The Pardesi Podcast

Movie review of the Hindi masala action film Simmba starring Ranveer Singh, directed by Rohit Shetty - by Melanie on Pardesi

Simmba (lit. Lion) is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language action film directed by Rohit Shetty and written by Yunus Sajawal and Sajid-Farhad. A spin-off of the Singham franchise, the film was produced by Shetty under his banner Rohit Shetty Picturez and Karan Johar, Hiroo Yash Johar and Apoorva Mehta under the banner Dharma Productions. It stars Ranveer Singh, Sara Ali Khan and Sonu Sood, with Ajay Devgn reprising his role of Bajirao Singham. The film follows Sangram "Simmba" Bhalerao, a corrupt police officer hailing from the same town as Singham, who is forced to lead a more righteous path after tragedy strikes those near him. While some action sequences were based on those from the Telugu-language film Temper (2015), the plot of Simmba remained original. It has an estimated production budget of ₹80 crore (US$11 million). Principal photography began in June 2018 with most scenes filmed in Goa and Kolhapur and the remaining filmed at Hyderabad and Mehboob Studios in Mumbai. Shooting was wrapped up by early December in the same year. The film's soundtrack was composed by Tanishk Bagchi, Lijo George - DJ Chetas and S. Thaman, with lyrics written by Shabbir Ahmed, Rashmi Virag, Kumaar and Kunaal Verma. Simmba was released in countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council on 27 December 2018. The film was released in India and other international territories on the following day; it was distributed worldwide by Reliance Entertainment. Earning "mixed to positive" reviews from critics, it became Singh's highest-opening film as of 2018; it earned ₹20.72 crore nett in India on its first day, and went on to gross over ₹100 crore worldwide in its first weekend.

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A discussion with Samarpita Dutta of BollyBrit.com on her article MARRIED AND OWNING IT: HOW LEAD ACTRESSES ARE CALLING THE SHOTS IN 2018

This year has been a big year for weddings in Bollywood:  Sonam Kapoor, Deepika Pudakone and Priyanka Chopra, plus Anushka Sharma last year.  In the past, getting married would mean that an actresses career as a lead actress would fade away, but this new crop of women are taking their careers in their own hands with their own production companies.

Smarpita and I discuss her article, and what a big year for women 2018 was in Hindi cinema, as well as upcoming projects by these leading actresses.

Samarpita is a contributor for BollyBrit.com and you can find her on twitter: @lipstickpatrol

Melanie's Youtube channel is Pardesi Reviews.

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Angamaly Diaries was my top film of all Indian Cinema for 2017.  This flashback podcast originally aired on Margaret Redlich's Don't Call It Bollywood podcast in March of 2017 when the movie had first come out.  We both loved the film, and did a deep dive discussion of the movie by one of our now favorite directors, Lijo Jose Pellissery.  There are many spoilers in this discussion, including the ending.  The film is available for streaming on Netflix.

Angamaly Diaries is a 2017 Indian crime drama film directed by Lijo Jose Pellissery and written by Chemban Vinod Jose. The film features 86 debutant actors, with Antony Varghese, Anna Rajan, Kichu Tellus, Ullas Jose Chemban, Vineeth Vishwam, Bitto Davis, Tito Wilson, Sarath Kumar, and Sinoj Varghese playing the main roles. The film is Vijay Babu's first sole production under Friday Film House. The film released on 3 March 2017 to critical acclaim and emerged as a major commercial success.

The story follows Vincent Pepe (Antony Varghese) who wants to be a powerful leader of a righteous gang that will rule the town of Angamaly, like his seniors. The film features an uncut 11-minute long take in the climax featuring around 1000 artists.

You can find more Indian Cinema reviews by Melanie on her Youtube channel: Pardesi Reviews: 

https://www.youtube.com/c/PardesiReviews

Margaret Redlich has written the book Don't Call It Bollywood: An Introduction to the Hindi Film Universe: http://annorlundaenterprises.com/books/dont-call-it-bollywood/

Margaret writes extensively about Indian Cinema on her Blog:  https://dontcallitbollywood.com/

Matt of Koricon Nala and Melanie discuss the Kannada film K.G.F. Chapter 1 and the Hindi film Zero, amongst other things!

Video of this podcast discussion here on Pardesi Reviews!

Here's that Jackie Chan video that Matt mentioned in the podcast: https://youtu.be/Z1PCtIaM_GQ

You can find Matt at his Koricon Nala Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_olblPuHe2Z4oElRA5qBig

His review of KGF: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DASHCxHVW9kMatt's review of Zero: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zr2ovGdQQhc

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Movie review of the 2018 Hindi film Zero, starring Shah Rukh Khan, Anushka Sharma and Katrina Kaif - by Melanie on Pardesi.

