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#benaam #majboor #amitabhbachchan #bachchan #salimjaved #NarendraBedi #ravitandon #bollywoodpodcast

Two films in today podcast - Benaam and Majboor! It's a double bill. Two films in a single ticket. The common thread between both the films is - both are Big B - Amitabh Bachchan films and both were released fifty years ago. These were significant films for Amitabh and they came in the same year 1974. Also, these are noteworthy films in the folklore of Hindi films.

Benaam

A high level story line is this: Benaam is a story of Amit and Sheela (played by Amitabh Bachchan and Mausami Chatterjee). Amit witnesses an attempted murder as they are driving to a party one night. Their arrival scares off the assailant, whose face they do not see, and they take the wounded man to the hospital. Here begins their nightmare, as they start to receive threatening phone calls. What happens next - that's Benaam.

Benaam was released on 18 October 1974.

Directed by: Narendra Bedi

Written by: Narendra Bedi , Jayant Dharmadhikari and Kader Khan

The second film is Majboor:

It was released on 13 September 1974.

A synopsis of the film goes like this : Ravi Khanna played by Amitabh Bachchan lives happily with his widowed mother, wheelchair-bound sister and younger brother. He suffers from a terminal brain tumour, and has only 6 months to live. In an effort to provide for his family, he takes the responsibility of a murder that he has not committed to collect the ransom money. The story goes through various twists and tuns and becomes a full blown thriller by the climax.

Directed by: Ravi Tandon

Written by : Salim Javed

It was released on 6 December 1973.

Its a Double Bill - Amitabh Bachchan's Benaam & Majboor.

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The film that we shall talk about is argued as Francis Ford Coppola best work. Even Coppola thinks that this is his best work. One half of Mangala Talkies - Jateen - the one who does not wear bow tie also thinks this is Coppola's best work.

The film is: The Conversation.

The Conversation was released between 2 Godfather films. The Godfather and The Godfather Part II. It was a the part of purple patch that Coppola enjoyed in seventies for which I would given him a purple heart - if we could.

It is story of Harry Caul played by Gene Hackman. Harry Caul is electronic surveillance expert and runs a his own small surveillance business. He is an intensely private in both his personal and professional life. People around him are not particularly tolerant about it.

He undertakes an assignment to record a private discussion of a young couple meeting in crowded and noisy City Square. The arrangement with his client is to provide the audio recording and the photographs of the couple in return for payment. Harry believes that the lives of the young couple are in danger. Harry not only has to decide if he will turn the recording , but also if he will try and save the couple's lives using information from the recording. As Harry goes on a quest to find out what exactly is happening on this case, he finds himself in the middle of his worst nightmare.

I warn you at this point more plot points would be revealed in the discussion to follow.

The Conversation is written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola.

Acting department is led by Gene Hackman and he is supported by John Cazale, Allen Garfield, Harrison Ford, Terri Garr and and Robert Duvall.

It was nominated for 3 Academy Awards and managed to win none of them. Best Picture. Best Writing of Original Screenplay and Best Sound.

It was released on 7 April 1974.

This is The Conversation.

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Welcome to our podcast. Mangala Talkies!

Today we shall attempt and shine a 'Spotlight' on a film that we loved. This film lacked deeper pockets to run marketing campaign. This film was glossed over at the awards shows. The mysterious algorithm of the streaming giant also does not suggest readily. I am referring to the Marathi film ''The Disciple''

It was released in April 2021. These days you can watch it on Netflix.

The Disciple is story of Sharad. Sharad is a vocalist who has devoted his life to the study of classical Indian music. There comes a point in his life where he starts to question whether he will ever achieve his aspirations of excellence. And how he deals with the question - that's the film.

Written and Directed: Chaitanya Tamhane

This is 'The Disciple'.

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As is our wont, we shall attempt and shine a 'Spotlight' on a film that we loved. The film under spotlight today is Joyland. Joyland might not have had deeper pockets to start with, but that part changed later. Joyland was a winner of Un Certain Regard Jury prize at Cannes Film Festival in 2022. It was in the final 15 films in the race for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. It was and still is the first Pakistani film to go this far. Did I mention that it is a Pakistani film before? Well now I have.

Here's' a high-level storyline: JOYLAND explores the many sides of love and desire in a patriarchal society. This is a story of Haider - gentle and rather timid by nature, lives with his wife Mumtaz, his father, and his elder brother’s family in Lahore, Pakistan. A Typical joint family set up. Following a long spell of unemployment, Haider finally lands a job at a Bollywood-style burlesque. He tells his his family he is a theatre manager, when in actuality, he is a backup dancer. As he is adjusting to the new job, Haider becomes infatuated with the strong-willed trans woman Biba who runs the show. Unforeseen turn of events opens his eyes in ways both unexpected and intimate.

Written by : Saim Sadiq and Maggie Briggs

Directed by Saim Sadiq

Produced by, we usually don’t talk about the producers – but there are too many to mention and there some big names in the list of the producers like Riz Ahmed and Malala.

At the time of recording this show the film was available on BFI player and Amazon Prime.

This is Joyland.

Hope you enjoy the show.

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