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…)
Spider-Man: Brand New Day
Science Fiction, Action, Adventure (English)
Fighting crime full-time as Spider-Man in a world that doesn't remember him—and the pressure of seeing his old friends move on without him—sparks a change in Peter Parker he may not have the power to control. But that transformation might (more…)
Musafir Cafe
Drama (Hindi)
Chander feels an undeniable connection with Sudha. Years later, he builds a new life in the hills with Preeti, but memories of the past linger. (more…)
Adarsh Baal Vidyalaya
Drama, Comedy (Hindi)
A relaxed principal tries to reform a failing public school, triggering a messy transformation as misfit teachers work to repair the system one lesson at a time. (more…)
Max, Min & Meowzaki
Family, Romance, Comedy (Hindi)
Max and Min are about to break up. They argue endlessly about dividing their possessions, including their cat, Meowzaki, whom they have named after their favorite artist Miyazaki Hayao. Max’s father Ramesh, who lost his wife and has since been (more…)
Jana Nayagan
Action, Drama, Science Fiction (Tamil)
A clash of ideologies. One stands for the people, the other feeds on control. Their paths collided once before. Years later, a child’s silent fear ignites the past, drawing a former police officer into a battle far bigger than personal (more…)
Guild Reviews by Film
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
Fri, July 31 2026
Wed, July 8 2026
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.
Bhai Tera Star Hai
Comedy (Hindi)
Cast:
Raghav Juyal, Sanjay Kapoor, Niharika NM, Vikalp Mehta, Barkha Singh, Vivan Bhatena, Niki Aneja Walia, Parvathy Omanakuttan, Chandan Roy Sanyal, Tina Desai
Director:
Vivek B Agrawal
Writer:
Vivek B Agrawal, Sudipto Sarkar
Fri, July 31 2026
The Raghav Juyal-starrer isn’t the madcap it aspires to be
The good news is ‘Bhai Tera Star Hai’ is not your regular underdog story of an upstart reaching for the stars, even though the opening song would have you believe so. The not-so-good news, however, is that the Raghav Juyal-starrer isn’t the madcap it aspires to be. Director Vivek B Agrawal and co-writer Sudipto Sarkar do try not to follow the beaten path, but that by itself isn’t enough. The moment Sanjay Kapoor appears as bar owner Fatty, who doubles up as a betting don, you know the makers are aiming for the experimental touch. And the very second you see dialogues popping up on the screen as comic book graphics, you expect an innovative idea.
The Devil's Mouth
Horror, Thriller (English)
A group of college friends' Thailand adventure turns deadly when they become trapped in submerged caves with a dangerous predator. As oxygen runs low, past conflicts emerge in their desperate fight for survival.
Cast:
Kathryn Newton, Lana Condor, Nico Hiraga, Gavin Casalegno, Tommi Rose, Tayme Thapthimthong, Sahajak Boonthanakit, Harrison Luna
Director:
Jeff Wadlow
Writer:
Aja Gabel, Myung Joh Wesner, Jeff Wadlow
Fri, July 31 2026
Directed by Jeff Wadlow — who has significant experience in the slasher genre, having made movies such as Cry Wolf and Truth or Dare — The Devil's Mouth, much like its protagonists, loses its way and begins going around in circles.
What if the endlessly affable characters of Manjummel Boys (a 2024 Malayalam survival thriller) were constantly bickering, entitled 20-somethings instead? Chances are, you’d begin to wish that the cave they’re trapped in swallows them whole before rescue services could be alerted. This is the central problem with The Devil’s Mouth, the new survival horror movie on Prime Video. Instead of rooting for its protagonists to make their way out of the mess they’re in, you kinda-sorta-maybe start rooting for their adversary — a lost bull shark in basically the same predicament as they are. Both parties cross streams one day after a series of events that are too boring to get into here.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day
Science Fiction, Action, Adventure (English)
Fighting crime full-time as Spider-Man in a world that doesn't remember him—and the pressure of seeing his old friends move on without him—sparks a change in Peter Parker he may not have the power to control. But that transformation might also be the only thing that can stop a shocking new threat to the city and those he loves - a powerful villain no one can even see.
