While discussing Ferrari:
Rajyasree: In House of Gucci, I felt Adam Driver overacted.
Abbas: Everyone in that film was given a brief to overact.
Rajyasree: Yeah a bit over the top...actually it's their version of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi.
This and a whole lot of awful and awesome as Rajyasree Sen and Abbas Momin discuss the films Ferrari and Aavesham, and Rajyasree gives her thoughts on the series Ripley.
This episode is outside the paywall. Watch it, enjoy it, and subscribe to Newslaundry, so you can tune in every week.
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Timecodes
00:00 - Introductions
02:11 - Ferrari
16:48 - Letter
17:27 - Rajyasree’s take on Ripley
27:30 - NL TNM Election Fund
28:41 - Aavesham
35:32 - Backlash to Chamkila review
References
Click here to download the Newslaundry app on Android. And here for iOS.
Produced, recorded by Shubang Gautam and edited by Umrav Singh.
Sting: [00:00:00] This is a News Laundry podcast. And you're listening to Awful and Awesome.
Rajyasree Sen: Hello, hello. This is the Awful and Awesome Entertainment Wrap. Episode 350. This is Rajyasree Sen.
Abbas Momin: And this is Abbas Momen.
Rajyasree Sen: And to mark this moment, we have left Abhinandan out of the podcast so that there is some consistency for our listeners. Y'all shouldn't get shocked every 10 episodes. It's too much of a shock, I feel.
So Abbas is here to mourn
Abbas Momin: and fill
Rajyasree Sen: Abhinandan's narrow position, which he's left. But we have a lineup of pretty, uh, interesting stuff, I would say. We have Aavesham, Fahad Faisal's, uh, film and we have Ripley, the [00:01:00] mini series, which is, uh, on the talented Mr. Ripley. So I also saw 10 minutes, by the way, of, uh, not 10 minutes, maybe five minutes of Arbaaz Khan's son's podcast.
It's called Dumb, Dumb. Biryani. Then it took me two weeks after, one week after I saw it, suddenly in the middle of the night, I was like, oh, it's a pun on dumb biryani. That had slipped me. But is this the one
Abbas Momin: where he's sitting like with his dad and brothers only?
Rajyasree Sen: His dad. So like all, all these stars are
Abbas Momin: doing that.
They just sit with their
Rajyasree Sen: families. Navyananda
Abbas Momin: does that where she sits with her mom. So even I'm going
Rajyasree Sen: to, when mom is in town, I'll say you and I'll do a podcast. Let's call my aunt. Let's call the aunt's friend like that. So it's so bad that podcast, it is not funny. So I just felt like it's a slur on what we are doing.
But you must. 350. [00:02:00]
Abbas Momin: 350 episodes of this and yeah, they get all the that's what
Rajyasree Sen: see I think they've got advertisers and all also they must have got amul banyan and all that. Yeah Should we start with ferrari
Abbas Momin: first? But to to start with ferrari You have
Rajyasree Sen: to talk like this So we have a lot of Italian stuff because even Ripley is basically, it's primarily based in Italy and Ferrari is all, Ferrari is obviously based in Italy.
So Ferrari is the story of Enzo Ferrari and, and his wife Laura Ferrari. So I know it's supposed to be louder Ferrari because I had a colleague. Yeah. Who name was. Laura something, I forgot it now. And she said, this is the Italian.
Abbas Momin: Actually, we are Hindi speakers. So I will say Laura
Rajyasree Sen: Ferrari after this, but it's directed by Michael Mann, who has made some fabulous films like Last of the Mohicans.[00:03:00]
Heat is a spectacularly good film, which if people haven't watched, I think you definitely should watch it. And the lineup of stars and heat. Especially was just fabulous. And, um, Then, uh, he's also made, what were the others that we said he's made, Collateral, I haven't watched it.
Abbas Momin: Collateral, Last of the Mohicans, uh, there was a film called Public Enemies with Johnny Depp.
Rajyasree Sen: And Ali, where Will Smith plays Muhammad Ali, which was an excellent film again. So he makes films after like big gaps, of course. Back
Abbas Momin: when Will Smith used to hit people only in movies. Yeah. Only in films. Yes.
