Param Sundari
Romance, Drama, Comedy (Hindi)
In Kerala's picturesque backwaters, a North Indian and South Indian find unexpected love. Their cultural differences spark a hilarious and chaotic romance, full of twists and turns. (more…)
Guild Reviews
A House of Dynamite
Thriller, War (English)
When a single, unattributed missile is launched at the United States, a race begins to determine who is responsible and how to respond.
Cast:
Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson, Gabriel Basso, Jared Harris, Tracy Letts, Anthony Ramos, Moses Ingram, Jonah Hauer-King, Greta Lee, Jason Clarke
Director:
Kathryn Bigelow
Writer:
Noah Oppenheim
Mon, November 3 2025
Takes the tension to claustrophobic levels... and then fizzles out
Tue, October 28 2025
There is nothing wrong with an inconclusive ending. Many popular films — some even cult classics, without a shred of doubt — have ended on a note that invites speculation many decades later. Think The Shining. Think Donnie Darko. Think The Inception. But what about an ending which is not really an ending, ambiguous or otherwise? One which builds its tension to claustrophobic levels in the first hour and then allows it to inexplicably dissipate in the next? A House of Dynamite — Kathryn Bigelow’s latest look at how we could be seconds away from being wiped out of existence in this age of nuclear weaponry — is that kind of film. As one review aptly noted about this film — A House of Dynamite is good… until it isn’t.
Diés Iraé
Horror, Thriller (Malayalam)
Rohan's affluent lifestyle spirals out of control as he becomes convinced there is a supernatural entity in his home. As he starts to uncover the mystery, he is drawn into unexpected worlds and alliances, along with the horrors that lie ahead.
Cast:
Pranav Mohanlal, Gibin Gopinath, Swathi Das Prabhu, Manohari Joy, Arun Ajikumar, Jaya Kurup, Athulya Chandra, Sushmitha Bhat, Saiju Kurup, Sreedhanya Thekkedath
Director:
Rahul Sadasivan
Writer:
Rahul Sadasivan
A Relentless, Unnerving Psychological Drama From Rahul Sadasivan
Mon, November 3 2025
“Ghosting” is not a term one should ever have used casually when you’re in the same room as director Rahul Sadasivan. Not only does this modern master of horror look at the word differently but he’s also capable of writing an entire screenplay based on how he understands this piece of Gen-Z lingo. This understanding is especially relevant given how he’s made another film about three people just like he did with Bhoothakalam and Bramayugam. And If Bhoothakalam used depression as its central theme to discuss generational trauma passing on from grandmother to grandson, Bramayugam used its three central characters to talk about class and caste divide systemic to Kerala.
Rahul Sadasivan Can Do No Wrong
Mon, November 3 2025
Jump scares, genuine chills make Pranav Mohanlal's film a winner
Sun, November 2 2025
‘Bhoothakaalam’ and ‘Baramayugam’ are two promising horror films that came from Malayalam cinema and also found their audience across the country. These two horror films in particular introduced director Rahul Sadasivan to the world, who, with his penchant for the genre, crafted two brilliant masterpieces that earned the love of the audience. Especially when horror has almost become a joke in Indian cinema, he is back with his third horror film offering, ‘Dies Irae’.
Aaryan
Action, Thriller, Crime (Tamil)
A struggling writer announces he'll commit the perfect crime, sparking a tense pursuit as police try to prevent his methodically planned killing spree.
Cast:
Vishnu Vishal, Shraddha Srinath, Selvaraghavan, Maanasa Chaudhary, Avinash, Jayakumar, Manoj beads, Jeeva Subramanian, Udhayabanu Mageswaran
Director:
Praveen K.
Writer:
Praveen K.
Vishnu Vishal stars in murder mystery that murders its own logic
Sun, November 2 2025
A good murder mystery and investigation thriller depends solely on the stakes and the balance between hunter and hunted. The film is uplifted when the cop investigating the crime is shown to be equally brilliant as the killer he’s chasing. Vishnu Vishal’s ‘Aaryan’ is one such murder investigation thriller that relies on the brilliance of its characters. But the big question is, does it achieve this balance? Let’s find out!