Cast:
Tom Holland, Zendaya, Sadie Sink, Jacob Batalon, Jon Bernthal, Tramell Tillman, Michael Mando, Mark Ruffalo, Liza Colón-Zayas, Marvin Jones III
Director:
Destin Daniel Cretton
Writer:
Erik Sommers, Chris McKenna
Fri, July 31 2026
“I don’t have a phone. Do you mind taking me home?” At one point in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Zendaya’s MJ makes this request of Tom Holland’s Peter Parker. Without batting an eye, our boy leaps out of the window with her confidently clutching his arms, as if it were the most normal thing to ask and receive, like a faster alternative to the Uber she couldn’t call. Maybe for New York dwellers in the Marvel Universe, it is a common sight to see Spidey all over town, strolling around if he isn’t saving them from the constant rain of villains. This is where Destin Daniel Cretton’s film revisits a question that previous Spider-Man films have asked as well: can our superhero be vulnerable, too? Can he grieve his own tragic losses?
Fri, July 31 2026
Fri, July 31 2026
As the Marvel Cinematic Universe rebuilds after the franchise fatigue of the early 2020s, this has emerged as the third consecutive film after 'Thunderbolts' and 'The Fantastic Four' to raise expectations.
Near the end of Destin Daniel Cretton’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day, I was reminded of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 (in my eyes the best Spider-Man film). It’s a scene where the superhero (Tobey Maguire) has prevented a train from derailing. Using all his might, tensile strength and will-power, he faints after the act. About to collapse, he’s caught by those inside the train. His unconscious body surfs over a sea of New York commuters, after which he’s carefully laid down. It’s the first time the city sees him without his mask. Similarly, in Cretton’s film, Spider-Man (Tom Holland) needs to be saved by the very city he’s spent his life defending. In a genre that thrives on an individual saving the world, I was touched to see a hurt, vulnerable ‘hero’ extending his hand (ever so briefly) to the city’s finest. It’s no surprise both scenes, championing community values, take place in films centred around the ‘friendly, neighbourhood superhero’.
The Legend of Karna
Animation, Action & Adventure, Drama (Hindi)
A warrior from the Mahabharata who is born to Kunti and the Sun God Surya but raised in a charioteer’s household. He possesses the gift of bow mastery that rivals the greatest warriors of his age, compelling him to enter a grand tournament usually reserved only for kings and princes, altering the course of an empire forever.
Fri, July 31 2026
A retelling of the Mahabharata from the warrior Karna’s perspective, the series has been created by Sharad Devarajan and Jeevan J. Kang, but the characters are two-dimensional, and the philosophical rumination integral to the text is dispensed in sound bytes ready-made for reels.
The fundamental issue with adapting mythological epics in India is that there’s very little adaptation going on, avoiding straying too far from the source. But the issues with SonyLIV’s new animated series, The Legend of Karna, are twofold. Not only does the show struggle to find anything new to say about one of the greatest stories ever told, the Mahabharata, but it also can’t decide whom it is targeting. Too verbose for children and too simplistic for adults, The Legend of Karna ultimately finds itself in no man’s land, fighting a war that it was always going to lose. The irony. A retelling of the Mahabharata from the warrior Karna’s perspective, the series has been created by Sharad Devarajan and Jeevan J. Kang, with none other than Anup Soni, of “Saavdhan Rahein, Satark Rahein” fame, voicing the titular character. The Legend of Karna, to its great misfortune, finds itself sandwiched between Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey and the upcoming two-part Ramayana starring Ranbir Kapoor. Needless to say, it cannot compete with either of those projects in terms of production values or scope. There was, however, an opportunity to present a more internal take, especially since the writers were under no burden to flesh out the scores of characters in the Mahabharata.
