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2 White Girls Talk Bollywood
2 White Girls Talk Bollywood
Author: Kim Hughes & Katie Babione
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© Kim Hughes 2023
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Welcome to your weekly dose of singing, dancing, and Bollywood Boys! Join hosts Katie Babione and Kim Hughes as they explore the fabulous world of Bollywood, and beyond. Each week they recap the plot of a different film, then choose a topic to research.
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We've been talking for months about the directorial debut of SRK's son, Aryan Khan (and, frankly, so have many others). But we have to admit, we were a bit underwhelmed by the first four episode of Ba***ds of Bollywood. Here's hoping the second half of the series gets into the irreverant satire and sharp criticism we were expecting! But in the meantime, we're loving Lakshya and Manoj Pahwa, and not minding the random appearance of some of our industry faves. Ba***ds of Bollywood also stars Bobby Deol, Sahher Bambba, Anya Singh, and Manish Chaudhari. Like what you're hearing? Remember to follow us on Instagram @2whitegirlstalkbollywood. Can't get enough Bollywood? Check out our Bollywood Bangers playlists on YouTube and Spotify. Each week, we pick our favorite songs from our movie, and add them to the playlists. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6JKuMVSYAXCW4Y3adhOrYT?si=257e5ec5ac294c7 YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0wAgkoGduQhoDYGzBFEtb07_MjBidM2t
After several weeks looking to the past, we're settling back into 2025 with Metro... In Dino. The film follows several interwoven stories of couples at various life stages as they grapple with... infidelity. That's... pretty much it. Everyone is cheating in some way, shape, or form in this one. And yet the film isn't a thorough exploration of infidelity? We're not really sure what it is, but we certainly enjoyed discussing it. And we always love to see Aditya Roy Kapur, Anupam Kher, Pankaj Tripathi, and Sara Ali Khan on our screens! Neena Gupta, Konkona Sen Sharma, Ali Fazal, and Fatima Sana Shaikh round out this ensemble cast. The film was written and directed by Anurag Basu. Like what you're hearing? Remember to follow us on Instagram @2whitegirlstalkbollywood. Can't get enough Bollywood? Check out our Bollywood Bangers playlists on YouTube and Spotify. Each week, we pick our favorite songs from our movie, and add them to the playlists. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6JKuMVSYAXCW4Y3adhOrYT?si=257e5ec5ac294c7 YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0wAgkoGduQhoDYGzBFEtb07_MjBidM2t
We're continuing our study of the Angry Young Man trope for one more week, this time with the 1975 classic, Deewaar! Unlike Sholay, this movie is rooted heavily in emotion, though we'd expect nothing less with Yash Chopra at the helm. Deewaar explores complex family dynamics while also sprinkling in some solid fight sequences and charming dance numbers. It stars Amitabh Bachchan (of course), Shashi Kapoor (and Kim apologizes for repeatedly mispronouncing his name), Nirupa Roy, Parveen Babi, and Neetu Singh. Like what you're hearing? Remember to follow us on Instagram @2whitegirlstalkbollywood. Can't get enough Bollywood? Check out our Bollywood Bangers playlists on YouTube and Spotify. Each week, we pick our favorite songs from our movie, and add them to the playlists. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6JKuMVSYAXCW4Y3adhOrYT?si=257e5ec5ac294c7 YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0wAgkoGduQhoDYGzBFEtb07_MjBidM2t
After watching our first 1970s Hindi flick last week, we needed to know more about the writers who defined that era. Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar created the Angry Young Man, and established tropes that still resonate in the industry today. This documentary, Angry Young Men, left us with almost many questions as answers. But we still enjoyed learning more about this formative chapter in Bollywood history, and you can bet this won't be our last Angry Young anything! Angry Young Men was directed by Namrata Rao. Like what you're hearing? Remember to follow us on Instagram @2whitegirlstalkbollywood. Can't get enough Bollywood? Check out our Bollywood Bangers playlists on YouTube and Spotify. Each week, we pick our favorite songs from our movie, and add them to the playlists. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6JKuMVSYAXCW4Y3adhOrYT?si=257e5ec5ac294c7 YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0wAgkoGduQhoDYGzBFEtb07_MjBidM2t
