First Day First Show Pat, Bugs, and Srini

Superstar Amitabh Bachchan channels Tony Montana in this 90s cult hit that also got him his first National award for best acting. In Agneepath, Amitabh is very angry but not a young man anymore. He still delivers a great performance in this potboiler that was too cool for the 90s with the coolest avatar of Danny Denzongpa ever.

Catch us as we get nostalgic about the performance of a lifetime of the biggest superstar of Hindi cinema, the era defining dialogues and some of the freshest Afro-pop to hit the Indian mainland.

The year was 1993 and saw the first glimpse of Shahrukh the superstar and all that nervous energy that became part of the charm offensive that took over India.

We take a look at a movie that was way too bold for its time with the lead actor in a negative role. Apart from its potent mix of great music, plot twists and lead performances, it also cemented the place of Abbas-Mustan as the makers of modern thrillers. 

Relive your own experience of watching Baazigar for the first time and let's celebrate SRK when he was actually jawaan.

Tis the season of betrayal, we take a look at the magnificent Drohkaal by Govind Nihlani. With its harsh look at cost of insurgency and counter insurgency on the police lives, the movie is helmed by possibly the 2 most trained actors from the then Bollywood. 

We also contrast the approach taken by Govind Nihlani vis-à-vis the more mainstream remake in Tamil and Telugu by Kamal Hassan and P C Sreeram

Catch us on an  intense chat about  this classic dedicated to a century of cinema.

Part-1 was about costumes and characterisations. Here, we continue having a blast as we uncover some K-Jo tropes in KKHH that are seen in his other movies, we discuss the treatment of gender ("saree seduction", anyone?), the lack of sensitivity to personal space & privacy, the astrological and cultural references in the movie, and the Three Bs of KKHH. 

Curious to know what we said and voice your own too? Click play, enjoy the show, and tweet us at @fdfspod to let us know.

Kuch Kuch Hota Hai exploded on the scene in 1998 with bubblegum colours, product placement, and a surprise guest star. It  was a heady brew of catchy Bollywood tunes set in an impossibly hep fictional Indian college, and a love triangle with echoes of Archie, Betty, and Veronica. It attempted to bridge modernity and tradition, gender roles, love, marriage, and children—with different degrees of success.  Or failure? Relive it with us and decide.

Rani Mukerji's NRI character singing "Jai Jagadeesh Hare" to prove Indianness, Kajol's "tomboy" look vis-a-vis attractiveness and suitability for matrimony, and the (impossible?) ideals set for love and marriage, and the role a young daughter has to shoulder. These are some of the talking points for which our boys are joined by FDFS' first guest, Ishani. 

Enjoy the show.

Who picks rank outsiders to debut as the lead pair in a musical? Who risks a movie poster in which the protagonists' faces are hidden? Who takes a chance on a failed music director duo for scoring the songs? 

Mahesh Bhatt, that's who.

His film Aashiqui, the game-changing musical sensation of 1990, is on the anvil with Pat, Bugs, and Srini weighing in on its feminist themes, relationship politics, and music. Always the music. It blasted away the awkward blurb ("Love makes life live") and the bad acting from the lead pair, and brought in a new era.

Aashiqui was Nadeem-Shravan's 20th gritty outing, redeeming what must have been a long period of struggle and failure. They finally tasted success, and how! Kumar Sanu seemed to have been in the right place at the right time, having entered the Hindi film industry only a year before. Aashiqui's lilting melodies, Sanuda's powerful voice (supported by Anuradha Paudwal), and the socially aware storyline, all combined to make history. Enjoy the show.