While discussing The Sabarmati Report’s trailer:
Rajyasree: Good news is, Coldplay has announced a fourth show in Gujarat. The bad news is, you can’t have cold beers before the concert because it’s a dry state.
Abhinandan: But you can have fafda, khakra, and dhokla.
Rajyasree: So there will be a lot of hot air at Coldplay.
Abhinandan: You can top up with a lot of chaas!
This and a whole lot of awful and awesome as Abhinandan Sekhri and Rajyasree Sen discuss the films Zwigato, The Buckingham Murders, the documentary Martha, and the trailer for The Sabarmati Report.
Have something to say? Write to us at newslaundry.com/podcast-letters.
Timecodes
00:00 - Introduction
01:51 - Topics
02:18 - Letters
05:38 - Headlines
08:32 - The Sabarmati Report
17:02 - Zwigato
23:51 - Letters
27:28 - The Buckingham Murders
37:37 - Letters
40:14 - Martha
References
Ana 373 - Interview with Shalini Passi
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Produced and recorded by Priyali Dhingra and Prashant Kumar; edited by Hassan Bilal.
374_AUDIO
-: [00:00:00] This is a News Laundry podcast, and you're listening to Awful and Awesome.
Rajyasree: Hello, hello. This is the Awful and Awesome Entertainment Wrap, Episode 374. This is Rajesh Hissain. And
Abhinandan: this is Abhinandan Sekhri. We are recording this on a day which the AQI, and you can tell by my throat, has crossed 600. Let's say I'm going to be very low on energy, Raj, as you said.
Rajyasree: And, uh, on, uh, charm and, uh, humor.
Abhinandan: I'm snappy and irritable today because I just can't believe we just accept this shit life of breathing in this air in Delhi. It is, I mean, my lungs are hurting, my eyes are watering. But anyway, in case you haven't already caught the interview with Shalini Parsi, [00:01:00] that was the special episode last week. Uh, do catch the full unedited interview.
Here are a few excerpts. But the full interview is available to. The new pop culture phenomena of India, Shalini Pasi. What is it like being, you know, rich and famous as opposed to merely rich?
Shalini Passi: I don't know. I would like to use, uh, this medium for extending my passion, which is art and design and philanthropy.
Abhinandan: You know, if you have one roti to give half to someone, it requires sacrifice. If you have a gazillion to give, you know, a
Shalini Passi: 10 piece. It's easier to give, I agree with you.
Abhinandan: Does that disappoint you that a reality show gets you more attention than your substantial work?
Shalini Passi: Did you get the sigh? I did. Where I was before, I had reached a glass ceiling in that.
Because that, my audience was just that much. The art audience. What is it,
Abhinandan: audience?
Shalini Passi: The art audience, people who enjoy art. That
Abhinandan: is high society. You said [00:02:00] you don't want your life being trivialised. Isn't that what shows like this can do? And this week Rahi is gonna talk about his viga and the Buckingham murderers.
Mm. And Martha. Hmm. And we have a trailer, which is that we're talk about that, that trailer, through that we discuss mindset of film stars and actors. Yeah. We come to that. But first I should say, we have two emails that are actually associated with, so before we cover the headlines, let's address those two emails that are associated with the fabulous lives of Bollywood wives.
Yes.
Rajyasree: Shreya has written, uh, I was listening to the last podcast while driving and your banter forced me to stop on the side so I could stop laughing before continuing. The Sarpanj Mampan joke, Rajesh's tax, brain, and playing tennis buck naked but with shoes on had me rolling on the floor. What was the Sarpanj [00:03:00] Mampanj?
I don't know. We are so funny. We don't remember.
Abhinandan: That doesn't sound like a funny joke, but anyway. Yeah. I think Shelja's being kind.
Rajyasree: Was there a Sarpanj joke?
Abhinandan: Obviously, I'm sure there was. Shelja is not lying. She's not a host of Awful and Awesome. She's a subscriber.
Rajyasree: Not writing fiction, you're saying? Awful
Abhinandan: and Awesome hosts lie.
Our subscribers don't.
Rajyasree: I do have one criticism though, as in Shelja has. I don't. I have many criticisms. Rajashree, it would have been great to hear what Abhinandan had to say about the fabulous lives if he'd bought you beyond two. How many episodes have you bought? Please read Shelja's I'm just giving my defense.
Doesn't matter. Rather than hear a repeat take of your opinions from the people. previous week. By the way, while I was amused by Pasi's behavior initially, by the end I quite liked her gumption, not giving in to the bullying, gamely entertaining them with her singing. I know I'd never have been able to do that.
Perhaps that kind of confidence requires lots and lots of money and To be honest, the others were all too juvenile for words with their mean girls [00:04:00] vibe. Ah, well, at least I was able to squeeze an email out of the four wasted hours of my life. Cheers for adding some humor, dad jokes, or otherwise to my life.
Thank you, Shelja.
Abhinandan: Shelja, I agree with you. There's no point hearing the same opinion over and over again. Between weeks or within the same episode, but anyway.
Rajyasree: The pollution will go up. You know, this is how God is punishing you for being too automated. He's
Abhinandan: punishing everybody. God should only punish me rather than all of Delhi.
Rajyasree: Everyone is. This is collateral damage. Because God
Abhinandan: wants me to inhale bad air. He says full Delhi suffers. Full
Rajyasree: Delhi is full Delhi.
Abhinandan: And you're happy.
Rajyasree: I'm fine. Is there another one about Bollywood?
Abhinandan: No, I think one person has said that, uh, I don't see, uh, you know, two, Anusha, dear hosts. Love your show. It's my weekly dose of pop culture, although Bengalis don't match my vibe in general.
I love Rajshri's banter with A.
Rajyasree: My vibe matches everyone. Why
Abhinandan: is your name in full and I'm only A?
