While discussing Crew:
Rajyasree: Maybe my expectations were very low.
Abhinandan: That's the theme of your life. You find Saif hot, you watch Akshay Kumar films…
Rajyasree: Saif is very hot. And by the way, I enjoyed Akshay in Yeh Dillagi.
Rahul: Man, those were the days!
This and a whole lot of awful and awesome as Abhinandan Sekhri, Rajyasree Sen, and film critic Rahul Desai discuss the series The Regime, the movies Crew and The Zone of Interest, and the latest BJP and Congress ads.
This episode is outside the paywall. Watch it, enjoy it, and subscribe to Newslaundry, so you can tune in every week.
Have something to say? Write to us at newslaundry.com/podcast-letters.
Timecodes
00:00 - Introductions
03:34 - Crew
19:27 - BJP Ads
22:37 - The Zone of Interest
43:24 - The Regime
References
Click here to download the Newslaundry app on Android. And here for iOS.
Produced and recorded by Priyali Dhingra and Shubang Gautam, edited by Satish Kumar.
Abhinandan Sekhri: [00:00:00] This is a News Laundry podcast. And you're listening to the Awful and Awesome Entertainment Rap.
Rajyasree: Hello, hello. This is the Awful and Awesome Entertainment Rap, episode 347. I'm Rajashree Sen.
Abhinandan Sekhri: I'm Abhinandan Sekhri. And I'm Rahul Desai.
Rajyasree: So Rahul is a writer, columnist, film critic. He's been reviewing films since 2013 and his cinema and sports columns have been, have appeared in Hindu, Arre, Open Magazine and First Post and he's currently a contributing author with the film Companion and OTT Play.
And
Abhinandan Sekhri: I have his review open in front of me. You have reviewed crew. Tabu, Kareena, Kriti take you on a bumpy flight. So we shall hear. I would have loved to watch this, had it not been this month with elections around the corner [00:01:00] and all the reporters wanted to go cover elections. Uh, like you saw the coverage of the electoral bonds by the team.
Team at News Minute, Scroll and News Laundry was churning out one story after the other. I think we finally churned out over 30. But those teams are still working because there's so many entries of the electoral bonds. And in the midst of all this, they have to cover elections. And that means budgets for travel for our reporters to go while we have only, I think, four or five iPhones.
Now we have to suddenly make eight, nine available. So we could do with some help. We don't take any ads as you've seen, but you've seen ads everywhere else. Mr. Modi is on an advertising spree. Of course, the Delhi's LG has made sure that Mr. Kejriwal can do no advertising. Yogi Dittinath is on an advertising spree.
All the news platforms are pretty much dependent on government ads. We take no ads from government or Mr. Adani or Mr. Ambani. We depend on you. So in the show notes below, click on subscribe and pay to keep news [00:02:00] free. And you can contribute to specific election related projects. This election is going to be covered jointly by the News Minute and News Laundry teams.
So do contribute so that we can remain in touch. Ad free and public interest journalism is supported by the public and also this entire podcast of A and Awesome is gonna be outside the paywall and completely on video. It's a full video podcast. Apparently that increases engagement. We've been told who wants to engage with us is one of our know.
Rajyasree: There's an audience for everything. David the Han has taught. So, you should, BJP has taught us this, so you don't know, we are appealing to someone clearly.
Abhinandan Sekhri: Right. So anyway, check out the two links below, the most important ones, so that we can keep the kitchen fires burning and send everybody across. So we have the regime, the film crew, the zone of interest, and two ads, one of the Congress and one of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
I watched both the ads.
Rajyasree: Your contribution is stellar. So according to me, Abhinandan is like Nora Fatehi in a [00:03:00] film. He comes in, he does a five minute number, and people are happy with that. That's the important thing, na?
Abhinandan Sekhri: Yeah, that's me. Call me Nora. Niku Nora. So, uh, Before we come to crew, which is going to be, I was dying to watch it because actually it looks very interesting, uh, in the promos and I, I think all three are good performers and all three can do comedy.
Rajyasree: That's because you have a soft spot for Kriti Sanon. Shall I give an anecdote? Give, I don't know. What was that film, tell me, the first film that Kriti Sanon made? Bareilly Ki Barfi. Yeah. So while we were watching it, only Abhinandan, even the director did not say this, Abhinandan suddenly said, she's going to become a star.
Absolutely. So I said, I'm so happy you have noticed this glimmer of talent in her, but she is good. But, uh, so the film it's a new, when did it release last Friday, right? Yeah. Or Friday before last. I don't know. It's been around for a week. So I went and saw it also on big screen. And it has [00:04:00] Kriti Sanon, uh, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Tabu acting in it.
Rajesh Krishnan, A. Krishnan has directed it, who directed Lootcase, which I had really liked actually. So I had, I watched TVF tripling as well, which was not bad. Wasn't great, but it wasn't bad at all. And in this film, uh, these three actresses play air hostesses. They are working in on an airline called Kohinoor, which is basically it's a very it's not even a light reference to Kingfisher.
It is Kingfisher.
Abhinandan Sekhri: Who plays Vijay Mallya?
Rajyasree: That guy, tell me. I love him. The Bengali actor.
Abhinandan Sekhri: Rahul Shashwata Chatterjee. Shashwata
Rajyasree: Chatterjee. Shashwata.
Abhinandan Sekhri: See, Rahul. You, your Gujju pronunciation is Shashwata, she quickly corrected you, Shashwato. Basically, if you want to be part of this podcast, A, get used to be spoken over, B, say every A has to be O, otherwise she'll find you and kill you.
Rahul Desai: I was [00:05:00] hesitating to say the actor's name because I knew immediately I would be corrected, but I'm glad you took it.
Rajyasree: Yeah, but it's okay, he works with Dipanjana, so he's used to my behavior. How come she's Dipanjana, not Dipanjano? Because her name is Dipanjana, keep quiet. And, no, so he plays something Valya his name is.
Something instead of it.
Abhinandan Sekhri: It's Vijay Valya. Are you serious? That subtle? Okay. It's so interesting that when the going was good, Everyone in Bollywood used to suck up to him and how, and now that the going is bad, I mean, everyone makes fun of him. You know, I told you, I once landed up at his party in 2001 or 2002 at his In Goa.
In Goa. Uh, long story, but me and seven of my friends landed up at Vijay Mallya's party as the first guests before anyone came. And he was wondering who the fuck are they, why are they here? And all those chattoos, including journalists and people sitting in parliament right now.
