Satluj
Crime, Drama, History (Hindi)
Triggered by the search for his missing aunt, human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra takes on a broken system in a courageous fight to uncover the conspiracy behind thousands of disappearances and extrajudicial killings during the nadir of Punjab’s period (more…)
The Invite
Drama, Comedy (English)
Joe and Angela's marriage is on thin ice. When they invite their enigmatic upstairs neighbors for a dinner party, the night spirals into unexpected places. Have they reignited the spark or lit the match that burns it all down? (more…)
Baby Do Die Do
Mystery, Thriller, Crime (Hindi)
Follows a deaf and mute serial killer in Mumbai who can only hear her dead sister's voice as she commits murders for mysterious reasons. (more…)
Gatta Kusthi 2
Comedy, Drama (Tamil)
Picks up after the first film, with Veera and Keerthi balancing parenthood and Keerthi's wrestling career, featuring a role reversal where Veera takes on more domestic responsibilities. (more…)
Guild Reviews by Film
Dhamaal 4
Comedy (Hindi)
The Dhamaal boys are back for another treasure hunt, facing hilarious challenges in their quest for the Treasure of Life.
Cast:
Ajay Devgn, Arshad Warsi, Riteish Deshmukh, Javed Jaffrey, Sanjay Mishra, Ravi Kishan, Upendra Limaye, Anjali Anand, Sanjeeda Sheikh, Esha Gupta
Director:
Indra Kumar
Sat, July 11 2026
2007 में आई पहली वाली ‘धमाल’ में गोआ के एक पार्क में ‘डब्ल्यू’ आकार में खड़े पेड़ों के नीचे खज़ाना दबा था। इस बार एक वीरान टापू में ‘एम’ आकार में खड़ी पहाड़ियों के नीचे खज़ाना है। खज़ाना भी किसका, सौ साल पहले एक डाकू शैतान सिंह का जो वह अंग्रेज़ों से लूटा करता था। अब इस खज़ाने को खोजने निकली हैं तीन टीमें-गुड्डू और जॉनी, आदि और मानव व आदि की पत्नी, लल्लन और उसकी पत्नी। साथ ही इनके पीछे पड़े हैं डाकू अधूरा और उसके साथी। इस सफर में हैं ढेरों मुसीबतें, उनसे बचने की कसरतें और इन सब की लल्लुआना हरकतें। ज़ाहिर है मकसद आपको हंसाना है, ठहाके लगवाना है। ‘धमाल’ सीरिज़ की फिल्में दर्शकों को किसी वीडियोगेम या कार्टून कॉमिक्स के भीतर ले जाती रही हैं। एक ऐसा संसार जहां फिज़िक्स-कैमिस्ट्री के नियमों की धज्जियां उड़ा कर उनसे हास्य उपजाया जाता है। किसी ने घर की घंटी बजाई और उससे आने वाले करंट ने बंदे का तंदूरी मुर्गा बना दिया या किसी के बम में चाकू घुसने के बावजूद खून न निकलना जैसे ये सीन हमें डोनाल्ड डक, मिकी माउस या टॉम एंड जैरी की दुनिया में ले जाते हैं। उनमें जो होता है वह कहीं से भी तार्किक नहीं लगता, लेकिन उसे देख कर आप हंसते हैं, ठहाके लगाते हैं, आपको मज़ा आता है और आपका दिल-दिमाग हल्का होता है। यह फिल्म भी आपको वही मज़ा देती है। बस, बच्चे बन जाइएगा इसे देखते हुए।
Sat, July 11 2026
The Dhamaal franchise is now almost twenty years old — which is quite an achievement for a series built on a storyline thinner than a Bollywood hero’s patience before the interval. The makers managed to squeeze out two films in the early years (2007 and 2011), but when fresh ideas became as rare as logic in a slapstick comedy, the obvious solution was simple: recycle the old ones.
