Queen is Dead - A Film, TV and Culture Podcast

Hello, Hello, Hello!

We're back after a month-long hiatus with our podcast episodes -- which will be coming regularly to you from now on, at least until the end of 2025's Awards Season.

Rather than doing our annual "Best of" & "Oscar Season Movie Catch-Ups", we've decided to do a series of Year-end Round-ups of some of the most talked about films in 2025. These will cover many of the titles up for awards consideration -- and hopefully many more titles that perhaps didn't make the nominations list but were still relevant (either in public discourse, or, more significantly, personal favorites).

We'll be releasing the Round-Up Eps for English Language Features first, since most of the titles we have discussed are now readily available for listeners to watch online.

This first (of three) English-Language Features Round-Up is mainly focused on covering films either directed by women -- or, at least, on films entirely centered around them. This includes fairly in-depth discussions on Lynne Ramsay's "Die My Love," Mary Bronstein's "If I Had Legs, I'd Kick You," Nia DaCosta's "Hedda," Yorgos Lanthimos' "Bugonia," Mona Fastvold's "The Testament of Ann Lee," and (briefly) John M Chu's "Wicked (Not) For Good."

The last film listed here also prompts our token Queer representative, Cris, to do a quickfire Queer Film Round-Up for 2025, which most extensively covers Ira Sachs's "Peter Hujar's Day."

Listen to the full episode to hear more about our apprehension in talking about "women-oriented films," Cris and Ashwin's problems with John M. Chu's direction of the "Wicked" films, THAT "Bugonia" ending & much, much more!

TIME CODES

QID Ep. Release Plan for Jan/Feb/March – [00:00 - 07:09]

Introduction – [07:09 - 08:49]

“Die My Love” – [08:49 - 33:41]

“If I Had Legs, I'd Kick You” – [33:41 - 53:45]

“Hedda” – [53:45 - 01:09:17]

“Bugonia” (MAJOR SPOILERS!) – [01:09:17 - 01:35:33]

INTERVAL (aka Auteurial Digression) – [01:35:33 - 01:38:22]

“The Testament of Ann Lee” – [01:38:22 - 02:03:52]

"Wicked (Not) For Good" – [02:03:52 - 02:18:01]

"Peter Hujar's Day" – [02:18:01 - 02:37:22]

Cris' Rapid Fire Queer Film Round-Up – [02:37:22 - 02:50:31]

Outro (aka More Recommendations!) - [02:50:31 - 02:59:49]

Do hit 'Follow' on Spotify if you haven't already to helpthe podcast reach more people!

Follow our Instagram page:https://instagram.com/queenisdead.filmpodcast

Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/queenisdead/support

You can also follow us on Letterboxd at -

CRIS: https://letterboxd.com/crislim/.

ASHWIN: https://letterboxd.com/ashwindev/.

DHRUV: https://letterboxd.com/aterminalcinema/.

Audio Excerpts are taken from the respective trailers (promotional material) of Die My Love, If I Had Legs, I'd Kick You, Hedda, Bugonia, The Testament of Ann Lee, Wicked: For Good, and Peter Hujar's Day.

We know we're late to the party, but we had to talk about Paul Thomas Anderson's "One Battle After Another" and all of the discourse surrounding it, or at least try to.

Dhruv is joined by (much to his dismay) Varun and his "crime-in-partner" Cris in this endeavour as they tackle one wonder after another (sorry, the title is just unendingly pun-able) that the filmmaking presents, as well as some reservations they have with it. They also try (and mostly succeed at) not being too condescending as they discuss the online buzz around the film since its wide release.

Listen to the full episode and join in on (or disagree with us over) this lowkey gush-fest!

Do hit 'Follow' on Spotify if you haven't already to help the podcast reach more people!

Follow our Instagram page: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://instagram.com/queenisdead.filmpodcast.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

QID LINKTREE: https://linktr.ee/queenisdead.

