Shows
The Seen and the Unseen - hosted by Amit VarmaDance Dance For the Halva WallaYou can lose yourself in cinema -- and you can find yourself in it. Jai Arjun Singh and Subrat Mohanty join Amit Varma in episode 294 of The Seen and the Unseen to talk about the films in their lives, why we should watch old films, why we should watch new films, why Bollywood and Hollywood and other woods are all great, and why we live in a wonderful technicolor world. This episode is a celebration of cinema! (For full linked show notes, go to SeenUnseen.in.) Also check out: 1. Jai Arjun Singh on Twitter and...
2022-09-124h 50
Haal-Chaal Theek Thaak HaiWhat India Gave To The World & The Incandescent Talent Of Renu SalujaWhen we speak about India and its relationship with the world, we often focus on what we have received from the world. But what about what we have given to it? This doesn't get covered as much. Even when it does, we go to the extremes. Either we were a vishwaguru or our only contribution is 'zero'. Is there a more nuanced view? That's what we explore in this episode. What have we given to the world? From the stories of our mythology that have parallels in Persian and Greek myths, the versions of Ramayana and Mahabharata...
2020-11-073h 18Haal-Chaal Theek Thaak HaiSwanand Kirkire On Popular Culture & S.P. Balasubrahmanyam - A Voice For The AgesAimless conversation is therapy. It is good for the soul. We drifted a lot in this episode. Because we had Swanand Kirkire as our guest. With Swanand we wandered all over the cultural landscape of India – the bylanes of Indore and its usal-poha, the ragas of Kumar Gandharv, the social commentary of Dada Kondke films, the multi-faceted genius of B.V. Karanth or the forgotten lyricism of Kamlesh Pandey. Swanand's genius stems from his deep immersion in our popular culture and it shone through in this 2-hour long conversation. What also came across was his honesty, his conscious engagement wi...
2020-09-302h 49Haal-Chaal Theek Thaak HaiFood In Our Lives & Mallika-e-Ghazal Begum Akhtar"After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one's own relatives." - Oscar Wilde Good food does that and more. We talk about food in this episode – its salience in our celebrations, its magic in evoking memories, being a marker of our identity, in experiencing the divine and as an expression of love. There's no stopping our appetite to talk about food. From Gandhi's letters and Vivekananda's wanderings to Naipaul's distaste and Rushdie's memories, in the chaats of Assi Ghaat, the mahaprasad of Puri, in films like The Lunchbox and Maya Bazaar – food is ever...
2020-09-172h 59Haal-Chaal Theek Thaak HaiFinding Art In Bureaucracy & The Renaissance Man That Was Salil ChowdhuryEvery revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy. —Franz Kafka We don't take such a dim view. There's more to bureaucracy than the dreary reign of rules, files and approvals. We discuss the portrayal of bureaucracy in popular culture in this episode. We talk and talk – of the dry humour in Yes Minister, about Kafkaesque nightmares, on the satire in Krishan Chander's Jamun Ka Ped, about Harishankar Parsai's vyangya, of Madna in English August or Travancore of T.S. Pillai and the darkness in Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro. Bure...
2020-09-082h 46Haal-Chaal Theek Thaak HaiThe Lifeline Of India And That Magical Sparsh Of Sai Paranjpye"Mother, I sit by my window for hours on end, And watch the long trains rumble past" (Trains, Humayun Kabir) Trains. Watching them, travelling in them or waiting for them. Trains offered us an escape. Watching the world pass by through its windows, the fleeting glimpses of incomplete lives outside or falling asleep to their rhythmic sways. We discuss trains and the long journeys we made in them. The books we read in them, the books that featured them, the songs, the films and the legends about trains. It is said...
2020-08-302h 46Haal-Chaal Theek Thaak HaiThe Voice From The Sky And The 'King of Forest' Among Composers"I'd sit alone and watch your light My only friend through teenage nights And everything I had to know I heard it on my radio" (Radio Ga Ga: Roger Taylor, Queen, 1984) We couldn't agree more. Radio was our friend. It united us. It forged our national identity. And it brought the world to our homes. It is often said politics, films and cricket are what bind India. Radio made that cohesion possible. In today's episode we talk about Radio and its profound impact on our society. The iconic mournful...