Sat, July 11 2026
Indra Kumar's motheaten franchise entry crashes out in the opening minutes, then keeps on crashing
You’re scrolling through BookMyShow on a breezy Friday afternoon. It’s been a stressful week, and the rains have let up, so you decide to unwind with a brainrot Bollywood comedy. But which one? Should you go watch Welcome to the Jungle, still running in theatres, or Dhamaal 4, the latest in the long-running treasure hunt franchise? These things are subjective, but let me present a quick comparison. Welcome to the Jungle is directed by Ahmed Khan. Dhamaal 4 is directed—in the kindest sense of the term—by Indra Kumar. Welcome to the Jungle is a spoof about the making of movies. Dhamaal 4 shows why some movies should never be made at all. Welcome to the Jungle has satirical ambitions. Dhamaal 4 has hysterical collisions. Welcome to the Jungle is a loose rehash of Tropic Thunder. Dhamaal 4 is a hard retread of the first, second and third Dhamaal.
Idhayam Murali
Romance, Comedy, Drama (Tamil)
A young man navigates the complexities of unrequited love, finding that even as years pass and life takes unexpected turns, certain emotions remain deeply embedded in his heart.
Cast:
Atharvaa Murali, Fahadh Faasil, Preity Mukhundhan, Kayadu Lohar, Natarajan Subramaniam, S. Thaman, Niharika NM, Malavika Mohanan, Rakshan, Dravid Selvam
Director:
Aakash Baskaran
Sat, July 11 2026
Aakash Baskaran's film, starring Atharvaa, is indulgent of its wayward protagonist, and expects the viewer to be so as well
Raja (Murali), from Kathir’s debut film, Idhayam (1991), may have become iconic over the years, partly due to the grating niceness and tragic innocence of the character (and mostly due to Ilaiyaraaja’s music). But in a contemporary world in which we reevaluate gender, misogyny and the obsessive nature of love, the idea of unrequited romance makes the conversation feel like the colloquial phrase we use to describe it—one-sided. Rathna Kumar’s superior Meyaadha Maan (2017), refracts the idea through a class lens, where the disparity in economic positions chokes the character out of expressing his true love. This year’s Hollywood phenomenon Obsession reimagines extremities of a nice-guy-dream realized to the point of stifling one life for the other’s wishful fantasy.
Fri, July 10 2026
The Atharvaa, Kayadu Lohar, Preity Mukhundhan-starrer is frivolous and proud of it; a Gautham Menon-flavoured romance that trades depth for charm and heart
There are several hilarious chunks in Idhayam Murali, but the funniest one is unintentional. In the second half, Sam (Preity Mukundan) tells Idhaya (Atharvaa), in the same breezy tone you’d use to describe wrapping up a work call, “Ippa thaan oru mission mudichom. So konjam naalaiku rest” (We just finished off one mission. We will rest for a while). By this point, it is well established that Sam is a NASA astronaut, which is exactly why the line lands as comedy rather than drama. It’s a very specific kind of silliness, one Tamil cinema has flirted with before. The film doesn’t hide that it’s chasing a Gautham Menon-ish vibe, and this scene recalls a bit from Neethaane En Ponvasantham: a throwaway line establishing that Varun’s (Jiiva) family has grown rich and posh, simply by mentioning that his retired parents are now off travelling the world. Both moments reach for a big, specific, hard-to-verify detail and use it as shorthand for status or drama, without doing any of the narrative work to earn it.
Ikka
Drama, Thriller (Hindi)
With a loved one's life at stake, a celebrated lawyer must defend a man he suspects is guilty — battling his conscience every step of the way.
Cast:
Sunny Deol, Akshaye Khanna, Tillotama Shome, Dia Mirza, Sanjeeda Sheikh, Jyoti Mukherji, Shishir Sharma, Akansha Ranjan Kapoor, Vijay Vikram Singh, Daria Bedi
Director:
Siddharth P. Malhotra
Writer:
Suparn Verma
Sat, July 11 2026
kka revolves around the celebrated Public Prosecutor Arjun Mehra (Sunny Deol). He is known for fighting for the truth and that too by adhering to ethics. He stays in Mumbai with his wife Avantika (Dia Mirza) and daughter Samaira (Daria Bedi). One day, Shouryamann Gaur (Akshaye Khanna), son of a wealthy industrialist and politician Harshvardhan Gaur (Shishir Sharma), gets accused of attempting to murder Soma Mittal (Akansha Ranjan), a young girl he met at a night club. Arjun is offered to fight Shouryamann’s case as a Defense Lawyer this time. He plainly refuses because of the past equation between both of them. However, circumstances force Arjun to fight Shouryaman’s case.