TIME CODES

Intro & Shenanigans: [00:00:00 - 00:05:25]

"One Battle After Another": [00:05:25 - 01:31:42]

Discourse (from Hell): [01:31:42 - 02:12:50]

Follow us on Instagram at:

Dhruv: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/terminalcinema/⁠⁠

Varun: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/varunonfilm/⁠⁠

Cris: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/prdscris/⁠⁠

Follow us on Letterboxd at:

Varun: ⁠⁠https://letterboxd.com/varunoakbhakay/⁠⁠

Dhruv: ⁠⁠https://letterboxd.com/aterminalcinema/⁠⁠

Cris: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://letterboxd.com/crislim/⁠⁠

We recorded an episode about our favorite Paul Thomas Anderson films before the theatrical release of his new film, "One Battle After Another," but are only now releasing it post its online release as a "pre-game" discussion to our episode on OBAA.

We track his auteurist trajectory — from the bombastic and tightly constructed "Magnolia" to a more loose-limbed work like "Licorice Pizza" — and discuss why the shift towards a seemingly freer form appeals to us more than the early days of his (incredibly) impressive but demonstratively flashy filmmaking.

Listen to the full, spoiler-filled episode to hear Sanjeet, Cris, Dhruv, and the ⁠Cinematic Liberties⁠ Podcast Guys -- Arjun & Ashwin -- discuss their favorite PTA films and (correctly) speculate OBAA's box office fate!

You can (and should!) follow -

⁠⁠CINEMATIC LIBERTIES PODCAST⁠⁠

Do hit 'Follow' on Spotify if you haven't already to help the podcast reach more people!

Follow our Instagram page: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://instagram.com/queenisdead.filmpodcast.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

QID LINKTREE: https://linktr.ee/queenisdead.

TIME CODES

OBAA Speculation: [00:00 - 03:06]

Introduction: [03:06 - 05:49]

"Magnolia" (& Early PTA): [05:49 - 30:36]

"Punch-Drunk Love" (The Breaking Point): [30:36 - 48:21]

"There Will Be Blood": [48:21 - 01:04:52]

"The Master": [01:04:52 - 01:17:27]

The Thomas Pynchon Connection: [01:17:27 - 01:21:44]

"Phantom Thread": [01:21:44 - 01:41:47]

"Licorice Pizza" (& Late PTA): [01:41:47 - 02:07:08]

Outro & OBAA Speculation (again!): [02:07:08 - 02:13:35]

You can also follow us on Letterboxd at -

SANJEET: https://letterboxd.com/sanjeet_singh/.

CRIS: https://letterboxd.com/crislim/.

ARJUN: https://letterboxd.com/arjun_skumar1/.

ASHWIN: https://letterboxd.com/ashwindev/.

DHRUV: https://letterboxd.com/aterminalcinema/.

We're [now] 4 months late to the BEST OF (SO FAR) party because, well, just.

The format we've been using for the past two years is as follows: rather than simply listing our favorite films of the year, we categorize them in the same way [insert any Award show name] categorizes them.

Part 2, which was meant to be an hour long but also ended up being over 2 hours, will include discussions on our choices for "Best Director," "Best Film," "WTF (Affectionate) Film of the Year," and "Best Screenplay."

Do listen and let us know -- amicably, of course -- how much you (dis)agree with us!

TIME CODES

Introduction - [00:00:00 - 00:07:48]

Best Screenplay - [00:07:48 - 00:49:00]

Best Director - [00:49:00 - 01:39:05]

WTF (Affectionate) Film of the Year - [01:39:05 - 02:30:17]

Best Film - [02:30:17 - 02:47:25]

Outro - [02:47:25 - 02:51:56]

Follow our Instagram page: https://instagram.com/queenisdead.filmpodcast.

QID LINKTREE: ⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/queenisdead⁠⁠⁠.

