Heeramandi, Unfrosted, The Idea of You | Awful and Awesome Ep 352

#heeramandi
While discussing Heeramandi :
Rajyasree: If you wear velvet and zardozi in the heat of Lahore, you won’t have a nawab around you because you will be stinking.
Abhinandan: As if the nawabs themselves were smelling of roses, they were probably piss-drunk.
Rajyasree: Chee, chee, chee!
Abhinandan: It’s such a stupid concept, it took me three days to watch 24-odd minutes.
This and a whole lot of awful and awesome as Rajyasree Sen and Abhinandan Sekhri discuss the series Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar and the films Unfrosted and The Idea of You. Abhinandan recommends Saba Dewan’s documentary, The Other Song.
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00:00-3:16 Introductions
03:17-19:57 Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar
19:58-29:23 The Other Song - Abhinandan’s recommendation
29:24-31:30 Announcements
31:31-38:42 Unfrosted
38:43-40:38 Letter
40:39-44:10 The Idea of You
44:11-49:05 May December - Rajyasree’s recommendation
49:06-52:03 Kettan Singh and Met Gala
52:04-53:46 Signing off!
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[@newslaundry]

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[@SurojitOBondhura]

Another reason why you may end up watching Heeramandi is when you are totally jetlagged and don't know if it's day or night and you keep falling asleep and waking up to all the so called boring symmetrical nonsense and falling asleep again... I mean that's exactly how it happened with me and my wife...

[@SurojitOBondhura]

And by the way we immediately watched some KZbin clips of Utpal Dutta Golmaal to relish our asymmetrical, intelligent, heart-felt, masterpiece...

[@RashminderKaurindia]

@@SurojitOBondhura I do that also...I watch Hrishikesh Mukherjee or Basu Da movies or similar ones frequently to just refresh my heart :)

[@phoebebuffet3486]

Thanks for covering the disaster that this Heeramandi Fiasco is. Literally I was irked by the actors trying their hands on Urdu, their diction was killing me and probably Mirza’s ghalib too in his grave.😢 You must have felt the difference how Farida Jalal was speaking. That was effortless and not heavy on the ears. Also the story telling with some worst kind of twists and turns were too much for me. Being well versed with Urdu I could not take this assault on my soul and quit the series after watching two episodes 🤝 Dosti bani rahe 😢

[@nehaverma4889]

I stopped watching it after first 2 or 3 scenes. Don't know why this hype. Undeserved!

[@RashminderKaurindia]

Its one thing to create an ambience and another to infuse spirit in it. Same was the case with Umrao Jaan starting Aishwarya and Abhishek. It was so cringe in terms of writing, shallow shayari and no layered veiled emotion...it was as if seeing a WhatsApp version of a Classic piece of literature. People who want to create a time period need to shed their own skin first. These actors and directors don't have time to even immerse their feet in the ocean they are attempting to represent...appearances never mean anything but the spirit does. Bhansali ruined Mastani and now this!! Nuances mein koi Degree hoti in se kehte ke jao padhai kar lo...I watched Satyajit Ray's Home and the World and he kept it so simple and true to its core and that actually brought the entire feel of 1900s effortlessly and its not rubbed in your face so that you can truly feel the story instead. The resources spent on mediocre works of art breaks my heart...

[@SilentBoy10]

Urdu Talafus Nazi 😂

[@indianfan1029]

Exactly. We dont give an F about Urdu.

[@ibrahimuzair08]

@@indianfan1029 and Urdu is an Indian language for your F***ing ignorance

[@simim111]

I couldn't watch 20-30 minutes of Heeramandi. I think I should've known it wasn't my cup of tea, I absolutely hate seeing women treated like things and I just had to stop at 'nath utarna' or something.

[@shelldie8523]

Bombay has no red light area. Oh sweet summer child.

[@preetipadmini]

Kamathipura!

[@mansoorahmad1489]

Bhansali's last movie was about mumbai's red light area.

[@SJ-is5ko]

I am ok with reviewers giving bad review but it’s quite unprofessional to review something and not knowing or forgetting the names of the actors (Adhyayan Suman). Also someone who claims to have watched 30 minutes is of reviewing 7 hours of content.

[@ysmysm8157]

20:29 Correction- Rasoolan Bai belonged to the Banaras Gharana. It has nothing to do with twaif. Gharana is the style of singing.

[@mansoorahmad1489]

Kamathi Pura is the red light area in Mumbai. I live in friking Lahore and even I bloody know it. How could you people dont know the red light area of Mumbai. Forget about knowing the history, have you not even watched the last movie Bhansali made? It was about a prostitute living in Mumbai's red light area. why are you even discussing his movie then.

