# Episode 125 - Amar Akbar Anthony (The Bollywood Special)

An episode of [Are You Quizzing Me?](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1663104901), 23 Dec 2025, 1 h 04 min.

Audio: https://anchor.fm/s/d7afa960/podcast/play/113017420/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2025-11-23%2F414876871-44100-2-4bebad3c8cbbe.mp3

Do you know which Bollywood movie has references to Ram Aur Shyam, Seeta Aur Geeta, Bobby, Sholay, Jo Jeeta Wahi Sikandar, Qayamt Se Qayamat Tak? Do you know what connects: Sheikh Mukhtar, Ashok Kumar, Hrithik Roshan, Dilip Kumar, Kabir Bedi, Akshaye Khanna? Do you know who graduated from Frank Anthony Public School, Delhi and went on to study at St. Stephen's College, Delhi, where he became the founding member of Barry John's Theatre Action Group? Tune in to the episode to find out!! You can reach us at Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/areyouquizzingme/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/areyouquizzingme Email: areyouquizzingme@gmail.com Subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/areyouquizzingme Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@areyouquizzingme/podcasts

## Transcript

[0:00] As of December 2025, X has 51 credits on IMDb, with the oldest
[0:08] being from 1912 and the newest being 2025.
[0:15] X is exactly 1 trivia mentioned on IMDb, and if all things go
[0:21] well, X's IMDb credits will also increase by one in 2026 and by
[0:28] one in 2027. Who is X?
[0:32] Welcome to are you quizzing me? This is episode #125 queue the
[0:39] music. Welcome to are you quizzing me?
[0:43] I am Vineet Nair with my Co host Aditya Kashyap.
[0:46] This is a quizzing trivia podcast show.
[0:49] Join us as we dive deep into history, science, pop culture
[0:53] and so much more. Let's get quizzing.
[0:57] I hope everyone enjoyed the audience question.
[0:59] I hope I've made it cryptic enough that it'll leave us at
[1:03] least most of your puzzling until the end of today's
[1:05] episode. But it also kind of leads me to
[1:07] segue on to the theme of today's episode.
[1:10] Yes, this is a themed episode. We will be doing a Bollywood
[1:15] themed episode. That was a suggestion of two of
[1:18] the listeners of the podcast who I met the other week.
[1:20] So we decided, why not? It's fun.
[1:21] We'll do a Bollywood podcast show.
[1:23] So this is an exclusively Bollywood related quiz show for
[1:28] today. Aditya, how are you feeling?
[1:30] This is more of your industry than mine and I know practically
[1:33] next to nothing when it comes to Bollywood.
[1:35] I don't think there is any field in the world that you know next
[1:37] to nothing of having done 124 episodes with you.
[1:42] You know a little bit of everything, which is impressive.
[1:46] But yes, I am feeling good. I have been just a fan or a
[1:53] student or even a child of cinema, if I may, for as long as
[1:58] I can remember. I remember our school exam would
[2:01] be going on and I would still want to sneak into the living
[2:05] room if say my mum or my dad are watching a film and I, instead
[2:08] of studying in my own bedroom, I'd want to sneak into the
[2:10] living room and slyly from like, you know, there'll be a little
[2:13] gallery into the living room and we're just standing there and
[2:15] watching the film. I got caught a few times as well
[2:18] doing that. So I, I think Bollywood is just,
[2:22] and cinema in general has just been a big part of my life.
[2:24] I was excited to do this because people from episode 111 when we
[2:29] spoke about the beginning of are you quizzing me?
[2:32] I mentioned the first ever question that you asked me
[2:36] before we even started the was the Bollywood trivia.
[2:40] So if you don't know what that trivia is, which is a really
[2:42] good piece of trivia, go check out episode 111.
[2:45] Listen to the whole episode, but it's at the end of it if you
[2:47] want to skip ahead. So should I start Vineet?
[2:51] Should I get us going? Yes, yes, yes, get the ball
[2:55] rolling. Always good to start with
[2:57] checking where you are at in terms of knowledge for this
[3:00] question. I assume you have heard of the
[3:02] name Barry John. He is a drama teacher from Delhi
[3:06] if I'm not mistaken. Now based in Mumbai, I think
[3:08] based in Mumbai for a while now, he had a Barry John Acting
[3:11] Institute and now it's called Free Birds Collective.
[3:15] His ads show up a lot for me, I guess because I'm in the acting
[3:18] space. I can safely say it never has
[3:20] for me. Yeah, I can imagine it is a very
[3:23] targeted ad for people like me, people who roam around a certain
[3:27] Aram Nagar Verso radius, I guess.
[3:32] Barry John, yes, you're, you're right, has gained a lot of fame
[3:36] as being an eminent acting coach, acting teacher in the
[3:41] last few decades. He was quite the stalwart in
[3:44] theatre and especially in Delhi back in the day, which is where
[3:48] I believe Shahrukh Khan, yes, one of the biggest Bollywood
[3:51] actors ever studied under him. So that is quite the feather in
[3:55] his cap. So Barry John started a theatre
[3:59] Action Group in 19730. A long time ago.
[4:04] I'm going to mention a few people who are part of this
[4:06] group, who are part of the founding group.
[4:08] So eventually there were other actors like Amitrin, Shahrukh
[4:10] Khan and others. But part of the founding group
[4:13] in 1973, there was Roshan Seit Lit, Dube, Meera, Nayar, Manohar
[4:20] Singh, Pamela Rooks, Surekha Sikri, Pankaj Kapoor,
[4:24] heavyweights. This is quite the who's who of
[4:27] Bollywood and who's who of acting talent.
[4:30] Actually, there's one more person in this ex and that's why
[4:33] I wanted to start with this question.
[4:35] So amongst the founding members, I mentioned a bunch of them,
[4:38] Rosh and Say it Lela Dubai, Mira Nair, Manoj Singh, Pamela Rooks,
[4:41] Surekha Sikri, Pankaj Kapoor, others.
[4:43] These are all part of the founding group of Theatre Action
[4:46] Group, which was Barry John's first foray into theatre.
[4:51] OK. X was also part of this group.
[4:55] However, over the years, X has gained fame in not particularly
[5:00] the acting field but an acting adjacent space, let's just say
[5:05] entertainment space, right? OK, let me give you a little
[5:09] background about him. He was born in Kolkata, OK.
[5:13] He attended school in Bombay and in Delhi, Frank Anthony Public
[5:17] School in Delhi and then completed his schooling in
[5:21] Kendriya Vidyalaya, IIT Madras. Finally, he went to College in
[5:25] Delhi, the Saint Stephen's College, and that's where he met
[5:29] Barry, John and all of these other people and became part of
[5:31] the founding group. Who is this person that I talk
[5:35] about, who you and I both are in a way connected?
[5:38] To I have two people in mind, I'm just trying to decide which
[5:43] among the two I want to go for. Oh, I like it.
[5:45] Man is man is about to crack this question wide open.
[5:48] I love it. So just give me those names
[5:51] again. He was born in Kolkata, back
[5:53] then Calcutta and then his childhood was spent moving
[5:56] between Mumbai, Delhi and Madras, Chennai and then went to
[6:00] college to Delhi St. Stephen's College where he met
[6:03] this gang of actors and they started the Theatre Action Group
[6:06] in 1973. I have two people in mind, like
[6:09] I said, but because you said theatre more than anything else,
[6:14] I'm going to go with one, and if not, I know it's the other one,
[6:20] OK? Go for it.
[6:21] Is this Siddharth Basu? Oh so good.
[6:24] So did you already know that he did theatre?
[6:26] Because that, to me, was completely fresh news.
[6:28] OK, so I'm going to drop some trivia.
[6:30] Do it later on us the. Profile that you mentioned
[6:34] vaguely kind of fits. Two people, OK.
[6:37] In the kind of cities and the timeline and Saint Stephen's,
[6:41] both of them have a connection to this podcast.
[6:43] Both of them have a connection to us, but both of them have an
[6:48] unexpected deviation, which I don't think many of our people
[6:51] know about. So the first person like I
[6:53] mentioned was Siddharth Basu, famed quizzer quizmaster, the
[6:57] man behind Mastermind India, which frankly is still the gold
[7:01] standard of quiz shows in India. Iconic line from the I've
[7:06] started so I'll finish. If you've never seen Mastermind
[7:09] India, please go see it. It's one of the best quiz shows
[7:12] ever. He was also the brain behind KBC
[7:15] Konbadega Crorepati N1. Siddharth Basu was in Saint
[7:20] Stephens and I know for a fact that he was more into drama
[7:24] rather than quizzing. Now the second person I'm I was
[7:29] on my short list was also related to Kolkata.
[7:32] He also, I don't know if I don't remember if he was born in
[7:34] Kolkata, but he did live in Kolkata for many years.
