Khandaan- A Bollywood Podcast

Samantha deserves a better family, Sujoy makes a case for Mirzapur, and Asim has found two good jokes in Welcome to the Jungle. Was it worth sitting through the rest of the film? You can probably guess.

Asim, Amrita and Sujoy catch up on Maa Inti Bangaram, the Mirzapur movie and Welcome to the Jungle, before taking on a listener-submitted Bollywood Would You Rather game. Would you choose Geet or Poo? Could you spend a year watching only Arjun Kapoor films? And how long would it take Aamir Khan to explain PK?

There’s also a catch-up on Pakistani dramas, streaming frustrations and the guests we’d love to bring back.

The video version of this episode is available on our Khandaan Podcast YouTube channel. If you watch it, please give it a like to help us grow.

For bonus videos, catch-ups and film and TV recommendations, join us at https://www.patreon.com/khandaanpodcast.

Send your questions, game suggestions and guest recommendations to [email protected].

Chapters

00:00 Welcome and the current movie slump
00:56 Amrita on wholesome romcoms and female stardom
03:16 Maa Inti Bangaram: Samantha, action and family dynamics
09:42 Streaming subscriptions and the right packet of biscuits
10:40 Mirzapur: Sujoy’s movie review
15:20 Do you need to watch the Mirzapur series first?
18:18 Welcome to the Jungle
27:27 Bollywood Would You Rather
28:08 Jaya Bachchan or a lift from Salman Khan?
30:02 Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan and explaining PK
32:20 Arjun Kapoor films or bad Bollywood remakes?
36:04 Geet versus Poo
37:55 Dancing behind Hrithik Roshan
40:17 Bollywood drafts and past podcast chaos
42:43 Pakistani dramas and streaming frustrations
45:25 Where to find us and Patreon extras

Asim and Amrita are joined by Pakistani drama reviewer Sophia Q to discuss the opening episodes of Mitti De Baway. Does the much-anticipated pairing of Mahira Khan and Wahaj Ali deliver? We get into the three timelines, the performances, the striking production design and the amount of slow motion.

The longer conversation also takes in Pakistani dramas more broadly, from subtitles and international audiences to the shows Sophia thinks are worth watching.

Contains spoilers for the opening two episodes.

There’s a video version of this episode on the Khandaan Podcast YouTube channel. If you watch it and enjoy it, please give it a like. It helps the channel grow and lets us know you’d like more conversations like this.

Support Khandaan and watch our full video episodes at Patreon.com/KhandaanPodcast.

Three films arrived in the same week, so Asim, Amrita and Sujoy have plenty to discuss.

Sujoy thinks Kunal Khemu’s Vibe is one of Bollywood’s best films of the year. Amrita appreciates Khemu’s distinct comic voice but wonders whether the movie occasionally feels like a showcase for its writer, director, producer and star.

Asim reviews Netflix’s Lust Stories 3 and asks why four acclaimed filmmakers have delivered an anthology that feels so strangely uniform.

The main review is Best of the Best, a South Asian college dance comedy starring Maitreyi Ramakrishnan. The hosts discuss girlhood, female friendship, colourism, diaspora identity, cultural gatekeeping and the importance of joyful South Asian stories. Sujoy, meanwhile, remains unconvinced by the film’s dancing, college rivalries and Hasan Minhaj.

Also: Preity Zinta, Bollywood music rights, Kunal Khemu versus the YRF Spy Universe and Asim inventing yet another Indian celebrity.

Follow Khandaan on YouTube and Patreon for video episodes, bonus conversations and more.

Chapters:

00:00 Welcome and too many new releases

00:26 Four films arrived in one week

03:21 Vibe review

06:04 Is Vibe a “boys’ movie”?

07:02 Kunal Khemu’s directorial voice

09:34 Preity Zinta returns

12:08 AI terrorists and competent comedy

14:03 Vibe versus the YRF Spy Universe

15:02 Should Kunal Khemu direct other actors?

