Dr Mallika Sarabhai, famed dancer and the daughter of the space scientist Dr Vikram Sarabhai and the legendary dancer Mrinalini Sarabhai, spoke to The Quint about the real stories behind the recently released show 'Rocket Boys,' based on the lives of the Indian science pioneers Dr Homi Bhabha and Dr Vikram Sarabhai.  In this special podcast, she recounts the memories of her parents and how Dr Bhabha introduced them. She also shares anecdotes from her childhood and the day India launched its first rocket. Reflecting on the influences of her parents, she talks about how they came to shape her own worldview. She also gives a sneak-peek into the upcoming season of the show, while describing the collaborative process that went into its making.  Tune in to the podcast to know more! Voiceover and interview: Raunaq Saraswat

News and Views

943: 'Time We Tell Stories Of Real Life Heroes': Dr Mallika Sarabhai On 'Rocket Boys'

The duration is a little over two hours and once we are done watching it, Gehraiyaan leaves us feeling absolutely… nothing. We feel precious little for all that transpired on screen, the characters their motivations, probably just a little sad that Anaita Shroff Adjania isn’t your stylist because it is goddamn hard to take one's eyes off Deepika Padukone. But that’s about it and this is Gehraiyaan’sbiggest undoing. It tries to show us a lot but makes us feel very little. While the title literally means “depth” that’s precisely what the approach lacks. Tune in! VO: Stutee Ghosh

942: ‘Gehraiyaan’ Movie Review: Deepika Padukone Shines in a Film With No Depth

Bollywood steadfastly continues on its mission to set “things straight” as far as depicting the LGBTQIA community is concerned. It has almost become a genre of sorts - a strong social message cushioned with desi humour, a terrifically put together ensemble that entertains and then educates. We know the drill all too well by now. Don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against films with a social message, but I wish the day arrives soon when the depiction of queer love doesn’t have to be “brave” or with some self-conscious additions, like even getting an actor from the North East to play a significant role. High time then that this kind of diversity be so mainstream that the story gets to flow like any other, without being subsumed by the overarching theme of having to deliver a message. Badhaai Do, however, does its job by giving us a couple stuck in a Lavender marriage. There is a reason for fatigue to set in, and it’s primarily the trailer. So much information has already been revealed that it almost seems like a synopsis of the whole film in three minutes. We know the main conflict - the gay man marries a lesbian woman. It's an arrangement they agree to in order to escape their parents and the gazillion taunts and questions. The film is set in Dehradun, he is a police officer; she a Physical Education teacher, living like roommates and leading separate lives.  Tune in! VO: RJ Stutee 

941: 'Badhaai Do' Has Solid Performances, But Seems Overeager to Impress

The film starts with a message flashing on a mobile screen. “Good decisions come from experience, experience comes from making bad decisions,” it reads. But what is it that pushes us to take a certain decision? Is it free will, is it all predestined? Can a single moment really change the course of our entire life? The way the story is structured we would be tempted to look for a deeper philosophical meaning and ruminate on the role of chance and the thematic exploration of free will. But to truly enjoy Looop Lapeta I’d suggest you surrender to the eclectic energy and vibe that the film throbs with. Taapsee Pannu’s free-spirited performance and full-bodied commitment give her character a credible potency even in situations that seem implausible. Tune in for the podcast. 

940: Review: Taapsee Pannu’s ‘Looop Lapeta’ is Eclectic and Gripping

Never mind how baffling or absurd a premise might seem, sometimes the success of a love story depends on how much it makes us care for its characters and root for their union. Atrangi Re, weirdly enough, never trusts us with being up, close and personal with its protagonists. Director Aanand L Rai and writer Himanshu Sharma always keep us at a safe distance, feeding us basic details and nudging us to respond accordingly. VO: RJ Stutee

939: Review: Innumerable Facepalm Moments Prove to be Atrangi Re's Undoing

No one took Team India seriously when they arrived for the 1983 Cricket World Cup. In fact the dazzling 175 not out by Kapil Dev against Zimbabwe in the group stage match which helped India stay on in the tournament wasn’t even deemed important enough to be covered by the BBC. Kabir Khan’s 83 brings alive on screen many such splendid moments from India’s miraculous rise and eventual ascent as cricket world champions. Tune in for the full review! VO: RJ Stutee

938: '83' Movie Review: Kabir Khan's Film With Ranveer Singh and Team Is All Heart