Rajyasree: They were all there. They were all
Abhinandan Sekhri: chattoing.
Rajyasree: This is at the high, [00:06:00] when it was already starting to dip.
Abhinandan Sekhri: No, then he was flying high.
Rajyasree: So anyway, so this is, they are working at Vijay Valya's airline, which is, and they have those red uniforms, everything. They might as well have called it Kingfisher, but they'll get sued and he would have made some more money.
are going through, like their salaries have not been paid, all sorts of things are happening. What all happened with Kingfisher is being repeated over here. And the story is about how they decide to make a big quick buck, basically. Just these three. Just these three. And Tabu is the senior, uh, flight stewardess, like the head of the cabin, that kind of thing.
Uh, Kareena is the mid I think they are all in business class, but they are seniority wise. And Kriti Sanon is the newer one. Kriti is from Haryana and she is, she used to be a topper and so on. And she wanted to be [00:07:00] a pilot, but she didn't become a pilot. She became a flight stewardess. Kareena Kapoor's backstory is just that her parents abandoned her or something abandoned her and she was brought up
Rahul Desai: by a
Rajyasree: grandfather.
And Taboo is married to Ka Sharma and they are middle class family. He runs a catering business out of their home and she is
Abhinandan Sekhri: in the film. Right?
Rajyasree: He's love interest also. He is ti is love interest. So there are a lot of serious things which are discussed in the film though. Right.
Rahul Desai: Serious things as in what exactly?
Rajyasree: As in like, oh, you didn't see, I looked at it with a less jaundiced eye than you. So why? You didn't like the film?
Rahul Desai: Uh, no, it didn't work for me. I actually went in really with the same hopes that I think all of us went in with, because you don't see this cast every day in the same film. And uh, yeah, I had expectations, but I, I mean, I came out really disappointed, but yeah.
Yeah. [00:08:00] Does it have an item song? Because sometimes that makes a film watchable. There's the
Rajyasree: end credits is an item song, I suppose. Everyone thought that Choli
Rahul Desai: Ke Peeche Hai remix would be the item song in it. But it actually played very like mildly in the second. Oh, okay.
Rajyasree: And it's so, maybe my expectations were very low.
That's there. So I thought it would be
Abhinandan Sekhri: That is the theme of your life. Your expectations are very low. You find Saif hot. Saif is
Rajyasree: very hot. You
Abhinandan Sekhri: have watched a film with, uh, Akshay Kumar.
Rajyasree: Many films.
Abhinandan Sekhri: Many. So you don't have to say my expectations are low. We know.
Rajyasree: I thought Akshay Kumar was very good in Yeh Dil Lagi, by the way.
Those were the
Abhinandan Sekhri: days. Rahul, you didn't sound completely convinced, but okay.
Rahul Desai: I, I, look, I love comedy Akshay and Khiladi Akshay, but I don't like nationalistic Akshay so much. So, it's this, I'm in the same boat as many others.
Rajyasree: Yeah, so he can't do serious cinema. Yeh Dil Lagina and all he [00:09:00] can do. So,
Abhinandan Sekhri: so Rahul was disappointed with crew, but you enjoyed it because No, no, I did.
It's got great reviews. I think even Shubhra gave a decent review, right?
Rajyasree: I was not impressed by it. I thought it's like, we did the wedding. It's good. It's the same caliber as Viredi Wedding. So they put together a very nice bunch of actors. So Diljit Dosanjh is there. Shashato is an excellent actor himself.
Abhinandan Sekhri: Has to be.
Rajyasree: Keep quiet. He's the guy from Kahaani.
Abhinandan Sekhri: The overrated fellow?
Rajyasree: No, that's He's thinking of Parambrathu. He's Bob Bishwasankar. Yeah, that Bob be like, Oh
Abhinandan Sekhri: my God. So I saw it's very, it's a mediocre performance man in here. You didn't even
Rajyasree: like the film. And who else? There's some other actor, that guy who plays their boss.
He's a very well known actor.
Abhinandan Sekhri: You've really come prepared, no? You make fun of me that I come to a show about reviews without watching a film. At least when I do watch it, I know who the fuck was in it. No,
Rajyasree: I know all the details of Zona Ventress. Very famous act.
Abhinandan Sekhri: So and so, very famous. No, no. Music is by very famous?
Rajyasree: No, music is by Badshah. [00:10:00] Directed also by very famous? Director's name I got, right? Don't act smart with me. But, so, basically, I felt it was a, they tried to do 9 to 5. That film with Lily Tomlin. Rahul
Abhinandan Sekhri: is too young to remember that film, Rajshree. Shut up. Dude, what are you saying? 9 to 5? I was in class 6. He must not even have been born.
Yeah, but we watch films that are made before we were born.
Rahul Desai: Rahul, have you ever heard of this film, 9 to 5? I'm quickly looking it up as we speak about it.
Abhinandan Sekhri: No one's heard of it, Rajshree. You give these references.
Rajyasree: No, listen, I don't want to ask you how old you are, but you must watch 9to5. It's a film with Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton.
And it was this hilarious comedy about these three women who work in an office. They have a horrible boss. And they decide to get revenge on him. And there's this whole like it was, but it was a very well scripted, fun film. This one is sort of like that, but not as well scripted. And it reminds me of that Ocean's [00:11:00] Eleven spinoff that happened with all the women.
Abhinandan Sekhri: But I mean, all three of these performers are Kapil Sharma and Dilit Dosan. So I guess the writing let it down.
Rajyasree: So Diljit and Kapil don't have funny roles. They are playing serious people. Yeah.
Rahul Desai: Yeah. They're barely there in the film. Yeah. I didn't even realize when sort of Kapil was written off at some point.
And Diljit, I mean, I love watching him on screen and I was really hoping he would be there for most part of the film, but, uh, Yeah, I think the film did to the male characters what a lot of male driven comedies do to female characters. I
Abhinandan Sekhri: see, they just were there for, okay, Diljit is there.
Rajyasree: Yeah, so then there's a heist basically that these three women, there's gold smuggling that you like, they're showing how people, the
Abhinandan Sekhri: promo, I must say.
Had it not been for such a busy time, I would definitely have made an effort to watch this film.
Rajyasree: [00:12:00] I mean, the whole setup and all is good that you didn't. This is mine. Really? Yeah, you would have been very disappointed.
Rahul Desai: I mean, even if it were not my job, I would have watched it also. Going by the promo alone.
