AnA 353: Manjummel Boys, Planet of the Apes, Kevin Hart’s Mark Twain Prize

While discussing Manjummel Boys: 

Abish Mathew: I’m a very easy cryer. 

Abhinandan: Then you should watch a film with her. 

Rajyasree: Like in Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham also I cried.

Abish: But you didn’t like Manjummel Boys?

Rajyasree: I cried in Planet of the Apes one time.

Abhinandan: I cried that why the f*ck am I here!

This and a whole lot of awful and awesome as Rajyasree Sen, Abhinandan Sekhri, and comedian Abish Mathew discuss Manjummel Boys, Kevin Hart’s Mark Twain Prize, The Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, the new ‘Cozi Boys’ ad, and why subscriber-funded news matters. 

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.

Watch it here.

Timecodes

00:00 - Introductions

04:17 - ‘Cozi Boys' Ad

10:05 - Letter 1

13:18 - Kevin Hart Mark Twain Prize

21:37 - Announcement

23:10 - Letter 2

25:55 - Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

35:20 - discussion on Jingles

40:40 - Manjummel Boys

1:01:00 - Letter 3

1:04:20 - Abish’s favourite films and shows

1:11:30 - the concept of subscriber founded news 

References

Son of Abish

Journey of a Joke 

Kevin Hart’s Mark Twain Prize ceremony

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

Manjummel Boys

Cozi Boys ad 

Subscribe to Newslaundry 

Newsable

Click here to download the Newslaundry app on Android. And here for iOS.

Produced and recorded by Priyali Dhingra and Shubang Gautam and edited by Samarendra K Dash. 

ANA 353

Abhinandan: [00:00:00] This is a News Laundry podcast, and you're listening to the Awful and Awesome Entertainment Wrap.

Rajyasree: Hello, hello. This is the Awful and Awesome Entertainment Wrap, episode 353. This is Rajshri Sen. This is Abhinandan Sekhri. And my name is Abish Mathew. He's a guest who needs no introduction, as we like saying, and now we'll read out one full paragraph on all that Abish has to know about it. But everyone knows Abish.

He's been, uh, around for a long time. He 

Abhinandan: looks surprisingly young, uh, but he is the host of, uh, Son of Abish. Uh, he it's been on for a long time. I thought it had done 400 episodes. He reminds me. It's 10 per season in 9 years, so that's 90 episodes. 

Rajyasree: And Journey of a Joke, which is your, which has been around for how long?

I think, 

Abish: uh, 6, 7 seasons, so I, [00:01:00] 4 episodes per season kind of thing. That's more passion project, cause why would anyone want to watch comics to talk about comedy? Surprisingly people do. Yeah. In 

Abhinandan: fact, we have lots of questions about how the stand up scene is because there was a time, in fact, when Newslaundry had just started, Google had this big event in Bombay and all the new YouTube channels that had started were asked to come and perform and Madhu and I also performed and we were like the uncle and auntie and there was Khamba and Rohan Joshi and all these guys.

Uh, it was like in 2012 or 13, it was like, I forgot 

Rajyasree: what it was called. Yeah. But it was a massive, uh, lineup of people must be 

Abhinandan: right. So today we have, uh, first of all, I want to remind everyone to subscribe to newslaundry. com, uh, because. Pay to keep news free because when the public pays, the public is served.

Uh, we have three broadcast veterans who have collaborated with us, News Minute and News Laundry, uh, to [00:02:00] bring you the election, Hridesh Joshi, Srinivasan Jain, both who used to be in NDTV and Hridesh was also part of Unity Group at one point, and Karma Paljor, who's done a Uh, stories, uh, with us from the Northeast.

Uh, here's the promo.

Promo: Hi, this is Srinivasan Jain. Hi, I'm Karma Paljor. Namaskar, mera naam hai Hridesh Joshi. In this election, I will travel across the country to dissect the powerful narrative driving the BJP's campaign. I'll be traveling to bring you journalism that's free, fair, and in your interest.

News Laundry and The News Minute are here to bring you free news from the ground up 

Sting: truth. News Laundry needs your support. Go to newslaundry. com and subscribe. Choose your favorite rashi and support our journalism. Say [00:03:00] proudly, free news at my expense.

Abhinandan: The only reason we can engineer this revival of public interest journalism is because we don't depend on ads, whether Sarkari or, uh, Sarkari, uh, companies. So do contribute, right? The link is in the show notes below, please click on the link or just go to newsletter. com and click on the subscribe button.

So we have, uh, A mallu boy here and a mallu film. And I 

Rajyasree: like mallu food. 

Abhinandan: Yeah. 

Rajyasree: So I'm sure also I like mallu food. So there's more of a mallu connection. 

Abish: Just I'm not hearing I like mallu people yet from either of you, but I'll take food. Yeah, but I don't know. How is this food show? 

Rajyasree: Oh, don't make fun of. He loves making fun of.

this because I cook for a living. 

Abhinandan: Uh, then we have Kevin Hart, the Mark Twain prize show and Kingdom of Planet of the Apes, [00:04:00] which, uh, Rajshree and I watched and on her advice. And I keep promising I shall never take her advice again. And I always, my generosity, I go and watch some 

Rajyasree: shit. 

Abhinandan: But on that note, um, let's start off with, I have one question for you.

Rajyasree: Yes. 

Abhinandan: If I were to tell you, I have a product called cozy boys. What would you think the product is? Cozy Boys is my product's name. 

Rajyasree: I followed the Cozy Boy journey. So I know what it is. But do you know? 

Abish: Do you know what is Cozy Boys? Um, no, I just imagine boys on hire to hug people to feel comfortable or like one of those half human pillows that's circulating.

Would be cozy boys. Would be cozy boys? What is it? Cozy boys. 

Rajyasree: West. Ganji company. Underwear banyan. 

Abhinandan: So cozy, you know, luxe cozy. So when we went to watch the film, the only thing interesting about watching the film was the ad of Lux cozy, which is [00:05:00] the ad that the plot of the ad is that there's Varun Grover.

No, sorry. No, Varun Grover. That's a great ad. He'd be right. Exactly. Cozy really. 

Abish: Suddenly, you know, screw Jockey. I'm going for Cozy Boyz. Varun Grover all the way. If he has it, I'm having it. Varun 

Abhinandan: Dhawan. Varun Dhawan is the coach. He enters the locker room and all these, uh, young little boys are saying someone stole our uniform just before a football game and they're wearing kachcha banyan.

So he says it doesn't matter. We go, they play and in kachcha banyan they win. And cozy boys. He's 

Rajyasree: also wearing a kachcha banyan. 

Abhinandan: He's not wearing kachcha banyan, he's wearing track pants. And a ganji. Yeah, but it's a colored bhajji, but he's not wearing a kaccha, but he's wearing a bhajan, luckily, which he did not wear in that song that he ruined for me.

There's a very beautiful song which I heard on the radio, rangi saari ki saari, chunariya re, mohre maange, and then I, it's a thumri, I think it's called, and I heard the original, it's, you know, by a classical [00:06:00] singer, but when I saw the video, The video is Varun Grover again, without a banyan, with the Yeah, imagine 

Rajyasree: him without a banyan.

And 

Abhinandan: the camera slowly tilts up from his waist upwards so you get a close up of his nipple. And then I'm like, it just, it just, it just, it just screwed that song for me. Yeah, 

Rajyasree: now you've 

Abhinandan: improved Varun Grover for 

Abish: me. 

Rajyasree: But this is like watching Neil and Nikki. On the big screen. Have you heard Neil and Nick with Tanisha Chopra?

No. I, I haven't. And O Chopra, 

Abish: I've seen it on tv, not on screen. 

Rajyasree: I saw it on big screen. And there's Shera, 

Abhinandan: she's tanisha's ca. Oh, she 

Rajyasree: married with Chop. She's like, you 

Abhinandan: she'll be a or a day or a chat something. No, I don't. 

Rajyasree: Chandra, Chandra, they something, whatever they are. there, but, or Chopra. Who is very handsome as we all know, but the camera zooming like going upwards from his waist up and he shaved his chest, but the stubble had started [00:07:00] growing, but they said we'll still do the shoot doesn't matter.

So it's a stubble filled chest and it stops near his nipples for one second and then moves up and it's that song. My name is Nikki Nikki Nikki. You know, funnily, I'm 

Abish: still imagining Grover.

Abhinandan: And now you are stuck at this podcast without you being here. Your presence is felt, but before we start the review process, Abish, tell me about, I mean, you've been doing standup for a while, though. You look. Like you're in your early 20s, but um, but you've been around for a while. What is the standup scene like in, in Bombay now?

Specifically Bombay or like across the country? I mean Delhi, it's not that active. I mean they are once in a while, but it's not, uh, it doesn't have like as many comedy clubs as Bombay. Uh, 

Abish: you know, I've, as I found out yesterday while I was shooting and for the last year, the Delhi scene is incredibly [00:08:00] vibrant.

There are dedicated comedy clubs in Delhi. 

Abhinandan: Oh shit, I don't know what Jack that means. 

Abish: Yeah, it's just, I feel like there was a point in time where the, when there was this super set of Venn diagrams of all of us were part of it. Then everything expanded. So when I was in Delhi, I moved to Bombay in 2011. At that time, there were no comedy clubs.

At that time, there were comedians running. bars and stuff as comedy venues. Bombay had like comedy stores. So immediately I'm like, okay, let's move. Uh, but over the last couple of years, the amount of comedy clubs in Delhi are so many, every night there are multiple shows being programmed. So that means people are now coming for comedy instead of coming for the comedian, which used to be the case, let's say, say five years ago, you know, this person is popular.

Let's go check him out. Now there's a dedicated set of audience coming for comedy. And is 

Abhinandan: it political comedy? 

