October 28, 2025 • 21 mins
Param Sundari, the new film starring Janhvi Kapoor and Sidharth Malhotra, seems to make things up as it goes along.
We discuss the offensive cultural appropriation in every frame of the film, the odd motivations of its protagonists, and the film’s reliance on cultural stereotypes.
We also talk about Janhvi Kapoor’s wardrobe, a potentially incendiary scene set inside a church, and how Bollywood filmmakers continue to fail upwards.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:16):
Hi. Hello, Karera.
And I'm Rohan Nahar. Welcome to the long take.
This week, we're discussing the new Janhvi Kapoor and the Tamil
movie. It's called Param Sundari, and
it's now on Prime Video after a run in theaters.
Yeah. We keep getting like, one of
these cross cultural love stories, Rohan, like, every
couple of years now from Bollywood.
And they never really seem to, like, care about the cultures
they're depicting, at least the one they're not familiar with.
(00:38):
And it's another one of those. Yeah.
What do you make of it? Yeah, it's.
Just pure rubbish. And it's weird because they seem
to recognize the ignorance. You know that sort of exists,
yeah. Yeah, and then they're ignorant
while depicting it. Yeah, like it's weird, right?
What a weird approach to take. Like yes, we are stupid and and
(00:58):
let's just make a movie about that now.
Thomas like I'm sure like they hire people who will like, you
know, are like advising them on how to represent the culture
they're not familiar with. And also those people are
involved at some stage level in the film making process.
And then they're like, delivery actually either ignore what
they're giving them or they dumbit down so much that by the time
(01:18):
what's left on the screen is like insanely stereotypical.
I seriously doubt that they barely hire like screenwriters.
Like they're not going to hire like cultural accuracy
ambassadors or something. So you're saying that a
Bollywood like Hindi speaking crew like flies from whatever
some part of North India to likea lot of film the movie and no
local fixer is involved at any stage?
(01:40):
No, they'll be involved. Like they'll be like, involved
in dressing the stage. Dressing the stage or whatever,
or there'll be extras in the background.
Sometimes they have like 2 lines.
More real input, you're saying in the actual film making?
Yeah, Yeah, this. Is the script the same as you
know how they make like movies about the Gen.
Z and they will have. Like 20 of involved here, right?
Like there is a Gen. Z character here, or like a Gen.
(02:01):
alpha or most, I don't know whatever.
I'm saying that the. Entire person just talks in like
against typical like acronyms and like words as if like they
can't even find one Gen. Z person in their crew can tell
them like people don't talk likethis.
No, because also the girl in this movie is a little too young
to even feel empowered to voice her opinion, I suppose.
(02:22):
But like, there are so many movies in which like, you know,
these are Ananya Pandey and all they're.
They're like the main star. Yeah.
And they will still say like themost unrealistic stuff that
they. Will say hashtag in a sentence
in real life like as this person.
Does so imagine if they are not able to be be like, listen,
nobody talks like this, then no Malayali extra in this movie is
going to be like, why am I talking in Hindi, You know?
(02:43):
So I think we should like reallycontain the kind of benefit of
doubt we give to especially movies like this because this is
clearly just made by like reallyinept people.
Like, I'm not even going to pretend that this person has
some sort of hidden talent and the industry is not really
tapping into that whatever. But this is just you are
incapable of doing this job and you should not be doing it.
(03:07):
It's as simple as that. If you were in any other
profession to be kicked out in the first.
Yeah, Yeah. You would not be hired like you
would. There would be a vetting process
of like your credentials of like, OK, what do you bring to a
table of telling the story from two different cultures and you
would be like with really half of it you are not qualified for.
Like, is this the level of nepotism that we're dealing
with? This man is the son of Anup
(03:28):
Jalota and somehow Jalota is thefamous like bhajan singer.
I had no idea, but yeah, I guessthat's of nepotism now that is
that yeah, kids of semi unknown people are now like.
Getting Anuja Rutha is quite famous like I would just.
Point. Fair enough, I don't know a lot.
Of people. So the point is that he's like
(03:51):
the like the slightest like whiff of industry connection is
enough, right? Because Anuj Rutha is not
singing Bollywood songs, right? But just because he's singing
songs and he's tangentially connected to like, the
entertainment industry and he probably knows everybody.
And the fact that his son was able to hang out in crowds, he
was other who would not get the chance otherwise.
(04:11):
Yeah. This is like the dude who made
that railway show. Remember where KK Menon came
back to life after dying and nowhe's making an Alia Bhatt movie?
Show. Show is a exaggeration of like
what that was. It was basically a long movie.
It was. Three episodes I think and it
was like I was like why is this?3 episodes?
Just switch it together. So this, this one could have
(04:31):
ironically been like a show because it's just so now we'll
play the sport. And now the sport is over.
Now we'll do like a yeah. It can basically be like 20
minute episodes like you know, every sitcom, like you know,
this is the joke for this like episode or this is the setup for
this episode and it's closed it out.
