the actual news that's happening in the world. Amrita, your thoughts? I was waiting for your thoughts on this one, to be honest. I think it's just interesting that we can no longer have celebrity without victimhood.

[00:04:46] You know, like in order for, because if you look at the Khans, right? Because like that is the logical comparison point, right? Like the three Khans, because those were the last three big stars of Bollywood and they continue to be like big stars. But the stars, like the Khans and even

[00:05:09] before them, Sunny and Sanjay and Anil. And it's not like they didn't have really low lows or they didn't have a sad story to sell or anything. But their entire PR strategy or their image, like their brand building strategy was that, look at us, we are awesome, right? Like there is nobody

[00:05:39] that can, that can like win a fight against us or can bully us or, you know, like, you know, if you come at us, you better like, you know, you're coming for the king, like that sort of thing. Right. And then you see the people today and all of it is about like, oh, look at this poor baby.

[00:06:02] He's like 45 years old and like, nobody loves him. And you are just like, what, what, what do you mean? You know, but that's the, that's, you know, it's like a, I'm simplifying it a lot, but literally every single like superstar or wannabe superstar that you think of from Bollywood over the last, like say,

[00:06:27] 10 years, it's this constant, like whining about like, oh, like, you know, he has like such a hard childhood and also like, you know, his girlfriend is such a bitch. And also like, you know, it's always like something, somebody somewhere has done this man wrong. And it's fascinating to me to watch Ranveer in particular, because this is the same man who was getting trolled like anything by probably the

[00:06:56] same people, right? Until a year ago. And they were criticizing the fact that, you know, the clothes that he wore, they criticized the fact that he loves his wife, you know, they criticized his movies, they criticized the fact that he was a Nepo kid. And they criticized the fact that he was close to Shana Sharma, they criticized the fact that he got a YRF debut, they criticized every single thing

[00:07:25] about this one man. But the moment he made Dhurandar, and the moment it seemed like he might be like sympathetic to their political beliefs. And by the way, I do not think that Renveer Singh believes in those politics. I feel like Ranveer Singh genuinely doesn't care. Like Ranveer Singh just wants validation and adulation. And he will do who he will, you know, like whoever is willing to give him that

[00:07:51] is whom he's willing to, you know, espouse. And the moment they thought that they have a legitimate superstar who's playing for their team, which is again, very funny to me because Renveer has been trying to be that guy for the past five years and hasn't gotten anywhere. And then all

[00:08:17] that we had to do was like basically make this movie saying that Pakistanis are hot, but we're gonna kill them all. And that was it. That's all he needed to do. He didn't have to like give up beef. He didn't have to like play Ram. He didn't have to be like, actually, I do puja three times a day. None of that stuff. All he needed to do is make a movie where he said Pakistan bad.

[00:08:39] That's it. Yeah. Yeah. So it's very interesting to me to see that. But coming back to like this particular issue between Renveer and XL, I think it's a, I mean, I see why Farhan filed that lawsuit, but also I think Farhan is doing a little too much because like Sujoy said, like who,

[00:09:06] I don't know who was excited for Dawn 3. I don't know who was. I think we were genuinely excited for G-Lazara. Like that was the thing that we were excited about. And that didn't go through. And it was like, okay, I'll just listen to the comment section underneath every post I do and just make Dawn 3, just get it over with. Right. But I think even when the... But nobody wanted to see Dawn 3. Everyone wanted to see Shah Rukh in Dawn 3, which is a very different

[00:09:33] thing from like, I want to watch Dawn 3. Nobody wants to watch Dawn 3. And also like there's a line of argument that says that, you know, if Farhan had changed his mind and if Shah Rukh had changed his mind and Shah Rukh had been like, hey, like I would actually like to do Dawn 3. They would have dropped Ranveer in the blink of a heartbeat. And like, you know, like there would have been no compensation

[00:09:56] as such. And I see that, like that, yes, that is something that, and it's something that has happened to Ranveer particularly a bunch of different times, right? Like he was supposed to do Bombay Velvet, and then they took Ranveer instead. He was supposed to do Baiju Bhavra, and then, you know, like SLB did SLB things. So there's been a lot of like high profile. He was supposed to do that, what is it, Shaktiman.

