Episode 100: Aparita and Baisakhi bring you an update from the first day of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) 2023, where they saw three films – In Flames, Thank You For Coming and Fallen Leaves.

Music: Wataboi by ItsWatr

Episode 99: Kapil Sharma is known for his comedic appearances as well as his eponymous sketch-comedy and chat TV programme – The Kapil Sharma Show – currently in its fourth season. So it came as a bit of a surprise to learn that Sharma is one of the lead actors ofZwigato a film by Nandita Das, who is well-known for making movies addressing societal issues. In the film, Sharma plays a middle-class food delivery person, trying to make a decent salary for his family, and negotiating a changing world around him. As it turns out, Sharma played his part effortlessly, showcasing the desperation of a man caught in the middle of societal shifts, and his humanity.

Since Sharma attended TIFF 2022, we got a chance to talk to him about his journey to fame and the lessons he learnt from experiences with Zwigato.

Music: Wataboi by ItsWatr

Episode 98: Veteran journalist Ravish Kumar’s resignation from NDTV in Dec 2022 became breaking news itself. A well-known veteran in the Indian media landscape, whose evening primetime telecasts were long considered a must-watch for people who appreciated his no-nonsense delivery, a dry sense of humour and a desire to talk about topics relevant to public life, Ravish Kumar announced his departure to YouTube.

A few months prior, during TIFF 2022, we spoke with filmmaker Vinay Shukla about his documentary on Ravish Kumar called While We Watched/Namaskar! Main Ravish Kumar. The work about reporting the news in India and the challenges faced by the likes of Ravish Kumar went on to win the Amplify Voices Award.

Music: Wataboi by ItsWatr

Episode 97: They returned - IRL! Aseem Chhabra, film journalist/festival director of NYIFF, and film critic/writer Namrata Joshi attended TIFF 2022. They decided to grace us with their presence at the critics' roundtable, where they were joined by writer, critic and podcaster Aditya Shrikrishna. We missed Shubhra Gupta and Suparna Sharma while talking about films we saw at TIFF 2022.

Music: Wataboi by ItsWatr

Episode 96: Aparita and Baisakhi give an update from the initial days of the annual Toronto International Film Festival, which featured a solid slate of films from South Asia.

Music: Wataboi by ItsWatr

Episode 95: Given the box office failure of Liger, Aparita and Baisakhi discuss Indian and other sports films and series that worked.

Music: Wataboi by ItsWatr

Episode 94: Aparita and Baisakhi talk about the depiction of domestic violence and black humour in the new-ish Netflix film Darlings.

Music: Wataboi by ItsWatr

Episode 93: Aparita and Baisakhi introduce a new version of Khabardaar podcast, with your two favourite khabaris.

Music: Wataboi by ItsWatr

Episode 92: A look at the life of Lata Mangeshkar, whose lilting melodies rang out in Hindi cinema songs for seven decades. Special guest Saleha Salam adds her perspective on how Lata gave voice to the Hindi film heroine’s state of mind.

Music: Bollywood Blades by Professor Kliq

Episode 91: A coversation with Indian film critics Aseem Chhabra, Namrata Joshi, Shubhra Gupta and Suparna Sharma on TIFF 2021.

Music: Bollywood Blades by Professor Kliq