You know how there's like this growing apparently market for
(04:52):
like micro dramas? I've never seen one, but I've
heard about it. Yeah, it's basically like 3
minute episodes. And because like this is the age
of like Instagram and tech talk we live in, right?
So when the mats the maximum, you can stretch a narrative
format on like a vertical video level before people have to like
leave their metro and go into the office.
Yeah, so this movie could very easily just be like released as
(05:14):
a micro drama. Like I felt this.
They could just like chop it up into 300.
Don't give them ideas. They will re release Param
Sundari revisited and then they will release it for like 30 days
anyway. No one's covered so.
It'll work for them. Exactly, but then the good thing
is that we will never come across it.
I've never seen a micro trauma in my life and I don't know what
(05:35):
apps host them. If they were to just release
this nonsense over there we would never have come across it.
Instead it's like the main. It's the most mainstream thing
imaginable in like wide release.If this was released like a week
after whatever homebound or was this is the other one I don't
know. Homebound was sandwiched between
two like No, no it was. Not one of those.
This was released in like Augustand or something.
(05:55):
OK, so that must be the other one, that there's too many.
Movies happening this summer or whatever you call it.
Yeah, Anyway, so this is just full nonsense, right?
This guy is, I think he's they're trying to do like a
Rocky Randhawa from Rocky Rani Prem Kahani.
But that guy had like some vulnerabilities and he would
occasionally be like, listen, I look like a certain person on
(06:16):
the outside, but here is what I have on the inside.
Whereas this stored in this movie is just like entitled from
minute one. And there is no reason for me to
care about him at all. Yeah, there's.
No change. It's not like he's less entitled
and he's like, I'm giving up my father's money by the end,
right? That's not his journey or
something. I I basically checked out of
this movie after 20 minutes and I couldn't tell you what
(06:38):
happens. I remember there's some boat
race then obviously. There's a boat race because
they're going to Kerala, so you have to like show the back.
Waters. There's Kala Reapaya 2, which of
course you've gone to Kerala. You got to do that.
Also, there is a lot of drinking.
There is, Toddie mentions. Because that's all that careless
people do, apparently. Yeah, 1 driver gets so drunk and
(06:59):
he crashes their car in like the10th minute of the movie.
Yep, the first part of the movieis like just like I don't know
what I was supposed to be, but it's like this is looking at
like ABS now in the start of themovie, the movie starts with
ABS. Like is this like a gym
commercial or a movie? Gym commercial being yeah, it's
like a Old Spice commercial. Yeah, like 2 seconds.
And it's like also an equal opportunity offender, right,
(07:20):
Because it's just as rude towards the Sardarji character.
Yeah, who's who? Like there is like sound effects
going Hari pari pari comes or something obviously.
Because like direction makeover conviction thing, yes.
And when the director came with footage to the editor, but he's
like, oh, I'm not able to communicate the feeling.
So the the music compose stands up and like Sir, mere Likai
(07:41):
Punjabi tune is mere mere like you know, AASU Bhair, can we
just chip cow that everywhere across the movie And they're
like, yeah, why not? Yeah, it's either sound effects
or that Sonu Nigam song that plays I was not able to figure
out. Yeah, yeah, The main song that
plays 25 times is just the. Refrain plays 25 times.
Not the song, just the refrain. Yeah, yeah, The song plays once
(08:02):
and then the reflect. And it's not like it's the theme
music for something, right? No, whenever you're supposed to
be like, whenever it's supposed to be a drama and not a comedy,
the song will just pop up. Yeah, there's two things.
Either there's like a sad one where they're talking about like
tears are falling day and night,or which is the sad.
And then is it which plays like whenever they want to convey
sadness or like the two lovers are drifting apart and this is a
(08:22):
happy one where like he's going crazy about Sundari, which the
word Sundari is in the lyrics so.
Yeah, yeah. It's like a 5 year old wrote
this. I wouldn't even like accuse them
of, you know, artificial intelligence or whatever because
no, that might be smarter than this.
Like you might give it the script and be like you know this
is seeming to like. I think AI will tell you the
(08:43):
scenes too. Still at record of Kerala and
Uttanaus Kobe. Pattayavi Anna Bollywood is the
only industry where like I am waiting for AI to come because
it like you can't get worse likeit'll just be but it.
Is getting worse. Like I don't think you've heard
of Have you heard of? There's a full drama series
based on Mahabharat coming to Hotstar.
Yeah, yeah, I saw, I saw. Like no human.
(09:05):
Hearted There is a part of me that's like apocalypse is
happening, but then there is also a part of me that's like
serves you right for torturing the entire country for years and
years with Param Sundri type nonsense.
This is what you deserve to be out of work.
You know like if I was doing this and I was this bad I
wouldn't survive. So people who wrote this should
not be allowed. To actually relax and corrodes
(09:26):
even 5. Rupees, this is not over ₹5.
How dare you ask for money like ticket cup SRDL one escape yeah
Is there's no shame left. No, there's this this nonsense
there. And this is supposedly like a
love story where like forget allthe other annoyances about it.