Rajyasree: [00:05:00] Because your name is very long. Actually, your name is the same length as my name.
Abhinandan: Mine has 10 letters. He's left
Rajyasree: out two of my letters.
Abhinandan: But I like Abbas's guttural giggle the most. It is a bit disappointing to hear two slots.
On two episodes wasted on Bollywood Wives, in my opinion, didn't even merit one. Well, Anusha, then I don't know what you thought of last, last week's episode. But anyway.
Rajyasree: I was wondering if you could review, uh, Diplomata. I did watch the new season, which is just fabulous. So we will see whether we, uh, this thing, review it.
But thank you for listening. Someone else also, I sent it to you, Abhinandan, on LinkedIn.
Abhinandan: Yeah, but LinkedIn, we don't do LinkedIn. We, this is only subscribers who write in.
Rajyasree: But she must be a subscriber because she watched the whole, she's sent to her work. What is it called?
Abhinandan: Portfolio? Before we hear your views on things, let's get the headlines for the week.
Rajyasree: The good news is that Coldplay has announced a fourth show in India next year, citing a [00:06:00] phenomenal response to be held. This is going to be held at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Of course, it's called the Narendra Modi Stadium also. The bad news is that you can't have a couple of cold beers before listening to Coldplay because it's a dry state.
Abhinandan: But you can have fafra, kakra, dhokla. So there'll be a lot of hot there.
You can top up with a lot of chhaas.
Rajyasree: There'll be a lot of gaseous.
Abhinandan: And, uh, bhakri. And then you can go. Listen,
Rajyasree: maybe they can get Shamak Dawood to open again.
Abhinandan: Maybe. Like
Rajyasree: the
Abhinandan: Sting concert. And the good news is that Bhool Bhulaiya 3 is set to cross 300 crore in collections within 12 days of its release. And the bad news is that means Bhool Bhulaiya 4 is around the corner.
Rajyasree: Now, this is my favorite thing. The good news is that the movie adaptation of Wicked with, I can't say Wicked, Wicked with Ariana Grande has been released. And the better news is [00:07:00] that Toymaker Mattel has provided, uh, buyers with an online link on the packaging of the movie themed dolls, which you can go to and buy more.
The only problem is when people logged on, the worst news, or I don't know, maybe it's the good news again, is that the link. Was straight to an adult porn site. Straight.
Both: Straight. Means it doesn't, it doesn't stop at Cheetal for omelette or something. It goes straight. Straight.
Rajyasree: As opposed to
Both: other links that
Rajyasree: go via, it can go to a subscriber, a paywall or something.
Then he's
Abhinandan: going straight to subscribe. Why straight? This link goes straight. It goes straight. It is not a, like. You click on the link, it will go straight to you. That's very slow. It's a direct. These are Indianisms, you know, words that have no place there are put up. Too,
Rajyasree: too. Too, too much. Yeah, I love it.
Too, too much.
Abhinandan: Then another news, the bad news is there is yet another superhero show around the corner. The worst news is that show is Shaktimaan. [00:08:00] And the absolute worst news is that Mukesh Khanna is in the lead. He made the announcement in interview to N. I. Dressed as Shaktimaan. I love it.
Rajyasree: No, because I find him very scary in that Shaktimaan outro.
Remember how many people were jumping off the terrace trying to be Shaktimaan? I
Abhinandan: remember there were a couple of headlines, yeah.
Rajyasree: The good news is that Vikrant Massey, who I actually was a very big fan of, uh, has a new film out, the Sabarmati report on the Godhra riots, which will be released soon. The bad news is that Massey seems to have drawn the Hindu Khatri Mein Hai Brigade, uh, making us believe once again that celebrities should really not share their political views.
Abhinandan: I think they should, must share their political views. Because when you realize how vacuous they are. But you know, on this, I'd just like to say that, I get it. I mean, there is, this is what the trailer, right there film looks like.[00:09:00]
Vikrant Massey: I hope I, uh, fulfill and live up to your, uh, journalistic excellence.
Shalini Passi: Lost faithfully with.
Vikrant Massey: Now,
Abhinandan: clearly, the thing about this is, Rajshri, that the trailer is playing on, and this is how effective propaganda works. It has a kernel of truth, which is that Hindi journalists in broadcast
Rajyasree: are treated poorly. What?
Abhinandan: You know, I don't know if they are, but they were, you know, had lesser of a standing within the newsrooms, whether this was because the revenue was coming from the English channel, I don't know what it was, but whatever the reason that was a reality and there was a resentment, a justifiable resentment to that [00:10:00] they have taken that to a level that anyone speaking English is secular, lying, evil.
And, and this promo is, I mean, it is. And it is a, not a coincidence that all such films are coming out now and inviting this film. Uh, this is what Weran Mai had to say
Vikrant Massey: French.
So, yes, you are very disappointed, Yusuf.
Rajyasree: I am very disappointed, but then he tried to do a save. Really? There's one, uh, interview which has come out where he has said, which confused me greatly, because I was like, this is not [00:11:00] making sense. Are Madsis, uh, Hindu or Muslim or not? Because he said, my brother is Muslim.
Yeah. He is Hindu. That part I did not read. My brother is Muslim and we are very, uh, encouraging. say of each other. So I was like, if they are all Muslim, they should be, then I realized, no, his brother converted to Islam to get married. And he, I think his mother's Christian. Mother's Christian,
Abhinandan: father is something else.
In fact, he has spoken about this earlier in context of this is India. Now he's saying
Rajyasree: something. But now, because the, his other interviews are very worrying if he actually believes this. Yeh toh ghar waapse has happened with him. So,
Abhinandan: What do you think Rajshri? It is, he's just trying to market a film.
Rajyasree: I think he's just trying to market a film.
Abhinandan: Really. He doesn't believe in anything.