16:24 Asim invents another Indian celebrity

18:01 Lust Stories 3 review

20:21 Four acclaimed directors, one uniform style

22:32 The relationship problems of Lust Stories

24:16 Kiran Rao’s contribution

25:38 Vikramaditya Motwane’s contribution

26:56 Shakun Batra’s contribution

28:02 Vishal Bhardwaj’s contribution

30:00 The strangely sanitised intimacy

31:32 Why Lust Stories is not for Asim

32:59 A growing cultural disconnect

33:32 Best of the Best review

36:04 Girlhood and complicated friendships

39:32 Why Sujoy could not connect with it

42:07 Can Maitreyi Ramakrishnan dance?

43:23 A joyful South Asian movie

44:11 Diaspora culture versus Indian culture

45:28 Why all group activities are dorky

45:57 The outsider experience

46:55 South Asian identity beyond India

47:22 Sisterhood and brown male characters

50:33 Maitreyi versus Hasan Minhaj

52:23 Identity, history and speaking honestly

54:39 Popularity, aggression and female friendship

56:15 Watching the movie with Sofia

57:09 The cost of licensing Bollywood music

59:28 The film’s best dance joke

01:00:18 Choreography and campus culture

01:03:55 Why Asian stories struggle to survive

01:07:19 The Best of the Best soundtrack

01:08:45 Game the Netflix algorithm

01:09:05 Where to find Khandaan

Watch the full video and support Khandaan on Patreon → https://www.patreon.com/khandaanpodcast
We revisit English Babu Desi Mem, the 1996 Shah Rukh Khan film that gives us three SRKs and somehow still leaves us wanting less.

Sujoy chose English Babu Desi Mem. Amrita would like to know why.

In this episode of Khandaan: A Bollywood Podcast, Asim, Amrita and Sujoy revisit one of the strangest films in Shah Rukh Khan’s 1990s filmography. Loosely remade from the Clark Gable and Sophia Loren film It Started in Naples, it features Shah Rukh in a triple role, Sonali Bendre as a cabaret dancer raising his nephew and a plot that appears to abandon logic almost immediately.

We discuss Shah Rukh’s wigs, accents and aggressively broad performance, Sonali Bendre’s place in 1990s Bollywood, the film’s peculiar ideas about British Indians, Sujoy’s enduring love for the soundtrack and whether the voiceovers, flashbacks and abrupt ending suggest that the production simply ran out of money.

Is this really one of Shah Rukh Khan’s worst films? And more importantly, should Sujoy ever be allowed to choose the movie again?

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Chapters

00:00 Sujoy arrives unprepared

Watch the full video version exclusively on Patreon: Khandaan on Patreon

Asim, Amrita and Sujoy

Toxic leads us into

Then there’s Cocktail

Plus, Asim recommends Babitha

And we end with a wonderful email from longtime listener

00:00 Amrita Is Late & Khandaan

🎧 BONUS ON PATREON: This week we're also reacting to the completely bonkers trailer for Yash's Toxic. Is it spectacular maximalist action, Manosphere: The Movie, or are Asim and Sujoy simply too old for this shit?

Watch the full video reaction exclusively on Khandaan Patreon

Asim and Sujoy catch up on the latest releases, starting with Awarapan 2 and the enduring appeal of Emraan Hashmi before turning to Rajkumar Santoshi's Batwara 1947 and its surprisingly nuanced take on Partition.

Then they attempt to survive David Dhawan's Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai, which raises the bigger question of whether Bollywood has forgotten how to make mainstream comedy. Plus: Varun Dhawan's identity crisis, Asim's inexplicable rage at Manish Paul, and why Maa Vaapas Aunga turned out to be one of the most moving films Asim has seen recently.