Rajyasree Sen: So this is about Enzo Ferrari and how, what would you say, the business, uh, life of Ferrari where Ferrari is sort of, they are not getting enough, uh, orders for their cars.
They, uh, are losing out to [00:04:00] Maserati. Things are basically going south and, yeah, and, uh, Ferrari is played by Adam Driver, who I think is excellent in the role. You believe he's Italian.
Abbas Momin: Yeah.
Rajyasree Sen: Yeah. That way I'm saying he is quite and, uh, Penelope Cruz is playing
Abbas Momin: much older than he is in actual life. I think the, the time of life that Enzo Ferrari, the time of life Enzo Ferrari is portrayed in this film, I think he's in his fifties as Adam driver, I think is in his late thirties.
So they've tried their best to do it with makeup. But, uh, if you compare it with the real Enzo Ferrari at that time, there's a marked difference.
Rajyasree Sen: And, uh, Laura Ferrari is played by Penelope Cruz, who is Spanish. What is Penelope Cruz in real life? She's Spanish. Yeah, she's Spanish. And then there is, uh, Enzo Ferrari's, Shailene
Abbas Momin: Woodley.
Rajyasree Sen: Huh, sorry, Shailene Woodley, who is his girlfriend, mistress in [00:05:00] the film. And there is my, like, heartthrob, absolutely, which is McDreamy, which is Patrick Dempsey. So anyone who's, uh, Grey's, Grey's Anatomy will understand the charm of Patrick Dempsey. So when I saw him as one of the drivers, he's the white haired one.
So when I saw him, I was like, Oh, he must be having a pivotal character. Either he's going to die horribly or he's going to win beautifully. It can't be anything in between, because otherwise it did not make sense why Patrick Dempsey would have taken this role. But so we basically see the film, uh, When there is this very well known race, which happens in so like the Limon thing with Michael Fassbender takes part in every year.
You know this, right?
Abbas Momin: Yeah, I know. He's also a race car driver. Yeah. Um, I don't know. I think, I think it happens in France [00:06:00] because it's, it's got
Rajyasree Sen: limo. Yeah. And I've been told it's not literally all that, but whatever Limon happens in France and it's a 24 hour. It's almost like a endurance test for these drivers.
And similarly, this is before this race was like it no longer takes place in Italy. There was a race called the May. Milia, which is an Italian endurance road race, which happens all over the country. So they are driving across cities and towns and you're driving through roads, which are not, that's the same as Le Mans driving through normal roads.
And Italy's roads are as bad. as India's roads in a large part. Yeah. And, uh, the entire story is basically about how they are trying to save the company. He has out of some [00:07:00] misplaced loyalty, he has written, he had all his assets in his wife's name, but the wife and he, his first child, uh, has died at the age of 20, I think, or 23, I
Abbas Momin: think 24.
Yeah. 24. The considerable part of the film revolves around the domestic drama where his wife played by Penelope Cruz finds out about this other secretive family that he was living with. So, uh, yeah, I think that that's the one part of the film where I thought, um, they're trying to draw some parallels about how he was, uh, so confused.
So. Uh, going through struggles in his professional life, but also his personal life. But you told me you liked this film. So tell me why you liked it and then I'll tell you why I had some mixed feelings. Okay.
Rajyasree Sen: So I'm not a race car fan at all. I in fact think it is nonsensical and a waste of like when people tell me we are going to watch the F1 and as you own the bloody cars, I don't see why you should be going because your [00:08:00] years are like going to be your, uh, Hearing is going to be damaged forever and you can't make out anything.
They're just zipping by. Exactly.
Abbas Momin: That's my, that's my issue. I'm like, if you go to see this race live, you'll only see them pass by where you're standing like twice or thrice, right? At least if you're watching it on TV, you see the whole circuit. So I don't get the appeal. So even
Rajyasree Sen: I don't get the appeal. I think it is stupidly dangerous that when something goes wrong, like happened with Schumacher, it goes so wrong that, uh, I don't know, or you will just die if something goes wrong.
He went into coma and has not been seen since because he's under rehabilitation in his home. God knows what state he's in. So I just find it an absurd kind of, uh, sport, whatever, interest, hobby. But I get it from a car maker's point of view, that Ferrari or a Maserati and all that. [00:09:00] main passion was racing cars.
Even he was a race car driver.
