When Shakuntala sits on a rock, the sweat from her hips imprints the surface, showing her beautiful curves. This imagery is explicitly described by Kalidasa in the original Sanskrit version of Shakuntala. The English version, however, sanitises the sexual imagery and simply references her sitting on the rock. Talking about this Eurocentric approach that treats sex as taboo and dismisses the curvy Indian body type, host Vagmita Singh shares her own ordeals with her weight in the podcast series Shut Up! We’re Talking. Aptly titled Why Do We Hate Our Bodies, this episode sees hosts Singh and Saumya Sahni sit down to discuss body shaming, weight-loss judgment, and more. Even doctors, Sahni observes, are quick to make judgements about weight. “I hate that all my back pain questions are directed towards my weight,” she says, noting how the conversation quickly moves to thyroid problems, PCOS or dieting the moment someone is slightly overweight.
The podcast also moves beyond personal experiences into popular culture. In one episode, the hosts sit down with Pulkit Kochar to talk about cinema and changing social attitudes. They discuss how Amitabh Bachchan’s character in Sholay had to die because widow remarriage was unacceptable in mainstream storytelling at the time. The conversation branches into misogyny in films, shifting audience sensibilities, Bollywood censorship, the copy culture in music, and the recent rise of Malayalam cinema as a creative force.
This kind of honest conversation runs through the podcast series. Across its 13 episodes so far, the podcast positions itself as content by women, for women, discussing issues that are often brushed aside in mainstream conversations. In the episode Pregnancy: Choice or Pressure?, Sahni recalls stories of women being abandoned after giving birth to daughters. Singh adds that she has heard of couples travelling to Thailand to determine the sex of the unborn child and undergoing procedures to ensure a male child. What makes Shut Up! We’re Talking engaging is its easy banter and the willingness of the hosts to share personal stories. The conversations move fluidly between humour, critique and lived experience. By picking everyday issues women navigate—body image, family pressure, relationships and representation in media—the podcast manages to create a space where listeners can recognise their own experiences.
The result is a lively and relatable series that blends cultural commentary with personal reflection. It keeps the tone conversational while touching upon serious themes, making it both entertaining and thought-provoking.
Podcast name: Shut Up! We’re Talking
Host: Vagmita Singh and Saumya Sahni
Platform: YouTube
Genre: Conversational
Language: Hindi, English
Rating: 4.5 stars