Abish: Uh, because it's not streamed or live, you can see people talk about it, but no one's crafting a political set like you're like, [00:09:00] uh, you have comedians who are building sets like that. And it's, it's almost seemed like a passion project that would never see the light of the day other than just doing it live, which is, uh, I mean, myself included, like, uh, but you know, sometimes when I look at.

Comedians and others, including you, just voicing opinion boldly. I mean, that's my therapist who I have to go. Have you clubbed us with comedians? Of course. 

Rajyasree: Of course, 

Abish: because isn't the comedian's job to now tell news? 

Rajyasree: Hasn't the comedian been saying the news all this while? First of all, Rajshree 

Abhinandan: doesn't tell news.

She gives fake news. I just, 

Rajyasree: I'm a good Bengali. I am usually very well, uh, informed about things. But sometimes it's 95 percent accurate and my intentions are not malicious. That's very important. Your intentions aren't malicious, but your 

Abish: facts are. 

Rajyasree: No, there might be a little, like, there'll be 8 on 10 for 

Abish: facts.

If you rate [00:10:00] yourself for accuracy on fact on 8 by 10. It's 

Rajyasree: 8 on 10. That's not bad, 

Abhinandan: I feel. This is a subscriber's email, which I shall read to you. Concerned Uncle is the subscriber. We only entertain the emails of subscribers. So if you have anything to say, you can leave it in the YouTube section comments, which we won't read.

But if you want us to entertain your views, you can mail us at podcasts at newsline. com, but we only entertain subscribers. Like most middle aged uncles, I get my health advice from random gurus, WhatsApp forwards, and random podcasters. Thus, Ms. Sen's assertions really had, have me worried of all the postmen, postmen in India.

Do you think the average number of testicles among postmen in India would be closer to one, an idea for NL investigation, perhaps the bicycle used to be a perk for postman. Not sure if it still is or was. No ANA next week, so not sure if this will be read. I will enjoy when Ms. Sen hosts it in Mr. Sekhri.

Thanks for the entertainment. Not only Mr. Sekhri and Mr. Sen, we also have Mr. Matthew. She had [00:11:00] said in an earlier podcast that, uh, By riding a cycle, you get testicular cancer. 

Rajyasree: I said Lance Armstrong got testicular cancer because he rode his cycle for so long. And if you ride a cycle, also, if you use your brain, logically, think about it.

If you 

Abhinandan: are 

Rajyasree: putting pressure on a body, sensitive body organ for 10 For years you will get testicular cancer. Shut up, Pyaar Niko. It 

Abhinandan: keeps it up. You think the guys say, Chalo baitho, peecha jao, chunnu munnu, and plack. Are you mad? You think that's how they sit? Then when you just take your, move your testicles.

See this podcast, downloads spiral happens, and she's hosting it. That's sad. 

Abish: Okay, have you ever heard of this? You're a man. It's the first time and I'm so scared. I don't want to sit in Ubers I'm just gonna stand from now on. We'll stand now. What is the logic? Is that if the seat is like this 

Rajyasree: and you're on the seat [00:12:00] And the balls are under you 

Abish: Where will 

Rajyasree: your balls go?

In your bum? Behind your bum they'll go, they'll be under you only na? 

Abish: I don't know if you know, it doesn't like, it's not like, I know you're very fond of dogs, 

Rajyasree: but not 

Abish: all human beings are walking around. Yeah, it doesn't matter. Done so bad we're carrying around, you know, it's like a small cross. I 

Rajyasree: just feel that it's not incorrect what I'm saying, but I googled it.

Okay, 

Abhinandan: of course. 

Rajyasree: And I did not find too many reports verifying what I was saying, but maybe adequate research has not been done as of yet. 

Abish: Okay. So concerned uncle, to answer your question, uh, please continue riding bicycles because it's good for your health till medical research does not come and tell you that you will either become a Lance or an Adolf continue.

Uh, 

Rajyasree: but nowadays you get biking pants for men, which have padded crotch area. Why would they not be? Then why would they create this? 

Abish: So though that's because you know what, like the I've been to, 

Abhinandan: [00:13:00] it doesn't matter, neither are you cycling now, they're going to be a man. So it doesn't concern you either way, but 

Abish: they're not, 

Abhinandan: they know better than to take this so seriously.

But uh, so since you're the guest, uh, what do you want to start off with a Mallu film or Kevin Hart Mark Twain prize? I haven't watched either, so you can tell us about it and tell our viewers what your recommendation is. 

Abish: Oh, okay. Awesome. Awesome. Uh, as a. Comedian, honestly, I don't watch a lot of comedy other than if it's like a comedy special of a comic that I like like Dimitri Martin, uh, because very different from what I do.

I really aspire the way he writes things all of that So because of that when you told me about the mark time prize and when you told me that uh, Have you seen it? I was just like man, I should really watch it So I did end up watching it more academically than entertainingly uh, and I Honestly, when I got through the entire thing, I want to now watch all the other Mark [00:14:00] Twain award prize winners just to see what How the event happens, what is the concept I know, because of, again, we've spoken a lot about it with colleagues and everything, but this one was like, uh, you got to see all the, uh, let's say all the American biggest heroes come in.

There was a part where you would imagine everybody, uh, you know, including Eddie Murphy could make it, but he didn't make it. Um, when I saw that together, I could only feel. envy. 

Abhinandan: No, so it's a, it's a gathering like the White House Correspondents Dinner and celebrities come in. So Mark 

Rajyasree: Twain prize is given to someone who they feel has achieved a lot.

Usually they would not give it to someone. So it's got a lot of flag because Kevin Hart is at the peak of his career. So they've given, usually it would be given to a David Letterman, a Jerry Seinfeld and all who have been around. Like Dharmendra getting lifetime achievement. Like Dharmendra getting lifetime.

It's meant for white 

Promo: people, correct? Yeah. 

Rajyasree: And no, no, Dave Chappelle and all have also got it. Prime. Yeah, but he's much [00:15:00] like Kevin Hart is 42 years old. 

Abhinandan: It's like a lifetime achievement award for comedy. 

Rajyasree: Yeah. So Tina Fey and all have got it. And usually they'll get your colleagues and all will come and they'll say a bit about you and someone gives you the award.

So for this one. And that is made 

Abhinandan: into a show. 

Rajyasree: Oh, sure. So because it's usually one hour like that. And this one had, he had Jerry Seinfeld open, uh, the ceremony and speak about him and it closed with Dave Chappelle. So he did have, and there were quite a few, uh, Chelsea, what's her name? Handler. Chelsea Haddish and all.

So he had quite a good lineup. of people speaking. So that's the basic concept of the show. 

Abish: The lineup was incredible. But I think the envy part for me was like, I can kind of see, like, if I have to parallel it with our comedy industry, there is a lot of camaraderie, a lot of comedians have with each other.

We have our own, I think, [00:16:00] differences. But there's also, I don't know if it's just me, but like, I am able to like, connect with a lot of comics. So, I feel like if there was celebration of performing arts in India as well. Of course, stand up is one of the many performing arts in India. But I kind of felt like there's, when I watched it, more than comedy, I'm like, I want to do that for a few people that I know, like, you know, I wish I am on a panel where I could say this guy or this person has done this incredible work, uh, not just around comedy and all of that, but I'm like, I don't have that opportunity to share it.

And then anytime you tweet or you tell, then it just seems like you're promoting someone's show. So my appreciation is always about go buy their tickets, as opposed to if there was like a platform where we could also be like, This is amazing work that they've done. A lot of people in our country, like including work that News Laundry does, um, including P.

Sainath, I feel like they're all people we should celebrate. I don't have a platform to celebrate with entertainers like us who could really oomph it up and make it reach a larger audience. [00:17:00] So I was just like, we need 

Abhinandan: it. Yeah. I mean, there was a time I was Um, in discussions with Vijay, who's in prison now, uh, of doing a show where we call politicians to roast.

Uh, and let's start off with guys who have the strength to sit there and be roasted. Uh, but of course the culture here isn't such. 

Abish: We already have, that's called the election campaign. I 

Abhinandan: mean, you must have been like, yeah, just wait a few months. So, so, so, okay. Other than the envy as a show, which is something you recommend, what do you like, dislike about it?

Um, 

Abish: uh, general critique. Okay. If I had to just a point of critique in that entire thing is that, um, If you don't know the comic, you get to know a lot about the comedian. So, and if you haven't seen much of their work, then it's almost like a light watch. You won't really get invested. Now I've seen a lot of Kevin Hart's, uh, specials because number one, I kind of identify with his kind of energy [00:18:00] and he reminds me a lot of my elder brother, like his demeanor.

He's like, you know, confidence and like everything that, and I, I'm the opposite of that, right? So sometimes when I'm watching his comedy also, I'm just like, I want to do films. I want to have the confidence to stand in front of the rock, you know, uh, be able to do, and every time you see this one shot, okay, every time someone's complimented him, please watch it for how he takes a compliment.

Usually, if I say a compliment, you're doing, you guys are doing extraordinary work. You'll be like, Oh, thank you. I mean, be either polite or you'll say, 

Abhinandan: I know 

Abish: you're Kevin Hart.

Rajyasree: Because he's like, I've really done a lot. I've done good stuff. I've done good work for people. And some of the anecdotes are very fun. Some are very funny.

I just feel, you know, I'm very humble when I get a compliment. I'm very shy. Are you Kevin? Yeah. 

Abhinandan: Is that what the curly hair is about? That's what it's [00:19:00] about. She insists she has curly hair. I do. We'll do another show. It's an 8 out of 10 fact. We'll 

Rajyasree: do a before, we'll do a Yeah, it's in the same category.