[@nikhilanand03]

Kudos for getting the accessibility features! Chitranshu thanks for leading that

[@rm3015]

SLB is one of the most over rated film maker. He makes fairytales that only child like brains appreciate.

[@Subhash_1987]

Agreed 💯💯

[@adityaraj2213]

Its an escape from reality for some He is preserving what OG Indian cinema used to be(dialogues, dances, sets) It resembles a play rather than a documentary

[@RandomThot]

Gosh he is so repetitive, I can’t distinguish between his last 3 movies - and for Heeramandi the Urdu diction and so called “kathak” absolutely no grace while delivering either of the ‘art forms’ !! The Alam lady was such a pain in neck absolutely expressionless

[@Cinemawali]

Thank you for this! Heeramandi is actually an insult to actual tawaifs and their achievements that paved the way for the Indian film and music industries. 🥲

[@diva7892]

Love you both & your super banter❤

[@kavitatilwani9622]

I can’t see the link for The Other Song, that Abhinandan has recommended

[@tanvinagwekar762]

Kamathipura is Mumbai's red light area. His movie Gangubai Kathiayawadi was based in that area

[@chandrikasaha6301]

The description doesn't have the documentary link on Rasulan bai

[@dia606]

Rajshree was about to compliment Taaha Shah who looked dreamy af and went full SRK with lovelorn eyes - the only silly fun that carried me through till his death episode. Loved this Fawad-lite performance of a stupid storyline. Also preposterous that a nawab’s son with bare minimum involvement in some fictitious revolutionary group that has no ideology somehow, would just be killed by Brits in prison unceremoniously

[@indianfan1029]

Also, I felt that Fareedan may act as a witness in some sort of judicial inquiry. I mean kuch to hota hoga na us waqt bhi. But aisa kuch hua hi nahi. So it made no sense to show her going there. Choti bachi to nahi thi wo. Agar waha na jaati to kya brutality ka andaza nahi lagta usko.

[@serendipity0775]

And 👏👏👏👏 for accessibility features for our friends with disabilities. Kudos.

[@ratulda1]

After a long time I agree with you guys, Heeramandi is $hitty show, Bansali's movies are low on content. I am not watching Heeramandi.

[@ibrahimuzair08]

low content but visually appealing..however i liked Devdas and Black

[@ratulda1]

@@ibrahimuzair08 Didn't like those as well. He screwed up Devdas.

[@Firozshaikh1973]

She shud be appreciated fr nt watching the whole 8 episodes

[@Kseraseera]

Thanks

[@Sugatomaitra]

this is comedy gold please make review/roasting videos

[@riaagarwal6840]

Pop tarts are for breakfast what US is for democracy....damn it was difficult coming up with that.

[@gitasingh1437]

It was smart and apt 👍😹

[@esr2687]

mumbai's red light area is kamathipura.......the movie gangubai kathiawadi was set in that area

[@birajification]

For a decade or so, for us kids in Nepal, during the 90s, Bombai/Bombay/ Mumbai was synonymous to human trafficking and AIDS. That's where our lost village belles were sold. Awareness teleserials, songs, campaigns documentaries broadcasted by Nepal television depicted Bombay as a smelly place with skyscrapers and perverts with taste for Nepali kids. Then slowly we began hearing that's where Nepali film makers go for song recording and mixing. But the red light image of बम्बै stuck in our minds.

[@sanjaygadhalay1523]

GB road. Too

[@brascoperryjoe6425]

​@@birajificationGood that you saved yourselves. Now I guess, there's no Nepalis in Bombay\Mumbai earning their bread?

[@marlbboro8091]

Loved this. New sub!😍

[@PokhrajRoy.]

Thank you for the bit on Mandakini! 😂

[@hsekumdiv]

Mr. Sekhri you are very old, if you still remember the song 😂

[@happys7417]

Songs are actually good... Aditi Manisha, Richa and Sonakshi are so good

[@albatross9995]

Awesome show guys ❤

[@meshra26]

Loved this podcast ❤😂😁

[@karangupta5139]

Not sure what the hype is about. At the same time as Heeramandi we are witnessing the greatest TV drama of all time on Netflix. Give Queen of Tears a try

[@pushpindersingh1819]

Watched "The Other Song" as recommended by Abhinandan. Heart wrenching. Exceptional talent lost to the high morality guardians.

