First Day First Show

Yeh Droh Kaal Hain

Tis the season of betrayal, we take a look at the magnificent Drohkaal by Govind Nihlani. With its harsh look at cost of insurgency and counter insurgency on the police lives, the movie is helmed by possibly the 2 most trained actors from the then Bollywood. We also contrast the approach taken by Govind Nihlani vis-à-vis the more mainstream remake in Tamil and Telugu by Kamal Hassan and P C Sreeram Catch us on an  intense chat about  this classic dedicated to a century of cinema.

Kuch Kuch Ho Gaya (Part 2)

Part-1 was about costumes and characterisations. Here, we continue having a blast as we uncover some K-Jo tropes in KKHH that are seen in his other movies, we discuss the treatment of gender ("saree seduction", anyone?), the lack of sensitivity to personal space & privacy, the astrological and cultural references in the movie, and the Three Bs of KKHH. Curious to know what we said and voice your own too? Click play, enjoy the show, and tweet us at @fdfspod to let us know.

Kuch Kuch Ho Gaya (Part 1)

Kuch Kuch Hota Hai exploded on the scene in 1998 with bubblegum colours, product placement, and a surprise guest star. It  was a heady brew of catchy Bollywood tunes set in an impossibly hep fictional Indian college, and a love triangle with echoes of Archie, Betty, and Veronica. It attempted to bridge modernity and tradition, gender roles, love, marriage, and children—with different degrees of success.  Or failure? Relive it with us and decide. Rani Mukerji's NRI character singing "Jai Jagadeesh Hare" to prove Indianness, Kajol's "tomboy" look vis-a-vis attractiveness and suitability for matrimony, and the (impossible?) ideals set for love and marriage, and the role a young daughter has to shoulder. These are some of the talking points for which our boys are joined by FDFS' first guest, Ishani. Enjoy the show.

Aashiqui ke liye

Who picks rank outsiders to debut as the lead pair in a musical? Who risks a movie poster in which the protagonists' faces are hidden? Who takes a chance on a failed music director duo for scoring the songs? Mahesh Bhatt, that's who. His film Aashiqui, the game-changing musical sensation of 1990, is on the anvil with Pat, Bugs, and Srini weighing in on its feminist themes, relationship politics, and music. Always the music. It blasted away the awkward blurb ("Love makes life live") and the bad acting from the lead pair, and brought in a new era. Aashiqui was Nadeem-Shravan's 20th gritty outing, redeeming what must have been a long period of struggle and failure. They finally tasted success, and how! Kumar Sanu seemed to have been in the right place at the right time, having entered the Hindi film industry only a year before. Aashiqui's lilting melodies, Sanuda's powerful voice (supported by Anuradha Paudwal), and the socially aware storyline, all combined to make history. Enjoy the show.

Baat Dil Se..

Srini, Pat, and Buggy trip on how the best ingredients came together for this huge crossover production. A smorgasbord spanning box-office appeal and critical acclaim with the likes of Shah Rukh Khan, Manisha Koirala, Mani Ratnam, Shekar Kapur, A. R. Rahman, Gulzar, and Santosh Sivan, means you can't go wrong. Or....can you? Is Dil Se a case of Mani Ratnam shining as helmsman, or one of too many cooks spoiling the broth? Compare notes with us, and relive your own single-screen experience as you hear us recount our experiences. Dil Se is on Netflix, so get a watch-party going. https://www.netflix.com/in/title/17671454 Tweet us at https://twitter.com/fdfspod.