We'll do a before, after. No, so I like the fact that he was, even when they say how many people would have Jerry signed for. Open be there on the same night Jerry Seinfeld and Dave Chappelle and someone else they mentioned who look that guy with the stroke. Uh, what's his name? Keith Robinson. I've forgotten his name.

Abish: Keith Robinson. Uh, there's this, uh, so Kevin Hart's audio biography, uh, is what I heard. Okay. His biography, autobiography and an audio version. And if I'm not wrong, uh, Keith Robinson is one of those comedians who really helped out Kevin and the rest of them where he would drive them across state, take them to New York and go back.

So he's kind of like the elder brother figure. He had a stroke and then when he was able to make it for this, it was already a big thing because I haven't ever seen him perform. I've always heard his name as an American. Pop culture reference. Yeah. So to see that also, I was like, Oh, [00:20:00] he really did get that.

I mean, envy was the only thing I could feel. I'm like, yeah, it's so, it's so nice. And you Rajshri Sen, did 

Abhinandan: you recommend it to our audience? 

Rajyasree: I recommended it. No, that's why I said we should do it. Do you 

Abhinandan: also recommend Plan of the Apes to me? No. I said we should 

Rajyasree: watch. That's not a nice thing. 

Abhinandan: But would you recommend the audience watch it?

Rajyasree: I would say watch it. I'd say watch all the Mark Twain prize, uh, this thing, because the lineup of people they get to speak are just, and they are usually very bright, very funny people. And it's just nice to see one of intelligent people. Being funny and saying very interesting things about each other, like anecdotes, which you wouldn't hear on Norm Day.

That's the other, also the kind of work like a Kevin Hart has done for other Struggling comedians and all, you realize that a lot of these people do like Watch out for each other. Yeah, and beyond just earning money and being famous, they 

Abish: Do help others also. If you want to watch a comedy, if you want to laugh, then not [00:21:00] recommend it.

But if it's mostly like you want to, it's like a bifurcated podcast of really popular comics talking about one person, then it's a good episode. It's like a good hour long watch where you feel good at the end of it. You're like, good on him. Yeah. It's 

Abhinandan: like a, it's like coffee with current. It's substance.

Rajyasree: Yeah. It's like fair wards. But with subs, because he's getting an award, people are coming and saying he's been very smart. It's like national 

Abish: award, but no gives back. 

Rajyasree: Yeah, it's like that. 

Abhinandan: Worth watching on Netflix. So we'll read one more mail. But before that, I have an announcement. Uh, Those of you who've logged onto our site, you know, Newsable, we have just launched Newsable.

It is, uh, an accessibility feature. And at least as far as I know, we're the first news website in India that has an accessibility feature for people who are disabled, who are challenged as far as site is concerned. [00:22:00] Hearing dyslexic. So we have a dyslexic setting. We have a colorblind setting. We have, and like I have said, this idea came during a subscriber meet and in Hafta I played that subscriber's audio clip because he sent it to me.

I'll play it again here. 

Uttam: Hello Abhinandan sir. It's me Uttam and, uh, I really want to thank you, uh, to making, for making your website accessible for people with disabilities. So today I was listening to your Anil Hafta program and you are just thanking that individual. Who just suggested you that to please make our website accessible for people with disabilities.

And, uh, you would be happy to know that, that person is me. I was the one who in, in the news, uh, laundry subscriber event, I suggested you that please make your website accessible for people with disabilities, so that they can also enjoy the news. So, I'm very happy to, [00:23:00] uh, See the progress of news laundry.

It is highly accessible. 

Abhinandan: Uh, so thank you helping us be better. Uh, so I really appreciate that. Now, this email is from Sonali Singh. So I was saying logging into here full podcast after a long time, everything is too depressing in the selection season. So I have been sticking to reading only about environmental disasters around.

I started laughing within two minutes, starting with the RTGM and Vandakini. What's RTGM? RTGM is what? I 

Rajyasree: don't know. Mehli. 

Abhinandan: I haven't got a policy. I was 

Rajyasree: like, I'll teach you. And 

Abhinandan: Mandakini, in a recent meetup when a friend referenced the culturally iconic moment related to Mandakini, a young person at the table wondered how a sweaty white transparent t shirt was linked to a river.

What a sad life these youngsters have. Thank you, Sonali. Thank you for your subscription. Thank you for your support. And I'm glad we can, uh, continue this conversation. get you out of your depression for a bit, but yeah, it's too much of politics isn't good for your [00:24:00] mind space. Yeah. So global warming is. 

Rajyasree: I, I mixed up Mandakini and Mamata Kulkarni a little bit.

So, Mamata Kulkarni was the drug mule. Mandakini was just Dawood's girlfriend. Mamata 

Abhinandan: Kulkarni wasn't the drug mule. That was a third woman who was, I've forgotten her name. She had come in a few films with Sanjay Dutt. 

Rajyasree: That's different. That's Monica Bedi. Who is Abu Salam's girlfriend? Correct. She was a drug mule, right?

No, she's just a drug lord's girlfriend. Don't make her a drug mule. I don't think there was any drug mule. Arre Mamata Kulkarni, I checked. Mamata Kulkarni, after she became famous and stopped being famous, then she got married to this man. Who then made her, did not make her Abish, are you 

Abhinandan: I'm very interested.

Come on, I don't get this pop culture. You, you, you can't get to here. You know, Seinfeld talk about Kevin Hart, but you can get to Rajji talk about Mamata Kulkarni. Mamata Kulkarni's 

Rajyasree: achievements are many. Okay. Then she became a drug mule. 

Abhinandan: Okay. 

Rajyasree: Like a proper drug mule. [00:25:00] From Kathmandu to here, she was getting heroin or whatever.

Then she got caught poor thing. Then she went to jail. Then she stopped. She's the one, she stopped threading her eyebrows. She got a unibrow and then she became a yogini. Like a yogi. That's it. That's all I know about her life. 

Abish: Is this Is this 8 out of 10 fact or is it like 10 out of 10 fact? No, 10 out of 

Rajyasree: 10.

I checked after that. I should not have said about Mandakini. Mandakini was just Dawood's girlfriend. 

Abish: She wasn't a drug dealer? No. She 

Rajyasree: was just 

Abhinandan: the biggest terrorist. One mistake ruined her career. One mistake. It says this is DNA, economic trial. Mamata Kulkarni, drug trafficking case. So, it's, she did it once.

How do you know she I mean, once, once she was caught, she must have done 

Rajyasree: it 10 

Abhinandan: times before. Now you're speculating. See, this is the problem. You speculate. 6 out of 10 now. 6 out of 10. You really 

Rajyasree: amped it up. 

Abhinandan: I tell you. Right. Now we will tell you about, uh, 

Rajyasree: Manjumel Boys. 

Abhinandan: No, let's talk about Kingdom 

Abish: of Flanderoff.

The only thing 

Abhinandan: that I watched. 

Abish: Yeah. The only thing you, please tell me, is that a, okay. I [00:26:00] enjoy watching trash films. And when I mean trash films, I mean, I, especially anything that comes from, Yeah, like, you know, you've seen it, you know it. I haven't seen it. Like, Fast and the Furious, it's what, uh, it's 78. So I'm like, I will go watch it.

I don't need to know anything that's happened in the past. Planet of the Apes, Transformers, don't remember anything. Everything, everything is like one mush of pop culture. So please do tell me. So 

Rajyasree: Planet of the Apes, the original, and then the other there, I think like two or three of the films, they are actually very good.

Okay. As in they aren't, uh, Pulp Fiction. They are, so the first Planet of the Apes. They are Pulp Fiction, 

Abhinandan: but they're well made. Yeah. Also the 

Rajyasree: story is an intelligent story, which is, it's about the, when, uh, apes could speak and basically something happens and how apes and humans have a, uh, fight for survival.

They are friendly humans and so on. But the first Planet of the Apes had Charlton Heston in it. I've seen that one. Yeah. Which was excellent. And the next, the new [00:27:00] ones were good till Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. 

Abhinandan: Yeah, the ones before this, you know, like the Marvel series, it's like not as good as Marvel.

Sorry, my favorite series is X Men. It's not as good as the X Men series, but it is It's entertaining. It is well made, but this one is spectacularly bad. Kingdom of Planet of the Apes, and I have taken notes and I'll tell you why. Darchi, of course, just goes to the cinema to have snacks. So at the dawn of 

Rajyasree: the planet of the, you didn't even buy me a snack.

Abhinandan: Wes Ball has directed it. It's been written by Josh Friedman. I don't know what Josh Friedman was doing because it's not really been written as such. It's just, uh, What was Wes Ball doing? It doesn't matter who's starring because Everyone's an ape. Uh, except one, except one. William H. 

Rajyasree: Macy is there. So Wes Ball has made the Maze Runner.

Have you all seen the Maze Runner? 

Abhinandan: That was also, the promo was more exciting than the film. Yeah. 

Rajyasree: And he's made nothing else. And this. So its okay. It's the 

Abish: dawn of the planet of the [00:28:00] apes. No, this is the kingdom of the of planet. The planet 

Abhinandan: apes, which also I said the kingdom of the planet. Mm-Hmm. Of the apes.

Correct. So it is the planet's kingdom. It's not the apes kingdom. The kingdom of the planet. There's splitting his. Okay, where is the comma? There's no comma comm. The kingdom of the planet. So the kingdom is of the planet. Hmm. of the apes so the planet of the apes so the planet is of the apes a thing is an is a conscious being that has a kingdom that's what the name suggests the name also doesn't make sense i 

Abish: feel like it's the ip where they were like we need to keep the planet of the apes because the ip is not planet of the apes it's the planet of the apes yeah so it should have been 

Rajyasree: The kingdom colon.