Zero is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film, written by Himanshu Sharma and directed by Aanand L. Rai. It was jointly produced by Colour Yellow Productions and Red Chillies Entertainment's Gauri Khan, and stars Shah Rukh Khan, Anushka Sharma and Katrina Kaif. It follows Bauua Singh, a short man from Meerut who, after having difficulty finding a marriage partner, finds a companion in Aafia Bhinder, a NASA scientist with cerebral palsy. However, leading superstar Babita also gets close with him, testing his first relationship. This love triangle takes them to far-off cities, and thrusts Bauua on an adventure to discover both his true love and completeness in a life lived to the fullest. Produced on an budget of ₹200 crore (US$28 million), Zero is Khan's most expensive film. The film was conceived by Rai in 2012, after he was inspired by the superhero genre. Pre-production began in 2016. Initially having a working title of Katrina Meri Jaan, Zero went through numerous title changes before arriving at the final title in early 2018. Principal photography of the film began in Mumbai on May 2017. It marked the last film appearance of Sridevi, who died shortly after completing the film. Filming concluded in 2018 at Orlando. The film's soundtrack is composed by Ajay-Atul with lyrics written by Irshad Kamil, under the label T-Series. It was released on 21 December 2018, to mixed reviews from critics. Critics particularly praised the film's visual effects and the performance of Khan, but the screenplay was criticised for its inconsistency. It earned ₹20.14 crore net in India on its first day.

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Movie review of the Kannada film KGF: Chapter 1 starring Yash by Melanie on Pardesi.

K.G.F: Chapter 1 is an Indian Kannada-language action-period drama film set in the Kolar Gold Fields. It was written and directed by Prashanth Neel and produced by Vijay Kiragandur under the banner Hombale films. It is the first installment in the two-part series, followed by K.G.F: Chapter 2. The film stars Yash and Srinidhi Shetty in the lead roles. Production on the film was completed on 15 August 2018. K.G.F: Chapter 1 is scheduled to be released on 21 December 2018. It will be dubbed into Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam. In the USA and Canada, the premier release date is 20 December 2018. 

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Review of the 2018 sci-fi drama Antariksham (Space) 9000 KMPH starring Varun Tej and Aditi Rao Hydari - by Melanie on Pardesi.

Antariksham 9000 KMPH is a 2018 Indian Telugu-language science fiction space thriller film written and directed by Sankalp Reddy. The film stars Varun Tej, Aditi Rao Hydari and Lavanya Tripathi. The first look of the film was released on India's Independence Day, 15 August 2018.[4] The teaser was released on 17 October 2018. The trailer was released on 9 December 2018. The film is set to release on December 21, 2018. The film will be dubbed in several languages.The film opened to excellent reviews.

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Movie review of the 2018 Tamil film Seethakathi, starring Vijay Sethupathi - by Melanie on Pardesi.

Video review here on Pardesi Reviews

Seethakaathi is a Tamil language comedy-drama film written and directed by Balaji Tharaneetharan, starring Vijay Sethupathi in the lead. The film began production in April 2017. The film marks as Vijay Sethupathi's 25th Film in leading roles. Upon release the film received positive reviews from critics. 

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Movie review of the 2013 Kannada Rom Com film Googly starring Yash - by Melanie on Pardesi.

Video Review here on Pardesi Reviews Youtube channel.

Googly is a 2013 Indian Kannada language romantic comedy film directed by Pavan Wadeyar and produced by Jayanna Combines. Yash and Kriti Kharbanda are the lead actors while Ananth Nag and Sadhu Kokila play the primary supporting roles. The film released on 19 July 2013. The film won multiple nominations at the 3rd South Indian International Movie Awards. Having been nominated in 11 categories, the film won SIIMA awards for Best Director (Pavan Wadeyar), Best Cinematographer (Vaidi S.), Best Lyricist (Pavan Wadeyar) and Best Fight Choreographer (Ravi Varma). A sequel of this movie is being directed and named as Googly-2. The movie is being remade in Bengali by Eskay Movies. It became one of the biggest blockbuster Kannada cinema in the year 2013. It has been dubbed in Hindi by same name.

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Movie review of the 2018 Malayalam film Odiyan starring Mohanlal - by Melanie on Pardesi.

Video review of Odiyan on Pardesi Reviews on Youtube.

Odiyan is a 2018 Indian Malayalam-language fantasy thriller film directed by V. A. Shrikumar Menon; it is his feature-film debut. The film was written by Harikrishnan; it is based on the legend of the Odiyan clan, who in Kerala folklore are men who have shapeshifting abilities and can assume animal forms. Odiyans are said to have inhabited the Malabar region of Kerala before the widespread use of electricity. The film stars Mohanlal in the title role, alongside Prakash Raj and Manju Warrier; it was produced by Antony Perumbavoor through Aashirvad Cinemas. Principal photography began in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, in August 2017. Major parts of the film were shot in Palakkad district, where the story's Thenkurissi village was recreated. Some scenes were filmed in Vagamon, Athirappilly, and Kochi. The film was completed after 145 days of shooting. Sam C. S. composed the film's score, which also features songs composed by M. Jayachandran. Odiyan was released worldwide on 14 December 2018 alongside its dubbed versions in Tamil and Telugu languages.

 

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