Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders
Thriller, Mystery, Crime (Hindi)
When members of the Bansal family are found murdered, Inspector Jatil Yadav uncovers a trail of greed, betrayal and secrets tied to a deadly conspiracy. (more…)
Stranger Things S05
Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Mystery, Action & Adventure (English)
When a young boy vanishes, a small town uncovers a mystery involving secret experiments, terrifying supernatural forces, and one strange little girl. (more…)
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Science Fiction, Adventure, Fantasy (English)
In the wake of the devastating war against the RDA and the loss of their eldest son, Jake Sully and Neytiri face a new threat on Pandora: the Ash People, a violent and power-hungry Na'vi tribe led by the ruthless (more…)
Dhurandhar
Action, Thriller (Hindi)
After the hijacking of IC-814 in 1999 and the Parliament attack in 2001, India’s Intelligence Bureau Chief, Ajay Sanyal devised an indomitable mission to intrude and rupture the terrorist network in Pakistan, by infiltrating the underworld mafia of Karachi. A (more…)
Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri
Romance, Comedy (Hindi)
When a carefree NRI wedding planner and a headstrong novelist collide during a wild summer in Croatia, sparks fly in ways neither expected. What begins as playful clashes soon transforms into something deeper – only to be tested when love, (more…)
Guild Reviews
Goodbye June
Drama (English)
Four siblings' lives change drastically when their ailing mother takes a turn for the worse over the holiday season.
Cast:
Helen Mirren, Kate Winslet, Toni Collette, Johnny Flynn, Andrea Riseborough, Timothy Spall, Stephen Merchant, Fisayo Akinade, Jeremy Swift, Raza Jaffrey
Director:
Kate Winslet
Writer:
Joe Anders
Clunky but charming and held together by a top-notch cast
Sun, December 28 2025
Though it may not qualify as a typical feel-good, mushed-up Christmas watch, Goodbye June is a well performed and sincerely mounted family drama, which, however, springs no surprises. Sometimes clunky, but mostly charming and held together by a bunch of memorable performances, Goodbye June is the directorial debut of Kate Winslet, who works out of a script written by Joe Anders, her 22-year-old son with ex husband and filmmaker Sam Mendes. Winslet also stars as one of the principal characters.
Anaconda
Adventure, Comedy, Horror (English)
A group of friends facing mid-life crises head to the rainforest with the intention of remaking their favorite movie from their youth, only to find themselves in a fight for their lives against natural disasters, giant snakes and violent criminals.
Cast:
Paul Rudd, Jack Black, Daniela Melchior, Thandiwe Newton, Steve Zahn, Ione Skye, Selton Mello, Ben Lawson, Ice Cube, John Billingsley
Director:
Tom Gormican
Slithering again
Sun, December 28 2025
One might not expect that a film released in 1997, centered around a giant snake, would spawn four sequels and a Mandarin version that premiered earlier this year. Anaconda was a light-hearted and entertaining film that captivated audiences at the time. Some films and all snakes should be left alone – Anaconda is certainly one of them- the film and snake, both.
Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri
Romance, Comedy (Hindi)
When a carefree NRI wedding planner and a headstrong novelist collide during a wild summer in Croatia, sparks fly in ways neither expected. What begins as playful clashes soon transforms into something deeper – only to be tested when love, family, and tradition pull them in opposite directions.
Cast:
Kartik Aaryan, Ananya Panday, Arjan Panwar, Neena Gupta, Jackie Shroff, Mahima Chaudhry, Tiku Talsania
Director:
Sameer Vidwans
Writer:
Karan Shrikant Sharma
What's luv got to do with it?
Sun, December 28 2025
Directed by Sameer Vidwans, the film Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri is proof that a film and it’s title can be overwhelmingly long. The title itself gives us adequate warning and feels like an endurance test, and the film faithfully lives up to it. By the midpoint, which feels like an eternity, one realizes that only half of the title has been addressed.
Lovely locales is all there is to fall for
Sat, December 27 2025
For some time, Dharma Productions has been wearing its progressive heart and beliefs on its sleeve. That’s all very well, what more do you want from the proponents of ‘rich lives matter’? Like the typical gloss and shine signature of its cinema, it can’t quite bid adieu to its glitzy USP. Any wonder then that the storyline spends the first half in picturesque Croatia. The ‘to-die-for’ locales of the European nation on the coast of the Adriatic Sea is where love blossoms between our two lovebirds.