I don't buy that for one second.Like why is this person chasing
(09:47):
a woman that he's never met? And then he is not he.
I don't understand his motivations beyond the app
nonsense. Yeah, that's basically it, he
replies across of the country. Because he's like, no business
idea has ever worked. So this is like a Hail Mary.
Also like that, gaslighting eachother in the old ways, right?
Because he is not being fully truthful with her and she isn't
(10:12):
being fully truthful with him. And then they have a scene where
it's kind of revealed. And I don't know what the
purpose of this church scene was.
I don't remember what exactly happens in it.
I just remember that it felt a little sacrilegious the way that
it was kind. So I was like, why is she like,
(10:40):
firstly wearing such tiny clothes in every scene and then
you're making her do like, seductive stuff inside a church?
I don't understand the meaning of this.
It just doesn't look right, you know, It was all really weird.
Yeah. He.
Like he just like randomly askedher to like, there's no music
but you just told me you love dancing, so why don't you dance
in this church now? And she's like, OK, I'll comply.
(11:02):
Why are you complaining? It feels so weird, like that was
1 moment where I was like, I should probably just mute this
now, yeah and. That moment I also like felt the
age difference between the two. OK, like this feels like he's
talking down to like, you know, do it.
I said it. Yeah.
Yeah, it's a little weird. I don't know what the actual age
is. He's probably like 10 years old,
(11:24):
right? 12 but I don't know what they're
depicting him as. Like he looks old.
He doesn't look like in his early 30s anymore.
Yeah, and she doesn't look like she's in her 30s at all.
Yeah. So I'm like, that is also there.
But like, clearly no one cares. There's the other issue of like,
you know how he found her through an app and they they're
(11:45):
not spoken like hello exchange some chats right before you show
it's at someone's door. No, you just.
Fly across. He doesn't tell her.
Yeah, he just, he just pretends like I'm supposed to be here.
And because the app has decreed we are meant to be there.
It's that almost like a 2025 version of Like Hamari.
(12:07):
Yeah. And it's saying that like the
app developer, he has like, secret access to the data,
right? So the app developer has access
to like, the phone's GPS location, and he has revealed
user data to a prospective investor.
And he's like, users, my God. Like, this is how apps get
funded in India. Then I'm like, concerned.
(12:29):
I'm pretty sure there's no accuracy in.
I mean they couldn't be botheredto like hire real Malayali for
starters to play a Malayali director.
Yeah. And then then ask the lead
actress to defend her casting. That happened.
Yeah. Yeah, apparently, like she was
saying, I am playing a Tamil Malayali or something.
She doesn't make it. OK good.
(12:50):
Not Tamil, Malayali. Good, good attempt to like,
defend it like we pick up bad. Yeah, right.
Janhvi Kapoor, we paid you crores.
Can you go defend us in social media now?
Because there is a literal scenein the movie, and I remember
this because it's early in the movie and I had checked out.
When she's like Humsa, you know,it's like South is not the one.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then I'm like 8 seconds.
(13:12):
You're not Malayali either. You're supposed to be Deeda
Rajni. You're getting a federal Rajni
who are the original. This is like that stupid Anubhav
Sinha movie that we watch now, where they're like, Northeast is
important, you guys don't know anything.
And plus we won't mention what state we're in because Northeast
is same. Yeah, sometimes.
(13:32):
That entire movie like bus shop again outside of PO.
Yeah, even this one is right, because it's fully like.
Yeah, this is fully like made for North Indian games.
Like they know their audience, they know S may like forget,
like Maladi's watching it. Not even the other states will
care about them, so they're likelet's just move, make the movie
for North Indians purely. Which is why everything is
explained twice. You know how those sexist movies
(13:55):
that we sometimes watch and the the concern is that people will
watch their behavior and be like, yeah, of course that's
that's how you treat women. You know, that's what we've been
doing and that's fine. So in this movie, it's like a
comedy version of that where people will make fun of like
Idli Vera Sambar. And then I can almost imagine
like a North Indian like dumbasscrowd watching and being like,
(14:18):
ha ha ha. That's so funny because we do
that all day long. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Like people are gonna watch likethe Sadar character, not be able
to pronounce some things and be like, yeah, I can relate.
Their names are very. Weird.
Yeah, that joke is done like 35 times.
The take away he will not like realize that he's being annoying
and like an idiot. And he's sort of kind of
(14:40):
redeemed because then he like there's a like a romantic sub
plot of him and some. Yeah, if anything I would say
like his romantic plot is betterthan the main romantic.
Plot because we don't see it. Yeah, a we don't see it, so
that's why it's automatically better.
Second, it doesn't have the annoyances of the main plot
where like 1000 things are beingkept from each other.
Like goes into a genuine he actually has.
(15:00):
He has no agenda, he's just coming his friend and supporting
him with moral support. He lands up here, he actually
falls in love. He finds the woman, then he
refuses to leave her behind whenthis guy wants to.
Like leave and he tries to learnabout her culture.