[7:36] He was in Mumbai for some time. He's travelled all around India.
[7:40] He's a very also a very erudite person and he was responsible
[7:45] for founding the first quiz club in India at Saint Stephen's in
[7:52] 73 or 74. Oh, around the same time.
[7:54] OK, who's this? And he was, if I'm not mistaken,
[7:57] Siddharth Basu's junior at Saint Stephen's.
[8:01] So my question to you Aditya is same profile.
[8:05] The man who established the very first quizzing club in India,
[8:11] like every other quiz club that came after, was a an offshoot of
[8:15] this who Who was the person who was #2 on my list who founded
[8:21] the very first quiz club in India?
[8:23] I mean quizzing. And because you said some Bengal
[8:27] connection as well, I'm going to say Derrick O'Brien.
[8:29] Oh, it's not Derrick O'Brien. It's not somebody you would
[8:32] think of as a quizzer, though I wouldn't be surprised because he
[8:36] is extremely knowledgeable, voracious writer.
[8:41] No, I need some other hint then if not a quizzing connection, he
[8:47] he's going. To feature later on in today's
[8:49] episode. So I'm, I'm, I'm kind of in two
[8:52] minds as to whether I just tell you the answer or you should
[8:55] have guessed by the end of the episode who this person was.
[8:57] I like it. It's a double audience question
[9:00] episode because now we have another question that we can
[9:02] ruminate over. Yes, you can ruminate over this
[9:06] on the second question because I am a big fan of this person and
[9:09] his work. OK.
[9:10] Listeners, please stay up to the end to know who exactly who it
[9:13] was who founded the very first quiz Club in India at Saint
[9:15] Stephen's in the 70s. So Aditya, you can now expound
[9:19] about the Siddharth Basu and the Theatre Club of Barry John.
[9:23] You very neatly with a bow on top and a lovely additional
[9:28] question that I get to now rack my head over, head over.
[9:33] I have kind of answered the question rather well, but yes,
[9:36] you were right because it was Siddharth Basu.
[9:38] I had no idea that he had this deal.
[9:40] I knew he had dabbled in acting, but he was part of Barry John's
[9:44] founding members and with these other people.
[9:46] Like I thought that was something I should have known
[9:49] and I didn't. That was an interesting piece of
[9:51] trivia for me. Yes, he has come back to acting,
[9:54] I think in his later years as well, one of occurrences here
[9:58] and there. He was known as Babu among his
[10:00] peers and he acted in numerous stage plays.
[10:03] He did the titular role of Oedipus in Ted Hughes adaptation
[10:08] of Seneca's play. He played Polonius in Hamlet and
[10:11] Mozart in Amadeus. So some very, very famous works
[10:15] of art, some very famous players that he acted in and pretty much
[10:20] played very essential roles in all of them.
[10:23] He was very much into the entertainment space.
[10:25] And for people like you said who don't know he's who is as
[10:31] synonymous with quizzing in India as are you quizzing me as
[10:35] No, he's a lot more. Maybe.
[10:40] Maybe I'll send another 20 years.
[10:43] Interestingly enough, I also found out that because he
[10:46] started the inaugural quiz time program on Dudharshan which was
[10:49] like the OG quizzing show. I found out the people featured
[10:54] on this were also some amazing intellectual intellectuals of of
[10:58] the later years. Rajdeep Sardesai, the
[11:00] journalist, Oh, it had Raghuram Rajan, the economist on it as
[11:04] well. Wow.
[11:05] Jayan Sinha, who is a former politician and was a member of
[11:10] Parliament in Lok Sabha. So yeah, some very interesting
[11:13] famous people also came onto his show back in the day in
[11:16] Doordarshan. And of course, mastermind.
[11:17] Oh my God, that spotlight, that chair.
[11:20] And then to the questions when did especially when they chose a
[11:24] particular topic. And I remember when my dad would
[11:26] watch it, I most of the topics I had no idea about.
[11:28] But if it was something like I remember there was a Harry
[11:30] Potter, somebody chose a Harry Potter and my dad was like, OK,
[11:32] come, you should try to answer it.
[11:34] And I think I got like 2 out of these 10 questions.
[11:38] I remember the only ever specialist category that I was
[11:41] able to crack, I think around 15 to 16 out of the 20 something
[11:45] questions that was asked was on dinosaurs.
[11:48] Because that was a period when I was like completely obsessed
[11:50] with dinosaurs. And then that one episode came
[11:53] out and I was like, oh, I know something.
[11:55] I can answer something in this. Nice, yeah.
[11:57] It was a fantastic show. It was a fantastic show.
[11:59] And he always came across as just this, Oh God, how can you
[12:03] be the smart kind of a guy? OK, so let's move on.
[12:06] And mine is a little more hardcore Bollywood trivia.
[12:10] I do not expect you to know this off the bat, but because if for
[12:14] those who don't know listening to this podcast, Aditya is in
[12:17] the entertainment space. He is very acting and movie
[12:19] adjacent, having some acting credits to his own name.
[12:23] So you may know this, You may not know this because this is
[12:26] news to me, but let's go with it anyway.
[12:29] This individual, let's call him X, played Dush Hassana in the
[12:34] Mahabharat play in the climax of the movie Jane Bhidoya.
[12:40] That was the only time they appeared.
[12:43] I have two amazing clues I want to give it.
[12:45] But his smile tells me he already knows who this is.
[12:48] No, no, go for it. Go for it, go for it.
[12:50] OK, so I'm going to give the clues because for those watching
[12:52] the podcast, you can see that he's got a grin on his face.
[12:56] He definitely knows who this is. So my first clue was going to be
[12:59] that he is Ramanand Sagar's half brother.
[13:03] I'll be 35 years younger than. That I didn't know.
[13:06] That's insane. Now I'm wondering if I know the
[13:10] right person. Oh, very good.
[13:12] OK. Will you give me the other clue?
[13:13] Give me the other clue. The second clue was that his
[13:16] wife is the sister of Vikram Chandra, who wrote Sacred Games,
[13:19] Who was the author of Sacred Games?
[13:21] OK, OK, Rawan and Sagar's half brother, but 35 years younger.
[13:27] Yes. OK, so now that we have that,
[13:31] you can now justify your grin and tell me the answer.
[13:34] Well, now my grin seems entirely unearned because I'm very
[13:38] flummoxed the like. Another reason I was grinning
[13:43] was because the scene played in my head and I remember that
[13:44] being a very funny scene. OK.
[13:47] I had a feeling this was Vindhu Vinod Chopra, but maybe then he
[13:52] played some other character. Oh, you're right, it is Vidhu
[13:54] Vinod Chopra. Vidhu Chopra is there, Aman and
[13:56] Sagar's half brother. Haha.
[13:59] Oh wow. OK, so at least I was able to
[14:01] surprise you a little bit. Yeah.
[14:03] For all those who are listening who are not like hardcore movie
[14:07] fans like Aditya, you may all know Vidhu Vinod Chopra.
[14:10] In the climax of Jane Bido Yaro, director Kundan Shah stages A
[14:15] theatrical retelling of the Mahabharat symbolic and
[14:18] satirical act that brings towards the film's central
[14:20] themes of corruption, truth, and justice.
[14:22] The play is performed by the film's protagonist and
[14:25] supporting caste, turning the epic into a darkly comic
[14:29] commentary. Vidhu Vinod Chopra, now a
[14:32] renowned filmmaker, played the role of Dushyasana in this
[14:36] climactic sequence. For those who don't know,
[14:38] Dushyasana is the infamous antagonist in the Mahabharat,
[14:41] known for his cruelty and his role in the attempted disrobing
[14:45] of Dharapati Chopras. Casting as the Shasana was not
[14:50] planned as a major acting role, rather it was a last minute
[14:53] improvisation driven by necessity.
[14:55] At the time, he was working as the production controller for
[14:58] Jane Vidoyaro, responsible for managing the film's very limited
[15:03] budget. When the actor originally cast
[15:05] to as the Shastna demanded more money than the producers could
[15:09] afford, Chopra stepped in to play the role himself.
[15:12] The decision was not just about saving costs, it reflected the
[15:15] collaborative spirit that defined the film production.
[15:19] Moving on to the fact that kind of shocked Aditya.
[15:22] Ramanand Sagar's father Lala Deenanath Chopra married Shanti
[15:28] Devi Chopra after the death of his wife and Vidu Vinu Chopra is
[15:33] the son of Lalanat and Lala Dinanat and Shanti Devi Chopra.
[15:37] Wow, making him Ramanand Sagar's half brother.
[15:41] The age gap between them is approximately 35 years, with
[15:45] Ramanand Sagar being born in 1917 and Vidu Vinu Chopra in
[15:49] 1952. That's insane.
[15:51] This is just absolutely mind blowing.
