The Intermission

Naren and Nitin are joined by returning cast member Mithun Sundar for a fully loaded, all-guns blazing review of John Wick: Chapter 4, followed by a sprawling retrospective of the entire John Wick saga. The gang discusses threadbare the framework and set-up of the rules binding Wick-verse, and the escalating scope of action choreography through the progress of the series. Also on the pod - a dissection of the origin stories of directors David Leitch and Chad Stahelsky, and a celebration of this seminal moment in cinema where stunt directors are becoming full-fledged film directors. The gang marvels at the evolution of Keanu Reeves, and pays their respects to the wonderful turns from Ian McShane, Lawrence Fishburne and the late great Lance Reddick. Also, a contemplation on the important Matrix v John Wick debate. Plus - what's an Intermission episode without some impromptu quiz questions, and some out-of-the-blue Kamal Haasan connections :-)

We are at @yointermission on Twitter, and at [email protected].

Show notes:

1. The most insane nightclub pop culture movie mashup video. Ever. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QajyNRnyPMs

2. Daniel Bernhardt in S2E5 of Barry: https://www.instagram.com/p/BwyaF7LAqyM/?hl=en

It's a s***show at the f*** factory as The Intermission gears up for the final season of HBO's Succession. The latest episode charts the ups and downs of the Roy clan and the various parasites and leeches that cling on to them for sustenance. Nitin and Dodi talk through the first three seasons of Succession, and list their favourite actors and characters on the show. They debate whether Succession is a drama or a comedy, and contrast Brian Cox's classical acting style with Jeremy Strong's method approach. The hosts also talk about what 'winning' would actually look like for the three, sorry, four :-) Roy siblings and

As everyone winds down from Valentine's Day, The Intermission explores love in all its forms with genre-bending epic Everything Everywhere All At Once. Nitin and Dodi go deep into the multiverse to suss out what the Daniels are trying to say about choices, what-ifs, rocks and Raccacoonies. They trace the Daniels evolution from music videos to features and rave about Ke Huy Quan's fanny pack. Nitin tells us why EEAAO is one of his favourite movies of all time, and Dodi waxes poetic about Wong Kar-Wai's ode to love and loss -  In the Mood for Love. 

Check out the Daniels' music video for Turn Down For What, Barry's explainer on EEAAO, and the Daniels interview with Rian Johnson.

The Intermission is back, baby! After a leisurely year-end break, Nitin and Dodi return with a breakdown of Golden Globe winner Naatu Naatu from RRR composed by M M Keeravani (or is M M Kareem or Maradagamani?). They then take a trip down memory lane to another seminal dance number from the 90s - Prabhu Deva's Pettai Rap. For the first time, we have a guest on the podcast - Mithun Sundar joins the hosts to give his own spin on Pettai Rap and Prabhu Deva's unconventional stardom.

Join us for a raucous episode filled with lots of laughter. As usual, the rabbit hole goes deep, making connections from Baasha's Mark Anthony to M M Keeravani, and from Prabhu Deva's pants in Urvasi to Jennifer Connelly's pants in Top Gun: Maverick!

And finally, we make our pop culture resolutions for the year.

The Intermission's new look courtesy of Elango, check out his IG http://instagram.com/elodrawz

Strap in for a mega-episode of The Intermission as Nitin and Dodi look back at the year gone by, and rank their Top 5 movies and TV shows of 2022. Dodi plays fast and loose with the inherent limitations of a Top 5 list, and Nitin fills in his watchlist till... 2026. A strategic miscalculation by both Nitin and Dodi leads to the on-air creation of a new category outside the Top 5 and (numerous) Honourable Mentions. And it's only fitting that our final episode of 2022 allows us to visit all of our favourites - Kamal, Rajni, Tarantino, Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, Seinfeld, Tom Cruise, and the MCU.

Meanwhile, special guest Barry weighs in on #BadushahiVsBahadurShahZaffar

Happy New Year & See you at the Movies!

PS. It's a marathon episode, but it's still shorter than most movies released this year :-)

Given our hosts have strong Chennai connections, it's a surprise that it took us this long to do an episode on Rajnikanth, but here we are! The Superstar turns 72 on Dec 12, and The Intermission dives deeeeep into the Rajniverse, celebrating the legend in style. This episode touches upon multiple facets of the Rajni story - the humble origins, the early years, the storied rivalry and friendship with Kamal Haasan, the rise to superstardom, the Bollywood innings, and the later years. Nitin and Dodi pay tribute by revisiting Baasha, the 1995 blockbuster that captures the essence of Rajni perfectly. Our hosts take a Bunk and McNulty style forensic approach to Baasha, Dodi unveils yet another moniker, and Nitin can't tell the difference between a boy and a girl.

"Aandavan... Subscribers-a sodhippaan, aana kai vida maattan..." So please hit the subscribe button and leave us a rating :)

Links

The Black Panther lives!

Returning director Ryan Coogler and the Marvel machinery have to find a way to take the story of Wakanda forward after the sudden death of their T'Challa, Chadwick Boseman. It's an impossible task, but they do it with grace and respect; honouring and celebrating Boseman's life.

