So... what's up with Amazon MiniTV? Flipkart Video? Zomato Originals? Why is a movie playing in my shopping app? We try and figure out this odd phenomenon in the latest episode of Pop Kulcha.

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This podcast was created as a part of Podcast Lab by India Film Project, in association with Anchor by Spotify.

Hey, remember 2021? We understand if you don’t! Before we purge one more locked down year from our memories, let’s try to celebrate the few fun pop culture moments we got to experience.

Timestamps

(00:25) Intro

(01:20) Movies - Theatres re-opening, Sooryavanshi, Udham Singh, Shershah, Spider-Man No Way Home, Regional Cinema

(10:00) TV - Mainstreaming of OTT, Shark Tank India, KBC, Marvel’s Wandavision and Loki

(17:10) Music - TikTok and Reels’ influence on the industry, Bachan ka pyaar, Badshah, Coldplay / Daft Punk Retirement, Billie Eilish

(25:44) Sports - India’s historic Tokyo 2020 performance, IPL shenanigans and the craziest F1 season ever

(29:36) Gaming - Console and Graphics Card shortage, Rise-Fall-Rise of BGMI / PUBG, Streaming, P2E and NFTs

(34:23) Internet - Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, Coinswitch, “Bangalore Bros”, Scams, Web 3.0, Meta

(44:22) Our hopes, expectations and predictions for 2022

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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/popkulchapodcast/

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Youtube (bonus video-only content!): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJRzXhxzUTaupD0P_mCuIGQ

___________

This podcast was created as a part of Podcast Lab by India Film Project, in association with Anchor by Spotify.

A South Korean show took the world by storm, just like a Spanish show before it, just like a German… well, you get the point. In our new casual “Shortie” format, we discuss the rise of foreign language entertainment over the last few years, and everything happening around it.

Timestamps:

(00:24) A new format for us - Shortie!

(00:50) Squid Game (and a shocking revelation by Parijat)

(02:10) Why are foreign language shows getting popular?

(05:20) Squid Game, Parasite and the class system commentary

(08:00) Money Heist

(08:56) Netflix’s quality standards for their originals

(10:06) Pop culture impact of Squid Game

(11:10) South Korea’s cultural export - K-Pop, K-Dramas

(11:40) Subtitles vs Dubbing

(14:10) Beware of fandom scams!

Follow us on social media!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/popkulchapodcast/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/pop_kulcha

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Youtube (bonus video-only content!): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJRzXhxzUTaupD0P_mCuIGQ

___________

This podcast was created as a part of Podcast Lab by India Film Project, in association with Anchor by Spotify.

The early 2010s saw an explosion of stand up comedy that was different from anything India had ever seen. Did this come out of nowhere, or did we miss the signs? Join us in analysing this interesting pop culture trend on this entertaining episode!

Huge shout out to DeadAnt: https://deadant.co/

Timestamps:

(00:22) Skip Intro

(00:41) Today’s topic - Stand up Comedy

(01:28) Stand up comedy in Indian Mythology and History

(03:00) Johnny Lever and our tastes in comedy

(04:45) Early 2000s - The Star One era - Great Indian Comedy Show and Laughter Challenge (Sunil Pal, Kapil Sharma, Raju Srivastava)

(06:50) Early days of “posh” stand up - Boman Irani, Papa CJ, Vir Das and Russel Peters

(09:29) Vir Das’ efforts in setting the comedy scene

(10:15) The rise of comedy collectives - AIB, EIC, SnG

(11:30) Comedy scenes all around India

(13:00) The mainstream scene - Comedy Circus

(14:00) OML and it’s dominance

(15:00) Flying too close to the sun? AIB’s controversial roast

(17:50) AIB’s Hotstar show and rise of comedy programming on streaming platforms

(21:15) Kapil Sharma’s superstardom, and the divide in comedy tastes inside India

(23:00) Backlash and taking offence - Kunal Kamra, Munnavar

(26:30) MeToo, and collapse of comedy collectives

(28:00) Comedians finding their own niches

(29:38) TV Comedy’s stagnation and future

(31:42) Non-comedians trying out comedy

(32:24) A hopeful future

Follow us on social media!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/popkulchapodcast/

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Youtube (bonus video-only content!): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJRzXhxzUTaupD0P_mCuIGQ

___________

This podcast was created as a part of Podcast Lab by India Film Project, in association with Anchor by Spotify.

From Ducktales to Pokemon to Chota Bheem, it’s been a very... interesting journey. Join us as we explore the last 3 decades of kids’ animation in India.

