EPISODE 15 : PART 1 (OF 2) WITH FILM SOUND RECORDIST INDRAJIT NEOGI, WHO CONVERSES ABOUT A BURNT SCHOOL, ATHEISM, IIT, HIS CAREER IN FILMS & HAVING THE RIGHT PERSPECTIVE, IF LIFE HAS TO WORK OUT

He saw Naxalism real up close when a dear friend joined the movement and was killed by the cops. He studied in a school so seeped in religion that he became an atheist who refused to do his mother’s shraadh. He cracked the IIT and instead of going abroad ended up recording and designing sound in films.

In the first part of my conversation with Professor Emeritus and Film sound recordist and designer Indrajit Neogi, we conversed about a childhood surrounded by systemic violence, an orthodox schooling that pushed him in the exact opposite direction and naughty memories of rushing to read racy paragraphs in novels during school breaks. Please welcome Mr. Indrajit Neogi, a man who believes that if you look at things from a right perspective, things eventually work out.

Hi, I am Atul Taishete and welcome to my podcast ‘Conversations with Atul’.

EPISODE 14 : A FATHER AND HIS TEENAGE SON BOND ON A ROAD TRIP TO GOA. A CONVERSATION WITH JEHANGIR SURTI ABOUT HOW EARLY LIFE EXPERIENCES CAN SENSITISE & MAKE CHILDREN AWARE OF THE WORLD THEY LIVE IN

He had worked on ad films for almost a decade before he directed ‘Aa Dekhe zaraa’, one of India’s rare science fiction films. After the birth of his son, he voluntarily decided to become a stay at home dad. As his son turned fourteen, he realised that these were the wonder years where his boy needed to learn a few life lessons, so one fine day, he took a road trip to Goa with the teenager as pillion. That clearly has been a life changing and father-son bonding experience for both and amongst one of the many things we will converse about today

Please welcome Jehangir Surti, a biker by passion, a stay at home father by volition, a cosmopolitan by sensibility and a Parsi at heart.

Hi, I am Atul Taishete and welcome to my podcast ‘Conversations with Atul’

TEAM :

Producer : Suvir Nath

Sound Editor and Mixing Engineer : Aakash kulkarni

Music : Imran Ali

Cover Arts : Soumya Ganesh

Website Design : Samir N. Srivastava

(ये एपिसोड हिंदी में है। ) 

(This episode is in Hindi)
EPISODE 13 : THE CONTRIBUTION OF CARROM CLUBS TO CREATING WORLD CHAMPIONS WITH MUKHTAR BHAI. A CONVERSATION ABOUT HOW CARROM CLUBS KEPT THE YOUTH OUT OF TROUBLE AND OTHER INTERESTING ANECDOTES

Behind every champion are selfless folks who wish for a small contribution in the champion's success. In generous spirit, the only thing these generous people wish for is to see a champion get his/her due ... and for this noble desire, sometimes put their whole lives on line. End of the day when the champion triumphs, they are desirous of neither praise nor applause.
So let's catch up with one such lovely soul. He is called 'Mukhtar Bhai' by his friends. Mukhtar Bhai has been running a Carrom club in Thane for the past forty years. He will enlighten us on how Amitabh Bachchan's hairstyle encouraged Carrom clubs in this city and though he doesn't say so, we will understand how he has had a major role to play in the creation of national and international Carrom champions in this country.
Hi, I am Atul Taishete and welcome to my podcast 'Conversations with Atul'.

मेरा नाम है अतुल तायशेटे और स्वागत है आपका मेरे शो 'कंवरजेशंस विथ अतुल' पे।

EPISODE 12 : PART 2 (OF 2) WITH CLASSICAL SINGER SRABONI CHAUDHURI. A CONVERSATION ABOUT THE KIND OF SUPPORTING PARTNERS ARTISTS NEED AND SRABONI’S HARROWING NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCE

What would you do if you see yourself losing the one thing that you are passionate about? What would it feel like for a singer to almost die for real and then die metaphorically when told that they might never be able to sing again?