Flip, Frivolous, And Not As Much Fun
Fri, December 26 2025
Flip, frivolous and not as much fun as it aspires to be: that about sums up the first half of Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri. If you get through that phase of the film without switching off, the rom-com, post-intermission, stumbles with intent into family drama territory. The turnaround is as striking as it is surprising. The emotional core that Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri finds in the second half pushes the narrative out of a monotonous loop and towards a radical new direction. But that is not to say that everything that the film attempts, lands.
Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders
Thriller, Mystery, Crime (Hindi)
When members of the Bansal family are found murdered, Inspector Jatil Yadav uncovers a trail of greed, betrayal and secrets tied to a deadly conspiracy.
Cast:
Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Chitrangada Singh, Radhika Apte, Rajat Kapoor, Revathi, Deepti Naval, Sanjay Kapoor, Ila Arun, Akhilendra Mishra, Priyanka Setia
Director:
Honey Trehan
Writer:
Smita Singh
A Spotify Review
Fri, December 26 2025
Is Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders more than just a way for director Honey Trehan to pay the rent, or is it actually worthwhile? We talk about the film’s differences from and similarities to the first one, and the sociopolitical commentary that Trehan and writer Smita Singh are able to sneak into it. We also discuss how the movie didn’t face any trouble despite naming and shaming the Uttar Pradesh administration. Along the way, we touch upon Radhika Apte’s pointless presence, and wonder if the movie would’ve benefited from some more character development for the suspects.
A layered exploration of crime and entitlement
Fri, December 26 2025
As we wait for Honey Trehan’s Punjab 95, which is still under Censor scrutiny, the filmmaker transports us to the heart of Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow-Kanpur axis, spinning a sharp crime thriller with a throbbing conscience. The spiritual sequel builds on the original’s noir aesthetic, using its atmospheric whodunit structure to examine how power dynamics and moral corruption shape justice and revenge in an unequal society. By asking what happens when victims and perpetrators trade places, Honey brings emotional depth to the unraveling of the mystery. Through vivid symbols — bulldozers and shallow graves — he critiques how power conceals exploitation and shields the corrupt.
A steady whodunit with social undertones
Mon, December 22 2025
Franchises are the flavour of the season, and Honey Trehan’s Raat Akeli Hai remains a highly specific one. Once again, a murder mystery is investigated by the no-nonsense, middle-class cop Jatil Yadav (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), with the victims being members of a powerful family in Uttar Pradesh – the Bansals. The Knives Out template is reworked through a bunch of crazy, rich Indian issues and layered with an exterior coating of capitalism in Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders.
Sirai
Drama, Romance (Tamil)
As he transfers a young convict from prison to court, a police officer learns about the chain of events that led to the young man's conviction for violence.
Cast:
Vikram Prabhu, Lk akshay kumar, Anishma Anilkumar, Ananda Thambirajah, Vaishaali vijay, Rajapandi
Director:
Suresh Rajakumari
Writer:
Suresh Rajakumari
Vikram Prabhu film tackles minority struggle, bias with quiet strength
Fri, December 26 2025
Actor Vikram Prabhu’s choice of scripts has been impressive in the recent past. His upcoming venture, Sirai, marks his second collaboration with writer Tamizh (also an actor) after their critically acclaimed Taanakkaran. Sirai, like Taanakkaran, casts Vikram Prabhu’s protagonist as a police officer, but from the district armed reserve wing.
Scenes From a Situationship
Romance, Drama (Hindi)
A contemporary couple drift through a situationship where intimacy comes easily but commitment is endlessly postponed, revealing how modern love survives on closeness while quietly eroding under unspoken expectations.
Cast:
Vaishnav Vyas, Shreya Sandilya
Director:
Vaibhav Munjal
Writer:
Vaishnav Vyas, Vaibhav Munjal
A Minor-Key Blast From The Past
Fri, December 26 2025
He’s a pop-culture geek, a trivia nerd, an aspiring (and annoying) YouTuber, and a relationship seeker. She’s a go-with-the-flow-er, a commitment-phobe, a covert romantic, and a situationship enthusiast. Their chatty first date ends in his smokey bedroom. He thinks they’re dating, she thinks they’re not; he needs certainty, she needs ambiguity. “I want more than just animal sex” competes against “Why do you care for labels?”. Most of Vaibhav Munjal’s 90-minute indie is composed of vignettes of this clash: he pines and whines, she grinds and minds. In between the escalating resentments, they find happy pockets. Their intermittent moments of intimacy unfold as if they’re fuelling themselves to survive the fights. Breakup hugs and bitter accusations fly thick and fast. Apparently Udit (Vaishnav Vyas) and Tanisha (Shreya Sandilya) are soulmates, but the whims of modern love are stopping them.
