The Artists: Arts, Culture, and Cinema with Suchita Bhhatia

HOW DO YOU GET DISCOVERED AS AN ARTIST?Al Pacino was doing plays when Francis Ford Coppola saw him and fought to cast him as Michael Corleone in The Godfather — even when the studio wasn't convinced. Pacino's early footage didn't impress them either, until Coppola shot the restaurant scene that changed everything.The lesson? Put yourself out there. Keep showing up. You never know who's watching.Hear the full story with Lawrence Grobel on The Artists Podcast.Watch the full episode on YouTube & Spotify. Listen on Apple Podcasts.Like, share, subscribe & follow @the.artistspodcast.

THE ARTISTIC INTEGRITY OF AL PACINO

Al Pacino was offered $17 million — and walked away.

Why would one of the greatest actors of his generation turn down that kind of money? What does this reveal about Pacino’s relationship with his craft, his choices and the kind of artist he wanted to become?

In this clip, Lawrence Grobel — longtime close friend of Al Pacino, acclaimed journalist and author of Al Pacino and Conversations with Brando — shares the story behind Pacino’s decision.

Watch the full conversation on YouTube & Spotify. Listen on Apple Podcasts.

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Al Pacino became one of the greatest artists of his generation. But why?What qualities did he hone that others missed? Was it resilience? Confidence? Instinct?Perhaps surprisingly, Pacino was full of self-doubt. But he had something else: an openness to choosing the right scripts, the right directors, and allowing each collaboration to shape him as an artist.And then there is Marlon Brando.Both legends. Both in The Godfather. But how different were they as artists? What did each bring to the craft — and what made their approaches so distinct?And most importantly: which 3 Al Pacino films should every Gen X watch?We explore all this and more with Lawrence Grobel — a longtime close friend of Al Pacino, acclaimed journalist and New York Times bestselling author, who spent more than 25 years in conversation with Pacino and has written extensively about some of the greatest artists of our time.Watch the full episode now on YouTube & Spotify. Listen on Apple Podcasts.Follow our insta@ the.artistspodcast #TheArtistsPodcast #AlPacino #LawrenceGrobel #MarlonBrando #TheGodfather #Cinema #Film #Actors #GenX #GreatArtists

Al Pacino Was Full of Self-Doubt | The Making of a Great ArtistAl Pacino was full of self-doubt — and almost wasn't cast in The Godfather.Why was Pacino almost rejected for the role that would change his life? What was his equation with Marlon Brando? What influenced the trajectory of his career the most? And what qualities — beyond talent — made him a great artist?This and much more in this fascinating episode with Lawrence Grobel, the legendary interviewer, writer and author who has spent decades in conversation with some of the most extraordinary artists of our time.Grobel has written more than 25 books and has interviewed and spent time with icons including Al Pacino, Marlon Brando, Barbra Streisand and Dolly Parton. His conversations with Pacino began in 1979 and continued for more than 25 years, eventually becoming the book Al Pacino: In Conversation with Lawrence Grobel.In this conversation, we explore:Al Pacino and self-doubtWhat was happening beneath the confidence of one of cinema's greatest actors?Why Pacino was almost rejected for The GodfatherHow did he end up becoming Michael Corleone?Pacino and Marlon BrandoTheir relationship, their contrasting personalities and the extraordinary legacy they created together.What shaped Pacino's careerThe people, choices and experiences that influenced his trajectory as an artist.What makes Al Pacino a great artist?Talent, instinct, discipline, vulnerability — and his relentless commitment to the craft.The artist behind the iconWhat can we learn from Pacino about artistic life, doubt and longevity?We also pay tribute to Dolly Parton, another extraordinary artist Grobel has known and interviewed, and hear some of his remarkable stories from a lifetime spent in conversation with great artists.Watch the full episode on YouTube & Spotify.Listen on Apple Podcasts.If you enjoyed this conversation, please subscribe, rate and review The Artists Podcast. It helps us continue bringing you conversations with extraordinary artists and thinkers.Instagram: @the.artistspodcast Like. Share. Subscribe

WHAT MAKES AL PACINO A GREAT ARTIST?

It wasn't confidence.

Al Pacino was full of self-doubt.

And yet, he became one of the most extraordinary actors of his generation.

In this new episode of The Artists Podcast, we explore the making of Al Pacino with Lawrence Grobel—acclaimed author and journalist who has known and interviewed some of the greatest artists of our time, including Al Pacino and Marlon Brando, and has written more than 25 books.

Why was Pacino almost not cast in The Godfather?
What was happening beneath the confidence we see on screen?

From The Godfather and Scarface to Scent of a Woman and beyond, this is a conversation about the artist behind the icon.

Episode dropping soon on YouTube & Spotify.

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What makes a great filmmaker? And what makes a culture capable of recognising great cinema?