Timestamps:

(00:22) Skip Intro

(00:55) Today’s Topic - Evolution fo cartoon content in India

(02:05) Everything is connected to liberalisation

(02:42) DD Metro Era - Ducktales, Captain Planet, He-Man

(04:45) The Cable TV Era - Cartoon Network (Courage, Dexter’s Lab)

(06:07) Cartoon Network’s Classic Lineup - Flintstones, Tom & Jerry, Scooby Too

(07:27) Competition - Pogo, Nick, Animax - Variety of content

(09:02) Pokemon - Origins, and the incredible popularity

(11:30) Beginnings of Localisation & Indianisation

(13:12) Pokemon formula replicated - Digimon, Yu-Gi-Oh, Beyblade

(13:40) The rise of merchandising

(14:26) Indian Animation - Small beginnings - Hanuman

(15:15) Disney Channel - Kim Possible, Recess

(15:45) Hungama TV - UTV’s genius moves - Doraemon, Shin Chan

(17:17) Similarity in Indian and Japanese Culture

(18:11) The Shin Chan Controversy - Victory for Indian Parents

(19:38) Why Anime was relatable to India

(20:10) The rise of Indian Animation - Chota Bheem and the over-reliance on mythology

(22:13) Why is Indian animation like this?

(23:20) The Streaming Era - Death of shared experiences, and better access to animation

(25:39) Conclusion & Outro

Follow us on social media!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/popkulchapodcast/

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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/popkulchapodcast/

Youtube (bonus video-only content!): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJRzXhxzUTaupD0P_mCuIGQ

___________

This podcast was created as a part of Podcast Lab by India Film Project, in association with Anchor by Spotify.

From T9 to autocorrect, 2G to 4G, Xpressmusic to Spotify... It's not just our phones that changed; we did as well! We explore the evolution of phones and the way we use them, from the lens of two companies that once ruled the Indian market.

Timestamps: 

(00:58) Today’s topic - Nokia, Micromax and Phones

(02:03) Nokia’s humble beginnings

(03:10) How did Nokia get so popular in India?

(06:15) Parijat’s first Nokia phone, Some iconic games: Snake, Space Impact

(07:40) Iconic branding elements - Nokia ringtone, intro music

(08:15) SMS Lingo, T9 Keyboard

(09:59) The CDMA experiment by Reliance

(11:18) GPRS and WAP (no, not that WAP)

(12:55) Nokia’s Symbian OS and App Store - Revolutionary for its time

(14:09) Beginnings of Micromax - A new era of phones

(15:00) The smartphone revolution - Apple & Google / Android

(16:00) Micromax’s strategy - Rebranding Chinese phones, and expensive marketing

(18:10) The sudden fall of Micromax - JioSaavn 4G and the Chinese takeover (Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, Oneplus)

(21:34) Phones aren’t just phones anymore

(22:24) Buying stocks on the toilet!

(23:15) The rise of mobile gaming and e-sports: Call of Duty, PUBG / BGMI

(24:44) Selfies and the rise of the front camera

(26:08) Do Nokia and Micromax still have a chance?

(27:05) Is it possible to make an entire phone in India?

(28:00) The new Nokia

(28:40) Manufacturing might move away from China

(30:00) The crazy future: Foldable phones, AR & VR, Metaverse

References:

https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/how-did-nokia-succeed-in-the-indian-mobile-market-while-its-rivals-got-hung-up/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZGS2ibCoRg

https://tradebrains.in/micromax-story/

Follow us on social media!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/popkulchapodcast/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/pop_kulcha

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/popkulchapodcast/

Youtube (bonus video-only content!): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJRzXhxzUTaupD0P_mCuIGQ

___________

This podcast was created as a part of Podcast Lab by India Film Project, in association with Anchor by Spotify.

In the 1990s, MTV India and Channel V helped usher in a wave of Indian Pop music, that ruled our hearts for almost a full decade. We had India's answer to the western popstars! So why did it fizzle out and give way to the the big Bollywood machine? Listen to find out!

Timestamps:

(00:23) Introduction to Pop Kulcha!

(01:52) Today's topic - Indipop

(03:00) How it started - Biddu & Nazia Hassan

(05:24) A New India - MTV, Channel V and Liberalisation

(08:00) VJs - The OG Influencers! Cyrus Broacha, Anu Menon

(09:55) Bollywood wasn't cool back then! 

(11:23) The stars of Indipop! Alisha Chinoi, Shaan, Euphoria, Silk Route, Shankar Mahadevan, Falguni Pathak, Daler Mehndi

(13:27) Baba Sehgal - Thanda Thanda Paani, Dil Dhadke, Magnasound

(15:03) Baba Sehgal pt 2 - The "Main Bhi Madonna" story

(16:10) The Fall - Bollywood is cool now?

(18:17) MTV's change in programming - Roadies, Splitsvilla 

(19:56) Bollywood is the new pop

(21:07) The 'Remix' era & item girls

(21:38) A New Hope? - Streaming, democratisation of music

(23:46) Conclusion & Outro

References:

https://www.vervemagazine.in/people/mapping-the-unique-trajectory-of-baba-sehgals-success

https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/sJy5S46UBuwLVGE2AyNwJK/That-nineties-show.html

https://ivmpodcasts.com/simblified-episode-list/2018/11/19/ep-111-everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-indipop-with-atul-churamani

https://www.business-standard.com/article/beyond-business/what-killed-indipop-111060400036_1.html

Follow us on social media!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/popkulchapodcast/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/pop_kulcha

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/popkulchapodcast/

Youtube (bonus video-only content!): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJRzXhxzUTaupD0P_mCuIGQ

___________

This podcast was created as a part of Podcast Lab by India Film Project, in association with Anchor by Spotify.