Planet of the 

Abhinandan: Apes. Or if you're a cyclist, the kingdom semicolon. 

Rajyasree: Jala making fun. Don't cycle is my word of advice to people. Or keep your bum up. This is 

Abhinandan: a bum up. This is typical Mary [00:29:00] Antoinette jo bhi 

Rajyasree: kahte hai. Don't 

Abhinandan: cycle. Don't cycle, buy an SUV and get someone 

Rajyasree: else to drive the SUV for you because you shouldn't do menial things like driving 

Abhinandan: yourself.

It has, it has no, like, I'm not saying films like this have layers, but there is some metaphor for, you know, like, for example, Batman does it really well, you know, it's an action film, but it is a metaphor for society for loneliness or whatever. Sometime with Joker, they went too far. It became the cycle. But 

Rajyasree: even Planet of the Apes had, not this one, but some of them have, like 

Abhinandan: Avatar, it is about immigration, migrants, you know, it has all those things.

This has no layers. So I tried to extract a few. So the more primitive, Uh, the two, the one kingdom, the new kingdom, old kingdom of planet. So the primitive kingdom, the primitive apes, they cremate and the more evolved ones, Caesar was cremated, the more evolved ones burial. So you are saying that cremation is more primitive than burial.[00:30:00] 

I don't agree with that politics. So I just extracted that. You don't 

Rajyasree: agree with that politics? No, either 

Abhinandan: they should all be cremated or they should all be buried. What you trying to say? What you trying to say? 

Rajyasree: That 

Abish: is your problem. I feel like you've really gone into the depth of the problem. It's too slow.

Abhinandan: Ape on ape emotion doesn't work for me. I don't come here for drama. 

Rajyasree: He doesn't like animals. I come for 

Abhinandan: action. Something spectacular, stunning. Not ape emotion and deep feelings. When Marvel, DC, uh, type films try this emotion and layer and depth, it always falls flat. Superman, they made this very dark Superman who's drooling, it was a shit film.

Rajyasree: I had liked that Superman. I liked that super film where they made him into this tank. Oh, the old one. No, no, not, not, no, 

Abhinandan: no. Not Christopher Reeves. The new one. Oh, the 

Rajyasree: new ones, I don't watch. 

Abhinandan: So he was this angst and, you know, fighting inner demons and all , the only one who has been able to pull this off successfully is the Dark Knight with, what's his name?

B? No, 

Rajyasree: Luman 

Abhinandan: not, no, he mean Mo 

Rajyasree: Roge. 

Abhinandan: Nolan Nolan's, no. [00:31:00] Yeah. Christopher Nolan. Christopher Nolan. Why are you say, but all If Christopher Nolan was a. Cyclist, he'd be Christopher Noland. Okay, but anyway, So, um, so it was really terrible. Only the Dark Knight has been able to crack that action film with a message that is really powerful reflection of society, terrible dialogue, terrible writing.

Um, Complete waste of my time and this is the last time I am taking a producer Priyali. If next time I say I consider watching a film that she has suggested, just kill me. But we are going 

Rajyasree: to watch, there's a new one which is very good, which is coming out. Would you like the series? I'll tell you later.

See your attitude right now is one of aggression. Wait, can I know which one 

Abish: is it? Does it have animals? How put off are you by apes? Will you watch David Attenborough's documentary? Or [00:32:00] you're like, all apes are bad for me. 

Rajyasree: He's not very animal friendly, but you know what we missed is that there's a chimp.

One guy is a chimp. One is an orangutan and one is a bonobo. That Proximus is not a gorilla. He's a bonobo. And there's one gorilla. The rest are all chimps. Like the 

Abish: army of unnamed, uh, apes, are all, what monkey breeds are they? They're different. Basically they're different 

Abhinandan: tribes. So there's the chimp tribe, then there's the gorilla tribe.

Then there's the bonobos. Orangutan is a gorilla. Are 

Abish: they trying to make, like, Are they making any social commentary about tribes and races? No, it is 

Rajyasree: about the existence, the last two, no, no, this one didn't, but the last, or I think they meant to, but they didn't manage, but the last two, it is about that.

It's about how humans as a species have no regard for any other species. And we are the worst species basically. And the apes are, and apes learn to coexist. Apes are the ones [00:33:00] who like. Caesar brought the film, not this one, the old one. The 

Abish: previous one. The one which is not the kingdom of the planet of that is the, that one of 

Rajyasree: the, of the planet of the Apes.

The one 

Abhinandan: with the guy who was also Caesar. So Caesar was, no, no. Who was, who's also in, uh, who's the green goblin? 

Rajyasree: Who's in Lord of the Rings also? 

Abhinandan: No, 

Rajyasree: no, no. Who's the guy who's Caesar, Andy Serkis. Andy Serkis, 

Abish: right? Yeah, Andy Serkis. 

Rajyasree: That's Andy Serkis. He's in, he's Gollum also in Lord of the Rings. So Caesar, the one where No, no, 

Abhinandan: no.

Rajyasree: Caesar is 

Abhinandan: Andy Serkis, right? Yeah. So you, to answer the question correctly, you have to hear the question. Shut up. What is it? What I said was, Caesar's caretaker is the Green Goblin in Spider Man. Is that William Dufour? 

Rajyasree: Green Goblin in No, 

Abhinandan: no, the guy who's Caesar's caretaker, yeah? He doesn't have. The blonde, white boy.[00:34:00] 

Green Goblin in Spider Man. Yeah, who takes care of Caesar? Who's the human being who rescues Caesar from this thing? 

Rajyasree: Not so much. I don't remember. I'm looking at who Green Goblin is. William Dafoe is Green Goblin. 

Abish: Okay, doesn't matter. 

Rajyasree: Doesn't matter. It is William Dafoe. We need to get to 

Abish: the end of this.

Otherwise, it'll be 8 out of 10 fact right now. I want to know who is this character? Is it not William Dufour? Who was green? Huh? James Franco. James Franco. Who's a molester. James Franco. Who knew you knew more than a guard. That's the one. 

Abhinandan: He was the green goblin in Spider Man also. And he was also the caretaker of Caesar.

He's the one who gets Caesar out. 

Rajyasree: Oh, that's before 4th of July. James Franco got cancelled. Yeah, it 

Abish: was the third Spider Man where he was the younger actor. I don't watch 

Rajyasree: Spider Man, that's why I don't know. It's such a loser character he is. And he's very wimpy. I feel like if I slap Spider Man, 

Abish: he'd 

Rajyasree: just get hurt.

Abish: Yeah, he'd just 

Rajyasree: like, That's it, that's 

Abhinandan: it. Oh, you caused [00:35:00] me minor 

Rajyasree: inconvenience! I've just never gotten through the new, Was there an old Spider Man when we were growing up? No, that was the cartoon. That was Spider Man. 

Abhinandan: Spider Man. 

Rajyasree: I'm a very good 

Abhinandan: singer. That was a cartoon. Spins his web, any side. Catches thieves just by something.

Look out, 

Rajyasree: look out for Spider Man. Yeah. Yeah. Whereas was on Sundays, we used to, oh wait. 

Abish: In that case, sorry, slide aside. I'm gonna play another tune. Tell me where it's from. Okay. Okay.

I don't know what is this? Live music? No, this is SWAT Cats. Sorry. SWAT Cats. 

Rajyasree: We don't know This's not our Generation. What is Spot 

Abish: Cats? What? You don't know 

Rajyasree: what? SWAT Cats. Excuse Bunny 

Abish: Ray , the Radical Squadron. I dunno. Swat, who are these 

Rajyasree: people? 

Abish: How do you not know? Swat Cats. Swat Cats is what I grew up on.

Swat Cats is in ndi. It's [00:36:00] Mio, uh, . It's about, uh, it's, uh, it's a, it's a city where, of course it's, uh, animals like, which are cats. All cats. All cats. Like instead of humans, all cats. These are two and there are tall skyscraper buildings. It's like a New York, but all. Police is flying in jets and everything.

Abhinandan: Okay. So 

Abish: these guys get demoted because they go and save the city, but he didn't follow the enforcers. So now they work in a scrapyard, they build their own jets and they become mass vigilantes that fly. There's a 2000 series then. Uh, 

Rajyasree: no, 93, 94. That's still dude. I'm in college. High school. You're very young.

You're high school. I was zero. 

Abhinandan: In fact, I was one year before joining NewsTrack. I was already in news by then. It's sweet. The things we learn. I'm very old, Abish. I'm from the generation that is Winter's here, the fun's begun With Pond's cold cream, you know you've won Rub a little ponds here and a little ponds there and you're ready to face the cool winter [00:37:00] air.

The pond's cold cream in extra large jars. The warmer smiles in the coldest places only on ponds. Cold cream faces. I said only on ponds. Cold cream faces. 

Abish: What? I have no idea. What is this? This is when jingles ruled. 

Abhinandan: Hawkins ki sitti bhaji khushboo hi khushboodi mazdaar, lazdaar, khanna hai tayyaar, ajji khanna hai tayyaar, murg musallam, tomato soup, mutton pulao, makki daal, aajji khanna Kheer aur Dum Aloo, Har Ganjan Swadisht Banaye, Minto Mein Jhatpat Pakaye, Hawkins, Hawkins, Hawkins Pressure Cooker.

This is Ketki. What's her name? Your Masaba's mother. Nina Gupta. Nina Gupta. Your Masaba's mother. Your Masaba's mother. That's true. Yeah. 

Rajyasree: No, but this was also a simpler time where you could market a pressure cooker and say Murgh Musallam and all. Now if you say, you'll be told by you naming non vegetarian.