Nitin and Dodi talk the Black Panther's arc from his introduction in Captain America: Civil War to Wakanda Forever. Dodi unveils his new moniker and speculates wildly about the original script of Wakanda Forever (and offers a rewrite of the first movie's script as well) while Nitin goes deeeeeep into the practice of funerals doubling as celebrations of life across cultures and rants about the current state of the MCU. Along the way, they rave about the one true Queen Angela Bassett's arms (who needs a Black Panther when you have Bassett) and compare Ramonda to Sivagami Devi (iykyk). Meanwhile, the censors in India (and Dubai!) play spoilsport as usual. Of course, no episode is complete without the usual random call outs: this time to Kamal Haasan, Breaking Bad, The Leftovers, MCC rules of cricket (!) and more!

It's extremely tough to make a movie about African-American women, and it's extremely tough to make an action movie around women. Gina Prince-Bythewood manages these incredible feats with The Woman King, which is a darned good movie, with a whole new grammar to action choreography, and also serves as a compelling footnote in the legacy of Afro-futurism. Dodi and Nitin rabbit-hole deep into the beats of the African-American experience as depicted in the movie, while making stops at Lovecraft Country, Watchmen and a number of other cul de sacs. Somewhere along the line, they also talk about F.R.I.E.N.D.S, Veep, Petta and Pa Ranjith's filmography, and meditate on the process of appreciating art that tells a good story, even if the craft might be somewhat off the mark. We have added links to a bunch of content in our show notes, do check them out to enrich your experience of this podcast.

If you like us, please tell your friends about us, and leave us a rating to help us get discovered by more folks. We'd love to hear your feedback at:

Intermission: https://twitter.com/YoIntermission

Naren: https://twitter.com/narendodi

Nitin: https://twitter.com/knittins

Show notes:

1. "Why is there no Black Superhero" - the question that spurred GPB: https://www.indiewire.com/2022/09/the-woman-king-gina-prince-bythewood-interview-1234762966/

2. The Tulsa Race Massacre: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulsa_race_massacre

3. In a standout episode, Watchmen blackwashes history: https://slate.com/culture/2019/11/watchmen-hooded-justice-this-extraordinary-being-black-history.html

4. Lovecraft Country's "I Am" episode recap: https://www.vulture.com/article/lovecraft-country-season-1-episode-7-recap-i-am.html

5. Scott Galloway in conversation with Cindy Gallop - Sex, porn and knowing the difference: https://podcasts.apple.com/dk/podcast/sex-porn-and-knowing-the-difference-with-cindy-gallop/id1498802610?i=1000575745417

Is the Bollywood boycott down to the quality of movies? Or is it a coordinated agenda against a particular type of creativity and creator? Following Samanth Subramanian's deeply reported New Yorker piece on the subject, Dodi and Nitin go deep into the issue, and what it means for freedom of expression, and more importantly, what it says about the power of a weaponised internet. And despite the seriousness of the topic, there is enough time for pop culture sidebars, jokes, a few legendary movie lines and musical interludes.

We are super thrilled to be putting this podcast out, and are grateful for the audience we have. If you like us, please tell your friends about us, and leave us a rating. And we'd love to hear your feedback at:

Intermission: https://twitter.com/YoIntermission

Naren: https://twitter.com/narendodi

Nitin: https://twitter.com/knittins

Links:

1. When the Hindu Right came for Bollywood - https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/10/17/when-the-hindu-right-came-for-bollywood

2. Top Bollywood grossers, 2001 - https://www.imdb.com/list/ls093536723/

3. "Kachra Khelega!" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9wlb35BL0Q

4. When Kamal Haasan was detained at the Toronto airport - https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/kamal-hassan-grilled-in-toronto-airport/articleshow/8506178.cms?from=mdr

This episode features a compare-and-contrast between the Hindi and Tamil versions of Pushkar-Gayatri's Vikram Vedha, and a commentary on mass moments and stylised super slow-mos in Indian movies - do they help or hinder? Also, a discussion on Vijay Sethupathi's career trajectory in the time that has elapsed between the two versions of the movie, and the surfeit of multi-starrers in Tamil cinema. Plus, a deep-dive into Ponniyin Selvan - 1, and its place in the Mani Ratnam filmography, and a yearning for a full-length Ponniyin Selvi, largely centred around the women who dazzle in PS1 - Aishwarya Rai and Trisha Krishnan.

Please share The Intermission with your friends, and if you like what you heard, please leave us a rating on Apple and/or Spotify. And we'd love to hear your feedback at:

Intermission: https://twitter.com/YoIntermission

Naren: https://twitter.com/narendodi

Nitin: https://twitter.com/knittins

Links:

1. Vedha Mass Intro X Se7en: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_6KBq8hxtk

2. Viswaroopam Action Replay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEKJEOko93I

3. The Ren and Stimpy Show: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ren_%26_Stimpy_Show

4. Bombay's strange ending: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhDnk8ZWlpE

5. Ms. Chennai Vs. Ms. World: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyqFcFAfN-4