Filmi Ladies

This week we focus on Feroz's Dharmatma, his 1975 adaptation of Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather (1972).

* This episode contains spoilers for both the original and this adaptation! *

* Content warning: this film is very violent towards women. It's violent in general, of course, but it feels extra brutal towards a few of its women, with at least one significant change from the arc of one of the original corresponding characters. We don't discuss this in-depth but please know that some scenes in this film are hard to watch. •

Pitu approaches her first viewing of Dharmatma as a Godfather fan and especially likes its twist on handling Michael Corleone and his relationship to his family. Beth has seen it multiple times and it sates her love of 70s style and character actors. This film doesn't seem to get mentioned as often in discussions of Hindi gangster films as maybe it should, especially since it's the first of the Indian remakes of The Godfather, and as we go through its strengths and weaknesses, we come to some conclusions as to why.

Subscribe to Filmi Ladies on Spotify

https://open.spotify.com/show/7Ib9C1X5ObvN18u9WR0TK9

or Apple Podcasts

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/filmi-ladies/id1642425062

@filmiladies on Instagram and Twitter

Pitu is @pitusultan on Instagram

Beth is @bethlovesbolly on Twitter

Email us at filmiladies at gmail

See our letterboxd for everything discussed on this podcast. https://boxd.it/qSpfy

Our logo was designed by London-based artist Paula Ganoo @velcrothoughts on Instagram https://www.art2arts.co.uk/paula-vaughan

Veer Zara celebrates its 20 year anniversary and Pitu and Beth disagree on basically everything about it. 😆
The only things we agree on:
• Preity's cute outfits
• Srk's frosted boy band tips
• Pretty visuals
• Amit and Hema being charming
• The importance of public service???
What are your thoughts?

Want more Yash Chopra? Listen to the Bollywood Drafts podcast episodes on YC's worst

Subscribe to Filmi Ladies on Spotify

https://open.spotify.com/show/7Ib9C1X5ObvN18u9WR0TK9

or Apple Podcasts

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/filmi-ladies/id1642425062

@filmiladies on Instagram and Twitter

Pitu is @pitusultan on Instagram

Beth is @bethlovesbolly on Twitter

Email us at filmiladies at gmail

See our letterboxd for everything discussed on this podcast. https://boxd.it/qSpfy

Our logo was designed by London-based artist Paula Ganoo @velcrothoughts on Instagram https://www.art2arts.co.uk/paula-vaughan

Joining our list of favorites is Eighties Lady Amrita Singh! While we didn't think she quite qualified as a superstar, Pitu (with her 80s and 90s expertise) knew Amrita's brash energy made her worth talking about.

(PS Beth mentions both Mukesh and Mahesh Bhatt as producers of Kalyug, and the film itself says "Mahesh Bhatt presents" and "Mukesh Bhatt production," so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )

What are your favorite Amrita Singh performances and is one of them the disco masterpiece that is Yaar Bina Chain Kahan Re? https://youtu.be/29N4uJkDyO8?si=eDm_I_xm_gpupWtx

Subscribe to Filmi Ladies on Spotify

https://open.spotify.com/show/7Ib9C1X5ObvN18u9WR0TK9

or Apple Podcasts

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/filmi-ladies/id1642425062

@filmiladies on Instagram and Twitter

Pitu is @pitusultan on Instagram

Beth is @bethlovesbolly on Twitter

Email us at filmiladies at gmail

See our letterboxd for everything discussed on this podcast. https://boxd.it/qSpfy

Our logo was designed by London-based artist Paula Ganoo @velcrothoughts on Instagram https://www.art2arts.co.uk/paula-vaughan

If you get together with cinematically-minded loved ones in the festive season, whatever your festivities are, these questions can make for great conversation! We want to know what you think about all of them in the comments.

We talk about another good movie from the Maddock horror verse: Munjya.
Points discussed:
• Green flag heroes
• Suhas Joshi as Aaji 😍
• Entitled boys
• Marathi Gollum
• The Billy Graham Show???
• Annoying uncles
Tell us what you thought!

