This episode unpacks one of the most important Indian films, Ankur (seedling) directed by the late Shyam Benegal. It stars veterans of Hindi, Oriya, and Kannada films: Shabana Azmi, Sadhu Meher, and Anant Nag in pivotal roles.

Ankita and Azhar discuss how caste affects desires and the complex interplay of cowardice and casteist power represented through the character, Surya. Allegedly based on real incident, Ankur remains a testament of powerful storytelling in Indian cinema. It generates a nostalgia, a desire to go back to the socialist foundations of Indian/Hindi cinema being lost in the post 2014 Hindutva era. Can such a film be still made today?

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In this short episode, Ankita unpacks the 1967 Hindi film Around the World starring Raj Kapoor, Rajshree, Mehmood, and Pran. In a reversal to his socialist image, Raj Kapoor plays a millionaire embarking on a world tour but there's a problem. He only has eight US dollars. The film is touted as a mindless film but Ankita argues that this is one of the most important Cold War films made in Bollywood.

Enjoy!

The student, the educator, the cinephile, and the rebellious Indian combine in this episode to unpack the relevance of the 2006 Hindi film Rang De Basanti. Ankita and Azhar do so via the Cockroach Janta Party led student protests unfolding in India. Consider this a tribute to revolutionaries like Bhagat Singh, the rebellious spirit of Indian masses, and India as well–the India which at one point aimed to be the symbol of decoloniality. The hosts extend their solidarity to the Indian students, complicate CJP, criticize mainstream Bollywood's cowardly right-wing turn while unpacking questions like:

1) What is revolutionary optimism?

2) What are the reasons behind the pessimistic belief that protests lead to nothing?

3) Why are the Indian students protesting and hows does RDB blur the lines between fact and fiction?

4) Why is RDB is still a relevant radical political film?

References:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly72e3zrjno