[@sonali6328]

We should have first and foremost ascertained whether this was a review of Heeramandi or merely a casual conversation during a break; in the latter case, the review felt more hurriedly done, since one should ideally complete the series prima facie before reviewing anything.

[@vandypat]

Love Jerry Seinfeld and loved unfrosted. Just started watching the show. Awesome. Good fun😊

[@divyamjha6565]

I guess it's high time we understand that only realism is not the perspective in art. It is a very Oriental way of looking at things

[@adityaraj2213]

Bruh you spoke me mind 🫶

[@morale3056]

Everything is great about NL. But sometimes the CEO is intolerable and cringe. How is he so off the mark while rest of the team is in same place.

[@guftagoowithirfan]

24 मिनट के आसपास इंटीग्रेशन शब्द पंच क्यों किया गया है? Someone please enlighten

[@meera.thenmozhi]

How have you not heard of Kamathipura? Bombay?

[@inesfenaoui1255]

Idk why, but i still liked heeramandi🤷🏻‍♀️, i could say i loved it even

[@smitadutta49]

Bombay's red light area is Kamathipura and its near Grant Road.

[@riaagarwal6840]

Looks like you have good info 😂

[@nagaiahgovindarajalu8110]

Funy episode great show

[@foodie8779]

Finally the facts are being reviewed here. As he said the whole show was pointless. 😂😂😂😂

[@MUSICbyhimanshuj]

Well, I have no issues as long as the director is satisfied with the film.

[@RitvikSingh47]

What's with the knocking sound?

[@divyamjha6565]

Kamathipura is in Bombay, where the story of Gangubai is based.

[@Chandansingh-si6tf]

If nawabs had to be shown! Mr. Bhansali should have also described the region of India they belonged to, I still think this story had to take place in banaras or Lucknow. And Please! anyone let me know the history of Heeramandi of Lahore

[@bhadwamodi8294]

simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heera_Mandi

[@aayushnair9279]

Kamathipura nahi malum 😂😂😂 level of journalism

[@imsabbah]

The Urdu. Except Farida Jalal who nailed it, good grief, the cast couldn't even. Sonakshi was marginally better. Also. Lahore. You would have performative Urdu nakhra and nazaakat but in their personal lives it would've been solid Punjabi and how.

[@pamzaluikham3916]

Why are reviewers so uninformed about the show they are reviewing, please write notes

[@Fitfatfoodie]

they have such good chemistry. I hope they are dating!

[@chandrikasaha6301]

There is no reason to pin high hopes on Bansali. But I couldn't understand the logic of criticisms of this review. Why courtesans are wearing heavy dresses, Lahore is hot, they must be stinking - in which film or portrayal you have seen courtesans are wearing airy loose t-shirt and barmuda? My mom even now wear sarees all the time - which i can't wear - doesn't mean she is stinking and i am not when it is humid. In TamilNadu women are out to work with heavy silk sarees. Dialogues and all must have been time appropriate(i didn't watch it, perhaps I won't watch it because i don't like this director's movies), those days women used to talk that way. My childhood neighbour was a zamindar, who used to return home drunk, peeing as soon as out of the taxi, calling the driver darling and feeding him sandesh all over the driver's moustache and beard.

[@Zeeayee]

I came across your podcast by chance. I'm from Pakistan and I can confirm no one talks like this in Lahore - not even in 1920s or 19040s -- if you want to see a Lahori Tawaif, I suggest you watch Iman Ali in Bol movie. The accents of all the actors except Farida Jalal were totally off. I agree the it was a cringe-fest through and through

[@shelldie8523]

32:32 looking at abhinandan and looking at her.... Yea stick to the Oats

[@dkhasnabish]

Grant Road?

[@Firozshaikh1973]

She is a critic pr excellence she just put the whole hard work of bhansali to gp road and Sona gachi Love you Bengali Der naam paani te dhele dao

[@tusharpotdar5762]

@6:27..... Thanks for the information 😁 I really don't know about sona ghachi area & GB Road of Delhi (it's grant road kamathi pura area area in bombay known as a red light area) By the way I wonder why modi ji did not change Name of GB Road, अगर अकबर रोड का नाम बदली हो सकता हैं तो GB Road का क्यों नहीं !!! 😁😁😁

[@atinusabraham]

He is pure. Doesn’t know it exists.

[@preetipadmini]

Dude keeps interrupting the woman. Very fun if amateurish reviews

[@TheBigForkers]

I tried to watch, I want Covid back.

[@azhar346]

Come on Abhinandan Mumbai has Kamatipura almost as big as Sonagachi !

