Janani K

Actor Soori’s transformation from a comedian to a protagonist is a testament to his hard work, perseverance and resilience. If there’s one thing that deserves appreciation in this renewed journey, it’s his script choices. With Mandaadi, Soori has picked a story centred on a sailboat race, a sport rarely seen in films. The unusual setting gives the film a distinct identity from the outset. A young Maari (Mithun Jai Sankar), in the opening sequence of Mandaadi, almost kills antagonist Saatapuli (Suhas) and his son. A commotion at a local temple festival stops Maari from completing the murders. Saatapuli, an influential man who controls the sailboat business and racing team, is now hunting Maari. He escapes to Chennai and seeks help from Muthukaali (Soori), who works at a theme park in the city.

Sardar, directed by PS Mithran, gave Tamil cinema a rooted spy character in 2022, well before Dhurandhar made the genre fashionable. Four years later, Sardar (Karthi) — who swears by the line, “Once a spy, always a spy” — returns with a shot at correcting a mistake that cost thousands of lives. The first film ended with Bose, aka Sardar, accepting his fate as a branded terrorist despite never committing espionage. His son Viji, inducted into RAW, has since been sidelined into a dummy unit handling no cases of consequence. Sardar 2 hands him a chance to prove himself — just as a bigger threat surfaces. What brings Sardar out of exile? Can father and son join forces against Black Dagger, a mercenary outfit endangering 140 crore people? The film spends a patient three hours answering these questions.

If you are a believer in destiny, life is all about second chances. Once More takes that idea and builds a romantic drama around a man who has almost forgotten what happiness feels like. Raghuvaran is stuck in a depressive state, barely pushing through each day, when Anjali, a woman who is quite literally walking sunshine, enters his life. She refuses to let him remain in his shell and slowly gives him another shot at happiness.

Rom-coms have a timeless charm. They make you smile, tug at your heartstrings and, at their best, leave you walking out of the theatre with a little more hope than you walked in with. But very few films manage to get that emotional balance right these days. Last week, the Malayalam film Bethlehem Kudumba Unit did it effortlessly. This week, Tamil film Hi attempts to recreate that magic with a story rooted in romance, family and second chances. But does it work? Let’s find out.

Three years after Yash and Geetu Mohandas announced Toxic, the film is finally in theatres. And after all the waiting, the anticipation and the speculation, one question remains stubbornly unanswered: where is the female gaze Geetu promised? In a throwback interview, Geetu described Toxic as a “gangster film”. She said, “It’s a gangster genre with a female gaze. How about that?” When the teaser dropped in July, that was the question everyone asked. Now, after three hours of Toxic, a more pointed one takes its place: does the film ever really see its women at all? Rewind to 2023. When Yash and Geetu Mohandas announced their collaboration, eyebrows went up. Here was a star coming off the monumental success of the KGF franchise, joining forces with a filmmaker known for her distinct, uncompromising voice. Would these two very different cinematic worlds click, or would the pairing end up a spectacular miss? There seemed to be little room for anything in between.

Choices and freedom are equally important for men and women in a relationship built on respect, love and true companionship. But here’s the uncomfortable question that lingers: when it comes to marriage, are men and women really given the same freedom to choose their own lives? Or are some choices still reserved for one gender more than the other? Director Elan’s Pyaar Prema Kalyanam toys with this idea and presents some genuinely interesting arguments around role reversal. Elan (Elan) is a reckless young man with little sense of responsibility. After losing the job in Dubai that his strict, conservative father got him, he returns to India with a simple life goal: fall in love and get married.

Prithviraj Sukumaran needs a win, and Khalifa: The Ruler arrives at just the right — or perhaps the most crucial — moment. After Vilayath Buddha and I, Nobody failed to make a mark at the box office, all eyes are now on Vysakh’s action thriller to turn things around. But does Khalifa have what it takes to end Prithviraj’s box-office dry spell? Let’s find out! Khalifa opens with a grand wedding, after which the bride’s brother, Samad, is detained by the police. From there, the narrative unfolds around Aamir Ali (Prithviraj Sukumaran), who has taken refuge in London. With a warrant issued against him for murder and a notorious reputation as a gold smuggler, the film explores the circumstances that led Aamir to this point.

There are films that make you fall in love with love. There are films that make you fall in love with cinema. And then there are films that feel like a warm hug. Director Girish AD’s Bethlehem Kudumba Unit is one such film — full of little moments, innocence, laughter and heart. Ashley (Mamitha Baiju), her parents and her brother Alan move into a new home opposite Justin’s (Nivin Pauly) in Ernakulam. Justin is the kind of man the entire neighbourhood loves because he is always there for everyone. He runs a catering business and also produces his brother Joel’s (Sangeeth Prathap) short films. Still sad about leaving the home she grew up in, Ashley looks out of her new window and catches sight of Justin seemingly threatening a man. It is hardly the first impression you’d expect of the neighbourhood’s favourite guy.