[15:53] Now Vidhu Vinod Chopra is currently married to famous film
[15:57] critic Anupama Chopra. She is the sister of Vikram
[16:00] Chandra. He's one of my favorite Indian
[16:03] authors. I was on the Vikram Chandra
[16:06] train way before Sacred Games became a show and he also Co
[16:12] wrote Mission Kashmir which is directed by Vithumino Chopra.
[16:16] Right. It is only screen writing
[16:17] credit. Interesting.
[16:19] OK yeah, Machine Kashmir was a yeah, decent film.
[16:22] Very good soundtrack, phenomenal soundtrack.
[16:23] There's this perception that Vithumino Chopra, if he produces
[16:27] a movie, it'll be a big hit, but if he directs it, it'll be a
[16:30] flop that will be appreciated later.
[16:33] Oh man, that's just sad. The exception to the rule I
[16:36] think might be 12 fail, which was appreciated and was a hit at
[16:38] the same time. He was also the, I think, one of
[16:41] the producers of Three Idiots if I'm not mistaken.
[16:44] Yeah, I'm seeing it. He's a producer for Three
[16:46] Idiots. He's a producer for like a
[16:48] Munnabhai. Munnabhai MBBS for 1942 A Love.
[16:51] 1942 A Love Story was not a hit. I mean, I remember the
[16:54] soundtrack being gorgeous. No, but did he direct it?
[16:57] Yes, he directed it as well. OK, Khamosh is again.
[17:00] But yeah, I think all of these films are very critically
[17:02] acclaimed. I don't know if they were hits
[17:04] on the box office because Khamosh Parinda 1942 A Love
[17:08] Story, Yeah are considered pretty great films.
[17:10] And banging soundtracks for most of them. 12th Field, I watched
[17:13] and I loved it. I heard two very good things
[17:15] about I haven't seen it. He directed that as well.
[17:18] OK. And.
[17:19] Because we're just talking about, I'm just going to quickly
[17:21] just say the star cast of Jannevi Oyaro because it is one
[17:23] of those films that I love and I don't think I've ever
[17:25] recommended before. It is Nasruddin Shah, it is Ravi
[17:28] Baswani, maybe not the most recognizable of names, but if
[17:30] you see the face you'll you'll know who I'm talking about.
[17:32] It has Om Puri, it has Pankaj Kapoor.
[17:35] So Nasruddin Shah and Pankaj Kapoor.
[17:36] I didn't know the brother in laws that appeared in the film
[17:38] together. So Pankaj Kapoor, Satish Rajesh
[17:41] Puri, Satish Kaushik, Neena Gupta, Viduna Chopra and that
[17:46] cameo and Upam Kher having a voice over.
[17:48] Just what is the star cast like? What is this insane star cast?
[17:52] Yeah, well since we are talking of people connected, perfect
[17:56] segue time. I am going to give you a list of
[18:00] people and you have to tell me what they are connected by.
[18:02] Oh, number one is Sheikh Mukhtar #2, is Ashok Kumar #3, is
[18:11] Hrithik Roshan #4, is Dilip Kumar #5.
[18:16] Kabir, Bedi and number. 6 Akshay Khanna Wow, that's a very
[18:22] diverse list, right? Ashok Kumar, Akshay Khanna and
[18:26] Hrithik Roshan. Kabir Bedi, also perhaps the
[18:29] name most people don't recognize.
[18:30] Is this an exhaustive list? Always good to clarify that in
[18:33] list questions that this is not an exhaustive list in two ways.
[18:38] At each ranking, there can be more, and it could be more than
[18:42] six as well. OK, so this is the ranking, so
[18:45] that order is important. Let's say at each number, I
[18:48] won't call it a rank. Is perhaps the wrong word.
[18:50] At each number there could be more than one name.
[18:55] There is actually for a lot of them, more than one names.
[18:57] I've only given you one name right now.
[18:58] OK, give me, give me the names one second.
[19:01] So at #1 I gave you Sheikh Mukhtar, at #2 I give you Ashok
[19:05] Kumar #3 I give you Hrithik Roshan #4 I give you Dilip Kumar
[19:09] #5 I give you Kabir Bedi, and number six I give you Akshay
[19:13] Khanna. Wow, I'm trying to imagine what
[19:16] Akshay Khanna and Hrithik Roshan have in common.
[19:24] The only thing that I can remember is I think Hrithik
[19:27] Roshan was the first choice for Dil Chahta instead of Aamir Khan
[19:32] but then that doesn't. Let me just clarify this again.
[19:35] These are obviously all actors or Bollywood actors, Hindi film
[19:39] actors and these are all related to films they have done.
[19:42] So it isn't something that they were considered for or they
[19:45] rejected or anything like that. These are all in the list based
[19:49] off films that they have done. Their highest grossing films
[19:52] were films where they played the antagonist in some fashion, like
[19:56] Krithik in Doom 2, Akshay and Durander.
[20:01] Rithik. I doubt Doom 2 is his highest
[20:04] grossing film till date. I'm pretty sure War and Stuff
[20:07] must be higher than that. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, I forgot
[20:10] about that. OK.
[20:12] I had to dig a little to get the information for this, for this
[20:15] question to be full and that will be made more clear when you
[20:20] figure out the answer. But to as a hint, I'm going to
[20:22] give you some of the years. OK, I'm going to give you Akshay
[20:26] Khanna, the year associated of the film.
[20:28] Let's just say the film is in 2025 for Ashok Kumar.
[20:33] Ashok Kumar, again, the name might seem familiar, perhaps,
[20:36] maybe not a lot of movies that you've seen of his.
[20:38] Ashok Kumar's film is from 1945. Kabir Bedi's film is from 2005.
[20:44] Sheikh Mukhtar's film is from 1944.
[20:46] The two of these films are pre independence.
[20:49] OK, Sheikh Mukhtar, if I'm not wrong from whatever little I
[20:52] read, actually was part of the Pakistan film industry after
[20:56] Partition. So yeah.
[20:57] Oh. OK.
[20:59] And Hrithik Roshan I. Haven't given you Hrithik and I
[21:02] haven't given you Dilip Kumar yet is.
[21:04] This, like industry hits. No, what do you mean by industry
[21:07] hits? As in highest grossing.
[21:09] Of the year. Because you said Dilip Kumar, I
[21:11] was thinking of Mukulayazzam. So I'll give you I'll give you
[21:14] the years one more time and this time we'll give you the full
[21:16] numbers for Elias for the entire list. 1944 Sheikh Mukhtar number
[21:21] 11945 is the film by Ashok Kumar at #2. 2008 is a Hrithik Roshan
[21:26] film. At number 31960 is a Dilip Kumar
[21:29] film at #4. Kabir Bedi's 2005 film at #5.
[21:33] Akshay Khanna's 2025 film at #6. Dude, I'm I'm stumped.
[21:39] I'm stumped. I'm absolutely stumped.
[21:40] You'd have to give me something more substantial.
[21:43] So for my next hint, what I told you that each of these numbers
[21:47] which are the order matters, each of these numbers might have
[21:50] more than one names. A lot of them do have more than
[21:52] one names, right? So for #3 which was Hrithik
[21:54] Roshan 2008, I'm going to give you another year which is
[21:58] 1961960. OK, I.
[22:02] Don't know how good you are short term memories, but there
[22:06] was another movie. Wait, Wait.
[22:07] Wait wait, these are actors who played Mughal emperors?
[22:10] All right. So Babar Humayun Akbar and
[22:15] Akshay Khan Khanna played Aurangzeb in Chava, which
[22:19] frankly the guy disappeared in that role.
[22:20] I don't remember him as acting in that role.
[22:23] It was just Aurangzeb. Oh, OK, nice.
[22:26] OK, so. I gave you the six prominent
[22:29] Mughal rulers. Of course there have been Mughal
[22:31] rulers after that also in India and I give the 1st 6 who are the
[22:35] most prominent ones and the movies have been made about all
[22:38] of them. But interestingly enough like
[22:40] Babur and Humayus movies which are pre independence, I don't
[22:43] think there has been any big movies since then.
[22:46] So I had to literally go and search every movie made on
[22:49] Barber. So okay, you're right and I
[22:51] think you figured it out because I said at #3 which is Hrithik
[22:54] Roshan also had another actor playing it in 1960, which would
[22:58] be Mughla Azam as well Prithi Raj Kapoor.
[23:00] Mugazam. In Mughla Azam where Dilip Kumar
[23:03] played Jahangir or Prince Salim. Yeah.
[23:07] So very quickly, just so you know which films I was referring
[23:10] to with this list, at least like I said, it's not an exhaustive
[23:13] list. So for the first one, it was
[23:15] Shahenshah Babar, which is a 1944 film.
[23:18] The actor who played it, I think he eventually moved to Pakistan
[23:21] and was part of the Pakistani film industry.
