Srivathsan Nadadhur

Chitti Jaya Puram, a village, faces a shortage of burial plots in its graveyard. Apoorva, the newly appointed village head, is struggling to find her footing after the sudden death of her father, Subbaraju. She teams up with Chinna, the graveyard caretaker, to resolve the crisis. However, as time progresses, the village descends into chaos, losing its way, fighting over the right to a dignified burial. Keerthy Suresh struggles to find her element in a part as half-baked as her performance. She should’ve been the powerhouse that salvaged the film from its weak spots, yet her portrayal makes you feel quite the opposite. There’s no doubt about Suhas’s abilities, but one can’t simply make a career by doing different versions of the same role – the marginalised, vulnerable man craving for identity.

As the health of the middle-aged Kaalidhar declines, his family attempts to abandon him permanently. After orchestrating a will in their favour, they leave him at a Kumbh Mela. Lost and with nowhere to go, Kaalidhar discovers an unlikely companion in Ballu, an orphaned child from a nearby village, who instils new hope in his life and later reunites with an old flame, Meera. Abhishek Bachchan is finding his groove admirably in his recent outings, more so in the OTT space, with roles that befit his age, physicality and strengths. Kaalidhar Lapata extracts a controlled, mature performance from the actor, who slips into the skin of his role with flair. He has more than solid company in the form of Daivik Baghela as Ballu, who delivers a fabulously spontaneous act. The formidable supporting cast – comprising Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Vishwanath Chatterjee, Madhulika Jatoliya, Priyank Tiwari and Priya Yadav – and the sweet little cameo by Nimrat Kaur, contribute to its overall appeal.

After Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination in Tamil Nadu, a Special Investigation Team, headed by Kaarthikeyan, discovers vital clues. Despite a leaked press photo compromising the case, key operatives are identified, and the team learns of a foiled second assassination bid. The high-stakes confrontation culminates with Sivarasan, who led the group of assassins, being traced to Bangalore. Amit Sial delivers a commanding performance as the face of the show, portraying Kaarthikeyan, the officer leading the SIT investigation. Despite the precise, firm nature of his character, he brings an innate appeal to his portrayal through his dialogue modulation and body language. Sahil Vaid and Bagavathi Perumal are also afforded ample scope to shine, and their on-screen camaraderie is particularly delightful. Vidyuth Gargi’s firm, stately screen presence works in his favour; the likes of Danish Iqbal, Girish Sharma, and Saurabh Dubey do the needful with their assured acts. The host of actors on the other end of the spectrum, essaying the LTTE operatives, namely Shafeeq Mustafa, Shruty Jayan, Gouri Padmakumar, Nishan Nanaiah, Anjana Balaji, and others, make their presence felt too.

Naveen Chandra, who has had a handful of theatrical releases this year, has been steadily winning over audiences across OTT platforms with a stream of consistent, assured performances. His latest Telugu film, Show Time, perfectly aligns with his forte: a crime thriller with a minimalistic setup, banking on a supposedly offbeat concept. The core premise of the film seems to be an offshoot of Ayyappanum Koshiyum (the inspiration behind Pawan Kalyan’s Telugu film Bheemla Nayak). It centres on an ego-driven, crooked cop named Lakshmi Kanth (Raja Ravindra) and a hot-blooded common man, Surya (Naveen Chandra), who refuses to yield. However, their confrontation largely takes place within the confines of a crime scene. Both men have an ugly face-off when Lakshmi Kanth desperately instigates Surya, his family, and neighbours, rebuking them for creating a nuisance at night. Just when the tense atmosphere seems to settle, Surya’s wife, Shanti (Kamakshi Bhaskarla), finds herself trapped in a crime. As Surya attempts to resolve the crisis with the help of a lawyer, the cop tries to prove he’s in charge.

Arjun’s a carefree lad who wants to join the same college as his crush, Jayashree. Tired of his irresponsible ways, his father, Raju, sends him to a hostel. Meanwhile, Imran, the village’s top student, sees his father take out a loan to admit him to a reputable college. From grim food to homesickness and relentless timetables, the trio’s intermediate years get off to a far-from-ideal start. Yet, a strong friendship helps them muddle through the stress. The three young blokes, Harsh Roshan, Bhanu Prakash, and Jayatheertha (playing Arjun, Raju, and Imran), deliver confident, refreshing performances that help us look beyond the show’s issues. Besides their impressive screen presence, they embody all the naïveté, playfulness, and early adult-ish arrogance you tend to witness in an average 16-year-old. Campus tales enjoy an everlasting appeal. While they generally try to tick the same old boxes – the highs and lows of studenthood, academic pressures, a brush with first love, a dose of bromance, and coming-of-age motifs – newer backdrops and different timelines infuse new life into the template. ETV Win’s AIR (All India Rankers) packages that bittersweet nostalgia with humour aplenty.

Abhishek’s career is at risk with a case lodged against him, entangled in a political power struggle involving Pradhan and Bhushan. As Pradhan recovers from a murder attempt and launches his election campaign, Bhushan’s camp makes preemptive strikes and tries to break Pradhan’s loyalists. The election intensifies with family visits, campaign altercations, and a pre-election power outage. Jitendra Kumar’s portrayal of Abhishek’s evolution, from a shy urban lad to a stubborn officer who knows his village inside out, is both entertaining and relatable. By now, he’s too aware of the game to commit any folly. Veterans Raghubir Yadav and Neena Gupta deliver top-class performances as the village’s power couple, staying true to the spirit of their cheeky characters.

Five friends who fail their 12th-grade exams seek college admission through sports quota (boxing). Led by Jojo Johnson, they join the local Alappuzha Gymkhana boxing school under coach Salim, and later, Antony Joshua. What begins as a casual effort to bide their time evolves into a tale of friendship, self-discovery, and grit as they train and compete in district/state championships. Though Naslen is the most recognisable face in the film, the story wisely avoids overly distracting itself to give him more prominence. It still makes the most of his goofy persona, and the actor fits the role of Jojo perfectly. Lukman Avaran is well-cast as the hot-blooded coach, while Anagha Ravi has a lot of fun in her brief appearance.

Based on the popular Dutch reality show De Verraders, The Traitors is hosted by filmmaker Karan Johar. In this psychological game, 20 players are stationed at the grand Suryagarh Palace in Rajasthan, openly betraying each other to compete for a prize of ₹1 crore. Hidden among the innocents are the traitors, who secretly ‘murder’ players. The contestant line-up includes Karan Kundrra, Anshula Kapoor, Sudhanshu Pandey, Jasmine Bhasin, Ashish Vidyarthi, Mukesh Chhabra, Raftaar, Jannat Zubair, Sahil Salathia, Uorfi Javed, Harsh Gujral, Maheep Kapoor, and Raj Kundra. The Traitors, in its Indian debut, could be labelled a social deduction game – a classier hybrid of Bigg Boss and Roadies, where players are housed in a royal mansion, pitted against each other, guarding their true identities and undertaking adventurous tasks that lead to eliminations every episode.