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Kshitij Rawat

Lifestyle Asia

Kshitij Rawat did not unleash himself to the world as a film critic, but such are the vagaries of destiny. He has been reviewing films and TV shows since 2017. Growing up in different parts of the country, he has been exposed to a variety of cultures, something that informs his criticism. He currently works at Lifestyle Asia.

All reviews by Kshitij Rawat

Image of scene from the film Songs of Paradise

Songs of Paradise

Music, Drama, Family (Hindi)

Who really burnt down Noor Begum’s records?

Mon, September 1 2025

Songs of Paradise traces the life of Kashmir’s first female playback singer Raj Begum, albeit through a fictionalised tale.

Biopics are volatile beasts. Too deferential, and they end up mummifying their subjects in sepia-toned sainthood. Too irreverent, and they trivialise a life that originally clawed tooth and nail for attention. Songs of Paradise, Prime Video’s ode to Kashmir’s first female playback singer Raj Begum (fictionalised here as Zeba/Noor Begum), navigates this tightrope with unexpected ease. Let’s dive into Songs of Paradise story and ending, which are both explained here. What starts as the aspiration of a young Kashmiri girl in the 1950s (with the courage to sing when women were instructed to keep silent) in this Danish Renzu movie is, by the end, a generational echo. The flames which engulfed her recordings become the flames that illuminate the way for her granddaughter. The past is not lost as long as someone is still humming its melody.

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Image of scene from the film Salakaar

Salakaar

Action & Adventure (Hindi)

Does Adhir Dayal foil General Zia’s nuclear plan?

Fri, August 8 2025

Spanning two timelines (1978 and 2025) Salakaar follows a dangerous game of espionage between India and Pakistan, where hidden agendas and a looming nuclear threat could change the course of history. In this world, every handshake hides a secret, and every secret could start a war. Let’s probe into that shocking finale.

If you came to Salakaar for a straightforward spy story, bless your heart. You must be new here. The Salakaar web series, now streaming on JioHotstar, isn’t content with just tossing you into the morally murky waters of Indo-Pak espionage. Oh no, it hurls you headfirst. Let’s dive deeper into Salakaar JioHotstar web series‘ ending, which is explained here. The Salakaar plot plays out across two timelines (1978 and 2025), mixing historical what-ifs (basically Salakaar‘s true story part) with enough cloak-and-dagger drama to keep you interested. There are nuclear blueprints, Chinese funding, fake families, and a general who quotes Faiz but bans poetry in public. There’s also the little matter of a bomb that could alter South Asia’s future.

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Image of scene from the film Maalik

Maalik

Action, Thriller, Crime, Drama (Hindi)

Who betrays Maalik and why? Uncovering the twist

Fri, July 11 2025

Maalik is a gritty political crime drama that follows the rise of a feared figure in 1990s Allahabad. With Rajkummar Rao at the center, the film explores power, betrayal, and the cost of ambition. This detailed explainer breaks down the Maalik movie story, the characters, and what makes the ending so impactful.maalik-5

If you came for redemption, you’re watching the wrong movie. Maalik is not a typical political gangster drama. It’s a heavy, slow-burn tale of ambition that spirals into wrath, a story where the lines between politics, power and personal vendetta dissolve into one long, blood-slicked road. Know more about Maalik movie story and ending, explained here. The Maalik movie trailer promised us high-stakes drama, and it delivers with guns, grenades, betrayals, and a body count that would make George R. R. Martin blush. Set primarily in a particularly politically charged city of Allahabad, Maalik is a film where every handshake has a hidden dagger and every ally a secret price. And leading us down that path is none other than Rajkummar Rao. He is haunting, magnetic, tragic, and brutal as Deepak aka Maalik. From humble beginnings to self-proclaimed overlord, Deepak’s evolution into “Maalik” is Shakespearean in scope and Greek in tragedy. It’s Scarface meets Sarkar but with a nastier streak. Before we dive into the shootouts and twists, let’s unravel the full Maalik movie story and then walk you through that devastating ending of this gangster movie.

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Image of scene from the film Maa

Maa

Horror (Hindi)

What happens to Shweta after being taken by the demon

Sat, June 28 2025

A woman returns to her husband’s ancestral village with her daughter, only to find that the past hasn’t stayed buried. Local customs, eerie disappearances, and a locked temple hint at something festering beneath the surface. As old myths begin to bleed into reality, the line between tradition and horror starts to blur.