Follow us on Instagram at:

Adithiyan:⁠⁠ https://www.instagram.com/curioseradithiyan/.⁠⁠

Amartya:⁠⁠ https://www.instagram.com/amartya25/.⁠⁠

Dhruv: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/terminalcinema/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Aryan: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/aryantalksfilm/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Cris: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/prdscris/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow us on Letterboxd at:

Adithiyan: ⁠⁠https://letterboxd.com/curioseradi/⁠⁠.

Amartya: ⁠⁠https://letterboxd.com/amartya/⁠⁠.

Dhruv: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://letterboxd.com/aterminalcinema/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Aryan: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://letterboxd.com/aryantalksfilms/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Cris: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://letterboxd.com/crislim/⁠⁠⁠

All Audio Excerpts may not have been used under the “Fair Use Provisions” of the Indian Copyright Act because Cris loves "Badass Ravi Kumar" that much.

Hello Hello Hello! Bond fan(atics) - Varun, Amartya and Sanjeet get together to discuss Timothy Dalton's interpretation of James Bond in The Living Daylights (1987) and Licence to Kill (1989). Timothy Dalton has often been noted for bringing a darker, more serious, and gritty portrayal of the character that emphasized the realism from Ian Fleming's novels; a departure from the more lighthearted style of Roger Moore.

They also discuss their hopes and expectations for Denis Villeneuve's upcoming Bond film set to release in a few years and speculate the future of the franchise.

TIME CODES

Introduction - [00:00:00 - 00:10:00]

Timothy Dalton as Bond - [00:10:01 - 00:25:00]

"The Living Daylights" - [00:25:01 - 01:06:22]

"Licence to Kill" - [01:06:23 - 01:37:00]

"Future of James Bond" - [01:37:01 - 02:05:06]

Outro - [02:05:07 - 02:14:53]

Follow our Instagram page: https://instagram.com/queenisdead.filmpodcast.

QID LINKTREE: https://linktr.ee/queenisdead

All Audio Excerpts have been used under the “Fair Use Provisions” of the Indian Copyright Act.

Dhruv and Cris meet Devarsi again outside the industrial hellscape of "Eraserhead" -- this time travelling alongside two new (hopefully recurring!) podcast guests, Rushnan and Vani -- on Lynch's "Lost Highway" to psychosexual hell.

Listen to the full episode to hear us not only discuss Lynch's film in detail but also explore the myriad of seemingly oppositional ways -- from deeply subjective to almost clinically objective -- the film appeals to us.

Major spoilers, of course, for "Lost Highway."

TIME CODES

Introduction : [00:00 - 09:42]

"Lost Highway": [09:42 - 01:18:20]

Outro: [01:18:20 - 01:19:27]

TEXT REFERENCED REPEATEDLY HERE

"Room to Dream" (David Lynch & Kristine McKenna).

"Premonitions Following an Evil Deed" (David Lynch, 1995).

"The Eye of the Duck" (Mark Cousins' David Lynch Interview).

Do hit 'Follow' on Spotify if you haven't already to help the podcast reach more people!

Follow our Instagram page: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://instagram.com/queenisdead.filmpodcast.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

You can watch Rushnan's 17-minute experimental short film, "The Angel of Forms" (2023) on Vimeo for free.

You can also follow us on Instagram at:

VANI: https://www.instagram.com/uwu_vani/.

DEVARSI: https://www.instagram.com/devarsighosh/.

RUSHNAN: https://www.instagram.com/rushnanjaleel/.

CRIS: https://www.instagram.com/prdscris/.

DHRUV: https://www.instagram.com/terminalcinema/.

You can also follow us on Letterboxd at -

DEVARSI: https://letterboxd.com/d2dag/.

CRIS: https://letterboxd.com/crislim/.

DHRUV: https://letterboxd.com/aterminalcinema/.

August and September were the lucky months for some Indian cinephiles who crave an alternate form of cinema (i.e., indie) to the mainstream one they have to endure for the rest of the time in cinemas.

In this episode, Sanjeet, Amartya, Cris & Dhruv (in a not-so-special appearance) catch up to 4 of these films that released in limited cinemas between these two months.