The Bombing of Pan Am 103
Drama, Crime (English)
On December 21, 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 exploded over the small Scottish town of Lockerbie, killing 270 people. What followed was the largest murder investigation in the history of Scottish policing, into the deadliest act of terrorism on British soil.
Cast:
Connor Swindells, Patrick J. Adams, Tony Curran, Eddie Marsan, Phyllis Logan, Lauren Lyle, Merritt Wever
Director:
Michael Keillor
Thu, July 30 2026
The six-part British series, created by Jonathan Lee, follows the crash and investigation of Pan Am Flight 103, which was downed in Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988
The British series The Bombing Of Pan Am 103, out now on Netflix, assembles a solid cast of actors from both sides of the pond in a compelling drama that aims to cover it all. However, in doing so, the limited series struggles to find a voice and comes into its own in the climax as it shows the legal fight for justice. The emotional series, though dramatised, follows the incident from takeoff to the international courtrooms where two men were finally held accountable for the plane’s bombing. Creator and writer Jonathan Lee finds it hard to gain a foothold from the beginning, and the sombre series remains flat from thereon.
Musafir Cafe
Drama (Hindi)
Chander feels an undeniable connection with Sudha. Years later, he builds a new life in the hills with Preeti, but memories of the past linger.
Cast:
Vikrant Massey, Vedika Pinto, Mahima Makwana, Adil Hussain, Rajeev Siddhartha, Anubha Fatehpuria, Loveleen Mishra, Sadiya Siddiqui
Director:
Ruchir Arun
Writer:
Sharanya Rajgopal
Tue, July 28 2026
After trudging along cliches of the will they/won’t they rom-com, Musafir Cafe becomes the strongest version of itself in the final two episodes.
Eventually, Sharanya Rajgopal’s Musafir Cafe settles into the cosiness of a novel found in a railway station bookstall. Those unintimidating 200-page paperbacks, which one buys for an overnight journey. Here, it happens in the seventh episode of this eight-episode series. Sudha (Vedika Pinto) is a pretty, impulsive, recklessly-ambitious girl from Bhopal – a version of a metropolitan idea of a small-town firebrand. The kind who discovered ‘Carpe Diem’ in her adolescence and never looked back. She has a job offer from Mumbai, which she reluctantly accepts.
Sat, July 25 2026
Musafir Cafe, the new show on Netflix, is refreshing and real. Organic chemistry among the trio, strong portrayal of urban women balancing career and family, and earnest performances from Massey, Pinto, and Makwana make this a must watch.
Vikrant Massey’s Musafir Cafe, a slow romance drama, comes at a time when there is anger on the streets of India and spy thrillers and murder mysteries are dominating screens- big and small. The eight-part series, produced by Massey, who also plays the lead in the show, takes a practical approach to modern-day relationships, where love alone is not enough to make a relationship work. It reiterates that timing is everything, and that two right people can drift apart if the timing is not right. Created and written by Sharanya Rajgopal and based on Divya Prakash Dubey’s novel of the same name, Musafir Cafe is refreshing, real and breaks the clutter of action thrillers that have been releasing of late.
Sat, July 25 2026
Vikrant Massey as Chander tries his best to be believable, and he really does come close to it. Mahima Makwana as the steady third wheel is commendable too.
A three-way modern romance set in a small town. That’s the pitchline of Musafir Cafe, based on a novel of the same name by Divya Prakash Dubey, created by Sharanya Rajgopal and directed by Ruchir Arun, and the eight-part show takes the memo very seriously indeed. Chander and Sudha — someone here is evidently a fan of Dharamveer Bharati’s classic novel of the same name — meet and ignite in Bhopal. Having quit his software job in the US, he works in a dull government office, nursing a dream of opening his own cafe in the hills, while meeting suitable girls with a view to marriage.