Exactly, he learns about the cultural like minutes and he
learns the entire language and this guy doesn't even want to
like learn a few words. She has to speak in Hindi the
entire time for him. And he like, tricks her into
(15:24):
thinking that he knows her favorite song.
Whereas bro, just like, tell herwhat your favorite song is.
How difficult is that? Yeah, it doesn't matter that you
need to have the same. You don't have to have it.
That's literally what cause cross culture means.
It means sharing your common, like not common uncommon
interest and then being like, Ohyeah, I like this too.
I like, oh, you found this. You were like this too.
Like that's what you benefit from each other's culture.
(15:46):
You don't try to mimic that cultural appropriation
literally. It's so stupid.
It's like nobody involved. New word.
It's just that bubble film making, right?
People don't know like, and I find it very weird because it's
not like I am super well travelled or anything.
Sure, but I know better than to do this right because this is
just like, insulting. You don't go there and try to
(16:08):
pretend, you know, like that's what we wouldn't do.
And he's fully going there from minute one and saying, I want to
learn about this culture. That's how he enters the home
state. And then second, like he just
flips and he's like, Oh, no, no,I pretend to like, I'm gonna
pretend to be like fully like aware.
Of everything and there could have like, there is so much
opportunity to make a good storywith these teams because India
(16:30):
is so diverse and people do travel and sometimes they do
feel like out of place because the culture is so different.
And sometimes in the most remotecorner you can find, like a
common thing to bond over with someone who doesn't even speak
your language, you know, there'sso much to understand.
Like they don't even talk about like, I don't know, like
spirituality or like anything like where do these people come
(16:53):
from? Their background is entirely
different, but they must have something that they.
Shared Yeah, it's insane, right?It's like actually what he was
talking about, like a micro drama would have the same depth
as this movie, but I like a micro drama this last two hour
and 15 minutes. So you have so much time to
actually like scratch on the surface, but you're like, Nah.
This movie could have actually gone on for like 3 more hours
(17:15):
without really changing anything.
They're like Abhi Hamara main plot.
Now the plot has changed to this.
Now we will have a horse race. Now they will get on top of an
elephant and they could have just kept making things up
because it never ends. Yeah, it's so stupid.
I just, I hate this movie. I'm surprised that this people
(17:38):
watch this in theaters. Like people paid actual money.
It took out like 5 hours of their lives probably spend.
Yeah, but I feel like we've saidthere are so many movies like
and things keeps like ever changing.
It just like gets Dumber and. Dumber somehow.
Haven't we like arrived at a point where people are like, OK,
this is not worth my time and money now, so I'm not going to
(17:58):
watch this. I'm going to wait for this to
come home, you know? And it's not like everybody on
the street was like, oh, you gotto watch.
But on Sunday, it's so good. Like, 12th failed, right?
At least that happened. It wasn't that level.
Yeah, sure. It's not like a the new Kantara
level thing where like a people are actually mentioning it to
your face and saying, yeah, I'veheard like things and I'm like,
what things have you? Heard so Kantara is like the
(18:20):
first one makes logical sense for the second one to do well
because the first one did well. You know people like they
watched it 12th Fhate. It makes sense because everybody
was it was just word of mouth. This one nobody I know has seen
this movie. How did?
I'm sure like you mention this name and be like, wait, is that
a movie or a song? Something I who is whose job it
(18:40):
is to know these things? I got confused, Yeah, If this
was the Karan Johar one or if this was the one that came
before homebound because I don'tknow.
Yeah, it's like every studio wants to, like, make one of
these because like, the producers like, oh, my God, we
will get to our movie will appeal to both Nortons and South
Indians. That sounds like a dream.
Instead of appeals to nobody andit's like.
(19:04):
That's what they don't realize is that it's so interesting.
That's what the issue is like with these like 4 quadrant like
nonsense approaches is that you try to appeal to everyone.
You end up like disappointing everyone.
I would just love to have been in one of those writing meetings
for this movie, because that would just.
I don't think you would because you would have put a gun in your
mouth. Yeah, But like, it would be so,
(19:25):
like, enlightening, right? Like, oh, this is how the dish
is made. You know, like, this is the
level of intellect that we are spending crores and crores on.
Like some people will actually be like, I'm sure that they just
sat around in these meetings andthey were like South Indian log
what's called Nambaton. Yeah, and they, they, they AI
(19:46):
that result. They were like, what is Kerala
known for? Question mark.
Tragedy. And at one point, Janvi
literally says, oh, that they call it God's own country.
Yeah. You are from here.
You are not the param character.How can you have this line?
It's. Like me walking around in Delhi
saying you know what they call Delhi the rape capital of India?
(20:10):
It's like New Yorkers calling was my there's a Big Apple.
No one does it. No one calls the city they love
in by their tourist nickname. Yeah, but like whatever, another
one of. Those.
Yeah, Another, it's going to be like 2-3 years.
You're going to end up discussing another one of these,
like from a different studio, like all of them have to.
We keep making one every three years because I think it's a
(20:31):
brilliant idea, but it's not. Yeah.