Sat, July 11 2026
A three-way staring match between Sunny Deol, Akshaye Khanna and Tillotama Shome, the old-school pleasures of Sidharth P Malhotra's film dry up in time
The press screening of Ikka was held at Mumbai’s Sunny Super Sound—an appropriate venue, I thought, given the super sounds Sunny Deol makes in the movie. Since Damini (1993), the actor has used the courtroom drama as his personal soapbox. He rages and he raves, he rebukes and he reprimands. A part of me wishes Deol were an actual lawyer working in real courthouses. Imagine the swiftness in proceedings once his gavel-like fists land on the furniture—like a thunderclap. To be fair, director Siddharth P Malhotra uses this trick judiciously, initially giving us a calm, urbane Deol in natty linenwear. The actor plays Arjun Mehra, a celebrity defence attorney who never loses, always has a decisive ace up his sleeve (hence the film’s title), and, despite his large apartment and luxe lifestyle, exclusively represents the innocent and the powerless. And here comes his latest innocent: Shaurya (Akshaye Khanna), the reprobate son of an industrialist, accused of sexually assaulting and attempting to murder a date.
Sat, July 11 2026
बॉक्स ऑफिस पर ‘गदर’ मचाने वाले सनी देओल और ल्यारी के ‘धुरंधर’ अक्षय खन्ना, साल 1997 की ब्लॉकबस्टर ‘बॉर्डर’ के करीब 30 साल बाद दोबारा साथ लौटे हैं। जाहिर है ऐसे में ‘इक्का’ से उम्मीदें भी उतनी ही बड़ी थीं। निर्देशक सिद्धार्थ पी मल्होत्रा ने जब से अपनी कोर्टरूम ड्रामा फिल्म की घोषणा की, इसे लेकर लोगों में जबरदस्त उत्साह दिखा। लेकिन अफसोस कि दोनों की स्टार पावर और दमदार परफॉर्मेंस के बावजूद यह फिल्म वो जादू नहीं जगा पाती, जिसकी आस थी। फिल्म शुक्रवार 10 जुलाई 2026 को सिनेमाघरों की बजाय सीधे OTT प्लेटफॉर्म Netflix पर रिलीज हुई है।
Lenin
Action, Drama, Romance (Telugu)
Young, urban-raised Vladimir Lenin's peaceful romance with Bharti inadvertently sparks a violent, large-scale village conflict.
Cast:
Akhil Akkineni, Bhagyashri Borse, Sivaji Sontineni, Easwari Rao, Brahmaji, Sunil Varma, N.T. Rama Rao Jr.
Director:
Murali Kishor Abburu
Writer:
Murali Kishor Abburu
Sat, July 11 2026
Akhil Akkineni and Bhagyashri Borse impress in an ambitious tale of love, betrayal and revenge that is undone by too many twists
Lenin, the Telugu film written and directed by Murali Kishor Abburu, opens with the assertion that no war is more violent than love — a nod to stories from Greek and Indian mythology. Marking Akhil Akkineni’s return to the screen after three years, the film aims to tell an epic love story. At its core, it is a tale of friendship, love, deceit and revenge, layered with references to the Mahabharata and Ramayana. It unfolds against the backdrop of Bharatham Mitta, a cultural festival celebrating Draupadi in a fictional village in Andhra Pradesh’s Chittoor district. The rustic world is rendered with attention to detail, and the screenplay attempts to spring surprises at several turns. But the film falters at its core: the love story never quite makes the audience root wholeheartedly for its characters. The story had immense potential to build on love and pathos, which it does not fully achieve.
Moana
Family, Fantasy, Comedy, Adventure (English)
Moana answers the Ocean's call and, for the first time, voyages beyond the reef of her island of Motunui with the infamous demigod Maui on an unforgettable journey to restore prosperity to her people.