[00:10:25] And then Mukesh Khanna had a, you know, like, I don't know, like a public meltdown about it. I can't remember you remember Shaktiman. I remember Shaktiman. The movie Shaktiman, Jesus. So yeah, it's just, it's incredible to me that now this is like a major issue. But what do you think, Asim? I mean, you guys know that I don't hold Ranveer Singh as a person in high regard. I think he's one of the most

[00:10:55] spineless leading men that we have at the moment. And I think he actively quotes a very harmful narratives that are already playing out politically and socially. And he rides those hotels a lot of times without any consequences. Not because he believes them, but because it benefits him. Exactly. He rides them. And he even to the point where he, he, it hurts his family, it hurts his wife.

[00:11:22] It's literally hurting his father-in-law. I think he was like, you know, some manifestation or something like that. I was seeing on Twitter that he was getting like blasted or something like that. Like, it hurts people around and it hurts his co-stars. It hurts the industry. And he has complete disregard for every, any of that just because he wants to be loved and, you know, entertain like a clown that he is. Um, but I, um, so I, yeah, again, I don't, I don't respect the man at all. I appreciate his

[00:11:52] performances and his skill and his talent for sure. I think he's a, he can be, he's a good actor for a lot of performances, but now the persona is becoming so big that it's just like annoying the hell out of me. And especially now in this day and age, if you are not standing up with your spine straight, then what are you even doing? You know, I cannot respect that. Um, but besides that, um, I,

[00:12:13] I, I like you, I had no interest in Dawn 3. I, I also don't like, uh, actor Farhan. Like I want him to make movies, right? I don't want him to act in movies. I want him to get back to the Farhan that we actually like and love. And, uh, so that's the only part in Dawn 3 that I was excited about that, even though it's going to be just a literal cash grab, at least he's directing again. Um, but it's

[00:12:41] really, it's kind of a tough one because Excel was one of those first production outfits as far as I remember. One of the first, there were many, but like they were really like professional in a corporate sense of how they make movies, how they have a script, how they have their team production setups. Property. Yeah. How they have all of that set up. Right. And that same thing has now kind of like

[00:13:06] hurt them on a PR level, because if you want to do the core, go down the corporate way, this is what you do. You take it to the right trade bodies and taking it to the trade body that kind of supposedly banned and then unbanned Ranveer. This was not the first step. This was the last step of many mediations. They had gone to Amir Khan. They had gone to a lot of actors and producers to find some

[00:13:30] solution to this issue. Um, and, uh, then they went to this lobby organization and then this organization basically overstepped. Um, and apparently this is the same lobby that banned Pakistani artists a while back to ever come back in India. So they do hold power. Um, but, um, I, yeah, it's, it's tough to pick a side because I also don't, I understand like for, I think Ranveer made a statement that

[00:13:58] I don't recognize your authority as an organization to ban me, which I understand, like, like I would, that would be now, now he's discovered a spine, right? Now that it's affecting his career. Um, but, uh, I, I can kind of like, like, yeah, if he shows a spine, I can understand that. So I think for Excel, it's kind of bit them in the ass, just this corporate setup, because the corporate setup is not there. It always pushes this limit of how clean professional we can get in it, but this is

[00:14:26] Bollywood. It all works on relationships and, you know, like networking and we know each other and this and that. Uh, but guys, we went through Salman, Shah Rukh slapping each other at parties and now they're in each other movies, you know, so everything can be sorted out in a couple of years. Um, but, uh, yeah, I'm just, uh, I'm not even sad that there's not going to be a Dawn 3 because I really genuinely

[00:14:53] wasn't excited about it. So let, let me, uh, let Ranveer make, you know, I, I wish Ranveer now has to cater to the audience. He's, that is his fans. And now it is like this Greek, uh, tragedy where he's stuck only making movies for them and Aurelo's whole livelihood is dependent on these people that want to put parallel and diagonal lines on screen and say, wow, kia cinema, you know?

