Sanyukta Thakare

The Roses is directed by veteran comedy director Jay Roach, with a script written by two-time Oscar nominee Tony McNamara. It is based on the popular 1981 novel The War of the Roses by Warren Adler, and sort of is the remake of its first on screen adaptation from 1989 film of the same name. The film follows Theo Rose a successful architect and his wife Ivy Rose an up-and-coming restaurateur through many years of their marriage and how it evolved and changed them over the years. Played by Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman, these characters bring your worst nightmare to life while turning your belly up with dark humour that has been missing from the screens for a long time.

Nobody 2 brings back the old man in an action film gimmick, but the makers stay true to the franchise’s tone, keeping it family-friendly and light. The action sequences are amusing and gory, similar to those in the first film, but they are witty enough not to feel repetitive. The novelty of watching a middle-aged man fighting does wear off, but the full-circle moment in the film makes up for it. Until the usual sequels, with just newer villains and bigger baddies, we do a refreshing take on making friends with call backs to the good moments in the original film.

2025 has seen a range of horror with sub-genres and plots that are far from the idea of a typical horror film from the 2000s. With drama, supernatural elements and psychological factors taking the forefront, a new kind of understanding for the genre has emerged. Bring Her Back is another such film; it focuses on body horror with gore and blood, which makes you look away. But the focus on these ends up overshadowing the real psychological horror of the film: a mother lost to grief, the broken foster system and the trauma all kids go through in the film.

The Map That Leads To You is sort of a coming-of-age story for new adults with romance at the center of the plot. Based on a book of the same name by J.P. Monninger, it follows a young woman on an adventure across Europe with her best friends when she crosses paths with Jack, who stirs up her entire idea of an organised and planned life. Meanwhile, Jack, older than her, is off on his own adventure following his grandfather’s post-war journal across Europe.

The Assasin is a crime thriller created by Harry and Jack Williams and led by Keeley Hawes and Freddie Highmore, which follows a mother and son duo as their past begins to haunt them. While the mother is an assassin the son returns to her asking questions about who his father is. Meanwhile, a unknown group puts a heavy bounty on her head making it impossible for the two of them to have real conversation without racking up dead bodies around them. The show begins with Keeley Hawes as Julie at a young age in 1994, fighting off a group of Russians to get to her target. Despite being offered a lot of money, she finished her mission and left the money behind. However, just as she confirms her kill and is about to move on to her next, the timer on her watch rings out to let her know it’s time to check the pregnancy test. 31 years later, Julie has retired and is living on a small Greek island alone while waiting for her estranged son to come visit her.

Tehran, led by John Abraham, Manushi Chillar, and Neeru Bajwa follows the attacks on Israeli diplomats which took place in 2012. The action thriller film directed by Arun Gopalan not only follows the story of justice at the hands of an Indian officer, but also the geopolitics that is just as important. The makers do not focus on the star power but on the story they wish to showcase. The film begins with John Abraham’s ACP Rajeev Kumar taking down a major gangster without any protocol after he had threatened his family. When the cops arrive, he just hands over the case and asks him to take care of it. On the other hand, as his daughter is returning from school, a similar car is attacked and blasts off in the middle of the road, injuring by standards and killing an innocent 6 year old girl.

War 2, directed by Ayan Mukerji and led by Hrithik Roshan, follows his iconic role, Kabir, going through the dark depths of India’s enemies and bringing them to justice while staying hidden in the dark. While Tiger, Pathan often live between the lines of good and bad, Kabir is the baddest, and Jr NTR joins him here on out. One scene in the film also has the latter asking why Kabir often turns heroes into villains and villains into heroes. And an answer to that we will never get, because the next in the franchise might have a similar story again. The film begins with a long introductory action sequence of how much Hrithik Roshan’s Kabir has changed and gone bad. He walks into the den of a Japanese mafia alone, subdues their loyal wolf by just looking at him and then proceeds to kill everyone in the entire mansion, or the open corridor, because that’s all we get to see. At the end of it, we know one thing for sure: Hrithik Roshan’s Japanese has gotten much, much better since we last heard it. Not long after it is followed by another long introductory action sequence for Jr NTR, which portrays him as fit action hero who jumps into enemy lines without parachute, guns or any sort of support to land.

Mayasabha follows the story of two friends who have similar goals to serve the people of the country but their change in ideologies sets them apart and turns them into biggest political rivals of 80s and 90s. The show is based on N. Chandrababu Naidu and Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy’s career along with their friendship and personal life, while India is struggling through its own political problems. It is currently streaming on SonyLiv and is led by Aadhi, Chaitanya Rao, Sai Kumar, Divya Dutta among others. The show begins with introduction to each one of the future political leaders, their family and social status years before their career began. Kakarla Krishnama Naidu (based on N. Chandrababu Naidu) is played by Aadhi Pinisetty and is seen being pushed around by people for his ambitions. While his family doesn’t understand his need to continue studying or passion for politics, he finds some solace among his friends and peers when he reaches college for PhD.