Sitaare Zameen Par
Comedy, Drama (Hindi)
A disgraced basketball coach is given the chance to coach a team of players who are intellectually disabled, and soon realizes they just might have what it takes to make it to the national championships. (more…)
Son of Sardar 2
Comedy, Drama (Hindi)
Years after settling an epic family feud and surviving house arrest in Punjab, Jassi Singh Randhawa returns this time chasing love, not trouble. But when he lands in Scotland to win back his estranged wife, he stumbles into a hostage (more…)
Guild Reviews
Mothevari Love Story
Drama, Comedy (Telugu)
Parshi and Anitha, two spirited youngsters from rural Telangana, are madly in love and decide to elope. Meanwhile, a shocking twist emerges.
Cast:
Geela Anil, Varshini Reddy Junnuthula, Muralidhar Goud, Sadanna, Kommu Sujatha
Director:
Shiva Krishna Burra, Deekshith Udugula
(Writing for M9 News)
For Some Silly, Harmless Fun
Sat, August 9 2025
Parshi, a carefree youngster, is head over heels in love with Anitha, who just can’t seem to give her consent to marriage. Sattaiah, Anitha’s father, and his younger brother Narsing Yadav remain on good terms until they discover a share of their deceased father’s land. What connects Parshi to the land, and how far will it affect his marriage prospects? Will the warring brothers mend their ways? Mothevari Love Story isn’t a show where you expect refined performances, but the young guns and a few experienced hands do what’s necessary to sustain its momentum. Anil Geela’s underdog act and easy-going persona make him instantly relatable, while Varshini Junnuthula’s crankiness as Anitha is generally charming.
Anil Geela leads a slice-of-life drama set in rural Telangana
Sat, August 9 2025
Life in rural Telangana is often portrayed in Telugu cinema as laidback and unpretentious, with its residents adding quiet character to the setting. Mothevari Love Story, now streaming on ZEE5, draws from this familiar image to tell a gentle tale of romance, sibling friction, and family ties. The series stars Anil Geela, best known for My Village Showon YouTube, in a role that nudges viewers to reflect on familial bonds. Set in Lambadipalli village, the story centres on brothers Sattaiah (Muralidhar Goud) and Narsing Yadav (RS Nandha), nicknamed Ram and Lakshman for their close bond and reputation for settling disputes at the local panchayat. But beneath the harmony, the series hints at tensions: of ego, inheritance, and simmering rivalry.
Arabia Kadali
Drama (Telugu)
A fictional suspense drama series that revolves around a group of fishermen from rival villages who inadvertently trespass into international waters and find themselves imprisoned in a foreign jail.
Cast:
Satyadev Kancharana, Anandhi, Harsh Roshan, Vamsi Krishna, Chintakindi Srinivas Rao, Bhuvan Saluru
Director:
Surya Kumar
Writer:
Radha Krishna Jagarlamudi, Chintakindi Srinivas Rao, Surya Kumar, Sunil D
(Writing for The Hindu)
Satyadev, Anandhi are the saving grace of this underwhelming drama
Sat, August 9 2025
Arabia Kadali starts with an obvious disadvantage, basing its premise on incidents that have already inspired a widely watched Telugu film, Thandel (a major hit this year). It tells the story of fishermen from Andhra Pradesh arrested in Pakistan for straying into foreign waters, waiting tirelessly to return home and reunite with their loved ones, which feels like a distant dream by the day. The show, co-written by Krish Jagarlamudi (and Chintakindi Srinivas Rao), underlines the extraordinary grit and persistence of the fishermen, while a woman back home fights tooth and nail to ensure their release. The VV Surya Kumar directorial begins by casting light on the mundane realities of fishermen, their debt-ridden families, the air of hopelessness that pushes them to migrate to Gujarat for employment and the exploitation of the corporates.
(Writing for Scroll.in)
An emotion-heavy exploration of fishermen in troubled waters
Fri, August 8 2025
The Telugu show Arabia Kadali takes viewers on a sweeping maritime journey through the lives of fishermen caught in the net of geopolitics. The Prime Video series from Krish Jagarlamudi and Chintakindi Srinivas Rao spans eight episodes and covers over a year. Directed by VV Surya Kumar, Arabia Kadali explores what happens when men from rival villages are forced to depend on each other after being captured in foreign waters and incarcerated in a hostile environment. The story centres on Badiri (Satyadev) and the struggles of other local fishermen like him. The coastal villages of Andhra Pradesh are in crisis. The once-bountiful Bay of Bengal has been overfished and polluted. There’s no jetty or proper boats. The fishermen migrate to Gujarat for long weeks at sea as hired hands on company fishing boats. The lure of the Arabian Sea’s richness draws them further westward. What begins as a desperate mission for livelihood turns into a nightmare when the fishermen inadvertently cross into Pakistani waters and are arrested on the charge of being Indian spies.
