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Overcoming the righteous elitism that plagues the day-to-day operations of Queen is Dead, Amartya, Cris, and Varun convene to discuss the evolution/regression of one of Bombay’s most significant production houses: Yash Raj Films.

More precisely, the decline in YRF’s output is examined through their two major franchises – the Dhoom series and the Spy Universe.

A broad discussion segues into observations about music and themes and filmmaking and dissing QID’s in-house YRF-esque dramatic hero Dhruv Krishna Goyal before arriving at Production #7 of the Spy Universe – Alpha, helmed by Shiv Rawail and starring Alia Bhatt and Sharvari, with support from Anil Kapoor and the re-ascendant Vijay Singh aka Bobby Deol.

Spoilers for two franchises that no one cares about (as per Dhruv).

TIME CODES

Intro - [00:00 - 05:31]

Bottom of the Barrel ("War 2") - [05:31 - 16:30]

The Appeal of the Spyverse (up until "Pathaan") - [16:30 - 24:04]

The Appeal of the "Dhoom" Franchise (Minus "Dhoom 3") - [24:04 - 45:30]

What Happened to the Music?! - [45:30 - 53:46]

The Demise of the Spyverse (post-"Pathaan") - [53:46 - 01:37:00]

The Lethal Ladies (and the Three Bored Audience Members) of "Alpha" - [01:37:00 - 02:29:28]

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

VARUN: https://letterboxd.com/varunoakbhakay/.

AMARTYA: https://letterboxd.com/amartya/.

In our final episode of this year's Pride series, Cris, Dhruv & Ashwin talk about English-language queer films as outsider "trash" art (John Waters' "Pink Flamingos"), genre-subversive art (The Wachowski Sisters' "Bound") & poetic melodramas (Terence Davies' "Benediction").

Much like the previous two eps, this final episode is another attempt to explore the varied aesthetics of queer expression, with form being intrinsically tied to content in shaping what a filmmaker wants to say about queerness in (and through) their film.

Listen to the full episode to hear us discuss John Waters & Divine's infamous "politics of filth" in "Pink Flamingoes," the Wachowskis' play on noir's femme fatale in "Bound," and Terence Davies' personalization (and poeticism) of the otherwise rote historical biopic in "Benediction."

Spoilers, if they count.

TIME CODES

Intro - [00:00 - 03:04]

"Pink Flamingos" (1972) - [03:04 - 36:28]

"Bound" (1996) - [36:28 - 1:02:07]

"Benediction" (2021) - [01:02:07 - 01:46:53]

Outro - [01:46:53 - 01:53:57]

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 follow us on Letterboxd at -

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

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

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

In this second episode (of three) of this year's Pride special series, Cris, Dhruv, Ashwin, and returning guest Prakhar engage with European Queer Cinema through Chantal Akerman's 'The Meetings of Anna', Rainer Werner Fassbinder's 'Querelle', and Alain Guiraudie's 'Stranger by the Lake' and how they navigate asceticism and excess in the landscape of queer misery.

Listen to the full episode for a lot of innuendo (we're blaming Fassbinder for this), academic references (we're blaming Cris for this), and inevitable Bollywood comparisons (we're surprisingly blaming Prakhar for this).

Spoilers, if they count.

TIME CODES

Intro - [00:00 - 03:04]

"The Meetings of Anna" (1978) - [03:04 - 37:45]

"Querelle" (1982) - [37:45 - 1:18:09]

"Stranger by the Lake" (2013) - [01:18:09 - 01:59:13]

Outro - [01:59:13 - 02:05:39]

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.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Leo Bersani's "Is the Rectum a Grave?" (1987): https://web.english.upenn.edu/~cavitch/pdf-library/Bersani_Rectum.pdf

You can (and should!) follow Prakhar at - ⁠https://www.instagram.com/she_isatthemovies⁠.

You can follow us on Letterboxd at -

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

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

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