Rajyasree: I don't know, how can it be that all this while you've said something, he does come
Abhinandan: Just when the film is being released, you change your mind.
Rajyasree: Suddenly you become such a Hindu, uh, aficionado, to put it. Every Hindu is in danger, how Hindus are not. And this other thing [00:12:00] of carrying on saying, you don't know how we've been persecuted.
Arey, you tell me now, I'm waiting to hear. You give me five
Abhinandan: concrete examples. You have to be at the intersection of Hindu. Upper caste angst, because of course there is no, uh,
Rajyasree: casteism,
Abhinandan: Hindi speaking, in a newsroom, between 2005 and 2009, and then your persecution. So you have to be that subset.
Rajyasree: Yeah,
Abhinandan: so
Rajyasree: I also, another thing which I asked you, I said I can't understand, maybe because I'm a little dim also, but I, or maybe I can't believe Vikrant Massey is this kind of, Is in this kind of film that I asked you, I can't understand.
Are they trying to say that the, it was a hundred percent that the carriage was set on fire by Muslims. And that is what they're saying because they don't say it very clearly in the trailer. I think there are legal
Abhinandan: issues by that, but the good thing is you always had, the good news is you always had very good taste.
I like. Mr. Massey, Saif [00:13:00] Khan, et cetera. Saif is very
Rajyasree: secular. I'll have you
Abhinandan: know.
Rajyasree: Okay. I sent you some very, very nice clips of his, none of which you have acknowledged. I don't think that I have not noticed this.
Abhinandan: So now I will tell you my theory of why he thinks like this. Right. And it is. He believes it for now.
And I'll tell you why that happens. This is my theory. I'll give you three examples. One is Puneet Esar, who played Duryodhan. How? In the, uh, yeah, it was, uh, whatever. The Doordarshan. Uh, the other is Mukesh Khanna from Shaktimaan. Shaktimaan. And third is Vikrant Massey. Let me tell you about one interview that I saw Naseer Uddin Shahdev, and I've also heard him say this in person during the monsoon ready.
Mm hmm. He was like, I don't understand this. You know, to get into the character, I started walking like this. I only wore sarees or I, you know, started waxing myself. Yeah. He was like, I don't know. [00:14:00] He says you're an actor. Yeah. You are only doing something because you are not that person. But you have to use your skill to, you have to start living that character.
So he said, I don't understand why people do this. And I just, as an actor, you are told you are not that you have not experienced that now pretend you are that, that is what is acting. Now, uh, In a lot of these guys, when they are actually living the role and they're doing become the person they, you know, they start really empathizing with that character.
So I don't Punita sir had said in a, in an interview that, in fact, at that time he had used some rather harsh words for the Pandavas. He said they were cowards. They were this. It was Duryodhan was the hero. He was the strongest. He was the most righteous, et cetera, et cetera.
Rajyasree: And
Abhinandan: that is because he played Duryodhan for so long.
He believed Duryodhan was justified in whatever he did, you know, he lived. And of course, a few years later, he has made some other [00:15:00] comments about, he's also borderline Hindu. Then, I don't know whether you've heard this bizarre interview of this adult grown man, Mukesh Khanna. Of course, how smart can he be, if he goes on a public, but he is dissecting how Shaktimaan is actually.
A true superhero, and the others are fake. As in Superman and all are fake? Yeah. First of all, sir. Because Shaktimaan is
Both: Hindu.
Abhinandan: These are make believe. They're not real. So I didn't understand. He says, one of them. He's got a machine, right? I mean, made of sub metal. Oh, Iron Man, like that, yeah. aari na? At least he didn't say, ab aap
Both: dekhiye, mai urki
Abhinandan: aapko
Both: dikhata hu, and then on camera he jumps.
Abhinandan: He says, baaki kuch aur, koi makdi sa banao. So I was, I was like, I was like, these are not real people. But he was basically telling the audience that Shaktimaan [00:16:00] is actually Know Shakti, he got his, I don't know what the backstory Shaima is. And he
Rajyasree: can fly, Shakti man can fly. Yeah.
Abhinandan: But he gets his Shakti from some lovely, you know, Cosmo, some energy.
So that's why he is pure, he's Superman. But the thing is that BA is not, he's an alien. Yeah. He's not. He's not. I think when you are in acting, in showbiz, in living the make-believe you. A little bit, which is why I once said that it is impossible to remain what we, you and I call an emotional equilibrium of normal sanity in showbiz.
I don't think it's possible
Rajyasree: because you're surrounded by so many people who are not letting you be normal. Also
Abhinandan: that even we are in other spheres of life, but we still battle on. We are also surrounded by loonies very often. Some people are made to do shows with strange. But there's
Rajyasree: still maybe you have Stockholm syndrome.
Abhinandan: Yeah,
Rajyasree: it's called the [00:17:00] Calcutta syndrome in your case that you actually Understand and empathize.
Abhinandan: That's the beauty. But Rajshri Sen.
Rajyasree: Speaking of Bengalis.
Abhinandan: Yes,
Rajyasree: actually Odias.
Abhinandan: Okay,
Rajyasree: not Bengalis All right, but they're next to us. Done. So it's okay. Nice. So none There's a film which I have been dying to watch, which is finally on Amazon Prime, which I did ask Abhinandan to watch, but Abhinandan chose to interview Shalini Pasi instead in those two hours that he had free and not watch this film.
So, Swigato is Nandita Das's, uh, film. It's her second film. She done another one before, no? She directed a film before, as far as I remember.
Abhinandan: Yeah, yeah.
Rajyasree: What was it? It was a good film.
Abhinandan: Mantu.
Rajyasree: Mantu. She done. Uh, so, Nandita Das has directed this. It is, uh, starring Kapil Sharma. As a, it's, Zomato. He plays a [00:18:00] delivery agent.
