Dazzling, devotional, dangerous orange guides our choices today! Beth was bamboozled by the marigolds in Mira Nair's Monsoon Wedding, and Pitu saw spiritually-inspired sacrifice in Aditya Chopra's Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. Love—or loves plural, really—are at the center of these films, which is not unusual on this channel, of course, but these feel a little different. We also discuss some of the meanings of orange and some of our favorite orange costumes in films.

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We talk about her films a LOT, so you knew this was coming: superstar Aishwarya Rai! We both like her acting in general, so we dig into why we think she's good, why other people think she's bad, and what kind of burden it must be to know that no matter what you do or say, someone will hate it. How can one woman manage the burden of being TMBWITW, getting abused by a mega-star, being a face and body of India's economic liberalization, and marrying into the Bachchan family? We're tired just thinking about it - even before we consider the range of work she's done!

Films in focus: Iruvar (1997), Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya (1997), and Guzaarish (2010). (If your favorite Aishwarya film isn't here, don't worry - we've might have talked about it in another episode. For example, we've discussed Kandoukondain Kandoukondain, Dhoom 2, Enthiran, Chokher Bali, Taal, Josh, and Jeans...).

Subscribe to Filmi Ladies on Spotify

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or Apple Podcasts

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@filmiladies on Instagram

Pitu is @pitusultan on Instagram

Beth is @bethlovesbollywood on Bluesky

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 close out Pride month, we look at 3 Indian films that feature LGBTQIA+ characters: Fire (1996), Nil Nirjane (2003), and Arekti Premer Golpo (2010).

Previously, we've discussed Maja Maa https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdhvj0tN5ww and Badhaai Do https://youtu.be/iolSwAuT7IU?si=qp6wt9cMluLUCRZ_ And of COURSE we did a whole episode on queer icon REKHA. https://youtu.be/UPgobOdmKHs?si=dvvduK7zu_YFdQUh

Subscribe to Filmi Ladies on Spotify

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or Apple Podcasts

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@filmiladies on Instagram

Pitu is @pitusultan on Instagram

Beth is @bethlovesbollywood on Bluesky

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

We would be remiss if we only talked about MAAs in Bollywood and ignored the PITAJIS. We bring two very different movies that depict different aspects of fatherhood - father as a human being first, and father who must grapple with passing the torch to his son.

Beth discusses Ray's Apur Sansar (1959) and Pitu discusses Boman Irani's The Mehta Boys (2025). [We know Apur Sansar is not exactly "filmi" but neither is Masoom that we did for maas, so it all evens out.]

We also discuss quintessential fathers in Indian cinema as well as father figures like all the amazing uncles - and end with a fun quiz!

Tell us your thoughts! And most importantly tell us what you learned from your father (and/or father figure).

Subscribe to Filmi Ladies on Spotify

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or Apple Podcasts

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@filmiladies on Instagram

Pitu is @pitusultan on Instagram

Beth is @bethlovesbollywood on Bluesky

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

Meena Kumari is famously known as the tragedy queen of Hindi cinema, and she's an actress whose filmography we've mostly avoided so far. Inspired by a subscriber's comment, we decide to give Meena's light-hearted movies a shot, and discuss Miss Mary (1957) and Kohinoor (1960).

Pitu has seen the error of her ways and is no longer calling her Moaning Myrtle. She is now Merry Meena.

If you haven't seen her dance with puppies at the puppies' birthday party in Mem Sahib, please stop what you're doing and revel in this delightful song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12WvtoTJ3r0

And as a postscript, enjoy this clip of Emma Thompson talking about working with Hugh Grant. https://youtube.com/shorts/nLNMZXpNbB8?si=FpfSeZHahz5AhlNu

Subscribe to Filmi Ladies on Spotify

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or Apple Podcasts

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@filmiladies on Instagram

Pitu is @pitusultan on Instagram

Beth is @bethlovesbollywood on Bluesky

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

We've discussed Indians making films set elsewhere, and now it's time to flip the script: foreigners making films set in India! Don't worry, we steered very, very clear of the Eat Pray Love trap 🤢. We joined a Wes Anderson dysfunctional family in Darjeeling Limited (2007) and studied a fictionalized take on real-life drama in The Bengali Night (1988). Their characters may be lost and overwhelmed in India, but it's less because of India and more because of their own baggage and foolish choices.

In case you didn't catch them, here are our episodes on NRI films https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWHDEgDAITQ and comfort watches https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAwXCgYLiJY.

The infamous India Mars Mission cartoon: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-29502062.

Subscribe to Filmi Ladies on Spotify

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or Apple Podcasts

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@filmiladies on Instagram

Pitu is @pitusultan on Instagram

Beth is @bethlovesbollywood on Bluesky

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

Yellow is so many things - it's cheery, happy, positive, optimistic, and literally sunny as in the color of the sun! But it's also a color associated with fear, unease, cowardice, and the oppressive heat and dangerous conditions of the desert.

We discuss the positive aspects of yellow through the 2014 movie Khoobsurat and the more seedy aspects of yellow in the 2007 noir film Manorama Six Feet Under.

- What are your favorite yellow films?

- Is Juhi Chawla the living embodiment of the color yellow?

- Apart from sarson ke khet what are some other yellow aesthetics in Hindi movies?

- And lastly what do we think of men wearing yellow? It seems not to be a thing?!?

Subscribe to Filmi Ladies on Spotify

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or Apple Podcasts

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@filmiladies on Instagram

Pitu is @pitusultan on Instagram

Beth is @bethlovesbollywood on Bluesky

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

Beth has been waiting for this episode for years: it's finally time to talk about her very favorite star. And the thing is, Rani is so, so much more than a star - she's an ACTOR. We discuss some of our favorite films - many of which have featured on this podcast already - and a few that we've never seen before. Not surprisingly, we both love her comedic chops and went for Aiyyaa (2012), Chori Chori (2003), and Hadh Kar Di Aapne (2000). Beth also checked out her debut, Biyer Phool (1996), in which she is sure-footed and charming from the start.

Tell us what items from her earlier career we need to see! And tell us what you hope our queen will do going forward!

👑 👑 👑

Subscribe to Filmi Ladies on Spotify

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or Apple Podcasts

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@filmiladies on Instagram

Pitu is @pitusultan on Instagram

Beth is @bethlovesbollywood on Bluesky

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

Happy Mother's Day or as we call it - Maa Divas! CineMAA has many interesting maas and in this episode we discuss them. There's the martyr maa, wholesome maa, unhinged maa, idealistic maa, sauteli maa, vengeful maa, even the sexual maa.

We discuss what motherhood means through two very different movies - Masoom (1983) and English Vinglish (2012)

Tell us your favorite cinema maas and also your favorite thing about your own maa!

Subscribe to Filmi Ladies on Spotify

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or Apple Podcasts

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@filmiladies on Instagram

Pitu is @pitusultan on Instagram

Beth is @bethlovesbollywood on Bluesky

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

This week we're looking at movies tinged with green. The color may connote envy, luck, and eco-consciousness...but we both went literal and chose films with beautiful greenery. Sudani from Nigeria (2018) is a sweet slice of outsider life in Kerala, and Khoj (1989) has strange goings-on in the hills of Nepal.

Subscribe to Filmi Ladies on Spotify

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or Apple Podcasts

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@filmiladies on Instagram

Pitu is @pitusultan on Instagram

Beth is @bethlovesbollywood on Bluesky

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