[00:15:23] So, the Dharander fandom. So enjoy what you've shown, man. Like that's all I can say about it. But yeah, I thought the parallels between seeing this news and then watching like by chance were just too delicious not to talk about. Uh, but let's go to like by chance now. Um, do you want to maybe give us a little recap Amrita of what happens in, uh, luck by chance for people that haven't seen it in

[00:15:50] a while? Right. So this is basically the story of a young man who gets a lucky break, uh, into Bollywood. And then it's sort of like based on Zoya Akhtar's very finely observed, um, you know, experience of the Hindi film industry and the different characters that this guy meets, um, and the advice that he gets

[00:16:17] from various people and who he becomes at the end of the film versus the beginning of the film. So, yeah. So, had you seen it since? Is this a movie that you rewatch a lot? I watch it every year or every second year, something like that. Wow. It's that much dear to me. This is my Roman empire, basically. I love movies about movies. And I think

[00:16:42] like by chance sits on the top of that list for me, um, you know, amongst others, but it's such a well-made movie. It, uh, like it being a directorial debut is such a surprise to me that she managed to achieve so much within that because, um, obviously there has been tales of, you know, she's been wanting to make this for the longest time, the, the struggle that she went through to bring the, the cast together, because there was a lot of recasting. People were associated with this project.

[00:17:12] They dropped off and the final product that she got out of, and, uh, you know, all the people who were involved, um, this, uh, obviously has a Diwangi Diwangi level of industry involvement in terms of cameos, but, uh, the, the, the performances that the main cast gets, um, you know, from, uh, Farhan to Coco,

[00:17:37] uh, to Dimple Kapadia, Rishi Kapoor. Yeah. Outstanding. Outstanding. Yeah. Yeah, Mirza. Hello. Uh, yeah, I, like I said, I hadn't seen this movie in a while, but I feel it lives on Twitter and Reddit all the time that they posted, but going back and watching it, I was like, man,

[00:18:00] what an era of cinema that was like, we had so much and we had it so good. And like, look at where we are now. Like it is uncomparable all that we have lost. Right. Um, but the first note I had is, this is Farhan as Bazi Garh. What? Yeah, this, this, cause you know, you said it's a man that gets

[00:18:25] a lucky break, but I think there's so much manipulation and kind of being at the right spot and really create, and this is a, it's a dialogue that you literally say. This is, this is Farhan's Bazi Garh. Yeah. Farhan's, uh, I mean, Farhan's character being Bazi Garh in the Bollywood cinema. Like it's like, like he, he is like coming from nothing and really creating his path to success. Right. Uh, and validation.

[00:18:54] It's interesting that you said that because I had a similar thought. I didn't think of him as Bazi Garh, because Bazi Garh is like a level of camp that this doesn't apply to. But, um, I was thinking that, you know, he, this is actually my favorite, uh, performance by Farhan, because I know that, you know, like none of us is like a big fan of Farhan, the actor, like all of us wish that Farhan

[00:19:18] would stick to direction. But as an actor, this is my favorite film of his because he nails the fact that to be a celebrity and to really like want to be a celebrity and to enjoy being a celebrity, like all that stuff, you have to be a sociopath at some level, you know, like you can't be a normal person and also be a star. And it was very interesting to me because I was watching, um,

[00:19:47] an interview that Zoya did with Anupama Chopra. Um, it's sort of like a retrospective of like, you know, my first film sort of a thing. And she was talking about this film to Anupama and she said, she was once privy to a conversation between like, I don't know, like five or six top stars of Hindi cinema. And they were all like talking about this other guy that wasn't there. And they were just

[00:20:16] like, well, you know, that guy's never going to make it. And, uh, she was like, why, why wouldn't, why wouldn't that guy make it? And they said, he's too content. And apparently like all of them just reacted to the word content. Like it was like the worst insult or the most like horrendous condition that a person could have because they were just like, well, no, he's not going to succeed

[00:20:39] because you have to like have that hunger. Um, and I think like she, like, you know, like she wrote it, obviously, but like Farhan really nailed it as well, where you can see him making these like little slimy, like situations and like sort of like navigating his way in, um, even his personal relationships, like the women that he is, you know, like sleeping with or flirting with or whatever,