Long, Flabby But Engaging
Fri, October 31 2025
There are several ways in which Praveen K gets you to think — and then rethink — the de facto norms of a serial-killer thriller. At about the 20-minute mark in Aaryan, the film has already revealed everything we usually wait to be told in stories of this genre. Not only does the setup end with the film plainly telling us the identity of the serial killer, but it also concludes with this person being given the biggest punishment imaginable. With the whodunit element taken away, Aaryan gets the rare chance to focus on the reasons why a person decides to become a serial killer, and the unique modus operandi that has the entire force running from pillar to post.
Black Phone 2
Horror, Thriller (English)
Four years after escaping The Grabber, Finney Blake is struggling with his life after captivity. When his sister Gwen begins receiving calls in her dreams from the black phone and seeing disturbing visions of three boys being stalked at a winter camp, the siblings become determined to solve the mystery and confront a killer who has grown more powerful in death and more significant to them than either could imagine.
Cast:
Ethan Hawke, Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, Demián Bichir, Miguel Mora, Jeremy Davies, Arianna Rivas, Maev Beaty, Graham Abbey, James Ransone
Director:
Scott Derrickson
Writer:
Scott Derrickson, C. Robert Cargill
How did the Grabber really return from hell?
Sun, November 2 2025
When hell itself is unable to stop its villain from calling collect, you know a horror franchise just got even more interesting. The Grabber calls back from the afterlife this time, and now he is even more dangerous. Did you think Ethan Hawke’s mask and mallet-clad serial killer was terrifying? Wait till you see what he can do now that he’s dead. This is a callback that we didn’t particularly want addressed, but here we are. Let’s dive into Black Phone 2 story and ending, both of which are explained here.
Single Salma
Comedy, Family (Hindi)
A woman from Lucknow, India, who has dedicated her life to supporting her family, yet continues to be identified as single and “unsettled” due to remaining unmarried.
Cast:
Huma Qureshi, Shreyas Talpade, Sunny Singh, Eleanor Williams, Kanwaljit Singh, Navni Parihar, Prabhat Kumar Lahiri, Nidhi Singh, Lauren Gottlieb, Sharon Drain
Director:
Nachiket Samant
Writer:
Ravi Kumar, Amina Khan
कंगना की 'क्वीन' जैसी दमदार तो नहीं, पर असरदार जरूर है हुमा कुरैशी की फिल्म
Sun, November 2 2025
हमारे समाज में लड़की तीस की हो जाए, तो घर-परिवार क्या, गांव-जवार, मुहल्ले-रिश्तेदार हर किसी को उसकी शादी की चिंता सताने लगती है। फुसफुसाहट तेज हो जाती है कि इतनी बड़ी उम्र की लड़की से कौन करेगा शादी? इसी रिलेटेबल विषय पर केंद्रित है, हुमा कुरैशी स्टारर फिल्म ‘सिंगल सलमा’, जो लड़कियों के अस्तित्व से जुड़े कई और मुद्दों को पुरजोर तरीके से उठाती है।
Bahubali: The Epic
Action, Drama (Telugu)
When a mysterious child is found by a tribal couple near a roaring waterfall, they raise him as their own. As he grows, Sivudu is drawn to the world beyond the cliffs, where he discovers the ancient kingdom of Mahishmati, ruled by a cruel tyrant, haunted by rebellion, and bound to his past. What begins as a quest for love soon unravels a legacy of betrayal, sacrifice, and a forgotten prince.
Cast:
Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Anushka Shetty, Ramya Krishnan, Sathyaraj, Nassar, Subbaraju, Tamannaah Bhatia, Rohini, Tanikella Bharani
Director:
S. S. Rajamouli
Writer:
S. S. Rajamouli, Madhan Karky, Deva Katta
SS Rajamouli’s grand vision and storytelling still stand tall a decade later
Sun, November 2 2025
To call this a review required careful thought. Strictly speaking, it is a re-release — marking a decade since Baahubali: The Beginning first hit theatres in 2015. But this is no ordinary re-release. After undergoing the required technical upgrades to meet current digital projection standards, the 225-minute-long Baahubali: The Epic arrives as a digitally remastered and re-edited film that condenses both parts of the Baahubali saga into a whole.
Hedda
Drama, Thriller, Romance (English)
Hedda Gabler finds herself torn between the lingering ache of a past love and the quiet suffocation of her present life. Over the course of one charged night, long-repressed desires and hidden tensions erupt—pulling her and everyone around her into a spiral of manipulation, passion, and betrayal.
