Following in the footsteps of Navya Naveli Nanda’s podcast What the Hell Navya, Arbaaz Khan and Malaika Arora’s son Arhaan Khan has floated a limited edition podcast called Dumb Biryani on YouTube.
The 21-year-old has teamed up with his two buddies, Dev Raiyani and Arush Verma, for some random, fun conversations with family members and industry friends. That doesn’t mean you will get new information on celebrity life in the first four episodes that have dropped, but Arhaan is very smart, candid and full of energy in front of the camera. Here’s a peek into the four episodes streaming on YouTube.
In the first episode of Dumb Biryani, Arhaan and his friends squat on the floor for a freewheeling chat with his producer-actor father Arbaaz Khan and uncle Sohail Khan. The men talk about how things were way simpler when the three Khan brothers were growing up.
Arbaaz gives a pep talk on when and how one should get into a serious romantic relationship, why one should make friends while making money, and how the Khan brothers are like close-knit ‘sisters’ who stand by each other no matter what.
The episode could have been crisper as there are a few lull moments around Arbaaz and Sohail’s self-deprecatory humour on marriage and separation.
Episode 1:
In the second episode, Arhaan and Dev play a fun game - Truth and Spice - with their mothers, Malaika Arora and Sarjita Raiyani. This episode is only a little over 13 minutes, but the sudden cuts rob it of its charm. The questions range from Malaika ranking her set of close friends to when the boys lost virginity.
Malaika shares that Arhaan is ‘fair and just’ like his father, but his ‘mannerisms’ and ‘indecisiveness’ are like that of his dad too. When Arhaan asks when, where and to whom his mother is getting married to, Malaika replies, ‘I can’t answer that. I don’t have an answer.’ Arhaan feels his mother works too hard as it’s an ‘escape’ for her and advises her to slow down. When Malaika quizzes her son about the attention around him, Arhaan says, ‘At times, it becomes consuming.’
Episode 2:
The third episode features social media sensation Orry, cooped up in a non-air AC car with Arhaan and his friends, while Mehreen, who is introduced as a racer, drives them around town.
Orry, carrying five iPhones, stops by to drink coconut water and talks about how he has done ‘odd jobs’ of a graphic designer, an accountant, a store assistant and more before becoming ‘famous’. He mispronounces the Ranbir Kapoor-Alia Bhat-starrer blockbuster Brahmastra as Brahmarama and Mouni Roy as Mohini Roy (whom he likes a lot). He also thinks that once a person crosses 25, it’s all one ‘big age’ as 20s are for learning, 30s are for having fun and 40s are all about paying the bills. Though there’s nothing exemplary in the episode, it’s short and fun.
Episode 3:
The fourth episode features two popular Mumbai-based paparazzi — Sneh Kumar Zala and Vishal Mohan — who share nuggets from their daily life. Sneh points out that nobody cares much about the quality of celebrity images as long as they go up fast on Instagram. And three Bollywood couples who bring maximum reach and engagement are Deepika Padukone-Ranveer Singh, Anushka Sharma-Virat Kohli, and Kiara Advani-Sidharth Malhotra.
The duo also reveal some popular celebrity haunts such as gyms, coffee shops, restaurants and production houses. Paparazzis do a full tour of Bandra, Juhu and the airport every day and have to memorise a lot of celebrity car numbers.
Sneh mentions that he and a few others respect the privacy of celebrities and often delete pictures when a celebrity isn’t comfortable. After Raha’s birth, new parents Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt requested photographers to not click their daughter and when they revealed her face to them on Christmas, her pictures went viral. At the end, Arhaan cheekily hints that car drivers of celebrities often tip the paparazzi of their movements and plans.
Episode 4:
