Janani K

A middle-class family full of Karate fighters. A Rs 7,000 crore mining project on the line. A corporate villain. And his assassin to get things done for him. When all these collide,you get a script with ample scope for a wild ride. Director Subash K Raj attempts an action-heavy thriller about a happy family that just wants to mind its own business. Blast, at a runtime of nearly two hours and 30 minutes, is a blend of multiple genres. At one point, it is about a middle-class family fighting to protect their peace. When Nila (Preity Mukundhan) is young, her father (Arjun Sarja) teaches her the most important lesson in life: stand up for the victim, even if they are not related to you. This, along with karate training from her father, makes her impossible to dislike.

How long can a man outrun the ghosts of his past? A middle-class family man who once went to unimaginable lengths to protect his family now finds himself battling a past that refuses to stay buried (literally). This is what Jeethu Joseph’s Drishyam 3 is all about. Does Jeethu Joseph have a few more tricks up his sleeve to make the third film in the franchise as interesting as the first two were? Let’s find out. Producer Georgekutty (Mohanlal) has successfully released his first film, which is based on the events that happened in his family. As he is hounded with congratulations and offers for overseas release and remakes, there’s also a looming threat for his family. This time, it’s not the police or Geetha Prabakar (Asha Sharath), who lost her son Varun, who is coming after Georgekutty.

It’s the 90s and early 2000s. Do you remember watching the Amman movies getting replayed on KTV? Ah! Nostalgic, right? Director RJ Balaji took us to the same time period with Nayanthara’s Mookuthi Amman in 2020. With Suriya’s Karuppu, he has returned to the same space, but mounted it as a stylised commercial entertainer. But, does Karuppu hit the jackpot? Let’s find out!

What does a spy thriller warrant in 2026? Pan-India ambition, big scale and even bigger stars? That’s mostly what most directors are aiming for. But Mahesh Narayanan does the unthinkable with Patriot — a largely engaging intelligence procedural featuring the Big M’s of Malayalam cinema and most of the industry’s popular faces. He keeps it grounded, letting the story lead rather than the stardom or pan-India ambition. The film begins with Dr Daniel James (Mammootty), a scientific analyst who works for the government agency DRW. A false case pushes him to quit and fly to London, where he runs a YouTube channel called Vimathan — meaning dissident — through which he exposes how civilians are being monitored via their laptops and phones.

There’s a vague similarity between Kara and Dhanush’s recent directorial Idli Kadai — both feature him as a grief-stricken son fulfilling his father’s wish. While Idli Kadai leaned dramatic, Kara builds genuine tension, especially in its robbery sequences. Kara is the stronger film of the two, though both arrive at a similar destination: good, but short of great. The film opens with Kara aka Karasaaami (Dhanush), who has committed to do his last robbery. He teaches his aide how to rob as it could help him, and he wants to get married to Selli (Mamitha Baiju). He succeeds in the plan, well, mostly. But, Kara is forced to return to his village to meet his father to sell his land for money to set up a hotel (aka mess), which could help them lead a dignified life.

A film’s mood is established in its initial few minutes. Pallichattambi opens with massive hype surrounding a feudal lord who oppresses people, without revealing his face. The narrative follows how the Church stood against the communist government in the 1950s, highlighting the history of the Liberation Struggle. Set in 1958 in the village of Kaaniyar, the story follows the Church as it seeks a strong protector against the rising influence of Communist workers. They find Krishnan Pillai, also known as Pallichattambi (the church rowdy), as their unlikely messiah. Pillai arrives in Kaaniyar as Pothan Christopher with the sole aim of halting the spread of communism.

Imagine Chennai in 2040, transformed into a bustling metropolis resembling Times Square on its busiest day. Monorails traverse the skyline, government hospitals resemble hi-tech labs, and drones deliver goods across a hyperconnected city. This is the world Vignesh Shivan creates in Love Insurance Kompany, portraying a technologically advanced yet emotionally distant society dominated by apps, especially one called Love Insurance Kompany, led by the mysterious Suriyan.

There is a scene in director Someetharan’s Neelira where a group of children is playing outdoors in the midst of the Sri Lankan civil war in 1988. One of them blurts," What’s a game without guns?," as they indulge in a shooting game. It takes only one scene to put everything into context. These are children who should be playing hopscotch or hide-and-seek. Instead, they are thinking about shooting each other.