Adarsh Baal Vidyalaya
Drama, Comedy (Hindi)
A relaxed principal tries to reform a failing public school, triggering a messy transformation as misfit teachers work to repair the system one lesson at a time.
Cast:
Archana Puran Singh, Naveen Kasturia, Abhimanyu Singh, Deven Bhojani, Aryan Prajapati, Kay Kay Menon
Director:
Himank Gaur
Writer:
Biswapati Sarkar, Akshay Asthana, Nupur Pai, Tatsat Pandey, Meghna Srivastava
Sun, July 26 2026
This series starring Kay Kay Menon brings specificity and humour to the workings of a struggling government school
Schools have long served as fertile ground for stories, but few recent series have captured the joy, absurdity and quiet idealism of a government school quite like Adarsh Baal Vidyalaya. Sharing the gentle spirit of Panchayat and Gram Chikitsalay, this easygoing seven-part show is funny, sharp and only occasionally sermonises. Created and executive-produced by Biswapati Sarkar and Sameer Saxena under the Posham Pa Pictures banner, the Hindi-language Prime Video comedy feels like a natural extension of the storytelling both have come to be associated with through shows such as Maamla Legal Hai and Home Shanti. Saxena has also helped shape the observational worlds of Gullak and Kota Factory. This latest series brings a similar specificity and humour to a struggling government school in the Delhi region. Sarkar and Saxena also pop up in brief cameos.
Sat, July 25 2026
In an era of action movies, loud comedies and preachy social dramas, Adarsh Baal Vidyalaya strikes a refreshing balance. The Prime Video series is rooted, relatable and genuinely funny, while quietly delivering an important message about education, hope and the people who refuse to give up on a system that often lets them down.
Kay Kay Menon is outstanding as the unconventional school principal, bringing warmth, wit and effortless charm to the role. He anchors the series with a performance that is both hilarious and deeply humane. Kay Kay once again shows why he is one of India’s best actors. Equally impressive is young actor Prasanna Bisht, who leaves a lasting impact with a natural and endearing performance. Prasanna has moved on quite swiftly from playing a student in Farrey just 2 years ago to playing a teacher here. One of the series’ biggest strengths is its writing. The humour never feels forced, and the emotional moments never become melodramatic. The show makes its point in subtle ways, allowing the characters and situations to speak for themselves rather than delivering sermons. It celebrates teachers, students and the spirit of never giving up, all while keeping the laughs coming.
Fri, July 24 2026
The dry 7-episode dramedy is centered on a Delhi government school full of misfits who must transform to cure a broken system
Adarsh Baal Vidyalaya revolves around a ramshackle public school and its many colourful faces. It may not directly belong to the ‘Rural Cinematic Universe,’ but you can tell that it comes from the house of former TVF collaborators (you can take the makers out of a streaming brand, but you can’t take the streaming brand out of the makers). It’s the same shtick of Panchayat (ramshackle village office), Gram Chikitsalay (ramshackle government clinic) and Maamla Legal Hai (ramshackled district court): slice-of-life dramedies where everyone is a ‘sample’ character, every crisis is lighthearted, every episode has a centrist moral stance, and every monologue belongs to the Rajkumar Hirani school of happy problem-solving. The genre fatigue is real. The language is faded, like a gravy-stained page of a book that’s worn out from overuse.
Uttar Da Puttar
Comedy (Hindi)
Vastu, destiny and daily life, where unexpected events challenge beliefs about luck, direction and the power to shape your own future.
