Queen is Dead - A Film, TV and Culture Podcast

In this episode, Dhruv, Amartya, Ahendrila, and Aryan share thier pain, anger, frustration, exasperation, and annoyance for the biggest Hindi-language film of the year.

In this QID reunion, Dhruv, Aryan, and Amartya welcome back Lord Sanjeet to discuss a film that itself feels like a reinvigoration of the Hollywood spectacle. Critically, though, from a revisionist African American perspective.

In the first, totally uncensored part of the episode, Dhruv, Aryan, and Amartya decide which version is better - the Spanish-language time-travel/murder-mystery thriller on Netflix - "Mirage" - or its official Indian remake, "Dobaaraa." By discussing both films individually and then detailing the minor (but integral) differences between the two films, they try to convince each other which version is the most effective.

In this very special episode, Dhruv welcomes Filmstagrammer Devi, the voice behind the incredible page "film.trance," to discuss three of their favorite films that cleverly ride the line between art-house and mainstream cinema. Especially focusing on Bong-Joon Ho's "Parasite," they both gush about the meticulous construction of these films that help them dissect class division through their narratives vs. preachy expositions.

In this very special episode, Dhruv welcomes returning guest Simon Ezra to talk about a film movement recommended by one of our listeners! We try to make sense of the origin of this Danish film movement, its absurdly strict rules (courtesy Lars Von Trier & Thomas Vinterberg), its flailing reputation, its influences, and some of its most seminal films.

In this very special episode, Dhruv and Amartya welcome High on Films writer Ahendrila Goswami to talk about some essential feminist film theory and then apply it to two special films that they feel establish a different form of looking compared to mainstream cinema - Shoojit Sircar & Juhi Chaturvedi's "Piku," & Mira Nair and Sooni Taraporevala's adaptation of Jhumpa Lahiri's "The Namesake."

In this episode, Dhruv and Aryan welcome cine-enthusiast and writer Sudeshna Oruganti to use Dharma Production's latest release, "JugJugg Jeeyo," as a springboard to talk about the state of comedy in the modern-day Hindi film industry. Using Hrishikesh Mukherjee's 1975 film, "Chupke Chupke," as an example of a "clean comedy," they question if it is possible to make a low-stakes, escapist comedy in today's politically charged climate.

In this episode, Sanjeet, Dhruv, Aryan, and returning guest, Shashwat discuss their three favorite films of the year (up till and including July). Not limited to any particular language or industry, this discussion gives you a wide variety of films from all over the world that fascinated us in ways that we had not anticipated.

In this episode, Sanjeet and Dhruv welcome Arijit back to continue their trek through Horror-Ville. This time they are venturing into the deep dark tunnel of contemporary art-house horror, first discussing their introduction to it and the general reception towards it nowadays.

In this latest episode, Dhruv and Sanjeet welcome back Ashwani Kumar Tiwari (critic at High on Films) for a "spiritual sequel" to their previously recorded episode on director Anubhav Sinha. They discuss the successes and failings of his latest film, aNEk, and how it stacks up against his previous three efforts - Mulk, Article 15, Thappad.