Shomini Sen

Writer-director Sudip Sharma had opened up a new world when he created the procedural drama Kohrra in 2023. The web series, mostly in Punjabi, unusually showcased the state of Punjab, sans all the bonhomie and colour that films often associate the state with. Much like its plot, a murder mystery, the drama had muted colours, with heavy fog shrouding the lives of those involved in the case. Sharma returns with Kohrra season 2, with a new mystery and a new set of complications, but keeps the same aesthetics and mood of the first season. Just like the first season, a heavy fog remains on the lives of the police officers investigating the case, the identity of the killer, the victim’s family and societal prejudices.

Rani Mukerji’s latest offering, Mardaani 3, presents her in a larger-than-life, no-nonsense, gritty cop- a role that she has played well in the previous two instalments in the franchise. While the actress delivers well to her part, the film sticks to the basics and familiar template, giving a sense of déjà vu to the viewers. Mardaani 3 feels like a replica of its predecessor films, with just a few minor changes and an all-encompassing heroine taking charge before anyone can even step in to offer help.

It’s been nearly three decades since JP Dutta’s war classic Border was released in theatres. The film was set in 1971 and highlighted the Indian Army’s brave defence at the Battle of Longewala during the Indo-Pak war. The film, over the years, earned cult status and to date is remembered for its memorable dialogues, performances and soulful music. Border also set a template for future such war films. All mounted at a big scale, all speaking of patriotism and glorifying the valour of our Armed forces. Some worked, others were mere copies, including Dutta’s film on Kargil, called LOC. 29 years on, JP Dutta returns with Border 2, this time as a producer along with his daughter Nidhi Dutta and lets Anurag Singh direct the sequel. But is Border 2 as impactful as Border? Let’s find out.

It’s all there, but not quite. Vir Das, known primarily for his stand-up comedy, co-directs (with Kavi Shastri) and co-writes (with Amogh Ranadive) Happy Patel: Khatarnak Jasoos,which starts on a promising note, but the chaos and the humour that come along with it runs its course midway through the film. I was seated when the film began, which showed Aamir Khan as a dreaded gangster in Goa’s fictitious Panjore out on a killing spree and engaging in a gun fight with two British agents.

Ikkis is not your typical Sriram Raghavan film, yet you can still find the master storyteller’s signature style throughout the film. Raghavan, who is known for his mystery thrillers and neo-noir films, moves out of genre to make a war drama based on a real-life incident. The result is a beautiful film that not only highlights the valour of Second Lieutenant Arun Kehtarpal during a crucial operation at the fag end of the Indo-Pak war in 1971, but also goes beyond the conversation of war and talks of humanity. The film, starring Dharmendra, Jaideep Ahlawat and Agastya Nanda, revisits a time when hatred was a common emotion between Indian and Pakistan but Raghavan, in his own way, talks about the futility of war and highlights the human side of soldiers on both sides of the border.

How to take a film seriously, which is titled Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri? Weird wordplay aside, Dharma Productions’ latest outing at the movies, starring Kartik Aaryan and Ananya Panday, comes at a time when the nation is still reeling under the Dhurandhar-induced nationalistic fervour. In such a case, the new film TMMTMTTM(even the abbreviation is tiresome) should have helped in breaking the norm with its soft romance. After all, it stars Aryan, a man known for his soft boy romance and comic timing. But director Sameer Vidwans’ film, by the end of it, reiterates Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham’s tag line, ‘It’s all about loving your parents’. The result is a very middling story that talks more about sacrifice and compromises than love.

When the first Avatar was released in 2009, filmmaker James Cameron introduced the world to the wonders of Pandora. The VIsual effects in the film, and the world that Cameron created, were a watershed moment for Cinema at large as many witnessed the greatness of CGI and how it makes films visually rich. It became an inspiration for makers worldwide as they explored realism and alternate universes and worlds in their stories. Cameron captured the imagination of the audience by introducing Pandora and its people, called Na’vi. Alien-like blue creatures who welcomed Jake Sully -one from the Sky people- humans- into their own as he fell deep in love with Na’vi princess Naytiri. Cameron returns to the big screen this Friday with Avatar: Fire and Ash, the third instalment in the franchise, hoping to tap on the love that the previous two films had received. But is the film a worthy sequel in the franchise?

Things are very easy in Aanand L Rai’s world. A local goon who doesn’t know the full form of UPSC in one scene can clear the prelims in the next. A man who is in and out of jail for creating a ruckus on campus can become one of the bravest officers of the Indian Air Force. A raging alcoholic, who is popping anxiety pills by the hour, is a counsellor for the Defence forces (god save our soldiers from such counsellors) and given the task to counsel a problematic officer at the Indo-China border, while she is herself 9 months pregnant. Call it easy or indulgence, but Rai’s latest film Tere Ishk Mein- starring Dhanush and Kriti Sanon- has plenty of such obscure stuff decorating a very problematic story. The film celebrates toxicity like a festival, and glorifies pain and suffering in the name of love.