Sonal Pandya

In Chief of War, Jason Momoa once again takes on a towering persona with Hawaiian warrior Ka’iana. The actor, who is also co-creator, writer, director, and executive producer, backs this violent but ambitious retelling of the unification of Hawaii’s islands during the late 1700s. The epic drama is also a history lesson combined with age-old themes of honour, pride, greed, and most importantly, power. The nine-part series focuses on the kings, rulers, warriors, and, of course, the people of Hawaii with its traditions and beliefs that must change over time. Ka’iana (Momoa) and his small family have relocated from Maui to the island of Kauai. But upon command of his king, Kahekili (Temuera Morrison), who has visions from a certain prophecy, he joins him for a battle on Oahu. There he realises the power-hungry Kahekili has deceived him and he spends the rest of the series atoning for his actions. Ka’iana leaves Hawaii and returns stronger, armed with knowledge and power that will help him in the war that is to come.

Adam Sandler has made it no secret that he enjoys working with his friends and family. His latest film, Happy Gilmore 2, is stuffed to the gills with cameos and friends of the actor. His wife, Jackie Sandler, and daughters, Sadie and Sunny, also have roles in the comedy sequel. The original, directed by Dennis Dugan, came out in 1996, and the sequel attempts a bit of maturity. Sandler’s Happy is now the one trying to save the traditions of the sport he picked up on a whim. However, the film begins on a downer from which it never recovers. The sequel becomes a much darker comedy as Happy is now a widower raising four strapping young men and a daughter, Vienna (Sunny Sandler). His old rival Shooter McGavin (Christopher McDonald) is in a mental asylum, and an upstart millionaire named Frank Manatee (Benny Safdie) wants to start a rival golf league that goes against all the rules. Happy is now a depressed alcoholic and wouldn’t give Frank the time of day, except he really needs the money for Vienna’s dance school fees. Can he turn it around in a winner-takes-it-all tournament to save the sport?

Dharma Productions’ new political thriller Sarzameen, directed by Kayoze Irani, is largely a family drama. But the emotional dynamics between the parents and child, played by Prithviraj Sukumaran, Kajol, and Ibrahim Ali Khan, are thinly connected. Their internal tension is dragged over two hours and 17 minutes in a narrative set in the Kashmir Valley. The thriller is weak, and the story of Sarzameen fails to reel you in. Colonel Vijay Menon (Prithviraj Sukumaran) is a proud Army officer who goes above and beyond his duty. He is posted in Kashmir along with his wife, Meher (Kajol), and son, Harman (Ronav Parihar). The young boy, who often stammers, craves his father’s approval. But Vijay has his outdated thinking of what it requires to be a man. Meher tries to mend their relationship, but it cracks further after Harman is used as leverage by terrorists. This further damages the father-son relationship and becomes a question of choice for Vijay: who will he pick, family or country?

The Summer I Turned Pretty’s final chapter takes tentative steps towards adulthood as Belly (Lola Tung) gears up for her senior year of college. Her friends and family around her also go through some major changes. But the real focus of the Amazon Prime Video coming-of-age series will always be about Belly’s choice of partner. Will she choose her first love, Conrad (Christopher Briney), or his younger brother Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno)? In this final 11-episode season, creator Jenny Han puts the trio through yet another roller-coaster summer to remember. A time jump shows Belly and Jeremiah happily together at Finch University. But that happiness is short-lived as Jeremiah’s graduation is delayed and Belly gets chosen for a study abroad program in Paris. Conrad is thriving across the country at Standford where he’s doing well studying to be a doctor. The gang plans to head back to the family home at Cousins Beach for a dedication ceremony for Conrad and Jeremiah’s mother Susannah (Rachel Blanchard). But will the reunion be happy or awkward?

Once again, artificial intelligence is the focus of the narrative in the spy series Special Ops 2. Kay Kay Menon returns for a third time as senior RAW officer Himmat Singh, who is the only one equipped to take on the latest antagonist. Created by Neeraj Pandey, the series hurtles into yet another terror plot that threatens India, but this time one of India’s brightest minds needs to be rescued as well. Special Ops 2 doesn’t waste any time rushing off into the next mystery, and it’s only in the second half when all the details finally begin to make sense. The series opens with the abduction of Dr Piyush Bhargava (Arif Zakaria), who heads classified programs holding the key to several Indian organizations. Meanwhile, the Indian intelligence team loses one of their own (Tota Roy Choudhury), and pretty soon Himmat Singh has to oversee several professional and personal crises. Not only does he lead the rescue operation, but he also has to battle an enemy nation in a cyber war that could see casualties.

The Hunt: The Rajiv Gandhi Assassination Case is exactly what the title describes. The new SonyLIV series, helmed by filmmaker Nagesh Kukunoor, is focused on the ninety-day period in which a Special Investigation Team (SIT) pieces together who was behind Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination. The investigative thriller is based on Anirudhya Mitra’s book Ninety Days: The True Story of the Hunt for Rajiv Gandhi’s Assassins and unfolds just like a book you can’t put down as the SIT members figure out which LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) operatives carried out the deadly plan. The show dives right into the main event with the former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, played here by Rajiv Kumar, attending a campaign rally in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, on May 21, 1991. He is killed by a suicide bomber, Dhanu (Shrutie Jayan), and The Hunt wastes no time with the investigation moving from Madras to Colombo to Delhi and more as the suspects grow and the conspiracy deepens. The series’ strength lies in the extensive groundwork the SIT undertakes to launch a manhunt to find the plot’s leader and his accomplices.

After four years, 22 episodes, and countless character deaths, the most popular Korean series in the world, Squid Game, finally comes to an end on Netflix. Writer-director Hwang Dong-hyuk’s deadly saga pitted vulnerable people against one another to win riches beyond their dreams but at a cost that could haunt them forever. Over three seasons, the filmmaker has presented two very different winners of the Squid Game: Hwang In-ho, aka the Front Man (Lee Byung-hun), who becomes the host of the games after his victory, and Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), who wants to save as many people as he can from the games. It’s this larger picture of humanity and morality that is explored in the third and final season that answers the question, what remains in the end, greed or integrity?

After focusing Season 3 on the opening and running of their new restaurant, The Bear returns to the characters we love so much in its fourth season. The FX and Hulu series, streaming on JioHotstar, returns with Carmy (Jeremy Allen White), Sydney (Ayo Edebiri), and Ritchie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) working to get their financial losses in order while staring down a possible closure of the restaurant in their future. However, if last season was about chaos, this season is all about growth. The culinary series, created by Christopher Storer, also addresses the show’s future within the narrative. Spoilers ahead for narrative plots! While the craziness of Season 3 has been dialled down, Season 4 of The Bear looks at the grim realities of running a restaurant. The Bear’s sandwich shop window never slows down, but the main high-end restaurant sees some roadblocks. There’s a literal running clock, showing how much money the establishment has until it needs to shut down without solid profits. Apart from the culinary obstacles, each character faces a crisis of faith. There’s a family wedding, a health scare, and a baby to welcome. But most importantly, all of the characters actually talk to each other about problems they’ve hidden deep all this time.