[23:23] The next one was Humayu and it was just called Humayu, which is
[23:26] a 1945 film. And apparently it was a pretty
[23:29] big film for Ashok Kumar, like Ashok Kumar, one of those names
[23:34] that you perhaps recognize as an act of the Asterius.
[23:36] This was a big film for him in his very early career.
[23:39] So kind of established him as a as a leading man.
[23:42] The other ones perhaps are a little bit more familiar.
[23:44] Akbar, you already got it. Hrithik Roshan, Jodha Akbar in
[23:48] 2008, Jahangir when Salim Dilip Kumar in 1960, Shah Jahan, which
[23:55] is Kabir Bedi in 2005. I suppose I didn't have more
[23:58] films about Shah Jahan but at least this one came up on the
[24:01] list which was Taj Mahal, an eternal love story.
[24:04] It was a 2005 Bollywood film. Kabir Bedi played him and Arun
[24:07] Zeb like you very correctly identified Akshay Khanna 2025.
[24:11] Nice, nice. OK.
[24:13] That was a great question and since you went back to the
[24:18] 1940s, so will I. Ram Rajya is a 1943 film
[24:23] directed by Vijay Bhatt with Prem Adeep and Shobhana Samarth
[24:28] in the lead roles of Ram and Sita.
[24:31] Aside from being the very first Indian movie to premiere in the
[24:37] US, what is this movie's other claim to frame?
[24:40] 1943 some sort of pioneering thing or something.
[24:46] It did for the first time. Not pioneering.
[24:49] OK, it has a very Indian claim to fame.
[24:53] There is a foreign movie which can also claim this.
[24:56] OK. And I'll give you the name of
[24:58] the foreign movie if that helps. Oh yes please.
[25:01] So that movie was called Mission to Moscow.
[25:05] No, didn't help. Also 1943.
[25:08] Mission to Moscow, 1943. That is the only foreign film to
[25:13] have this distinction and it's also the first to have this
[25:16] distinction. Technically, Ram Raji is the
[25:18] second, but it's the only Indian film to have this distinction.
[25:22] And by the way, these two form an exhaustive list.
[25:24] Oh, OK, so there's nothing else on this list.
[25:27] No. Is it some sort of like a
[25:30] technical thing? They were both shot on some sort
[25:32] of a camera film. No, it's not technical.
[25:34] It's not technical at all. Not technical and exhaustive
[25:37] List of two that is very interesting.
[25:40] Might I point you to also the direction that it's not looking
[25:43] at technical or filmmaking per SE.
[25:45] You might want to consider that there's an individual associated
[25:48] with. OK, OK.
[25:49] This distinction. So there's somebody associated
[25:51] to both of them, maybe not a film related person.
[25:56] Not a film related person. Was it like sponsored by the
[26:00] same source again? Why would it be only two films
[26:03] though? No, no, no, no.
[26:04] No, it's too vague right now. I have no idea.
[26:06] So I'm going to tell you just one portion of it, all right?
[26:11] These are the only two films that one particular person has
[26:16] watched. Is it the first Kim?
[26:19] No, but that's also too early for him.
[26:21] No, no, no. Kim, What is it?
[26:23] Kim, Illinois Sung. You would have to go
[26:24] diametrically opposite. Gandhi.
[26:28] Yes. Wow.
[26:30] Oh, wow. Oh yeah, I guess.
[26:32] I mean, it makes sense, yeah. He was very anti technology.
[26:36] The only Indian film let me clarify that Mahatma Gandhi has
[26:40] ever watched is Ram Raja, A very apartment.
[26:43] So apparently he was supposed to watch only around 20 minutes or
[26:46] something of the movie but then he sat and watched the film for
[26:48] almost its entire edition. Let me just break it down for
[26:51] our entire for our audience. Ram Raja is a landmark Hindi
[26:54] film released in 1943, directed by Vijay Bhatt, who was known
[26:58] for his mythological and devotional films.
[27:00] The film starred Prem Adeep as Lord Ram and Shobhana Samarth as
[27:05] Masita, bringing the epic of the Ramayan to life on the silver
[27:08] screen. It was produced by Prakash
[27:11] Pictures. Founded by the Putt family,
[27:13] Sobhana Samarth was the grandmother of Kajol and Tanuja
[27:16] Mukherjee. The film was notable for his
[27:18] grand scale, authentic sets, and you know which resonated deeply
[27:22] with the audiences of the time. It holds 2 significant records
[27:25] in Indian cinema history. 1 is that it is the first Indian
[27:28] movie to premiere in the USA. It was released in the United
[27:31] States and helped introduce Indian stories and culture to
[27:34] international audiences. The the second claim to fame is
[27:38] that it's the only Indian film that Mahatma Gandhi ever
[27:41] watched. Known for his lifestyle and deep
[27:45] spiritual values, he was not a regular moviegoer.
[27:48] However, in 19 May 19941944, a few weeks after he had watched
[27:52] Mission to Moscow, a special screening of Ram Raja was
[27:55] arranged for him while he was recovering from an illness at
[27:57] Juhu in Mumbai. Oh yes, he was so engrossed that
[28:03] he watched the film for over 90 minutes, which far longer than
[28:07] the 40 minutes initially allotted.
[28:08] Key. OK, he's coming.
[28:09] He doesn't watch movies but he will stay for around 40 minutes
[28:13] of the movie. But he ended up watching around
[28:14] 90 more minutes of the movie and after the screening, he was
[28:17] described as being cheerful and appreciative, calling it a good
[28:20] film. This marked The Ramraja as the
[28:24] only Indian film that Mahatma Gandhi ever watched.
[28:27] Apartment, I guess for for the kind of person he was.
[28:29] That makes sense, yeah. Yes, yeah, yeah.
[28:33] So this is just because I found out this particular feature on
[28:37] IMDb and I felt like this would make a fun question.
[28:41] You can do movie connections. Where has movie been referenced
[28:46] or paid homage to and if this movie has paid homage to things
[28:50] that is also listed as we are doing Bollywood film with
[28:54] Bollywood references. OK so I am going to give you the
[28:56] references. Tell me which film it is.
[28:58] There is a reference to Ram or Sham which is 1967, Pyaar Kiye
[29:03] Jaa which is 1970, Seeta or Geeta 1972, There is Sholay
[29:10] 1975, Mr. India 1987, there is Jojita Vahi Sikandar 1992 and
[29:18] there is a Kayamatse Kayamatak as well.
[29:20] So all these films are referenced in this particular
[29:23] film. So most of the films that you
[29:25] mentioned have like 2 protagonists.
[29:30] I have two movies in mind. I'm going to go with what seems
[29:33] to be the more obvious choice. So I'm going to go with.
[29:37] Oh, God. Oh, that is that is that is too
[29:40] good. That is just that is just
[29:41] unfairly good. Yeah.
[29:44] OK, you know what, We have fun. Fine.
[29:46] You got it too quickly. But but but I because I don't
[29:50] like leaving my questions that a segue.
[29:51] We were talking about a film from the 40s and a segue to you
[29:56] in a previous episode where we discussed a certain film, OK,
[30:00] which is not from the 40s but rather from the 50s.
[30:03] Do you know of the author Bibuti Bhushan Bandopadhyay?
[30:07] Yes, the name does ring a bell. OK, Indian novelist and short
[30:10] story writer in the Bengali language.
[30:12] Yeah, he is connected to a 1955 film that we have discussed.
[30:17] This is just like to connected back to a previous episode.
[30:20] I remember the name I had said one of my questions.
[30:22] I can't remember what which one it was.
[30:23] It was your question. It was your question.
[30:26] Oh God, I know this. OK, OK.
[30:29] Bengali is is as good a clue as anything else.
[30:32] Pateer Pachari this is he was the author of Pateer Pachari.
[30:36] Exactly. OK, so he's the one who wrote
[30:39] the original, original story, and that's what inspired
[30:43] Satyajit Ray to make his Seminole classic.
[30:45] All right. Now, this guy was obviously a
[30:48] prolific writer. And that's not the only thing
[30:50] that he's written that has been adapted to in film.
[30:53] There is another film which is very iconic which is made in
[30:56] 1972 by directed by Shakti Samantha.
[31:00] The dialogues from this film, the acting, the actors, all of
[31:03] them like basically have been cemented in in fame and stardom.
[31:09] OK. When the director read the
[31:12] story, he was immediately inspired to create a film.
[31:16] The name of the Bengali short story, by the way is Hinger
[31:18] Kochiri, which basically hinge being a Sofitida and Kochiri
[31:22] being Kachori. King Kachori.
[31:24] Yeah. And the reason I'm asking this
[31:26] question right immediately after that is because this movie, the
[31:30] 1972 movie, also has a connection.
[31:33] I didn't mention this movie also has a connection to Andaz Abdam.