But no one does not listen. Yeah, OK, start.
So wrap it up. Yeah.
That's all for this episode of The Long Take.
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Thanks for listening. Bye.
Hi. Hello, Karera.
And I'm Rohan Nahar. Welcome to the long take.
This week, we're discussing the new Janhvi Kapoor and the Tamil
movie. It's called Param Sundari, and
it's now on Prime Video after a run in theaters.
Yeah. We keep getting like, one of
these cross cultural love stories, Rohan, like, every
couple of years now from Bollywood.
And they never really seem to, like, care about the cultures
they're depicting, at least the one they're not familiar with.
(00:38):
And it's another one of those. Yeah.
What do you make of it? Yeah, it's.
Just pure rubbish. And it's weird because they seem
to recognize the ignorance. You know that sort of exists,
yeah. Yeah, and then they're ignorant
while depicting it. Yeah, like it's weird, right?
What a weird approach to take. Like yes, we are stupid and and
(00:58):
let's just make a movie about that now.
Thomas like I'm sure like they hire people who will like, you
know, are like advising them on how to represent the culture
they're not familiar with. And also those people are
involved at some stage level in the film making process.
And then they're like, delivery actually either ignore what
they're giving them or they dumbit down so much that by the time
(01:18):
what's left on the screen is like insanely stereotypical.
I seriously doubt that they barely hire like screenwriters.
Like they're not going to hire like cultural accuracy
ambassadors or something. So you're saying that a
Bollywood like Hindi speaking crew like flies from whatever
some part of North India to likea lot of film the movie and no
local fixer is involved at any stage?
(01:40):
No, they'll be involved. Like they'll be like, involved
in dressing the stage. Dressing the stage or whatever,
or there'll be extras in the background.
Sometimes they have like 2 lines.
More real input, you're saying in the actual film making?
Yeah, Yeah, this. Is the script the same as you
know how they make like movies about the Gen.
Z and they will have. Like 20 of involved here, right?
Like there is a Gen. Z character here, or like a Gen.
(02:01):
alpha or most, I don't know whatever.
I'm saying that the. Entire person just talks in like
against typical like acronyms and like words as if like they
can't even find one Gen. Z person in their crew can tell
them like people don't talk likethis.
No, because also the girl in this movie is a little too young
to even feel empowered to voice her opinion, I suppose.
(02:22):
But like, there are so many movies in which like, you know,
these are Ananya Pandey and all they're.
They're like the main star. Yeah.
And they will still say like themost unrealistic stuff that
they. Will say hashtag in a sentence
in real life like as this person.
Does so imagine if they are not able to be be like, listen,
nobody talks like this, then no Malayali extra in this movie is
going to be like, why am I talking in Hindi, You know?
(02:43):
So I think we should like reallycontain the kind of benefit of
doubt we give to especially movies like this because this is
clearly just made by like reallyinept people.
Like, I'm not even going to pretend that this person has
some sort of hidden talent and the industry is not really
tapping into that whatever. But this is just you are
incapable of doing this job and you should not be doing it.
(03:07):
It's as simple as that. If you were in any other
profession to be kicked out in the first.
Yeah, Yeah. You would not be hired like you
would. There would be a vetting process
of like your credentials of like, OK, what do you bring to a
table of telling the story from two different cultures and you
would be like with really half of it you are not qualified for.
Like, is this the level of nepotism that we're dealing
with? This man is the son of Anup
(03:28):
Jalota and somehow Jalota is thefamous like bhajan singer.
I had no idea, but yeah, I guessthat's of nepotism now that is
that yeah, kids of semi unknown people are now like.
Getting Anuja Rutha is quite famous like I would just.
Point. Fair enough, I don't know a lot.
Of people. So the point is that he's like
(03:51):
the like the slightest like whiff of industry connection is
enough, right? Because Anuj Rutha is not
singing Bollywood songs, right? But just because he's singing
songs and he's tangentially connected to like, the
entertainment industry and he probably knows everybody.
And the fact that his son was able to hang out in crowds, he
was other who would not get the chance otherwise.
(04:11):
Yeah. This is like the dude who made
that railway show. Remember where KK Menon came
back to life after dying and nowhe's making an Alia Bhatt movie?
Show. Show is a exaggeration of like
what that was. It was basically a long movie.
It was. Three episodes I think and it
was like I was like why is this?3 episodes?
Just switch it together. So this, this one could have
(04:31):
ironically been like a show because it's just so now we'll
play the sport. And now the sport is over.
Now we'll do like a yeah. It can basically be like 20
minute episodes like you know, every sitcom, like you know,
this is the joke for this like episode or this is the setup for
this episode and it's closed it out.
You know how there's like this growing apparently market for
(04:52):
like micro dramas? I've never seen one, but I've
heard about it. Yeah, it's basically like 3
minute episodes. And because like this is the age
of like Instagram and tech talk we live in, right?
So when the mats the maximum, you can stretch a narrative
format on like a vertical video level before people have to like
leave their metro and go into the office.