Yeah,
Abhinandan Sekhri: exactly. It was a great promo.
Rajyasree: But I feel people who Make these promos are the real unsung heroes. See,
Abhinandan Sekhri: there is also the thing you, I mean, you can't discount the theory that because Kirti Sanon played that Ram Sita film, you know, Ram said, make sure your films are terrible from here on. Like Yami Gautam, all the same thing happened, you know, both these people had such potential and they're both doing this Piyush Mishra is going on a bender He's gone off in the head.
One day we shall do a full exposé on him also. So I think it is basically divine intervention that cannot be discounted is what I'm saying.
Rajyasree: But she holds her own next to these two. That much I'll give her.
Rahul Desai: I'd argue she's better than the two of them in this film. [00:13:00] Oh really? Because, uh, yeah, I feel like it's the same thing that happens to a lot of these slightly newer directors.
I think they get a little overwhelmed by A problem of plenty what to do with such good stars, so they don't know how to use them. So I feel like Kriti Sanon was the only one who looked comfortable with the comedy in the film. I don't think Kareena was good at all. I think Tabu was the worst thing about the film and I don't say that very often.
So, yeah, so that's what I said. It's very interesting because I went in with expectations. For the first time in this year. And, uh, because of that, I think I probably ended up disliking it more than most .
Abhinandan Sekhri: Yeah. Anyway, you can wa you can read, uh, the full review that, uh, has appeared on Film Companion. It's, I mean, I
Rahul Desai: compared the film to RCB so you can RCB being the Royal Challenges.
Royal Challenges. Bang, because it was the whole Kingfisher connection and whatnot. Okay. Like that. I see. I mean,
Rajyasree: also a [00:14:00] lot of it was see most Hindi film, this genre doesn't make logical sense throughout, but I felt in some parts it was too illogical also. Like, you know, that plane sequence, then even the high sequence, it has to either you be clever and be a little logical about it.
Your screenplay, or you go all out nonsensical, like a Golmaal film, I don't think people expect it to be logical. Now, there are lots of stars, they're doing a lot of nonsense. It's ha ha hoo hoo, that kind of thing. This doesn't so they'll put them, they put them in situations and then it's almost like they aren't able to think through the story and how to tie it up together.
And there were so many lines, there was smuggling, there was a heist. Then that fight with the other air hostess. Then that plane happens. It's too many things were happening. None of which were ending properly. Okay,
Abhinandan Sekhri: so tell me two things that were great about the film [00:15:00] Rahul and then Rajshri.
Rahul Desai: I thought the Choli Ke Peethe remix was not bad at all.
Which in my books is pretty good. And, uh, I kind of enjoyed Diljit Joshan for the two scenes he was in. Okay. Uh, two or three scenes he was in. And I don't think, you know, what you mentioned about also the sort of too many things happening at once. You know, we had Madgaon Express just a week before this with, it was a male buddy comedy.
Yeah, which I'm dying for. Yeah, a lot of nonsense happening in it. But again, you don't question that because the film entertains you at a very fundamental level. It goes all out with its slapstick, it commits to everything. This film was, you could see it was in awe of Tabu and Kareena and was being very careful about, uh, Maybe not, uh, just not knowing how to use them.
And I think because of that, we started questioning the logic, the details and stuff
Abhinandan Sekhri: like that. What were the two good things for you?
Rajyasree: The cast. And the second thing [00:16:00] I can't think of. I can't. It was a very, to me, it was a very time. It was a network. I could have watched it at home. The thing which, uh, struck me was I went on a I no longer work full time, like in a job job.
So I am able to go in the morning for a film. So I went at 10. 30 for this film and I loved it because there was this woman sitting there who'd also gone to watch the film. She had her laptop with her and she worked throughout. I just loved it. I was like, she is the person I should. Committed. Committed.
She was watching and she was sending her mails out. So no one in her office knew she was not at work. So I was
Abhinandan Sekhri: watching this interview of this, uh, I think writer from Hollywood.
Rajyasree: Okay.
Abhinandan Sekhri: Just because she was white and, uh, with an American accent. I said, Hollywood, maybe she was from an indie but the point she was making was that.
I don't know whether you're aware of it, Rahul, and Rajshri. won't be aware of it. But Rahul might. Because he takes his job a [00:17:00] little more seriously. Because Rajshri is a privileged Bhadralok.
Rahul Desai: Me? Shit.
Rajyasree: Rahul doesn't even want to laugh at this. He wants to laugh, but he doesn't think he should. I don't know if
Rahul Desai: it's decent to laugh.
Yeah, I don't think
Rajyasree: you should because it's a lie what he said.
Abhinandan Sekhri: You're from the land of Modi and Shah. Don't pretend. And Nirav Modi. And Nirav
Rahul Desai: Modi.
Abhinandan Sekhri: But okay. She was saying. There's a real thing. It's, it wasn't a joke. And she was saying this with a lot of anguish. She was right. She is a writer. I forget her name.
She was saying that we are told to write, uh, it's called second screen writing. Are you familiar with this concept, Rahul? Second screen writing. So basically the assumption of, and this is OTT. Because the writing, because most of the stuff from Netflix, Amazon, et cetera, et cetera.
Rajyasree: People are looking at another
Abhinandan Sekhri: screen.
So, they are, they said that you got to reduce the complexity in this scene. Reduce the dialogue, reduce the subtext, et cetera. Make it simple, so that if someone has a second screen, they [00:18:00] can still follow. what's happening. It should not be oversimplified, but it should not be so complex that someone who's on a second screen doesn't get what's happening because they lose interest.
So there is a thing in screenwriting, which is you're writing for second screen. Yeah. And she says it is so sad because we are just, you know, Taking any nuance, any complexity, any subtext out of writing, and it's becoming more and more prevalent and, you know, soon it'll be ubiquitous across, uh, you know, all OTT spaces.
So yeah, I thought that was depressing as hell.
Rajyasree: But that's a lot of the film. So even when I recommend films to people like Zone of Interest, which we'll discuss now, uh, I was recommending it to friends of ours. Well, the
Abhinandan Sekhri: only film you've recommended to me is, uh, What? Where it ends with Saif in a dungeon with rats.
And you said it's a good film, he's acted well. No,
Rajyasree: I said you watch Haseena Maan Jaayegi. No, Ek Haseena Thi. Yeah,
Abhinandan Sekhri: so bad. I was like, dude, I cannot believe Rajshree has a [00:19:00] show on films.
