Show Notes
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Three films arrived in the same week, so Asim, Amrita and Sujoy have plenty to discuss.
Sujoy thinks Kunal Khemu’s Vibe is one of Bollywood’s best films of the year. Amrita appreciates Khemu’s distinct comic voice but wonders whether the movie occasionally feels like a showcase for its writer, director, producer and star.
Asim reviews Netflix’s Lust Stories 3 and asks why four acclaimed filmmakers have delivered an anthology that feels so strangely uniform.
The main review is Best of the Best, a South Asian college dance comedy starring Maitreyi Ramakrishnan. The hosts discuss girlhood, female friendship, colourism, diaspora identity, cultural gatekeeping and the importance of joyful South Asian stories. Sujoy, meanwhile, remains unconvinced by the film’s dancing, college rivalries and Hasan Minhaj.
Also: Preity Zinta, Bollywood music rights, Kunal Khemu versus the YRF Spy Universe and Asim inventing yet another Indian celebrity.
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Chapters:
00:00 Welcome and too many new releases
00:26 Four films arrived in one week
03:21 Vibe review
06:04 Is Vibe a “boys’ movie”?
07:02 Kunal Khemu’s directorial voice
09:34 Preity Zinta returns
12:08 AI terrorists and competent comedy
14:03 Vibe versus the YRF Spy Universe
15:02 Should Kunal Khemu direct other actors?
16:24 Asim invents another Indian celebrity
18:01 Lust Stories 3 review
20:21 Four acclaimed directors, one uniform style
22:32 The relationship problems of Lust Stories
24:16 Kiran Rao’s contribution
25:38 Vikramaditya Motwane’s contribution
26:56 Shakun Batra’s contribution
28:02 Vishal Bhardwaj’s contribution
30:00 The strangely sanitised intimacy
31:32 Why Lust Stories is not for Asim
32:59 A growing cultural disconnect
33:32 Best of the Best review
36:04 Girlhood and complicated friendships
39:32 Why Sujoy could not connect with it
42:07 Can Maitreyi Ramakrishnan dance?
43:23 A joyful South Asian movie
44:11 Diaspora culture versus Indian culture
45:28 Why all group activities are dorky
45:57 The outsider experience
46:55 South Asian identity beyond India
47:22 Sisterhood and brown male characters
50:33 Maitreyi versus Hasan Minhaj
52:23 Identity, history and speaking honestly
54:39 Popularity, aggression and female friendship
56:15 Watching the movie with Sofia
57:09 The cost of licensing Bollywood music
59:28 The film’s best dance joke
01:00:18 Choreography and campus culture
01:03:55 Why Asian stories struggle to survive
01:07:19 The Best of the Best soundtrack
01:08:45 Game the Netflix algorithm
01:09:05 Where to find Khandaan
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