Cast:
Catherine Lagaʻaia, Dwayne Johnson, John Tui, Frankie Adams, Rena Owen, Jemaine Clement, Amaya Masoli, Emma Puahi-Shapazian, Tealoha Hokulani Carrera
Director:
Thomas Kail
Sat, July 11 2026
Directed by Thomas Kail and starring Dwayne Johnson, Rena Owen, John Tui, Frankie Adams, Jemaine Clement and Catherine Laga'aia, Moana is handsomely mounted, competently acted and perfectly watchable. Its greatest flaw is its overwhelming redundancy. It offers audiences little that they have not already experienced.
Every successful franchise eventually reaches the point where artistic inspiration begins to resemble a financial reflex — another sequel, another remake, another reassuring reminder to studio executives that nostalgia remains a dependable currency. Unless a fresh perspective reshapes the narrative or the story boldly charts unfamiliar waters, these revisits often feel less like cinematic adventures and more like corporate accounting exercises with a generous visual-effects budget. Disney’s Moana (2026), the live-action adaptation of its beloved 2016 animated classic and the third instalment in the franchise, sails directly into this familiar predicament. Directed by Thomas Kail in his feature-film debut from a screenplay by Jared Bush and Dana Ledoux Miller, the film reunites Dwayne Johnson with his larger-than-life role as the swaggering demigod Maui while introducing Catherine Laga’aia as the spirited Moana. Produced by Johnson alongside Hiram Garcia, Dany Garcia, Beau Flynn and Lin-Manuel Miranda, the production possesses all the ingredients of a prestige Disney spectacle. Yet, despite its glittering credentials, it struggles to justify its own existence. Competently assembled though it is, the film rarely inspires wonder, and its visual splendour, while undeniably polished, seldom evokes genuine amazement. It is less a voyage of discovery than an expensive exercise in déjà vu.
Fri, July 10 2026
Fri, July 10 2026
How do you know you’re special? Sometimes, destiny first speaks through the pulse within. One such prodigy is Moana from Motunui. The future chief of her beautiful island, she knew from day one that she was born to do big things. The spirited teen girl was the chosen one to restore the heart of the goddess of nature, Te Fiti, and save her island from perishing. It’s a story we’ve seen before in 2016, and I’ll happily watch the young Polynesian girl’s journey to greatness another time every decade. That said, the question remains: will the little warrior’s courage and sweet-natured plot be enough to pull it through?
The Invite
Drama, Comedy (English)
Joe and Angela's marriage is on thin ice. When they invite their enigmatic upstairs neighbors for a dinner party, the night spirals into unexpected places. Have they reignited the spark or lit the match that burns it all down?
Cast:
Seth Rogen, Olivia Wilde, Penélope Cruz, Edward Norton
Director:
Olivia Wilde
Fri, July 10 2026
Fri, July 10 2026
Starring Wilde, Seth Rogen, Penelope Cruz and Edward Norton, The Invite is an astute dissection of long-term relationships.
After succumbing to the sophomore slump a few years ago with the dreadfully dull psychological thriller Don’t Worry Darling (2022), Olivia Wilde has reaffirmed herself as a phenomenally talented filmmaker with her third feature, The Invite. It is as astute a dissection of long-term relationships as this year’s The Drama was of the honeymoon phase. Wilde stars as an anxious woman named Angela, who secretly invites her new neighbours for a casual get-together in a naked attempt to impress them. However, she neglects to run this by her husband Joe, a failed musician-turned-teacher played by Seth Rogen. He isn’t into it one bit. Joe has an axe to grind against the neighbours, because their love-making has kept him awake for weeks. He doesn’t know whether to be angry or jealous, but he most certainly isn’t going to be rolling out the red carpet for them. Played by Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton, the neighbours are the perfect foils to utterly bored Angela and Joe. Even before the chic couple from next door arrives, the two are at each other’s throats about everything from back posture to charcuterie boards.
Thu, July 9 2026
Written by Will McCormack and Rashida Jones, the English remake of a get-together gone wrong is also searingly insightful.