[00:21:03] uh, he's doing it with an eye to like where that is going to take him. You know, whether it's like with Coco's character, with Isha Sharwani's character, he is like thinking two steps ahead about like what this relationship is going to do for him. And every time he does that, the film underscores it with that background score of the, it's like some sort of a score that, you know, underscores the fact that, oh, the wheels are turning, you know, and he's thinking

[00:21:31] about, uh, he's completely laid out this blueprint of the next 15 steps that he's going to follow to, to, to his goal. Um, uh, and, and the whole personal side of things, I, I love, love the fact that at the end, uh, to me, this is a Coco story. It's a Sona Mishra story then that, uh, because it begins with her and it ends with her. Yeah. And he, he looms large in the

[00:21:55] background when that song of, uh, um, plays, he looms large in that poster in the background, but it is Sona Mishra story to me. Uh, but I love, I'm so satisfied that they included that scene when, you know, that, uh, when, uh, Vikram appears on the daily soap set and, uh, uh, Sona and her get

[00:22:21] to reconcile and Sona just listens to her, him talking. And then he says, she says, he has nothing more to say. Hmm. Yeah. No, yeah. I agree with you. I also, this is how I remember. I think there's also just been a shift in how Zoya talks about her movies to like, we had this idea

[00:22:49] they, this is Farhan's launch or this is Konkana's movie and this and that, but like the way, uh, Zoya talks about it, that my movies are collective movies. They're like, everybody's has a, you know, and I think that's really now shines through where he's as much Rishi Kapoor's or even like Jui Chawla, who I didn't remember who was in this movie, but she has such a big impact in this movie, right? Like it's a

[00:23:14] smaller role, but it's that Shifali Shah kind of role in Zindagi Na Me Legi Dubara where she's like, you know, her few scenes really stand out to me though. And you understand completely who Minty is with not seeing too much of her, right? Uh, or even, uh, Shiva, Shiva Chanda, right? Um, like obviously what the, the arsenal of access to stars that Zoya now has, she didn't have that for

[00:23:42] this movie, right? Like she had a lot of other actors she wanted to get involved, although she gets a lot of them, but still, I don't think Farhan was probably meant for this role. It was probably like a proper act, like a main actor she was looking for initially, right? I think Vivek Oberoi was involved at some point. Tawu was supposed to play Coco's role and all of that. Yeah. Yeah. So that's, that's probably how she wanted to initially make the movie, but she ended up making it like that, which I think is a strength because we didn't know Farhan as an actor

[00:24:11] then, right? Like, I don't know if Rock On came before or after this, but, uh, after this. Yeah. Um, it's really the, it's really been the law of diminishing returns in terms of performances for, for Farhan, hasn't it? Like, it's just gone like, it started great. Um, but yeah, uh, yeah, no, I, I, I really loved this movie and I was like, it is funny to me though, that like you said,

[00:24:38] early Diwan Gi Diwan Gi, but it's such an interesting thought that Om Shanti Om and Lag Bai Chance are such similar movies, but so different in its approach. And it's just funny that, uh, Farhan did, I mean, Zoya and Farhan being cousins, she did it this way and then Zoya did it her way and her way completely flopped at the box office. But you can't even say that, uh,

[00:25:08] like in, uh, in hindsight, one is the better movie as the other, because both are actually cult movies, right? So the, it delivered in terms of quality, both of them, but it's, it's, it's, it just feels weird that, Oh, I'll do it my way. And I'll tell the same story to a certain person. There is a, there is a one similarity, uh, both have because, um, like, uh, Farhan before,

[00:25:33] uh, Om Shanti Om did May Hoonah. And even in that, you know, at the end, she brings all the crew members in, uh, Ye Fizai and then she does that in Om Shanti Om. And then Zoya begins the movie with that. It starts with that. Yeah. Ye is in the GP. It's the entire film industry. It's so good. Yeah. It is so good. And it's not the main guys. Like, uh, the costume department, it's the guy who's ironing the clothes,

[00:25:58] you know, and the credits go costumes by Manish Malhotra and whatever. The cinematography, the guy who is, you know, bringing this, the spotlights on, it's just, ah, such minute details. So like, this is what we call peak detailing by the way. No, but it's also like such a, like both those movies, like, you know, this movie and Om Shanti Om, there's such a love letter to the movies. Yeah. You know, they're like, you can tell that the people that made this movie, like,