In the second part of my conversation with classical singer Sraboni Chaudhuri, we continue from where we left of and converse about Sraboni’s near death experience where she almost lost, first her life and then her voice.

Hi, I am Atul Taishete and welcome to my podcast ‘Conversations with Atul’

EPISODE 11 : PART 1 (OF 2) WITH CLASSICAL SINGER SRABONI CHAUDHURI. A CONVERSATION ABOUT THE VALUE A GURU ADDS TO A SINGER, HOW RAAGS ARE USED TO COMPOSE FILM SONGS & LITTLE LESSONS IN CLASSICAL MUSIC

She had a budding teaching career but she could never really free herself from the lure of the arts. She has learnt classical singing from some of the best names in the business including the illustrious Shobha Gurtu. She humbly calls herself ‘Not so intelligent’, but once she started talking about Music, I did, for a moment, feel, that I was the dumb one in the room.

In the first part of my conversation with classical singer Sraboni Choudhuri, we conversed about how a Guru contributes to a singer’s music and what being in isolation means, for an artist

Hi, I am Atul Taishete and welcome to my podcast ‘Conversations with Atul’.

TEAM :

Producer : Suvir Nath

Sound Editor and Mixing Engineer : Arun Rama Verma

Music : Imran Ali

Cover Arts : Soumya Ganesh

Website Design : Samir N. Srivastava

(This episode is in Hindi)

Orchestra! What is an Orchestra? In Bombay terms, an orchestra is a live programme with songs and comic skits. Orchestras existed thirty years ago and exist even today but back then, Orchestras had the kind of glamour, which is difficult to imagine now. Comedy stalwarts like Johnny Lever, Sudesh Bhosale, Raju Srivastava got their early breaks here and survived for years because of Orchestras. In the Bombay of the eighties and nineties, Orchestras like Melody makers, Baabla, Pramila Datar were big names. One other huge name was Orchestra Kalakaar. Today, let us try and understand this world of the Orchestra with Orchestra Kalakar Supremo, Mr. Sudhir Sinha. 

Hi, my name is Atul Taishete and welcome to my podcast ‘Conversations with Atul’

(ये एपिसोड हिंदी में है )

ऑर्केस्ट्रा! क्या होता है यह ऑर्केस्ट्रा? कभी सुना है इसके बारे में? बॉम्बे में ऑर्केस्ट्रा मतलब एक गाने और कॉमेडी का लाइव प्रोग्राम। आज भी होता है और तीस साल पहले भी होता था, लेकिन तीस साल पहले इसकी चकाचौन कुछ और ही थी।  फिल्म इंडस्ट्री के दिग्गच कॉमेडी आर्टिस्ट जैसे की जॉनी लीवर, सुदेश भोसले, राजू श्रीवास्तव, को इन्ही ऑर्केस्ट्रास ने पहला ब्रेक और सालों तक प्लेटफार्म दिया।  ८० और ९० के दशक की मुंबई में मेलोडी मेकर्स, बाबला, प्रमिला दातार, ये ऑर्केस्ट्रास में बहोत बड़े नाम हुआ करते थे।  इन में एक और बड़ा नाम था - ऑर्केस्ट्रा कलाकार।  तो चलिए समझते है ८० और ९० के दशक की इस ऑर्केस्ट्रा की दुनिया को।  ऑर्केस्ट्रा कलाकार के सुधीर सिन्हा से।  

नमश्कार, मेरा नाम है अतुल तायशेटे और स्वागत है आपका मेरे शो ‘कंवरजेशंस विथ अतुल’ पे l 

EPISODE 9 : PART 2 (OF 2) WITH FILM HISTORIAN KARAN BALI. A CONVERSATION ABOUT THE HARD ROAD TAKEN BY THE PAKISTANI FILM INDUSTRY AS KARAN IMPRESSES WITH HIS KNACK FOR NARRATING FILM HISTORY

When speaking about cinema, quite a few film theorists use a language which is complex and disconnected from ground realities but I have seldom felt that way whenever I have heard Karan Bali speak or read his articles on cinema. As we will discover in this episode, Karan has that special knack to make film history interesting, intriguing, relatable and contextual. My personal view is that this is exactly how film history should be taught if we wish to reel in the younger generation into learning about the past.

