Best Prem Kumar Podcasts (2025)

1
Episode 140: Director Series - Bala's Nandha 1:48:05

2M ago1:48:05

1:48:05

It's been some time but we are back with the Bala series. This time we talk about the 2001 film, Bala's sophomore feature Nandha starring Suriya, Laila, Rajkiran, Saravanan, Karunas. This felt like a more assured Bala, more confident in his approach and expanding the definition of mainstream. We have the same team to talk about the film. Hari and A…

1
Episode 139: Director Series - Bala's Sethu 1:38:10

4M ago1:38:10

1:38:10

A new Director Series at The Other Banana We have long debated a series on director Bala. You could say that Bala is not Bala anymore and his films are increasingly becoming difficult to meaningfully engage with but, the Bala 1999-2010 was something else. A new voice broke out in Tamil cinema in 1999 with Sethu. One of the several assistants of Bal…

1
Episode 138: Meiyazhagan with C Prem Kumar 1:02:58

8M ago1:02:58

1:02:58

We are returning after a while but with a biggie! Director and cinematographer C Prem Kumar joins us to talk about his latest film Meiyazhagan starring Karthi, Arvind Swamy, Sri Divya and others. The film has been warmly received by the audiences and is a breath of fresh air for Tamil cinema. Films with strong writing, a slice-of-life genre with ma…

1
Episode 137: On Kalki 2898 AD, Hanu-Man & Hindu Epics 1:07:33

10M ago1:07:33

1:07:33

In this episode writer Aditya Mani Jha joins Deepauk and Aditya to talk about two 2024 films, both Telugu originals, and adapted-inspired from two Hindu epics - Mahabharata and Ramayana. One is Nag Ashwin's Kalki 2898 AD and the other is Prasanth Varma's Hanu-Man. One has a stellar pan-Indian star cast with the likes of Prabhas, Amitabh Bachchan, K…

1
Episode 136: On Nithilan Saminathan's Maharaja 1:08:30

11M ago1:08:30

1:08:30

Nithilan Saminathan returns after Kurangu Bommai with a bigger canvas and a bigger star. His talents are still visible, refined even, but his latest film with Vijay Sethupathi in and as Maharaja started a discourse about rape-revenge genre in cinema, gratuitous violence, depiction of sexual abuse, and the conspicuous choice of Vairamuthu as lyricis…

1
Episode 135: Films of Girish AD - Premalu, Super Sharanya & Thanneer Mathan Dinangal 1:22:20

1y ago1:22:20

1:22:20

We at The Other Banana believe that director Girish AD is doing something incredible with the genre of romantic comedy and coming of age. With the recent big hit Premalu, that awed audiences across south India, we decided to take a look at all his films that show steady progression in certain genre conventions as well as successful attempts at brea…

1
Episode 134: Ilaiyaraaja : A Musical Movement (10) 1:16:14

1y ago1:16:14

1:16:14

In this episode we dive into the atomic elements of composition that we can observe in Raaja's music. How does he use sentence structures and motifs in his compositions? Can we really tell apart where Carnatic ends and Western touches begin in his music. Briefly we also cover one stark difference between MSV and Raaja. Topics Covered: What are sent…

1
Episode 133: Lijo Jose Pellissery's Malaikottai Vaaliban 1:13:09

1y ago1:13:09

1:13:09

We couldn't ignore Malayalam cinema's great run in the first couple of months of 2024 so decided to talk about Lijo Jose Pellissery's Malaikottai Vaaliban which received a lukewarm to polarizing reception after huge expectations. Right after the universally feted Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam, Malaikottai Vaaliban couldn't have been more different, a f…

1
Episode 132: Sapta Saagaradaache Ello Side B with Hemanth M. Rao & Chaithra J. Achar 1:03:01

1+ y ago1:03:01

1:03:01

Sapta Saagaradaache Ello - Side B team is back and this time we have director Hemanth M. Rao and actor/singer Chaithra J. Achar joining us. She plays Surabhi in this follow up to SSE Side A. Side B looks at the life of Manu (Rakshit Shetty) and Priya (Rukmini Vasanth) a decade after their tragic love story seemingly ended. We travel with these star…