Stranger Things S05
Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Mystery, Action & Adventure (English)
When a young boy vanishes, a small town uncovers a mystery involving secret experiments, terrifying supernatural forces, and one strange little girl.
Cast:
Millie Bobby Brown, Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton
Vol. 2: Sets up the action for the grand finale.
Fri, December 26 2025
Exposition. Explanation. Emotion. Stranger Things Season 5 Vol 2 rests on these three Es. The other ‘E’ that worms its way into the three episodes of this volume — before the grand finale drops less than a week later — is ‘Exotic Matter’ and with it the realisation (courtesy Dustin Henderson) that everything we have thought of the Upside Down over the last decade is not really it. In reality, the evil parallel dimension that has been at the heart of Stranger Things is, well, not a parallel dimension at all. It is, in fact, a wormhole to an even worse dimension that Vecna is trying to “collapse”, with an eye on taking over the world.
Vol. 2: Noah Schnapp, Jamie Campbell Bower Take Centerstage In Heated Final Battle
Fri, December 26 2025
The second part of Stranger Things opens after the exhilarating and devastating events of the last four episodes of Season 5. Noah Schnapp’s Will Byers has powers, and Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) has captured all 12 children to the Upside Down for his grand plan. What’s afoot? Co-created by the Duffer Brothers, Matt and Ross, the final season of the Netflix show hurtles towards an epic showdown that promises casualties this time. Who will make it out alive at the end?
Vol. 1: Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown Starrer Has Slow Start Yet Ups Emotion And Action
Thu, November 27 2025
After three and a half years, Stranger Things is back, promising a return to the Upside Down and a conflict with Vecna, the big bad who has been controlling the alternate dimension underneath the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana. Co-created by the Duffer Brothers, Stranger Things is an ode to the 1980s, with terrific references to its music, movies, and pop culture moments. But at its heart, the Netflix story is about friendship and the lengths they will go to save one another. With the first batch of episodes dropping on November 27, it’s time to check back in with the Hawkins gang.
The Copenhagen Test
Action & Adventure, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Mystery (English)
When an analyst discovers his eyes and ears have been hacked, he's drawn into a controlled world designed by his agency to draw out their enemies.
Cast:
Simu Liu, Melissa Barrera, Sinclair Daniel, Brian d'Arcy James, Mark O'Brien, Kathleen Chalfant
Simu Liu, Melissa Barrera's Spy Thriller Leaves You Unsure Of Who To Trust
Fri, December 26 2025
The latest spy thriller on the block, The Copenhagen Test, wonders if a person’s brain can be hacked. The high-concept drama for Peacock, created by Thomas Brandon, adds extra layers to the story with the spy in question being a child of immigrants. Starring Simu Liu as Alexander Hale, The Copenhagen Test on JioHotstar mixes the spy thriller with sci-fi and adds in covert organisations and political threats. The heart of the series remains with Simu’s Alexander, who is not only trying to prove himself as a spy but also asserting his loyalty as an American after the hack.
Vrusshabha
Action, Drama (Malayalam)
What happens if two sworn enemies from a previous life are reborn as father-son in a new birth?
Cast:
Mohanlal, Samarjit Lankesh, Srikanth, Nayan Sarika, Zara Khan, Ramachandra Raju, Ragini Dwivedi, Neha Saxena, Ayyappa P. Sharma
Director:
Nanda Kishore
Writer:
Janardhan Maharshi, Nanda Kishore
Mohanlal's reincarnation drama lacks novelty, is endlessly long
Thu, December 25 2025
Mohanlal has had a phenomenal 2025 with three consecutive hits. He started the year strong with L2: Empuraan, followed it up with a delicious crime thriller, Thudarum and struck a hat-trick with the heartwarming Hridayapoorvam. Vrusshabha is his fourth film as a hero (barring cameos in Kannappa and Bha Bha Ba). Did the film succeed in impressing the audience? Let’s find out!
Sarvam Maya
Mystery, Comedy (Malayalam)
A man who loses his belief in God meets the spirit of a young woman unable to remember what happened to her.
Cast:
Nivin Pauly, Aju Varghese, Preity Mukhundhan, Riya Shibu, Althaf Salim, Madhu Warrier, Janardhanan, Anand Ekarshi, Arun Ajikumar, Raghunath Paleri
Director:
Akhil Sathyan
Writer:
Akhil Sathyan
Nivin Pauly's ghost story is irresistible, full of charm
Thu, December 25 2025
Sarvam Maya translates to “everything is an illusion,” and it is perhaps the perfect title for this Nivin Pauly-starrer that blends horror, comedy and fantasy. Releasing on Christmas, the film is an antidote to all the extra-violent, hyper-masculine films that rely on over-the-top theatrics. But, Sarvam Maya leaves you laughing out loud despite tackling sensitive topics like faith, belief and grief.
