Keyur Seta

Filmmaker Prasanna Vithanage’s Paradise is a Sri Lankan-Indian joint venture produced by Newton Cinema and presented by Mani Ratnam’s Madras Talkies. The movie is a tri-lingual in English, Sinhala and Malayalam. Paradise tells the story of a couple from Kerala, Kesav (Roshan Mathew) and Amritha (Darshana Rajendran), who visit a hill station in Sri Lanka to celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary. Their trip coincides with the mass protests in April 2022 after the country declares bankruptcy. Hence, there are agitations at various places for basic necessities of life.

Filmmaker Nikhil Nagesh Bhat’s ambitious action saga Kill is a first not just because of the violence and gore it projects in Hindi cinema but also in terms of cinematic finesse. After going through this ‘ride’, one can vouch that the makers succeeded in their ‘mission’. Kill revolves around the love story between the commando Amrit Rathod (Lakshya) and Tulika (Tanya Maniktala). The former returns from an army camp after days and gets to know that Tulika’s father Baldeo Singh Thakur (Harsh Chhaya) has planned her engagement with someone else and that too the very next day in Ranchi. Amrit takes his colleague and close friend Viresh (Abhishek Chauhan) to Ranchi.

Filmmaker Amar Kaushik’s Stree was about the villagers of Chanderi fighting against a female evil spirit called Stree, who attacks and takes away the men residing in the village. After a lot of twists and turns, the men are freed in the end and Stree vanishes after her long braid is cut. But in the end, the viewers are given a hint that the mysterious girl with no name (Shraddha Kapoor) is a witch after she leaves the village. The story of Stree 2 continues a few years later when Chanderi is a peaceful place. Vicky (Rajkummar Rao) and his best friend Bittu (Aparshakti Khurana) are leading a happy-go-lucky life, except that the former is still waiting for the girl with no name (Shraddha) as he loves her. Their buddy Jana (Abhishek Banerjee) is in Delhi studying to become an IAS officer.

Filmmaker Pravin Vitthal Tarde’s Dharmaveer: Mukkam Post Thane (2022), the first film in the series, spoke about the rise and the greatness of the late Shiv Sena leader Anand Dighe, who was from Thane. The film was a good biopic that also worked as a commercial entertainer with a fine act from Prasad Oak as Dighe. As the protagonist passes away at the end of the first film, one wondered what the film’s sequel, Dharmaveer: Mukkam Post Thane 2, would have in store. As it turns out, the movie is nothing but a 157-minute long campaign for the upcoming assembly polls in Mahahrashtra.

It is quite common for movies to not live up to its exciting trailer. It is extremely rare for the opposite to happen. Sachin Pilgaonkar’s Navra Maza Navsacha 2 is that rare film that turns out to be many times better than its trailer. In other words, the film’s promo was misleading, but in a good way. Navra Maza Navsacha 2 is the sequel to the iconic and successful Navra Maza Navsacha (2004), which starred Sachin Pilgaonkar and Supriya Pilgaonkar in lead roles. The film ended with Vakratund aka Vacky (Sachin) somehow managing to fulfill his late father’s vow of visiting the Ganesh temple in Ganpatipule naked. He was pushed for the same by his wife Bhakti (Supriya). The couple also earns Rs. 8 crores as they help the police nab the criminal Babu Kalia (Pradeep Patwardhan).

First things first. I am not a fan of Pushpa: The Rise, the first film in filmmaker Sukumar’s franchise. I found it lagging behind in storytelling, performance of the lead actor and filled with quite a few problematic moments. However, I am pleasantly surprised to find Pushpa 2: The Rule not only better than part one but also a paisa vasool entertainer. The first film ended with Pushpa Raj (Allu Arjun) becoming a large force in the world of red sandalwood smuggling. In the end, he marries his lady love Srivalli (Rashmika Mandanna) while his nemesis in the form of the cop Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat (Fahadh Faasil) vows to destroy Pushpa for his crimes and the insult meted out to him.

Mumbai has not only been one of the most featured cities in Indian films but it is also explored as a subject over the decades. Many a times, the dark underbelly of the city is brought to light. Filmmaker Payal Kapadia’s worldwide acclaimed feature film debut All We Imagine As Light (Malayalam along with some usage of Hindi and Marathi) also shows the bitter side of Mumbai. But it, for a change, doesn’t feature the criminal side of the city in any way.

Rohit Shetty’s cop sagas started with the brilliant Singham (2011). It was obvious for him to bring out a sequel to it. But Singham Returns (2014) turned out to be just an average fare. His latest and third outing in the series, Singham Again, is better than the 2014 film. Hence, it keeps alive his Cop Universe, which also contains the enjoyable Simmba (2018) and Sooryavanshi (2021).