Rajyasree: No, Ek Haseena Thi, don't you agree that that's the Saif acted properly?
Rahul Desai: Yeah, it was around the time of Omkara and all, I think that was him acting, technically.
Rajyasree: And it was, don't say like that, I don't know what everyone has against Saif.
Rahul Desai: We're all jealous of him.
Rajyasree: Y'all are.
Rahul Desai: I mean, I love him, but you know, I love Kareena more, but
Rajyasree: yeah. Ah, this is the problem with everyone. Right, so.
Abhinandan Sekhri: So, uh, the second item on our list is a show called, is it a show or a film? No, film.
That's also film.
Rajyasree: Yeah. Zone of
Abhinandan Sekhri: interest.
Rajyasree: Yeah.
Abhinandan Sekhri: I've heard a lot about this, but before that, um, you know, so that I can contribute a little bit, let's talk about the two ads. The first one is this.
Trailer: Relatives? They're business partners. She runs a business in Bengal. He's in Bihar. She's in UP. He's in Mumbai. And he's in Chennai.
And he recently opened a shop in Delhi. He's got a [00:20:00] business all over the country. Everyone makes money and He eats my butter. He's an Indian.
Rajyasree: Not Chinese. You're the groom, right? Who else? Look, grandma has given me
Trailer: everything.
I,
Abhinandan Sekhri: I generally think that this ad is not effective, and I'll tell you why. I think what the BJP is doing is they are catering to the base, whereas you got to cater to the middle.
Rahul Desai: Hmm.
Abhinandan Sekhri: Uh, and this will only make the base laugh, ha, dekho, Rahul is such a chomu, or this one is such a fool, or this one is such a that.
But. It does not convince me. It just shows me that, okay, you have very toucha sense of humor and you're lampooning these people because you can, because I mean, if someone were to make an ad, like these guys news, you know, they cut montages [00:21:00] with Rahul's faupas.
Rajyasree: Yeah.
Abhinandan Sekhri: But Modi's, Whatever, say
Rajyasree: his costume,
Abhinandan Sekhri: whatever the hell he said, or, you know, that, that entire, that clouds, I mean, you can cut a bloody eight minute long montage of his demonstrating just the most amazing buffoonishness.
Nor has the guts to do it. No producer has the guts to make it. No. You know, channel has the guts to air it. So these guys can do this kind of, but I'm not sure it convinces anyone of anything. For example, their first campaign, that was a very effective campaign.[00:22:00]
Actually what the BJP should, what the Congress should do is rather than waste money and do new production, save that money because there's this thing I'm being seen, run the BJP's 2014 ads campaign in a window within a window saying this is BJP's 2014 ad campaign. Mila? Mila kya? Question mark. That's it.
They were talking about fuel prices, they were talking about dollars. Everything they were talking about has become worse in their time. They should just copy paste. But for
Rajyasree: that, even
Abhinandan Sekhri: Congress has to have some thought. I say, mil mil gya? Ho gayi? Thand pe gayi? They should taunt the voter. I think that's the campaign.
What do you think of the campaign of both?
Rahul Desai: It took me, uh, two seconds to wonder if you're talking about Rahul Gandhi or me, but it was great. Like, as soon as I Dude, you know, I have been accused of being rude. All the
Rajyasree: time.
Rahul Desai: Not that much also. I think it's a very good segue to Zone of Interest, like talking about the BJP ads.
Rajyasree: Yeah. And now to the Zone of Interest, which is set in the [00:23:00] time of the Third Reich. See, it's perfectly timed. Perfect. Very nice. And, uh, speaking of second screen scripting, this is one of, so that's what I was saying, that this is one of those films which when I was recommending to someone, I said you can't, like, you have to concentrate when you're watching this because if for a second you look down and you're checking messages and all, you won't, first of all, they aren't speaking in English, they're speaking in German.
It's like anatomy of a fall. You'll miss out something critical. You won't know what's happening then. So, Zone of Interest is set in, uh, 1943. It's based on this Martin Amey's, uh, book. But it's about Rudolf Hoss, who was the, uh, commander. Not a reindeer. He
Abhinandan Sekhri: was the
Rajyasree: horse. Yeah. He
Abhinandan Sekhri: loved horses. Rudolf the Red Horse.
You're not
Rajyasree: supposed to joke about Nazis. That's
Abhinandan Sekhri: why this is what happens when
Rajyasree: Abhirandan has not watched something that you're going to discuss. [00:24:00] Okay, keep quiet.
He'll just leave. Rahul will leave.
Abhinandan Sekhri: No, I still feel
Rahul Desai: like he's making a point about the film even though he's
Rajyasree: singing. But, uh, Rudolf Haus was the commander of the Auschwitz, uh, concentration camp. And it's about his time a few years while he was there. Oh, is this
Abhinandan Sekhri: the one where they've shot a film film without showing a single Jew this is that film?
Rajyasree: No, no. There are lots of Jews, but they aren't Jews. In Auschwitz, you don't see any of the torture or any of the gruesomeness, but they still drive home the point very well. So is there
Abhinandan Sekhri: a character who's a Jew in the whole film? Yeah, yeah. Oh, there is there three. But this is the Right, it's the same film.
It's the same film which got the. It's the same. It's
Rahul Desai: more of the you hear them, you hear what's happening on the other side of the wall. Okay. And what we see is a very plain film about a German family going about. [00:25:00] Yeah.
Rajyasree: So his house shared a wall with the camp and the camp. Carries on. So, and his wife, Hedwig, who is the same woman who was in Anatomy of a Fall, who's an excellent actress, Sandra Hewler.
Uh, a large, I would say the film is more about her than even him because she sort of denotes what a lot of Germans at that time were like. So, she and he have this beautiful, it's a lovely, very idyllic, kind of home that they have. There's a swimming pool. They have three children. There's a dog. She keeps a beautiful garden and she is almost oblivious to the fact that there is one of the most horrible concentration camps that they had is sharing a wall with her and her husband is in charge of it.
So you see the Jewish prisoners, some of them, their work is to come and give whatever the [00:26:00] laundry. wood, clean the, uh, be a gardener, so on. So they do, uh, so you realize that it's one of the prisoners because they are wearing the, uh, when they turn, the number is there, their prison number is there. And, uh, it is by far one of the best films I've seen in a long, long time.
