So, we went to see Dobaaraa yesterday morning. My wife wanted to see it, in part because it featured Taapsee Pannu, and in part because she loves mystery stories. Many of the best such books we’ve read, TV shows and movies we’ve watched have been because of her interest in mysteries and crime and thrillers – and her ability to find new shows. Anyways, kudos to everyone involved in putting together this movie. It was engaging, and entertaining, actually – at least the eight of us paying viewers in the cinema hall seemed to think so. Well, it was a Sunday morning, and relatively early, at 10:15 a.m., so probably not the best time to measure popularity by the number of viewers. The movie could have been a bit tighter, at least by 10 minutes we thought, but that’s fine. And it’s not an original either. It’s an official remake of a 2018 Spanish movie, Mirage. Yes, you say it as Mi-ra-ghey in Spanish (that’s the closest I can get). See the link below to the films and also to the pronunciation of mirage in Spanish. With this movie – directed by Anurag Kashyap and produced by Ekta Kapoor and Sunir Kheterpal – Taapsee Pannu has continued to seek out strong, and interesting roles. And I really disagree with the folks who’ve helped push the IMDB rating of this movie to 2.9 on 10. I’d be happy with a seven or eight, easily. That’s it, and wherever you are, I hope you get to be in the moment, and take it slow. Dobaaraa https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14042066/ Mirage https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6908274/ How to pronounce ‘mirage’ in Spanish https://www.howtopronounce.com/spanish/mirage

My friend Rithwik is an amazing writer, and I thought of reading out loud, one of his works. I chose In Transit, which he'd sent me some time back. I've only recorded the first page or so, and I was holding on to it, thinking I'll add more. Haven't gotten round to adding more, so I thought let me at least publish this one. Here's another story by Rithwik: https://www.indianruminations.com/fictions/untitled-ii-rithwik-bhattathiri-bangalore/ By the way, happy Independence Day.

A few thoughts on the purpose of this podcast.