Srivathsan Nadadhur

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.

Many films get caught up trying too hard to make a point. They are too eager to please, rather than to make the audience feel. The main intention of the Telugu indie filmAmeer Log is to let viewers soak in the Hyderabadi way of life. A coming-of-age tale of three aimless friends in a slum serves as the base to capture the identity of a city through its language, humour, food and brotherhood. Ameer Log thrives in its irreverent, laidback setting. Three men in their 20s living in the vicinity of Golconda — Srinu, Mallesh and Rafique — are unaffected by familial pressures to fend for themselves. They are content sipping a dozen cups of chai a day, enjoying a good game of cricket, picking up petty fights with rival gangs and meeting their chacha (Vishwender Reddy Kommidi) on the street to indulge in daily gossip.

Barely a week after Korean Kanakaraju, a no-brainer milking the viewer’s endless appetite for horror comedies, Telugu cinema’s tryst with ghosts, evil spirits and tantric practices continues with Agadha, set to a different metre. It is a primitive yet visually arresting good-versus-evil supernatural thriller that takes itself quite seriously. Agadha arrives with an underdog advantage. One does not expect much, going by director MS Raju’s modest track record. In this film, he has banked on a young team to deliver the goods. On the surface, it has the staple ingredients of a rustic horror tale, with occult rituals, hymns, long-bearded sages and even older belief systems, but it is staged with flair.

Shambho Gadappa, an elderly man in a village in Telangana, and his son Tirupathi have not been on speaking terms for a few years. The former is hurt when he asks Tirupathi for a toothbrush and does not receive it. Matters get complicated when Shambho is not even invited to his granddaughter’s wedding. Taking matters into his own hands, he files a case against his son, citing negligence and the lack of basic care for the elderly. Sudhakar Reddy yet again proves why he is a special talent, delivering a credible performance that ranks on par with his work in Muthayya and Balagam. He maintains simplicity in his performance and capitalises on his unique timing to make his presence felt. Muralidhar Goud fits the part of an irresponsible son who gets carried away in life and reforms himself over time. Prajwal Yadma, cast as Ravi, is one of the film’s precious finds, delivering a heartfelt, innocent performance as a lovestruck barber. Gomathy Reddy strikes a good on-screen rapport with Prajwal and makes a mark.