Shomini Sen

Filmmaker Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri’s The Bengal Files tells a gory chapter from the pages of history. An incident that had ravaged Bengal due to communal violence and left thousands dead. However, the Calcutta riots of 1946 are not as widely known as the partition and gory violence that took place weeks before India’s independence. Agnihotri, who has also written the film, connects present-day riots in Murshidabad to the Direct Action Day of 1946 in ways one possibly can’t fathom. Of course, since it’s an Agnihotri film, the plot and screenplay are divisive from the word go. CBI sends its officer, Shiva Pandit (Darshan Kumar), to Murshidabad to investigate the disappearance of a Dalit girl. The prime suspect and eyewitness is Bharti Bannerjee (Pallavi Joshi), a lady in her 90s who suffers from dementia. Suspicions are also on the local MLA Sardar Husseini (Saswata Chatterjee), who holds a lot of power among the people there.

He is from the north, she is from the south, and amid cultural differences and language barriers, they fall in love. The tale of 2 states has been one of Indian cinema’s favourite themes. In recent years, there have been 2 States which were incidentally based on writer Chetan Bhagat’s life, and two years back, Rockky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahaani-where a Punjabi hero wooed a Bengali girl with all his loud Punjabiyat. Maddock Film’s latest Param Sundari, helmed by director Tushar Joshi, falls in a similar bracket but gets stuck in an attempt to be woke. The film, starring Sidharth Malhotra as Param and Janhvi Kapoor as Sundari, attempts too many things in one go and thereby makes an utter chaos of the film. It is neither too funny, nor too unique – with dollops of predictability thrown in. So, whatever you had expected the film to be (read a middling affair) after watching the trailer, it matches all of them and then some more.

Ayan Mukerji- the man who gave us the brilliant Wake Up! Sid and enjoyable Yeh Jawani Hai Diwani takes a leap of faith to give us the most massy film of his career, YRF-backed War 2. Part of the studio’s Spyverse, War 2 picks up from where War (2019) had ended and gives us two new heroes- Kabir (Hrithik Roshan) and Vikram (Jr NTR, making his Bollywood debut in this one). The result should have been electrifying -considering it combines the best of North and South cinema- but falls into the usual trappings of an illogical, larger-than-life spy film that Bollywood- particularly YRF- has been feeding us for the past few years. War 2 thrills but also gives a sense of Deja Vu, which isn’t necessarily a good thing.

Somewhere near the climax of Dhadak 2, tired of fighting back constantly to claim his position in society, Neelesh- the male protagonist of the film- states, “Haalat badal sakte hai, jaat nahi (situation may change, but caste won’t)". The line hits you hard. Even as India progresses, the discrimination and politics that come along with it- will never end. Filmmaker Shazia Iqbal’s film Dhadak 2, featuring Siddhant Chaturvedi and Triptii Dimri, addresses the age-old caste politics that persist in Indian society to date, through reservation and quotas, disrespect, vote banks, and more. Backed by Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions, it takes up the same theme that Dhadak was set in, of star-crossed lovers, one from the marginalised section and the other from the privileged class, and the problems they face in their love story. Both films are remakes. However, Dhadak 2 soars due to its sharp writing and superb performances by the lead.

There has been enough representation of The Fantastic Four in pop culture. My earliest memory is of the animated series on TV. Of course, there were some underwhelming films too that came out in the early 2000s. In the post-pandemic era, as Marvel tries to reboot and revive its lost glory, The Fantastic Four: First Steps fits well in the larger scheme of things. It takes the audience, new and loyalists included, back in time and narrates the story of Marvel’s first family. It changes some of our earlier perceptions of the four superheroes from Earth 828, adds certain new elements, and makes it a formidable franchise that hopefully will see more films in the future. Does it make for a thrilling ride, though? Let’s find out.

Bollywood is going back to classic romances after years and it feels refreshing. The audiences in the past month have been treated to love stories and anthologies in Anurag Basu’s Metro In Dino and Vivek Soni’s Aap Jaisa Koi recently, and now Mohit Suri’s Saiyaara focuses on young love. Suri, who has made a name for creating musicals and angsty love stories, returns to his comfort zone and collaborates for the first time with Yash Raj Films- another name synonymous with Bollywood romances. The film marks the debut of Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda and looks and feels like Aashiqui 3 with similar romantic ballads, drama, angst, and love. But is Saiyaara a Gen Z version of Aashiqui? Let’s find out.

He is 42, a virgin and desperately in need of female company. R Madhavan’s Shrirenu Tripathi is unlike a Bollywood hero, especially at a time when leading heroes flex their muscles and wield machetes in heavy-duty actioners. Filmmaker Vivek Soni’s Aap Jaisa Koi, stands apart from regular Bollywood films on many accounts. At its core is a man who is unsure of himself, and thus shy to make friends with the opposite gender. The film has shy and conservative men pitted against liberal, free-thinking modern women. The premise holds promise, but does Aap Jaisa Koi deliver? Let’s find out.

The heart has been craving for a good old love story amid heavy actioners that Bollywood has been churning out for some time now. Amid the clutter of Pan-India gruesome bloodied action thrillers and sappy family dramas that the viewers have been fed the past few years, Anurag Basu’s Metro…In Dino manages to break the clutter with a fresh take on the oldest emotion in the universe -Love. Basu takes four distinct love stories set in cities like Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore and spins an intricate tale, typical of the filmmaker’s style of storytelling. The result is an engaging musical 2 hr 42 minutes long ride at theatres.