Abbas Momin: Yes.
Rajyasree Sen: So I think that part, the madness of, uh, Why his focus is only on racing cars and not on actually making cars, which is different now. It's a different time for Ferrari now. That comes through very well. I felt his relationship with her, with Laura Ferrari, that was very well done.
Abbas Momin: I think Penelope Cruz is really good in this. Like she has a few scenes, but she kills it every time. She's
Rajyasree Sen: really good.
Abbas Momin: There's a whole thing going on between her mother in law and her and her husband. And
Rajyasree Sen: that whole thing of that Italian passionate women who like, uh, because he gives her a gun, which is not a wise move.
Like his mother says, why would you give her a gun? Like she's unhinged, don't give her a gun. And so I felt the personal [00:10:00] relationship thing was very well done. I did not much care for all the conversation on cars and why they wanted to do racing cars and so on. Then again, when that massive, so this is no secret, but during the race, during the media, there was a massive accident, which happened with a Ferrari car and where nine people died, bystanders who were watching died.
That I think is, uh, But I'm a little gruesome. I like morbid things like suddenly a body flying like that. But I thought that was done. Also, the way they show how he reaches the site and he is he's not there at the victory run part of it. He's at the site and That whole crisis management that why did this happen and because everyone was reporting it as Ferrari is it was called the Widowmaker anyway.
So I felt the history everything was very well woven in and it kept [00:11:00] my interest which it's nowadays I feel I've become either old or I've become like a teenager so my interest just like my attention vanishes very quickly. So that didn't happen. Uh, I did. Fine. So I found the car racing parts a little, I get bored in those parts, but it worked for me, but you did not like it.
Abbas Momin: No. So I thought that, uh, again, like you mentioned the domestic aspect of it, I was kind of into, because maybe because we've been brought up on a staple diet of, uh, daily soaps and what it is, but the, like you said, the whole, Ferrari as a company struggling and what we should do to win. And the film is structured in a way that that last race that happens, the 57, the 1957 race that you mentioned, that's like a do or die situation for Enzo Ferrari.
Like if he, if he doesn't win this, then they might go bankrupt. I thought I didn't feel the stakes in those until that accident sequence happens. I think, which is, I [00:12:00] think that like the last half an hour of the film, that's what I think the film really Pulls you in. But by that time, I think it's, it's been quite late for me.
So I thought if, if they had somehow maintained that, uh, the, the stakes of Enzo Ferrari's life and so much is at stake for him, I never, I could never feel, Oh, this is a man who's really struggling internally in his life, but he's trying to put up a front that, Oh no, everything's cool. And yeah, there's no problems here.
But towards the end, I agree. The film really gets you. Uh, by the caller because something as gruesome has happened and then he has to be answerable for it. But I don't know, maybe it's also, it's a very, it's a very grown up film. There's, there's barely a rumor in the film. Yeah. There's, there's no snappy dialogue.
It's a very, it's a very,
Rajyasree Sen: it's a heavy slow and it's a bit of a heavy film.
Abbas Momin: So yeah, I was in and out of the film. I think the it's, it's good that the runtime is like two hours and nine minutes or so. It's not very long, but. [00:13:00] I was like, at least either give me, even though I'm not in cars, either give me that Mad Max type revving up the engines, you know, that, that race car adrenaline, or give me like full on, full on melodrama of the family.
I thought the film tried to do both, but could In my opinion, could land in either of them.
Rajyasree Sen: But tell me, did you watch Ford versus Ferrari? No,
Abbas Momin: I've not seen it, but I've heard good things about it.
Rajyasree Sen: Yeah, so Ford versus Ferrari, the racing of the cars, all that, it's another race that they show. It's not, as far as I remember, it wasn't these cars.
It was, different. They were not these racing cars that were shown in that film. I might be incorrect, but, uh, that is very like the way they show the car racing is very different. I could get into it when you're watching. That was an excellent film. In fact,
Abbas Momin: I
Rajyasree Sen: also feel the, the whole. But that maybe I'm just being like a sentimental fool at the end when they say that [00:14:00] when Laura Ferrari dies, Piero Ferrari, like his son gets his, uh, second son gets his surname.
And till today is the CEO of the company.
