Sachin Chatte

Directed by one half of the Safdie brothers, Benny Safdie, The Smashing Machine is inspired by the true story of wrestler and mixed martial arts fighter, Mark Kerr. Although it follows a conventional biopic format, the narrative and the themes it delves into sets it apart from others. Safdie, in his debut solo directorial effort, rightfully earned the Best Director award at the Venice International Film Festival a couple of months ago. Under the direction of a different filmmaker, this narrative could have easily veered off course.

In light of the tremendous success of Kantara (2022), it was inevitable that another film would follow. Kantara: Chapter 1 serves as a prequel and is characterized by its larger scale, and heightened ambition. With a runtime of nearly 3 hours, the filmmakers have opted for a grand approach, and as a visual experience, Chapter 1 certainly delivers. However, it does feel somewhat excessive and might have benefited from a more trimmed version, but then it is what it is.

Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another serves as a reminder that it is the same director behind There Will Be Blood (2007), although this film ventures further into uncharted territory. It encompasses political themes, satire, action, and family drama. Above all, this film showcases the filmmaker’s mastery of his craft – from the musical score to the cinematography, there is an abundance of elements to appreciate in this work.

A decade is a significant interval between the release of the first and second feature film - it took a long time coming but it arrived well. After he made his debut with Masaan (2015) which resonated deeply with audiences, Neeraj Ghaywan has produced another remarkable film with Homebound, a work that is rich in empathy and emotion.

In Euclidean geometry, or on a flat surface, the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. However, in Bollywood films, the journey from point A to point B often involves a detour around point A for a considerable duration, followed by a series of convoluted twists before finally arriving at the destination. Ek Chatur Naar, directed by Umesh Shukla, exemplifies this tendency, taking an unnecessarily lengthy path to reach its conclusion. In doing so, it becomes overly clever for its own good.

The opening scene, filmed in a single continuous shot, establishes the atmosphere for a film aptly named Jugnuma – The Fable. We observe the main character, Dev (Manoj Bajpayee), as he washes his face, prepares himself, dons his wings, and leaps off a ramp from a mountain, just like that. This film by Raam Reddy, who previously entertained us aplenty with Tithi (2015), encompasses a bit of everything.

Directed by Tushar Jalota, Param Sundari is a romantic comedy that possesses a very flimsy base, like a papad. This base disintegrates quickly, leading to a succession of familiar scenes that unfold over a duration of two hours. With the lingering influence of Chennai Express (2013), Param Sundari emerges as yet another narrative exploring the cultural divide between North and South, interspersed with some contrived romantic elements.

Similar to numerous Hollywood films, Nobody 2 was produced due to the success of Nobody (2021), which performed well at the box office. The concept was interesting – an unremarkable office worker is actually a skilled assassin and capable of taking on a horde of thugs and defeating them decisively. It was a light-hearted film filled with action.