The Bitter Bongs

Comfort Watching in a World on Fire

2025’s been overwhelming — political unrest, personal stress, illness, grief... and just when you think it can’t get worse, the news proves you wrong. In this episode, I share the shows, movies, and one very special book that got me through it all. From British countryside comfort to chaotic MTV nostalgia and a K-drama that made me cry into my chai — this is my survival list. If you're barely holding it together, you're not alone.

Why We Love a Good Cozy Kill: A Podcast Exploration - Part 2

In this second episode of The Bitter Bongs Season 2, we continue talking about cozy murder mysteries.

Why We Love a Good Cozy Kill: A Podcast Exploration - Part 1

Join us as we dive into the world of cozy murder mysteries! We'll discuss the unique charm of these gentle crimes, exploring why we love them so much. From quaint English villages to charming small towns, we'll uncover the secrets behind these timeless tales. But the fun doesn't stop there! We'll share our top picks for long-running cozy mystery shows that have captivated audiences for decades. Get ready to revisit old favorites and discover new gems. So grab a cup of tea, cozy up, and let's unravel the mysteries together!

Weekly Watchlist - 12th September - Part 2 - Bhoot Police, Helmet, Cinderella, Black Widow

We are back after a break of 2 weeks and we have a lot of TV shows and movies to talk about. So this week's watchlist will be in 2 parts. In this 2nd part, we start with the horror comedy Bhoot Police available on Hotstar which stars Saif Ali Khan, Arjun Kapoor, Yami Gautam and Jacqueline Fernandez. It is a story about 2 brothers who normally con people on the pretext of getting rid of ghosts. Yami Gautam finds them to save them from a ghost (Kichkandi) that is haunting her tea estate and during the process they come across actual ghosts.  Next we talk about Helmet available on Zee5 and starring Aparshakti Khurana, Pranutan Behl, Abhishek Banerjee and others. The movie centres about the social cause of using contraceptives and how people have a stigma and prejudice against buying condoms in public for the fear of public humiliation.  Next we move on to English movies, the first of which is Cinderella available on Amazon Prime and starring Camilla Cabello and others. It is a modern retelling on Cinderella in the form of a musical and deviates from the original story by Cinderella an independent and enterprising woman rather than a damsel in distress  Finally we talk about Black Widow starring Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh, Rachel Weisz, David Harbour and others and is available on Hotstar. It follows the story of Natasha Romanov in the timeframe between Captain America : Civil War and Avengers : Infinity War where she traces her origins and searches for her pretend parents and sister.

Weekly Watchlist - 12th September - Part 1 - Boyfriends and Girlfriends, The Empire

We are back after a break of 2 weeks and we have a lot of TV shows and movies to talk about. So this week's watchlist will be in 2 parts.  In the 1st part, we talk about the Hoichoi webseries Boyfriends and Girlfriends starring Rwitobroto Mukherjee, Riddhi Sen, Ishaa Saha, Ujan Chatterjee, Adrija Roy and Madhurima Ghosh. It is a story about three friends and their respective partners and what happens when 2 of them are involved with the same girl which initially leads to fights but eventually friendship prevails.  We next talk about the historical fiction called The Empire available on Hotstar starring Shabana Azmi, Kunal Kapoor, Dhrasti Dhami, Dino Morea, Aditya Seal, Imad Shah, Rahul Dev and others. It is based on the novel series Empire of the Moghul by Alex Rutherford and traces the life of Mughal Emperors starting with Babur. The first season sees the rise of Babur from when he was 14 years old to the time when he defeats Ibrahim Lodi and takes control of Hindustan and subsequently dies.