1
On SU Arunkumar's Chithha, POCSO Act, Safety & More 1:03:38

1+ y ago1:03:38

1:03:38

Hello. In the latest episode we visit one of the best films of 2023, SU Arunkumar's Chithha starring Siddharth, Sahasra Shree, Aafiya Tasneem, Nimisha Sajayan, Anjali Nair and others. Some trigger warnings might apply and this is a spoiler filled discussion as the film deals with child sexual abuse. We have two special guests joining Aditya in this…

1
On Kannur Squad, Companion Films & Mammootty 1:07:15

1+ y ago1:07:15

1:07:15

Hello! In this episode, Deepauk, Anantha and Aditya talk about Roby Varghese Raj's Kannur Squad starring Mammootty, Rony David Raj, Azees Nedumangad, Kishore and others. The film is a thriller based on a real squad of police officers who are tasked with the toughest cases. The film is very similar to last year's Kuttavum Shikshayum directed by Raje…

1
A deep dive into Lokesh Kanagaraj's Leo 1:30:46

1+ y ago1:30:46

1:30:46

And we are back with an episode on one of the films of the year- Lokesh Kanagaraj's Leo. If you haven't yet heard of the film, crawl out of that rock and here we go- starring Vijay, Trisha, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Sanjay Dutt, Arjun etc, the film, after Vikram and the introduction of Lokesh Cinematic Universe, was THE Tamil film if not Indian film t…

1
On Making Sapta Saagaradaache Ello - Side A with Hemanth M. Rao 1:18:08

1+ y ago1:18:08

1:18:08

We return after a long long time. Various commitments kept us busy but we are back with a new season and we couldn't have picked up a better film to start. Hemanth M. Rao's Sapta Saagaradaache Ello - Side A released on September 1st and later on Amazon Prime, and at least for me it is one of the best films of the year from India. A romantic tragedy…

1
On Vinayak Chandrasekaran's Good Night 1:19:58

2y ago1:19:58

1:19:58

The year for Tamil cinema hasn't been all that great so far but then comes along a film like Vinayak Chandrasekaran's Good Night. A superb character study and exploration of dynamics, the film-also written by Vinayak-stars Manikandan, Ramesh Thilak, Meetha Raghunath, Balaji Sakthivel, Raichel Rebecca among others. It also stars stand up comedian, a…

1
On Jeyamohan with Translators Priyamvada & Suchitra 1:33:41

2y ago1:33:41

1:33:41

We are back with an episode on literature. On this episode writers and translators Priyamvada and Suchitra join Deepauk and Aditya to talk about Tamil author and screenplay writer Jeyamohan, and their translations of his works. Priyamvada's translation of Aram titled Stories of the True was published last year. Suchitra's translation of Ezhaam Ulag…

1
Krithika Nelson, Kundavai & Mani Ratnam's Ponniyin Selvan 52:53

2y ago52:53

52:53

As part of The Other Banana's efforts to bring in more technicians to the forefront, we have a special episode with a special guest now that Ponniyin Selvan Part 2 is out and the saga is complete. An effort that's achieved great success and more importantly, provided immense satisfaction and joy to experience on screen. Starring Karthi, Aishwarya R…

1
The Stars Align for Sita Ramam 1:18:57

2y ago1:18:57

1:18:57

We return with a Telugu film, a massive hit from 2022. Just when we thought only male star driven, machismo action films could do well in theatres, we had films based on romance with author backed pairs work their charm at the box office. One was Thiruchitrambalam. The other was Sita Ramam directed by Hani Raghavapudi. Sita Ramam stars Dulquer Salm…

1
Lijo Jose Pellissery's Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam 1:16:51

2y ago1:16:51

1:16:51

Almost everybody agrees Lijo Jose Pellissery's Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam that released mid January of 2023 and on Netflix at the end of February is going to be the Indian film of the year? Why? We thought we'll dig in. Aditya watched it twice in theatres. Deepauk watched it a day before recording of this podcast. And our special guest critic, progr…

1
With Don Palathara and Sherin Catherine: Roy Andersson's A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence 1:06:21

2+ y ago1:06:21

1:06:21

Hello, we are back! After a lengthy break, The Other Banana returns with a new season and with a small change in programming for this opening episode. We have two special guests - filmmaker Don Palathara who's made films such as Shavam, Vith, 1956 Central Travancore, Everything is Cinema joined us to talk about Swedish auteur Roy Andersson's A Pige…