Yeah, so this movie could very easily just be like released as
(05:14):
a micro drama. Like I felt this.
They could just like chop it up into 300.
Don't give them ideas. They will re release Param
Sundari revisited and then they will release it for like 30 days
anyway. No one's covered so.
It'll work for them. Exactly, but then the good thing
is that we will never come across it.
I've never seen a micro trauma in my life and I don't know what
(05:35):
apps host them. If they were to just release
this nonsense over there we would never have come across it.
Instead it's like the main. It's the most mainstream thing
imaginable in like wide release.If this was released like a week
after whatever homebound or was this is the other one I don't
know. Homebound was sandwiched between
two like No, no it was. Not one of those.
This was released in like Augustand or something.
(05:55):
OK, so that must be the other one, that there's too many.
Movies happening this summer or whatever you call it.
Yeah, Anyway, so this is just full nonsense, right?
This guy is, I think he's they're trying to do like a
Rocky Randhawa from Rocky Rani Prem Kahani.
But that guy had like some vulnerabilities and he would
occasionally be like, listen, I look like a certain person on
(06:16):
the outside, but here is what I have on the inside.
Whereas this stored in this movie is just like entitled from
minute one. And there is no reason for me to
care about him at all. Yeah, there's.
No change. It's not like he's less entitled
and he's like, I'm giving up my father's money by the end,
right? That's not his journey or
something. I I basically checked out of
this movie after 20 minutes and I couldn't tell you what
(06:38):
happens. I remember there's some boat
race then obviously. There's a boat race because
they're going to Kerala, so you have to like show the back.
Waters. There's Kala Reapaya 2, which of
course you've gone to Kerala. You got to do that.
Also, there is a lot of drinking.
There is, Toddie mentions. Because that's all that careless
people do, apparently. Yeah, 1 driver gets so drunk and
(06:59):
he crashes their car in like the10th minute of the movie.
Yep, the first part of the movieis like just like I don't know
what I was supposed to be, but it's like this is looking at
like ABS now in the start of themovie, the movie starts with
ABS. Like is this like a gym
commercial or a movie? Gym commercial being yeah, it's
like a Old Spice commercial. Yeah, like 2 seconds.
And it's like also an equal opportunity offender, right,
(07:20):
Because it's just as rude towards the Sardarji character.
Yeah, who's who? Like there is like sound effects
going Hari pari pari comes or something obviously.
Because like direction makeover conviction thing, yes.
And when the director came with footage to the editor, but he's
like, oh, I'm not able to communicate the feeling.
So the the music compose stands up and like Sir, mere Likai
(07:41):
Punjabi tune is mere mere like you know, AASU Bhair, can we
just chip cow that everywhere across the movie And they're
like, yeah, why not? Yeah, it's either sound effects
or that Sonu Nigam song that plays I was not able to figure
out. Yeah, yeah, The main song that
plays 25 times is just the. Refrain plays 25 times.
Not the song, just the refrain. Yeah, yeah, The song plays once
(08:02):
and then the reflect. And it's not like it's the theme
music for something, right? No, whenever you're supposed to
be like, whenever it's supposed to be a drama and not a comedy,
the song will just pop up. Yeah, there's two things.
Either there's like a sad one where they're talking about like
tears are falling day and night,or which is the sad.
And then is it which plays like whenever they want to convey
sadness or like the two lovers are drifting apart and this is a
(08:22):
happy one where like he's going crazy about Sundari, which the
word Sundari is in the lyrics so.
Yeah, yeah. It's like a 5 year old wrote
this. I wouldn't even like accuse them
of, you know, artificial intelligence or whatever because
no, that might be smarter than this.
Like you might give it the script and be like you know this
is seeming to like. I think AI will tell you the
(08:43):
scenes too. Still at record of Kerala and
Uttanaus Kobe. Pattayavi Anna Bollywood is the
only industry where like I am waiting for AI to come because
it like you can't get worse likeit'll just be but it.
Is getting worse. Like I don't think you've heard
of Have you heard of? There's a full drama series
based on Mahabharat coming to Hotstar.
Yeah, yeah, I saw, I saw. Like no human.
(09:05):
Hearted There is a part of me that's like apocalypse is
happening, but then there is also a part of me that's like
serves you right for torturing the entire country for years and
years with Param Sundri type nonsense.
This is what you deserve to be out of work.
You know like if I was doing this and I was this bad I
wouldn't survive. So people who wrote this should
not be allowed. To actually relax and corrodes
(09:26):
even 5. Rupees, this is not over ₹5.
How dare you ask for money like ticket cup SRDL one escape yeah
Is there's no shame left. No, there's this this nonsense
there. And this is supposedly like a
love story where like forget allthe other annoyances about it.
I don't buy that for one second.Like why is this person chasing
(09:47):
a woman that he's never met? And then he is not he.
I don't understand his motivations beyond the app
nonsense. Yeah, that's basically it, he
replies across of the country. Because he's like, no business
idea has ever worked. So this is like a Hail Mary.
Also like that, gaslighting eachother in the old ways, right?