It is set in Bhubaneswar. He used to be the manager of a factory. And then the factory falls during the pandemic. And to make. to earn a living, he becomes a delivery agent. And it's a very simple, sweet, short film. It's whatever, it might be one hour, 40 minutes or so. And Shahana Goswami plays his wife.
Married couple, they have two kids. She is, they are clearly educated, not Maybe not masters kind, but they have a school education. They mean bss, they're not masters
Both: kind Like
Rajyasree: they are not, not, I don't have, I have MA diploma, whatever, but I just about have a BA pass. So they are like you bs. Yeah. And uh. It is about the life of what delivery agents go through.
And small things like, which maybe people who, like I've written a lot about Zomato and [00:19:00] how they treat their agents and how people treat delivery people itself. But it's If you haven't been paying attention to delivery agents, maybe it will come as a surprise. But we know things like they have one of his colleagues tells him, can you take the package inside because they are, I'm Muslim and the package has to be delivered to some people sitting on the steps in the Mandir.
I said, I'm just scared. Maybe nothing will happen, but I'm just scared. And the way people talk to delivery agents at all. There's nothing startling which happens in this film, or unique, but it's just a very clear, yeah, and a very clear insight into also what goes to someone's head when you are a delivery agent.
You may not be doing it out of choice, right? This is the only job available to you, which is a decent, respectable
Abhinandan: You could set up a pakoda stand. If you choose not to, then you could set up a pakoda stand and get gas for free from the Nala.
Rajyasree: That's what.
Abhinandan: Or from the
Rajyasree: end. [00:20:00] People don't want to listen to
Abhinandan: Modiji, that's their problem.
Rajyasree: So, uh, so Kapil Sharma acts really well, I have to say. So that I think is quite interesting that she chose to cast Kapil Sharma. Shana Goswami always acts well. But there's, it's a feel good thing. ish kind of film because you don't come away depressed even though there's lots of depressing things that happen but um it's definitely worth a watch and i don't know why they took two years to get a release because i've heard
Abhinandan: of this before but yeah but whatever
Rajyasree: and i'm surprised that kapil sharma didn't manage to get it released on netflix which has given him the kapil sharma show it's been released on amazon he must be having some purini i
Abhinandan: mean i don't know why If you do have some capital or some clout, where you'll spend it is important.
Now, would you spend it on a film or would you save it for something else?
Rajyasree: Like that. He's been slapped with a lawsuit, na, the show.
Abhinandan: Why?
Rajyasree: Uh, Bengalis have [00:21:00] gotten upset. Bengalis are also nothing better to do.
Abhinandan: So, what, Bengalis in general have filed a case? No,
Rajyasree: not Bengali Federation. Some Federation has. Kapil Sharma and, uh Are you
Abhinandan: a member of that Federation?
Rajyasree: I checked what it was. What has happened?
Abhinandan: Babu Mushai Federation.
Rajyasree: Somebody How did they
Abhinandan: file a case
Rajyasree: against you? The Great Indian Kapil Show has got a legal notice. Over there.
We should be happy that North Indians are talking about taggar. This is how we accent who send, uh, recently received, uh, uh, this thing, the notice issued by Dr. Mandel. After Bongo Ji Maha Chaba Foundation through legal legal advisor, they've got all the detail, money control has done an in-depth report through Legal Advisor ro.
Krishna Roy has highlighted concerns over certain acts on the show. This is the least offensive. The things they do on the show, which I'm like, how are these people agreeing? Kiko Sharda, poor thing to earn [00:22:00] money, is dressing as one, uh, Nautanki Wale Wande, as Tuntun Wande. This is not offensive. Calling them offensive to Bengalis globally.
Disrespectful to the revered, revered poet and they've thrown in Salman Khan's name in this. Now, Salman Khan Productions has now released a statement saying, Arre, we have nothing to do with
Both: this. Just because I'm Salman Khan, everything y'all are doing.
Abhinandan: You can't blame him for everything. Vishnoy
Both: is coming after me, not this Mr.
Nipray Roshan. Krishna,
Abhinandan: Mr. Mondal, Dr. Mondal, Dr. Mondal, so Rajshri, I'd say Dr. Mondal should also send you a legal notice for being a disgrace to the Bangla community. No. Also, because you are not knowing. It doesn't make money.
Both: I get very upset. This is the only way I can make money. You don't
Abhinandan: know any music.
You jro,
Both: but everyone thinks I know how
Rajyasree: sweetly people are. You must [00:23:00] be singing how
Abhinandan: to Play Shingle Instrument. You don't know I love
Rajyasree: piano. Why you singing
Abhinandan: Piano is not an instrument.
Both: Instrument. All
Abhinandan: the English medium piano pianos, the cheapest piano are two and a half black. But I still know how to play it.
How does that matter? You cannot Music instruments course that piano in Bengal, they must see one piano that all of Ash has
Rajyasree: So just so you know how odd Bengali are, there's something called the bra. It's a religion and a lot of Bengali are part third had the mage weddings and funerals. They, they play the organ. Hmm. As in the, in the church, the organ that is played. Really? Yeah. And all the Brahmo Samaj men know how to play the organ.
I saw it. Very
Abhinandan: good.
Rajyasree: Fascinating. So you
Abhinandan: should find someone from the Brahmo men, uh, will not marry you. But
Rajyasree: Brahmo Samaj women, uh, quite nice.
Abhinandan: So now that, uh, we have this insight, this [00:24:00] insight, Rajshri, you can, uh, read out another couple of emails because we have a lot of feedback. By the way, we only entertain the emails of subscribers.
So if you're a subscriber, a paying subscriber, uh, you can mail us at podcasts at newsland. com. I repeat podcasts at newsland. com. And to become a subscriber, you can scan this QR code and please do, because we don't take any ads, which is why on News Laundry, we do ground reports without fear or favor, we do and say what the hell we want, uh, and we are a public funded journalism platform.