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Science Fiction, Adventure, Fantasy (English)
In the wake of the devastating war against the RDA and the loss of their eldest son, Jake Sully and Neytiri face a new threat on Pandora: the Ash People, a violent and power-hungry Na'vi tribe led by the ruthless Varang. Jake's family must fight for their survival and the future of Pandora in a conflict that pushes them to their emotional and physical limits.
Cast:
Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Oona Chaplin, Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Edie Falco
Director:
James Cameron
A Spotify Review
Tue, December 23 2025
Avatar: Fire and Ash is the weakest instalment of James Cameron’s trilogy. We discuss the many ways in which the movie betrays the franchise’s core values, the illogical directions that Cameron sends Jake Sully in, and the loose ends that the film ends with. We also talk about the lack of humour and self-awareness, the poor dialogue, and the incomprehensible third act action sequences.
A Spotify Review
Mon, December 22 2025
Avatar: Fire and Ash is the weakest instalment of James Cameron’s trilogy. We discuss the many ways in which the movie betrays the franchise’s core values, the illogical directions that Cameron sends Jake Sully in, and the loose ends that the film ends with. We also talk about the lack of humour and self-awareness, the poor dialogue, and the incomprehensible third act action sequences.
Does the Unthinkable by Making James Cameron Look Ordinary
Sun, December 21 2025
Has James Cameron been trapped in the metaverse longer than we have? The 71-year-old director reportedly spent over a decade working on what eventually became Avatar (2009), and has been involved in making its sequels Avatar: The Way of the Water (2022), the latest Avatar: Fire and Ash released on Friday (December 19), and another film in the making – making it a cumulative 30 years spent on four films, set on the faraway planet of Pandora.
Dhurandhar
Action, Thriller (Hindi)
After the hijacking of IC-814 in 1999 and the Parliament attack in 2001, India’s Intelligence Bureau Chief, Ajay Sanyal devised an indomitable mission to intrude and rupture the terrorist network in Pakistan, by infiltrating the underworld mafia of Karachi. A 20-year-old boy from Punjab, held captive for a revenge crime, is identified by Sanyal to execute his elaborate plan.
Cast:
Ranveer Singh, Sanjay Dutt, Akshaye Khanna, R. Madhavan, Arjun Rampal, Sara Arjun, Rakesh Bedi, Naveen Kaushik, Manav Gohil, Danish Pandor
Director:
Aditya Dhar
A Spotify Review
Tue, December 23 2025
You cannot separate a film’s politics from its craft—you cannot separate your own politics from your opinion. To do so would be like judging a Dal Makhani on the basis of presentation but not taste. Dhurandhar is vile propaganda whose influence will spread beyond even its target audience of unemployed youth and WhatsApp uncles. We discuss how objectionable every scene involving R. Madhavan is, how abrupt the climax feels, and why director Aditya Dhar is so afraid of examining complexity. We also talk about the incendiary red screen scene and its possible implications, and wonder why they chose to make the protagonist a murderer for hire instead of a real patriot with real motivations to undertake such a high-stakes mission.
Craft, conviction, and troubling certainty
Sat, December 13 2025
The soul of Dhurandhar is rooted in quiet deception. Wait, I’m talking about Hamza Ali Mazari’s (Ranveer Singh) mission. He’s a spy operating across borders in this 214-minute film, and given this running time and the number of characters, motivations and political threads it handles, this film could very easily have collapsed into something rambling and frustrating. But it doesn’t, largely thanks to a smart structural decision: chapter segregation. The eight chapters keep the narrative in control, allowing the film to introduce competent characters like SP Aslam and Rehman Dakait as formidable, thinking opponents rather than fragile villains. The nuanced performances help too. Akshaye Khanna is potent, yes, but also so human in confusion and rage.
No Love Lost or Found In Ranveer Singh's Spy Thriller
Wed, December 10 2025
Since deception is the language of a spy thriller, let’s pretend that movies exist entirely in isolation — like an introvert on a Saturday night. Let’s pretend that Dhurandhar, Aditya Dhar’s directorial return after Uri (2019), has absolutely nothing to do with the world around us. (One could argue that it doesn’t, but that’s a mob attack for another day). Let’s also pretend that film criticism is about seeing a movie for what it is, regardless of its moral character or ideology. It’s only fair, given that we all admire great serial killers for being awesome at what they do, legendary dictators for being no-nonsense leaders, wars for being the epitome of courage and technology, and plane crashes for doing tragedy so well.