It is just. And it's a short film going by how long films are nowadays. I think it's a two hour
Abhinandan Sekhri: film. You have, you have such
Rahul Desai: nice things as well. Your first thoughts, Rahul? I do. It's horrific and it's, it's mercifully short also, but it's, it reminded me of those things we do, you know, even film critics and all over the last.
I guess since 2014 almost, I think a lot of us have this habit of saying, okay, craft politics, so you know, let's review a film for what it is. Ignore the fact K propaganda, ignore KBJP mouthpiece. You know, a [00:27:00] lot of reviewers have started reviewing films like that. So I felt like this film was very timely to watch, at least for me, because it was like.
It was mocking exactly that, that habit of ours to separate, uh, you know, separate the person from the crimes they commit and separate a film from its politics, because you hear it throughout the film, you know, you hear Jews being killed on the other side of the wall, and it's very idyllic. Yeah, and you see the smoke.
And this very idyllic family, if you didn't hear anything of it, you would actually root for this couple, this married couple. So it's almost like, agar wo sound nahi hota, toh we would have actually loved this German family.
Rajyasree: And he's a very good father. He's a very good friend. He's a great team leader.
Abhinandan Sekhri: It reminds me a bit of, I don't know whether either we've seen a film called The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.
It's a 2008 film. Yeah, yeah,
Rajyasree: yeah.
Abhinandan Sekhri: It's heartbreaking, uh, even that, you know, that, that little boy, I mean, for those of you haven't watched it, I highly recommend you watch it. It actually may make some of you cry. It's [00:28:00] about again, a guy who works in a concentration camp, who's part of Nazi Germany's SS, uh, part of the Nazi party.
And his son, because the family lives, his son becomes friends with one little boy in the concentration camp and he goes to play with him and he inadvertently ends up getting incinerated in the gas chambers. Uh, so it's, that's the basic plot, but that also has that chimney. Yeah, you see the
Rajyasree: chimney, the other thing I felt that they get across.
So a lot of things are driven home without them making a big to do about it. But when he's sitting with the plans for Auschwitz and the other camps, and he's explaining to the other, like the meetings happening, right? So Rudolf Haas is explaining to the other SS. guys who are in charge of the concentration camps and they will then go to Himla and so on.
Why certain machinery needs to be bought? Because you see when there's machinery, when you incinerate people, the air will move [00:29:00] upwards so the camp won't smell and it's Being spoken of the same way people who do air conditioning and factories say, so take the movement of the air and everyone is very calmly Talking about something very gruesome, which they are planning on doing and that's here till now.
We've only been able to Uh, burn 3, 000 people when we put this in you can take it up to 28, 000. It can be more efficient or his son playing with a bag of golden teeth, which his father has clearly got back from there or the wife. The wife wears all the fancy clothes with the Jewish people were wearing when they were put on the train.
And you get that class thing very well when her mother says, do you think, I've forgotten the character's name, do you think she's in the camp? So the wife says, uh, Oh, so she said the woman I used to clean the be a cleaner for because many of these Jewish [00:30:00] inmates were actually very rich well off people and you get that where that power dynamic and that sort of why people didn't care, why the Nazis didn't care.
They felt they had been shortchanged by the Jews. So, but so many things come through in this film. And, and he's such a great father and loving husband. So it's, it's a very, very well made. Very
Rahul Desai: chilling to watch.
Rajyasree: Yeah, it's
Abhinandan Sekhri: really chilling. So, um, I've heard great things about one more film since my contribution to this podcast is not what I've watched, but what I've heard is very good.
Rajyasree: Uh,
Abhinandan Sekhri: since I've come as ill prepared as
Rajyasree: Rajshri, I don't
Abhinandan Sekhri: know the name of the film, but it's basically, it, it is a commentary on, uh, you know, the entire race being key to what you, I expected to churn out. It's this black author who writes not about the black experience. American fiction.
Rajyasree: American fiction.
Yeah, he reviewed it [00:31:00] last episode. Oh, he reviewed it last episode.
Abhinandan Sekhri: Okay, so, but I believe it's very good. You should watch it. It's really good. And what's interesting is it breaks the narrative from the cinema. It breaks that, the wall, whatever it's called. And suddenly they discuss, okay, how should we end it?
Because now this is what he should do.
Rajyasree: Do they break the fourth wall? I've forgotten. You know,
Abhinandan Sekhri: are you sure you watch these? Keep quiet. I have a feeling you are like one of those. You're one of those, because one of my friends used to write horoscopes. He used to do? In her magazine. Okay. And I was like, you at horoscope?
She says, yeah. What's the, you just, so I have
Rajyasree: to say, when I was 23, my first job was with the Tata. Tata had, it was the internet boom. And Tata had started all these websites, so I was, they had a women's website also called Woman Nova, and I was the editor for Relationships of and something Interiors and something else.
I've forgotten four or five things and I used to. Right. The vastu column every week. I don't know anything about it, [00:32:00] but I knew how to research.
Rahul Desai: That's
Abhinandan Sekhri: very good.
Rajyasree: The mirror should be on the left. Sometimes I'd say, let's put it on the right. Let's see what happens to people in Bombay. So
Abhinandan Sekhri: before we move on to the Rahul's here, because we have someone who actually does this for a living full time.
I Savarkar? Uh, no, I skipped that. Bachchu, you are also Kancho, right? The real, they are tough ones you don't
Rahul Desai: watch. Arre yaar, after Kashmir Files and all, I was like, let me live a little longer. You don't, you watch Kashmir
Abhinandan Sekhri: Files. And I, you know, just want to remind everybody that News Laundry, And News Minute are going to be covering the elections going forward.
And it's going to be a very, very important election to cover. We want to cover it, you know, earlier we've managed four states, five states between the two of us, News Minute and News Laundry, we can actually cover about 15 to 18 states. Major resources are required. Almost 20 of our reporters and producers will be traveling.
Uh, we have to take our capacity of iPhones that we'll be shooting on up. The video editors will be getting the video [00:33:00] reports. Uh, you may have seen that the most robust and the most robust and prolific coverage of the electoral bonds was by the common teams of some independent journalists, Scroll, News Minute and News Laundry.
If we have the resources, we can. I mean, we will not even be in the same league as traditional media with the kind of shit reportage that they do, but we don't want to depend on ads. And that is why we can do what we do. So do click on the links and contribute and pay to keep news free. It's important you do.
See, we must learn something from everywhere. Like, even when I attended, you know, meetings of certain organizations I don't agree with, you've got to learn something from everywhere. The one thing that you should learn from. This experience is you don't have to have watched or read or even know anything before commenting about it.