Cast:
Annu Kapoor, Rukhsar Rehman, Brijendra Kala, Pavan Malhotra, Ishtiyak Khan, Jeeveshu Ahluwalia, Rajendra Sethi, Sumit Gulati, Nitin Arora
Director:
Ravinder Siwatch
Writer:
Ravinder Siwatch
Sat, July 25 2026
साई राम टुटेजा फिज़िक्स पढ़ाते हैं लेकिन वास्तुशास्त्र और ज्योतिष आदि पर उनका अटूट विश्वास है। वह एक परफैक्ट 90 डिग्री उत्तर दिशा वाला मकान खरीदने के लिए भटक रहे हैं। काफी मशक्कत के बाद उन्हें ऐसा एक प्लॉट मिलता है जिस पर वह मकान बनवा भी लेते हैं। पर जहां उस मकान पर कई दूसरे लोगों की नज़र है वहीं भ्रष्ट सरकारी अफसर भी बीच में फच्चर फंसा रहे हैं। ऐसे में साई राम क्या करेंगे? सहारा लेंगे अपने विश्वास का या फिर चलेंगे तिकड़म भरी कोई चाल? यह फिल्म ‘उत्तर दा पुत्तर’ (Uttar Da Puttar) इन्हीं सब बातों को हल्के-फुल्के ढंग से देखती और दिखाती है।
Max, Min & Meowzaki
Family, Romance, Comedy (Hindi)
Max and Min are about to break up. They argue endlessly about dividing their possessions, including their cat, Meowzaki, whom they have named after their favorite artist Miyazaki Hayao. Max’s father Ramesh, who lost his wife and has since been suffering from insomnia, meets charming therapist Dhaara. Max’s grandfather Sridhar, secretly enjoys drinking with his new friend Jennifer at the nursing home.
Cast:
Adil Hussain, Mandira Bedi, Nassar, Nafisa Ali, Medha Shankr, Vidhatri Bandi, Gitanjali Rao, Sameksha Oswal, Rupak Saluja, Siddharth Menon
Director:
Narasimhamurthy Padmakumar
Writer:
Narasimhamurthy Padmakumar
Sat, July 25 2026
Sidharth Menon is a constant presence, and does well as the coming-of-age young man. It is Adil Hussain, as the man who takes the longest, most difficult steps towards self-awareness, who holds this film.
A film made four years back, releasing only now, suddenly feels current. Mention of protests and placards woven into the plot around an unravelling couple makes you feel that it’s reflecting the times we are passing through. But then, who is to say that thorny relationships and problem-ridden times aren’t the story of us, decade upon decade? Max (Siddharth Menon) and Min (Medha Shankr), a pair whose relationship is heading south, find themselves connecting over their cat. Or is it just the handsome creature that draws Min back to Max, especially when things aren’t quite as smooth with the new man in her life? The feelings are relatable: if you’ve been together for a while, parting is never easy, and could perhaps encompass residual warmth alongside resentment and sadness.
Sat, July 25 2026
A heartfelt drama about grief, dad issues and complex societal prejudices, ‘Max, Min and Meowzaki’ impresses with its emotional restraint and performances, but some of its messaging feels self-conscious and didactic.
Against the backdrop of a soft monsoon, Max, Min & Meowzaki unfolds as an elegant symphony of human vulnerability. Waiting in the wings for quite some time, at the heart of this coming-of-age, slice-of-life drama are three generations of single men, each carrying a heavy yet silent sorrow. They are men who have forgotten how to speak to one another. Yet to recover from the death of his mother, jingle singer Mahesh or Max (Siddharth Menon), is negotiating with the wreckage of a love story that has just collapsed into a bittersweet breakup with Minara Hussain, or Min (Medha Shankr). His father, Ramesh (Adil Hussain), a man tightly wound in rigid armour, is suffocating under a sleepless, unconfessed grief for his deceased wife and societal biases. The grandfather, an eminent Carnatic singer, Sridhar (Nassar) navigates the fading twilight of his memories, carrying a guilt of not being able to take his son along in the song of life.
Sat, July 25 2026
Jana Nayagan
Action, Drama, Science Fiction (Tamil)
A clash of ideologies. One stands for the people, the other feeds on control. Their paths collided once before. Years later, a child’s silent fear ignites the past, drawing a former police officer into a battle far bigger than personal revenge.