We are firmly in the 80s now as Meenakshi Seshadri is our first 80s superstar.

A beautiful, talented actress and dancer, she doesn't get talked about as much as she should - and we are a bit puzzled as to why.

Are you a Meenakshi fan and do you consider her a superstar? Which of her films or performances do you enjoy?

Films discussed: Ghayal, Ghar Ho To Aisa, Swati, and Dilwaala. We have both seen and love Damini but completely forgot to cover it; obviously she is amazing in it and it is essential to her legacy!

(PS Beth realizes she said "I have heard so much about Meenakshi over the years" AND "I must not have heard that many people talking about her," and obviously those cannot both be true. She meant that she has heard the name frequently but not much in-depth discussion.)

.

Subscribe to Filmi Ladies on Spotify

https://open.spotify.com/show/7Ib9C1X5ObvN18u9WR0TK9

or Apple Podcasts

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/filmi-ladies/id1642425062

@filmiladies on Instagram and Twitter

Pitu is @pitusultan on Instagram

Beth is @bethlovesbolly on Twitter

Email us at filmiladies at gmail

See our letterboxd for everything discussed on this podcast. https://boxd.it/qSpfy

Our logo was designed by London-based artist Paula Ganoo @velcrothoughts on Instagram https://www.art2arts.co.uk/paula-vaughan

To celebrate the birthday of the great Rekha, we watched Utsav (1984), Girish Karnad's adaptation of the ancient Sanskrit play Mrichakatika. In our totally unbiased opinion this is Rekha's film through and through, but really everyone and everything else is great, with one exception that you can probably guess.

This is one of our favorite Rekha performances! What are yours?

Other discussions:

• Is Rekha the best Hindi film actress for sensuality and sexual forthrightness?

• The jewelry!!!

• Isn't it amazing that Shashi Kapoor produced so many fantastic films in such a short window (1979–1984)?

• Does Kulbhushan Kharbanda have BDE?

Our episode with the great Sal on Rekha is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPgobOdmKHs

Subscribe to Filmi Ladies on Spotify

https://open.spotify.com/show/7Ib9C1X5ObvN18u9WR0TK9

or Apple Podcasts

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/filmi-ladies/id1642425062

@filmiladies on Instagram and Twitter

Pitu is @pitusultan on Instagram

Beth is @bethlovesbolly on Twitter

Email us at filmiladies at gmail

See our letterboxd for everything discussed on this podcast. https://boxd.it/qSpfy

Our logo was designed by London-based artist Paula Ganoo @velcrothoughts on Instagram https://www.art2arts.co.uk/paula-vaughan

It's a catch-up episode! We've been busy getting through our watchlists

We discuss the brief but magnificent film career of Smita Patil—one of India's greatest actresses. Winner of the Padma Shri and several film awards, she was the face of art cinema and feminist narratives. Intense and smoldering, she was often the hero of the film. We also discuss her foray into commercial cinema.

Taal turns 25 years old because Time is an illusion.

Taal is the filmiest of filmy films, with a seriously OTT Anil, diva-like Aishwarya, and Akshaye being sensible lover boy.

There is a lot of rain, some talk of tyaag and izzat, snooty rich people, a cute mop of a dog, and an unholy amount of sequins and razzle dazzle. A R Rahman delivers an absolutely epic score that is choreographed to perfection, and director Subhash Ghai was maybe a total genius by letting him and everyone else on this crew just do their magic.

Come rise in love with Taal and tell us what you think!

Subscribe to Filmi Ladies on Spotify

https://open.spotify.com/show/7Ib9C1X5ObvN18u9WR0TK9

or Apple Podcasts

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/filmi-ladies/id1642425062

@filmiladies on Instagram and Twitter

Pitu is @pitusultan on Instagram

Beth is @bethlovesbolly on Twitter

Email us at filmiladies at gmail

See our letterboxd for everything discussed on this podcast. https://boxd.it/qSpfy

Our logo was designed by London-based artist Paula Ganoo @velcrothoughts on Instagram https://www.art2arts.co.uk/paula-vaughan