A dramatic love triangle revolving around Nandini, her lover Sameer, and her husband Vanraj. In this episode, we discuss patriarchy in Indian families, men making decisions for women, and love vs duty (i.e. arranged marriage).

Ganga, a simple Indian girl, is set to marry the American born-and-raised Rajiv until she realizes that they are incompatible. In this episode, Karan and Shazma break down the trope of NRI nostalgia.

TBC

One of the most successful Indian films in history, DDLJ is the penultimate Bollywood love story.Raj and Simran fall in love while on a trip to Europe, against her father’s wishes, who Raj must win over. Karan and Shazma talk about love in the diaspora, displacement and the idealized homeland.

A festive extravaganza that tells the tale of Prem and Nisha, who fall in love over the course of their brother and sister’s wedding celebrations. In this episode, Karan and Shazma discuss sanskari values, the role of women in the South Asian family, and what we sacrifice for our families.

A remake of Hollywood’s “A Kiss Before Dying” (1956 & 1991), Baazigar (1994) gives the Bollywood-masala take on the anti-hero, revenge-noire genre. We’ll discuss the classic trope of revenge, our unique sense of justice, and the anti-hero within the lens of a Bollywood film.

Baazigar (1993)

Director: Abbas-Mustan

Starring: Shahrukh Khan, Kajol, Shilpa Shetty

In this episode, we discuss Beta (1992) and the deification of motherhood and enmeshment in South Asian families. Raju, the wealthy only child of a widowed multi-millionaire, worships his stepmother Laxmi. When Raju meets and marries Saraswati, he discovers the truth about Laxmi’s mother love (spoiler alert, she was a gold-digger).

Beta (1992)

Director: Indra Kumar

Starring: Anil Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit, Aruna Irani

Our take on a classic: Dil (1990). A quintessentially 90s rich girl-poor boy enemies-to-lovers story, our protagonists face off with their their mean dads in their quest to love and live freely. Through Raja and Madhu’s characters, we examine the tropes of socio-economic class as a determinant/barrier of marriage.

Correction: Our bad, Dhadak was a remake of the 2016 Marathi film, Sairat. In the podcast, we mistakenly attributed Sairat as a South Indian film. Sorry filmy friends.

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Dil (1990)

Director: Indra Kumar

Starring: Aamir Khan, Madhuri Dixit, Anupam Kher, Saeed Jaffrey

CBFC Certification: A