On the eighteenth anniversary of the release of Om Shanti Om, I am joined by returning guest (to the point of exhaustion) Dhruv Krishna Goyal and philosopher-turned-Farah Khan scholar Cris to talk about the four films made by Khan: Main Hoon Na [2004], Om Shanti Om [2007], Tees Maar Khan [2010], and Happy New Year [2014]. We mull over the joyful cinephilia of her cinema, the details etched within the many thousands of frames, and also address some of the more troubling aspects of her work.

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The Guests:

1. Dhruv Krishna Goyal holds a Master’s in Cinema Studies from the fabled New York University (aka NYU), spends his time writing about cinema at ⁠⁠⁠In Review Online⁠⁠⁠ and on his blog “⁠⁠⁠Terminal Cinema⁠⁠⁠”, and co-edits the podcast “⁠⁠⁠Queen is Dead⁠⁠⁠”. Follow him on ⁠⁠⁠Letterboxd⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠.

2. Cris is currently working on an academic project about the cinema of Farah Khan, and has previously produced work on Shah Rukh Khan. You can follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd to read more about his interactions with cinema, and through him, explore the deranged depths of Bollywood as well.

The Host:

Varun Oak-Bhakay has a Master’s in English Literature and the written word – consumption and production of it – is still rather close to him, but he’s had a fascination with cinema since the mid-2010s, which has led to a blog (“⁠⁠⁠Cinephile Stock⁠⁠⁠”), a newsletter that he hopes to revive (“⁠⁠⁠Dispatches from a Dark Room⁠⁠⁠”), and now this podcast. You can follow his interactions with cinema on ⁠⁠⁠Letterboxd⁠⁠⁠ and on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ as well.

Chapters:

Introduction and Opening Monologues – 00:00:00

Main Hoon Na – 01:02:14

Om Shanti Om – 01:49:02

Tees Maar Khan – 02:40:01

Happy New Year – 03:15:36

Final Thoughts – 04:25:05

Almost every film today is part of some universe or the other. You can no longer watch a film and just be done with it: the viewer must now prepare to watch a film like the homework they were assigned in school, gobbling up the back-catalogue to better inform themselves about a film. Even stories that appear to have ended have sequels and prequels and what not.

As Paddington in Peru commences its international rollout, I thought the time was apt to release this episode, which has been in the cans since last June. A combination of bad luck, a wedding, transcontinental relocation, and a return to university meant this was delayed beyond reasonable time. One of my guests was rather gracious and gave me the benefit of the doubt; the other will likely complain about this just before we record an episode to discuss the millionth Disney live-action remake.

This episode is an all-Young Critics' Lab panel, with the senior alum position being assumed by Dhruv Krishna Goyal of the Class of 2020 while Prakhar Patidar and I of the Class of 2023 bring newer, less grouchy views.

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The Guests:

1. Prakhar Patidar holds a Master's degree in English Literature and has donned numerous hats whilst walking the line between criticism and academia: she has been a festival programmer, a director's assistant, and a researcher, among other things. Her work has featured in Poems India and the Cut, and Print! newsletter on Substack. You can follow her on ⁠Instagram⁠.

2. Dhruv Krishna Goyal holds a Master’s in Cinema Studies from the fabled New York University (aka NYU), spends his time writing about cinema at ⁠⁠In Review Online⁠⁠ and on his blog “⁠⁠Terminal Cinema⁠⁠”, and co-edits the podcast “⁠⁠Queen is Dead⁠⁠”. Follow him on ⁠⁠Letterboxd⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠.

The Host:

Varun Oak-Bhakay has a Master’s in English Literature and the written word – consumption and production of it – is still rather close to him, but he’s had a fascination with cinema since the mid-2010s, which has led to a blog (“⁠⁠Cinephile Stock⁠⁠”), a newsletter that he hopes to revive (“⁠⁠Dispatches from a Dark Room⁠⁠”), and now this podcast. You can follow his interactions with cinema on ⁠⁠Letterboxd⁠⁠ and on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ as well.

Works Cited:

1. “Queen is Dead” Livestream: ⁠Hit Man
2. Audio excerpts from The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn, Paddington, The Jungle Book, Barbie, and The Archies are used under the “Fair Use Provisions” of the Indian Copyright Act.

Just why are so many biopics made by the Hindi film industry? Are they bereft of new and original stories to tell? Or do they think riding the wave since Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is a wise course of action? Or is there a genuine desire to tell these "true" stories?

With the release of Amar Singh Chamkila, Imtiaz Ali's biopic of the iconic Punjabi musician, a week away, it felt like a good time to put out this episode that was canned quite a while ago.

I am joined in this conversation about nine biopics of varied kinds by Ashwani Kumar and Dhruv Krishna Goyal, both significantly more cine-literate than I am.

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The Guests:

1. Ashwani Kumar works in the development sector as a consultant and writes about cinema for "High on Films". In his spare time, he rakes artists over the coals for their opportunist political stances publicly and ruthlessly. You can follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.

2. Dhruv Krishna Goyal holds a Master’s in Cinema Studies from the fabled New York University (aka NYU), spends his time writing about cinema at ⁠In Review Online⁠ and on his blog “⁠Terminal Cinema⁠”, and co-edits the podcast “⁠Queen is Dead⁠”. Follow him on ⁠Letterboxd⁠ and ⁠Instagram⁠.

The Host:

Varun Oak-Bhakay has a Master’s in English Literature and the written word – consumption and production of it – is still rather close to him, but he’s had a fascination with cinema since the mid-2010s, which has led to a blog (“⁠Cinephile Stock⁠”), a newsletter that he hopes to revive (“⁠Dispatches from a Dark Room⁠”), and now this podcast. You can follow his interactions with cinema on ⁠Letterboxd⁠ and on ⁠Instagram⁠ as well.

Works Cited:

1. “Queen is Dead” Episode 85: The Art and Commerce of Adaptation w/Siddharth Jain⁠
2. Audio excerpts from Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, Neerja, M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story, Dangal, Sanju, Manto, Shershaah, Sardar Udham, Gangubai Kathiawadi, and Mank are used under the “Fair Use Provisions” of the Indian Copyright Act.