Abbas Momin: Correct. So you
Rajyasree Sen: realize how recent all these events are, right? Because when you're looking at it, it looks like it's almost like a period film when you compared to what We are where we are living right now, but the
Abbas Momin: thing that makes you realize of the periodness of it is, of course, the, the race itself, like when you see F1 races, it's also high tech.
It's also cutting edge, right? Whereas these cars are, of course, and even I didn't know this, but apparently. Two people used to sit in cars, one is a navigator. Yeah, yes. Yeah. Which I had no idea about. But, uh, this reminded me of another Adam Driver film, House of Gucci. Have you seen House of Gucci?
Rajyasree Sen: So in House of Gucci, I felt he overacted though.
Like I felt he was a little, but maybe he was [00:15:00] supposed to be that family is a little awful. So, so
Abbas Momin: everybody's given, was given a brief in that film because, uh, this guy, um, uh, Lady Gaga is there and, uh, Jared Leto, who's playing the Penelope
Rajyasree Sen: Cruz there also, or Salma Hayek is there. Salma Hayek is there. I don't
Abbas Momin: remember.
Maybe Salma. Yeah, yeah. And she also,
Rajyasree Sen: they are all overacting in that, like, it's a little bold and beautiful the way House of Gucci was done. Very much. You know, they look in their version of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Pahut Se.
Abbas Momin: Yes.
Rajyasree Sen: It's a little over the top. But I maybe right after that they cast him. So he kept his Italian accent
Abbas Momin: that that might be true.
So actually, I read up on this and I found some trivia. Initially, Christian Bale was set to play. Oh, and then that didn't work out. So at one point, Michael Mann was actually associated with directing Ford versus Ferrari, which does. But then he left that film as well. And he'd [00:16:00] been, he's been trying to make this film for a really long time.
And actually the screenplay writer who's credited with the screenplay actually passed away in 2009. So this script has been going around. The script has been going around Hollywood since that time. And then finally it was out last year. So, yeah.
Rajyasree Sen: So I did think they should have been nominated for an Oscar.
Abbas Momin: I think Penelope Cruz for sure. Yeah, I find it odd that
Rajyasree Sen: they were totally. Like, there was no mention of Ferrari, right? Yeah, yeah. So it's on Amazon Prime, if anyone wants to watch it, I would recommend watching it. And if you're, especially if you're an F1 fan or an auto fan and all, watch it, because it is, it's, it will be more fun for you than it was for us.
Although it wasn't that bad for me, at least, I feel. But we have a letter. Let's read a letter first, and then we will get, Vaibhav has written. Vaibhav has written. Hi, this letter is with reference to episode 346 when Nainika describes Ravi Kishan's evil [00:17:00] to good change in Mamla Legal Hai. The same is shown in Laapata Ladies too, so I think it's just one of the conditions that Ravi Kishan has in his contract.
I love the show as always. Thanks, Vaibhav. Vaibhav. So what would you like to discuss next? Let's
Abbas Momin: talk about, uh, replete. The show that you fall in love with.
Rajyasree Sen: Yes, I really thought it was very well shot. So Ripley is based on people who watch, have you watched The Talented Mr. Ripley?
Abbas Momin: No, I haven't.
Rajyasree Sen: I think it's there on Amazon or something.
Just check because I think it's
Abbas Momin: on Netflix itself. Yeah. So you should
Rajyasree Sen: watch it because it is such a spectacularly made film and Matt Damon. So Matt Damon plays Ripley, uh, Jude Law plays Dickie, Richard, uh, Greenleaf, and Gwyneth Paltrow plays, [00:18:00] uh, this one's character. What is her name? Margot's character.
And, uh, it's just very well, but it's a, that is a film, of course. And that was, I think in 1998 or 99. I think
Abbas Momin: it's 99. Yeah,
Rajyasree Sen: 99. So it's way back. So after that they have made Ripley, which by the way, when I saw the poster of Uh, I'm a big fan. Anyone who's watched Fleabag and is a woman is a big fan of Hot Priest.
So I was like, oh, Hot Priest is making something. I must watch this. But I thought, I didn't realize it's talented, Mr. Ripley. I thought maybe it's a biopic or a series on Ripley's Believe It or Not. Believe It or Not. Yeah. I swear. That crossed my mind
Abbas Momin: as well.