1
On Phani Ramachandra's Gauri Ganesha 1:04:23

2+ y ago1:04:23

1:04:23

At The Other Banana podcast, we are aware that we haven't been paying attention to our Kannada roster as much as the others. In an attempt to address that, we got together some folks who were excited to talk about one of the finest comedies from Kannada cinema. In this episode, Anantha and Ashoka talk about Gauri Ganesha (1991), a film directed by …

1
The Joys of Thiruchitrambalam 53:52

2+ y ago53:52

53:52

Among all the epic star vehicles and action extravaganzas like Pushpa: The Rise, RRR, KGF and Vikram, we had a seemingly little film that became a box office hit. It's not a little film by any means. It has Dhanush, Nithya Menen, Prakash Raj, Bharathiraja in the lead and directed by Mithran Jawahar. The film, Thiruchitrambalam, is just more grounde…

1
On Khalid Rahman's Fascinating Thallumaala 1:04:50

2+ y ago1:04:50

1:04:50

Thallumaala is one of a kind cinema to come out of India this year. A complex screenplay (or storyboard?) structure, a filmmaking style that takes giant leaps of faith and a great rhythmic sense to the narrative coupled with its music make it an immense watch. You watch it and you want to watch it again all over again. The film is written by Muhsin…

1
A Deep Dive into Visu's Samsaram Adhu Minsaram 1:27:03

2+ y ago1:27:03

1:27:03

The podcast returns to Tamil cinema with one of the classics of the 1980s. Produced by AVM and written and directed by Visu, Samsaram Adhu Minsaram, released in 1986, remains one of the most memorable and talked about family dramedies. Starring Lakshmi, Manorama, Raghuvaran, Kishmu, Chandrashekar, Visu, Kamala Kamesh, Delhi Ganesh, Ilavarasi and ot…

1
Doffing the Hat to Sue Stockdale, Explorer, Author and Motivational Speaker 46:42

2+ y ago46:42

46:42

In this episode of Doffing the Hat, Paul Godbold talks to Sue Stockdale, a history-making British woman who started he career in international athletics before becoming the first British woman to ski to the magnetic North Pole. During her career as an explorer, Sue has visited more than seventy countries and has been on expeditions to Kenya, the Ge…

1
30 Years of AR Rahman 1:57:24

3y ago1:57:24

1:57:24

Today is August 15th and on this day in 1992 Mani Ratnam's Roja released. Along with the film arrived a new sound that awed one and all throughout the country. In the next thirty years, this music will unite India the way only cricket often does. Today marks 30 years since AR Rahman broke out. His growth was tremendous and quick, he transcended bor…

1
Vivek Athreya's Ante Sundaraniki 53:03

3y ago53:03

53:03

Vivek Athreya's Ante Sundaraniki released in June to mixed reviews. Telugu cinema is where romantic comedy is thriving and this film was Vivek Athreya's follow up to the immensely popular, hilarious Brochevarevarura. This also had great leads in Nani and Nazriya. While the film failed to click in the box office its Netflix release renewed the debat…

1
Philip Mantle talks UFOs, Alien Life, Abductions, Bob Lazar and the Ariel School Incident 1:36:50

3y ago1:36:50

1:36:50

In this episode of Doffing the Hat, we explore the unexplained, particularly UFOs. The guest on the show is Philip Mantle, a Broadcaster, Lecturer and Speaker, Author and Publisher and the UK's foremost UFO investigator. With Ufology being so broad, we couldn't cover every topic we are sure everyone would've had on their wish list, but Paul and Phi…

1
J Mahendran's Mullum Malarum 49:24

3y ago49:24

49:24

To restore parity after discussing an old Kamal Haasan film we thought we must do a Rajinikanth film. Ok, that's not the reason but we felt this Rajinikanth film must be discussed. This is 1978 and Rajinikanth's early years in Tamil cinema. It's the year he stamped his authority and signaled the coming of a legend of Indian cinema. Mullum Malarum, …

1
Dr Prem Kumar on Bipolar Disorder, Classifications, Symptoms, Treatments, Depression & Mania 1:13:11

3y ago1:13:11

1:13:11

What is Bipolar? Bipolar or Bipolarity is a complicated condition. Many people think they have it without any medical diagnosis but probably don't, and probably, even more, do have it and don't know it yet. In this episode of Doffing the Hat, I talk to one of the world's most knowledgeable minds on the condition, Consultant Neuropsychiatrist, Assoc…

