Sachin Chatte

What started as a one-off Malayalam film in 2014 has also become one of the biggest franchises in Hindi. The remake, Drishyam, arrived in 2015, followed by a sequel in 2022. Now, Drishyam: The Conclusion is here and, supposedly, this is the final instalment. It is not easy to give up on a lucrative franchise, so we’ll have to wait and see if that holds true.

I must confess, it took me some time to wrap my head around Iñárritu’s new offering, Digger — but I was glad it gave me considerable food for thought. As far as ambition goes, it is audacious — few films even dare to aim this high, let alone pull it off. On the flip side, it doesn’t come off perfectly as intended. Iñárritu’s screenplay digs deep, but then has trouble getting out of the hole it has dug.

A story about a man and a dog—that one line is enough for suckers like me to get excited about a film, and David Ayer’s Heart of the Beast doesn’t disappoint. Ayer is known for his action films (The Beekeeper, Fury, Suicide Squad), and even though the human protagonist is a retired army man, this film is really about the bond between him and his dog.

Directed by Mahesh Manjrekar, Bandkhor deals with the emancipation of women across generations. While it occasionally takes a sledgehammer approach to make its point, it never strays from its central theme—the main plot and subplots all revolve around women. As for the sledgehammer approach, given the state of affairs in society, some messages are perhaps best conveyed that way.

Daayra poses an interesting question concerning the relationship between law and morality: if culprits are likely to get away with murder, is it acceptable to take the law into one’s own hands and deliver justice? And who gets to decide the quantum of punishment, assuming the accused are indeed guilty of a heinous crime? Are extrajudicial killings justified in such circumstances? Meghna Gulzar’s film raises several thorny questions. That is essentially the point of the story, though the film becomes somewhat heavy-handed in making it.

Based on the Japanese video game, the Resident Evil franchise had a good run at the box office from 2002 to 2017. And, like most films based on video games, all six films were quite mediocre. There was also the eminently forgettable Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City in 2021. Just when you thought the franchise was dead and buried, it has now resurrected itself-like the zombies in the film.

Priyadarshan’s Haiwaan is a remake of his own Malayalam film Oppam (2016), which was a big hit a decade ago. After watching Haiwaan, I spent some time wondering why Priyadarshan chose to remake a successful film of his own. What value addition could he possibly bring to it? Alas, I couldn’t think of a satisfactory answer - except that commercial considerations must have warranted it.

Mirzapur perhaps marks the first instance of a popular web series being turned into a feature film. The series, which ran for three successful seasons over the last eight years, was helmed by Gurmeet Singh, who has also directed the film. Much of the team remains the same, from the cinematographer to the actors, with the notable exception of Vikrant Massey, replaced here by Jitendra Kumar. Kumar is a fine actor and fits the bill perfectly.