Tag Archives: Bollywood podcast

Split Screen Podcast, Episode 33: The Long Awaited ‘Padmaavat’ Movie Review

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My friend Shah Shahid graciously invited me back to the Split Screen Podcast to review Padmaavat, deviating from our usual remake comparison format to tackle this controversial new film. In Episode 33, we don’t discuss the protests leading up to the film’s release but focus instead on the good, the bad, and the problematic elements of the movie itself. Shah makes some great points about the way directors lead audiences toward certain emotional reactions, and we debate whether or not that was properly executed in Padmaavat.

You can subscribe to the Split Screen Podcast at iTunes, or you can listen to Episode 33 in your browser on this page at Audioboom. Find links to other podcast episodes and Shah’s reviews at his website, Blank Page Beatdown. I’m a guest on the following episodes of the Split Screen Podcast:

Guest Appearance on Bollywood Is For Lovers Podcast

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Erin Fraser and Matt Bowes of Bollywood Is For Lovers graciously invited me to appear on a recent episode their podcast (after getting Shah Shahid of the Split Screen Podcast to waive my non-compete clause). They even let me pick the movies to discuss! Despite their having already covered a bunch of my favorite topics on previous episodes — Bipasha Basu horror movies, Jism 2, and a Randeep Hooda special with Shah — I was able to find a sub-genre Erin and Matt hadn’t yet discussed: Bollywood martial arts movies!

The two movies featured in the episode are the underrated Commando: A One Man Army and the ridiculous Baaghi. The films star two very different leading men: lifetime martial arts devotee Vidyut Jammwal and Bollywood scion Tiger Shroff. (I was excited to learn that Erin is also a huge fan of Tiger’s A Flying Jatt!) Commando and Baaghi both spawned sequels, so check them out — then listen to the podcast!

Thanks again, Erin and Matt!

Split Screen Podcast, Episode 30: The Tubelight Trailer vs. The Little Boy Trailer

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In a first for the Split Screen Podcast, Shah Shahid and I spent an entire episode comparing two movie trailers! That’s because the trailer for Salman Khan’s upcoming flick Tubelight is almost beat-for-beat the same as the trailer for the movie on which it’s based: Little Boy. Check out the two trailers at the bottom of this post for yourself, then listen to the podcast to hear our thoughts.

You can subscribe to the Split Screen Podcast at iTunes, or you can listen to Episode 30 in your browser on this page at Shah’s website, Blank Page Beatdown. Every episode of the Split Screen Podcast can be found here. I’m featured in the following episodes:

Split Screen Podcast, Episode 28: The “Dulhania” Franchise

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At long last, Shah Shahid and I reunite for another episode of the Split Screen Podcast, this time comparing the films Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania and Badrinath Ki Dulhania. We were inspired to tackle the “Dulhania” franchise in Episode 28 because of how wildly the two films differ in their representations of gender equality in romantic relationships. In short, everything great about the main characters and their relationship in Humpty goes straight down the crapper in Badrinath. Shah and I also discuss what differentiates Bollywood franchises from true sequels.

You can subscribe to the Split Screen Podcast at iTunes, or you can listen to Episode 28 in your browser on this page at Shah’s website, Blank Page Beatdown. Every episode of the Split Screen Podcast can be found here, including Shah’s take on the recent Hollywood reboot of Power Rangers. I’m featured in the following episodes:

Split Screen Podcast, Episode 16: Rahasya vs. Talvar

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Another episode of the Split Screen Podcast featuring yours truly is live! In Episode 16, show host Shah Shahid and I compare two 2015 movies based on the 2008 Noida double murder case. Rahasya‘s release — nine months before Talvar hit screens — followed a lengthy court battle, and Shah and I discuss the legal drama surrounding the films as well as the two movies themselves.