If we had a dollar for every time we've heard today's movie referenced in other South Asian films, and for every time it's come up in our research, we could probably quit our day jobs! We're finally delving into Sholay, just in time for its 50 year anniversary. The heart of the film is the friendship between Jai and Veeru, two criminals with hearts of gold. But there's revenge, romance, and LOTS of excellent horse content. Sholay was directed by Ramsh Sippy and stars Sanjeev Kumar, Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, and Jaya Bachchan. Like what you're hearing? Remember to follow us on Instagram @2whitegirlstalkbollywood. Can't get enough Bollywood? Check out our Bollywood Bangers playlists on YouTube and Spotify. Each week, we pick our favorite songs from our movie, and add them to the playlists. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6JKuMVSYAXCW4Y3adhOrYT?si=257e5ec5ac294c7 YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0wAgkoGduQhoDYGzBFEtb07_MjBidM2t
We thought it was time for a break from the bigger film industries in India to focus on one of the smaller ones: Mollywood! Specifically, Malegaon films. Superboys of Malegaon is a true story about a group of friends trying to make their film dreams a reality in their own backyard. You may laugh, you may cry, but you will definitely be inspired, because everyone deserves a chance to fly. Superboys of Malegaon was directed by Reema Kagti and stars Adarsh Gourav, Shashank Arora, Vineet Kumar Singh, and Muskkaan Jaferi. Like what you're hearing? Remember to follow us on Instagram @2whitegirlstalkbollywood. Can't get enough Bollywood? Check out our Bollywood Bangers playlists on YouTube and Spotify. Each week, we pick our favorite songs from our movie, and add them to the playlists. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6JKuMVSYAXCW4Y3adhOrYT?si=257e5ec5ac294c7 YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0wAgkoGduQhoDYGzBFEtb07_MjBidM2t
We're back this week to discuss Part 2 of Baahubali. And yes, we're spelling it differently this time. Correctly? Who can say. Anyway, we certainly enjoyed the "conclusion" (maybe) of this one-of-a-kind cinematic experience, but we're not without questions. Why is Sivagami so mean in this movie? Who are these bandits who keep showing up at inconvenient times? Where do we get our own flying swan boat? We may never know the answers, but we sure have fun talking about all of this. Baahubali 2 was directed by S.S. Rajamouli and stars Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Anushka Shetty, Sathyaraj, and Ramya Krishnan. Like what you're hearing? Remember to follow us on Instagram @2whitegirlstalkbollywood. Can't get enough Bollywood? Check out our Bollywood Bangers playlists on YouTube and Spotify. Each week, we pick our favorite songs from our movie, and add them to the playlists. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6JKuMVSYAXCW4Y3adhOrYT?si=257e5ec5ac294c7 YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0wAgkoGduQhoDYGzBFEtb07_MjBidM2t
We're finally watching a contemporary classic-- Bahubali: The Begining! It's a movie that sweeps you away like a rushing waterfall, or like an avalanche you can ride on a makeshift-sled. To celebrate the 10th birthday of this Telugu epic, we dove deep into not just all the things to praise, but some of the more problematic elements of the storytelling. Love it or hate it, you have to respect that this film is visually stunning... and we don't just mean PraBOSS's rippling biceps. Bahubali: The Beginning was directed by S.S. Rajamouli and stars Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, and Tamannaah Bhatia. See you next time for Part 2! Like what you're hearing? Remember to follow us on Instagram @2whitegirlstalkbollywood. Can't get enough Bollywood? Check out our Bollywood Bangers playlists on YouTube and Spotify. Each week, we pick our favorite songs from our movie, and add them to the playlists. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6JKuMVSYAXCW4Y3adhOrYT?si=257e5ec5ac294c7 YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0wAgkoGduQhoDYGzBFEtb07_MjBidM2t
It's two for the price of one this week as we dive into two different Bollywood adaptations from Jane Austen's classic novels: Bride & Prejudice, which is Pride & Prejudice; and Aisha, which is Emma! Turns out we had a lot to say about both movies and how successfully they situate familiar Western literary characters in modern Indian culture. Full disclosure: if you're not an Austen fan, this episode may be a bit hard to follow! Bride and Prejudice stars Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Martin Henderson, and was directed by Gurinder Chadha. Aisha stars Sonam Kapoor and Abhay Deol, and was directed by Rajshree Ojha. Like what you're hearing? Remember to follow us on Instagram @2whitegirlstalkbollywood. Can't get enough Bollywood? Check out our Bollywood Bangers playlists on YouTube and Spotify. Each week, we pick our favorite songs from our movie, and add them to the playlists. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6JKuMVSYAXCW4Y3adhOrYT?si=257e5ec5ac294c7 YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0wAgkoGduQhoDYGzBFEtb07_MjBidM2t