Timestamps:

02:30 — Awarapan 2
12:11 — Batwara 1947
23:36 — Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai
33:38 — Maa Wapas Aunga
39:07 — Cocktail 2 & what's next
40:21 — Toxic on Patreon

💬 Join the conversation:
Do you think Awarapan 2 earns its nostalgia? Has Sunny Deol's recent filmography hurt Batwara 1947? And when was the last genuinely great mainstream Bollywood comedy?

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#Awarapan2 #EmraanHashmi #Batwara1947 #SunnyDeol #VarunDhawan #Bollywood #KhandaanPodcast

This week Asim, Amrita and Sujoy celebrate some of Bollywood's greatest openings, including Om Shanti Om, Rang De Basanti, Don, Don 2, Special 26, Munna Bhai M.B.B.S., Andaz Apna Apna, Jab We Met, Parvarish and the iconic musical openings of Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!, Dil To Pagal Hai and Bunty Aur Babli.

Which opening scene would make your list?

🎧 Support Khandaan on Patreon
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This week Asim, Amrita and Sujoy had originally planned to review English Babu Desi Mem... but life (and perhaps self-preservation) got in the way.

Instead, they dive into one of the busiest weeks in film fandom.

Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey continues to dominate conversation, but should adaptations stay faithful to the source? The team discusses translator Emily Wilson's criticism and why myths are meant to evolve.

Then it's time for the biggest Bollywood trailer of the year: Namit Malhotra's Ramayana. Is Ranbir Kapoor convincing as Ram? Does Yash's Ravana have enough complexity? And can a film rooted in Indian mythology truly connect with a global audience?

They also react to Sunny Deol's Batwara 1947, discussing Partition cinema, changing political narratives and whether Rajkumar Santoshi can still deliver.

Finally, Asim and Sujoy give their spoiler-free thoughts on Spider-Man: Brand New Day, with the full review available exclusively on Patreon.

Chapters

00:00 Why English Babu Desi Mem was postponed

02:30 The Odyssey obsession continues

03:30 Emily Wilson vs Nolan

08:20 Troy vs The Odyssey

13:00 Asim survives internet comments

15:00 Ramayana trailer reaction

37:00 Batwara 1947 trailer reaction

59:55 Spider-Man review moves to Patreon

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This week, Asim, Amrita and Sujoy catch up on one of the busiest weeks Bollywood has had in months.

We review Alpha, the latest entry in YRF's Spy Universe starring Alia Bhatt and Sharvari, before diving into two of the year's most affecting films: Mein Vaapas Aunga and Satluj. Along the way we discuss censorship, Partition, state violence, memory, the National Film Awards, and why some stories still matter decades later.

• Alpha — Did the YRF Spy Universe miss the mark?

• Mein Vaapas Aunga — Imtiaz Ali's moving exploration of memory and Partition.

• Satluj — A powerful film surrounded by controversy and censorship.

• Ikka — Sunny Deol returns to the courtroom.

• National Film Awards reactions.

• Remembering legendary playback singer S. Janaki.

• Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey.

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Khandaan: A Bollywood Podcast is a weekly show where Asim, Amrita and Sujoy discuss Bollywood, Hindi cinema and Indian pop culture—from new releases and forgotten classics to streaming shows, industry news and everything in between.

This week's topicsFollow KhandaanAbout Khandaan

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Some Bollywood jodis become legends. Others disappear before they ever reach their full potential.

This week, Asim, Amrita and Sujoy revisit the iconic pairings that should have made many more films together. From Hrithik Roshan and Kareena Kapoor's complicated history, to Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai's unforgettable chemistry, Salman Khan and Rani Mukerji's underrated partnership, Saif Ali Khan and Preity Zinta's effortless charm, and Abhishek Bachchan and Rani Mukerji's incredible run before everything changed.

Along the way, we revisit forgotten films, industry gossip, behind-the-scenes stories, and ask one question: which Bollywood jodi deserved another chance?

👥 Hosts

Asim Burney Amrita Sujoy

💬 Join the conversation

Which Bollywood jodi deserved more films together?

Did we miss your favourite pairing?

Let us know in the comments!