2020-08-231h 32Haal-Chaal Theek Thaak HaiThe Variegated Shades of Truth And Guru Dutt's 'Eyes'Twain wrote: "The Lie, as a recreation, a solace, a refuge in time of need, the fourth Grace, the tenth Muse, man's best and surest friend, is immortal, and cannot perish from the earth." We examine this immortality of the Lie and its bete noire, the Truth, in today's episode. The legend of Ashwathama, the contribution of Dharmvir Bharti to our intellectual landscape, the unreliable narrator of Andhadhun, the straight-as-an-arrow Dharmendra in Satyakam and the lies in the fiction of Premchand and RK Narayan – we look for the role of deception and honesty in all of them. Is...
2020-08-161h 34Haal-Chaal Theek Thaak HaiEp3 Rains In Our Culture And A Forgotten Legend Of Indian Cinemaयही तो है मौसम बारिश का मौसम, जयपुर में चाय-पकौड़ी और बैंगलोर में फ़िल्टर कापी-भज्जी के साथ कुछ गप-शप, बारिश के ही आस-पास. महाकवि कालीदास से टैगोर तक और राज कपूर से लेकर अयान मुखर्जी तक, माईथोलॉजी के यावक्री से लेकर, इतिहास में सिकंदर और ताना-रीरि तक* बारिश का साहित्य, सिनेमा और संगीत. कुछ सुने, कुछ अनसुने रिमझिम के गीत.. बात आषाढ़ का एक दिन से लेकर गाईड और थोड़ा सा रूमानी हो जायें तक और हाशिये पर डेविड, गिरिश कर्नाड, रामसे और बहुत कुछ आपसे इतनी गुजारिश है आईये भीग लें के बारिश है स्पॉटलाईट में इस बार भारतीय सिनेमा के एक लेजेंड, जिनका सिनेमा इतिहास में स्थान तो बहुत ऊंचा है, लेकिन उनका ज़िक्र उतना नहीं हुआ, जितने वो योग्य रहे. भारतीय सिनेमा को उनका योगदान अप्रतिम है. सत्यजीत रे, रमेश सिप्पी, व्ही शांताराम, श्याम बेनेगल, सुभाष घई, यश चोपड़ा के पसंदीदा सिनेमाई व्यक्तिव.. सुनिये उनके खास कारनामों के बारे में, के कैसे हिन्दुस्तानी सिनेमा की छोटी बड़ी फ़िल्मों को बेहद-खास फ़िल्में बनाने में उनका योगदान रहा. और साथ में बात इन दिनों पढ़ी जा रही किताबों की, देखी जा रही फ़िल्मों की और नये संगीत की कुछ सिफ़ारिशों के साथ.. Rains! The smell of the wet earth. The gurgle of the small streams running down the roads in a downpour. Chai, pakodas and conversations. In today's episode we discuss rains in our culture. From Kalidasa, Tagore, T.S. Pillai to Raj Kapoor, Ramsays and Mani Ratnam. The myth of Yavikri, Alexander's thwarted ambitions and the legend of Tana-Riri. Rains have a role in all of them. We discuss the influence of rains in our books, films and songs. Of romance, longing, joy and dread. Every emotion that Indian monsoons evoke we cover in our ramble today. In spotlight, we turn our attention to one of India's greatest artists who has rarely got his due. An artist who Ray called indispensable and many global film magazines considered among Top 10 in his craft. We recall his unparalleled contribution to the soundscape of Indian cinema that he strode like a colossus for over three decades. We close with our usual recommendations on what we are reading, writing and listening to these days. LinkOuts: The definitive rain song playlist by Pavan John Holcombe's translation of Kalidasa's Meghdootam Sangeeta Gundecha on Meghdootam in Hindi Studio with Manish Gupta Thoda Sa Rumani Ho Jaayen by Amol Palekar Songs of Rain of Tagore: Various Artists The music of Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl Credit De Do Yaar: A protest anthem by lyricists of India Books: Ashaad Ka Ek Din: a play by Mohan Rakesh Vellapokkathil by Thakazhi Sivsankara Pillai; translated by Santhosh Alex & Edited By Minu Ittyipe Quest: The Genius of Mangesh Desai by Sucheta Lad Chasing The Monsoon: A Modern Pilgrimage Through India by Alexander Frater Remainder by Tom McCarthy Show Music: Raaj J Konwar