[00:26:28] they weren't making it because they were like, oh, this is going to make like a hundred million dollars. They were making it because they were just like, this is a wonderful story about who we are and about us, you know, it's like our story and we want to tell it. You can tell that, like, you can tell that quality, you know, of, uh, of care and of storytelling and the fact that,

[00:26:53] you know, it's clearly been workshopped and there's like, like Zoya describes herself as sort of having like one year open for the things that people say and the things that people do and sort of immediately like jotting it down in a little notebook. And I can see that happening, you know, and I can also... Which is the sequence that happens in Om Shanti Om. Exactly. Right? It? But also like if Farah is your cousin, obviously you're hating everything she's saying,

[00:27:22] like even if she's in the other room, like there's no choice, you know. I mean, there is a scene from Om Shanti Om here when, you know, Ye Zindigibi is happening when the projection is the screening. It is Gori Gori from May Hoon Now on the big screen. There's Shole in both movies, you know, here Mac Mohan comes out of nowhere and gives one line that he's known forever for, you know. Yeah, it's all the Easter eggs in these movies. I've got a few more. I've got a few more.

[00:27:49] So obviously the story itself set up of Om Shanti Om similar to like By Chance, the cameos kind of being similar. But the other thing I thought about, May Hoon Now has a song as a oner, right? Chale Hati Hawaain. Yeah, Chali Jaisi Hawaain. Chali Jaisi Hawaain. Gala Gudiya, oner again. You know, a whole song shortened as a oner, right? So there's a lot of like parallels, but it's... Watching this movie, I also understood why it didn't work

[00:28:19] at that time because it does... And you see it in the sequence you're describing. It has this documentary cinema verite kind of approach to the filmmaking. And I think audience weren't educated enough. Like it feels almost Dhobe Gartish, like, you know, like in a way of the way it's shot. Although the themes, the story is not at all of that kind of movie making, but it gives that vibe initially.

[00:28:48] So I think as an audience, although we all loved the movie when it came out because we're not... We look at it maybe differently and we're also better than general population, obviously. Otherwise we wouldn't have this amazing podcast, right? But no, I think audiences needed to catch up on this type of storytelling. And I think maybe it was too early or too soon.

[00:29:15] The way that I see it is that this is one of those movies that pushed that golden age of like, you know, independent cinema in Bollywood that lasted for about like, what, five years or whatever? Five, maybe 10 years. The entire Pratish Nandi movies era. Yeah. Like without this film, Ayushman Khurana doesn't have a career, you know, like or Rajkumar Rao, like these people don't have a career without this film coming out. Yeah.

[00:29:44] So, which is funny when we say that because Zoya is now known as like, you know, the godmother of the Nepo babies in Bollywood. So it's fun. Yeah. Yeah. Any... Sujo, you've seen this so many times, this movie. Is there anything this time watching it that kind of popped up for you that you were like, oh... The dialogue in this movie switches like crazy, man.

[00:30:11] Like people are talking about something really serious. I noticed it this time and then they would switch off to something else completely. Like the time when Sweetie, which is Minty's sister, Shiva Chadda, she's like, we're all good at this movie. You know, our attention is high. We'll get a little vodka. That happens all the time.

[00:30:39] Like Sona Mishra talking about her neighbor who is a stuntman who passes away on the set and she's dead in the scene. So that whole scene is like, there's plenty of scenes when the dialogue like goes to and fro because there's so many things are happening. I was like, that's so fascinating how they structured that. I really like Sanjay Kapoor in this rewatch.

[00:31:06] Like that scene is completely different. I didn't. I thought he was like, he just cannot nail the level of acting required. It's either or too much or too under. And like, just like he's not Anil. Like Anil gets it. And Sanjay always misses the mark, I feel. I like him, but I was like, still, you get why he didn't become a bigger deal.

[00:31:35] Like I get it. But I think he's also like, you know, it's like tough when you're in an ensemble cast that is so good and everybody's bringing their A game and everybody's like nailing it. Like out of the park. And then you are Sanjay Kapoor. Like it's hard. You know what I mean? It is hard. Like it's hard. And the hustle of Romy Rolly every single time. I love him. He gets through Nikki to Zafar to the hero and the heroine and the negotiation.