Rajyasree Sen: Yeah, I was like, Oh, it's black and white. I must be Ripley's video or not.
Then I realized, no, I was letting my imagination get away with me. So Andrew Scott plays, uh, Ripley in this. Ripley,
Abbas Momin: [00:19:00] yes.
Rajyasree Sen: Yeah. And, uh, what is her name? She's very well known. Also, uh, Dakota Fanning plays Marco and Maurizio Lombardi plays the detective, the main detective who will, I don't know, in the first two episodes, does the main detective come on?
I don't
Abbas Momin: think so. Definitely not in the first episode. Yeah. No. Second episode. I'm trying to remember.
Rajyasree Sen: So, uh, Ripley is based on Patricia Highsmith's book. And, uh, yeah. And if you haven't read her books and short stories, I'd strong, like, she's really, really good. Her story, short stories, especially are really well written.
And she's
Abbas Momin: a, she writes thrillers, right? Yeah.
Rajyasree Sen: Thrillers. Yeah. Mystery thriller, that kind of thing. But really, really well written. Books and short stories.
Abbas Momin: Yeah. I've never tried it, but like, she's one of those authors who's always her books, you'll always find them in secondhand bookstores and she's everywhere.
Rajyasree Sen: She's [00:20:00] everywhere. Absolutely. So in this, they have, what is interesting, it's a, uh, Seven, eight part series. It's an eight part series. It's around 50 minutes of each episode is that much. The entire thing is shot in black and white. And it is, honestly, each frame, if you pause it, is like a picture. So I kept thinking that they must have storyboarded it because it's too perfect.
Like if he's sitting on the stairs, it's anything. If they are standing in the subway, the way it's been shot, it's very, very beautifully done. The director is Steven Zalian and the cinematographer is Robert Elswit. And, uh, you should just watch it even for, even if you want one episode, just for the cinematography is riveting.
But the way, so I. I like while watching that talented Mr. Ripley was also coming back to [00:21:00] me, but the way the story is scripted and uh, basically Ripley is sent to Italy by, uh, Dicky Richard Greenleaf's parents father, his father. Yeah. Because Richard Greenleaf is this rich, uh, a who is not really in touch with his parents, but he has a trust fund.
And he is living in Italy and just doing his own thing. So the parents, uh, find Ripley, who is essentially a con man, but he basically does whatever he needs to, to make money. So he pretends to be a friend of, uh, Dickie's and he goes to Italy. And then when he meets him, he ingratiates himself into Dickie's world.
And uh, Slowly, what happens, like I don't want to give it away if you haven't watched it or haven't read the book because this is really something like if you give it away, you've [00:22:00] given it away totally. But, uh, I don't know. Can we say what he does? As in the initial thing? I mean,
Abbas Momin: I, I understand it's something to do with identity theft or something along those lines.
Rajyasree Sen: Yeah, so it's identity theft. And then, like, he's clearly a sociopath, but it's a very, very intelligent sociopath at work. But the unraveling of the, uh, Story is very, very well done here. It's a little slow. It's not fast paced. And I think, yeah, and it's because it's black and white. There's a lot of blood and gore, but you don't get that, like, because it's all in black and white.
It's not
Abbas Momin: gory, yeah. Yeah. They didn't know that you prefer savored heads. Yeah, they didn't realize that. Mutilated bodies. I'd say,
Rajyasree Sen: oh, why is someone not losing an arm like that? So, uh. But now,
Abbas Momin: now that you've seen both the versions. Yes. And I know there'll be some recency bias to this one because you just saw it.
Hmm. But. [00:23:00] Of course, like out of the two, which one do you think tells the story better, the film or the, or the show?
Rajyasree Sen: I felt the film says it better. I also feel the film stayed more true to the story over here. There's because there are parts of it, which I don't remember it. Now see, I read the book so long back that I don't remember it was called something.
The books were called, it's a
Abbas Momin: compendium. The series was like, there's a Ripley series. Yeah. Ripley series. Ripley.
Rajyasree Sen: It was called Ripley as in it's referred to as Ripley. But so the film is a true accounting of the recounting of the book and just Matt Damon and Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow.
Abbas Momin: Yeah.
Rajyasree Sen: And Matt Damon is this gone.