The Invite, directed by Olivia Wilde, opens with an Oscar Wilde quote, “One should always be in love. That is the reason one should never marry.” The Hollywood comedy is set in a San Francisco couple who invite their neighbours over one evening. It exposes the two couples to own up to some uncomfortable admissions and realise some suppressed truths about themselves. With only four actors in the cast, The Invite works as an engaging play that delivers steady one-liners and insights as the characters experience every emotion under the sun. Wilde impressively guides the feature to an absorbing ending that perfectly sums up human relationships.
I, Nobody
Crime, Thriller, Drama (Malayalam)
Rajeevan, an ordinary government employee, witnesses something he was never meant to see and is thrust into the centre of a serious crime. Branded a troublemaker and hunted by the system, he must protect his family while fighting to survive against forces far beyond his control.
Cast:
Prithviraj Sukumaran, Parvathy Thiruvothu, Hakkim Shajahan, Ashokan, Vijayaraghavan, Madhupal, Shankar Ramakrishnan, Nakshathra C M, Nishanth Sagar, Nandhu
Director:
Nissam Basheer
Writer:
Sameer Abdul
Fri, July 10 2026
Technically, the film is on par with some of the best works from Malayalam cinema in recent years, with slick, thoughtful framing and editing
How far would a fallen man go for redemption? If one were to ask Rajeevan (Prithviraj Sukumaran), the protagonist of Nissam Basheer’s, I, Nobody, he would probably say: from one extreme, reckless act to another. Consequently, the film also takes one on a rollercoaster series of events, which are intriguing and unconventional up to a point until they turn chaotic misfires. For that matter, almost every other character in I, Nobody appears to believe that their redemption arc lies in jumping into an even bigger problem than the one which they are already entangled in, almost as if they gained some pleasure from further tightening the noose around their neck. These are the kind of men who would bring an earth mover to pick a dry leaf which had fallen on their front yard. But then, we need people like that to create uncommon cinematic situations, which are aplenty in I, Nobody.
Baby Do Die Do
Mystery, Thriller, Crime (Hindi)
Follows a deaf and mute serial killer in Mumbai who can only hear her dead sister's voice as she commits murders for mysterious reasons.
Cast:
Huma Qureshi, Rachit Singh, Sikandar Kher, Seema Pahwa, Chunky Panday, Saqib Saleem, Vidya Malvade, Himanshu Malik, Marudhar Shekhawat, Arun Kushwah
Director:
Nachiket Samant
Thu, July 9 2026
Huma Qureshi, however, has gone out on a limb and brought this film to life.
The title for Nachiket Samant’s film is at first perplexing. But then, once I saw what they were trying to do, I smirked. An English transliteration of the protagonist’s name, Baby Karmarkar — how amused one might be by the pun might dictate how much they end up enjoying Samant’s film – because it’s full of dour, made-in-Mumbai humour. Baby (Huma Qureshi, also producer with brother/actor Saqib Saleem) is a deaf/mute female assassin, whose umbrella doubles up as a sneaky pistol. Exploiting Mumbai’s crowded spaces, Baby slips in, kills her target, and slips out. Thanks to the blinders that Mumbai residents have put on, it takes a while for most people to realise there’s a corpse next to them. It’s a smooth, nifty way to get the job done. In the film’s first scene, the makers introduce Baby’s modus operandi inside a Mumbai local.
Sat, July 4 2026
‘Baby Do Die Do’, starring Huma Qureshi, throws together noir, graphic novel aesthetics, Mumbai life, romance, real estate politics and revenge drama
There’s a genuinely interesting film hidden inside Baby Do Die Do. It just takes far too long to reveal itself, and even then, it refuses to answer the questions that matter. The film opens with a fractured family: a deceased father, an emotionally volatile mother, twin girls, one of whom is deaf and mute. A late-night adventure results in tragedy leaving Baby alone and vengeful. Right away the questions start building—how did the girls suddenly pick up a puppy in an abandoned hotel? It’s the first of many questions the film, co-written by director Nachiket Samant with Jasmeet K Reen and Parveez Shaikh, never answers.
Fri, July 3 2026
Satluj
Crime, Drama, History (Hindi)
Triggered by the search for his missing aunt, human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra takes on a broken system in a courageous fight to uncover the conspiracy behind thousands of disappearances and extrajudicial killings during the nadir of Punjab’s period of insurgency.
