Sachin Chatte

Even though Valmiki’s Ramayana is one of the most revered epics, the question remains: does it really warrant a film, particularly after Adipurush (2023) turned out to be such a disappointment? Produced by Namit Malhotra and directed by Nitesh Tiwari (of Dangal fame), the film certainly goes all out in terms of scale. The budget runs into four figures in crores, although one wonders if all that expenditure was necessary. At its heart, the Ramayana is about the triumph of good over evil. While vanquishing evil is central to the story, the film could probably have done without the long, drawn-out battle sequences that often resemble a video game.

Forget K-dramas and K-pop. The real deal is here. Directed by Na Hong-jin, Hope is reportedly the most expensive Korean film ever made, and it shows. Unlike many Hollywood films that rely heavily on CGI, Hope combines computer-generated imagery with real action to deliver some astounding chase sequences. The film makes a compelling case for how to spend big bucks on an action thriller, with is fingers pointing towards Hollywood- this is how you do it.

Directed by writer-turned-director Akash Kaushik, Udta Teer wants to be a Dhurandhar when it comes to patriotism but a comedy when it comes to everything else. The result is a film caught between two incompatible impulses. One moment, it is a straight-faced spy thriller invoking desh bhakti with songs like Jai Hind gaaye; the next, it breaks into comedy, as if it cannot bear to take itself seriously for too long. While some of the humour lands, the patriotism is largely performative, playing to the gallery without making much of an impact.

Horror, comedy and horror-comedy may all work perfectly well as genres in their own right. But Nayyi Navelli proves that horror-comedy-mythology is a genre caught in no man’s land — or, in this case, no woman’s land. The film seems to have an idea but hasn’t the faintest clue what to do with it. Directed by Balaji Mohan, a Tamil filmmaker making his Hindi debut, Nayyi Navelli loses its way by introducing supernatural and mythological elements that are not only unnecessary but also end up derailing the narrative.

To begin with, the title of the film is slightly misleading — or, more specifically, the latter half of it. There is very little that is truly ‘untold’ here, apart from the personal life of the celebrated public prosecutor who fought several high-profile cases, none more consequential than the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks involving Ajmal Kasab. The details of the case are already in the public domain, but director Avinash Arun does a commendable job of dramatising them in Prahaar: The Untold Story of Ujjwal Nikam.

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.