You'll say, yeah, 

Abhinandan: Lord![00:38:00] 

Abish: So you can't have that anymore? No, not anymore. But I am thoroughly impressed with. What part of your access memory you brought that out from? Anyone between the 

Abhinandan: ages of 45 and 60, you ask them for a jingle, they would know the jingle. Because there was no internet, there was no cable TV, there was only Doordarshan that came from 5 to 10.

30. And you saw the same ad every day. Every day. Every day. So the jingles are imprinted in our heads. 

Abish: Wow. I think I would probably say the jingle that I would remember would be like, Baja

and like, uh, I think back when, uh, we AI friends and all, we were, we were doing this one jingle mashup. We worked with Bok Veronica, and that was the, we only put all the jingles that [00:39:00] we had heard. So I think that's our generation. Where, where we know, uh, Rojkhao Ande. And, uh, what is it? Uh, which was that? I don't know, man.

Monte Carlo. You don't 

Rajyasree: remember Monte Carlo. I can't. 

Abish: That's all I remember. 

Rajyasree: Pamela. What was her name? She was very well known. That model was very well known. Pamela Borders. No. I don't know. The only Pamela 

Abish: I know is Anderson. 

Rajyasree: Everyone seems to know. Yeah. Everybody. 

Abish: There was Baywatch. Then she had that lethal series where she was, uh, barbed wire.

Then after that. The roast then continue. 

Rajyasree: So are you a Samantha Fox generation? No, 

Abhinandan: no, dude, Samantha. I was in school. He wouldn't be born. Samantha Fox generation. 

Rajyasree: I'm just thinking of the same. Let me just clarify what my 

Abish: age is before you guys are like thinking I'm 25. Okay. What do you, how old do you think I am?

Rajyasree: 35. 

Abish: Okay. That's amazing. That's eight out of 10 facts. What do 

Abhinandan: you think? I'm going to keep that consistent because I remember meeting you when [00:40:00] Newslaundry had just started. So you were already an adult, so you're definitely over 30. So you'll be over 30, but I'd say between 30 and 40, that's the number. No, there's 

Rajyasree: a lot of nonsense.

35, 35. She said 35, 

Abish: you also said 35. Um, I am, I am, 32. 87 bonus, 37. 

Rajyasree: Oh, so sweet. I was correct. You're 10 years younger than me. 10 years. So now, I 

Abhinandan: have lost all credibility. I have lost, I shouldn't have told my age. Regain your credibility because you can talk about this film with authority. 

Abish: That's right.

Because it's called 

Abhinandan: Manjumal Boys. 

Abish: Okay, let's hear you now. Yeah, see. You're not just bullshitting us, no? That's actual Malayalam, right? Yeah, that's Malayalam. I'm not impersonating a Malayalam. You're talking Malayalam. Yeah, because You mean the one with Varun Dhawan? Is that also [00:41:00] like an opening 

Rajyasree: shot?

Abhinandan: Who's 

Rajyasree: Cody? He's Cozy. Cody is 

Abhinandan: The person very cozy. So Rajshri, you also watch Manjumal Boys? I watch Manjumal Boys. It was recommended by a subscriber, right? 

Rajyasree: We've reviewed it before because it was, oh, we reviewed it, I reviewed it, but Jayshree reviewed it. I did not. Oh, but it was highly 

Abhinandan: recommended by a subscriber.

So if you watched it, 

Abish: do you watch a lot of Mallu cinema? I do. Uh, while growing up, especially, uh, I was born and raised in Delhi, but my parents are Mallu from, like, In Kerala, they moved there for work. So all the movies that we had seen at that time are all Malayalam movies, cassettes and VCRs from Kerala.

You bring and we'll keep watching that. Um, so watch a lot of Malay movies. Then when I started working in comedy, then I think I just abandoned watching films in general. But when the new upsurge of films started coming, uh, with directors such as Ashik Abu, who had brought in, um, so many new films, and then people who worked with him, and then you got someone like Basil Thomas, uh, uh, [00:42:00] Basil Take It Ahead, then with Manjumal Bhat I have now started re appreciating Malayalam cinema, like the way I did when I was in school, but now as an adult, uh, on my own version, where I'm like, I am looking forward to the next film that's coming out.

No, I 

Abhinandan: think it's, I mean, I was just telling her the last time we recorded, you know, politics has changed. Screwed my life. I just don't seem to be interested in even watching a film. I used to love cinema. Yeah. Like my most exciting time of my week, week, every week used to go, we'd go every week for a movie.

Yeah. I'd go and watch a film. So now I, I've just lost the page. 'cause you know, you're just consuming so much news. That's the only thing that captures your interest. But up to the time when I was still really interested in films. I was blown away by the originality and the cleverness and the sheer hatke, uh, subjects that Mallu cinema was taking up, you know, whether it was Nigeria from, uh, that football film.

Uh, Sudha Sudhani from Nigeria. And there was that 

Rajyasree: other film with this guy. Then there was that robot 

Abhinandan: about that robot, which was fucking way ahead of its time. It was made so long ago. I [00:43:00] think it's called Robot Only. I don't know. I think. Is it the one with, uh It's with that guy who's a very talented Malayalam actor who's got a very broad forehead.

He's in a lot of Mallu films. 

Promo: Fahad Fazal? Fahad 

Abhinandan: Fazal? No, no, he's in, 

Abish: he's the coach in Sudani from Nigeria. Oh, Abna Shubin Sahir. Yeah, that's the one. Oh, the same gentleman in, um, um, uh, what do you call, Manjabul Boys. Okay, so what's the theme here? What's the subject? Oh, 

Abhinandan: Sidhu. So, I mean, I think Mallu cinema is, like, way ahead of, don't say Bengali cinema is, is way ahead of all other cinemas.

She always says. But 

Rajyasree: Bengali cinema was way ahead, and if it wasn't for Bengalis, we wouldn't even have a national anthem of freedom. 

Abish: Well, our national anthem was of course written for the king who was coming and then got adapted to a national anthem. But, you know, who wants to know that? Oh, 

Abhinandan: yeah. 

Abish: The Mallu has put the bong in the place.

Mallus 

Rajyasree: are always trying to prove that we aren't the smartest. No, but, uh, so I'm a big fan of Mallu cinema now. Like the new, uh, I haven't watched over. Yeah. But, uh, that Kumbh lagni nights, then [00:44:00] there's another one, which I'm trying to remember. No, I like Kumbh Lagni Nights. Don't tell, trying to make me look bad in front of him.

Hey, it's fine. It's an open clap. 

Abish: You can, this Maloom No, no, I like 

Rajyasree: Kumbh Lagni Nights, the film which, then I watched Manjumah Boys last night and everyone, including Jayshree, who I will have a word with. I was gushing 

Abhinandan: about it. Is it better than Cozy Boys? 

Rajyasree: I think Cozy Boys is better because Cozy Boys is showing a certain decent behavior of sportsmanship, all this.

Abhinandan: Because 

Rajyasree: Manjumal Boys is basically the story is that 11 or 12 friends, whatever, from Manjumal in, uh, am I saying Manjumal correctly? I'm doing some weird pronunciation. Manjumal, go to Shut up. Go to, on a holiday together. They are not boys, men. They are 35 year olds, if not a little. This guy is much older, this showman, Shahil.

And they go to Kodaikanal and over there, [00:45:00] there's this place called Guna Caves. Now the reason why it's important is because Kamal Haasan made a film where he kidnaps a woman and he takes her to the Guna Caves. And it's a well known film. So they go there. And the entire what I had read about it was that it's a film about friendship and survival because the story was that they get lost in the caves or something happens and how and the poster also has this chapter.

It's Lord of the Flies for 

Abhinandan: adults. 

Rajyasree: It's a lot of, a lot of the flies, but with 

Abish: Adam's, no, no, not a lot of the flies. It's like jackass means one thirty seven hours, one twenty seven hours, did you say jackass? Yeah, I mean, yeah, because I'll tell 

Rajyasree: you why. So I'm watching it. First of all, it's two hours, fifteen minutes, which is not bad by cinema nowadays.

First one hour of the film, are these men who are in their, uh, town in Manjuma, they They elicit no love [00:46:00] for, like, you wouldn't want to meet any of these people. They are loud, they're boisterous. They drink, they are. Ha, I don't, I don't think men should drink. Drink for you. Shut up. No, no. Niko, there's nothing interesting about them.

Came.

Then they go to listen, they go to ko. They are roaming around and they are being. Obnoxious tourists. They are the kind of people when I go on holiday. They are like Punjabi. They are the kind of people when I go on holiday, you're like, what is wrong with these people? Please keep quiet. They're screaming, shouting, just making a nuisance of themselves.

They're not soft 

Abhinandan: spoken like you. 

Rajyasree: They're not soft spoken and classy like me. That's right. Yeah. Then they, Climb over one. They basically say, oh, the Guna caves are there. It's a restricted area. We'll go in to that restricted area and Then one of them falls into one 

Abhinandan: cave 

Rajyasree: cave He goes he's gone [00:47:00] and then the friends are also quite useless.

I have to say if my friends were so useless I would have given them two tights up They're like panicky and all this and then how this man gets rescued from the cave I really like him as an actor, this Srinath Basi who plays, uh, uh, he was in that Kumbh lagni nights and all. So he's really a good actor, but that's beside the point.

Basically these people, inconvenience everyone, you went to a restricted area, you fell in, then the cops had to come, locals had to come to get you. You have made everybody's life a misery, then you go and rescue this guy. It is not a heroic act. Your friend fell in. Maybe that's not the point. That is the 

Abhinandan: point of the thing.

Was it a good film or not? No. No. As in it's well 

Rajyasree: shot when he's in the cave and all that. But I just like while watching it, I was like, I don't care if these are the kind of people who make Life of misery for [00:48:00] everyone. It's like in Bengal. This guy climbed over the tiger's enclosure. He was drunk. He had a garland in his hand.

