Episodes

  • 12: Ep 012 - Blurred Lines: Indian Cinema and the Underworld

    12: Ep 012 - Blurred Lines: Indian Cinema and the Underworld
    Oct 25 2024
    The recent incidents involving a self styled mobster and Salman Khan are indicative of just how easy it is to target the industry - sometimes for money and sometimes for notoriety that is mistaken as fame.

    One thing, however, is very clear.
    The line between good and evil has been blurred decisively, on the screen and off it.
    Show more Show less
    8 mins
  • 11: Ep 011 - The Writers Who Gave Hindi Cinema its Soul

    11: Ep 011 - The Writers Who Gave Hindi Cinema its Soul
    Sep 27 2024
    The three-part documentary, 'Angry Young Men- The Salim Javed Story' (Amazon Prime Video) affords us an intimate glimpse into the homes and family dynamics, of Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, positioning them as the only definitive voices of Hindi cinema.

    But let's not forget the other writers who came before them. Writers like Rajinder Singh Bedi, Abrar Alvi, Khwaja Ahmed Abbas and Rahi Masoom Raza who not only enriched Hindi cinema but also gave us a nuanced vocabulary to discuss love, loss, injustice and human values.
    Show more Show less
    16 mins
  • 10: Ep 010 - Women deserve better. In life and in fiction.

    10: Ep 010 - Women deserve better. In life and in fiction.
    Aug 23 2024
    The message is clear - women are disposable; even in fiction.
    Most crime shows open with the dead body of a woman. Extending that list are hugely popular shows on serial killers who target women. There are multiple documentaries and shows, for example, on Ted Bundy. Everyone remembers him. Nobody remembers his victims.

    Rarely though, some films and shows get it right. Dijo Jose Antony's 2022 film "Jana Gana Mana" delves into not just a gender crime but the reasons behind it. And, the 2019 Netflix drama "Unbelievable" got women right, too. One of its most insightful lines was “Rape has three crime scenes. The body of the victim. The body of the rapist. And the place where the crime actually happens.”

    The series also adds another crime scene to the list without naming it - the mind of the victim. Against which, a cruel warfare is waged by a brutal, desensitised justice system. On this episode of 'The Way We Were', we explore.

    TW: This episode contains references to rape and sexual violence against women.
    Listener discretion is advised.
    Show more Show less
    13 mins
  • 9: Ep 009 - Where We Are Today : Lessons from 'Judgement at Nuremberg'

    9: Ep 009 - Where We Are Today : Lessons from 'Judgement at Nuremberg'
    Jul 26 2024
    Relentless wars, famine, extreme weather events, falling bridges and surprising election results in major democracies.

    Are we seeing the emergence of a new world order?
    Is there any difference in the way we were and the way we are?
    Do we truly learn from the past?

    The 1961 Academy Award-winning film, 'Judgment at Nuremberg' is not just about the aftermath of the Holocaust but the reasons for a total loss of empathy; a cautionary tale for all democracies. And the harm propaganda can unleash upon millions of lives.
    Show more Show less
    9 mins
  • 8: Ep 008 - From Benegal to Payal Kapadia: India's Big Cannes Moment

    8: Ep 008 - From Benegal to Payal Kapadia: India's Big Cannes Moment
    Jun 21 2024
    This year history was made when filmmaker Payal Kapadia became the first person from India to clinch the prestigious Grand Prix at the 77th Cannes Film Festival. In 1946, Neecha Nagar by Chetan Anand, had also shared top honours at the first Cannes Film Festival and pioneered social realism in Indian cinema.

    From what we know, Payal's film also furthers this engagement with lived realities of the unseen and the unheard. Cannes this year also screened a gloriously restored 1976 Shyam Benegal classic 'Manthan', reminding us once again just how intentional and socially responsible our cinema used to be.
    Show more Show less
    10 mins
  • 7: Ep 007 - How Kiran Rao rewrote women in Hindi cinema

    7: Ep 007 - How Kiran Rao rewrote women in Hindi cinema
    May 24 2024
    Laapataa Ladies' title is perhaps indicative of the absence of women in male-centric mainstream entertainment. Of women who are not just decorative, pliant, seductive or suffering endlessly to justify their prominence in a narrative. If you want to see how differently men and women portray female characters , watch Imtiaz Ali's 'She' and Maria Schrader's 'She Said.' The woman in 'She' is a manipulated, sexualised, brutalised being who finds her power in seduction and 'She Said' is the real story of two mothers/journalists who together ended Harvey Weinstein's reign of horror and abuse.

    'Laapataa Ladies' is also path breaking in its intention to portray 'ordinary' women as heroic. They don't have to go through great degradation, oppression and pain in order to qualify for greatness. They are not sacrificial mothers, avenging angels, preoccupied with men or children. Feminism here is articulated by women as the freedom to be who they truly are. Unlike Bhansali's cinema where feminine suffering is endlessly glorified.
    Show more Show less
    11 mins
  • 6: Ep 006 - The Child Stars Who Forgot to Twinkle

    6: Ep 006 - The Child Stars Who Forgot to Twinkle
    Jan 5 2024
    Deepa Bhatia's insightful Amazon Prime series 'First Act' is not an easy watch, especially if you are a parent. But it lays bare before you just how twisted the pursuit of fame can be and how cruel it is to children who are denied the simple luxury of childhood and the joy of playing with blocks without being interrupted.
    Show more Show less
    11 mins
  • 5: Ep 005 - How SRK Conquered More Than the Box Office in 2023

    5: Ep 005 - How SRK Conquered More Than the Box Office in 2023
    Dec 14 2023
    2023 was the year of SRK. He started it with 'Pathaan', and followed it up in September with 'Jawaan', both members of the 1000 crore club. With his third film 'Dunki', set for release on December 21st, he may just put a massive bow on what promises to be his most successful year in show business. 

    At the age of 58, he has reinvented himself as an action hero who, unlike 'Animal's' heedless killing machine, has a larger purpose. To save the idea of India perhaps? Or remind us that we are more than our differences? 

    On this episode of 'The Way We Were', host Reema Moudgil explores King Khan's real superpower - bringing people together like no one else can.
    Show more Show less
    20 mins