So please do scan on this QR code or click on the link in the show notes below. So not only do you get. All the unedited interviews and all the paywall content, your feedback is actually taken seriously. Yes, Rajshri.
Rajyasree: So, Anonymous, I love, every time it says Anonymous, haven't, uh, has written, haven't watched the Netflix documentary, but had listened to the Sweet Bobby podcast.
Have you listened to the Sweet Bobby podcast? Sweet Bobby, I'll tell you, when it came out, and I [00:25:00] had the same feeling as Miss Sen that I don't think I can stand. be sucked in like this. Mainly because people who know me know that I don't care about them beyond a point. No, that's not why I said. One of the first things we are told about Kirith is that she is a person who is always there for someone who needs her, irrespective of whether she knows them or not.
I am the kind of person that is there for them for X amount of time. Beyond that, deal with your shit yourself. However, batting from the sidelines is easier than being on the pitch. Kudos for Kirith for coming out of it seen and alive. Now, sweet Bobby. You should watch. It's just a one and a half hour documentary.
It's a badly made documentary by Netflix and Earth. It's based on this podcast, Sweet Bobby, which is about this woman, Keerath, who is part of the Sikh community in India. England and it's about the Sikh community in England and in Kenya and how incestuous they are basically. Like they get married within that community, everything.
She basically spent nine years chatting with [00:26:00] someone online. And, uh, And that person
Abhinandan: was not the person.
Rajyasree: She got engaged to the person she and that person
Abhinandan: on it. Yeah,
Rajyasree: because so when you watch it, at least from my, see, if you had reviewed it with me, you would have said that I am unfeeding and people are trusting and all this, but you have to be very gullible to believe because every time she's supposed to meet him, he gets shot once, then he's in coma once, then he's in the witness protection program.
Would you, after a point I'd say, this is like fantastical, right? Their lives. That is the thing that I had said it seems a little odd. Well, achche din is like that only. Like that, that's what. You keep saying, no, no, this must be true. Achche din is coming. It's coming. And Amit Shah is very convincing. Nine
Abhinandan: years versus ten, twelve years.
Bobby
Rajyasree: was also very convincing. Amit, like that.
Abhinandan: So you missed Somesh with a, E facing the other way. Yes.
Rajyasree: Just as a financial tax [00:27:00] takes away a portion of your income, a mental or cognitive tax takes up a portion of your cognitive capacity. Each task, project, or decision requires mental effort or taxes your brain to some extent.
Here, a task, project, or decision meaning exercising complex movements. Example, calisthenics, watching a movie with plots that are multi layered. Uh, such as, uh, Inception, et cetera, et cetera. All of this takes a portion of your cognitive capacity. Hence the term taxing your brain during watching a movie.
Team Rajashree.
Abhinandan: You know what this is in response to? Yeah, because
Rajyasree: you said everything is taxing our brain. What do you mean taxing our brain?
Abhinandan: Okay, Soumesh. Now you tell us about this amazing show which everyone is going on and on about and I will watch it at some point because almost every, uh, post that I've read on Twitter, the Buckingham murders.
Oh, by Hansel and Gretel, it's, I mean, most people have spoken to said [00:28:00] it's really good.
Rajyasree: No, but they were, so this is something I kept seeing every review says if only they had released the original dubbed version. Now, I watched on, unless, from the time I read that last review, in the ten minutes that I watched this film, quickly Netflix had uploaded the right version.
It was the right version when they are speaking in, like, it's not that they are speaking in English. Lipsync,
Abhinandan: it's
Rajyasree: called. It's prop.
Abhinandan: I'm just saying.
Rajyasree: Why are you shouting it out to me like that? I know what's called lipsync. Lipsync is called. That's not what it's called.
Abhinandan: And
Rajyasree: they are saying that it's, when it's the Hindi version, she's speaking in Hindi and on top they have done, uh, English dialogue.
That's why then the lips sync won't happen. So
Abhinandan: it is
Rajyasree: lip
Abhinandan: sync.
Rajyasree: No. So that's not, but this is proper, when she's speaking in Hindi, she's speaking in Hindi. Her mouth is also speaking in Hindi. When people are speaking in English, they're speaking in English. So it, that made
Abhinandan: sense to all our listeners. Like they
Rajyasree: know exactly [00:29:00] what, they know what I meant.
Abhinandan: Mm.
Rajyasree: So I read reviews saying it was very bad in fact.
Abhinandan: Oh really?
Rajyasree: So when I watched it, this is the other thing, my expectations were so low, I said this is not that bad also. It's not great. Okay. It's a crime procedural. Procedural.
Abhinandan: Is it basically, uh, uh, uh, meet, you know, meet two of, uh, the Kate Winslet show?
Rajyasree: So I was going to say, it's like, it is Kareena Kapoor's is done. I hope not Mia of Castor Bridge because I'm not mispronouncing me. Oh, it's meh. Oh, that was meh. Stupid Dima. M A R E.
Both: Oh. Mero. He's a relaxing man. Mero. Like the English man. Who's the English man? What's his name? It's Sajid Khan. Not Sajid Khan.
It's something else's name. No, it's a word. She prays. I'm just smiling. I have no idea what you're talking about. I don't know the joke. I don't know the context. You're being like me. You can wake up [00:30:00] in a party where I don't know what to say. The other person is saying, no
Rajyasree: clue what they said, but they think I'm very engaged like that.
Abhinandan: All they think in dementia. I just lost a
Rajyasree: family
Both: member.
Rajyasree: So how backing her murders is Karina is paying a detective call, as in, she's part of the police, uh, force. She's a di, she's paying someone called Babra Babra, and she's a single parent who write in the beginning day show that her son is killed. Her son, who looks like he's six or seven years old, is killed in a mass shooting.