[31:37] Oh dude that's deep cut. Wait, is it?
[31:42] Is it Zanjir, Zanjir or Deewar? One of the two.
[31:45] No, no, no, no. I think those are original
[31:48] films, Yeah. They do reference the fact that
[31:51] Salim Khan wrote these films because there is some point
[31:54] where Salman Khan's character says something about Sholay and
[31:57] somebody asks him and Aamir Khan's character is like which
[32:02] is literally true. Salim Khan did write it and the
[32:06] other reference is both Aamir Khan's debut film and Salman
[32:10] Khan's debut film are referenced in a way.
[32:13] OK, so Maine pyar kya. And that was him and Juhi
[32:18] Chawla, yes. Yeah.
[32:19] QS QT We have done this. We have done this preview as
[32:21] well. QS QT Yeah, I'll give you the
[32:25] reference. Anyways.
[32:26] It was the song Papa Kaithe. And because Aamir Khan plays
[32:30] quite the disappointment as a son, Papa Kaithe plays
[32:33] ironically in the background. Yeah.
[32:36] Do you know what the reference to Maine Pyar Kya?
[32:38] To be honest, I've never watched Menai Pya Kia so I wouldn't know
[32:41] reference even if it hit me in the face.
[32:43] Actually, in this case you might, because it is pretty much
[32:45] a reference to Salman Khan's filmography also in a way.
[32:47] Prem. Prem Exactly.
[32:49] We have done this to a question of like actors who have had the
[32:52] name Prem in multiple films. Yeah, Salman Khan obviously has
[32:56] the highest number. Yeah, Prem, Salman Khan's actor
[32:58] name is Prem. Does that lead you to the 1972
[33:02] film? Menai Prem Kia No.
[33:07] This is a very iconic film which starred and both of them pretty
[33:11] much broke out with this Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila Tagore.
[33:16] Do you know what Aamir Khan's name is in the film?
[33:18] Amar. Yes, yes, yes, Amar.
[33:20] So it's Amar Prem. Amar Prem, they make fun of this
[33:24] also in the film itself, right? OK, they mock the fact that
[33:27] these two filmy boys are called Amar Prem.
[33:30] Yes, Amar Prem was one of Rajesh Khanna's biggest films, right?
[33:34] This is directed by Shakti Samantha.
[33:36] OK, The very iconic dialogue Pushpa I hate Yes is from Amar
[33:42] Prem. Oh.
[33:42] OK, OK, OK. Even I've heard of that one.
[33:45] Yeah. It is apparently part of the
[33:47] original story as well. But the way of course that
[33:50] Rajesh Khanna delivers it in the most Rajesh Khanna way and it
[33:53] became emblazoned in in Bollywood history is Yeah, kudos
[33:58] to the actor as well. So Amar Prem the Rajesh Khanna
[34:02] megahit of its day was based off of Bibuti version Bandhu Padhya
[34:06] story also the writer for the story based which aput religious
[34:10] based off of all of this referenced in this stupid just a
[34:16] juvenile comedy. I I mean I am the last person
[34:20] who likes toilet humor in a film, but at some point when he
[34:23] gives him those tablets where which makes him have loose
[34:28] motions, it is just, I don't know why, but it's just so funny
[34:31] with him running over the toilet.
[34:32] I mean, like some of them are so juvenile and it's like, you
[34:35] know, school based humor is like, yeah, Pasco.
[34:42] Exactly like what? Oh God, do it.
[34:45] I love it. And as Apnabna, by the way,
[34:48] here's a ref. Anybody who lives in Mumbai,
[34:49] please go order and order and Apnabna.
[34:52] And Apnabna as a place which serves egg related dishes and
[34:56] they make some cute Bollywood and as Apnabna references.
[34:59] In fact, it's the reference crime master Gogo in that dish
[35:03] and stuff. It's quite cute and good food.
[35:05] So go ahead, try out an Apnabna. OK, nice.
[35:08] So, moving on to very straightforward GK question for
[35:13] you Aditya, which Hindi film introduced by Shashi Tharoor,
[35:17] became the first Indian Hindi movie to be screened at the
[35:20] United Nations in November 2006, where it received thunderous
[35:25] applause and ended with diplomats raising a toast in its
[35:28] honour. Shashi tharoor #shashi Tharoor
[35:31] question. I like it.
[35:33] Yeah. This is 2006, you said?
[35:37] Yes, 1006 could be lager Munnabhai or could be
[35:40] Rangdevasanti. I'm assuming it's lager
[35:43] Munnabhai. You've got it.
[35:45] Nailed it in one. So it is lager Munnabhai.
[35:49] So this was the first Hindi movie to be screened at the
[35:52] United Nations in November of 2006, took place on 10th of
[35:56] November 2006 in the auditorium and the event was introduced by
[35:59] Shashi Tharoor who was then the UN Under Secretary General for
[36:02] Communications and Public Information.
[36:05] The screening was a landmark event for Hindi cinema, marking
[36:08] the first time a full length Hindi film was showcased at the
[36:12] international organization. The evening began with strict
[36:15] security arrangements, but as the film unfolded, the mood
[36:19] shifted from formal to festive. Diplomats and UN staff responded
[36:24] with thunderous applause at key moments, and after the
[36:28] screening, the atmosphere became celebratory.
[36:30] Diplomats from various countries joined in raising a toast to the
[36:34] film, and the lounge of the UN transformed into a place of joy
[36:37] and camaraderie. The event was widely covered by
[36:40] the media, with critics like Taran Adarsh noting the
[36:43] enthusiastic response and unending applause at the film's
[36:46] conclusion. The impact of the screening
[36:48] extended beyond the event itself.
[36:50] The film's positive method message contributed to a renewed
[36:53] interest in Gandhi's teachings and even influence global
[36:57] policy, with the UN later declaring October the 2nd
[37:01] Mahatma Gandhi's birthday as the International Day of Non
[37:04] Violence in June 2007. Wow.
[37:08] OK. So it is lage raho munna bhai.
[37:11] OK, OK. I don't know if you know this,
[37:13] but a picture of Anushka Sharma appears in a hallway in a
[37:18] particular scene in Lage Munna Bhai.
[37:20] What? This was two years before her
[37:22] first actual film role in Rabne Banadi Jodi.
[37:25] That's so interesting. Yes, it's there.
[37:29] A picture of Anushka Sharma appears in a hallway to see.
[37:32] This must have been from her modeling days or something.
[37:34] I guess that's kind of cool. Nice.
[37:36] That's nice. This gives credence to one thing
[37:38] that has always bugged me because I remember and again,
[37:42] there is a whole debate of whether Indians should worry so
[37:45] much about whether our films get nominated for Oscars.
[37:48] But in 2006, I think they sent Rang De Basanti as our official
[37:52] selection for Oscar consideration.
[37:55] And it wasn't obviously a part of the finalists.
[37:58] And a lot of the critics later were like, oh, we should have
[38:01] sent lager O munna bhai cause these particular freedom
[38:04] fighters aren't as well known outside.
[38:06] But a Gandhi film would have been received well.
[38:08] And this kind of lends credence to that.
[38:11] But it bothers me because Oh my God, I like it when I get over a
[38:14] great film. Fun film, love it.
[38:15] But Oscar material it is not. No, forget about Oscar.
[38:18] It's Rangdev Basanti. It is, It's it's, it is.
[38:25] Should I say it? Yes, I'm going to say it.
[38:26] It is the 2000s, at least best in the film.
[38:28] For me, it's the best in the film of the 2000s.
[38:31] Oh, I'm trying to not exaggerate too much because I would have
[38:36] said best Hindi film I've ever seen.
[38:38] It is at least it's my favorite Hindi film ever.
[38:41] But because it is again, I guess you also get emotionally
[38:45] attached to certain films some point.
[38:47] I'm just playing the devil's advocate here, so don't shoot
[38:49] the messenger, but are you still going to say that it's the best
[38:53] film of the 2000s when you have Lagan?
[38:59] When you have Swades. No, no, no, I I no doubt there
[39:02] are incredible films and we have to talk only mainstream
[39:05] Bollywood films. There must have been so many
[39:07] other indie films also, which in fact I've seen some of them,
[39:10] which was, I don't think Oran is 2000.
[39:13] Just randomly it came to a made an indie film, which was, which
[39:15] was a low budget film. But yeah, something around the
[39:18] 2008, 2009. I think Oran is 2010 maybe.
[39:20] But there was some great films we made obviously through the
[39:23] decade. It's just like there was.
[39:25] It's a personal choice. Yeah.
[39:26] Like there's no other way to say it.
[39:27] It's just a personal choice. Yeah, my favorite film of the
[39:30] 2000s. Fair enough, Fair, fair enough.
[39:34] Being well received at the UN does make it seem like we might
[39:39] have had a shot at the Oscar. Also possible Possible.