Ayushmann Khurrana started his career in Hindi films by playing a sperm donor in Vicky Donor. Over the years he has been part of projects where he has gone bald, played a gay protagonist and has essayed the role of a man with erectile dysfunction. Challenging notions of 'masculinity' and striving to do what we like to call something 'hatke'. VO: RJ Stutee Music: Big Bang Fuzz

937: 'Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui': Ayushmann, Vaani's Romance is Radical for Bollywood

Bob Biswas, the poker-faced insurance agent from Sujoy Ghosh’s 2012 cult classic Kahaani gets a spin off. This one is written by Sujoy and directed by his daughter Diya Annapurna Ghosh. Here Bob Biswas, we are told, wakes up from a coma after years and has lost his memory. But the deal is that we remember everything. In fact, Bob Biswas (pronounced Bob Bishash in Bengali) isn’t the kind one can forget easily. His deadpan face and steely cold psychotic stare can send a chill down the spine even now. Played by Saswata Chatterjee in the original, it’s now Abhishek Bachchan on whose nose rest Bob’s signature square frames. Carrying the cross-body sling bag, heavy footed Abhishek’s Bob trudges along but it isn’t easy to erase the memory of Saswata Chatterjee who breathed life into this character. Bob Biswas the film, one soon realizes is an attempt to humanize a deadly assassin. Bob might not have a bank of memory for easy access but he has a pretty wife (played by Chitrangada Singh), a young son and a daughter. Also, since his reputation holds him in good stead, he soon gets to wield a gun too. Tune in to the podcast! VO: RJ Stutee

936: Bob Biswas Review: The Iconic 'Kahaani' Character Deserves a Better Spin-Off

With several of his shows cancelled due to threats of violence, vandalism and even murder, Munawar Faruqui is a comedian who seems to be in the perennial line of fire of right-wing trolls and Hindutva outfits. In this freewheeling chat with The Quint, Munawar opens up about the toll this is taking on his work, his physical safety and his mental health. Is he seriously considering quitting standup comedy? Does he feel he's being targeted more because of his Muslim identity? Catch all that, and much more, in this interview. Host: Meghnad Bose Guests: Munawar Faruqui is a stand-up comedian Balraj Ghai is owner of The Habitat, a popular venue for standup comedy in Mumbai.

935: ‘Hit Unsubscribe on Those Spreading Hate’: Munawar Responds to Death Threats

After subjecting oneself to the banality of a completely uncalled for sequel, this exercise of then writing about it is even more tiresome. Fatigue has already set in. Is it possible to talk about Bunty Aur Babli 2 without speaking of its predecessor? No! If anything, this new instalment makes us yearn for the original even more. Especially when a forgettable tune plays onscreen and we reminisce about the old soundtrack which is still fresh in our heads. Tune in for the full review! VO: RJ Stutee Music: Big Bang Fuzz

934: Review: Even Pankaj Tripathi Can't Save a Disappointing 'Bunty Aur Babli 2'

Hello, I am Dia Mirza and all through my pregnancy, I smoked. Actually, I didn’t, but it doesn’t really matter, because my unborn child and I are a part of the 90% of the world that breathes polluted air. Breathing in Indian cities has been equated to being a regular smoker. WHO tells us that air pollution kills about 7 million people worldwide each year. In India alone, there were as many as 980,000 deaths in 2019 because of particulate matter. But these are numbers. Statistics don’t touch us. Data doesn’t shake us. We hear numbers, but we are moved by stories. Tune in to listen to a true story — my story about my own pregnancy which was complicated by a bacterial infection leading to my extremely prematurely born baby staying away from me in a Neonatal ICU for months from birth. VO: Dia Mirza Music: Big Bang Fuzz

933: Dia Mirza on Climate Change, Pregnancy, & Why Action Is Required of All Parents