Since Neeraj Ghaywan's "Homebound" is the most high-profile of these releases (it is India's submission to the Academy Awards for Best International Feature), we spend the most time (occasionally delving into spoilers) debating the value (or lack thereof) of its indie-ness.

The rest of the episode involves Sanjeet promoting Raam Reddy's indescribably beautiful "Jugnuma," Amartya and Cris trying -- unsuccessfully -- to convince Sanjeet to watch the theoretically sound but undeveloped "Humans in the Loop," and all three of them lavishing a lot of praise on Rohan Parashuram Kanawade's tender "Sabar Bonda."

Note: We apologize for the audio leak issues that occurred during the first part of the episode. We only noticed this after the "Homebound" discussion was over, so the second half sounds cleaner than the first. Though we like to think that Dhruv's dislike of "Homebound" is what will make people fast-forward through this part of the episode, and not the audio quality.

TIME CODES

Introduction - [00:00:00 - 00:02:28]

"Homebound" - [00:02:28 - 01:08:22]

"Sabar Bonda" - [01:08:22 - 01:38:18]

"Humans in the Loop" - [01:38:18 - 01:54:06]

"Jugnuma" - [01:54:06 - 02:05:03]

Indie Distribution & Exhibition - [02:05:03 - 02:19:08]

Follow our Instagram page: https://instagram.com/queenisdead.filmpodcast.

QID LINKTREE: ⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/queenisdead⁠⁠⁠.

Follow us on Instagram at:

Sanjeet: https://www.instagram.com/pixel_baba/

Amartya:⁠⁠ https://www.instagram.com/amartya25/.⁠⁠

Dhruv: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/terminalcinema/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Cris: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/prdscris/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow us on Letterboxd at:

Sanjeet: https://letterboxd.com/Sanjeet_Singh/

Amartya: ⁠⁠https://letterboxd.com/amartya/⁠⁠.

Dhruv: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://letterboxd.com/aterminalcinema/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Cris: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://letterboxd.com/crislim/⁠⁠⁠

All Audio Excerpts have been used under the “Fair Use Provisions” of the Indian Copyright Act.

We're 3 months late to the BEST OF (SO FAR) party because, well, just.

The format we've been using for the past two years is as follows: rather than simply listing our favorite films of the year, we categorize them in the same way [insert any Award show name] categorizes them.

Because we like to ramble a lot, Part 1 of the Best of 2025 (So Far) focuses on our in-depth discussions of film technique ("Best Editing," "Best Cinematography," etc), performance ("Best Lead Performance," "Best Supporting Performance"), and "Best Scene."

Part 2, which was meant to be an hour long but also ended up being over 2 hours, will include discussions on our choices for "Best Director," "Best Film," "WTF (Affectionate) Film of the Year," and "Best Screenplay."

Do listen and let us know -- amicably, of course -- how much you (dis)agree with us!

TIME CODES

Introduction - [00:00:00 - 00:03:42]

Best Editing - [00:03:42 - 00:41:37]

Best Cinematography - [00:41:37 - 01:26:56]

Best Song/Music - [01:26:56 - 02:16:26]

Best Scene - [02:16:26 - 02:38:20]

Best Supporting Performance - [02:38:20 - 02:56:08]

Best Performance - [02:56:08 - 03:19:08]

Impromptu Outro - [03:19:08 - 03:22:31]

Follow our Instagram page: https://instagram.com/queenisdead.filmpodcast.

QID LINKTREE: ⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/queenisdead⁠⁠.

Follow us on Instagram at:

Adithiyan:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/curioseradithiyan/.⁠

Amartya:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/amartya25/.⁠

Dhruv: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/terminalcinema/⁠⁠⁠

Aryan: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/aryantalksfilm/⁠⁠⁠

Cris: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/prdscris/⁠⁠⁠

Follow us on Letterboxd at:

Adithiyan: ⁠https://letterboxd.com/curioseradi/⁠.