Cast:
Vijay, Mamitha Baiju, Bobby Deol, Pooja Hegde, Priyamani, Prakash Raj, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Narain, Nassar, Sunil Varma
Director:
H. Vinoth
Sat, July 25 2026
Jan Neta (originally Jan Nayagan in Tamil) is actor-turned-Chief Minister Vijay’s swan song. It’s journey to the screen has been almost as dramatic as the film itself, with controversies involving piracy, the censor board and even the courts. After prolonged delays, what is billed as Vijay’s farewell to cinema now that he has taken a full-time plunge into politics, has finally reached theatres. Leaving fandom aside, however, Jan Neta is an endurance test. Like many Indian mainstream entertainers, it desperately wants to be socially responsible while simultaneously allowing its hero to flatten several dozen villains—preferably in slow motion. Directed by H. Vinoth, the film demands unwavering devotion from Vijay fans. Everyone else may find themselves frequently checking their watches.
Fri, July 24 2026
Director H Vinoth's film, starring Vijay, Mamitha Baiju and Bobby Deol, wants to be both a commercial entertainer and a TVK manifesto, and ends up doing justice to neither.
Crores of people are flocking to theatres across the globe to watch Jana Nayagan and bid farewell to the man who entertained them for over three decades. Every cheer, every whistle and every celebration is for one person. Thalapathy Vijay. No, strike that. It’s Chief Minister Vijay now. Is Jana Nayagan an emotional goodbye to an actor or a rousing welcome to the Chief Minister? Neither, as it turns out — it’s mostly just a film that can’t decide what it wants to be.
Fri, July 24 2026
‘Jana Nayagan’ was supposed to be a celebration of Vijay's cinematic career as well as lay out his party’s ideological framework, but achieves neither
H Vinoth’s Jana Nayagan, more importantly Vijay’s Jana Nayagan, or even more accurately Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s Jana Nayagan, finally sees the light of day. An obvious propaganda vehicle, Vijay’s cinematic swansong was slated to release in January this year. But the film faced release troubles when the censor certificate was withheld without reason, forcing the makers to approach the courts. The court and censor battle stretched long enough that several things came to pass. The film mysteriously leaked online. Tamil Nadu then had its state elections in April, in which Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam emerged as the biggest party, leading to him taking oath as the state’s Chief Minister on 10 May. It was such an eventful, unprecedented couple of months that the film always had an uphill task, a mere underscoring of the occasion.
Tera Yaar Hoon Main
Action, Comedy, Drama, Romance (Hindi)
Sanju moves from Nagpur to Mumbai for work and stays with his late mother's friend Viswanath. He falls for Viswanath's daughter Anu, but her marriage is arranged with another man, leaving Viswanath caught between friendship and fatherhood.
Cast:
Aman Kumar, Aakansha Sharma, Paresh Rawal, Neha Khan, Johny Lever, Supriya Pilgaonkar, Mrinal Kulkarni, Pooja Katurde, Darshan Jariwala, Anand Acharya
Director:
Milap Zaveri
Writer:
Milap Zaveri, Rajan Agarwal
Fri, July 24 2026
Milap Zaveri’s latest romantic drama is unwatchable in so many ways that you wonder if it even wants to be a movie
There are bad movies, and then there are movies that make you cringe so hard that you can’t bear to look at the screen. So I grimaced and looked away during Milap Zaveri’s Tera Yaar Hoon Main, the way a squeamish viewer does when confronted with graphic violence and gore. But looking away from the screen meant that I had to make peace with the young couple making out in the row ahead. So I turned my face to the other side, but there was another couple enjoying the privacy of the matinee show. Lest they found my frantic head-turning creepy, I concluded that the safest thing was to look at the screen again. But for how long? The film continued to make direct eye contact with me. This became a circular loop of embarrassment and coyness for 145 minutes, and now I’m so dizzy that I should be seeing stars but I’m not (because 0 stars out of 5).