You can subscribe to the Split Screen Podcast at iTunes, or you can listen to Episode 16 in your browser on this page at Shah’s website, Blank Page Beatdown. Every episode of the Split Screen Podcast can be found here, including Shah’s preview of Bollywood movies coming out in the second half of 2016. I’m featured in the following episodes:

Split Screen Podcast, Episode 12: Rocky Handsome vs. The Man From Nowhere

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SplitScreenPodcastThe Split Screen Podcast is back! In Episode 12, show host Shah Shahid and I initially try to view Rocky Handsome through the eyes of someone who’s never seen the South Korean movie on which it’s based, but the gloves come off once we start comparing Rocky to The Man From Nowhere, one of my favorite action films. As our pal Parth Gandhi tweeted:  “Won Bin >>>> John Abraham.”

You can subscribe to the Split Screen Podcast at iTunes, or you can listen to Episode 12 in your browser on this page at Shah’s website, Blank Page Beatdown. Every episode of the Split Screen Podcast can be found here. I’m featured in the following episodes:

Split Screen Podcast, Episode 11: We Are Family vs. Stepmom

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Another episode of the Split Screen Podcast featuring yours truly is now available for your listening pleasure. In Episode 11, show host Shah Shahid and I discuss why the Bollywood flick We Are Family is an inferior copy of the Hollywood film Stepmom and struggle to determine why the little boy in We Are Family even exists.

You can subscribe to the Split Screen Podcast at iTunes, or you can listen to Episode 11 in your browser on this page at Shah’s website, Blank Page Beatdown. (Read his new review of Star Wars: The Force Awakens while you’re there.) Every episode of the Split Screen Podcast can be found here. I’m featured in the following episodes:

Split Screen Podcast, Episode 10: Jazbaa vs. Seven Days

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Episode 10 of the Split Screen Podcast is now live. In this episode, show host Shah Shahid and I compare Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s 2015 Bollywood thriller Jazbaa to its inspiration, the Korean film Seven Days. Shah and I agree that Seven Days is the superior movie, though Shah is a little more forgiving of Jazbaa director Sanjay Gupta’s quirks than I am.

You can subscribe to the Split Screen Podcast at iTunes, or you can listen to the Episode 10 in your browser on this page at Shah’s website, Blank Page Beatdown. Other episodes that feature my Midwestern-accented commentary include Episode 8 (Warrior vs. Brothers), Episode 2 (Knight and Day vs. Bang Bang), Episode 1 (Memento vs. Ghajini), and the podcast’s introductory Episode 0. All of the episodes of the Split Screen Podcast can be found here. Enjoy!

The Split Screen Podcast Debuts

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Big news! Shah Shahid — the man behind the multimedia review site Blank Page Beatdown — just debuted the Split Screen Podcast. Shah’s guest on the first three episodes of the podcast is none other than… ME!

SplitScreenPodcast

Here’s how Shah sums up the goal of the podcast:

The Split Screen Podcast will compare and analyze movies that are adaptations of other works, directly with the source material that they were inspired by. The goal is to essentially determine how good or bad the adaptations were and, most excitingly, going off on long winded, expletive laced rants when they’re bad.

Bollywood flicks are perfectly suited to such a podcast, given how many Hindi films are remakes of other movies. Shah is a lifelong Bollywood fan with a wide-ranging field of interests — including Hollywood films, comic books, and superhero TV shows — and he reviews them all at Blank Page Beatdown. Check the time stamp on his tweets, and you’ll notice that he stays up well into the night ranting about Dune or the latest episode of Quantico.

Though future episodes will cover films in other genres, the first three episodes are all about Bollywood (my realm of expertise). The initial episode is an intro to the podcast — labeled Episode 00 accordingly — in which we discuss Bollywood remakes in general. Episode 01 compares the Hindi film Ghajini to its far, far, far superior inspiration, Memento. In Episode 02, we rail against the horrible changes made to the female protagonist when Knight and Day was remade as Bang Bang!.

The podcasts are full of spoilers and some swear words, so be forewarned. Please check out the Split Screen Podcast and let me know what you think! Enjoy!

To keep up to date with new episodes of the podcast, follow Split Screen Podcast on Twitter or visit Shah’s website, Blank Page Beatdown.