Cast:
Diljit Dosanjh, Arjun Rampal, Suvinder Vicky, Geetika Vidya, Kanwaljit Singh, Saurabh Sachdeva, Jagjeet Sandhu, Geeta Agrawal Sharma, Amit Dhawan, Vikas Mohla
Director:
Honey Trehan
Writer:
Utsav Maitra, Niren Bhatt, Honey Trehan
Mon, July 6 2026
Honey Trehan's film, which was taken down within days of release, is a troubling yet essential account of state crackdown during the Punjab insurgency
“Hisaab toh Punjab ka hai hi complicated (Punjab has a complex history),” says Arjun Rampal’s CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) officer and the film’s narrator in Honey Trehan’s profoundly relevant Satluj. The director is in no mood to shy away from the state’s turbulent past or let the wrongdoers off the hook in this drama that has seen its share of trouble with the censors. Much like its real-life protagonist Jaswant Singh Khalra (played by Diljit Dosanjh), a human rights activist, Trehan has been resolute in his mission, refusing to flinch to the powers that be—in this case the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). His persistence paid off as Satluj, formerly titled ‘Punjab ’95’, finally released on ZEE5 in the iteration its creator wanted—though only briefly.
Mon, July 6 2026
Few Indian films have had their very existence validated so completely by the forces they are fighting. Honey Trehan’s Satluj (formerly Panjab ’95) concerns a man who bravely sought to expose state-sanctioned cover-ups and justice for the victims’ families. It then languished for years, awaiting CBFC approval, before being released on an OTT platform without any fanfare. The irony is brutal. Even before the first frame rolls, the film’s own painful journey to our screens is a mirror to the very silence it is trying to break. Trehan’s 1995-set film a somber and unsettling alternative to popular Indian cinema obsessed with hyper-masculine, uniformed heroes who shoot first and ask questions later (and sometimes never do). It gives up chest-thumping folklore for documented history and dives into a bleeding chapter of Punjab’s past that mainstream conversation has spent decades trying to forget. Satluj does not try to exploit the tragedy to create a cheap spectacle, but rather concentrates on the lives lost without explanation and the one man who refused to let them be statistics.
Mon, July 6 2026
In the deadline-driven world of film review writing, I find time hanging, every Friday afternoon, like the proverbial Sword of Damocles over my head. I write most of what I absorb; in hindsight, I feel I have invariably left out some observations. But that holds true for almost everything in life. With Satluj, there was so much to take in, feel, assimilate and ponder, that I allowed the film to stay and grow within me for a day before I put my emotions into words. But Satluj wasn’t allowed to breathe for more than 48 hours. Dropped silently on Friday evening, it was pulled off Zee 5, without a doubt the most courageous streaming platform out there, within Sunday night. The platform — whose triptych of bold storytelling (Berlin, Kennedy) was crowned by Satluj — put out a statement saying that the film would be “unavailable in India until further notice” owing to “current developments”. It also vowed to bring back Satluj, as well as continue its endeavour to promote creators with artistic integrity and conviction. We hope the platform will come through with its promise and purpose every time.
Alpha
Action, Thriller (Hindi)
Two fierce female agents tackle dangerous missions in a thrilling world of espionage, as they navigate perilous situations, execute daring stunts, and face unexpected turns in this action-packed adventure.
Cast:
Alia Bhatt, Sharvari, Bobby Deol, Anil Kapoor, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Dia Mirza, Hrithik Roshan
Director:
Shiv Rawail
Mon, July 6 2026
Shiv Rawail's ‘Alpha’ is sorely missing fresh ideas and is unable to credibly showcase Alia Bhatt as an action star.
The YRF Spyverse is now running on vibes, star cameos and whatever ridiculously catchy new jingle with placeholder English lyrics Sanchit and Ankit Balhara have cooked up. After the glorious high of Pathaan (2023), there’s only been disappointment: first the unnecessary Tiger 3 (2023), then the embarrassing misfire of War 2 (2025). Shiv Rawail’s Alpha isn’t as dire as the previous two entries, but nevertheless shows a franchise badly in need of fresh ideas and, more importantly, a sense of purpose.