He doesn't look like. Good looking Matt Damon, basically. He looks like someone who wants, who's like hungry for a better, who's hungry also, [00:24:00] actually looks hungry, like he could do with some food. And you can see why Jude Law seemed so attractive to him. So in this, I just felt Andrew Scott is so attractive himself in a certain way.
Yeah, that part gets like, I found him better looking than Dickie. So in the original one Jude Law is stunning looking with his blue eyes and he's got that laid back very like I'm part of the old rich money that all comes through very well in the casting of the earlier one
Abbas Momin: of the
Rajyasree Sen: film. That fascination with there's a fascination with Caravaggio, which is played through in the which will get drawn out in the series when you watch it, which is very interestingly done in this.
series that why Caravaggio plays such a, and his paintings play such a large part in Andrew Scott's in Ripley's life. But I like, you know what they'd managed to [00:25:00] do? They'd managed to tie up all the loopholes. So that was, and by setting it so far back, that whole thing, that pictures are not easily available, all that was dealt with.
Very easily by like, unless someone gives you an actual picture of a person, they aren't pictures of people floating around. It's whatever you claim the person is.
Abbas Momin: Yeah, I read somewhere that Hollywood is now making more period films than ever before because setting anything in current times is so difficult because social media has made everything very easy to find out social media and that
Rajyasree Sen: you have mobile phones now you can't say i couldn't call up someone because i was stuck somewhere
Abbas Momin: exactly you'll never get
Rajyasree Sen: surprised by anyone because you will get a message on your mobile phone or a whatsapp but the film which i had really liked did you watch gattaca
Abbas Momin: I did.
I have seen it long time ago. I remember a long time ago. I don't remember much of it, but it's that space film with Uma [00:26:00] Thurman. Am I correct?
Rajyasree Sen: And this one, uh, what's his name? Ethan Hawke. Ethan Hawke.
Abbas Momin: Yes.
Rajyasree Sen: And I remember, so even that I remember, they show how DNA can be so stolen through your, like, through the nail cuttings and all that.
I remember that scene very clearly. But that also has Jude Law. Maybe that's why I'm remembering it as well. But no, so I really liked Ripley, but I felt it had, you need to get into it a little bit. Because I started watching it around two weeks back, actually. And I watched one episode, and then I was like, okay, It's fine.
I the
Abbas Momin: same, I remember, I mean, we've spoken about this with an episode on with Nika also, and back then also I had seen two episodes and even now I've seen two episodes. Yeah, that's the thing. So it is something you need to, it's, it's a slow burn, so yeah, you need to get into it. Yeah, that's
Rajyasree Sen: the thing. So repeat is on Netflix, it's you have to take our eight hours of your, from your life and watch it though.
Yes. And be very patient while doing so because it's not, it's not one of those, but I [00:27:00] have to say the last three. Pittsburgh's when you know, everyone's out looking for him and trying to figure out what exactly has happened. They really pick up. So you'll have to obviously, because you would see him like, he's constantly having to think of how to be one step ahead of the law, basically.
So I quite. I liked it, and I think Hot Priest is good in anything, actually. That's the thing. But, uh, we have one announcement to make. The, as you all know, the elections are taking place as we speak. The first phase has, uh, officially started. Voting has already taken place, but News Laundry has tied up with News Minute and is going to bring stories from the ground and the TNM, it's called the TNM NL Election Fund, and it's going to Take a lot of resources for, to have more than 15 reporters, producers, editors [00:28:00] from both teams on the ground covering various states, Manisha, Atul, Dhania and Sridipto will be on ground speaking to the videos have already, are already up on News Laundry, but please support and contribute to the fund.
whatever amount that you want to, you have to head to newslaundry. com slash 2024 hyphen election fund to make the contribution. And, uh, you should do so because God knows what is going to happen after the results, which I think, uh, yeah. Quite certain what is going to happen af, what results will happen.
What will happen after is also quite clear, but we are gonna discuss Visham, which I wanted to see. Yes. Which is Farhad like hot priest. I think. Hot Farhad Fas also quite, yes. Farha. He's a phenomenon. Yeah, he is a phenomena really. So Faha Paha pail is in this and it's, he is starting alongside [00:29:00] Nasia.