[00:32:05] And then the heartbreak that he gets, how he gets treated by the industry. And oh my God, Rishi Kapoor, what a volcano of talent he is. He's so, so good. Yeah. There's something to be said. Like I was watching Rishi's performance in this film and I just remembered, I think like you take everything apart, right? And there's a lot to talk about Rishi Kapoor in his personal life and like who he was, et cetera, blah, blah, blah.

[00:32:32] But there are some people who are just like born to do like one thing. Like they have a vocation. Like it's not just their profession, but it's their vocation. It is through Bikar. Yeah. Go ahead. Sorry. No. And then that's Rishi Kapoor with acting. Like I remember like in one of his interviews, he was talking about like how when he was a child, he would be crying.

[00:32:59] And then in the middle of crying, he would go to the bathroom, look at himself in the mirror so that he could remember how to hold his face when he would have a, you know, a crying scene. And I'm just like, yeah, that's an actor right there. And I was going to make exact that same point about Kareena Kapoor, weirdly enough, who's also here for a scene. And I was like, she is so good at capturing exactly what this movie is, right? Yeah.

[00:33:29] And this is Talash era Kareena, right? I think this is Tashan era because she's size zero. Is she? I mean, they're close to each other, right? Maybe one or two years apart, right? Like it's not refugee, khushi Kareena. And it's also not, you know, the Kareena we have now. It's that middle period. But there was a really nice, I think it was on Shreemi's podcast. She was saying that there's a shot in, I think, Chameli, if I'm not mistaken,

[00:33:56] where the camera is kind of like, or heroin maybe, where the camera is panning like that. And there's women, women, women. And then the shot was of Kareena. And the camera is like that. And Kareena was basically on her phone. She was on her phone. When the moment the camera reaches her, she is on. Like, and she gives like an amazing shot. Camera moves, she's back on her phone. And I was like, oh my God. Like, how do you do that? Like, how do you switch it on and off? And she was like, just like, you know, that joke she had with Farhan,

[00:34:26] like come whenever you want. I'm just joking, you know? It's like, there's... And I think this is one of those things with this movie, because there's a lot of star cameos, right? Like there's like a joke. There's Diyamir Mirza. There's Vivek Obray. There's Abhishek. There's Ranbir. But the stars are the stars. Like when they walk in, when they just have a small shot, even if they're playing themselves, like I mentioned, Juhi Chawla.

[00:34:55] Small role, but oh my God, what a performance. Rishi Kapoor. Shah Rukh, when he finally steps in. Like, I don't know about you guys, but I knew it was coming, but I stopped breathing for a second. And I think that's the impact that the movie wants to bring up. Like Shah Rukh, oh my God, you know? Yeah. And I don't even think this is like a great scene from Shah Rukh. I thought he was playing it in a very smarmy way, which I didn't appreciate. But I don't know. It's just like star power is star power, man.

[00:35:25] Yeah. But like also, I am fascinated by the ecosystem that this entire movie, you know, portrays from like the film parties, then to like the whole gossip industry that runs behind it. And then like how the producers try to, you know, get projects, then they have to approach these, you know,

[00:35:53] investors and that dimple bringing Boman Irani to invest in the movie. And then the whole audition process, it's insane. But also like when Sona gets rejected and, you know, Ali Khan is like saying, you have already done Teer Talwar. You can't be doing this movie. And she's like, if I'm acting, and he says, who wants to see it? I just started laughing.

[00:36:23] There's so many great, great lines in this movie. It's insane. What an epic run Konkanash and Sharma was on. Like this, like page three, wake up Sid, this one, like, I think, you know, we talk a lot about like having like these amazing runs of movies. Like, but Konkanash, I don't think features in that list, but she definitely should like, oh my God, you know, and it has a bit of that page three vibes in it too. Like you're saying, you know,

[00:36:52] about these things, about the rumors and the gossip mills about it. I also feel watching this movie again, I was like, I think Bollywood did Isha Shrivani wrong. It's Isha Shrivani, right? Her name? Yeah. She was great in this movie, right? Like, I thought she was amazing. I don't think I, it's, it worked for me as well the first time I'd watched it, but now watching it back, I thought she's amazing in it. Like the song she plays. I think unfortunately for her,