In the second part of my conversation with film historian Karan Bali, we continue from where we left of and converse about his profound understanding of cinema, its history and how the development of the Pakistani film industry compared with our very own, here, in India.

Hi, I am Atul Taishete and welcome to my podcast ‘Conversations with Atul’.

TEAM :

Producer : Suvir Nath

Sound Editor and Mixing Engineer : Aakash Kulkarni

Music : Imran Ali

Cover Arts : Soumya Ganesh

Website Design : Samir N. Srivastava

EPISODE 8 : PART 1 (OF 2) WITH FILM HISTORIAN KARAN BALI. A CONVERSATION ABOUT CHICKEN, SHEEP, COWS, VIDEO RECORDERS, THE 1983 WORLD CUP, NOORJEHAN, LATA MANGESHKAR, DILIP KUMAR AND HAMAM SOAP

He comes from a family of lawyers in a country we now call Pakistan. He has lived on a farm with chicken, sheep and cows. In his formative years, the VCR, also called the Video Cassette Recorder was his best friend and he had seen more Hollywood and Bollywood that most of us only wish we could have seen in film school.

In the first part of my conversation with film historian Karan Bali, we conversed about his childhood and teenage memories which included a strange and rich mix of his time on a farm, life in boarding school, the 1983 world cup, a letter for Sunil Gavaskar, Hamam soap, the Pakistani singer Noorjehan, the koyal Lata Mangeshkar and the thespian Dilip Kumar

Hi, I am Atul Taishete and welcome to my podcast ‘Conversations with Atul’.

TEAM :

Producer : Suvir Nath

Sound Editor and Mixing Engineer : Aakash Kulkarni

Music : Imran Ali

Cover Arts : Soumya Ganesh

Website Design : Samir N. Srivastava

EPISODE 7 : THE JOURNEY FROM RIOT VICTIM TO ATTEMPTING GUINNESS RECORDS, WITH BIJU KUTTY. A CONVERSATION ABOUT A SHARED CHILDHOOD, A SAD MEMORY & A HARD-FOUGHT BATTLE FROM VICTIM TO VICTOR

He was uprooted during the riots and yet, stayed positive. He changed his name and yet, never really changed at all. He never went to Engineering school and yet, is a better Engineer than most engineers I know. But more than all this, he is a father who has managed to get rid of his son’s mobile addiction. Today, his son Affan Kutty can make letters and numbers, blindfolded on the Rubik’s cube and is on the verge of creating some serious Guinness book records. Behind the son’s multiple laurels is a dedicated, hardworking and proud father. Please welcome Biju Kutty, a man who has seen more than his share of troubles but never really stopped smiling.

Hi, I am Atul Taishete and welcome to my podcast 'Conversations with Atul’

EPISODE 6 : SHE TRAVELS, ON A BICYCLE, AROUND THE WORLD, ALL ALONE. BHARATHI RAJARAM IS A CORPORATE HONCHO BY PROFESSION AND A BACKPACKER AT HEART. A CONVERSATION ABOUT HER CRAZY TRAVEL ADVENTURES

As a 21 year old, she traveled all alone to Kashmir in the middle of the conflict. She has cycled from Mumbai to Goa and through half of France all by herself. She has been to 72 countries on budgets most of us would travel to 10. She is an Engineer, an MBA, a wife, a daughter and a mother but I feel that the only title that really befits this backpacking dynamo is that of a modern day Gypsy.

Please welcome Bharathi Rajaram, whose stories of wanderlust we can only envy

Hi, I am Atul Taishete and welcome to my podcast ‘Conversations with Atul’