Renuka Vyavahare

After the death of a retired judge (Boman Irani), his loyal aide, visually impaired maintenance worker Shyam Rane (Saif Ali Khan), senses foul play. Without actually seeing him, he detects the presence of a killer, Parshuram (Akshay Kumar), in the room. Can Shyam track down the murderer, who is himself on the prowl? Driven by rage and revenge, Parshuram stalks Shyam like a shadow as he attempts to get to the judge’s daughter. He has scores to settle with her father and will stop at nothing. Can Shyam save her from the clutches of this haiwaan? A Hindi remake of Priyadarshan’s own Malayalam thriller Oppam (2016), the film makes you wonder why the director felt the need to revisit the story, especially when the material feels this dramatically thin. Devoid of a compelling mystery or sustained tension, the narrative quickly turns flat and monotonous. The writing fails to create intriguing characters or situations that keep you invested, let alone on the edge of your seat.

Based on Aravind Adiga’s bestselling novel and adapted for the screen by Sooni Taraporevala, Ben Rekhi’s poignant drama centres on Masterji (Manoj Bajpayee), the lone resident of an ageing Mumbai housing society who resists redevelopment, determined to preserve the home and community he holds dear. His refusal to bow to the demands of his fellow residents and the builder (Boman Irani) soon makes him a thorn in their side. Ironically, his fight to save their community leaves him increasingly lonely and isolated. Viewed as someone depriving them of a better life, the people he once considered friends ostracise him, dismissing his principles as outdated. In a world where everyone is racing to own bigger homes and lead more luxurious lives, our threshold for tolerance, empathy and togetherness has drastically diminished. We crave privacy and space while secretly watching those viral AI videos of families travelling together in cozy vans. We have time to argue with strangers on social media, but barely bother to know our next-door neighbours. The safety net and community culture of Mumbai’s chawls and old buildings are fast disappearing, and Masterji finds himself fighting a losing battle to preserve a way of life that is slowly becoming extinct.

Bani (Taapsee Pannu) and her husband Gokul (Ishwak Singh) are shell-shocked when their five-year-old daughter Mishty is abducted in broad daylight from Joypurra, a fictitious town in West Bengal. Consumed by guilt over her perceived negligence, Bani joins Gokul in a desperate search for their daughter, which eventually leads them to a child-trafficking racket. Things take a dramatic turn when Bani loses her eyesight. Can she still find her daughter and bring her back? With its Bengali backdrop, missing-person mystery, woman-on-a-mission narrative, revenge angle and vulnerable protagonist, Gandhari seems designed as a spiritual successor to Sujoy Ghosh’s terrific Kahaani (2012). But while Kahaani drew its power from atmosphere, restraint and a riveting central performance, Gandhari keeps reaching for bigger and louder moments without earning them. Vidya Balan’s performance in Kahaani immersed you in the world of an unsuspecting woman driven by fear, grief and determination. Taapsee Pannu, meanwhile, is pulled in too many directions here. The film turns her into a full-fledged theatrical action hero, complete with elaborate fight sequences, but in doing so, it loses sight of the actor and the emotional complexity she can bring to a character.

David Robert Mitchell’s Amblin-esque sci-fi survival thriller is a heartwarming, terrifying and thoroughly entertaining ode to Steven Spielberg and the magic of the ’80s. A frightening, unnatural event disrupts the slow, idyllic life of the Platt family. Without warning, their quiet suburban neighbourhood transforms into a dense forest inhabited by an army of deadly dinosaurs. Has time shifted their reality? And can they survive this bizarre catastrophe? Kids riding bikes, childhood spent outdoors with friends and neighbours instead of glued to gadgets, lazy afternoons on rooftops with books, families dining together and children believing they are safe as long as their parents are around — The End of Oak Street is a resounding ode to simpler times and the unconditional love of family. Its world is idyllic, dreamy and deliberately nostalgic.

Despite the resemblance in title, Ohh My Dog isn’t a sequel to the OMG franchise, even though Amit Rai also directed OMG 2, starring Pankaj Tripathi. This is a standalone film that celebrates the bond between humans and dogs, championing compassion and kindness towards voiceless beings as the truest form of religion. Metaphorically, it even presents dogs as a manifestation of God—selfless protectors who love unconditionally. Amit Rai’s son Maahi and the family’s indie pet dog Oscar play the sharp-witted Apu and Momo, two inseparable siblings living a happy life in Assam until Momo is kidnapped. Convinced that dog meat smugglers are behind the disappearance, Apu sets out to uncover the truth while the authorities remain largely indifferent. Meanwhile, in Bhopal, Prince, an underage labourer, shares an unlikely bond with a stray dog named Bruno. When Prince goes missing, Bruno becomes the film’s true hero, relentlessly searching for his companion, convinced that something sinister has happened.

Tom Holland’s Peter Parker grows up in Brand New Day, a melancholic, grief-stricken Spider-Man story that trades humour for humanity. Following the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), New York’s friendly neighborhood hero is no longer a bumbling teenager. With his high school years behind him, Peter Parker enters a new chapter of his life, confronting its defining realities—grief, loss, loneliness, and a profound journey of self-reflection. Having lost Aunt May and the two people closest to him, Ned and MJ, whose memories of Peter have been erased, he is left to navigate adulthood alone. Now a full-time masked vigilante, he fights crime while battling the isolation within. Melancholy lingers where humor once prevailed. Already wrestling with his inner demons, Peter is forced to take on a formidable nemesis who can manipulate the minds of others. (Hint: the origin of an iconic X-Men character played by Sadie Sink).

Inspired by Homer’s timeless Greek epic, Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey follows Odysseus (Matt Damon), Trojan War hero and King of Ithaca, haunted by the consequences of his past choices. Twenty years after leaving his family behind, he embarks on a perilous journey back home, confronting monstrous sea creatures, mythical beasts, powerful witches, and vengeful gods. Yet his greatest battle lies within, as he struggles to overcome the burden of his past in a relentless quest for redemption. As Odysseus longs to reunite with his wife, Penelope (Anne Hathaway), and son, Telemachus (Tom Holland), he discovers that his greatest obstacle is not the treacherous seas he must cross, but the memories and regrets that consume him. His homecoming is not merely a physical arduous journey; it is an emotional reckoning, a burden he must confront and a price he must pay.

A personal crisis forces Arjun Mehra (Sunny Deol), a celebrated lawyer, to set aside his personal beliefs and defend murder suspect Shauryamann Gaur (Akshaye Khanna), an entitled brat he deeply despises. Does morality have a place in legal practice? Must a defence lawyer believe in a client’s innocence to defend them? Probably not. Director Siddharth P. Malhotra attempts to subvert that notion, which is interesting. His protagonist, Arjun Mehra (Sunny Deol), is an idealist who firmly believes that the world roots for heroes, not villains. His moral convictions are put to the test when he’s compelled to defend the deeply unlikeable Shauryamann Gaur (Akshaye Khanna), accused of attempting to murder Soma Mittal (Akansha Ranjan Kapoor), a young woman he is last seen leaving a nightclub with. While Gaur insists he’s innocent, the prosecution, led by lawyer Madhura Bannerjee (Tillotama Shome), appears to have enough evidence to prove otherwise.