Like someone opens gunfire in a bowling, uh, alley and her son is killed and she's dealing with that loss. She lives with her father. They have a nice relationship, father and [00:31:00] her. She is clearly quite senior and well thought out often in her profession. And she has asked for a transfer from this town because she said, I don't want to live over here anymore.
She gets transferred to, uh, PA Wing, like it looks like that in, uh, that's PP in uh, Buckingham Shop. And as she reaches, the first case that she's given is that of a boy who has gone missing. And she doesn't want to take on, so she tells her boss, she said, I don't want to take on this case. So he said, I'm sorry, in our generation, when we, someone died, we had a divorce.
We came into work the next day. That was how we dealt with it. And you have to start working. We can't pick and choose our cases. And the entire thing is about the investigation that happens. I see. And you have these. It's a whodunit. It's a whodunit. You have these Indian families. It's set in the Indian [00:32:00] community.
You have these Indian families. You see the Muslim, uh, Hindu conflicts that are there in, uh, London and all. And, uh, it's her battling her own demons and, uh, Trying to solve this. And then there is, um, she's not wearing, see this is the thing that she's acted so well when people say very often it means there's natural makeup.
So she looks like she's not wearing makeup. As opposed to unnatural makeup. No, as in she's not wearing eyeliner and all. She looks like she's not wearing makeup. So what's
Abhinandan: natural
Rajyasree: makeup? And what is?
Abhinandan: Natural makeup.
Rajyasree: Natural makeup makes you look like you're not, like you.
Abhinandan: I'm not wearing makeup,
Rajyasree: but it will make you
Both: look like you're not wearing makeup.
You're not making sense. No. Is this natural sense and you're not this an essence and you're not having any sense .
Rajyasree: Very stupid. You're, you know what, people know what I mean. You know what I mean? I don't know what you mean. I don't know what to, that natural makeup means I'm wearing foundation, everything.
Mm-Hmm. But I look like [00:33:00] I have just washed my face and put cream and come out Very little cream that do not
Abhinandan: oily face. So basically if you can detect the makeup. Then it's a natural makeup, but you can't detect it.
Rajyasree: So Phoolan Debi, Oopli Phoolan Debi Sima Biswas Biswas is, suppose it's natural makeup because she's supposed to look like she's not wearing makeup.
That she's running around in the Suppose you don't
Abhinandan: wear makeup, then it's no makeup.
Rajyasree: Then it's no makeup, but your natural makeup look should look like a no makeup look. So there's
Abhinandan: no makeup, there's natural makeup and there's unnatural makeup.
Both: No, then there's makeup.
Abhinandan: Okay, so there's
Both: There's no unnatural makeup.
You're not an alien. That's stupid. You're not a Unless you're dressed as an Ivy, whatever. Suppose you're playing an alien. Then you are wearing natural makeup for the alien. It's natural makeup. If the alien was interviewed, then you would. That person would say it's just a natural, unnatural state. So do you get it?
So basically unnatural makeup doesn't exist. Unnatural makeup doesn't really. It's like the God particle that everyone's [00:34:00] looking for but no one Yeah.
Rajyasree: Oh, just a B. A. pass doesn't mean you don't know God particle at all. This is never looked down on people.
Both: So
Rajyasree: I just felt that it's not a bad film. They always throw in one music number.
She's not doing like a disco number, but Kareena Kapoor is dancing in a disco. She is doing yeah. So
Both: like in like that film that Vijay Varma. Yeah, yeah. There was that one. So I
Rajyasree: think they put that in because she does have that vibe. She just comes into her own when she's even just vibing to music. So that was an unnecessary five minutes she's in a pub dancing.
It is not a great film. Hansal Mehta's main march. It's a film. It's a one and a half hour film. You could
Abhinandan: have watched it. I could have watched it. If you wanted to. But I can't keep my eyes open that long because the
Rajyasree: But does the air purifier in your room? Put it on and then
Abhinandan: watch, no? It's useless. With this [00:35:00] kind of air quality, it doesn't work.
So,
Rajyasree: I did think that he's made far better films. There is no real nuance to her character. She is serious, she is sad, and she is tortured. Okay. The three things that, look, she doesn't smile even once in the thing. And, uh, It's not the most complicated of, uh, story like, you know, when you finally figure out who is the person who has made sure this child is missing.
Abhinandan: It's not that not obvious. It's not, it's not. Oh, wow. That was, I didn't see that coming. Oh my God, I'm so shocked. Not, I didn't see that coming. You saw it coming.
Rajyasree: I could see, I knew that, uh, Bruce Willis was dead in the first five minutes of time. Exactly.
Abhinandan: So, so that's the thing. Science neither. Yeah, it was doesn't matter.
It was even
Rajyasree: six cents. I knew that water thing. I knew
Abhinandan: six cents is that one. But Rashid. No Bengali filmmaker has ever made a good whodunit, you know why? [00:36:00]
Rajyasree: I don't want to
Abhinandan: know. I think our audience Our audience? How do you think our audience will want to know? Because all the Bengalis already know who's done it.
So they already know. I already know I've done Dada! Shobanda! Eh, Marjit, Bruce Lee! Chho, chho, chho Okay, I want to say something. Every film is gone for What is the female version of Dada? Didi. Rajshri Didi? Murdered or, um Janitor away? How? Janitor away? You keep So no Bengali can ever make a good who done it, because the whole fucking hall in Bengal will know who has done it.
No, I'm just
Rajyasree: saying, when we used to go and watch more films earlier, Abhinandan's job And after sitting down five minutes into, you know, I figured out, we don't even know what the story is. Abhinandan's job was to figure out what the film, what is going to happen, who has murdered, you didn't do. Are you Bengali?