1
The original that inspired a "sequel" - The 1986 Kamal film Vikram 1:19:44

3y ago1:19:44

1:19:44

Lokesh Kanagaraj's Vikram is just a week away and the expectations are immense for the film starring Kamal Haasan, Vijay Sethupathi and Fahadh Faasil. The furor began in late 2020 when they released a teaser revealing the title accompanied by a sampling of one of the greatest title tracks by Ilaiyaraaja - Vikram from the film of the same name that …

1
Venkat Prabhu's Chennai 600028 1:13:23

3y ago1:13:23

1:13:23

A film like Chennai 600028 needs no introduction but here is an attempt anyway - a small gang of first timers and amateurs, however privileged by their industry backgrounds, came together to make a movie on amateur cricket - street cricket to be precise - and male friendship. Venkat Prabhu bandied together Shiva, Premji, Nithin Sathya, Aravind Akas…

1
Sifu George Fitzgerald talks about Martial Arts, Black Belts, Greatest Fighters & Self Defence 1:51:17

3y ago1:51:17

1:51:17

Paul Godbold talks to Sifu George Fitzgerald in this episode of Doffing the Hat. Around the world, labels such as the best martial artist, the world's most dangerous man, and the most formidable fighter are chucked around like confetti. Sifu George is happy to let others lay claim to these titles. As an incredibly modest man, Sif George is content …

1
Psychologist, Dr Audrey Tang talks about Social Media, Mental Health, Wellness and DNA 1:03:45

3y ago1:03:45

1:03:45

In this episode of Doffing the Hat, Paul Godbold talks to Dr Audrey Tang, a British Chartered Psychologist, Motivational Speaker, Author and Wellness Expert. In the conversation, Paul learns about Dr Tang's journey into the field of Psychology, the areas she specialises in and grabs the opportunity to ask her for her professional opinion on several…

1
Tamil Male Stars and Promising Young Filmmakers - How does it work? 1:08:20

3y ago1:08:20

1:08:20

The recent big announcement in Tamil cinema is the collaboration of director Nelson (Kolamaavu Kokila, Doctor, yet to release Beast with Vijay) with Rajinikanth. Since the time Rajinikanth collaborated twice with Pa. Ranjith and once with Karthik Subbaraj, there have always been calls for the biggest stars - meaning male actors who guarantee huge w…

1
The Hiking Bug Podcast #1 32:01

3+ y ago32:01

32:01

Thank you for taking the time to read about the The Hiking Bug Podcast. In this episode, we discuss a wide range of topics. Some of the things covered in this episode include ways to save money, the latest hiking-related news and scientific studies from around the world. What music to listen to on a hike and one of our recent hiking adventures. The…

1
Director Series: Mysskin's Pisaasu 1:19:42

3+ y ago1:19:42

1:19:42

After a long break, we return to our Director Series on Mysskin. In this episode we talk about Mysskin's 2014 film Pisaasu starring Naga, Prayaga Martin, Radha Ravi et al. The film broadly falls under the horror genre but with its filmmaking and inherent philosophy subverts the genre in many different ways. Add to this, Mysskin's next film is a seq…

1
Raj B. Shetty's Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana 57:10

3+ y ago57:10

57:10

As the title suggests, Raj B. Shetty's latest Kannada film Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana contains its share of mythological undertones. But the film is more than just that almost reinventing the gangster drama at an epic scale with very curious passage of character developments. Set in Mangaluru, it tells the story of Hari (Rishab Shetty) and Shiv…

1
Doing It All with Dr. Osose Oboh 54:23

3+ y ago54:23

54:23

Dr. Osose Oboh (@ososee) is currently an Internal Medicine Intern at the Osler Medical Residency Training Program at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. She is the Immediate Past President for the Student National Medical Association, an accomplished photographer, content creator, and world traveler. Osose applied and matriculated into the University of Ca…