He went to garland the tiger. The tiger looked at him. There's video footage. The tiger looks at him for a second and then just Slowly, just whacks him across the face with his paw and shakes him up and kills him. He doesn't eat him and he leaves him and he goes. And then, but nobody stood up for this guy though, they said, why did a, my point is now look at what you've done.

If this happens. Not everybody 

Abhinandan: who goes in there is of sound mind, but I don't know why, why a incident of a. Tiger in Bengal has anything to do with the Malayalam film, but 

Abish: If anything, he just talks about Malayali men being so bold for that 

Abhinandan: Other 

Abish: Bengali men are like, 

Abhinandan: it's okay. I'll write about it any conversation here.

We'll have some parallel in Bengal just

Rajyasree: Because this has only 

Abhinandan: happened [00:49:00] in bengal in china woman was dragged away by a tiger it happened in delhi zoo it's happened but And you know the bengal it was a bengal royal bengal tiger also i'm sure 

Rajyasree: no we got him from delhi his name was You Chotu Singh. Chotu 

Abhinandan: Singh from Delhi. Chotu 

Rajyasree: Singh from Delhi.

No, but were they not 

Abhinandan: obnoxious people? 

Abish: Did you, do you have such a harsh view as she does? Oh no, not at all. Because it's based on real life incidents. And when I saw the interview done, like interview series. I rolled 

Rajyasree: my eyes. You didn't see. I rolled my eyes. She didn't understand the 

Abish: film. Please. No, no, no.

What I meant is, one, I'll talk about the film. Second, I'll talk about the main point of it. What I liked is these are characters in the first 30 40 minutes. You will dislike, anyone will dislike. Even our parents, what are these guys? They remind you of them. You know, they're all, uh, they will only cause trouble for themselves.

So I saw after the movie, I saw the interview of these, uh, gentlemen, real life, like survival story. They're still like that. They're what they call like, you know, uh, on your curbside, they will say it. And it's the typical, you have, [00:50:00] uh, you'll, be part of like this one gang, like the Mammootty gang or the Mohanlal gang.

And, you know, that's Mallu culture, right? I mean, not all of Mallu culture, but it's specifically talks about that 80s generation, 90s generation. In my family, I have Benoy and Biju Chettai who are like that, you know, older, they will like, they will be there for anything for themselves, right? So you've made them antagonists in the first half.

Abhinandan: Yeah. 

Abish: And you dislike them. And then one person goes down and the rest of the film, as someone who's disliked these characters to like them towards the end, I was like, well done. They could have made the film where they seem enduring. Nobody seemed endearing. Everybody only when interpersonal relationships you'll find endearing, but them with the outside world is like, Oh, they're uncultured or like, they're not doing this or they're not doing that.

So I really enjoyed that process of disliking and then rooting for them at the end, which usually doesn't happen for 

Rajyasree: them at the end. I was like, dude, Just it [00:51:00] just so basically it is a 

Abhinandan: feel good rescue adversity say yeah emerging from adversity type film 

Abish: i would say if i why it's a boy boy's film no no actually my wife and i also saw it and uh 

Rajyasree: what is boys film what a thing to say huh 

Abish: It's when those, you know, guys hang out, standing up for each other.

We also, 

Rajyasree: women also like those films. But like, in 

Abish: Mallu cinema, what they do really well is they play with emotions. And they allow the movie to end sadly. In lots of old films also. So you don't know where it's gone. And even though you know how the movie ends. The story and it's 

Abhinandan: based on a true story.

It's 

Abish: based on a true story. There's interviews and as the internet is available. So you're reading all of this and you're going in. So when I went into the movie to watch it, it was recommended by my parents. My and my parents live with my cousins and my brother, everybody in Canada, and they're looking forward to watching this movie together.

So when they got so excited and I was like, I got to also watch it. My wife is like, let's might as well watch this movie together. We saw it. There are points. I'm a very [00:52:00] easy crier and I'm going, you know how this, I don't know if this happens to you. You should watch a film with her. Yeah. She will just be like, I hate you.

No, I cry. She cries in every film. You do? Yeah. I'm 

Rajyasree: very sensitive as a person. 

Abish: But do you cry like, cry or do you like cry like me? Which is if I have somebody around me, I go. 

Rajyasree: No, no, I cry. 

Abhinandan: She's crying. No, I don't cry. And if you happen to be sitting with her, you're just looking around. 

Rajyasree: In 15 years, in 15 years, Abhinandan has not turned once also and said, are you okay?

Because it's a normal, no, it's normal to ask someone, are you fine? When the person is clearly emotionally distressed. 

Abish: Of course, he has a PSA, by the way, on that topic. If you ever are watching a movie with a friend and you know they're visibly crying, do not check in with them. Let them have their moment.

Rajyasree: No, I want to be 

Abish: asked. You, okay. Generally, for me, I don't want to make a statement for men or Malayalees specifically from Alappuzha. But I'm just saying, if I'm crying and if you [00:53:00] look at me, I'm leaving you. Even if you're my own child. I want to 

Rajyasree: be asked, like, Kabhi Khushi So I cried. Did you cry? 

Abhinandan: Fucking, uh, Chennai Express.

And you didn't cry in 

Abish: Manjumal Boys. 

Rajyasree: No, I didn't cry in Manjumal Boys. But I cried in Planet of the Apes at one point. Oh 

Abhinandan: my God! Wow! I cried that, why the fuck am I here? 

Rajyasree: That's when I cried. But I remember in Kabhi Ek, just a segway in Kabhi Khushi, Kabhi Kaam, I had gone with my mum and we were saying, what a shit film.

But we cried. But there was a man who was sitting behind us, like next seat, some other people sitting. He had an umbrella in his hand and he was really crying and his umbrella was hitting the woman there. Suddenly she turned and she said. That guy, he was an old man. He was weeping and weeping. He said, I'm very sorry.

I'm very sad. I said, this isn't being [00:54:00] all these things happen, but I, I'm emotionally moved by most things, but I wasn't, I'm telling you because they were so abrasive. I feel 

Abish: like they were able to show the fact that they are like antiheroes or someone you wouldn't And then what I didn't. So in the film, there's this one narrative of Opening starts with one newspaper article that one of the drivers from Manyumal was in Kodaikanal where he Opened up some food article and he read this newspaper article which spoke about them.

I can't read Malayalam So I didn't know what it was about. 

Rajyasree: Even I didn't understand. Towards the 

Abish: end when they showed the church and the the temples and they're like we need to Spread this news, which is what I found very interesting and very true to Mallu culture also like if someone has done an act of kindness, it should not be gone undisclosed.

Let the world think if it's good or bad. So because these guys didn't want to tell the news to anyone, they didn't even tell their own family because they were so scared. So the their heroism was kind of celebrated by the world and [00:55:00] the that I found very enduring. And at that time I was like, Okay, you did a good thing, but you didn't tell anyone.

Good job. Plus 10 plus 10. Minus two 

Rajyasree: minus minus two. 

Abish: So, uh,

I, okay, it's a Tam song. A Malali, but that's a song that I've been hearing for many years because my parents used to have cassettes, right? Mm-Hmm. Of Malu songs and t songs. 

Rajyasree: The Tamala Hasan song. The Ka song. 

Abish: So I've heard the song for my entirety of life, uh, this one and a few other Malu songs throughout while I was growing.

So to see that song play at the, there's, okay. One of my favorite shots. Okay. I'm gonna reveal this. 

Abhinandan: Hmm. 

Abish: Towards the end, of course, he gets saved and it's really tense music. 

Abhinandan: Hmm. 

Abish: And, um, charm has done a great job. He's the music director. If I'm not, I'm getting the, uh, name correctly. It beautifully. The atmosphere is built.

Okay. This is the whole, the atmosphere is built and it's getting very stressful. You don't know the [00:56:00] rope is going, you don't know what's going on. It's like a crevice. He's calling and in the crevice, they're pulling it up. And you can see all of these guys are tug of war. Uh, competition. So, you know, you get to see what they've said in the first half, how it pays off here and how they coordinate it more than the police does.

Okay. All of this is tense. You don't know where it's going. And then you see it from under, and this is one beautiful shot immediately after where they get pulled out at that time. It's not celebration. It's the Kanmani song with the Kamal Haasan. And it's a comedic moment. Like that song coming in, it's like it jars you from the experience and it's like this, oh my God, it feels great and perfect song choice and perfectly placed and the way they come up.

That was my favorite shot of the scene because I knew it's coming, but I just dunno how they'll celebrate it. That's what I felt like. They didn't lean into feel sad. They feel something else. 

Abhinandan: I think sounds very skilled. Filmmaking. You don't understand . They're 

Rajyasree: like a bunch of. You would 

Abhinandan: prefer [00:57:00] apes misery than human misery?

Yeah, if the 

Rajyasree: apes were doing this, I would feel. 

Abhinandan: I've always maintained this. People who are overly sensitive about animals, this is my theory I've articulated often, are, uh, cruel people. It is, uh, overcompensating for your lack of empathy for your own kind. Which 

Rajyasree: is the most bullshit, which is the most bullshit theory I've heard.

Every day 

Abhinandan: we pass. People dying of heat wave, cold wave, on the, I mean, from here, my office to my home, I'm sure, I mean, sometimes if, during Diwali or Holi, you, because you know, so many mithai dabbas come, you give it to people on the street, but I'm sure in, at least 12 people who I've, in the last 5 years, must have died either in the heat or the cold wave.

You can't serve a heater cold over here, but saala kutte ko kuch ho jaye 

Rajyasree: sab, I'm like, but you can do both. You realize that it's possible. Then [00:58:00] you have to hang out with different people. Understood? 

