Lust Stories 3, the new Netflix anthology featuring films from Vikramaditya Motwane, Kiran Rao, Shakun Batra, and Vishal Bhardwaj, is an uneven collection that mostly wastes its stellar ensemble cast.

We discuss the frustratingly derivative nature of Batra’s divorce drama, Rao’s contrived thriller complete with an unnecessary twist, Motwane’s confused exploration of partner swapping, and Bhardwaj’s whimsical 1980s segment. We also talk about the anthology’s inability to tell a grounded slice-of-life story without shoehorning in extreme dramatic plot devices.

Along the way, we question why Netflix forces these disconnected shorts together into a single movie instead of releasing them as television episodes.

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Hosted by Akhil Arora and Devika Sreekumar, The Long Take is fully bootstrapped. Please consider donating if you enjoy our work.

The Long Take is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Gaana, JioSaavn, Overcast, Pandora, RadioPublic, iHeart Radio, YouTube Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.

Follow The Long Take on Instagram, Facebook, Threads, and YouTube. Write to us at [email protected].

Instead of a gritty, remorseful gangster saga, Toxic is an exhausting 194-minute ego trip for its lead star, Yash.

We discuss the clash of visions between director Geetu Mohandas’s attempt at an emotional father-son remorse drama and Yash’s demand for high-octane KGF-style star worship. Naturally, the film collapses under the weight of its conflicting ambitions.

We also talk about the baffling visual language, its performative gender dynamics, and the claustrophobic close-ups that make a ₹500 crore budget look like cheap AI slop.

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Hosted by Akhil Arora and Devika Sreekumar, The Long Take is fully bootstrapped. Please consider donating if you enjoy our work.

The Long Take is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Gaana, JioSaavn, Overcast, Pandora, RadioPublic, iHeart Radio, YouTube Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.

Follow The Long Take on Instagram, Facebook, Threads, and YouTube. Write to us at [email protected].

After the success of Amar Singh Chamkila, Imtiaz Ali returns with Main Vaapas Aaunga—a film that desperately wants to build a timeless love story, but forgets to make its lead characters believable.

We discuss the movie’s sanitised and one-dimensional depiction of Partition trauma, the bizarre inclusion of stand-up comedy monologues, and question Ali’s “political reawakening”.

Along the way, we talk about the disastrous casting of lead actor Vedang Raina, how the film treats historical trauma like a Wikipedia checklist, and why Naseeruddin Shah effortlessly outclasses everyone despite being bedridden.

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Hosted by Akhil Arora and Devika Sreekumar, The Long Take is fully bootstrapped. Please consider donating if you enjoy our work.

The Long Take is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Gaana, JioSaavn, Overcast, Pandora, RadioPublic, iHeart Radio, YouTube Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.

Follow The Long Take on Instagram, Facebook, Threads, and YouTube. Write to us at [email protected].

Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey serves as a massive anti-war critique of the insatiable appetites of men and the erosion of trust.

From useless suitors to disgraced conquerors, and from Agamemnon’s bloody fate to the dishonour trailing Odysseus’ crew everywhere they go, the film isn’t subtle about its themes.

We also talk about the terrifyingly atmospheric hell scene, contrast the stunning visual spectacle with its rushed pacing in parts, and question why the dialogue swings wildly between cryptic symbolism and super basic hand-holding.

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Hosted by Akhil Arora and Devika Sreekumar, The Long Take is fully bootstrapped. Please consider donating if you enjoy our work.

The Long Take is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Gaana, JioSaavn, Overcast, Pandora, RadioPublic, iHeart Radio, YouTube Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.

Follow The Long Take on Instagram, Facebook, Threads, and YouTube. Write to us at [email protected].

Satluj traces the long battle human rights activist Jaswant Singh Kalra fought to uncover the insidious violence embedded in ’90s Punjab—and just like its protagonist, the biopic too fought its own battle to release.

We discuss Honey Trehan’s documentary-like realism, the film’s uncompromising, eerie atmosphere, and its uncompromising visuals of dread and fear that establish the sheer horror of police brutality—including a scene that rivals Inglourious Basterds in pure tension.