[39:42] OK, hit me. No segue yet.
[39:46] Segue will show up later in this question.
[39:48] OK. Oh, OK.
[39:51] Have you heard of Radio Salon? Radio Salon?
[39:55] No, not particularly. It's a radio station based in
[39:59] Sri Lanka, which was obviously formerly called Ceylon when it
[40:02] was under the British Empire. Ceylon.
[40:05] Yes, yeah. Interestingly enough, the first
[40:07] radio station in Asia, Oh yes, and a precursor to it, at least
[40:12] before it got its current name and all of that was it was Radio
[40:17] Colombo, I think at some point. And it was, it started only
[40:21] three years after the launch of BBC and Colombo Radio was the
[40:24] first radio station in Asia and the second oldest radio station
[40:27] in the world. Wow.
[40:29] So Radio Surround has had a massive history and the
[40:33] eventually, as these services do, they also had other language
[40:37] services that were offered eventually.
[40:39] So Radio Surround had a Hindi service that was launched in
[40:43] early 1950s. OK, there was a bunch of money
[40:46] that was pumped into it. It became quite the huge hit and
[40:51] even though not directly hired by Radio Salon, the very, very
[40:55] famous Binaka Geet Mala. Are you aware of Binaka Geet
[40:59] Mala? Geet Mala, Yes.
[41:01] So this is I think something that maybe more Hindi speakers
[41:04] would be aware of because, and I've heard my parents talk about
[41:07] it. That's why I know of it.
[41:08] Minaka is a brand and they sponsored the Geet Mala.
[41:11] Geet Mala being the top list, the top, a Bollywood song.
[41:15] It was specifically a countdown list, right?
[41:17] So it had been on for since like 1952, all the way till I think
[41:21] 1994 when it was under Vivid Bharti.
[41:24] And that's when it finally stopped.
[41:27] Yeah, 40 years. It was on the air and it was
[41:29] considered just a pop culture staple.
[41:32] Everybody would listen to it, everybody would follow it.
[41:35] From the previous question, a lot of the songs featured on the
[41:38] Geet Mala for like extended runs, right?
[41:40] So it was, it was basically the Billboard 400 of Bollywood film,
[41:45] Bollywood song. Now Radio Ceylon's Hindi service
[41:49] had a bunch of people who were associated with it, with it.
[41:52] I don't recognize a lot of these people, but there's one person
[41:56] in it, let's call him XX, was associated to Radio Ceylon, a
[42:01] very, very historically prominent radio service, one of
[42:05] the earliest in the world. He was associated to the Hindi
[42:07] service of it. He was very keen on interviewing
[42:13] a certain actress. Why?
[42:16] And finally, after a very long time of trying to get an
[42:20] interview with her on the radio service, she finally agreed.
[42:23] And when she came on, the legend goes, or the the urban legend, I
[42:29] guess, goes that he was dumbstruck because you're
[42:32] suddenly in front of this woman that he has been mesmerized by
[42:37] this actress that he's been mesmerized by for so long that
[42:40] he was dumbstruck by her. And he could not conduct the
[42:42] interview. And so they had to scrap the
[42:45] whole thing. The interview never aired.
[42:48] Many years later, their paths crossed again.
[42:51] I'm going to stop here. Tell me, who do you think X is,
[42:54] and then subsequently who do you think Y is?
[42:57] OK, I I do have a couple of names in mind, but I'll go with
[43:02] the one that I feel more obvious would be Sunil Dutt and Nargesh.
[43:07] Come on man, we've been killing at this episode too much.
[43:10] This is this is ridiculous. Did you know this already?
[43:15] No, no, I didn't know this. But when you say that, you know
[43:17] somebody was dumbstruck by, you know, seeing an actress.
[43:21] Honestly, two names come to mind from that era.
[43:23] One is Madhubala and the other is Nargesha.
[43:26] Nargesh seem the more obvious option when you set their paths
[43:29] cross data. So Sunil Dutt was a host on one
[43:32] of the earliest radio stations in the world.
[43:35] He was hosting a show called Lipton Ki Mehfil, so obviously
[43:40] sponsored by the brand Lipton and I guess playing songs like a
[43:43] mehfil on Radio Salon. And he was eventually brought
[43:47] from the radio to film and many years later he would act
[43:52] opposite Nargis. Save up on fire very heroically.
[43:56] But his being enamoured with her, I was actually older
[44:00] because that only happened in 19.
[44:01] The film is for 1957, but he was working with the radio salon
[44:06] before that. So a few years before that he
[44:07] had wanted to interview Nargis. Apparently, the legend goes that
[44:10] she agreed to it. She came down for the interview.
[44:13] He was dumbstruck, dumbfounded, could not say a single word.
[44:17] And as far as radio goes, that's pretty much the end of the
[44:20] interview if you can't speak. So that that meant the radio
[44:24] interview got cancelled. And many years later they
[44:26] crossed parts again and they got married.
[44:28] And that's where they connect to Lageero Munna bhai, because of
[44:31] course, Sanjay Dutt, very much the offspring of Sunil Dutt and
[44:36] Margis. Yeah, and Sunil, Sunil Dutt was
[44:39] supposed to have a cameo in Lageero Munna Bhai, but he
[44:43] passed away just before like 2, just before the shooting
[44:46] actually started. So bittersweet.
[44:49] Alright, OK, that is a very nice question.
[44:53] I have a question which I'm fairly sure you'll get
[44:55] immediately, so I also have a backup question in case you do
[44:59] OK. Remaking Korean movies has been
[45:01] a long tradition in Bollywood, especially in the 21st century.
[45:04] Old Boy was remade as Zinda. I saw the Devil was remade as
[45:08] Ekta villain. A moment to Remember was remade
[45:11] as Sayara. Which Bollywood movie was a
[45:15] remake of The Man from Nowhere? Ekaj Nabi.
[45:18] No. The man from nowhere.
[45:21] I actually saw this more Korean movie much before the Indian
[45:25] remake and I was a huge fan and when they said that they were
[45:28] going to remake this movie in Hindi, I was like no please
[45:31] don't. Especially when I heard who the
[45:32] actor was. But frankly, and again, they
[45:36] didn't do a great job, but at least the for the climax
[45:39] sequence became quite popular on YouTube and it was reviewed and
[45:43] reacted to multiple number of times by many people from around
[45:46] the world because it was particularly brutal.
[45:49] Isn't this the film where there's a bodyguard who's
[45:51] protecting the young girl? Isn't that?
[45:54] That was the Man on Fire, if I'm not mistaken.
[45:56] Oh, right, right, right, right, right, right.
[45:59] That was Amitabh Bachchan. Yeah, that is a Kashnabi.
[46:01] Yeah, Man from Nowhere. I've definitely heard of this.
[46:05] Which year is Man from Nowhere from?
[46:07] 2010. I remember being very critically
[46:12] acclaimed. It has been on my list for a
[46:13] while now, a Korean film that I've been meaning to watch.
[46:16] Oh yeah, it's fantastic. No, wait.
[46:19] It's a critically acclaimed Korean revenge thriller starring
[46:23] Juan Bin as a mysterious man who rescues a young girl from organ
[46:28] traffickers after her mother is murdered.
[46:32] The film is known for its gritty action sequences and emotional
[46:36] depth. This is a popular Bollywood
[46:38] film. This doesn't ring a bell at all.
[46:40] It was a main mainstream Bollywood film mainstream.
[46:42] Bollywood film or was it like a popular one?
[46:44] Like a big film of the year or something.
[46:47] Like I said, it had a life much beyond the film on YouTube
[46:53] because when reaction channels became a thing in the mid 2000s,
[46:58] this movie was right. It released in 2016, so it was
[47:01] right around that time. So the final action sequence of
[47:04] this was reacted to many times throughout YouTube.
[47:09] It was one of those kind of, you know, when somebody is somebody
[47:13] from the US or the UK or from one of the Western countries
[47:16] decides to start a reaction channel, they start with, you
[47:18] know, Bahubali and then this action sequence.
[47:21] And then, you know, now it's RRR.
[47:23] They start with RRR. The movie itself was mixed
[47:27] reviews and it was a box office Bob.
[47:30] Both the box office mom and mixed reviews then I and if it
[47:33] was in the 20 tens then I doubt I would have seen it.
[47:35] OK. So I'll tell you, the actor and
[47:38] the director, Nishikanth Kamath directed OK, and his frequent
[47:44] collaborator John Abraham was the lead in the movie, OK.
[47:48] No, I have no idea. You could give me the answer or
[47:50] I don't know. OK, so I'll probably have to
[47:52] give you the answer at this point.
[47:53] It's Rocky Handsome. Rocky Handsome was a the remake
[47:58] of The Man from Nowhere and frankly speaking, The Man from
[48:01] Nowhere is a far superior film. I would that's my pop culture
[48:04] recommendation for the audience today.
