Khabardaar Podcast

With the festival concluded, Aparita and Baisakhi come together for some thoughts just after the festival. They pick three films each that stood out to them, and talk briefly about films they will talk about when they release in the theatre or streaming platforms.

Music: Bollywood Blades by Professor Kliq/ Material Breakthrough by Peritune

Our favourite film critics Aseem Chhabra and Namrata Joshi join Aparita and Baisakhi for a chat about films they’ve seen. Aseem has been a regular guest on our show, and we were thrilled to welcome Namrata back after several years of absence. As always, the discussion was lively.

Music: Bollywood Blades by Professor Kliq/ Material Breakthrough by Peritune

It’s that time of the year again. Aparita and Baisakhi are at the Toronto International Film Festival, watching and breathing films. Taking some time out after a delirious few days, they talk about the films they have seen so far – ranging from Club Kid to Bucking Fasterds.

Music: Bollywood Blades by Professor Kliq/ Material Breakthrough by Peritune

One of Shakespeare’s most famous plays, Hamlet, finds a new setting in London within a South Asian real estate mogul household. Directed by Aneil Karia and starring Riz Ahmed, Sheeba Chaddha and Art Malik, the film keeps Shakespeare’s language but shortens the play significantly to keep the focus mainly on Ahmed’s turn as the melancholic son seeking revenge for his father’s death.

Aparita speaks with Aseem Chhabra, noted critic and film festival programmer, about the film that they both watched at TIFF 2025.

Music: Bollywood Blades by Professor Kliq/ Material Breakthrough by Peritune

Heated Rivalry has become a global phenomenon. Aparita found some fans in India, who had watched the show before its debut on an Indian streaming platform by Lionsgate. She spoke to Trupti Marolia, aka The Culinary Expert and Jinal Bhatt, who goes by Imagination Junkie.

Music: Wataboi by ItsWatr

Canadian series Heated Rivalry has taken the world by storm. While Baisakhi has been immune to all the spicy conversations about the show centering on two ice hockey rivals, Aparita got curious about why fans are so steamed up. In this episode, Aparita tells Baisakhi about a quintessentially Canadian story – and they discuss whether it could translate to an Indian medium.

Music: Wataboi by ItsWatr

Almost two months after its release, Dhurandhar continues to dominate the Bollywood box office. Aparita and Baisakhi could not avoid the hype and watched the film. But more than the movie, it was the memes that left them entertained.

Music: Wataboi by ItsWatr

After a more or less restful holiday break, Aparita and Baisakhi are back with stories about families. The break over Christmas and New Year’s often has us dealing with our loved – and not-so-loved ones. So there was lots to appreciate in Jar Series’ Perfect Family as well as Anusha Rizvi’s dramedy The Great Shamsuddin Family, available on Jio Hotstar.

Music: Wataboi by ItsWatr

Episode 129 In making Homebound, based on a NYT opinion piece, director Neeraj Ghaywan was mainly driven by a sense of inquiry and curiosity: How to tell a nuanced story of Dalit lives, and other people living on whatever margins they may have been relegated to. In a (all too short!) conversation with Aparita and Baisakhi, Neeraj talks about his worldview and how he shared that perspective with his leading actors Vishal Jethwa, Ishaan Khatter and Jahnvi Kapoor. We also hear from the rising stars of commercial Hindi cinema about diving into the lives of Chandan, Shoaib and Sudha.

Music: Wataboi by ItsWatr

Episode 128 It’s almost the final-final episode from TIFF 2025. A quick overview of how the festival went for Aparita and Baisakhi.

Music: Wataboi by ItsWatr