Rajyasree: So George Bernard Shaw used to review plays. He would not, uh, go and watch the plays. He used to read the back of that pamphlet, [00:34:00] which used to be given out. And most of his reviews were very accurate. He said, I just get it from reading the back of the pamphlet.
Abhinandan Sekhri: So the real tough ones, the real tough watches.
I've been done by a former colleague, the Panina ba. She's reviewed, uh, she has reviewed this also.
Rajyasree: Kar did she watch Kar?
Abhinandan Sekhri: But yeah, I think so. Yeah. So, so the pan done. A friend Raul has done Mad Express. It's a good one. He has done, uh, crew. Yo, okay. Maybe Yoda is a different, yo. No, I,
Rahul Desai: I did. I'll tell you the last tough watch.
It was Atal. Uh, that's where I was like, okay.
Rajyasree: You didn't do the last Vivek Agnihotri film, which I watched.
Rahul Desai: Vaccine Wars? No, I don't think
Rajyasree: No, he's saying I have misaligned teeth because of a disability, so I can't say V and W properly. Vaccine wars.
Abhinandan Sekhri: Well done. [00:35:00]
Rajyasree: God, it's
Abhinandan Sekhri: like a She always gets a wars and Ws.
But you
Rajyasree: must watch Vaccine Wars. You've
Abhinandan Sekhri: given a very good review to Lapata Ladies. This is something I want to watch. Just give us a little bit about that. What's, what's the theme and why is it good? I really like
Rahul Desai: Lapata Ladies. In fact, when I went into crew, I was thinking that, okay, maybe it's, maybe it'll take that forward.
And I think Lapata Ladies. Is a much better version of what they were trying to accomplish. It's a nice, uh, it's Kiran Rao's second film after Dobi Ghat, which came like ages ago. And, uh, it's a lovely little film about like mistaken identities, two brides getting interchanged in a village and, uh, um, and just the chaos that follows after that.
Um, but yeah, I really enjoyed that film. It has also a vacation in it, which was, uh, uh, which was strange to see because we, first of all, we don't watch him in too many films. And secondly, uh, we also see him in, uh, uh, different kinds of films and all these days. So, so yeah, it was a [00:36:00] very enjoyable film, probably my favorite Hindi film this year.
Abhinandan Sekhri: Oh, okay. Great. So thank you so much for joining us, Rahul, before we let you go. Can you recommend some must watches for our audience who are sick of me trashing everything and being so Thakela Uncle ki beta hoti thi na. So, give our audience something that they can actually enjoy.
Rahul Desai: It's funny, people do the same thing to me also, so it's, uh, and Also, can I just say, I love the fact that you haven't watched any of the films we discussed today.
Isn't
Rajyasree: it fabulous?
Rahul Desai: I truly learned something today. I'm going to try this one day. Uh, but yeah.
Rajyasree: Is Madgaon Express worth watching is what I want to know because I wanted to go and see it in the big screen.
Rahul Desai: I enjoyed it very much, but then again, I think it was a 50 50 thing amongst reviewers, but I loved it.
Uh, highly recommend I highly recommend merry christmas, which is sriram raghavan's. [00:37:00] Oh, right Yeah It released in theaters, but now it's on netflix, okay for me that was Yeah, that was, uh, probably my most memorable experience in the theater. It's Hindi?
Rajyasree: Hindi. Yeah, yeah.
Rahul Desai: Okay. Yeah, yeah.
Rajyasree: And a little English.
Rahul Desai: Yeah. It's also, uh, the same version is also in Tamil, but I haven't seen that. Oh, I see. So, so it's, no, as in it was originally in Tamil, the
Abhinandan Sekhri: lip sync is to
Rahul Desai: Hindi? No, they
Rajyasree: did it both. No, no. Oh, wow. They were
Rahul Desai: shot together.
Rajyasree: Oh, and she spoke in Tamil. Oh, fantastic. Which I thought was quite impressive because I don't, So I thought it was very okay.
I didn't think it was bad. I thought it was okay.
Abhinandan Sekhri: Because, no, but I'm sure if Saif good film.
Rajyasree: No, but Sanjay Kapoor was in it. He was very funny. Yeah. He's become so talented. Who? Anil Kapoor's
Rahul Desai: brother?
Rajyasree: He is so good nowadays. No way.
Rahul Desai: He's
Abhinandan Sekhri: in it? Rahul
Rahul Desai: isn't it? Don't tell me your understanding of Sanjay Kapoor is still, Oh, Anil Kapoor's brother.
Abhinandan Sekhri: My understanding of Sanjay Kapoor [00:38:00] is, And when you saw him, you were like, dude, Is this like, you know, those days there used to be these, lots of these, uh, shows about the top 10 songs of the week, which are hosted by Sajid Khan. He wasn't the lecherous creep that he's known to be today. Or
Rahul Desai: he probably was and nobody knew.
Abhinandan Sekhri: Or he wasn't this film, uh, director. He was this funny guy who would do these shows. And then there was Javed Who was the funniest? I think Javed Jafri at his peak was the best VJ India has produced. He was so talented. It was phenomenal. The characters he used to create, this one Kasai from Bombay, one Christian from Bandra, you know, he had these characters.
But at that time, so a lot of these shows used to do a spoof, like Neetu De Ninnu, which was, um, uh, Shahid Kapoor's father, uh, Pankaj Kapoor and Satish Kaushik. They used to play these two characters. So they used to sometimes spoof the song that they were going to. So actually many of us, when this song came out, [00:39:00] we weren't sure whether the cut from Madhuri to him, is that, are they cutting from the heroine to the hero, or there's some joker playing the spoof.
No, that is what
Rajyasree: Sanjay Kapoor has become very talented. He becomes his character. Yeah. Nowadays,
Rahul Desai: he plays himself in a great casting. Most of the time. He
Rajyasree: plays this like bumptious, rich Punjabi guy like that.
Rahul Desai: I mean, after hearing Abhinandan talk so lovingly about Akyamilau and the 90s in general, I'm curious, how old do you think I am?
Abhinandan Sekhri: I'm 30, 32.
Rahul Desai: But yeah, no, I grew up on the same things. Just, I'm just saying. The Sajid Khan show was one of my favorites.
Rajyasree: He's near my age.
Rahul Desai: Sajid
Abhinandan Sekhri: Khan's show. Yeah, that, you know, that he was quite funny. But Sajid Khan's show and Javed Jafri's show was separated about 7 8 years. But Timex, Timepass was dead by the time Sajid came along.