Because he is not being fully truthful with her and she isn't
(10:12):
being fully truthful with him. And then they have a scene where
it's kind of revealed. And I don't know what the
purpose of this church scene was.
I don't remember what exactly happens in it.
I just remember that it felt a little sacrilegious the way that
it was kind. So I was like, why is she like,
(10:40):
firstly wearing such tiny clothes in every scene and then
you're making her do like, seductive stuff inside a church?
I don't understand the meaning of this.
It just doesn't look right, you know, It was all really weird.
Yeah. He.
Like he just like randomly askedher to like, there's no music
but you just told me you love dancing, so why don't you dance
in this church now? And she's like, OK, I'll comply.
(11:02):
Why are you complaining? It feels so weird, like that was
1 moment where I was like, I should probably just mute this
now, yeah and. That moment I also like felt the
age difference between the two. OK, like this feels like he's
talking down to like, you know, do it.
I said it. Yeah.
Yeah, it's a little weird. I don't know what the actual age
is. He's probably like 10 years old,
(11:24):
right? 12 but I don't know what they're
depicting him as. Like he looks old.
He doesn't look like in his early 30s anymore.
Yeah, and she doesn't look like she's in her 30s at all.
Yeah. So I'm like, that is also there.
But like, clearly no one cares. There's the other issue of like,
you know how he found her through an app and they they're
(11:45):
not spoken like hello exchange some chats right before you show
it's at someone's door. No, you just.
Fly across. He doesn't tell her.
Yeah, he just, he just pretends like I'm supposed to be here.
And because the app has decreed we are meant to be there.
It's that almost like a 2025 version of Like Hamari.
(12:07):
Yeah. And it's saying that like the
app developer, he has like, secret access to the data,
right? So the app developer has access
to like, the phone's GPS location, and he has revealed
user data to a prospective investor.
And he's like, users, my God. Like, this is how apps get
funded in India. Then I'm like, concerned.
(12:29):
I'm pretty sure there's no accuracy in.
I mean they couldn't be botheredto like hire real Malayali for
starters to play a Malayali director.
Yeah. And then then ask the lead
actress to defend her casting. That happened.
Yeah. Yeah, apparently, like she was
saying, I am playing a Tamil Malayali or something.
She doesn't make it. OK good.
(12:50):
Not Tamil, Malayali. Good, good attempt to like,
defend it like we pick up bad. Yeah, right.
Janhvi Kapoor, we paid you crores.
Can you go defend us in social media now?
Because there is a literal scenein the movie, and I remember
this because it's early in the movie and I had checked out.
When she's like Humsa, you know,it's like South is not the one.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then I'm like 8 seconds.
(13:12):
You're not Malayali either. You're supposed to be Deeda
Rajni. You're getting a federal Rajni
who are the original. This is like that stupid Anubhav
Sinha movie that we watch now, where they're like, Northeast is
important, you guys don't know anything.
And plus we won't mention what state we're in because Northeast
is same. Yeah, sometimes.
(13:32):
That entire movie like bus shop again outside of PO.
Yeah, even this one is right, because it's fully like.
Yeah, this is fully like made for North Indian games.
Like they know their audience, they know S may like forget,
like Maladi's watching it. Not even the other states will
care about them, so they're likelet's just move, make the movie
for North Indians purely. Which is why everything is
explained twice. You know how those sexist movies
(13:55):
that we sometimes watch and the the concern is that people will
watch their behavior and be like, yeah, of course that's
that's how you treat women. You know, that's what we've been
doing and that's fine. So in this movie, it's like a
comedy version of that where people will make fun of like
Idli Vera Sambar. And then I can almost imagine
like a North Indian like dumbasscrowd watching and being like,
(14:18):
ha ha ha. That's so funny because we do
that all day long. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Like people are gonna watch likethe Sadar character, not be able
to pronounce some things and be like, yeah, I can relate.
Their names are very. Weird.
Yeah, that joke is done like 35 times.
The take away he will not like realize that he's being annoying
and like an idiot. And he's sort of kind of
(14:40):
redeemed because then he like there's a like a romantic sub
plot of him and some. Yeah, if anything I would say
like his romantic plot is betterthan the main romantic.
Plot because we don't see it. Yeah, a we don't see it, so
that's why it's automatically better.
Second, it doesn't have the annoyances of the main plot
where like 1000 things are beingkept from each other.
Like goes into a genuine he actually has.
(15:00):
He has no agenda, he's just coming his friend and supporting
him with moral support. He lands up here, he actually
falls in love. He finds the woman, then he
refuses to leave her behind whenthis guy wants to.
Like leave and he tries to learnabout her culture.
Exactly, he learns about the cultural like minutes and he
learns the entire language and this guy doesn't even want to
like learn a few words. She has to speak in Hindi the
entire time for him. And he like, tricks her into
(15:24):
thinking that he knows her favorite song.
Whereas bro, just like, tell herwhat your favorite song is.
How difficult is that? Yeah, it doesn't matter that you
need to have the same. You don't have to have it.