Freakier Friday
Fantasy, Comedy, Family (English)
Years after Tess and Anna endured an identity crisis, Anna now has a daughter of her own and a soon-to-be stepdaughter. As they navigate the myriad challenges that come when two families merge, Tess and Anna discover lightning might indeed strike twice.
Cast:
Lindsay Lohan, Jamie Lee Curtis, Julia Butters, Sophia Hammons, Mark Harmon, Manny Jacinto, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Christina Vidal, Haley Hudson, Chad Michael Murray
Director:
Nisha Ganatra
Lindsay Lohan, Jamie Lee Curtis film raises racial-ethnic-mix bar, serves a bit of Karan Johar
Sat, August 9 2025
There’s much that’s similar between the 2003 Freaky Friday and the 2025 Freakier Friday, starting with the central body-swapping premise, and the return of two main stars, Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan. The films may be separated by more than two decades, but the vibe is very much the same: get the sentiments out, but keep it broad and light, and make things right. In the previous one, Dr Tess Coleman (Jamie Lee Curtis) and teenage daughter Anna (Lindsay Lohan) are at loggerheads by the former’s impending marriage, with the latter not thrilled at the prospect of a stepdad. This time around, it is the turn of former rocker-present celebrity events manager Anna’s Gen Z daughter Harper (Julia Butters) to be unhappy at the former falling hard for single hot dad Eric (Manny Jacinto), who is in possession of a daughter of his own, the very British Lily (Sophia Hammons), said girl being satisfactorily snooty and stand-offish, and therefore Harper’s enemy number one.
Lindsay Lohan’s Sequel Keeps Up With The Hype Of OG Film
Sat, August 9 2025
Freakier Friday is directed by Nisha Ganatra, who has also worked on hit comedy shows like Fresh Off The Boat, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Mindy Project and many more. The sequel follows both main characters from Freaky Friday 2003 film, a mother daughter duo who could not see eye to eye even after switching their bodies. Almost three decades later Anna and Tess have returned with more complications in life (two daughters), and a much needed lesson waiting for four of them which will bring them even closer. The film begins with a quiet recap of what everyone has been up to since the OG film’s release in 2003. Jamie Lee Curtis’ Tess Coleman has been happily married, she now runs a podcast from her closet and is a published author, on the other hand, Lindsay Lohan’s Anna has stopped performing and now works for a pop star Emma while being a single mother to a strong-willed teenage daughter, Harper. When a food fight ensues at the school because of Harper and her British nemesis Lily, both Anna and Lily’s father Eric are called to the school.
Together
Horror (English)
With a move to the countryside already testing the limits of a couple's relationship, a supernatural encounter begins an extreme transformation of their love, their lives, and their flesh.
Cast:
Dave Franco, Alison Brie, Damon Herriman, Mia Morrissey, Karl Richmond, Jack Kenny, Francesca Waters, Aljin Abella, Sarah Lang, Rob Brown
Director:
Michael Shanks
Writer:
Michael Shanks
Dave Franco, Alison Brie's Film Is Unique, Gripping And Creepy In Unusual Ways
Sat, August 9 2025
Together written and directed by Michael Shanks has been surrounded with controversy about the origins of the story as the makers face a copyright infringement lawsuit based on how similar it is to another film. The producers of Better Half in their lawsuit claimed that the story was originally pitched to Franco and Brie in 2020, but they turned it down. Husband and wife Dave Franco and Alison Brie are leading Together and were widely praise for their performance after Sundance debut. Rightfully so, as this is one the best psychological thrillers in recent times with chilling and very real, relatable concept. The film begins with an unusual incident taking place in the small town where a couple has already gone missing. Community volunteers can be seen searching the forest walking trails when two dogs of a of volunteer wonders off into a dark cave. They end up drinking from a well in the cave and begin to have some kind of a hypnotic reaction to it. Even after they go home with the volunteer, they continue to behave different, and at night when the dogs won’t stop barking, the volunteer walks in on them having consumed half of each other.
Sitaare Zameen Par
Comedy, Drama (Hindi)
A disgraced basketball coach is given the chance to coach a team of players who are intellectually disabled, and soon realizes they just might have what it takes to make it to the national championships.