No. Just because your name is Bengali, Abhinandan. I would, [00:37:00] I would never. People
Abhinandan: who watch this show know who knew me from before. Anyway, so Rajshri Sen, okay, so that is that. So before we move on to the next two emails, which are giving us some very valuable feedback, I would just like to say here's a QR code.
We have brought to the election, uh, from Jharkhand and Maharashtra by reporters Jain also collaborated with us this time. Election coverage costs a significant amount of funds, resources. We don't take any ads. So we would appreciate if you scan this QR code and contribute to that project, contribute to independent media, because if media is not supported.
By you, it is going to be supported by. large industrialists and government ads. And that cannot be public interest journalism. So that is why I keep reminding you and insisting, maybe some of you get annoyed, but it's important to keep reminding you. With that, Rajshri Sen, please tell us what else is happening.
Rajyasree: Uh, Murtaza has written, Hi, can you add a fiction book review to the podcast? It doesn't have to be in every episode. You could review a book you're [00:38:00] reading or have read once a month. Okay, we can.
Abhinandan: Right.
Rajyasree: Do you read fiction? You don't read fiction that much. But Murtaza,
Abhinandan: I'm, what I'll recommend is I'll recommend from the past because like, I've often whined about in the last two, three years, my reading habits have changed so drastically because you end up reading 5000 word pieces, 8000 word pieces, you read so much of news content, which is, it kills your life, you know, your, your, Temperament changes.
I should read more fiction.
Rajyasree: No. And I also think for other people, even for you, uh, reading fiction is read for don't be picky about the fiction you read. Don't read Durjaya Dutta and all that, but, uh, read, like, Read Han Kang, the vegetarian, who's just won the Nobel, uh, she won the Nobel Prize only, I think.
Oh! She, remember that book you read? No, I thought it's been called Hong Kong. Again, you're making fun of Asians. You're making fun of Asia. You've made [00:39:00] fun
Abhinandan: of it. Han Kang? If
Rajyasree: Hang Kang, so can you.
Abhinandan: No, is it? No, I was saying that Hang Kang is actually Bengali. I said it's Hong Kong.
Rajyasree: Dr.
Abhinandan: Mondal is going to send us also.
Rajyasree: You wait now. Dr. Mondal and his lawyers will enjoy whatever. These Bengali men are quite insufferable, I just want to say. So we're getting straight away. They are really insufferable. They don't do anything themselves and are doing other. Abhinandan mentioned on ANA 372, he thinks Aatish Taseer is incredible.
You don't think Aatish as a writer is incredible? Can you recommend any particular book he likes? One that I can start with? Of the, so
Abhinandan: I'll tell you, uh, if Neha, if you are. from Delhi or have some sort of an idea. I mean, I think like many of Salman Rushdie's books, if you are politically aware, his books are a tool as you know, who [00:40:00] he's talking about.
So one is the way things were.
Rajyasree: It's
Abhinandan: excellent. It's really well written, even just as a autobiography, a fictionalized autobiography, but if you are familiar with Delhi, you know exactly who he's talking about, who is who.
Rajyasree: Because it's very poorly discussed.
Abhinandan: And, uh, but it is very well
Rajyasree: written.
Abhinandan: Yeah. Uh, Temple Goers was very good.
Temple Goers is also very good. The Twice Born is excellent. Outstanding. So, I would say start to the way things were, Ben may be the twice born, then Temple Goers.
Rajyasree: Yeah. Now, I watched the documentary Martha, on Martha Stewart. Who is Martha Stewart, Abhinandan?
Abhinandan: She was, uh, I think the first self made woman billionaire in the U.
S. who went to prison for fraud. What did she do?
Rajyasree: To become a billionaire. Not what did she do to become, go to prison, you know.
Abhinandan: She had a home furnishings. She had a very successful business. She made Vyanjan.
Rajyasree: She made Vyanjan, like me.
Abhinandan: What is Vyanjan?
Rajyasree: Food.
Abhinandan: No, Vyanjan is ingredients. Learn Hindi. No, [00:41:00] she
Rajyasree: made Oh yeah, like the mass.
Abhinandan: I'm like, theran mass, you nice
Rajyasree: curly hair,
Abhinandan: ah, ingredient. And I mean,
Rajyasree: mass, I'll speak on. And Hindi, he regret ever asking people to speak NDI after that. But Martha Stewart was the cooking queen, basically. So she, uh, so the documentary is on her life. It's directed by RJ Cutler. It's a, I think, two hour documentary on Netflix.
And it is really
Abhinandan: quite When you become billionaire, don't forget us, Harshi. I
Rajyasree: will never forget. And you tell people, she just blinked. She was so sweet. She was At heart, she was Because nobody says this. Our mothers do it.
Abhinandan: I would say that. But there's too much of video footage that I could be proved wrong.
So I cannot risk the integrity and reputation of News Laundry by such lies. No.
Rajyasree: Or
Abhinandan: we'll have to delete all the awful and awesome episodes.
Rajyasree: You just delete everything. That's the whole point when you're rich, no? I will just wipe clean. Any [00:42:00] online evidence against me, but she basically was the first female, uh, billionaire.
What was interesting is that she started off as a housewife. She had a love marriage with this Jewish businessman and she used to cook. She liked keeping home cooking. Then he said, why don't you cater, uh, some event at his office? But her catering was like next level kind of catering. Like it looked like something out of a Hollywood set and she was just very entrepreneurial.
So, but before that she worked as a stockbroker when there were no female stockbrokers. So she was a smart cookie and then she became, she started cooking, then she started catering. From catering, it's also a thing of her meeting the right people who wanted to put in money. In her businesses, she then had this [00:43:00] Omnimedia, I think it was called, her, yeah, Omnimedia, which went public and she had like 20 mag, anything Martha Stewart did was, A success.
Abhinandan: Yeah, I remember she was on the front page of everything.