Sun, July 5 2026
The benchmark for the YRF Spy Universe isn’t particularly high, especially after the War films. So it comes as a pleasant surprise to find a taut, breezy action thriller that doesn’t waste time dwelling on unnecessary detours. For starters, this is a completely romance-free enterprise, and that itself is a rarity in mainstream Hindi cinema. There are no mandatory love songs shot in exotic locations or forced romantic subplots. In fact, there are only a couple of songs, and for the most part, the film moves at a brisk pace.
Sat, July 4 2026
Gatta Kusthi 2
Comedy, Drama (Tamil)
Picks up after the first film, with Veera and Keerthi balancing parenthood and Keerthi's wrestling career, featuring a role reversal where Veera takes on more domestic responsibilities.
Cast:
Aishwarya Lekshmi, Vishnu Vishal, Ramya Krishnan, Karunas, Munishkanth, Kaali Venkat, Lizzie Antony, Gajaraj, Sreeja Ravi, Karunakaran
Director:
Chella Ayyavu
Writer:
Chella Ayyavu
Mon, July 6 2026
Does a really good job of keeping the laughs coming, even if there are intermittent scenes where your eyes roll to the back of your head
Camouflage. It is always interesting to see how women empowerment films play out in Tamil cinema. Quite often, the makers try to mount a ‘male saviour’ film masquerading as a ‘women empowerment’ film. But smarter filmmakers know that the audience might see through this bluff, and they have started packaging it better. One such film was Chella Ayyavu’s Gatta Kusthi (2022), a seemingly entertaining ride about the ill effects of misogyny and the inherent need for women’s empowerment in society. On paper, it was empowering, but compromises were made to make it seem more ‘palatable’. Interestingly, in Gatta Kusthi 2, Chella doesn’t play the camouflage game. He throws caution to the wind, and goes all out to give us a battle of the sexes that tilts the scales clearly in favour of the man, but not without having him point out why women must be empowered. Basically, Chella and Vishnuu have the cake, and this time, they eat it, too.
Fri, July 3 2026
Director Chella Ayyavu's Gatta Kusthi 2, starring Vishnu Vishal and Aishwarya Lekshmi, is a family entertainer with a wrestling backdrop. The film's lopsided take on gender politics and comedy that never lands make it a sequel that could have been done away with.
In a span of two months, we saw Samantha, Preity Mukundhan and Abhirami ace action like no one in Maa Inti Bangaaram and Blast. But Aishwarya Lekshmi did it back in 2022 when she wrestled her way into the hearts of audiences with her role in Gatta Kusthi. Four years later, the team reunites for a sequel that promises to delve deep into the lives of Veera, Keerthi and their daughter, Mathi Malar.
Couture
Drama (French)
In the frenzy of Fashion Week, three women cross paths in Paris, grappling with the world's tragedies and the questions of their lives: Maxine, an American film director in her forties, discovers she has cancer; Ada, a young South Sudanese model, escapes a predetermined destiny to be thrust into a deceptive universe and French makeup artist Angèle, a small hand working in the shadows of the catwalks, dreams of escaping her life.
Cast:
Angelina Jolie, Anyier Anei, Ella Rumpf, Louis Garrel, Vincent Lindon, Garance Marillier, Grégoire Colin, Aurore Clément, Yuliia Ratner, Mona Tougaard
Director:
Alice Winocour
Sun, July 5 2026
Miranda Priestly probably wouldn’t tolerate Angelina Jolie’s character from Couture, a new drama set in the world of high fashion that premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2025. Jolie plays Maxine, an indie filmmaker who’s been hired to bring her brand of transgressive edginess to a promotional short for Paris Fashion Week. With neither the patience nor the experience for promotional work, Maxine can barely mask her contempt for her new gig — and that’s before a call from her doctor flips her world upside down. Couture couldn’t be further removed from the glossy world of this summer’s fashion world-set blockbuster The Devil Wears Prada 2. And while that movie makes excuses for the same industry that Couture wants to dress down, director Alice Winocour’s attempt to offer a ground-level perspective of an industry that has been glamorized for far too long turns out dull, directionless, and mildly delusional.