2020-08-091h 35Haal-Chaal Theek Thaak HaiEp2 Migration In Our Popular Culture, Jaidev and A Surprise At The End02 August, 2020 शुक्रिया दोस्तो, हाल-चाल ठीक-ठाक है के पहले एपिसोड को समय देने के लिये और आपकी प्रतिक्रियाओं के लिये बहुत सारा शुक्रिया. कोरोना काल ज़ारी है, और इस हफ़्ते दूसरा एपिसोड लेकर हम हाज़िर हैं जिसमे इस बार की बात-चीत का विषय है मजदूरों का पलायन, हमारे देश में कोरोना काल की सबसे मार्मिक घटनाओं में से एक, और बड़े स्तर हुआ पे ये पलायन हमें विभाजन के समय हुए बड़े पलायन की याद दिलाता है.. इस एपिसोड में पॉपुलर कल्चर ने किस तरह से विभिन्न किस्म के पलायनों का दस्तावेजीकरण/डॉक्यूमेंटेशन किया है, इस पर चर्चा करते हुए धरती के लाल, दो बीघा ज़मीन, सुबर्नरेखा जैसी फ़िल्मों के साथ साथ ये चर्चा भी कि शैलेन्द्र ने अपने गीतों में इस पलायन को जितनी बखूबी से पेश किया है वो एक सांस्क्रूतिक विचारक के तौर पर उनकी कला को एक नया आयाम देता है. स्पॉट-लाइट में इस बार संगीतकार जयदेव हैं जिनकी ३ अगस्त को १०२वीं जयंती है. इसके अलावा हमेशा की तरह बातें हाल में पढ़ी किताबों की और देखी फ़िल्मों की.. और अन्त में एक खास पेशकश.. Friends, We are grateful for the love and the feedback you shared with us for our first episode. In today's episode we talk about migration. The pandemic has led to the exodus of millions of our fellow citizens from our cities. We look at migration in popular culture and trace its origins from the times of Saigal, Mehboob Khan, Ritwik Ghatak, Ray, Bimal Roy and Raj Kapoor. We discuss the poetry of Shailendra that captured the lived experience of migrants and the gentle yet deep impact his words had in our cinema and wider culture. In our spotlight section, we profile Jaidev – a music director who often doesn't get his due despite an oeuvre that's rich in Indian music heritage and quality. On the eve of his birth anniversary, we pay our tribute to his genius through films like Hum Dono, Gaman, Gharonda and Reshma Aur Shera. We close with our what we are reading, listening and watching section. And we have a surprise guest at the end. LinkOuts Books A House For Mr. Biswas (V.S. Naipaul); Interpreter Of Maladies (Jhumpa Lahiri); Jhoota Sach (a novel in 2 volumes by Yashpal); Gated Republic by Shankkar Aiyar; Dastan-e-Mughal-e-Azam (Rajkumar Keswani); Parakhnali (Akbar & Azam Quadri) Films Subarnarekha (1965): The third part of Ritwik Ghatak's partition trilogy
2020-08-021h 31
Haal-Chaal Theek Thaak HaiChina in Indian popular culture, Haqeeqat and Manohari SinghIn this first episode, Pavan and Subrat talk about their backgrounds, China's presence (or absence) in our popular culture, the legendary instrumentalist of Hindi film music, Manohari Singh, and what they are reading, listening and watching. They talk about how China appears in films like Dr. Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani, Haqeeqat, Bhool Na Jaana and Neel Aaksher Neechey. They discuss trivia about the combination of Madan Mohan and Kaifi Azmi, the ensemble cast and the roles of Bhupinder, Balraj Sahni and Jayant in the making of the Haqeeqat. They consider the invasion of Chinese martial a...
2020-07-261h 13
2020-07-2600 min