[48:06] Just go watch The Man from Nowhere.
[48:07] It's a amazing Korean flick and the action, even though they
[48:12] show a lot of brutality in Rocky Handsome, it hits much harder in
[48:17] The Man From Nowhere. I actually genuinely can't
[48:20] remember if I've seen or not seen Rocky Handsome to that, I
[48:23] guess unmemorable or unremarkable in memory.
[48:26] What I do remember very clearly is the music being very nice.
[48:30] It is very, it didn't have a lot of range of variety in its
[48:33] soundtrack. It had these ballad songs, sad
[48:37] songs, but I think I was going through a sad song phase back
[48:40] then and I loved the song. Rock Cancer was a good
[48:43] soundtrack and interestingly well.
[48:46] John Abrams the second Korean remake then, because he is in
[48:50] Zinda as well. The old body make.
[48:52] Yeah, yeah. OK, I mentioned I have a backup
[48:55] question. I'm going to quickly ask this.
[48:57] I hope you'll crack it very quickly.
[48:59] If you consider the largest sets ever built in the world, there
[49:02] is Hobbiton for the Lord of the Rings in New Zealand, Ben Hur
[49:06] which was constructed over 18 acres for the movie Intolerance,
[49:11] The Wall of Babylon in 1916 they had 1000 foot high set which
[49:14] spanned across 340 acres. In India the largest set I could
[49:20] find was built over 100 acres of farmland.
[49:24] Which movie? 100 acres is quite a bit.
[49:28] I know some big sets, the Mohabbate town comes to mind,
[49:34] but I don't think it's that big. No, that's not that Must have
[49:37] been Ramoji Film City or something.
[49:39] Crawling sets. It makes you think of firstly
[49:42] Bhansali, but I don't think Bhansali is that bigger set.
[49:46] He has grand sets in terms of design.
[49:48] This needed to be 100 acres because it had to have very
[49:52] large areas being shot. I feel like then it's probably a
[49:57] battle, a period film with a big battle sequence, something.
[50:01] It's a period film. So is it Jodha Akbar then?
[50:04] No it's not Jodha Akbar Jodhar Kapur was shot on real
[50:07] locations. Most of the.
[50:08] Time actually I was just going to the trivet was shot in
[50:10] Karjat, It's near Mumbai. OK, so like Dhorander, which
[50:13] also had huge sets built in Thailand, the entire town of
[50:17] Liari is a set, but they built it across 6 acres, not like 100
[50:21] acres. And similar to Dhorander,
[50:23] Dhorander's original cut came down to around 8 hours, which
[50:27] they then decided like he, Aditya decided that OK, I'm not
[50:30] going to cut any of it, I'm going to release it as 2 movies.
[50:33] The original cut of this movie was 7 1/2 hours.
[50:37] But instead of Aditya, like, instead of going Aditya Adhar's
[50:41] route, the director here decided to cut down nearly four hours
[50:44] and release the movie as a 3 1/2 hour movie.
[50:47] Oh, OK. I was just going to say that
[50:50] it's probably Gangs of Asepur, but yeah, that is also short on
[50:55] location as far as I know. And yeah, it isn't very much a
[51:00] Rakashyap style to make big set except for Bombay Velvet which
[51:05] bomb. Big set, big film, massive
[51:09] runtime. 3 1/2 hours is still very long.
[51:11] We mentioned this movie in today's episode.
[51:17] And it's not Jodha Akbar. Oh my God.
[51:22] Oh, did you mention Mughali Azam?
[51:26] No, no, it's not Mughali Azam. I've mentioned this movie in
[51:30] today's episode. Yeah, and an episode where we
[51:33] are doing only Bollywood movies. That's not a very useful clue.
[51:37] Final clue Final clue. The reason, One of the reasons
[51:40] that the set had to be so big was they had to create a full
[51:44] size cricket ground. Lagan was 100 acres.
[51:48] Yeah, apparently they built that set across 100 acres of
[51:52] farmland. They took them 3-4 months to
[51:54] build. It was a huge crew.
[51:56] Many of the crew stayed on set. I know this because they were, I
[52:00] think it's in Gujarat, right, that they did this.
[52:02] The earthquake also came around that time after the Bhuja
[52:06] earthquake happened. Earthquake happened about 3
[52:08] months after they finished shooting.
[52:09] After that rap shooting, I think they they helped and they were
[52:12] sending some. So the Lagan one of the whole
[52:14] crew and the cast. They adopted a village.
[52:17] And I remember this. Oh, my God, it was 100 acres.
[52:19] That's insane. OK.
[52:20] So I couldn't find any figures to or any list which would
[52:23] support that this was the largest.
[52:24] But my research suggests that there has not been any other
[52:27] Hindi film which has made sets across such a huge.
[52:31] Yeah. So that's all the time we have
[52:33] for a regular round of quizzing. So we have two audience
[52:36] questions to deal with. So the first one was an offshoot
[52:39] of Aditya's first question where he talked about Siddharth Basu
[52:43] being part of Barry John's theatre tour.
[52:45] So then I countered that with the trivia as to who was
[52:49] Siddharth Vasu's junior at Saint Stephen's who established
[52:54] India's first ever quizzing club.
[52:55] And we deferred the answer because I mentioned that this
[52:58] person would be mentioned during the course of the episode.
[53:01] I think it's fairly obvious who this is.
[53:03] So, Aditya, who are we talking about?
[53:05] Wait, he's already been mentioned?
[53:07] Oh my God, we do. We know Chopra.
[53:09] No. Jesus Christ, what?
[53:11] Oh, you were smiling when this person was mentioned.
[53:14] So I was like, oh, he's cracked it.
[53:16] He's got that. This is the guy I.
[53:18] I thought there was going to be a separate question.
[53:20] I was waiting for the separate question.
[53:21] Oh my God. OK.
[53:22] No, it was not a separate question.
[53:23] We are, that's what I said. I defer you.
[53:26] Played me. Which question was it?
[53:29] My God, my short term, what is the question that you mentioned
[53:34] even where do you mention? Who do you mention?
[53:39] Dude, you literally took his name.
[53:42] You literally took his name and he was smoking and I was like,
[53:46] this guy has got it. He remembers this.
[53:48] There's no way he's going to go. Wait, which person did you
[53:59] mention? We mentioned Anushka Sharma.
[54:00] I'm guessing that's not the right answer.
[54:03] We Shashi Tharoor. Shashi Tharoor.
[54:08] Yes, Shashi Tharoor. Shashi Tharoor, The Erudite, The
[54:14] Mr. Tharoora hours himself. I can't believe there's a second
[54:20] question in this episode which had nothing to do with Indian
[54:23] politics but he has featured twice on this.
[54:27] Really need the Shashi Tharoor super cut.
[54:29] Shashi Tharoor founded the very first quiz club in India at
[54:33] Saint Stephens in the 1970s. He was a contemporary or at
[54:37] least junior of Siddharth Basu, who's also commonly known as
[54:40] Babu, as you mentioned in Saint Stephens.
[54:44] The reason I know this is because I don't know if you know
[54:48] this, but Siddharth Basu has a podcast.
[54:51] Could you talk? Yes, he's got fascinating
[54:53] interviews with Ramachandra Koha.
[54:55] He's got many other personalities.
[54:57] But I think episode number six or something is Shashi Tharoor.
[55:02] And they go a little bit into depth with the thought the same
[55:04] thing about, you know, their shared experiences and things
[55:07] like that. And I was like, wow.
[55:09] And then you suddenly popped this question and I was like,
[55:13] oh, this is kismet, I know this. Oh man, that's insane.
[55:19] OK, so moving on to the audience question I asked at the
[55:22] beginning of this episode, which I hope would have.
[55:24] I would be very surprised if anybody got this without
[55:28] Googling. As of December 2025, X has 51
[55:32] credits on IMDb, with the oldest being 19 from 1912 and the
[55:37] newest being 2025. X has exactly one piece of
[55:43] trivia mentioned by an IMDb, and if all things go well, the IMDb
[55:48] credits will also increase by one in 2026 and one in 2027.
[55:53] So close X. I'm guessing it has to be a
[55:57] writer. Somebody's work has been adapted
[56:00] a few times, which makes me think of Premchand.
[56:04] Premchand. Is it the right timeline?
[56:06] No, 1912 is a little early firm. Oh, no, no, no.
[56:11] I will even give you this person's original name.
[56:15] Not the name that we know them by, but yes, the original name
[56:18] was Ratnakar. Ratnakar.
[56:21] Ratnakar. Yeah.
[56:22] Ratnakar, yes. Ratnakar.
[56:24] Oh, OK. This person is known for exactly
[56:26] 1 work. What?
[56:28] Oh, and that is also the source of all 51 credits.
