Janani K

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.

Actor Vishal’s directorial debut has hardly been a bed of roses. His journey behind the camera began in 2020, when he took over Thupparivaalan 2 after a fallout with director Mysskin, who had helmed the first film. Despite Vishal taking charge, the project never saw the light of day. Cut to 2026, and Vishal finally makes his directorial debut with Magudam. Ironically, the film has a backstory not entirely different from Thupparivaalan 2. Following creative differences, Vishal took over the film from director Ravi Arasu. Unlike Thupparivaalan 2, however, Magudam did make it to theatres.

Imagine having everything in abundance, yet your traumas remain unhealed. You’ve grown up shoving them away, comfortable enough now to just react to the triggers. And then someone walks in and heals your trauma without even trying. Sounds like a fantasy, doesn’t it? But not for director Venky Atluri – this is the core of Suriya-starrer Vishwanath and Sons. Sanjay Vishwanath (Suriya) is a successful businessman and Olympic medal winner in pistol shooting. His mother, Nirmala Devi (Radhikaa Sarathkumar), lives the way every 60-or 70-year-old does – always nagging her 40-year-old son to get married. She fails every time; Sanjay is clear that he doesn’t believe in the institution of marriage and feels complete by himself.

Director Arun Matheswaran returns to familiar territory with DC — a world where ordinary people are crushed by a broken system, women carry the scars of male brutality, and revenge is the only language left for justice. Like Rocky and Saani Kaayidham before it, DC is steeped in blood, grief and moral ambiguity. This time, though, Arun wraps his recurring themes in a stylish revenge thriller with unexpected twists, pulsating action and enough emotional heft to justify the violence. Devadas (Lokesh Kanagaraj) is a gangster with no intention of leaving crime behind. He and his men are riding high after ambushing a police convoy and making off with a cache of discarded weapons. Around the same time, a grieving woman approaches Das, claiming policemen killed her husband and stole the money meant for her son’s education. Having carried the grief of losing his own mother for years, Das has a soft spot for women in distress, and decides to help her — killing the policeman responsible and forcing his own gang into hiding.

What starts as the foundation work for an eight-lane highway soon turns into a politically sensitive investigation when a human skeleton is unearthed at the construction site. A punishment posting brings police sub-inspector Moosa Raaza (Sasikumar) to Madurai, where he is entrusted with solving the high-profile case. As Raaza begins piecing together the mystery, the investigation leads him to Mani (Yashwanth), whose past gradually reveals the truth behind the decades-old crime. Although Vadhandhi Season 2 carries forward the franchise name, it tells a completely independent story. Unlike the first season starring SJ Suryah, this one does not require any prior knowledge, making it an easy watch for everyone.

Did you know that India’s best innovator, Gopalaswamy Duraiswamy Naidu aka GD Naidu, hailing from Coimbatore was branded a lunatic, terrorist and tax dodger? G.D.N. opens with a group of teachers belonging to a textbook committee debating whether he deserves a chapter in the school syllabus. Director Krishnakumar Ramakumar’s G.D.N. then takes us on a journey to the early 1910s when GD Naidu discovered his passion for everything mechanical. It’s his love for motors that led him to manufacture the first electric motor in India, among his other discoveries in various sectors. But, innovators like him always face adversaries at every step. GD Naidu was no exception.