Cast:
Tessa Thompson, Nina Hoss, Imogen Poots, Nicholas Pinnock, Tom Bateman, Finbar Lynch, Mirren Mack, Jamael Westman, Saffron Hocking, Kathryn Hunter
Director:
Nia DaCosta
Writer:
Nia DaCosta
Ibsen’s ‘female Hamlet’ in new light
Sun, November 2 2025
Classic text, a terrific performance not just by its lead heroine Tessa Thompson but other actors too, writing which is both faithful to the original plot and takes its own leap of faith and imagination — ‘Hedda’ is certainly not your average film. Neither is it a frame-by-frame adaptation of the OG. Reimagining famed Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen’s play ‘Hedda Gabler’, giving it a queer spin, ‘Hedda’ is obviously held together by its titular character.
Good Boy
Horror, Thriller (English)
A loyal dog moves to a rural family home with his owner Todd, only to discover supernatural forces lurking in the shadows. As dark entities threaten his human companion, the brave pup must fight to protect the one he loves most.
Cast:
Indy, Shane Jensen, Larry Fessenden, Arielle Friedman, Stuart Rudin, Anya Krawcheck, Max, Hunter Goetz, Noah Manzoor
Director:
Ben Leonberg
Writer:
Alex Cannon, Ben Leonberg
Who really was the dark figure haunting Todd and Indy?
Fri, October 31 2025
Ever found yourself watching a horror movie and thinking: “Man, the dog knows something we don’t”? If so, then the Good Boy horror movie is tailor-made for you. Helmed by debutant Ben Leonberg, it’s a genuinely fresh spin on the genre. It is told from a narrator who barks (well, mostly whines) instead of speaking and wags instead of walking away. (And yes, your dog will now stare at random corners for entirely justified reasons.) Let’s dive into the Good Boy horror movie story and ending, which are both explained here.
Ballad of a Small Player
Mystery, Thriller, Crime, Drama (English)
Amid the glittering casinos of Macau, a gambler running from his past — and his debts — becomes fascinated by an enigmatic woman at the baccarat table.
Cast:
Colin Farrell, Fala Chen, Tilda Swinton, Deanie Ip, Alex Jennings, Jason Tobin, Adrienne Lau, Anthony Wong Chau-Sang, Jessica Lai, Margaret Cheung
Director:
Edward Berger
(Writing for Scroll.in)
Visually dazzling film never quite hits the emotional jackpot
Thu, October 30 2025
Edward Berger makes a dramatic and thematic shift from his previous movie Conclave with Ballad of a Small Player. Conclave was a taut, fictional feature about the secretive papal elections at the Vatican. Ballad of a Small Player, which is out on Netflix, is an occasionally tense, atmospheric and over-stylised character study set in Macau’s glittering gambling halls. Adapted by screenwriter Rowan Joffe from Lawrence Osborne’s 2014 novel, the film explores cycles of addiction and greed against a backdrop of ritual, superstition and neon decadence. Colin Farrell plays Lord Doyle, a British gambler with mounting debts and a troubled past.
Down Cemetry Road
Drama, Crime, Mystery (English)
When a child goes missing in the aftermath of a house explosion, a concerned neighbor teams up with a private investigator to find them. As secrets unravel and a military conspiracy emerges, all hell is unleashed on South Oxford's sleepy suburbs.
Cast:
Emma Thompson, Ruth Wilson, Adeel Akhtar, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Tom Goodman-Hill, Darren Boyd, Tom Riley, Adam Godley, Sinead Matthews, Ken Nwosu
Emma Thompson, Ruth Wilson's British Conspiracy Thriller Ticks All The Right Boxes
Wed, October 29 2025
The eight-episode series, Down Cemetery Road, has a conspiracy plot that rivals another Apple TV show, Slow Horses. The similarities arise since both are adapted from author Mick Herron’s books. In this current series set in Oxford, a concerned neighbour finds herself being gaslit by those around her and stumbles upon a larger cover-up. Led by stalwart British talents Emma Thompson and Ruth Wilson, the twisty will keep you on the edge until its satisfying finale.
Avihitham
Comedy (Malayalam)
In a village full of men and gossip about affairs, the narrative reveals how society absurdly judges and monitors women's identities.
