Srivathsan Nadadhur

Cop Jai Ram’s life takes a drastic turn when his younger brother dies under mysterious circumstances. The local authorities and the officials quickly dismiss the tragedy as a mere accident. Refusing to buy it, he kickstarts an investigation to uncover what truly happened. Bharath fits the part of a hardened cop with a past and has the right composure and body language expected of a protagonist in a tight investigative thriller. Medha Reddy is decent in a role with limited scope. The show is particularly noteworthy for Roopa Lakshmi, who gets to do something substantial beyond her goody/emotional mother roles. Sivaji Raja does what’s expected of him, with no surprises there.

The Revolutionaries is a vivid document of the lesser-known armed resistance of India’s independence movement. Set in the early 20th century, it tells the stories of young, fearless freedom fighters, including Rash Behari Bose, Sachindranath Sanyal, and Bagha Jatin, as they risk everything to challenge the might of the British Empire. The series brings together several exciting talents that have made use of OTT as a talent showcase, including Bhuvan Bam, Rohit Saraf, Pratibha Ranta and Gurfateh Pirzada. Yet, they seem overwhelmed by the prospect of carrying the density of the theme. Bhuvan, Rohit and Pratibha get to shine in flashes, though nothing consistent enough to make it a poignant performance. Jason Shah, as General Dyer, is hardly intimidating.

The problem with films aligning with a particular trend is that they are always playing catch-up. Filmmakers have to hope the trend does not reach saturation anytime soon. Mahendragiri Varahi, a Telugu supernatural thriller that has been in the making for a few years, feels stale for the same reason. Surprisingly, it proceeds along the same lines as Santhosh Jagarlapudi and Sumanth’s earlier collaboration, Subrahmanyapuram. Both Mahendragiri Varahi and Subrahmanyapuram are clearly inspired by Karthikeya, a trendsetter in this genre, where an atheist protagonist heads to a superstitious village and uncovers the mystery behind a few strange occurrences.

Five quirky families in Chumbak Colony deal with chaotic conflicts and hilarious antics as neighbours. An elderly couple, Rajni and Kuku, decide to divorce, creating ripples through the neighbourhood. From court agreements and secret affairs to unexpected runaways, their everyday life becomes a series of crises as the couples confront challenges in their relationships. Neena Gupta and Sumeet Vyas keep the tone of their performances in check amidst the chaos. They don’t try to oversell the characters or the writing and manage to hold fort. Anant Joshi’s flair for humour comes to the fore occasionally, while Sandeepa Dhar, Amyra Dastur and Arjun Bijilani pass muster. Manasi Parekh is strictly okay. Helly Shah, Sumeet Raghavan, Delnaaz Irani and Deven Bhojani go quite overboard in shallow roles.

Babita is trying to climb the ladder in the police force, taking up a job she earns following her cop-father’s death. She is married to Sharad, who prods her to take a leave from work to return to their native village. Upon their arrival, she bumps into a childhood friend, Bansi, who’s found dead the next day. While investigating his death, the domestic tensions nearly consume her. Nimisha Sajayan stands tall in a superb, intense performance in a tailor-made role, navigating her dual identities as a cop with low self-esteem and an ill-treated wife to a conservative man. Though she’s increasingly being stereotyped in gendered parts that take on misogyny, it is compensated for by how craftily the story is woven.

Teju is a rich businessman’s daughter, living independently on her terms and driving a cab for her livelihood. Her liberated lifestyle is a cause of concern for nagging neighbours. They use every trick in the book to kick her out of the apartment. All hell breaks loose when she has a new roommate in Sindhu, a corporate employee looking to escape her uncle’s rigid norms at home. While both the lead actors fit their parts in terms of appearance and styling, their performances are just okay and nothing great to write home about. Gnaneswari Kandregula is a decent casting choice to play the rebellious Teju. Thanuja Puttaswamy brings a good contrast with her role as a meek yet ambitious girl.

Elan, a Dubai returnee who just lost his job, and Pavithra, a corporate employee and popular influencer, fall in love and marry under unusual circumstances. Developing cold feet on the wedding day, she asks Elan to move into her home instead of his. Though initially repulsed by the idea, Elan relocates to Pavithra’s place as a dependent househusband staying at his in-laws’ residence. Elan the actor, for a debut, fares slightly better than Elan the director. He handles comedy with ease, but the script offers minimal room to prove his acting chops. Saanve Meghhana manages to bring some dignity to Pavithra, saddled with a male-centric narrative determined to caricature her.

Trinath, a doting father to his daughter Manikanta, is a protector-figure in his family and for all the women in Pollur, his village in Andhra Pradesh. Despite his good intentions, he has a weakness for alcohol, except for the 41-day-long Ayyappa deeksha every year. As Manikanta uncovers a dark link between a series of mysterious deaths and a government school, all hell breaks loose. All that Ravi Teja needed for a long time was a director who could draw out his strengths as a performer, rather than merely relying on his past glory for quick returns. Backed by a script with its heart in the right place, the veteran’s emotional portrayal of a protective family man is ably complemented by child artiste Nakshatra, who shines as a girl with an indefatigable spirit.