But the
Rajyasree: last time I saw Javed
Abhinandan Sekhri: [00:40:00] Jafri
Rajyasree: was at the Mukesh Ambani Shadi Nao. This shadi, they, yeah, whatever the pre wedding celebrations, he was hosting something on stage and I felt very bad for him. The
Abhinandan Sekhri: three Khans were dancing there. You know, I, for all, and you know, Shahrukh, if you're watching, I love Shahrukh.
I'm a major, I'm a major Shahrukh fan, like big time. I'm a Shah Rukh fanboy because of, you know, what he did to Bollywood, especially, I don't know if you remember that story of that Filmfare award where Amar Singh misbehaved with the organizers and Shah Rukh was the guy who pushed back, et cetera, et cetera.
So someone asked Shah Rukh, and you know, his not arrogance, but his self assuredness and nonchalance makes his. of Borderline Arrogance, a little, you know, you let it pass. You don't, but I saw someone asked him that, when will I see a film of you, [00:41:00] Salman and Aamir together? He said, beta, nange ho jaoge, chaddi mein aa jaoge, paise hain toh batao.
By the time you finish the fees of these three, you'll have nothing left. Mukesh bhai has. Now, I was like, You know, Shaak, we love you. But someone they should have said, you know what, Shaq, there are a few people in this country who not, they won't come in that Shadi. If they call you, you will dance for free in your shadi.
You know, two of them sit in Delhi. Hmm. Two of them sit in Bombay, . So, so I think that is something no star should think, pick
Sound Byte: up, you know, Americans.
There's always a bigger bully than you. And this is a line from a Bud Spencer, Terence Hill film. You know Bud Spencer, Terence Hill?
Rajyasree: I grew up watching.
Abhinandan Sekhri: This big guy is beating up someone and bud spencer goes and bashes the fuck out of him [00:42:00] and says remember there's always someone bigger than you and that goes for me too.
So I think it's it's Khan will be even more desirable, attractive, wonderful. If he just turns it down a notch dude you you You've danced for jerks. So don't take it easy on the swagger.
Rajyasree: Such a lesson you've given us. Tell us a film that we should watch. Our viewers and listeners should watch. He's already given us.
You're not
Abhinandan Sekhri: paying attention.
Rajyasree: No, he didn't say. He said only Merry Christmas. Only Merry Christmas. You did not remember.
Abhinandan Sekhri: Don't try to recover that. Of course, I remember. I remember. I said I was not impressed. You know, I'm seriously. No, it's your Alzheimer's. and say, hey, give me badam allowance. So that I can go see that a very young age.
I'm forgetting what happened five minutes ago. But thank you. This is a bit like I had an interview of a young person here who made famous. I think facts are facts. Facts [00:43:00] are not facts in this very studio who did not remember what he said five minutes ago to me. I'm getting that vibe from him, but thanks so much, Rahul.
Uh, please check out Rahul stuff. on Film Companion, his reviews, and hopefully we shall, uh, get him on the podcast where he gets to talk a little more and Rajshri and I don't keep cutting in.
Rahul Desai: See you again. Thank you for having me.
Abhinandan Sekhri: So Rajshri, now, before you tell us about this series that you watch, which is called The Regime.
Rajyasree: Yes.
Abhinandan Sekhri: Uh, I want to remind everybody that do contribute. Our teams are raring to go and cover elections and we can't do it without you.
Rajyasree: This show, which I think you must, you really must watch it, Niko. It is so good. It's called The Regime. It is sadly the only negative thing about this show. is that it is streaming on GeoCinema.
com. And because Geo has so much money, they have bought all the best programs. [00:44:00] So anything you want to watch, it's on GeoCinema right now. So if you can move past the fact that it's on GeoCinema, the regime stars Kate Winstead, who's also an executive producer on it, as far as I know. Yes, she's an executive producer on the show.
She plays the dictator, the elected dictator of an Eastern European country. And she is clearly off her rocker. But there's a slight sanity. It's like, Putin and all have that vibe going. She has that same vibe, like, Something is not right over there, but she speaks and sometimes and she manages the court of ministers with an iron fist.
Absolutely. Her dead father's body has been embalmed and kept in a coffin, a glass coffin and, uh, air conditioned glass coffin. She goes and speaks to him every day [00:45:00] and has, it's
Abhinandan Sekhri: like a satire. It's
Rajyasree: a satire. She's doing some interesting
Abhinandan Sekhri: work. And she
Rajyasree: is. She's so good in this. She's also done something. She does something to her lip.
So one side of her, no, one side of her lip bends down. And so this is, uh, and how has she come to power? There used to be a left, uh, PM or whatever chance. She's a chancellor, by the way. So there was a left, uh, leader who has been, she ousted from power. And she said that the reason he has been ousted is because he was taking money from the West.
I am not. I am here to look after all of you. And I'm this benevolent
Abhinandan Sekhri: dictator,
Rajyasree: dictator, but she doesn't call herself. She's one of the people she releases music videos. She'd like it still. She's a with it. [00:46:00] Yeah, she's with it, but she's very, and Kate Winslet is very attractive. So even when she's doing that thing with her lip, something she does, it goes, I
Abhinandan Sekhri: mean, she's aged really well.
Rajyasree: She just looks so good because she, as she says, see when I do this, my eyes wrinkle. So she has not got work done on her face and all. But, uh, it is directed by Stephen Frears, who did The Queen, and he's done another very good show called A Very English Scandal. It is a six number of, yeah, I think it's a six episode.
The final, uh, episode is next week. So while she's married, she has a child who she did not, uh, carry because why should she not because she couldn't she did not want to carry the child. So this other woman, uh, gave birth to the child and that woman is kept on as like a handmaiden for the child. She's one of the normal ones.
The cabinet of ministers is [00:47:00] very, very funny. And there's this guy called Herbert Zuback, who there's, uh, you know, They have these high security guards who work in these. She has mines and he shoots a whole bunch of people. Now every other year or so she gets one of these. She gets a favorite person who basically she takes as a lover.
And, but this Herbert Zubiak becomes like a Rasputin kind of character who starts influencing her and she's very much in love with him. But that left leader is Hugh Grant. Oh, he's there for just he's, he's aged so, but he's, uh, I don't know. It's a age badly.
Abhinandan Sekhri: Yeah. You know, when you see him without me, you're not pink up.