[00:37:20] like her debut movie was like Krishna movie from Subhash Ghai. Yeah. And that was like a, like a, like a generational flop. And then she came in this one and she was great, but she, it was again a flop. So I think like it just got, she just got sort of buttonholed as a pigeonholed rather as a flop actress. And that's just really sad because I remember like, so she and her mom,

[00:37:48] like her mom actually used to do this sort of like acrobatic classical dance or something. And it was like, and Isha was like, like an expert in all of that. So she used to do those aerial routines and things like that. And she did a lot of that in Krishna, for example. And even this one, you know, the song with Hrithik, she does a little bit where she's in that little circle and she's just sort of like doing that sort of like kind of a thing.

[00:38:19] And she could have, yeah, she could have been anything, but I think they really didn't know what to do with her. Yeah. I don't think Bollywood knew what to do with her. I did love that reprise of Bhavare when they walk into the theater and then Farhan sees the reaction to him doing the song and he's made it. And I thought that was really, really powerful. Like Abhiman Yousing's reaction to it. Like he sees his friend on the other side of the glass and he's surrounded by,

[00:38:49] you know, fans and he's just having popcorn. Like a few moments before he was just a friend, they were just struggling actors. And now the distance between them is so large. Like he's unreachable. It's so, so well done guys. Oh my God. Yeah. Amazing hater level acting. Did I miss a sequence? Like I was texting you guys about it. Was there on a sequence with Farhan hides his CV? No, it's not.

[00:39:15] It's not that he went that level of villainous that he actually hid it. Maybe I'm misremembering that. What's your favorite dialogue though? Amrida, you have any fun? I have one. I have one. Go ahead. What is it? I love that line so much.

[00:39:43] I love the sequence with Anurag Kashyap, where she can pronounce khun. Khun. Khun. It's like, murder. Deadpan voice. Love it. Yeah. I loved everything that came out of Dimple Kapadia's mouth, because like the way that she was saying everything, it was just like, you know that she's been waiting for years to like play that role,

[00:40:09] because she's just been like observing like heroine ki mummy across sex. When she comes back from Bombay, and then the shoot, the alcohol shoot has been going, and she talks to her male lady. She's just like putting her mouth, so that they can't see her lips. She's like, when are they all going through? Oh my God. You know that, auntie. Yeah. Yeah. She's so good. And also that when she talks to Isha, that all the horror she had gone through to reach where she's at, which is like, oh my God, you know,

[00:40:39] this woman has been through it, you know. And also just like this whole flirtation with Farhan, and you know, she's not acting on it, but she's appreciating it, and it's working slowly, slowly on her, you know. He's kind of getting through her guard, you know. I thought that was a really cool dynamic. And then she realizes the gossip magazine's writing about it, and then she makes a call. Kuti. Yeah. Very Geet from when we met, you know.

[00:41:07] But that is also like based on real life, right? Like the Nendra beating up Devyani Chobal in the 80s, and all that kind of stuff. So, yeah. Love it. Sanjitha also, there was a going around about like, he beat up a slap, and Salman was like, thik maara, thik maara. Like, Salman, tu kaha poja hai, like, calm down. Shah Rukh Khan, let's not forget Sharuk. Sharuk, yeah. And to top all of that, like, Shankar Ahsan lawy, making an ace album. All banged. Yeah.

[00:41:37] All banged. If this, if this movie was remade now, or made now, there would not be an excellent soundtrack, right? Like, that would be the one thing that they would not have budget for. But back in 2007, 2009, they could also act, add an amazing soundtrack, and they're all amazing songs. Especially the, the filmy song, when they switch to, it being like a filmy, romantic song, and they do it so seamlessly. Like, you know, it's, yeah.

[00:42:07] It's the, the Hrithik Bhavare song is just like, oh my God. I love Hritik in this film. Like, he's so good. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Did you see the tweet that he had? Or Instagram post? And every morning, Zoya, like, let's grab coffee, you know? Although I don't think Zafar is a negative character. Like, when you have real life Ranveer Singh at the moment, at least Zafar was not riding on the hate wave, you know? Yeah. He's okay. He was okay. He just wanted a Dharma movie.