Cast:
Aamir Khan, Genelia D'Souza, Karim Hajee, Krishiv Jindal, Amit Varma, Aroush Datta, Gopi Krishna Varma, Samvit Desai, Vedant Sharma, Ayush Bhansali
Director:
R. S. Prasanna
If you need Aamir Khan to manipulate you into being a good person, maybe you’re beyond redemption
Sat, August 9 2025
While watching any film, it is important to understand who the target audience is, especially Hindi movies, which are often slotted into rigid categories. It’s theoretically possible for a 65-year-old ‘tirth yatri’ from Rithala to enjoy the fourth Twilight movie on a bus to Amarnath, but, you’d agree that they probably wouldn’t care much for shiny vampires and their politics. The Twilight movies are aimed at teenage girls, just as Aamir Khan’s Sitaare Zameen Par is targeted at the sort of folks for whom kindness doesn’t come naturally. Khan plays their surrogate in the film, directed by RS Prasanna and based on the Spanish-language hit Campeones. It’s the star’s second remake in a row, after the poorly received Laal Singh Chaddha from a couple of years ago.
The Long Take - A Spotify Review
Wed, August 6 2025
Marketed as the spiritual sequel to Aamir Khan’s 2007 hit Taare Zameen Par—is a shoddily made, preachy, borderline insensitive film with a noble mission. However, just because it aims to raise awareness about an admirable cause doesn’t excuse its cringeworthy tone, Khan and Genelia Deshmukh’s subpar performances, and its casual othering of the neurodivergent community. We discuss the film’s many problems before finally finding one aspect worthy of praise.
Where Aamir Khan's film fails to hit the sweet spot
Mon, June 23 2025
An Aamir Khan film is a bit of an anomaly in the current landscape of Hindi cinema. Here’s an actor whose superstar credentials have come not courtesy testosterone-heavy action spectacles but by championing narratives that espouse for a better society and celebrate the inherent goodness of mankind. Good intent, though, doesn’t always translate into an equally good film. Sitaare Zameen Par is that feel-good film that tries so hard to be likeable that it begins to feel cloying and underwhelming. Few jokes fly, many forced. But by the end, it’s pushing for tears. Khan has played this script before, and it’s worked wonders at the box-office. There’s the Rajkumar Hirani-directed 3 Idiots and PK and the Khan banner’s Taare Zameen Par (TZP) and Secret Superstar. Sitaare Zameen Par is cut from the same social-moral fabric. It has even been billed as a spiritual sequel to TZP, only that it feels laborious in execution.
Dhadak 2
Romance, Drama (Hindi)
When Neelesh, an idealistic law student from a marginalised section of society, steps into an prestigious institution, he is thrust into a world that doesn`t reflect his own. His friendship with Vidhi, offers hope-until a wave of tragedy exposes the deep-rooted hierarchies he tried to outrun. He must confront the invisible forces that shape who we are allowed to become and who we love.
Cast:
Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri, Saad Bilgrami, Saurabh Sachdeva, Vipin Sharma, Zakir Hussain, Anubha Fatehpuria, Priyank Tiwari, Deeksha Joshi, Dishank Arora
Director:
Shazia Iqbal
Shazia Iqbal destroys ancient Bollywood Dharma in the best Karan Johar production since Jigra
Thu, August 7 2025
Something that Quentin Tarantino said recently rings true for director Shazia Iqbal’s Dhadak 2. In an interview, he explained why he admires the controversial blockbuster film Joker, despite the divisive reactions that it opened to. Tarantino said that the movie pulled off ‘subversion on a massive level’, when it got audiences across the globe to root for a madman to shoot a celebrity in the face on live TV. These were all civilised people, Tarantino said. And yet, for around 10 minutes, they were hungry for blood. It’s an unusual comparison to make, but Dhadak 2 has more in common with a billion-dollar-grossing Hollywood movie than you’d imagine. In an alternate universe, Siddhant Chaturvedi’s character in the film, a Dalit man named Neelesh, could have very easily turned into a vengeful anarchist.
(Writing for The Juggernaut)
Bollywood Finally Sees Caste
Sun, August 3 2025
This is how star-crossed romances usually go: boy meets girl, hearts collide, the world relents, and they ride into forever. But not in Dhadak 2, the Hindi remake of Mari Selvaraj’s searing Tamil film Pariyerum Perumal (2018). Here, love doesn’t float above the ground but sinks deep into the soil of caste identity. The film’s lovers, Neelesh (a standout Siddhant Chaturvedi) and Vidisha (Triptii Dimri), are young and idealistic. But society sees their surname before it sees their hearts. He is Neelesh Ahirwar, a first-generation Dalit student who lives in a slum. She is Vidisha Bharadwaj, an upper-caste classmate who falls for him. In debutante director Shazia Iqbal’s hands, Dhadak 2 proves that, in India, love isn’t blind — it sees caste in sharp, unforgiving focus.