Rajyasree: She was and right now Martha Stewart is, uh, she collaborates with Snoop
Abhinandan: Dogg,
Rajyasree: Snoop Dogg is the name, right? Yeah, Snoop Dogg. And they have a cooking show. Wow. And her collaboration with Snoop Dogg is like, She's bounced back after serving prison. She bounced back.
So she went to prison for, it wasn't insider trading because they, during the investigation it came out that she had already sold her shares before the news hadn't. percolated down to her, but she had lied about whether she had made that call. So she was put in for lying, which is a bit absurd, I felt. No,
Abhinandan: it's not.
Anyway, we won't get into the legal because that's also what a lot of other people, it's perjury, it's called. Yeah, so
Rajyasree: she was sentenced to five months in prison and two years of [00:44:00] probation. So she used to walk around with that ankle thing. So when it got Taken off. She had done on one of her shows. She said, oh, there's no act.
And she is pretty, yeah. Owns it. She's very very muscly. She is very, she is what many successful men are like. She is arrogant. She says, I am a brilliant person. I created this. Business empire. Oh, she's
Abhinandan: either an arrogant man or a Bengali woman. No,
Rajyasree: like Indrani. Indrani is not Bengali. Ha, she is.
Abhinandan: She also came out of prison and now she's, uh, She's
Rajyasree: doing salsa at home.
You should follow. Please follow her. And
Abhinandan: she's, The Toast of
Rajyasree: Litfests and all and she gets, she performs. I have nothing to say about Sandeep.
Both: So if Martha does it, it's wow. And when Martha has not murdered her daughter. But when, when this one does it, oh, she's alive and in the documentary.
Rajyasree: So what is [00:45:00] interesting is, so Martha Stewart is very upset with the documentary though.
Both: Why?
Rajyasree: Because she said, I had a creative collaborator contract with RJ Cutler and she basically, so the second half of the documentary is about this insider trading and all, but he shows how she bounced back, came out and reinvented herself. She feels she's
Abhinandan: been dealt with fairly.
Rajyasree: She said, I don't understand why he carried on and on about this insider trading.
And, uh, I told him to make changes and he said, no. So he's a but, so he's given interviews, he's separate. She can ask for the changes. It's up to me to final cut his mind. And he said, one of the changes she wanted was she wanted the entire documentary to be scored to rap music. So he said, obviously I'm not going to do that.
So she's quite upset about the documentary, but it is.
Abhinandan: But she's safe, but collaborator. Yeah. Like, if you make an, [00:46:00] if you make a documentary about Indrani. No, that's why I dare
Both: to remake that documentary. And you
Abhinandan: have an agreement that you will take her input and you don't take her input.
Rajyasree: Then you will never take anybody else's input because you'll be, you'll be the last scene in a car with Indrani.
And then she'll say, no, the person just stays in hiding. Why do you not understand anything? So it is, but I would say anyone who wants to be a business person or has any entrepreneurial interest, or it's a cook. So you're a cook like that woman Manjula, I think her name is on YouTube. Who's that? The oldest, uh, YouTube cook.
Who's a, she's like a millionaire now. All right. You should watch this because how this woman took, and she did not come from, she did not come from a poor background, but she had the parents were getting on perfectly, and she says, but I like the way [00:47:00] she is speaking. Like she loves her father, and she keeps saying, she said, my father was the perfect man according to me.
But when I told him that I was in love with my husband, uh, he slapped me across my face because, and she said, and she says it in that way, she said, I can still feel that slap because he said, how can you marry a Jew? And he said, he had those, you know, people of that time, like she's just explaining away the bigotry.
But I mean, it is.
Abhinandan: I get it. I mean, they're people of a certain generation. It's not unusual. It's like saying my, you know, some white American saying that my great, great, great grandfather.
Rajyasree: Did not.
Abhinandan: Did not get outraged when slaves served him because everybody that time thought that way. Yeah. I think. Well, she says it.
Rajyasree: Yeah. She says it in this sort of.
Abhinandan: Which is okay. Which is, I mean, I'm not saying that bigotry is okay, but. Narrate it without outrage is completely unacceptable. So
Rajyasree: she narrates most things other than her indictment without outrage. And then she says, like, [00:48:00] she's a little bit like a man in that sense, whatever.
She says that, uh, when she found out her husband was cheating on her, she said, for years he was cheating on me with various women. And she said that my advice to women is, never put up with it. Walk out. I stayed for a little while because, I did not realize what else I could do, but you must walk out there.
That is not. So the interviewer says, but you also cheated on your husband. So she said, but he never found out. He said, he said, but Andy's given an interview, did she walk
Abhinandan: out? She moonwalked.
Rajyasree: No, no. And this interviewer says, no, but he's given an interview that he did find out. So she said, really? So maybe that's why she's pissed off because they've kept all this.
So he said, uh, Andy said that you told him. So she said, yeah, anyway, that doesn't matter. And she's
Abhinandan: moving swiftly.
Rajyasree: So she's very cool. Yeah. She's a cool [00:49:00] chase and she's very hard nosed.
Abhinandan: So you just have to drop the E and you make it.
Rajyasree: What
Abhinandan: is
Rajyasree: that
Abhinandan: supposed to mean? You said she was a smart cookie and now she is just a smart coke.
She is so bad. So from cookie to coke. The good thing
Rajyasree: is that you are not getting into comedy as a Profession. That's a very good thing. That, that is not an option.
Abhinandan: On that note, Rajshri Sen, uh, do give us your feedback. If you have anything to say or add, uh, podcasts at newslearner. com, I repeat, podcasts at newslearner.
com. You can also subscribe and pay to keep news free, share this with others, spread the word. Become a brand ambassador for News Laundry so that we can continue to do public service journalism supported by you and not by advertisers. On that note, I'd like to thank our producers Prashant and Prayali and our sound recordist Anil.
Thank you Ms. Sen.[00:50:00]
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