Amartya: ⁠https://letterboxd.com/amartya/⁠.

Dhruv: ⁠⁠⁠https://letterboxd.com/aterminalcinema/⁠⁠⁠

Aryan: ⁠⁠⁠https://letterboxd.com/aryantalksfilms/⁠⁠⁠

Cris: ⁠⁠⁠https://letterboxd.com/crislim/⁠⁠

All Audio Excerpts may not have been used under the “Fair Use Provisions” of the Indian Copyright Act because Cris loves "Badass Ravi Kumar" that much.

Amartya and Dhruv had been desperately waiting for Spike Lee's latest film to release, only because they wanted an excuse to go back and revisit Akira Kurosawa's incredibly influential 1963 classic, "High and Low."

This episode -- promoted as an extended deep dive into Spike Lee's exasperatingly absurd (mostly in an amusingly bad way) "Highest 2 Lowest" -- is, in actuality, very much an excuse for both Amartya and Dhruv to also wax lyrical about Kurosawa's original.

Listen to the full episode to hear their full spoilerific thoughts on both Kurosawa's original version and Lee's interpretation of it -- and why the 2 (memorable) highs of the latter don't outmatch its (2) many lows.

TIME CODES

Highs & Lows of Film Criticism: [00:00 - 11:09]

For the Impatient Ones: [11:09 - 14:43]

Akira Kurosawa's "High and Low": [14:43 - 56:49]

Spike Lee's "Highest 2 Lowest": [56:49 - 01:39:11]

Outro: [01:39:11 - 01:44:36]

Do hit 'Follow' on Spotify and rate us if you haven't already to help the podcast reach more people!

Follow our Instagram page:

https://instagram.com/queenisdead.filmpodcast

You can also follow us on Instagram at:

Amartya: https://www.instagram.com/amartya25/

Dhruv: https://www.instagram.com/terminalcinema/

On Letterboxd at:

Dhruv: https://letterboxd.com/aterminalcinema/

Amartya: https://letterboxd.com/amartya/

Long gone are the days when Dhruv and Sanjeet talked about QID not being a platform for ranting about films we hate.

What was supposed to merely be a (fun) category addition to our Best of 2025 (So Far) List took about an hour of discussion, which made our already super-sized episode even more (probably unbearably) long.

So Cris -- who proudly claims this to be "his episode -- has dutifully edited this section of our otherwise 4-hour-long discussion into a one-hour episode of its own.

Listen to the full episode to hear Amartya, Cris, Dhruv, Aryan & Adithiyan ranting :)

TIME CODES

Introduction - [00:00 - 05:30]

Cris ("Badass RK" & "Param Sundari") - [05:30 - 19:30]

Dhruv ("Nadaaniyan") - [19:30 - 27:40]

Aryan ("Bhool Chuk Maaf") - [27:40 - 34:50]

Adithiyan ("Thug Life") - [34:50 - 46:15]

Amartya ("Star Trek: Section 31") - [46:15 - 59:20]

Follow our Instagram page: https://instagram.com/queenisdead.filmpodcast.

QID LINKTREE: ⁠https://linktr.ee/queenisdead⁠.

Follow us on Instagram at:

Adithiyan: https://www.instagram.com/curioseradithiyan/.

Amartya: https://www.instagram.com/amartya25/.

Dhruv: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/terminalcinema/⁠⁠

Aryan: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/aryantalksfilm/⁠⁠

Cris: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/prdscris/⁠⁠

Follow us on Letterboxd at:

Adithiyan: https://letterboxd.com/curioseradi/.

Amartya: https://letterboxd.com/amartya/.

Dhruv: ⁠⁠https://letterboxd.com/aterminalcinema/⁠⁠

Aryan: ⁠⁠https://letterboxd.com/aryantalksfilms/⁠⁠

Cris: ⁠⁠https://letterboxd.com/crislim/⁠

All Audio Excerpts are used under the “Fair Use Provisions” of the Indian Copyright Act.