[@teestabanerjee6755]

Thanks... Some one is saying about the obscene Heeramandi ...

[@gitasingh1437]

Sonagaachi is worse there is no concept of tehzeeb , manners or anything .

[@krishnapriyanarayan8485]

Mr. Sekhri and his counterpart, Rajshree Sen, both come across as boring and apathetic. They lack sensitivity and seem to associate Mandakini with Dawood. Regardless of her past, Mandakini is trying to integrate into society, much like Rajshree, who as a transgender person, deserves acceptance. However, both Mr. Sekhri and Rajshree mistreat women and prefer to ridicule them.

[@shambhavi4292]

53 minutes of Abhinandan bullying the host :')

[@AllThingsAudio420]

hahaha

[@user-ie2xq1ph1e]

Newslaundry, I used to respect you, but now I find myself shaking my head at your lack of professionalism. Your recent podcast lacked any semblance of structure or preparation, making it a painful experience to watch. The ldy host stumbled through a discussion on Heeramandi for initial 10 mins by narrating a story, only to be constantly interrupted and corrected by an interfering abhinandan. It was embarrassing and made you all seem woefully unprepared. Your attempt to jump on the bandwagon of roasting Heeramandi fell flat, just like the series itself. Frankly, it's disappointing to see supposedly intelligent individuals produce such garbage content. Get your act together

[@divya4238]

Your comment is copy-pasted from chatgpt .. LOL

[@parveenajaib6273]

I really enjoyed your talking on heeramandi Urdu ka tuh kabhra ho ghia din ke waqat shabakheir kon kehta hy yaar aur kon pagal laltein pani ke undar le kar jata hy side pay be rakha ka sakta thaa total last galss turha 12 ana. 😂

[@user-ie2xq1ph1e]

@@divya4238 i appreciate you reading my comment and i am glad you have so much time to research - (this one is copy-pasted from english dictionary)

[@vandypat]

Subscribed to your channel

[@Chandansingh-si6tf]

My point is! Were there any Nawabs in British Controlled Punjab? Coz the British won that territory from Sikh Empire.

[@drjagritisingh6569]

Heeramandi is reality and the story is based on some urdu novel but plot adaptation sucked.

[@bhadwamodi8294]

There were Punjabi chaudhry landlords in North Punjab. They are called Nawab in South Punjab. Lahore is in North Punjab.

[@sanjaygadhalay1523]

Its amazing how you guys manage to prattle away endlessly. ...

[@marlbboro8091]

Devdas was murder and Heeramandi was so shallow. Could have been magnificent but alas typical SLB. Visuals over substance. Manisha K was slouched all the time 🤣 And So true I was so confused I kept thinking it was in Lucknow.🤦🏽‍♀️

[@amitaarya1457]

You forgot Kamathipura - Gangu bai?

[@subhasmitachakrabarti5450]

Bombay has Kamathipura

[@imranmir1]

Where is Meenakshi?

[@lerhinodecosmique6626]

Seedha seedha kyu nahi you tube pe aa jata. Enough with the no ads shit. Just follow the others.. you have had 10 plus years to realize that your shit ain't working

[@user-ng8ky2so9s]

Hi. Couldn't watch your show... the moment you said that you couldn't watch beyond 4 episodes. Do you think you did justice to your review? Your review is based only on 4 episodes !!!

[@AllThingsAudio420]

I think 4 hours of anything is enough to warrant an opinion no?

[@arrowhead697]

May December!

[@nehasinha5048]

Songs are good

[@15Ur]

I always love and trust the news and review by newslaundry. But today I am quite disappointed. Your about one hour long review seemed more awful than the web series. No not because I loved heeramandi or anything. It was indeed very monotonous. But how can you review something and give opinions without watching the full thing. Even whatever you have watched is also just for the purpose of trolling. You could have skipped reviewing the series as it's not so important. But why to give a review just based on opinion and without actually watching the whole thing? It just decreases the trust about your coverages

[@sonali6328]

i second that👍

[@mirchshake50]

There are no different v and w sounds in Hindi. Not everyone goes to an English medium school 🙄

[@BohoDevi]

mumbai has kamathipura

[@nikitalalwani8361]

Also Ranveer has clarified his photo deletion, funny that you are not updated yourself.