But Cas still very well. I mean, I think, have you seen this, um, film called Vir? So there was a song in that[00:48:00]
Song: age
Abhinandan Sekhri: nine,
Song: so that means
Abhinandan Sekhri: you're old one. So the point I was making was that, that you ought be a little, huh? You know, my age is 30 plus fine. That means you're old wine. So Kate Winslet, basically, because also Bindu reminds me of Kate Winslet, basically. I do have some contribution to make.
Rajyasree: Yeah, but European skin, I feel crumbles.
When they age, because they keep going and sunning themselves, right? It's not good for your skin to do all these things. No, it is,
Abhinandan Sekhri: because I've been told I have vitamin D deficiency. So I'm taking pills. I might as well sit in the sun.
Rajyasree: You're taking those vitamin D pills. A friend of mine got hospitalized because he had vitamin D deficiency.
I have no such problems. I was also told by, you know, this subtle racism that happens in India. I was telling, because I'd shared this video, someone had posted, like one of these influencers had posted of your, [00:49:00] what your night time routine should be for your skin before you go to sleep. She gave eight bottles of things you're supposed to put.
Toner, retinol, you finish toner, retinol, cream, moisturizer, something, something. Anyway, by that time though, I was like, It will be morning only and in the morning, if you start, you will have finished your day. You don't have to go to work. You just keep putting all these creams on your face. So I shared it.
This friend of mine, who is very fair, she said, ha ha, but you know. Us people with fair skin actually have to look after our skin more than you people with dark skin. You blackies don't need to look after.
Abhinandan Sekhri: That's, that's a I said now
Rajyasree: melanin, what can I do? But anyway, it is this show regime is one of the cleverest satires that I've seen in a long time.
And Kate Winslet is just excellent. Hugh Grant is there for exactly that one episode. Because the left leader, y'all should, this is spoiler, you'll stop listening [00:50:00] for two minutes, she keeps saying. Not two minutes, fifteen seconds. She keeps saying that where has he gone? He has gone to, uh, America and he's living there and all.
He's not. He's in prison, in her dungeon. She has just been nice and given him a slightly, like, There's a drawing room and a thing but he sees no, he goes out into the sun for one hour in the day.
Abhinandan Sekhri: So he'll also need vitamin D. He'll
Rajyasree: also, he definitely needs vitamin D. By the
Abhinandan Sekhri: way, Face on the Wall was not by Jerome K.
Jerome, it was by E. V. Lucas.
Rajyasree: Yes, that's what I thought but I didn't want to correct you, okay. But as I would say, so I would strongly recommend this. I would recommend you watch this because it is such a, it is such a great show. Good country on U. S. politics, the way they interfere in Europe.
Abhinandan Sekhri: The moment I get back to watching stuff, the first thing I want to watch is the Crew.
No, the one which is on the news network succession.
Rajyasree: No, Neku, that's eight years of a show. So let me get there [00:51:00] first.
Abhinandan Sekhri: So on that note, we shall be back. Oh, we have a letter. Oh, yes, please read it. But I'm just Two letters, two, two. I'm just, uh, you know, I'm just wondering, like, I used to love Yes, Abhirandan,
Rajyasree: you have abandoned me and It's
Abhinandan Sekhri: been, what, four, five months since I even I cannot bear to step into a mall.
Just the thought of going to a mall gives me acidity. But So, I cannot get myself to go to a theater. But
Rajyasree: I don't do anything else in the mall. I go straight to the theater. But even I saw this after a long time. But see, I don't have a broom.
Abhinandan Sekhri: I can fly straight into my seat. I just have to go through the lift and the parking of the mall.
We should
Rajyasree: go and watch Madgaon Express.
Abhinandan Sekhri: I cannot. I mean, I have to, I think I have to go to a psychiatrist to, yeah, to psych myself into going out again.
Rajyasree: No, but they, aren't there single screen theatres? Regal? Not regal. Going out is such a tedious. That is the thing only I feel. I also feel it's like three hours of your time gone.
So, Gaurav Bohra has written and Gaurav. You will be so impressed by us because [00:52:00] he's written recommendation as to what zone of interest. It's not a horror movie, but it terrified me like no other. The movie just revolves around the house of commanding officer next to the infamous, infamous German concentration camp Auschwitz and the small luxuries in there and how the wife is enjoying it where next door millions are killed.
The background sound of gunshots and screaming more like in every house where there's one irritating sound of a fan or something. outside traffic and the residents are so used to it that they don't react. I've never seen a movie like this. So we did review it today and I just, it's a spectacular film, uh, I have to say.
The other thing I did not know, I just met this German ex colleague of mine and he was saying, he said, you know, I find it fascinating. He, Gone to Madras, then he'd come here, and I think he went to Cal also. He said, every bookshop I pass, there's me and Kampfis in the window. So I said, yeah, he said, you know, in Germany, you can't have the [00:53:00] book in, if someone complains, you can't have it, no one will.
If someone complains, you go to jail. You're not even allowed to own it. So I said we also have Mao's Little Red Book. It's like equal opportunity, this thing. But, so I didn't know that it's not, uh, even allowed, permitted in Germany. And Aditya's written, Hi Rajshree, love your podcast and recommendations on ANA.
Would be great if you can also do a recommendation on the Gilded Age. age. It already has two seasons out. You would have to bear Geo Cinema for it. I particularly liked it, especially loved Carrie Coon, who has carried the entire show. Thanks. Best, Aditya. I don't know, Aditya. I, everyone's told me to watch it, but I haven't been able to get around to it, but let's see.
Abhinandan Sekhri: And if you want to write in with your comments, your feedback, your suggestions, your criticism, all of that, or your praise, uh, you can write to podcasts at newslondon. com. I repeat podcasts at newslondon. com and the subject line, please [00:54:00] write ANA. So it goes to the right podcast. But a better way of doing this is click on the link in the show notes below.
A window will pop up and there you can give in your feedback. You're just restricted to about 150, 200 words, not more. Right. So on that note, I would like to thank all our listeners who have been contributing. Last week, actually, we got some good contributions for our election fund. So thank you, you and those who did.
If you didn't and can afford to, you must fund journalism, because government ads funded journalism is taking this seriously. country to hell. So unless people step up, be ready to suffer in hell. Uh, so thank you to our sound recordist, Anil. Thank you to our producer, Priyali. Uh, and thank you, Miss Sen.
Rajyasree: Thank you, Mr. Sekhri.
Abhinandan Sekhri: It's a wrap.
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