Nazeem and Anwar Rashid and the movie is directed by Jeetu Madhavan, who's not our Madhavan's brother, I'm assuming.
Abbas Momin: I hope not. I hope not. Because both their filmographies are very different. So, Jeetu Madhavan actually made one of my favorite films from last year also. Okay. It was a Malayalam film called Romancham.
Rajyasree Sen: Okay. Which
Abbas Momin: was, which is this Which is actually a haunted house film, but unlike any other haunted house film I've seen, because, uh, the haunted houses is essentially a house where some seven, eight bachelors live together. So, uh, that's a, that's a separate recommendation that you should check out. But, uh, I wish him, I think for me was one of the most fun times I've had in the movie theater this year, because, uh, the film essentially.
It's about this, uh, these three boys who are, uh, Malayalam boys, uh, Bengali boys who've come to Bangalore to study. So the film is set in Bangalore, the bit of nostalgic feel for me also, because I also studied [00:30:00] in Bangalore, but, uh, the whole thing is, so they're studying in an engineering college. So there's this whole senior, junior rivalry where the group of seniors rack these boys and they're like, we need to get back at them.
We can't just let them get away with it. What is this? Yeah. So they go out on a quest to find a local gangster. Who can help them get back to the get back at the seniors. So there's a whole montage sequence where they're hitting all the shady bars in Bangalore to find one local gangster who can come help them, but there's, they're not able to find anybody.
And until one night where these three boys, and I love the way This, this whole thing, right? The hero entry in South Indian films. Right. So these three boys are at a urinal peeing and they're discussing what should we do? How should we do? And then suddenly they hear this one noise voice from behind saying, uh, uh, brother, can I borrow your lighter?
And then suddenly you see Fahad Faisal's face enter the frame. And he has a cigarette dangling from his [00:31:00] mouth and he uses the cigarette to, of the other boy's cigarette to light it and they're standing at a urinal. Make what you want of this whole situation. So, but then Fahad Faisal is introduced. Fahad Faisal plays this character called Ranga.
Hmm. Who I think is one of the most colorful gangsters put on screen in Indian cinema. So Ranga is this, you know, this, you always have these local goons, right? Whose myth is bigger than what you see, right? There's this always this myth. Oh, he killed so many people with one dagger and suddenly he overnight he became this sensation.
So they've listened to all these two and he has this massive gang full of really, really violent people. Men and they all have stories about him, but they never see him as this man who would fight or he's always directing people how to fight and what to do, but they never see him taking violence, like actually being violent.
So they keep wondering what is, is he really, is he really the gangster they make it out to be? Is he being [00:32:00] exaggerated? Anyway, they tell him the plan that we want to get back at our senior. And then that thing happens. And that's just the first half. Okay. So Malayalam, Malayalam things have this thing where the conflict which is introduced in the, at the start of the film actually resolves itself by the interval point.
And then post interval, there's this whole new sort of aspect of the story that comes out. These three boys were actually here to study engineering, find themselves becoming gangsters more and more. Oh, so they are, they have to face the wrath of the college principal, their own parents where they're like, we sent you to study.
I don't know how to explain, but there's this very weird sort of brotherly love that this gangster has towards these boys. They're like, we, we can't leave him also because we like him also. He's dangerous. Yeah. But then we are also here to study. So it's like Stockholm
Rajyasree Sen: syndrome little bit. It is, it is.
Abbas Momin: And that is sort of, uh, you know, the parallels to that is that This gang of very violent sort of, you know, uh, dangerous gangsters, [00:33:00] they also have like a camaraderie between them.
Right. Like when, whenever, whenever something emotional happens, like they're playing to, to entertain themselves, they play dumb charades. Okay. Like this, this, this, these gangsters who are violent and cutting people up. Suddenly they are guessing films and what to guess and what not to guess. So it's a very, very, it's, it's one of those things which is very meta in that it does the thing like it's parodying these gangster films, but then it is also hitting all the notes of being a good gangster film.
So, uh, I think Fahad Fasil is absolutely phenomenal in the film. I think, uh, he, he's dancing, he's singing, uh, some of his, uh, some of, he also wants to be a social media star. So he keeps making reels on
Rajyasree Sen: Instagram. also. Yeah. So it's basically a
Abbas Momin: comedy. It's a comedy. It's an action comedy. It's an action comedy.
