The Long Take with Akhil, Rohan & Devika

Is Fighter another in the long and increasingly problematic line of hyper-nationalistic Indian action movies, or is its biggest problem that it can’t look beyond star Hrithik Roshan?

We discuss the many missteps that director Siddharth Anand makes in his follow-up to Pathaan, the unnecessary songs and the momentum-killing asides, but we also talk about how the movie goes out of its way to not paint all of Pakistan as evil terrorists.

Along the way, we also talk about the film’s many aerial fight sequences, the final showdown, the nonsensical attempts at comedy, and Anil Kapoor’s parallel mission to break some sort of decibel record.

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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, Google Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts.

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

Murder Mubarak lowers the bar even further for Netflix India, and feels like a particularly annoying missed opportunity.

We talk about the inept filmmaking, the strange structure, and the over-the-top performances of its ensemble cast.

We also wonder how the finished film can look like something that was snatched away from director Homi Adajania and handed over to editors who’ve never met him.

And for the second time in two weeks, we find ourselves noting missing scenes from a big-budget movie featuring major Bollywood names.

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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, Google Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts.

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

Merry Christmas, director Sriram Raghavan’s follow-up to the critical and commercial hit Andhadhun, is nothing to celebrate.

We discuss the film’s lack of discernible aesthetic, the complete absence of any spark between stars Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi, and its baffling climax.

Along the way, we discuss the decision to reduce an important child character to a plot device, and the increasingly illogical behaviour displayed by both central characters.

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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, Google Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts.

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

Dune: Part Two is being called one of the greatest sequels ever made. It isn’t.

We discuss the problems that we’ve had with both Dune films, our issues with their cold tone, the seemingly rushed plot despite a nearly three-hour run-time, and the sheer number of characters to keep track of.

But we also appreciate director Denis Villeneuve’s handling of the action, particularly the sandworm sequence, and the film’s technical achievements.

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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, Google Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts.

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

All India Rank, the feature directorial debut of Varun Grover, is a refreshing change of pace for Bollywood, but still not as good as it could have been.

We discuss all the ways in which the coming-of-age drama avoids making the same mistakes as 12th Fail or Kota Factory, its ability to evoke a particular time and place, and its reliance on tried-and-tested narrative tropes.

We also talk about the toxicity in the Indian familial set-up that the movie calls out in its own understated way while making larger statements about aspiration and ambition.

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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, Google Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts.

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

Dunki, the third and final Shah Rukh Khan film of 2023, wastes all the goodwill he had built with Pathaan and Jawan.

Directed by Rajkumar Hirani, Dunki ranks among the worst films we’ve covered on the podcast and is outdated to the point of being offensive.

We talk about the film’s most insensitive scenes, Hirani’s disinterest in taking real-life geopolitical issues seriously, and ignoring the tragic love story at the film’s centre.

We also talk about the film’s tonal imbalance, tendency to rely on cliches, and inability to make the best use of screen time.

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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, Google Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts.

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

Bhakshak, starring Bhumi Pednekar, is the latest socially conscious call-to-action from Shah Rukh Khan’s production company, and even though it’s a more grounded film, its sensibilities aren’t too dissimilar from Jawan.

We discuss what we liked and disliked about the film’s portrayal of hyperlocal journalism, its depiction of real-life atrocities, and its tendency to shed all nuance and scream at the audience.

We also talk about the film’s odd pacing, the often confusing narrative, and overall inelegance despite director Pulkit’s noble intentions.

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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, Google Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts.

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

Joram, the fourth feature film from director Devashish Makhija, juggles multiple tones and narratives. But is it successful at it?

We discuss Manoj Bajpayee’s mostly silent central performance as a displaced tribal man running for his life, and the film’s heavy handed socio-political commentary.

We also wonder if the movie would’ve worked better as a tight 90-minute thriller, and point out a worryingly regressive trend in Makhija’s films.

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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, Google Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts.

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

Animal, starring Ranbir Kapoor, is hardly as offensive as director Sandeep Reddy Vanga probably intended it to be, but it’s aggravating on many levels nonetheless.

We discuss the film’s infantile approach to its themes and Vanga’s dedication to being edgy at the expense of storytelling and character development.

We also talk about the film’s unbearable length, inconsequential subplots, and the odd decision to not introduce Bobby Deol’s villain sooner.

Along the way, we also talk about the numerous petulant attacks that Vanga has made on critics and how his neediness is reflected in the film.

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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, Google Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts.

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

Is Salaar the worst movie we’ve covered on the podcast? It might be.

We discuss the incomprehensible plotting, Prashanth Neel’s overwhelming direction, and debate about the film’s three major action set-pieces.

We also eat our words about Salman Khan’s dedication and Zack Snyder’s poor world-building after having seen a disengaged Prabhas and an under-confident Neel’s work here.

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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, Google Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts.

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