[00:42:36] That's all he wanted. Yeah. With Charok. Wouldn't we all make that choice? You know? Good. Well, that was, quickly, should I read some messages of people? Yeah. I want to just go through. So Melanie said about like, by chance, easy, one of my favorite movies and one of the best movies in the last 25 years. The entire cast is excellent, especially Konkana, Farhan, Rishi, Dimple, and Jui. As someone who has never been to Mumbai,

[00:43:03] it gives you an outside and inside view of the city and the industry. Then Lisa said, I love this movie. I watched it multiple times over the years. I will watch anything with Farhan and Konkana. I thought it was very well written, well acted, very well done. And of course, the dance number with Ritik and even creepy circus themed one adds to the pleasure. Sona said, she absolutely loved the movie.

[00:43:29] I love that it manages to convey the seedy and transactional nature of Bollywood without turning preachy. The opening shot, we spoke about that does a great job of capturing behind the scenes. The scene with Ritik in his car and the kids on the screen is for me, the best acting he has ever done. It also reminds me of an old video of young Shah Rukh in his early days, driving around Mumbai and getting completely mobbed. I couldn't find the video online, but it is there in one of the documentaries.

[00:43:59] Zoya's movies are always well cast and this is probably the best among them. And then the final message was from Maida, who said, this movie showcases that the Nepo baby conversation is a bit stupid. Only an insider could have made this with love and nuance. I hope you guys talk about the Ritik's characters wearing Shah Rukh coded. Zoya modeled him a lot on Shah Rukh. I hope she makes a movie with him in the future. I feel like all of us have been waiting for that Zoya-Sharuk,

[00:44:29] you know, collaboration for like decades at this point. And I don't think it's happening, you guys. Like, I don't think it's happening. He's going to be like, And then Shah Rukh will be interested. You know, that's, that's all he cares about. Like maintaining that six pack. Puri forj lagi vi as ko. Yeah. Anything else you had to add about these comments? I want to add one thing. And that is like something I observed,

[00:44:59] like movies about movies, all the cinematic magic that movies create. It's talking about so many things that's happening all around. And then every time they pull up to Filmistan, the gate is the oldest gate that you have. And you see they walk inside through, through this gate and there's magic being created a whole entire universe. It's like the TARDIS. It's bigger on the inside. All these magic things are happening, you know,

[00:45:25] and it's insane to see that that's the entryway, you know, people can't just walk into the, through that because it looks like an ordinary place in an ordinary, you know, town where people just walk in, but then it just brings fantasies to life. It's insane. Yeah. It's something that, that movie with the, that Damien Chazelle did Babylon. They also kind of gave that idea really, really nicely.

[00:45:54] Probably copied it from Zoya a hundred percent. Okay. That's it for this episode. That was like by chance. That was also a movie nominated by one of our patrons. If you want to nominate a movie for Khandan to watch, do not leave a comment in the comment section on YouTube or Instagram, join Patreon and let us know what you want us to watch. Amrita, where can you find, where can people find you online? You can find me at Twitter at Amrita IQ,

[00:46:22] but as Asen said, the best place to find us is Patreon. So patreon.com slash Khandan podcast. And you can join for as little as a dollar. You can actually even join for free if you want to just like check things out, but you know, you might not have access to a lot of our, um, a special Patreon content. Yeah. So we dropped, uh, I drop a monthly letterbox video where I talk about the movies. I'm dropping one about the TV shows that I've watched and, uh,

[00:46:52] we'll do also longer episodes. You can get early access. And Sujoy and me also did a hangout about like Korean movies and everything else we've watching. So there's a lot of things going on. Uh, Sujoy, where can people find you online? You can find me on Instagram at 93 K and do check us out on YouTube at Khandan podcast for all the video content we get, uh, we make. And, um, but all of that, obviously, um, you get early access to that on our Patreon channel, patreon.com slash Khandan podcast.

[00:47:21] Also follow us on YouTube. Um, if you haven't checked out our new episode about Priyanka, I'm sure there's another one that'll be popping up soon. Um, drop us an email at you podcast again, gmail.com. And thank you for listening.