Abhinandan: But I have 

Rajyasree: to say about Mallu cinema, we studied film in college. And we were taken to FTII for like a seven day course.

Of the films we were shown, we were shown Adur Pal Krishna's films also. And I have never come across more traumatized female characters than in his films. And, uh, what's his name is? Uh, no, no. Mera is a known Bengali, uh, film. No, his film, It is made, shut up, Make it Hutter, Tara is made by Hrithik Huttuk. So shut up, Hrithik Huttuk's films and this is a Bengali film theme, The Long Suffering And Adur, Adur Gopalakrishnan's films also, I was like, Oh my God, I will kill myself if I watch another one of these films.

The women are never happy. They are always sacrificing something or the other [00:59:00] or their happiness. Basically they are sacrificing. So I remember after that, that's why when this whole, A new wave of Mallu cinema started with Pahad and all and I started watching Mallu cinema again. It was like, Oh, now this is like really good, although Adoor is considered a G.

Correct, but 

Abish: Ashok Abbu is somebody like I would give a huge shout out to also for initially, I think I saw a lot of his films. Uh, so I was married to a Malayali actress as well. Uh, we're divorced now. We're amicable and friends. So she's been an actor and she was, uh, there was a movie called Neela Tamara, Neela Tamara, which is an old 80s film, if I'm not wrong.

80s film, which was remade by a very legendary director. And she was her debut role. And she got really popular because of that role. And the movie did really well. It is still a story about a woman suffering. It says so that is, I know my mom has really liked Films like that. So I don't know if it is, uh, uh, effect of society being [01:00:00] represented by a director of that time, or if it's the art that's, uh, kind of influenced, imitating life, right?

So that was a genre of film. What she had told me, what my ex wife had told me that, uh, at that time is that there is a new wave of cinema coming. There's a way before I had seen anything because she's part of it. And she had mentioned there's a new way of cinema, a new wave of cinema coming, which is nice.

It's created by younger directors and more. inclusive people in 

Abhinandan: the system and very diverse themes and they experiment with the entire 

Abish: they experiment with shorts and all that because a lot of these guys are incredible cinematographers and the technicalities are amazing 

Abhinandan: technical excellence that comes out of so because of that But there is also shows on men's suffering.

Yeah, there's an awful and awesome is a show in that genre. So you can 

Rajyasree: make out when Avinandan has thought of a clever line. Yeah, because he's already started smiling. Yeah, I 

Abhinandan: was like, okay, 

Rajyasree: this is 

Abhinandan: well done. Tafir Shree [01:01:00] says, Thank you Tapasree for your subscription. You can mail us at podcasts at newslondi.

com That's podcasts with an s, plural, at newslondi. com In the subject line, please write Awful and Awesome or ANA or just click on the link below. Tapasree says, Hello Awful and Awesome. Thank you for the review of Heeramandi. What an utter waste of time and money in making it. I had the time to watch the full show, unfortunately.

Tapashree, you have the patience of Rajshri Sen. Bhansali had time to work on the embroidery, fabric, art, deco, interiors, but he couldn't work on basics such as the cast or the acting. Example, Alamzeb was given so much screen time and we could not see much beyond one or two expressions. Plus, if she was an Urdu poetess, why is she holding Urdu books incorrectly?

I haven't watched this book. 

Rajyasree: Read Urdu Right to left also in this film. In 

Abhinandan: addition, the plot gets lost at the end with no closure or resolution. With this show, it seems like Bhansali chooses stories where he can show off the costumes, mehendis, architecture, fountains, sounds of bangles, [01:02:00] anklets, and nothing more, nothing less.

Tapashti, I watched 15 20 minutes and that was view, but I've been told that I've got a lot of hate because I review stuff without watching it. 

Rajyasree: Which has not changed over the years. 

Abhinandan: Yeah. I watched four episodes and it was horrible. If it takes you three days to watch 15 minutes, I'm not going to watch eight, eight episodes.

I mean, I could not watch more than three minutes at a time. I mean, I would be able to pull, so then I'd shut it then. So in three days, Struggle to 15 minutes. Watch 

Rajyasree: 8 episodes. It was 

Abish: horrible. What a bad. I've heard everyone say that in front of me and I feel like these shows is something I usually visit after a few years.

When I have time, like anytime a show comes out or a movie comes out, I'm immediately thinking, okay, let me put it this way. When I had wrote a story once, they had asked me to make a web series out of it. It was supposed to be a short film. So I had to make pilot, second episode, third episode, same age structure.

I mean, like three structure arc and then [01:03:00] end with a cliffhanger. As a writer, I had to take what was supposed to be a sketch, extended it to eight episodes. So imagine people who do this craftfully, then I was like, Oh, you are just wanting my time. So I kind of deny you that time. It's like somebody has a Ferrari.

And if they're going in front of me, I will make sure I will not look at the car. I am a contrarian to what you want me to do. So when this movie, when the series came out, my wife saw it and she, same, same review, same thing that you're saying. And then it's like a bad fart. You know it's there, you want to smell it, and you're like, Chee!

And then 

Abhinandan: you go, yuck! And 

Abish: they're like, how bad can it get? Oh, 

Abhinandan: it's really bad! Why do 

Abish: you want to put yourself through that? Kill your OCD, and if you've started a series, be okay with not finishing it. Yeah, that is the reason. 

Rajyasree: So now I've started doing this. Now, 

Abish: right? After going 

Abhinandan: Otherwise she'd also watch Big Boss.

No, no, but I was 

Rajyasree: paid to I was first force pop culture [01:04:00] columnist. So I was paid to paid to watch Bigg Boss. Yeah. 

Abhinandan: Right. 

Rajyasree: Otherwise, why would I watch it? Why would you watch it? So, yeah. 

Abhinandan: Come on. Come on. 

Abish: It 

Abhinandan: doesn't 

Abish: seem. You diss Manjumal Boys. Sorry, you diss Manjumal Boys. I feel like sometimes you watch Bigg Boss reruns out of like, do you remember 

Abhinandan: the best ofs?

Before we wind up, because Abish has come on our show for the first time and we don't know whether he'll be here next. Yeah, Tell us about one of your favorite series or shows or film or whatever, and why it's one of your favorites all time. 

Abish: Oh, wow. Okay. I should have prepared for this. Yeah. It's mostly a 

Abhinandan: memory job.

It could be a film also. Anything that you think is just, you can watch it again and again and again, you know, like Diwaar or Wonder Years. 

Rajyasree: I can watch Silicon Valley. Have you watched Silicon Valley? 

Abish: Silicon? No, Valley, not yet. 

Rajyasree: Oh, very good. Very 

Abish: clever. I think, uh, okay, here are [01:05:00] a few. Okay. But I will narrow it down to like one so that it's not meandering for too long.

Um, I, I'm a huge fan of network television shows, which is non narrative, same characters reset every episode, like you get friends, you get the office, so on and so forth, because there's some feel good element you can check out and you subconsciously pick up characters. So I am a big fan of that genre of the way you feel.

So the movie that I would recommend in that genre would be School of Rock. Uh, School of Rock. Uh, Jack Black plays a, um, uh, temp teacher in a school and he revolutionizes with his own. He's, he's an, again, a bad guy who ends up doing good. Music teacher. Music teacher. Replacement music teacher. The reason I like that film and always go back to, uh, is of course everyone talks about mental health, but sometimes I have this, I have a box, which is a Google note of all the links that I end up watching when I'm feeling a little low for some no reason.

I just want to [01:06:00] get a. School of Rock has been part of that because it's one of the oldest things. I haven't changed it. I re saw it again a couple of months, six, seven months ago. Um, just because I discovered it again. And the reason I keep recommending that is because the emotion that you feel with it, You don't have to watch it again, but come back to it a few years later, you will still feel good.

It's, it's like Coach Carter, but because I'm not an athlete, I'm a musician and performer and a comedian. That's the film that I really enjoy. Because again, it's a character you don't like, who is selfish, who ends up doing good, sacrifices. There's a greater good to it. The redemption rocket. The 

Rajyasree: redemption, and it's Jack Black.

I love Jack 

Abish: Black. And it's Jack Black and it's music. And it's, I like the final song. I love the song so much. It's on like, light, on, uh, whether it's on Spotify or on uh, uh, apple, uh, music, whoever listens to stuff there anymore. But then I know that I'm waiting. Yeah. I'm waiting for 

Abhinandan: it. All my [01:07:00] comedy 

Abish: albums are on Apple, uh, Apple Music.

And other than this one, you said you'd name a few. One is School of Rock. School of Rock is great. Uh, Parks and Recs. Oh, very nice. Because it's created by the same creators and actors who had come from like the office. Then you get to see them in Brooklyn Nine Nine. Parks and Rec is a good middle ground between office and Brooklyn Nine Nine.

Brooklyn Nine Nine is great. It's really pop culture. Parks and Rec is good because, again, if you spend enough time with these characters, you identify with someone. And similarly, Uh, modern Family. I think these are the three kind of like, I like these characters. They're endearing enough and it's good to just watch it again again.

Have 

Rajyasree: you watched, I can't pronounce, we, we w Huh? Have you watched Weep? I haven't seen Weep. Oh my God. Oh, I thought you were 

Abhinandan: gonna say Bengali show. I was preparing myself. 

Rajyasree: Weep, 

Abhinandan: weep, weep, weep them. 

Promo: All 

Rajyasree: the Bengali haters, please go to his twitter. I'm telling [01:08:00] you. 

Abish: Hey, don't, don't come at me. I had a Bengali neighbor and I dated a Bengali.