Cast:
Unni Raja, Renji Kankol, Rakesh Ushar, Dhanesh Koliyat, Vineeth Vasudevan, Vrindha Menon, Ajith Punnad, Unnikrishnan Parappa, Aneesh Chemmarathi, Vijisha Nileshwaram
Director:
Senna Hegde
Writer:
Senna Hegde, Ambareesh Kalathera
Secrets and scandals in sleepy Kanhangad
Wed, October 29 2025
Senna Hegde’s Avihitham opens with the tagline “Made in Kanhangad.” Where is Kanhangad? And what makes anything made there special, let alone a film? For those who discovered Malayalam cinema during the lockdown, the state might seem like a uniform patchwork of modern ideas and shared sensibilities. Avihitham, which examines adultery, is steeped in its local dialect, landscape, and cultural texture. It can very much amuse someone from Kerala’s Kottayam or Kollam despite never being a utopia. What remains universal here, though, is the social morality that thrives on exposing a “fallen woman,” teaching her a lesson, and eventually discarding her.
(Writing for Made in Mangalore)
Of furtive love, and the obvious lack of it
Sun, October 19 2025
There are many things women in India are terrified of, and with good reason. Walking on a lonely road after dark, being a lone female traveller in a bus, checking and double checking the surroundings before opening one’s car door, checking the bathrooms in public places for hidden cameras, verifying if hotel rooms are safe, if trial rooms are safe, if online chats are safe… in every single place, a woman is reduced to her body, and her individuality erased. Senna Hegde’s delightful yet punch-to-the-gut Avihitham (translates into illicit) adds one more to the list — a male tailor proudly claims he can size up a woman’s chest, waist and hip just by seeing her. Thanks sir, one more thing to be very afraid about.
Senna Hegde’s indie rediscovery indicts prying eyes
Sat, October 11 2025
The simplest of stories, even the seemingly unappealing ones, can turn into fairly engaging pieces of cinema once it gets into the right hands. In Avihitham, filmmaker Senna Hegde, who co-wrote the film with Ambareesh Kalathera, does not have an elaborate story to tell, but teases out several strands out of it to pull off something which keeps one engaged.
Param Sundari
Romance, Drama, Comedy (Hindi)
In Kerala's picturesque backwaters, a North Indian and South Indian find unexpected love. Their cultural differences spark a hilarious and chaotic romance, full of twists and turns.
Cast:
Sidharth Malhotra, Janhvi Kapoor, Manjot Singh, Sanjay Kapoor, Inayat Verma, Renji Panicker, Siddhartha Shankar, Anand Manmadhan
Director:
Tushar Jalota
Writer:
Gaurav Mishra, Aarsh Vora, Tushar Jalota
A Spotify Review
Tue, October 28 2025
Why 'Param Sundari' is all show and little soul
Tue, September 2 2025
In the popular teen romance series Summer I Turned Pretty, adapted from Jenny Han’s books by the same name, leading lady Belly speaks of how she just can’t imagine marrying someone who doesn’t give her the “fireworks”“you know, like electric jolts, every time I see them”. In Tushar Jalota’s Param Sundari, Kerala’s most eligible girl Sundari (Janhvi Kapoor) finds herself in a similar conundrum when Punjabi munda Param (Sidharth Malhotra) strolls into her life (read homestay) believing she is his soulmate. Only unlike Belly’s karmic connection to Conrad, to whom the observation is made, Param and Sundari hardly exude MFEO (made for each other) vibes. And this despite having Sonu Nigam sing a pretty good romantic number in Pardesiya.
(Writing for The Daily Eye)
Same old love story returns
Sun, August 31 2025
Param Sundari, directed by Tushar Jalota and starring Sidharth Malhotra and Janhvi Kapoor, attempts a North-meets-South romance but falls flat. Laden with clichés, forced chemistry, and predictable tropes, the film struggles despite Kerala’s beauty, sidekick humour, and forgettable music. At 136 minutes, this Bollywood rom-com offers visual delight but little substance, proving yet again that cross-cultural love stories need more than recycled stereotypes and surface spectacle. India’s diversity has long been the go-to spice rack for Bollywood romances, and our filmmakers haven’t missed a single masala. From Raanjhanaa to Two States and Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela, we’ve seen lovers playing Romeo and Juliet across caste lines, language barriers, and angry elders wielding moral outrage like a family heirloom. So, it’s no surprise that Param Sundari joins the tradition—this time with a Punjabi munda and a Malayali miss, thrown together in a cross-cultural curry that aims to be spicy but ends up more sambhar-lite.