Our Last Week

Casting decisions may or may not always make sense. Ask Anuvab! The duo discusses the way we benignly trust the drivers of kaali-peeli cabs, but always secretly question the new-age cabbies of Uber and Ola, who need GPS to get to the city’s iconic landmarks. Brokers are, apparently, really territorial. Who knew?

Several silly cases end up in the Supreme Court, but the OLW duo speculate that there is this one Bollywood case the judges might actually be interested in. Kunaal believes that in Mumbai, there is no art to living; it’s just the hell of living. Why is Donald Trump just like that Bengali uncle? Anuvab has the answer. The duo mourns the rampant misuse of “air-quotes” and talks about why Holi is fun, but a lot of fear.

Anuvab and Kunaal discuss Leonadro Dicaprio’s arduous journey to an Oscar win – and did being (digitally) manipulated by a bear finally win it for him? Kunaal cannot understand why Mad Max:Fury Road won all the awards but not ‘Best Picture’. How justice in Indian courts can be served by a loaded gun. Anuvab, deeply disturbed by Kunaal’s weight-loss, consoles himself with donuts. And why there were too many issues at this year’s Oscars.

Anuvab and Kunaal find it hard to keep up with the endless wave of protests in the country and if you do too, they provide simple hacks for how to add your two cents into every conversation about the nation, without really knowing much about the issues at hand. Kunaal finds out he’s not quite the ‘Wolf of Dalal Street’ as he invests his kids' money in a crashing stock market. And a worldwide exclusive from Our Last Week: Anuvab simulates the sound of a gravitational wave.

This week, Anuvab and Kunaal scrutinise the pretentiousness of the barrage of LitFests, the casual communalism of Indian uncles, and people who go a little too crazy while writing reviews on websites. Listen to the duo discuss the oddball YouTube genres that inexplicably garner immense popularity, and find out what it's like to be on a Bollywood set. Also on this episode: A conspiracy for their assassination and what to do when your children go, "I'm not sure about this Dad guy..."

Anuvab has to write a script about villains, and that gets him thinking – where have all the great Hindi film villains gone? It’s fine that the sons and daughters of heroes are becoming heroes, but what about the sons and daughters of villains? Kunaal, on the other hand, having just come back from his Egyptian travels, recounts how difficult it is not to look like an Indian tourist when you're in a foreign country. Also on the episode: What’s the point of book launches in the modern age? And, are free events and seminars always populated by the homeless?

Who’s the most important person at an Indian wedding? The bride? The groom? The parents? None of them. It’s the uncle, the self-appointed head of all things wedding-related. Is the jalebi is not yet ready? Don’t worry, the uncle will take care of it. What if an uncle misbehaves with the guests? That’s why you have the "head uncle" keeping a close eye on the proceedings! Also on the episode: Anuvab hates going to school reunions, Kunaal plans a trip to Egypt, the duo play a game of dead or alive and wonder whether a clock repairman cares much for time.

On this special, year-end episode, we recap the best of what happened on Our Last Week in 2015. There was Kunaal and his fear of being “followed” on Twitter. Anuvab attempted to figure out why we end up being late for appointments and meetings when we’re always in a rush to get somewhere. The duo also tried to find an alternative to cricket, wondered how Indians would behave in space, and discussed one of the most contentious issues of the past year – award wapsi or, as they like to call it, when writers decided to return cash.

“Hey, did you read about those floods? So unfortunate!” “Yeah, but everybody I know is fine, so it’s not that bad.” Is that how we gauge disasters? And, can competition from private companies in the weather prediction business really make the Indian Met department pull up its socks? Anuvab & Kunaal don’t think so – “The competition will spur them to make it rain, just to prove a point (and their “predications”),” they say. Also on the episode: The motivations of Pakistani generals agreeing to get abused on live Indian news TV debates. How no one is churning out actual “news” anymore. And, can Delhi government’s move to restrict traffic movement according to a car’s registration number work when a traffic cop can’t even read the number plate amid all the smog?