Now I'm married. Oh, just 

Rajyasree: like my drivers, Bengali, like that. Yeah. Now I'm married to an 

Abish: Odia. So, you know. Oh, 

Rajyasree: you're eating very good food. But their repertoire isn't as good as Bengali is. Wow. It's true, but they have, you know, that they stole all our culture and heritage. Do you 

Abish: know that you stole, uh, from no, no, bring it.

Rajyasree: We did not. This is a lie. 

Abhinandan: And 

Rajyasree: I asked why my mother is a big, uh, uh, like, uh, Propagator proponent of Odiya culture. I don't know why she feels like she should say, you know, they have so much culture and heritage. So I said name all 

Abhinandan: the cameras are rolling. She's always saying they're stealing our stuff.

She's very dismissive. It's true. So all the 

Rajyasree: Odiya's director hate there. 

Abhinandan: Bomb director hate here. Everyone send 

Rajyasree: your love here. So she named one sculptor Ram King [01:09:00] Corbett who is well known. Ram King Corbett? Ram King Carpage. Don't say like that. Ram King Carpage is a well known sculptor from the only sculptor which ISTA has produced.

What are you saying? What about, uh, Das? 

Abhinandan: Jatin Das. Jatin Das has other problems to his name. But he's also an artist. Notice he's only, there are lots of Odias. No, no. See, again. He's a painter. Sex out of 10 factors. And 

Rajyasree: they have one, uh, dancer. Sanjukta Pandya. That's it. 

Abhinandan: By the way, even the most, one of the most amazing living sculptors in the world.

Is that guy who makes on the beach. Yeah. The sand guy. Horrible. And what do you see in Bengal beaches at Diga? You'll just see people with monkey caps and slippers, shouting at you and telling you something, you know, like, you know, bongs have this, this, this. What are they telling you? I want 

Rajyasree: to know. I used 

Abhinandan: to wonder because we used to, it was compulsory and last thing because we were way over, to [01:10:00] go for treks every year when we were in school.

And since then, I think I'll get scarred because of all the bong exposure. When we'd be going to whether it was Gaumukh, whether it was Hemkunt Sab, anything. Yeah, yeah, there are bongs 

Rajyasree: everywhere. The bong 

Abhinandan: and they will. And now, you know, I was in social media, people are a lot more beta kallo family. You talk to each other, it's like that.

You know, at that time, people would not really talk. You just stayed in your group. Like when you stopped at Bhojbasa before you went all the way to Amak, you just, these bongs would, uh, pass that blanket. It's fucking my blanket. Or they'd say, uh, is that shop there? How much is the Maggi for? How is the Maggi?

You know, they would just ask you and you're like a fuck. 12, 13, 14 year old guy going for compulsory treks and these people in slippers walking up to Gomukh and monkey caps talking to you like you're their child. I was like, dude, they're going to kidnap you. 

Rajyasree: You'd get very good food if you were [01:11:00] kidnapped by a bong.

Abish: But anyway, I would just like to say it on the record that, uh, to you agree with me to all the OD community. Yeah. I'm one of your peeps now, Timothy, ocho, Ocho, and, uh, 

Abhinandan: I and all your people, Indians, all your people.

So that is the Bengali poetry that you get an awful lot, 

Abish: but thank you, Abish. Thank you for having me. I have one question for you to close on that. Uh, uh, tell me about news laundry. Tell me about what is it that people usually, what is the concept of paying for your news? 

Abhinandan: Basically. Um, when we started in 2012, what, why we started, it was a passion project, it wasn't supposed to be its own company, it was something we were doing on the side because all the channels went and rejected an idea that Madhu and my partners and I had come up with [01:12:00] of doing a show that critiques news, no one wanted to put it on, you know, not NDTV, not IBM, not Times, no one.

This is a very interesting idea because media, you takes everybody's trip. Like, whether good, bad, ugly, doesn't matter. I'm not passing value judgment. You know, whether they, in a judge's case or this boy who's run over, you know, just the way they go at it. But media does so much damage, but no one would critique them.

So, and also what we News wasn't as insane as it is now, but it was clear that ads is killing news because those of us who are in Delhi and who've been in this ecosystem for the last three decades know who's who. So when we'd see someone on a talk show or a panel taking a position, we knew what was the story at the back.

So these weren't objective commentators, They were interested. So we said we should start a platform which has no ads and let's just put it online. So that was it and then it did well and so therefore we are dogmatically against ads. I'm not usually dogmatic about anything but now more and more [01:13:00] I'm getting convinced.

So yeah and that's why pay to keep news free. No 

Rajyasree: but also because if you take ads or you take investment from big companies usually everyone wants their pound of flesh or is going to demand that you Whether subtly or not subtly that you to a certain kind of line or a certain, uh, point of view. So by not taking ads, you're not having to kowtow to either the government or to any.

And even if they don't 

Abhinandan: want it, well, you know, it becomes a, it becomes an entity that is a castle that is standing on many pillars. For example, even a CEO, the team knows that It is not just me who has to get the next investment or it is not a sales team who has to get five ads, thousands of subscribers are paying.

So even they know the companies are completely dependent on my access to, you know, the UP government or the central government or the daily government that I'll get ads from them, or it is completely dependent on the sales team. [01:14:00] You know, telling the Reliance group of guys, they know subscribers are paying.

So there's no one person that can have such a huge influence. I mean, if it was my politics that determined news laundry, 40 percent of stories wouldn't go, but my party doesn't deserve a news laundry. The 10 people's politics determines you. That's why. So that was the idea. 

Abish: So I have a counter question to this.

This is, uh, mostly imagine me as like somebody who doesn't know this, right? Uh, somebody who's born and raised in a household where you get newspapers and that become packaging material for food later. Uh, is, Is it needed, not just for News Laundry, but is it needed for every citizen to find and support, um, media and news publications that you kind of subscribe to and you understand or because right now you get news for free, but you don't get opinions which are on news for free, but opinions are [01:15:00] Okay.

Let me articulate. 

Abhinandan: Compromise influenced. Exactly. Because it 

Abish: is, somebody has bought in like for me, 6 out of 

Abhinandan: 10 types, you know, 

Abish: but, but malicious. That fact was 8 out of 10. So what is it an ideal situation for everyone? Like a normal citizen, like all of us, uh, like for me, Pari is one of those organizations, right?

You know, because I'm like, Oh, Unique does great work and I get news. I mean, there's nothing else that I can probably do. I'm sure as a creator, one should. Similarly for news laundry, could you tell me like, what is it that one should do in Calcutta as a habit? 

Abhinandan: I don't think everybody needs to, because especially a country like India, which has such huge disparity in not just wealth and income.

Uh, I think this is in what economics, it's thought as the lighthouse problem. Uh, the lighthouse problem is that it says. Everybody gets the benefit, but not everybody needs to pay, uh, because once you make a lighthouse, a lighthouse is supposed to basically protect ships. Of course, now you have GPS, you don't need a lighthouse, [01:16:00] but back before GPS, a lighthouse are made that there are rocks here.

So all ships should not come or they'll wreck. Now, once you made the lighthouse, you can't say only the ships who contributed to the entity that made the lighthouse will get benefit of the light. Every small fishing boat can see the light. And it protects everybody, although it has only been paid by a few big, you know, shipping companies, for example.

Now, the shipping companies equivalent of society in India are fucking hugely compromised. Okay? They make everybody from actors to politicians dance at their weddings. So, uh, that lighthouse has to be made by people who make enough money to be able to afford, let's say, to They can afford paying 10, 000 rupees for, uh, dinners, films in a month.

So you can pay 300 rupees for news, 500, but there are millions and crores. Like for example, when the electoral bonds you know, [01:17:00] emerge. Between News Minute, Scroll, a bunch of independent journalists and News Laundry. From seven when it was uploaded morning we had put out eight stories. So legacy media could not ignore it because our stories were just getting too much traction.

Now that was paid by, I think right now subscribers must be 18, 20, 000. I'm guessing those 20, 000 people, but they have built a lighthouse that provides light to every small and big fishing boat, trawler. So you don't need everybody to be a part of it. A few people can build that lighthouse, which gives accuracy, direction, social context, political context.

That is what we have to understand. So our appeal is to people who can afford to. We have free subscription of students and, um, you know, really important public interest stories like the electoral bonds weren't behind the paywall. You know, we'll put something like this behind the paywall. 

Abish: We did. 

Abhinandan: Which may not have such[01:18:00] 

That's 

Abish: a great explanation of what I wanted also, even on the call, I know that, uh, pay to keep the news free, uh, knowing you from before then seeing the podcast, I'm like, if I'm coming on board, it's like two different worlds coming in boredom. What can I add? I'm not that much into pop culture, but I was like, okay, in my head, what am I here for?

I want to kind of understand what. Being to keep news, uh, to keep news free means. This is a great example. Like I subscribe to, I mean, not monetarily yet, which should change now, but right from Instagram to like, uh, YouTube to see what are you guys doing. And as somebody who depends on a lot of ads or, uh, Ticketing is my equivalent of like, you know, right what I would say subscriber.

So it's it's good It's good to know that. Oh, there are people supporting this. So One should just be part of that. Um, yeah as well. 

Abhinandan: Listen to Abish. Yeah, i'm part of it become part of the lighthouse building brigade That's what I lbs. [01:19:00] Lbs. Uh, so we must thank our producer Pali and, uh, Anil who has recorded it.

And thank you to our guest, Aish. Thank you for showing up and spending so much time. This was great fun, Aish. Thank you very much for having 

Abish: me. And, uh, just 

Abhinandan: wanna say ak 

Abish: thank 

Abhinandan: you Mr. San . 

Rajyasree: Thank you Mr. Ri. 

Abhinandan: And it's a wrap.

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