1
2021 - The Year in Review 1:34:13

3+ y ago1:34:13

1:34:13

Its a full house for the last pod of the year; all 4 of us talk about movies/series of 2021: what we watched, what we liked, what we didn't and what we hope to see more of in the coming year. It is a freewheeling chat covering regional content from South India and a lit bit from around the world. ...oh and a Happy 2022 from the crew! Participants: …

1
Life Beyond the NFL with Joe Briggs, Esq. 1:10:14

3+ y ago1:10:14

1:10:14

Joe Briggs, Esq. (@joebriggsesq) is a Public Policy Counsel for the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) and the first individual to lead the NFLPA Government Relations Department. Mr. Briggs is also a professor at Georgetown University and often speaks on subjects ranging from politics to sports and everything in between. He is cur…

1
Vijay Kumar's Uriyadi 1:14:14

3+ y ago1:14:14

1:14:14

This episode is brought to you by MUBI, a curated streaming service showing exceptional films from around the globe. Every day, MUBI premieres a new film, each one thoughtfully hand-picked. From new directors to award-winners. Beautiful, interesting, incredible movies—there is always something new to discover. In this episode, we talk about Vijay K…

1
Mani Ratnam's Iruvar 1:05:23

3+ y ago1:05:23

1:05:23

This episode is brought to you by MUBI, a curated streaming service showing exceptional films from around the globe. Every day, MUBI premieres a new film, each one thoughtfully hand-picked. From new directors to award-winners. Beautiful, interesting, incredible movies—there is always something new to discover. After 102 episodes on South Indian cin…

1
Director Series: Padmarajan's Namukku Parkkan Munthirithoppukal 42:30

3+ y ago42:30

42:30

This episode is brought to you by MUBI, a curated streaming service showing exceptional films from around the globe. Every day, MUBI premieres a new film, each one thoughtfully hand-picked. From new directors to award-winners. Beautiful, interesting, incredible movies—there is always something new to discover. At The Other Banana, we continue our s…

1
Anudeep KV's Jathi Ratnalu with Rahul Ravindran 56:00

3+ y ago56:00

56:00

Comedy and romantic comedy is thriving in Telugu cinema. It's not the case with other industries of similar size. This year, cinema theatres briefly opened before the second wave of the pandemic in India and a small film that no one saw coming made a huge splash. It became one of the biggest hits critically and commercially. Maybe it was the timing…

1
Balu Mahendra's Sandhya Raagam with Balaji Tharaneetharan 1:06:42

4y ago1:06:42

1:06:42

We made it to 100. Thanks to all our listeners, no matter if you've listened to one episode or stuck with us this long since 2018 for every one of them! We've enjoyed doing this for the last 3 years and wish to continue the rewarding endeavor. To celebrate the century, we thought the film, the filmmaker and the guest must all be special. So we aske…

1
Sarpatta Parambarai: Writer Tamil Prabha and Editor Selva RK 1:05:50

4y ago1:05:50

1:05:50

At The Other Banana Podcast, we felt that the writing and editing of Pa. Ranjith's latest feature Sarpatta Parambarai (streaming on Amazon Prime) were two of its strongest suits. While every department of the film has worked in wondrous ways in this once in a generation film, we thought it will be fun to get Tamil Prabha (we discussed his novel Pet…

1
Director Series: Mysskin's Onaayum Aattukkuttiyum 1:06:07

4y ago1:06:07

1:06:07

We return to our Mysskin series with his 2013 film - Onaayum Aattukkuttiyum or The Wolf and the Lamb starring Sri, Mysskin, Shaji Chen, Adithya, Baby Chaitanya, Angel Glady et al. The film is a truckload of Mysskin goodies, the Madras after dark shining through as the entire film is events over the course of a single night. It throws up and answers…

1
Director Series: Mysskin's Yuddham Sei 57:13

4y ago57:13

57:13

At The Other Banana Podcast, we begin another series on Director Mysskin. Unlike the earlier director series we'll be delving into a handful of what we consider important or landmark films of the director, not all of them. The series starts with Mysskin's 2011 thriller Yuddham Sei starring Cheran, Dipa Shah, Jayaprakash, YG Mahendran, Lakshmy Ramak…

1
Superpower To Fulfill Your Dreams 1:59

4y ago1:59

1:59

This Podcast is a very special one. It is a motivational and inspirational podcast. In this podcast, I reveal a superpower secret with which everyone can fulfill their dreams. It just starts with a small change.