[56:32] Is it a Byomkesh Bakshi? No, no, no.
[56:35] This is too early for BYOM. 1912 is too early for one Byomkesh
[56:38] Bakshi. What is a 1912 that has been
[56:42] made so many times? Let me give you an additional
[56:44] clue. She may even be, as I mentioned,
[56:49] that obviously there'd be one in 2026 and then an additional one
[56:53] in 2027, right? There may be actually one more,
[56:58] but we don't know because we've only seen glimpses of that
[57:02] particular movie so far. So we don't know exactly how
[57:05] much of it would be adapted. But Ramayan doesn't make sense
[57:08] like Ramayan, credit being. Yes, Valmiki has an IMDb page.
[57:14] Oh, OK. Oh my God.
[57:17] I was thinking it is somebody from the 19.
[57:20] That's why I said premchand also from 20th, 19th century.
[57:22] I was thinking, OK, that makes sense.
[57:24] Valmiki has written it and OK, very rough.
[57:28] So Valmiki has an IMDb page 51 credits as of December 2025.
[57:34] By 2026 and 2027 I was mentioning or at least alluding
[57:38] to. The Ranbir Kapoor film.
[57:40] Yes, Ranbir Kapoor and Sai Pallavi and.
[57:43] Yash and the. Director.
[57:45] Nitish Tiwari, right? Nitish Tiwari, but I think it's
[57:48] called Nimesh Malhotra's Ramayan because he's the producer and
[57:52] he's spending, God knows, an ungodly amount of money on the
[57:55] movie. Pun intended.
[57:58] Yeah. Rawalmiki, known as Adi Kavi or
[58:01] the first poet of India, is traditionally regarded as the
[58:03] composer of the Sanskrit epic, the Ramayan, which is also often
[58:08] called the Adi Kavya, which is the first poem.
[58:11] Rawalmiki was born as Ratnakara and he was led according to, you
[58:16] know, the scriptures. He was raised as a hunter,
[58:19] raised by a hunter and became a bandit before being spiritually
[58:23] transformed by the sage Narada after years of penance.
[58:27] And anthill, which is Valmika in Sanskrit, grew around him, hence
[58:33] giving his new name Valmiki. So Valmiki has a an IMDb page.
[58:39] That's the Bollywood episode. And what are your pop culture
[58:42] recommendations for this week, Aditya?
[58:45] All right, so I'm going to recommend just off the top of my
[58:48] head, some movies come to mind. A very dear friend of mine is
[58:51] going to appear in a in a Hindi film very soon.
[58:54] In January. Srushti Taude is going to be in
[58:57] a film which is directed by Veer Das and to Veer Das, Aamir Khan
[59:01] collaboration which takes me back to a film that I really
[59:03] like which is Delhi Belly. So I'm going to recommend Delhi
[59:06] Belly and just hey, 'cause it's my friend and I'm definitely
[59:10] going to go watch it and support her.
[59:12] Go ahead and support her as well.
[59:13] It looks like it's going to be good film.
[59:15] Happy Patel. So check out the trailer.
[59:17] If you think it's good trailer, go watch the film as well.
[59:19] So that's the first recommendation.
[59:21] Border 2 is coming out. I saw the trailer as well, which
[59:24] reminds me, I loved Border. Like it was like a staple
[59:27] growing up. Like every 15th August or 26
[59:30] January, it would be playing and my mum would turn it off and I
[59:33] would just sit and watch the whole film job we met.
[59:36] The new other character is Arita Kashyap.
[59:38] So Udta Punjab. I loved that.
[59:42] I'm going to recommend Rajneeti. I'm going to recommend Khosla ka
[59:47] Ghosla. I'm going to recommend a very
[59:50] beautiful film. I don't think I'd recommend it
[59:52] in the past. I'm going to say Akodeki.
[59:55] Akodeki is a beautiful, beautiful film like we were
[59:58] talking about earlier. There have been obviously so
[1:00:00] many films which are more independent or indie films and
[1:00:03] not mainstream Bollywood which kind of go under the radar.
[1:00:06] Akodeki was kind of like that. So if you haven't seen it or if
[1:00:09] you haven't heard of it, now is the time to watch it.
[1:00:11] And the last thing I want to recommend which I have stopped
[1:00:14] using the word but was under my guilty pleasure for the longest
[1:00:17] time. You know what, I love that film.
[1:00:20] I'm not going to be embarrassed about it.
[1:00:22] It's it's cheesy, it's very, there's nothing deep or anything
[1:00:27] good. But Oh my God, it's just every
[1:00:28] time I watch it, I enjoy it. So I'm an Imran Lashmi fan and
[1:00:32] anybody who's seen badge of Bollywood I really relate to AKA
[1:00:36] Bollywood Ektaraf or of Naimran Aashmi Ektaraf, I relate to that
[1:00:41] hard. So that and shout out to my dad
[1:00:44] because he loves listening to us and he's one of our regular
[1:00:47] listeners and his favorite film Guide.
[1:00:48] So I love Guide as well. Which one?
[1:00:50] The Hindi or the English version?
[1:00:52] Very much the Hindi version, yes, 1965, the Hindi version.
[1:00:56] He it's one of his favorite films.
[1:00:58] So these are all the films that are Bollywood, Bollywood and
[1:01:04] some of the many mainstreams of them, not so much.
[1:01:06] Check out whichever 1 catches your fancy.
[1:01:08] OK nice. Great.
[1:01:10] I have already recommended the man from Nowhere and now since
[1:01:14] Aditya has mentioned a lot of these movies, Bollywood movies,
[1:01:18] I'm just going to do a few of the top of my head.
[1:01:20] One is the ROM com. The ROM com that wasn't a ROM
[1:01:24] com, which was one of my favorite movies of from
[1:01:27] Bollywood is Piku because it's technically not a ROM com, but
[1:01:31] it's more ROM com than most ROM coms I've seen in Bollywood.
[1:01:34] So I really loved Piku. Sarkar is one of my all time
[1:01:38] favorite classics. Finally, just again moving away
[1:01:42] a little bit from Bollywood, That is a movie I watched
[1:01:46] recently which is 7 years after it came out.
[1:01:48] It's a movie called Set it Up. It's a ROM com.
[1:01:51] I was in the mood for something breezy.
[1:01:53] It's a Glenn Powers Zoe Deutsch movie and how do I describe it?
[1:01:58] It's like the Parent Trap if it was written by LinkedIn
[1:02:02] lunatics. Nice.
[1:02:05] Yeah, makes sense. Yeah, so go watch that also.
[1:02:08] I really liked it. It was and it's a very baby
[1:02:10] faced pre Top Gun, pre wannabe Tom Cruise, Glenn Powell and Zoe
[1:02:16] Deutsch has fantastic chemistry with him.
[1:02:18] So it's a, it's a, it's a very nice movie to watch.
[1:02:20] Yeah, there's such an adorable couple on screen.
[1:02:23] I loved that. I just, I think when I saw it on
[1:02:25] my Netflix and when I first watched it, and it's the only
[1:02:27] time I watched it, I remember I just was like, you know what?
[1:02:29] I want to watch these two cute people fall in love.
[1:02:31] That's why I want to watch this film.
[1:02:32] And yeah. That's it.
[1:02:33] It's, it's not a particularly original story.
[1:02:36] It's not. It's just those two actors make
[1:02:38] that movie. Work the supporting cast also
[1:02:40] great. The two bosses also are pretty
[1:02:42] decent. Lucy Liu and Tatex yes, and Pete
[1:02:45] Davidson I'm he was he's like in a blink and you miss it role,
[1:02:47] but Pete Davidson, you know does it as usual, fantastic movie.
[1:02:52] So that's all the time we have for today's episode.
[1:02:54] Thank you all for listening in and follow us on our socials on
[1:02:59] Instagram and on YouTube and wherever you listen to podcasts.
[1:03:03] We also have a subreddit R slash.
[1:03:05] Are you quizzing me? This particular episode was
[1:03:08] requested by two listeners of the podcast and for the rest of
[1:03:12] our listeners, if you want us to do these kind of theme episodes
[1:03:17] that you are interested in kind of reach out to us or just go
[1:03:20] post on Reddit. We'll we're there.
[1:03:22] We're both there on finally. Actually participating just in
[1:03:25] general, go ahead, share trivia. Trivia is just such a beautiful
[1:03:28] thing. I don't know why.
[1:03:29] I just sound like a nerd, perhaps, but it's just one of
[1:03:31] the best things to share with people.
[1:03:33] Yeah, go ahead and do that. True.
[1:03:34] True. I completely agree.
[1:03:36] And that's all for this episode. Thank you.
[1:03:39] Reach out to us and we'll see you next week.
[1:03:42] Bye bye. Odan Haider Munna Bhai Queen
[1:03:56] Wednesday anda Sapna Anand.

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