Amitav Ghosh, celebrated author and Jnanpith awardee, says it’s not him or his body of work that is changing, but it’s the planet that has changed. Climate change effects that are being observed around the world can no longer be escaped. “There’s nowhere else,” he says. In this special podcast, The Quint’s Opinion Editor, Nishtha Gautam, catches up with Amitav Ghosh to discuss his new book, The Nutmeg’s Curse, which is based on climate change, the history of colonialism and how society has changed over centuries. In the book, Ghosh traces the trajectory of the spread of nutmeg from the Banda Islands to the rest of the world, which is symbolic of the wider sweep of the colonial mindset across the globe that brought both human and environmental devastation. From starting as a weaver of tales of the history of people to almost straddling the world of climate action today, Ghosh has come a long way. He says it’s what one would expect. The Hungry Tide (2004) author recalls visiting the Sundarbans in the early 2000s to research for the book. “The climate effect was ever-present. Saltwater intrusion, change in species, it was all very visible there. That’s when I started to take the [issue] seriously,” he says. On the rich shirking their climate responsibility and blaming the poor, he says it’s a classic case of blaming the victim. He remarks, for example, “There’s this brainwashing that someone will buy a Tesla and [it will] shrink their carbon footprint. The embodied emission in producing a Tesla is enormous... it has a huge footprint not just in terms of carbon, but other elements as well.” According to Ghosh, ‘common but differentiated responsibility’ is the way forward for nations. The US, the United Kingdom, Russia, and European nations that developed fast have huge historic emissions. In contrast, China and India’s per capita emissions currently are smaller. “But again, we have to remember that the middle class and wealthy Indians' carbon footprint is just as big as that of Americans,” he says. On the ongoing COP26 Summit, Ghosh says it may not be very different from any of the other meetings. “Already now we can see the huge roadblocks it has run into,” he says, referring to Jair Bolsonaro’s demand that Brazil be paid for preserving the Amazon, Saudi Arabia’s diluting of the language, and India’s possible brainwashing given its opening up of forests and coal mines. Tune in to listen to the whole conversation!   Host: Nishtha Gautam is the Oped Editor at The Quint Guest: Amitav Ghosh is an Indian writer and the winner of the Jnanpith award Music: Big Bang Fuzz

932: We Can’t Escape Climate Change Now, There’s Nowhere Else: Amitav Ghosh

“Hum do hamare do” generally refers to a couple and their two kids, who help complete a family. However, in the movie Hum Do Hamare Do, the hero is in dire need of parents to have a happily ever after. Dhruv (Rajkummar Rao) is a self-made man.  It’s this need to conjure up a family that then becomes the raison d’etre for everyone involved and we have no option but trudge along. There is nothing in Hum Do Hamare Do we haven't seen or expected. In fact, even the actors have played similar roles in the past. No wonder Rajkummar sleeps-walks through the film. There isn’t a single stand-out moment for him. But Ratna Pathak shah and Paresh Rawal bring in so much credible potency to their roles that one can’t help but be invested despite the fact that they have precious little to work with.

931: 'Hum Do Hamare Do' Review: Ratna Pathak & Paresh Rawal Shine in This Lazy Film

<div>“Hum do hamare do” generally refers to a couple and their two kids, who help complete a family. However, in the movie <em>Hum Do Hamare Do</em>, the hero is in dire need of parents to have a happily ever after. Dhruv (Rajkummar Rao) is a self-made man. <br> <br> It’s this need to conjure up a family that then becomes the raison d’etre for everyone involved and we have no option but trudge along.<br> <br> </div> <div>There is nothing in <em>Hum Do Hamare Do</em> we haven't seen or expected. In fact, even the actors have played similar roles in the past. No wonder Rajkummar sleeps-walks through the film. There isn’t a single stand-out moment for him. But Ratna Pathak shah and Paresh Rawal bring in so much credible potency to their roles that one can’t help but be invested despite the fact that they have precious little to work with.</div>

It’s for a noble cause after all. BellBottom becomes the first major Bollywood film to release in cinemas after the deadly second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was also one of the first Indian films to start shoot during the pandemic. It's set in the 1980s against the backdrop of a number of Indian Airlines hijackings by forces hostile to India. This has to be a separate genre- the “Akshay Kumar” genre- where all other characters can literally laze on a hammock and that would have no bearing on the story because our man Akshay Kumar is the only one who can do anything of consequence anyway. Also, we know how such endeavours are destined to end – with a national anthem, Tricolor et al. Couple of minutes set aside for Kumar’s entry, then Kumar’s dare devilry and since its on the big screen even the interval ad will have Kumar telling Nandu off and then ends with Kumar sorting the mess. There is just a lot of Akshay Kumar!  Tune in for the full review! VO: RJ Stutee Ghosh

930: BellBottom Review: Akshay Kumar’s Film Is a High-Jacked Flight From Start

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