In a virtual entertainment world where audio shows are now king, an early proponent of film interviews and maker of an enriching podcast on Indian cinema, Himanshu Joglekar, discusses what makes his series stand out
For future episodes, Joglekar is speaking to people about their memories of watching Amitabh Bachchan on the big screen in the ’70s and ’80s
California-based Himanshu Joglekar describes his podcast Love of Cinema, currently in its third season, as “a labour of love”. Completing two years this month, the podcast began as a way of having long-form discussions about the movies he grew up watching with the people who made them. “I used to love watching interviews and shows on Hindi and regional films, but most of those conversations were centred around promotions of new films or books and I found that the discussions [never] went beyond a certain depth,” says Joglekar, who works full time in tech. A conversation with his wife one weekend threw up the possibility of creating something himself to fill that gap. There were bound to be at least a handful of people out there, he believed, who would share his interests.
ADVERTISEMENT
He remembers [using Twitter to approach] people whose works he had long admired. Joglekar’s very first episode was with Atul Sabharwal whose 2010 crime television show Powder he had been a fan of. Writer Yasser Usman was yet another early guest, his episode prompted by the fact that Joglekar was reading Usman’s biography, Rajesh Khanna: The Untold Story of India’s First Superstar, at the time.
Joglekar feels that podcasts are driven as much by the host’s personality as they are by the guest’s. While some invitees, he says, will offer direct, precise answers, others tend to take you down a rabbit hole. It is the host’s job then to intervene and steer the conversation back. “When I started, I had no training in doing interviews. So, I was just trying to have a conversation like I would with a friend. But what I have learnt is that the initial couple of questions tend to set the tone and the guest gets an idea of what you are looking for. It’s funny how they can reciprocate almost on the beat,” he remarks. It is never scripted, he points out. While he doesn’t share his questions beforehand, to ensure that it remains spontaneous, he does give them a sense of how it will flow once they start recording. What he is careful to avoid, however, are elaborate discussions of his interviewees’ personal journeys. “People are not interested in that as they have [already] heard or read [about them] somewhere. So, I get straight to the point,” he says.
Joglekar, not surprisingly, grew up in a home where cinema’s influence ran deep. “I was just looking at some old pictures of my parents where they are posing as if they are in a Shakti Samanta film,” he laughs. As a child of the early ’90s, he remembers watching films on VHS tapes and cable. Hindi films, especially those of Govinda, Sanjay Dutt, Shah Rukh Khan and by directors like Mukul Anand were his first preference even though Marathi was his mother tongue. It was, however, during college at Berkeley that his education in world cinema truly began as the Pacific Film Archive gave him access to the landmark French New Wave films, the cinema of the early silent period and Hollywood’s golden age. “That’s when I really fell in love with cinema,” he declares. The early 2000s is when he feels he turned into a true cinephile, thinking deeply about cinema, reading film literature and digging up old interviews by journalists like Charlie Rose. “Cinema is the only form of art that has the power of transforming you instantaneously. It’s almost like time travel,” he says, “[It] transports you, state-of-mind-wise.”
Joglekar had been a fan of the TV show Powder, which looked at the narcotics trade in Mumbai, and invited its director Atul Sabharwal on his first episode
Joglekar’s podcast as well as his Twitter threads reflect his interest in older cinema although he keeps up with the new releases too. “My philosophy has been that you [must] always talk about something you are passionate about,” he admits. While there are several podcasts that cover the newest films, Joglekar is happy with the more niche conversations around Indian film classics Love of Cinema holds. It is what helps him stand out in a virtual space increasingly overcrowded with podcasts.
Love of Cinema has invited film scholars, critics and directors to join conversations which have ranged from discussions of acclaimed films to efforts to bring attention to the lesser known works of actors like Kader Khan. Joglekar has had his share of being star-struck though. He recounts how during his episode with Sudhir Mishra, he found himself trembling as he began to speak and had to restart the recording.
Himanshu Joglekar
Currently, he is speaking to people who watched Amitabh Bachchan on the big screen in the ’70s and ’80s, and also developing a mini podcast series. What’s the one thing he loves the most about creating these episodes? “Getting to pick their brains,” he says. “Two years ago, I was just a person sitting in front of the TV watching these films. I’m still that person but now, once in a while, I get to talk to the people who made them and dig deep with them.”
The Podcasts This Podcaster Recommends
. Karina Longworth’s You Must Remember This
. Bill Simmons’s The Rewatchables
. The Team Deakins podcast which presents conversations between acclaimed cinematographer Roger Deakins and his collaborator James Deakins
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