Yes. So when the action sequences happen, they're choreographed very well and that like, you actually reminds you of like the [00:34:00] Kung Fu films of 70s and 80s. So when it's action, it's really good action. When it's comedy, it's a riotous comedy. So please watch it. Sounds very
Rajyasree Sen: good.
Abbas Momin: It's, it's everything like, you know, I think it encapsulates that local goon that every Indian town has very well.
Rajyasree Sen: But that the local goon has a heart. And he's a sweet guy. The local goon has a
Abbas Momin: heart. Then there's something that happens in the end, which I would not like to spoil, which I think again is done pitch perfect when you actually, when you actually find out what is the backstory of the, of the gangsters. So yeah, it's.
So this is only in
Rajyasree Sen: theaters right now though. So I think that's also quite remarkable that nowadays all these Mallu films and Tam films and all released in Delhi and which no one used to watch anything which was madrasi as they used to say earlier. And people are, it's clearly their audiences because they are [00:35:00] running in theaters for around two weeks.
At least they usually run.
Abbas Momin: Absolutely.
Rajyasree Sen: Yeah. So no, so I must go and watch this then because I'm never sure till I hear a review properly, whether to bother.
Abbas Momin: It's a, it's absolute, it's absolutely like fun time in the cinema.
Rajyasree Sen: Okay, so we haven't done like slightly awful. We've only said for one thing, which is Ferrari.
Otherwise, it's all been quite awesome.
Abbas Momin: Quite awesome. Yes.
Rajyasree Sen: I'm so allergic to that statement. I had to sneeze. Sorry. But, uh,
Abbas Momin: but, uh, You found some, you, some, some awful comments came your way, I think for something. Yes, so I
Rajyasree Sen: was, someone ticked me off, but I wasn't at fault. Okay. Hi, Sumit Gill wrote, Hi Rajshree, just one point regarding your Chamkeela review.
I might be wrong, but you need to understand the craze of Chamkeela to review the movie. First time in a long, long time. I don't agree with your review. Punjab of 80s, this man was something. So, So [00:36:00] I'm just saying I did not review it because like Abhinandan, for once, I had not watched something at all. And Sumit also says, uh, Chamkeela as a character in real life had a lot of flaws, but ultimately at the end of the day, he sang what masses wanted to hear.
Almost 40 years after his death, his music is still being heard. Just imagine. So I'm going to try and watch it. I still find it difficult to take Diljit in that wig. Seriously, and Parineeti Chopra, who I find difficult to take from the time she joined Birdybird only. But for the sake of our art, which is this podcast, I will try.
I can't promise though.
Abbas Momin: I actually quite liked Samkeela. I did have Um, some issues with the blurring of lines between reality and fiction. So, so there are sequences in the film where, um, he actually cuts back to real footage, uh, that exists of those. And then there are times where he actually deliberately [00:37:00] makes the, uh, Fictional filming of the film seemed like it's old footage.
So in some sequences, it's the actual some Killa as, as, uh, archival footage. And then, then there are some places where they'll G dressed as Chunky law is, uh, suddenly made grainy to seem like it's old. Okay. Yeah. So there are some, those choices, which I thought were a little, uh, little dicey, but overall, I actually quite enjoyed the film.
I'm not. not the most knowledgeable when it comes to the real Chamkila's music. So I understand that it holds a very special place to a lot of people. Yeah, and the cast,
Rajyasree Sen: politics of his music and all. So I just got a lecture from Abhinandan about the cast. So I was like, okay, I'm going to talk about Ferrari now.
So this is too little too late, but I will watch it. And, uh, if this is not too late, True, that it's a good film. I will get back to everyone about this, but we will be back next time. Next week with more [00:38:00] God knows, awful, awesome stuff. It's anybody's guess right now, but I would like to thank, uh, producer Shubhang and, uh, uh, recordist Anil because I always forget and I'm very sorry that I forget because I'm just badly brought up and thank you Abbas.
Abbas Momin: Thank you so much. Thank you, Miss Sen.
Rajyasree Sen: Now, I have to say your surname also. Mr. Momin. Now, you see. You're
Abbas Momin: most welcome. Now, you're my
Rajyasree Sen: researcher. Mrs. And it's a wrap.
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