In this episode of The Artists Podcast, we explore the cinema, thinking and extraordinary legacy of Adoor Gopalakrishnan—one of India's most important filmmakers and a defining force in Malayalam cinema.

A National Award-winning filmmaker whose films have travelled to and received recognition at major international festivals, Adoor developed a cinematic language entirely his own. His films are deeply attentive to human behaviour, silence, relationships, space and the inner lives of ordinary people.But Adoor's contribution extends beyond the films he made.

We also look at the ecosystem he helped build through Chitralekha and the film-society movement—creating audiences for serious cinema, introducing viewers to world cinema and expanding the possibilities of what Indian cinema could be.

Could this culture of film societies, film appreciation and informed audiences be one of the reasons Malayalam cinema continues to thrive as one of India's most vibrant film cultures?

Joining us is V. K. Cherian—film writer, author, former film-society activist and media professional, whose engagement with Malayalam cinema began as a student through the Chitralekha Film Society in Thiruvananthapuram.Cherian has spent decades documenting India's film-society movement and the renaissance of Malayalam cinema, including through his books India's Film Society Movement: The Journey and its Impact and Noon Films and the Magical Renaissance of Malayalam Cinema.His first-hand experience of the Chitralekha movement offers a fascinating perspective not only on Adoor, but on the cultural ecosystem that helped audiences discover and value great cinema.Find V. K. Cherian and his work:www.vkcherian.in

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How do you define a GREAT FILM?

Three films by Adoor Gopalakrishnan that every Gen Z cinephile should watch.

In this new episode of The Artists Podcast, we explore the cinema and thinking of one of India's most important filmmakers with V. K. Cherian—a journalist, film writer and author who has spent decades documenting Indian film culture. Cherian first encountered Adoor as a student through the Chitralekha Film Society in Thiruvananthapuram and has since written extensively on Adoor and the renaissance of Malayalam cinema.

Adoor's cinema asks us to slow down and really look—at people, relationships, society, silence and the spaces between things.

So if you're discovering Adoor for the first time, where should you begin?

We have three films for you.

Go deeper into the full conversation on The Artists Podcast.

Dropping soon on Spotify, Apple Podcasts & YouTube — link in bio.

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What makes a filmmaker an auteur? Is it a recognisable style—or a deeply personal way of seeing the world?

In this new episode of The Artists Podcast, we explore the idea of the auteur through the extraordinary cinema of Pier Paolo Pasolini with Robert S. C. Gordon, a leading scholar of Pasolini and modern Italian culture.

Pasolini brought poetry, literature, mythology, politics, religion and his own radical way of seeing into cinema—creating a visual language that was unmistakably his.

So, what makes Pasolini an auteur?

go deeper into the full conversation.

The Cult of Pasolini | How Did Pasolini Think?

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Who was Pier Paolo Pasolini—and what made him one of the most fascinating, controversial, and uncompromising artists of the 20th century?A poet, filmmaker, writer, intellectual and provocateur, Pasolini approached cinema differently from almost anyone around him. He saw cinema as a "language of reality" and developed a visual grammar shaped by poetry, literature, painting, faces, landscapes, religion and politics.In this episode of The Artists Podcast, we explore how Pasolini thought, created and saw the world with Robert S. C. Gordon, Serena Professor of Italian at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of the British Academy. Gordon is one of the leading scholars of modern Italian literature and cinema, and has written extensively on Pasolini, including the influential study Pasolini: Forms of Subjectivity.What is the central theme of a great artist? How does childhood shape an artist's imagination? Why did Pasolini's lack of conventional film training allow him to develop such a distinctive cinematic language?We explore his relationship with Federico Fellini and Orson Welles, his "cinema of poetry," The Gospel According to St. Matthew, Oedipus Rex, his fascination with faces and landscapes, and the complicated relationship between intellectualism and artistic ego.And finally: Which Pasolini films should Gen Z watch today?This is a conversation about Pasolini—but also about what happens when an artist refuses to fit into the world around him.⏱️

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Pier Paolo Pasolini remains one of cinema’s most fascinating contradictions: poet, filmmaker, writer, intellectual, provocateur—and an artist who refused to fit comfortably into any category.

He approached cinema as a poet, not simply as a filmmaker. Without conventional film-school training, he developed a visual language entirely his own, drawing from literature, painting, mythology, religion, politics and the faces of people rarely given space on screen.

He worked with—and around—some of the greats of Italian cinema, including Federico Fellini and Orson Welles, while creating films that could be as beautiful as they were disturbing and controversial.

His life was as provocative as his cinema. His sexuality, politics and outspoken public persona repeatedly put him at odds with Italian society, while his violent death in 1975 remains surrounded by unanswered questions.

Watch the episode to find out.

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