We also debate the film’s sharp tonal pivot into a police procedural, the decision to show Khalra’s torture, as well as the characterisation of the titular figure—does Satluj do a good job of separating the man from the myth?

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Hosted by Akhil Arora and Devika Sreekumar, The Long Take is fully bootstrapped. Please consider donating if you enjoy our work.

The Long Take is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Gaana, JioSaavn, Overcast, Pandora, RadioPublic, iHeart Radio, YouTube Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.

Follow The Long Take on Instagram, Facebook, Threads, and YouTube. Write to us at [email protected].

Dug Dug, the long-delayed satirical comedy from director Ritwik Pareek, doesn’t take its intriguing premise to the pinnacle.

We discuss the film’s languid opening act that has little to do with the following hour. We also talk about its commentary on blind faith and superstition, and wonder why it doesn’t train its targets on bigger enemies, choosing instead to punch down.

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Hosted by Akhil Arora and Rohan Naahar, The Long Take is fully bootstrapped. Please consider donating if you enjoy our work.

The Long Take is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Gaana, JioSaavn, Overcast, Pandora, RadioPublic, iHeart Radio, YouTube Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.

Follow The Long Take on Instagram, Facebook, Threads, and YouTube. Write to us at [email protected].

Apex—the new Netflix survival thriller starring Charlize Theron and Taron Egerton—is like an anti-Australia propaganda video paid for by people still traumatised by the 2003 Cricket World Cup final.

We discuss Netflix’s dedication to making instantly forgettable movies, its digitally created natural landscapes, and its by-the-numbers plot that has exactly two unexpected twists.

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Hosted by Akhil Arora and Rohan Naahar, The Long Take is fully bootstrapped. Please consider donating if you enjoy our work.

The Long Take is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Gaana, JioSaavn, Overcast, Pandora, RadioPublic, iHeart Radio, YouTube Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.

Follow The Long Take on Instagram, Facebook, Threads, and YouTube. Write to us at [email protected].

Samay Raina reveals his opportunistic soul in the self-aggrandising comedy special Still Alive.

We discuss his decision to portray himself as a victim, to conflate the suffering of his parents with his own, and the consequences of giving in to bullies while projecting himself as a martyr.

We also compare his stance to that of his fellow comedian Kunal Kamra and discuss the differences between the YouTube version and the live performance.

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Hosted by Akhil Arora and Rohan Naahar, The Long Take is fully bootstrapped. Please consider donating if you enjoy our work.

The Long Take is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Gaana, JioSaavn, Overcast, Pandora, RadioPublic, iHeart Radio, YouTube Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.

Follow The Long Take on Instagram, Facebook, Threads, and YouTube. Write to us at [email protected].

Mardaani 3 has the same flawed feminism as its predecessors, but a larger canvas to project it on. 

We discuss the evolution of Rani Mukerji’s vanity project, which is coming up on nearly 15 years. We also talk about the film’s jarring third-act plot twists and Shivani Shivaji Roy’s Bond villain-esque new adversary.

Along the way, we touch upon its attempts to create some sort of Avengers-type team for future instalments.

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Hosted by Akhil Arora and Rohan Naahar, The Long Take is fully bootstrapped. Please consider donating if you enjoy our work.

The Long Take is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Gaana, JioSaavn, Overcast, Pandora, RadioPublic, iHeart Radio, YouTube Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.

Follow The Long Take on Instagram, Facebook, Threads, and YouTube. Write to us at [email protected].

Dhurandhar: The Revenge doubles down on everything that made the first film so controversial. The level of sycophancy on display borders on the pathetic. 

We discuss the film’s plodding narrative, pointless diversions, and shameless devotion to the ruling party.

We also talk about plot twists that you see coming from a mile away, the protagonist’s muddled motivations, and the convenience with which certain hurdles are overcome.

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Hosted by Akhil Arora and Rohan Naahar, The Long Take is fully bootstrapped. Please consider donating if you enjoy our work.

The Long Take is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Gaana, JioSaavn, Overcast, Pandora, RadioPublic, iHeart Radio, YouTube Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.

Follow The Long Take on Instagram, Facebook, Threads, and YouTube. Write to us at [email protected].