Keyur Seta

The film revolves around a 99-year-old Marathi school in Alibaug called Krantijyoti Vidyalay Marathi Madhyam. The school is everything for its Principal Shirke sir (Sachin Khedekar). But currently, the school doesn’t have any future. The state government has ordered to raze the school as, according to them, its lease period is over and the structure of the building has become weak. The plan is also to make an English medium international school in its place. This has happened to thousands of Marathi schools in Maharashtra.

Daayam, which is a Malayalam film, takes place in a town in Kerala. Kalyani (Aathira Rajeev) is going through the most emotionally challenging period of her life after her mother passed away a few days back in the most unexpected manner. Her house is full of relatives as they need to complete a few rituals for the departed. There are murmurs about all not being well between her mother and father Raghu (Pradeep Geedha) in recent times. Kalyani mentally takes stock of these situations as she tries settling into a new life with her father.

Since more than a decade, mainstream Hindi cinema has seen a number of films about spies on secret missions for the sake of the country. The aforementioned story of Dhurandhar might also sound similar to some past Hindi movies. But the film stands apart when it comes to the treatment. Instead of including high-octane and larger-than-life action stunts, glamour and dialogue baazi, it relies on a narrative more on the realistic side. Of course, there are creative liberties being taken but they are believable. What sets Dhurandhar apart is also the main content. One won’t find spy activities between both countries as the center point. The film is more about the politics and mafia of Pakistan with the issue of terrorism kept in the background for a majority of the duration, especially in the first half. Dhar should be commended for the research on this topic and choosing to explore it, which hasn’t happened before. This also makes it advisable to do some research on the underworld of Lyari and its connection to Pakistan’s politics before watching the film.

Gondhal, which is written and directed by Santosh Davakhar, gets the viewers transported into the interiors of the village and the ceremony of Gondhal in a thoroughly impressive manner. It does that through a long one-take shot that not only follows different characters perform different tasks but also in presence of over 100 junior actors in a large open area. Veteran cinematographer Amalendu Chaudhary makes his presence felt in various other shots as well. No stone is left unturned when it comes to portraying the ceremony and its various aspects. One can find even minute detailing with regards to the rituals, costumes and production designing.

The film starts off in 1967 in a town in Uttar Pradesh. Shazia Bano (Yami Gautam Dhar), a young girl full of life, gets married to the lawyer Abbas Khan (Emraan Hashmi). She is happy with choosing him as her life partner. She gives birth to two children and is pregnant with the third. This is when Abbas goes on a three-week visit to Pakistan to settle some property dispute in their ancestral place.

Teen Paayancha Ghoda (English title: Three Legged Horse) takes place in 2003 in Pune. Adnan (Kunal Shukla), a carefree youngster, has been flunking his 12th standard exams. He has already lost two years in the process. His girlfriend Chandrika (Ria Nalavade), who is even more carefree, continues to support him despite his failure. Adnan’s father is in the rehabilitation centre for alcoholism. He isn’t strict with Adnan and doesn’t have any grudges for him failing in exams. But Adnan’s nana (Gajanan Paranjpe), who is a retired IPS (Indian Police Service) officer and with him he lives, is super strict and has given an ultimatum to him to pass his exams this year.

The film revolves around a struggling television journalist Alok Goyal (Ayushmann Khurrana) staying in Delhi with his parents (Paresh Rawal and Geeta Agarwal Sharma). He once goes on a jungle adventure with his friends outside the city. He becomes a victim of a bear attack and is forced to hide in a cave-like place for safety. Just then, a beautiful girl (Rashmika Mandanna) rescues him. Alok gets to know that her name is Tadaka and she is a part of a tribe of Betaals led by the crazy Yakshasan (Nawazuddin Siddiqui). People from the tribe capture Alok just when he and Tadaka are getting attracted to each other. Tadaka defies the tribe’s rules and frees Alok. But in order to save herself from her tribe for being a traitor, she too moves to Delhi with him. This encounter changes Alok’s life forever.

Homebound is a story of two best friends from the less fortunate backgrounds and what all they go through because of their identities. Mohammed Shoaib Ali (Ishaan Khatter) and Chandan Kumar (Vishal Jethwa) hail from a small town in India. The families of both lead a life of poverty. But that’s not all. Shoaib and Chandan also regularly face discrimination on the basis of their religion and caste respectively.