That's literally what cause cross culture means.
It means sharing your common, like not common uncommon
interest and then being like, Ohyeah, I like this too.
I like, oh, you found this. You were like this too.
Like that's what you benefit from each other's culture.
(15:46):
You don't try to mimic that cultural appropriation
literally. It's so stupid.
It's like nobody involved. New word.
It's just that bubble film making, right?
People don't know like, and I find it very weird because it's
not like I am super well travelled or anything.
Sure, but I know better than to do this right because this is
just like, insulting. You don't go there and try to
(16:08):
pretend, you know, like that's what we wouldn't do.
And he's fully going there from minute one and saying, I want to
learn about this culture. That's how he enters the home
state. And then second, like he just
flips and he's like, Oh, no, no,I pretend to like, I'm gonna
pretend to be like fully like aware.
Of everything and there could have like, there is so much
opportunity to make a good storywith these teams because India
(16:30):
is so diverse and people do travel and sometimes they do
feel like out of place because the culture is so different.
And sometimes in the most remotecorner you can find, like a
common thing to bond over with someone who doesn't even speak
your language, you know, there'sso much to understand.
Like they don't even talk about like, I don't know, like
spirituality or like anything like where do these people come
(16:53):
from? Their background is entirely
different, but they must have something that they.
Shared Yeah, it's insane, right?It's like actually what he was
talking about, like a micro drama would have the same depth
as this movie, but I like a micro drama this last two hour
and 15 minutes. So you have so much time to
actually like scratch on the surface, but you're like, Nah.
This movie could have actually gone on for like 3 more hours
(17:15):
without really changing anything.
They're like Abhi Hamara main plot.
Now the plot has changed to this.
Now we will have a horse race. Now they will get on top of an
elephant and they could have just kept making things up
because it never ends. Yeah, it's so stupid.
I just, I hate this movie. I'm surprised that this people
(17:38):
watch this in theaters. Like people paid actual money.
It took out like 5 hours of their lives probably spend.
Yeah, but I feel like we've saidthere are so many movies like
and things keeps like ever changing.
It just like gets Dumber and. Dumber somehow.
Haven't we like arrived at a point where people are like, OK,
this is not worth my time and money now, so I'm not going to
(17:58):
watch this. I'm going to wait for this to
come home, you know? And it's not like everybody on
the street was like, oh, you gotto watch.
But on Sunday, it's so good. Like, 12th failed, right?
At least that happened. It wasn't that level.
Yeah, sure. It's not like a the new Kantara
level thing where like a people are actually mentioning it to
your face and saying, yeah, I'veheard like things and I'm like,
what things have you? Heard so Kantara is like the
(18:20):
first one makes logical sense for the second one to do well
because the first one did well. You know people like they
watched it 12th Fhate. It makes sense because everybody
was it was just word of mouth. This one nobody I know has seen
this movie. How did?
I'm sure like you mention this name and be like, wait, is that
a movie or a song? Something I who is whose job it
(18:40):
is to know these things? I got confused, Yeah, If this
was the Karan Johar one or if this was the one that came
before homebound because I don'tknow.
Yeah, it's like every studio wants to, like, make one of
these because like, the producers like, oh, my God, we
will get to our movie will appeal to both Nortons and South
Indians. That sounds like a dream.
Instead of appeals to nobody andit's like.
(19:04):
That's what they don't realize is that it's so interesting.
That's what the issue is like with these like 4 quadrant like
nonsense approaches is that you try to appeal to everyone.
You end up like disappointing everyone.
I would just love to have been in one of those writing meetings
for this movie, because that would just.
I don't think you would because you would have put a gun in your
mouth. Yeah, But like, it would be so,
(19:25):
like, enlightening, right? Like, oh, this is how the dish
is made. You know, like, this is the
level of intellect that we are spending crores and crores on.
Like some people will actually be like, I'm sure that they just
sat around in these meetings andthey were like South Indian log
what's called Nambaton. Yeah, and they, they, they AI
(19:46):
that result. They were like, what is Kerala
known for? Question mark.
Tragedy. And at one point, Janvi
literally says, oh, that they call it God's own country.
Yeah. You are from here.
You are not the param character.How can you have this line?
It's. Like me walking around in Delhi
saying you know what they call Delhi the rape capital of India?
(20:10):
It's like New Yorkers calling was my there's a Big Apple.
No one does it. No one calls the city they love
in by their tourist nickname. Yeah, but like whatever, another
one of. Those.
Yeah, Another, it's going to be like 2-3 years.
You're going to end up discussing another one of these,
like from a different studio, like all of them have to.
We keep making one every three years because I think it's a
(20:31):
brilliant idea, but it's not. Yeah.
But no one does not listen. Yeah, OK, start.
So wrap it up. Yeah.
That's all for this episode of The Long Take.
You can follow us on Facebook, threads, YouTube and Instagram
at the Long Take part. You can write to us at the long
takepart@gmail.com. Please leave us a rating and a
review wherever this is episode and we will see you next week.
Thanks for listening. Bye.
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