Draped in myth, dread, ghosts, and matriarchal rage, Maa isn’t your typical “mom fights for child” drama. It’s Kali Puja meets folk horror, with just enough gore and generational trauma. It sort of makes you question whether moving back to your ancestral village is ever a good idea. Maa movie throws itself headfirst into this jungle of ritual and revenge, with Kajol leading like a woman who’s read one too many ancient scriptures. Let’s dive deeper into the Maa movie, its story and ending, both of which are explained here, the cast, and more. On the surface, the Maa movie begins like a dark fable, twin births, secret killings, bad omens, and temples that only open when the Doddess visits you in dreams. But what it slowly morphs into is a full-blown indictment of patriarchal traditions dressed up as divine will. Through the story of Shweta and her mother Ambika (Kajol), the film lures us into Chandrapur’s cursed soil, where young girls go missing, demonic trees thirst for blood, and the real monsters are men disguised as protectors. Kajol’s character, equal parts devoted mother and accidental final girl, must go toe-to-toe with ancient evil, aided only by visions and old manuscripts.

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Image of scene from the film Housefull 5

Housefull 5

Comedy, Crime, Mystery (Hindi)

Who is the real killer in this murder mystery?

Fri, June 6 2025

A loud, tangled fever dream of a comedy where chaos reigns and absolutely no one, including the film, seems to know what’s going on.

They say too many cooks spoil the broth, but in Housefull 5, too many Jollys cook up a full-blown fever dream aboard a cruise ship where plotlines come to die and then promptly resurrect themselves with dance numbers. Welcome to the Housefull 5 movie, a chaotic comedy-thriller-murder-mystery-family-reunion-courtroom-heist-caper (yes, all of those) where no one is who they say they are, everyone is possibly a murderer, and the parrot might actually be the most intelligent of the lot. Let’s dive into the Housefull 5 movie full story, its ending, which is explained here, cast, trailer, characters, and more.

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Image of scene from the film Thug Life

Thug Life

Action, Crime, Drama (Tamil)

Do Sakthivel and Amaran survive the final battle?

Fri, June 6 2025

Thug Life is a sprawling gangster saga where revenge and betrayal crash into each other across decades. Kamal Haasan leads the film with aplomb and his usual commitment to his each and every role, but just when you think you’ve got it figured out, the film flips the table. The ending hits hard, but not how you’d expect.

You know Mani Ratnam’s Thug Life movie is about to go off the rails (in the best way) when it opens with Kamal Haasan solemnly standing in a field, musing about death and how he has been shadowed by Yamraj (the Hindu god of death and justice) for ages. From there, we are hurled through revenge arcs and philosophical showdowns. And that’s just the first hour. Let’s explore the Thug Life movie story and ending of the Kamal Haasan movie, which is explained here. The film, after that prologue, begins with a monochrome Old Delhi in the 1990s. We learn that Kamal Haasan (perhaps digitally de-aged, perhaps not) plays the role of Sakthivel, a crime lord who rules a section of Old Delhi with his brother. Their chief rival is Sadanand (Mahesh Manjrekar). The scene begins with a parley between Sadanand and the brothers at the latter’s place. But the parley is a ruse, for as soon as Sadanand leaves, armed police (presumably on his payroll) enter the premises and there is a shootout.

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Image of scene from the film Kesari Veer

Kesari Veer

Action, Drama, History (Hindi)

Who wins the battle for the Somnath temple?

Fri, May 23 2025

Kesari Veer: Legend of Somnath isn’t shy about what it wants to be. It’s a full-throated, slow-motion-laden ode to sacrifice set against the backdrop of 14th-century Gujarat. The film reconstructs the tale of Hamirji Gohil — likely a historical figure about whom not much is known beyond legends and folktales. But once the dust settles (and the background score finally fades), what does the ending actually mean? This is your Kesari Veer movie story and ending explained, and also learn about the cast of the movie, trailer, and more. The Kesari Veer movie is something of a historical epic account with an eye on a cultural assertion. It is stylised to a pitch of crescendo. It occasionally can stray beyond historical consensus — that, I would say, has never really been unusual in Bollywood. I mean, Chhaava was pretty recent and had its hero chucking a shield at the enemy like Captain America. At the heart of the Kesari Veer story is a man standing in the path of an invading army and an important Lord Shiva temple (Somnath).

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Image of scene from the film Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning

Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning

Action, Adventure, Thriller (English)

Did Ethan Hunt survive?

Sun, May 18 2025

So. That ending. If your jaw is still somewhere on the floor after watching Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, you are not alone. There’s no denying it: the final act of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning and especially its ending has left us with more questions than answers, even though it is supposed to be the full stop in this venerable spy-thriller franchise. Let’s dive into Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning plot, ending, which is explained here, the cast of this Tom Cruise-led film, and more. The movie finds Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his crew of IMF (Impossible Missions Force) agents discussing how to deal with the Entity, an all-powerful and all-encompassing artificial intelligence that has gone rogue and sentient. Now, it threatens the destruction of humanity by taking over the global cyberspace.

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