The Long Take with Akhil, Rohan & Devika

More an ill-conceived collection of random sketches than a proper feature film, Netflix’s Jaadugar is the kind of movie you want to wave your wand at to make it disappear.

We discuss the film’s many problematic aspects—something that is becoming worryingly common for star Jitendra Kumar—and its absolute lack of cinematic value.

Jaadugar has zero understanding of football, cares little for its supporting cast despite being nearly three hours long, and features an intensely reprehensible protagonist who is projected as some kind of loveable oaf.

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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, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Gaana, JioSaavn, and wherever you get your podcasts.

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

Anek—the new Ayushmann Khurrana film, now out on Netflix—is so unsuccessful at what it sets out to do that it’s actually possible that Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 is a better movie, purely because it knows its audience.

We discuss the sheer incompetence of Khurrana’s character, the uniformly terrible performances of the cast, and director Anubhav Sinha’s nonsensical and utterly-confused storytelling.

We also talk about the fundamental issues with homogenising an entire region, the glaring age difference between Khurrana and co-star Andrea Kevichusa, and Sinha’s sloppy handling of the action sequences.

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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, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Gaana, JioSaavn, and wherever you get your podcasts.

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

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness—now out on Disney+—represents a welcome return to bold filmmaking for the increasingly cookie-cutter Marvel Cinematic Universe. Or does it?

We discuss director Sam Raimi’s signature kinetic filmmaking, how the movie short-changes its title character, and whether Wanda Maximoff’s motivations make sense.

We also dissect our contrasting opinions about the first Doctor Strange film, speculate why the MCU is so risk-averse, and what we can expect from Thor: Love and Thunder and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

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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, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Gaana, JioSaavn, and wherever you get your podcasts.

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

Could Cha Cha Real Smooth follow in CODA’s footsteps and become Apple’s second Best Picture contender at the Oscars?

Actor-writer-director Cooper Raiff’s second feature is a coming-of-age story that tackles themes as complex as mental health, motherhood, and identity.

We discuss Dakota Johnson’s outstanding performance, the film’s reversal of gender roles, and its chances at next year’s Academy Awards.

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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, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Gaana, JioSaavn, and wherever you get your podcasts.

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

For our 100th episode, we have something special planned. Just kidding, it’s yet another movie that we’ll never talk about ever again.

Jayeshbhai Jordaar is—simultaneously—not as deranged as it should have been, and also one of the most miscalculated mainstream Hindi movies you’re likely to see this year.

We talk about Ranveer Singh’s uncharacteristically muted central performance, the film’s counterproductive approach to female empowerment, and its tone-deaf handling of some very real issues.

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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, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Gaana, JioSaavn, and wherever you get your podcasts.

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

If Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore — out now on streaming and video-on-demand — is the last Wizarding World movie we’re going to get for a while, then what a disappointing way this is for things to have panned out.

Has any other contemporary film franchise been this reactionary to fan concerns? We discuss the film’s convoluted (yet low-stakes) plot, its overabundance of characters (some of whom it keeps forgetting about), and the emotional core of the story, which is the romance between Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald.

We also compare Johnny Depp and Mads Mikkelsen’s performances as Grindelwald, talk about the overuse of CGI and the lacklustre nature of the select few action sequences, and offer unsolicited advice to Warner Bros. on how they should fix this mess.

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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, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Gaana, JioSaavn, and wherever you get your podcasts.

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

Top Gun: Maverick is such a refined big-screen experience that you're willing to forgive the movie’s most obvious flaws. In that way, it’s like its star, Tom Cruise.

We discuss Top Gun: Maverick’s meta commentary on Cruise’s career, and how it reflects his insecurities.

We also discuss the visceral IMAX experience, the film’s apolitical tone, and the straightforward but almost scientifically-effective script.

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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, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Gaana, JioSaavn, and wherever you get your podcasts.

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

Is RRR—director SS Rajamouli’s epic historical fiction, now on streaming—a rousing patriotic drama, or a blatant attempt at bhakt-baiting?

We discuss the film’s murky morality, over-the-top action scenes, and Rajamouli’s utter lack of interest in writing compelling women.

We also talk about RRR’s homoerotic undertones, its video game-like reliance on jadi-bootis, and the most confusing director cameo ever.

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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, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Gaana, JioSaavn, and wherever you get your podcasts.

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

Did Amazon Prime Video just take a leaf out of Netflix’s playbook?

Modern Love Mumbai—an Indian spin-off of the original American anthology series—has such a poor hit rate that it makes Ankahi Kahaniyan and Ajeeb Daastaans look like early Black Mirror seasons.

We discuss our favourite shorts of the six films, the bizarre choice to adapt these from the American column and not source local stories, and why established directors should stop phoning it in with these projects.

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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, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Gaana, JioSaavn, and wherever you get your podcasts.

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

Thar, the new Netflix film starring father-son duo Anil Kapoor and Harsh Varrdhan Kapoor, might claim to be a “neo-noir Western” but it’s actually an old-school revenge thriller at heart.

We talk about the film’s slow-burn storytelling, Anil Kapoor’s immaculate hair and Fatima Sana Shaikh’s immaculate make-up, and a pivotal climax scene that threatens to ruin the entire experience.

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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, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Gaana, JioSaavn, and wherever you get your podcasts.

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