Happy Pride, everyone!! For this week's episode we're taking a quick vacation from India to the US. But don't worry, there's still plenty of Bollywood in this flick! Simply put, A Nice Indian Boy is a story about love. Romantic love of course, but also familial love. It's about how love looks different between different people, and how it grows and changes over time. Be ready to be hit with all the feels, in the best possible way! A Nice India Boy was directed by Roshan Sethi and stars Karan Soni, Jonathan Groff, Sunita Mani, Zarna Garg, and Harish Patel. Like what you're hearing? Remember to follow us on Instagram @2whitegirlstalkbollywood. Can't get enough Bollywood? Check out our Bollywood Bangers playlists on YouTube and Spotify. Each week, we pick our favorite songs from our movie, and add them to the playlists. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6JKuMVSYAXCW4Y3adhOrYT?si=257e5ec5ac294c7 YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0wAgkoGduQhoDYGzBFEtb07_MjBidM2t
This year we've been swinging back and forth between good and bad, high brow and low brow. This week, friends, our brows are on the floor. Jewel Thief tells the story of a "genius" diamond thief who gets roped into a heist by a conniving criminal. The movie is neither fun nor interesting, but it does have some good action and intrigue. Jewel Thief stars Saif Ali Khan, Jaideep Ahlawat, Kunal Kapoor, and Nikita Dutta. Like what you're hearing? Remember to follow us on Instagram @2whitegirlstalkbollywood. Can't get enough Bollywood? Check out our Bollywood Bangers playlists on YouTube and Spotify. Each week, we pick our favorite songs from our movie, and add them to the playlists. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6JKuMVSYAXCW4Y3adhOrYT?si=257e5ec5ac294c7 YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0wAgkoGduQhoDYGzBFEtb07_MjBidM2t
This week is Kim's Birthday pick, so we're watching one of our more recent faves-- Hi Nanna! It's a Telugu flick about a young girl who is determined to make her single dad tell her the story of her mother. It's an immensely charming and somewhat fanciful movie that packs an emotional punch. We hope you love it as much as we do! Hi Nanna stars Mrunal Thakur and Nani, and was written and directed by Shouryuv. Like what you're hearing? Remember to follow us on Instagram @2whitegirlstalkbollywood. Can't get enough Bollywood? Check out our Bollywood Bangers playlists on YouTube and Spotify. Each week, we pick our favorite songs from our movie, and add them to the playlists. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6JKuMVSYAXCW4Y3adhOrYT?si=257e5ec5ac294c7 YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0wAgkoGduQhoDYGzBFEtb07_MjBidM2t
We've been waiting for months to be able to watch and discuss this masterfully crafted movie, and now the time as come!! All We Imagine As Light is a highly acclaimed, award winning film, which might make you expect something larger than life. But in fact, it's a quiet, dreamlike, gentle film that is as subtle and complex as life itself. We follow three women as they navigate the uncertainties of their urban setting, romance, and choosing your own future. We had a lot to talk about with this one and all of the ways it made us reflect on our own lives, our present reality, and the way politics creeps into all of our stories. All We Imagine As Light was directed by Payal Kapadia and and stars Kani Kusruti, Divya Prabha, and Chhaya Kadam. Like what you're hearing? Remember to follow us on Instagram @2whitegirlstalkbollywood. Can't get enough Bollywood? Check out our Bollywood Bangers playlists on YouTube and Spotify. Each week, we pick our favorite songs from our movie, and add them to the playlists. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6JKuMVSYAXCW4Y3adhOrYT?si=257e5ec5ac294c7 YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0wAgkoGduQhoDYGzBFEtb07_MjBidM2t
Today we’re celebrating Katie’s Birthday by watching one of our faves! Chopsticks follows a woman as she hunts for her stolen car with the help of an enigmatic stranger. It’s a sweet, quiet comedy that never fails to warm our hearts. We hope you like it more than the critics on Rotten Tomatoes! Chopsticks stars Mithila Palkar and Abhay Deol. It was directed by Sachin Yardi.
Listen, friends. Some movies are good. And some movies are bad. And some movies are bad Hindi-language adaptations of good Tamil-language originals. In today's episode, we're dealing with the latter. We've once more split up so we could watch a Southern Indian film (Theri) and it's Bollywood remake (Baby John). And while neither movie is perfect, one is a charming and comedic action flick, while the other is a failed attempt at pairing comedy with a message about... human trafficking? The importance of a strong father figure? It's never entirely clear. But we often have just as much fun tearing apart bad movies as we do gushing over good ones, and here we got to do both! Also, please be aware that our discussion this week includes mention of sexual assault. Theri was directed by Atlee and stars Vijay, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, and Amy Jackson. Baby John was directed by Kalees and stars Varun Dhawan, Keerthy Suresh, Wamiqa Gabbi, and Jackie Shroff.