Anuvab meets a gem of a person who doesn’t think the Paris attacks, where 130 people lost their lives, are a big deal, because, “But, in the Bombay attacks, just at VT station it was 130!” Kunaal is preparing for his upcoming shoot, where he has to swim in a gutter… literally, and that’s when it hits him – “What am I doing here? Why didn’t I finish my education?” Also on the episode: What would an Indian James Bond be like? What if things such as tables and walls start becoming intolerant? And, a solemn message to address the Paris terrorist attacks.

Anuvab and Kunaal muse about the loss of rock ‘n’ roll from an artist’s rock ‘n’ roll life and contemplate the idea of ownership in a digital age. Also on the episode: What’s the best way to protest against government policy? (Hint: it’s not so much about returning, than it is about asking for more.) Can you find a date at an NGO fundraiser? And, in a Chetan Bhagat moment, what if historians start thinking about what happened in the past?

It was Kunaal’s birthday, and Anuvab has a conundrum (obviously!)… How can the passage of time be a reason to celebrate a person? But, it’s more about celebrating the fact that you managed to survive another year, says Kunaal. Also on this episode: the duo wonder why Indians are always rushing to places when they are never on time, discuss our tendency for talking during a movie and explain how the years between the ages of 35 and 40 are when you’re supposed to toast your successful life... if you have achieved success, that is.

In this episode: What will the future be like, now that cab drivers can give us star ratings? Also, Our Last Week discusses and disses Big Data, wonders why beauty makes Kunaal uncomfortable (no, it’s got nothing to do with the effects of excessive makeup) and explains how the real India can be found at night, on long-distance trains, once the clock strikes 1.

Director, check. Cinematographer, check. Casting director... NO! Amid the euphoria of Court being selected as India’s entry for the Oscars, Kunaal explains why firing the casting director is what you need to do to make films of such calibre. Anuvab, the authority on all things related to The Empire, traces the discovery of India back to the British civil servants. The duo then addresses a pressing conundrum – what would it be like if your child cheated on you with another set of parents? Also in the episode: Buying a library, the pressure of selling out and real estate negotiations.

Fresh off a trip to Kolkata, Anuvab & Kunaal have a new conundrum to solve – would you actually find Chicken a la Keiv in Keiv? More importantly, is ‘continental cuisine’ really from the continent or is it just an excuse to use a lot of butter and cheese? Also: the duo tells you why their funniest creative moments will go unheard (sure, we believe them!), discuss Europe’s migrant crisis and explain how Donald Trump proves that political ratings are the same as TRPs.

Conundrums turn towards crime as Anuvab & Kunaal turn voyeuristic, watching the media circus around the murder coverage. Also: Does possessing an anglicised accent ensure you’re treated differently by judge and jury? Do political speeches focus only on entertainment? Why Kunaal is on a high-fat diet and how Anuvab is able to understand Mumbai real estate prices.

Anuvab & Kunaal discuss whether it really matters who heads the FTII and when it is okay to throw filmmakers in jail (hint: not when they are students of an institute, protesting at midnight). Anuvab also recounts his experience of being in the audience at a stand-up show and explains why he believes everyone was drunk on the eve of August 15, 1947. Kunaal meanwhile tries to understand why porn has become boring and reveals the strategy behind Indians having several children.

Anuvab & Kunaal take Shashi Tharoor’s arguments reparations on straight to the heart of the British establishment as the co-host of the legendary podcast The Bugle; comic Andy Zaltzman joins them on this new episode. Is offering to let Indians beat the English at cricket enough to atone for the sins of The Empire? Or should they also apologise for the culinary catastrophe called the chicken tikka masala? Tune in to find out.

In this episode of Our Last Week: From sports to public behaviour, the duo examines characteristically Indian quirks; Anuvab believes Kabbadi just mirrors the real-life Indian shoving and pushing experience, Kunaal thinks Batman is not a brooding saviour of the world but just a grown man in a black rubber suit and Anuvab explains Kolkata’s competitive fixation with medical conditions.

In this episode of Our Last Week: Anuvab explains why he loves using the word conundrum. Kunaal on why you can’t discover something that already exists (think: gravity). Attending a dinner party when you’re 40-years-old. Coldplay's impromptu gig in Delhi and Russell Brand’s funnily unfunny tour of India.