Shows
Calcutta ArthouseEpisode 14: Peeping TomsGreetings from the snowy North! To close out the year, we sat down to discuss Uri Zohar's Peeping Toms, a cult classic of questionale taste, and talk beach life, nihilism, French new wave, speedos, Mediterannean masculinities and of course...no, wait, we forgot the biscuits this time!
CW: sexual assault, sexual harassment, scenes of adult nature.
2021-12-3046 minCalcutta ArthouseEpisode 13: Salah ShabatiWe're BAAACK! After much delay, we're finally back with season 2 of Calcutta Arthouse. This season, we move from the tropic heat of West Bengal to the humid shores of the Mediterannean, for a deep - but still irreverent - dive into the films of Isreal. For our season opener, we sat down to watch Salah Shabati, and talk immigrtaion, integration, agricultural socialism, and of course, buiscuits. Join us for Tel-Aviv Maintream.
2021-12-0746 min
Books 1-5: Action epics in the 00'sThe Last Legion (2007), with Ayelet Haimson Lushkov & Pramit ChaudhuriSometimes we review movies we're very passionate about and sometimes we review The Last Legion. Fortunately we have special guests Ayelet Haimson Lushkov and Pramit Chaudhuri, hosts of Calcutta Arthouse Podcast, to save Rome(?) with us. Where to even begin with this one. It's a movie where every scene and line of dialogue competes to be the most absurd, confusing or just ridiculously hammy thing every put to screen. There's something to be unpacked about the way this movie wholeheartedly embraces a lot of misconceptions about the "decline and fall" of the Roman Empire, including: Rome was an inherently...2021-10-261h 17Calcutta ArthouseEpisode 12: Chokher BaliA special bonus episode! Just as we were about to despair, we found a copy of Choker Bali, the Aishwarya Rai Tagore movie, and so we sat down to discuss widowhood, tea, novelistic cinematography, and intertexuality. And of course, Pramit takes back any thing bad he ever said about Aishwarya Rai. 2021-07-1743 minCalcutta ArthouseEpisode 12: Choker BaliA special bonus episode! Just as we were about to despair, we found a copy of Choker Bali, the Aishwarya Rai Tagore movie, and so we sat down to discuss widowhood, tea, novelistic cinematography, and intertexuality. And of course, Pramit takes back any thing bad he ever said about Aishwarya Rai. 2021-07-1748 minCalcutta ArthouseEpisode 11: Season Wrap-Up! It's been a hot minutes, but we are back with the season 1 finale! Pramit and Ayelet discuss the most memorable moments of each film, our favorites and least favorites, big surprises, and sound effects! We also tease our next season, coming soon to your favorite podcast app! 2021-07-071h 01Calcutta ArthouseEpisode 10: Pratidwandi and Padatik A double-header, biscuit round-up, and Naxalites. This week has something for everyone.
If you want to help the unfolding COVID crisis in India, here are some suggestions:
Tribal Connect: https://www.facebook.com/Tribal-Connect-109831657511643
India Development and Relief Fund: https://www.idrf.org/get-involved/make-a-gift/
Direct Relief: https://secure.directrelief.org/site/Donation2?df_id=2924&mfc_pref=T&2924.donation=form12021-05-131h 10
Calcutta ArthouseEpisode 9: Goopy Gyne Bhaga ByneFinally, a bit of comic relief! In this episode, we tackle West Bengal's beloved children's classic, Goopy Gyne Bhaga Byne, a tale of musicianship, adventure, and magic. We also take in the Mahabarata, funky outfits, experimental jazz, the Wizard of Oz, Alexander Lemtov (#LemtovForever), and of course, biscuit report! 2021-05-0649 minCalcutta ArthouseEpisode 8: CharulataAyelet and Pramit sit down to discuss Charulata, probably our favorite movie so far. We take in wallpapers, politics, Hollywood glamour, the Bengal Renaissance, and get deep into triangles (so many triangles). We also bring a new - salacious! - biscuit, and digress into our newest obsession, Eurovision: The Story of Fire Saga. 2021-04-221h 04Calcutta ArthouseEpisode 7: The Big City In today's episode, we discuss The Big City, get both feisty and political, plus a double biscuit feature! In a particularly irreverant departure, Ayelet demands a feminist remake starring Aishwarya Rai and Melissa McCarthy, and Pramit gets into class dynamics and very full episode synopses - and we both agree that the forgotten heroine of this film is in fact Edith. Oh, Edith. 2021-04-141h 00Calcutta ArthousePick Ups 1: DeviWe're excited to introduce a new feature: Pick Ups! An occasional series of mini episodes, Pick Ups is the place for all (well, some) the clever things we should have said but didn't. In this episode, we revisit fan-favorite Devi, to discuss names and tantric sacrifices. It's a slightly dark turn to our usual irreverence, but we hope you enjoy. 2021-04-0425 minCalcutta ArthouseEpisode 6: Cloud Capped StarIn today's episode, Ayelet and Pramit welcome a new director to Calcutta Arthouse, and despite not having a new buiscuit to report, we do discuss hipster glassess, the Uselessness of Man, and showboating in a saree. And also TB, because there is always a sting in the public health tail. 2021-03-2559 minCalcutta ArthouseEpisode 5: DeviOvercoming many technical obstacles, Ayelet and Pramit start out frivolously discussing casting options (Aishwarya Rai v. Liam Hemsworth), and conclude seriously by talking about the Abused Goddesses Campaign, mental health, and domestic abuse. In amongst all this, we also manage to take in the biscuit of the week (alfajores), the T20 series, and Megahn Markle. 2021-03-181h 04Calcutta ArthouseEpisode 4: The Music RoomJust in time for SXSW, we sit down to discuss the intersection of music, class and art. In addition, Pramit explores alternative spellings, Ayelet is feeling judgy, and we have opinions about biscuits. 2021-03-101h 05Calcutta ArthouseEpisode 3: Apur SansarBack to normal programming, Ayelet and Pramit close out the Apu Trilogy with a robust discussion of colorization, cockroaches, flutes, and that Jimmy Anderson over. But especially flutes. Shownotes on our Twitter account: @ThatArthousePod. 2021-02-241h 12Calcutta ArthouseFederalize it! (or: The Snow)This is a special bonus episode, in which we talk about what has been going on in Texas over the last week, and how we survived it with the kids. Our tone is lighthearted as usual, but the tragedy here in Texas is real. If you can and want to help, this is a good collection of suggestions: https://www.texasmonthly.com/news/how-to-help-texans-recover-from-the-winter-disaster/
For more local help, Austin Mutual Aid has a gofundme page here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/kick-the-cold-austin-mutal-aid
We'll be back to our regular programming next week.2021-02-2042 minCalcutta ArthouseEpisode 2: AparajitoIn our second episode, we take on Aparajito (1956), the second instalment of the Apu trilogy. Join us as we discuss tea making, Lady Bird river, our mothers, and go on a very opinionated tangent about daal. 2021-02-1159 minCalcutta ArthouseEpisode 1: Pather PanchaliKicking things off with the first of Satyajit Ray's Apu Trilogy, Ayelet and Pramit discuss color cinema, trains, poverty, gender, and, of course, Zootopia. 2021-02-0556 minCalcutta ArthouseIntroducing Calcutta ArthouseWelcome to Calcutta Arthouse, an irreverent and uniformed look at the Parallel Cinema of Bengal. Ayelet and Pramit discuss their movie viewing credentials (none), their plans for the podcast (many), their kids (feral), marxism (not really), and, of course, cricket. 2021-02-0337 min