Our year so far has mostly been filled with violence, explosions, and a whole lot of crime. So for this week it felt lovely to sink into a compelling and quietly beautiful film like The Mehta Boys. It's the story of a young man whose already strained relationship with his father is pushed to the edge by his mother's sudden death. It's highly relatable and artistically told, and may leave you wanting to call your parents and tell them you love them. The Mehta Boys is Boman Irani's directorial debut, and he also stars in the film alongside Avinash Tiwary, Shreya Chaudhry, and Puja Sarup. Like what you're hearing? Remember to follow us on Instagram @2whitegirlstalkbollywood. Can't get enough Bollywood? Check out our Bollywood Bangers playlists on YouTube and Spotify. Each week, we pick our favorite songs from our movie, and add them to the playlists. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6JKuMVSYAXCW4Y3adhOrYT?si=257e5ec5ac294c7 YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0wAgkoGduQhoDYGzBFEtb07_MjBidM2t
Inspired by our dive into The Roshans earlier this month, this week's film is one of Rakesh Roshan's 90s classics, Karan Arjun! When two brothers are needlessly murdered by their cartoonishly villainous uncle, their mother vows they will return and seek vengeance in their next life. What follows is a horse-filled, sometimes silly, sometimes sexy, and often violent romp staring not just one, but TWO Bollywood boys! The boys in question are of course Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan, and they're joined by Rakhee Gulzar, Amrish Puri, Kajol, and Mamta Kulkarni. Like what you're hearing? Remember to follow us on Instagram @2whitegirlstalkbollywood. Can't get enough Bollywood? Check out our Bollywood Bangers playlists on YouTube and Spotify. Each week, we pick our favorite songs from our movie, and add them to the playlists. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6JKuMVSYAXCW4Y3adhOrYT?si=257e5ec5ac294c7 YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0wAgkoGduQhoDYGzBFEtb07_MjBidM2t
Our deep love for Hrithik Roshan is far from a secret. So naturally, when we heard about this documentary, we knew we had to watch it! And while it may not have lived up to all of our expectations, we always enjoy learning more about the industry. And we've certainly been inspired to explore some Roshan Family Classics... stay to find out which ones! Like what you're hearing? Remember to follow us on Instagram @2whitegirlstalkbollywood. Can't get enough Bollywood? Check out our Bollywood Bangers playlists on YouTube and Spotify. Each week, we pick our favorite songs from our movie, and add them to the playlists. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6JKuMVSYAXCW4Y3adhOrYT?si=257e5ec5ac294c7 YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0wAgkoGduQhoDYGzBFEtb07_MjBidM2t
It's hard to know where to start when talking about our movie this week. Jigra falls into the genre of action/heist/prison break films, but at it's core is the emotionally rich relationship between siblings. Satya will stop at nothing (literally, nothing) to free her wrongfully convicted brother from a foreign prison. And what begins as a complex and well-crafted story of trauma and desperation eventually devolves into utter madness. But we couldn't get enough of Alia Bhatt, who exudes girl power, and honestly that's all we need to thoroughly enjoy any flick. Jigra was directed by Vasan Bala and stars Vedang Raina, Vivek Gomber, Manoj Pahwa, and Rahul Ravindran alongside our girl Alia. Like what you're hearing? Remember to follow us on Instagram @2whitegirlstalkbollywood. Can't get enough Bollywood? Check out our Bollywood Bangers playlists on YouTube and Spotify. Each week, we pick our favorite songs from our movie, and add them to the playlists. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6JKuMVSYAXCW4Y3adhOrYT?si=257e5ec5ac294c7 YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0wAgkoGduQhoDYGzBFEtb07_MjBidM2t
We're taking another trip to Tollywood, this time for the latest film from our fave pan-Indian boy! Dulquer Salmaan stars as Baskhar, a family man living in middle class poverty, who uses his savvy and charm to amass an unhealthy amount of money. You know what they say: more money, more problems, and that's certainly the case when you acquired that money through less than legal means. Lucky Baskhar was written and directed by Venky Atluri, and Meenaakshi Chaudhary stars opposite DQ. Like what you're hearing? Remember to follow us on Instagram @2whitegirlstalkbollywood. Can't get enough Bollywood? Check out our Bollywood Bangers playlists on YouTube and Spotify. Each week, we pick our favorite songs from our movie, and add them to the playlists. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6JKuMVSYAXCW4Y3adhOrYT?si=257e5ec5ac294c7 YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0wAgkoGduQhoDYGzBFEtb07_MjBidM2t