[@gurudeepranjan]

Its may december not may june

[@aditibaranwal8503]

Pakeeza ke baare me to mai ye sab nahi shn paungi

[@sanjaysingh8451]

I watch all your shows regularly. But what are you doing here. अगर आपको किसी भी actor का नाम भी ठीक से नहीं पता, history नहीं पता। For the fact, हीरा मंडी का मतलब diamond bazar नहीं है। तो रिव्यू करने क्यों बैठे। TV news वालों की तरह हर काम में ख़ुद को कम से कम आप लोग तो एक्सपर्ट मत समझिए यार। Good luck.

[@krishnapriyanarayan8485]

Mr. Sekhri did not like some of the songs in this web series, but three of them are good. "Azadi" song is particularly good, while "The Sakal Ban" and "Saiya Hatoo Jao" are also impressive. Mr. Bansali is a fine director, and his sets and costumes are amazing. However, I feel sorry for Mr. Sekhri's upbringing, which seems to have instilled in him a tendency to undermine women in every sense.

[@shahidah4763]

Guys, Pakeezah was another level! The dance was not the highlight. The painful story of the tawaif and the splendour of the kotha was. The beautiful romance and the dialogue delivery are just two of the countless magical displays. Come on...won't have you writing it off.

[@TheGreatIndia...]

😮 unwatchable 😅

[@mahimametal]

It feels a little passive aggressive between y’all, is everything ok?

[@rnandkumar]

Funny enjoyable review except for Abhinandan’s awful but not awesome use of expletives. You need to use temperate language or begin with a Cautionary Advice or put him through a laundry to wash off the filthy words.

[@serendipity0775]

The sorry sorry n doodhwali ..... too funny!!!! I don't like most of SLB films but I did like Gangubai in parts cos he did show reality apart from part opulence visavis costumes. I can say that cos I was with an ngo where we interacted with sex workers. Our ngo sponsored education of girl children under the Nanhi Kali project and they were daughters of these sex workers. Which brings me to something u both may want to know since you struggled with that... Bombay's biggest red light area is Kamathipura and the other is Falkland road. I dunno if anything has changed now but this is how it was about 20 yrs ago. And Mahatma Gandhi's remark about tawaifs stealing virtues ( hope I heard that correctly) , a bit much , though not surprising , cos once again it's not about the men who go there and enjoy, but the onus of protecting men's virtues is yet agn on women, not to mention it also insinuating how men can't hold on to their own virtues n go astray !! Also v holier than thou! I don't intend watching Heeramandi and i think Manisha Koirala often overacts/ overemotes. A Rekha, Shabana or even a less popular Ila Arun wudve done a better job. And sonakshi I liked only in Lootera. Brilliant performance ..... Ms Sen's guffaws were quite endearing , not to mention her being least least apologetic about them, lol, esp the May December....😅😂 And I'd love to know out of sheer curiosity why Mr Sekhri is always in a white Pathani suit! ( if that's what it indeed is!) 😈

[@gitasingh1437]

I Bhansali Cow Beltted Heeramandi . The Urdu was bad the Punjabi worse . He has not been able the capture either the sophistication / essence or nuances of Lahore . Otherwise a good Fairy tale.

[@danCK1990]

guys did u watch goatlife

[@serendipity0775]

What's that?

[@danCK1990]

@@serendipity0775 new movie from the South that released in March

[@serendipity0775]

On OTT? Subtitles ?

[@suelve]

Mumbai has no red light area plse are u in a coma kamatpura you hvnt seen Gangubai

[@divya4238]

How can you guys review a show when you haven't even completely watched it?

[@mouseeqhee]

💯

[@Riya-rm4km]

Thats the beauty of this show😅

[@fn9397]

I am looking forward to our next engagement at DelhiGolfClub - Abhinandan

[@allent4627]

, 10:25, 12:35, 18:56, 19:58, 33:29,

[@Muskan_2308]

Stop this BGM yaar, it's annoying 😶‍🌫️

[@aniruddhajoshi8796]

Abhinandan, I must say that you are biased about the music/lyrics of Heeramandi. Rest of the times I admire your work.

[@VinodKumar-yv5yk]

The worst bit of awful and awesome is this lady who puts on a fake accent and thinks she is special

[@diamond_dew]

If u scratch a lil more u ll realise u dont like women in general

[@svishrut]

I could not stay connected to Heeramandi first episode for more than 5 mins. Sonakshi looks like transgender in her role. No offense though to LGBT etc

[@shai140]

Are you confusing mandakini with Mamta kulkarni??

[@aasthagupta1661]

Why? What's the point of this podcast when you can't even pronounce/remember the names of the people who worked on the show?

[@ps-gh3hu]

You should be called lun-dry

[@LakshmiSrikhandpur]

Tissue rakhlo Rajshree