(Writing for The Daily Eye)
Confronts caste and heartbreak with sober sincerity,
Sun, August 3 2025
If Pariyerum Perumal (2018) was a burning manifesto against caste oppression, Dhadak 2 is the government-issued pamphlet version—neatly formatted, slightly sanitized, and laminated for upper-caste convenience. A Hindi remake of Mari Selvaraj’s Tamil classic, Dhadak 2 attempts a daring high-wire act: to tackle India’s caste realities without disturbing the comfort zones of mainstream Bollywood viewers. It’s also branded as a spiritual sequel to 2018’s Dhadak, a film so committed to looking away from caste, it practically made erasure an aesthetic. In that sense, Dhadak 2 is a kind of karmic correction—only this time, the characters do mention caste out loud. Occasionally. Set in a vague “Hindi heartland” (geography was apparently too casteist to be named), Dhadak 2 follows Neelesh (Siddhant Chaturvedi), a Dalit law student with dreams of justice and—poor thing—romance. He secures a spot in the prestigious National University of Law through reservation, and while most Bollywood heroes fight corrupt politicians or dance on Swiss hills, Neelesh battles that deadliest of foes: everyday systemic discrimination.
My Oxford Year
Romance, Comedy, Drama (English)
An ambitious American fulfilling her dream of studying at Oxford falls for a charming Brit hiding a secret that may upend her perfectly planned life.
Cast:
Sofia Carson, Corey Mylchreest, Esmé Kingdom, Harry Trevaldwyn, Dougray Scott, Catherine McCormack, Nikhil Parmar, Poppy Gilbert, Romina Cocca, Yadier Fernández
Director:
Iain Morris
Netflix’s Saiyaara-coded weepy is no better than a Mohit Suri movie
Wed, August 6 2025
What begins like an In the Heights-style story about upward mobility and female ambition turns into what can only be described as a Mohit Suri movie. Saiyaara won’t leave you alone no matter how hard you try. The sappy tone of Suri’s films, borrowed from the cinema of more countries than the average Indian will ever visit in their lifetime, has swung all the way back around and influenced the likes of My Oxford Year. It’s perhaps the most algorithmic film that Netflix has released in recent memory. Starring two of the streamer’s newest alums — Sofia Carson from The Life List and Corey Mylchreest from Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story — the film makes you wonder if it was produced only because the filmmakers gained no-holds-barred access to the University of Oxford.
Nightbitch
Comedy, Horror (English)
A woman, thrown into the stay-at-home routine of raising a toddler in the suburbs, slowly embraces the feral power deeply rooted in motherhood, as she becomes increasingly aware of the bizarre and undeniable signs that she may be turning into a dog.
Cast:
Amy Adams, Scoot McNairy, Arleigh Snowden, Emmett Snowden, Jessica Harper, Zoë Chao, Mary Holland, Archana Rajan, Nate Heller, Darius De La Cruz
Director:
Marielle Heller
Writer:
Marielle Heller
Lays bare the 'brutality' of motherhood but is more bark than bite
Tue, August 5 2025
A young stay-at-home woman’s tedious maternal routine takes a surreal turn when she finds herself finding a sense of freedom in her newly-developed feral tendencies. Simply and bluntly put, the appropriately-named Nightbitch has its protagonist — who remains unnamed — develop into a dog every night and run amuck through the neighbourhood, after a day of intense drudgery and monotony. Sounds crazy? It sure is. Based on the 2021 novel of the same name by Rachel Yoder and directed by Marielle Heller, whose last outing was the critically-acclaimed 2019 film A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood, Nightbitch stars six-time Oscar nominee Amy Adams in the lead. Adams is more than a few pounds overweight, dressed dowdy throughout the film and perpetually exhausted in the way a lot of us can relate with. What we can’t, of course, is the extreme spiral the character undergoes under the load of stress and mental anguish. With ‘Husband’ away on office work on weekdays, ‘Mother’, which is what Adams is referred to in the description of the film, functions on a daily basis as a single mother. That includes taking care of her infant ‘Son’ with not a minutes’ rest, even as she ruminates on what could have been if she had not paused her career as an artist to take care of her baby full time.
Don’t let Suniel Shetty watch Amy Adams’ horror-comedy about motherhood; he won’t like it
Fri, August 1 2025
Despite being a six-time Oscar nominee, Amy Adams’ career in the last decade or so resembles that of someone who has lost the ability to say no. Her latest film is Nightbitch, a dark comedy about the horrors of motherhood, in which she plays a nameless woman who finds herself transforming into a dog. Literally. The movie is directed by Marielle Heller, whose last feature was A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood. Nightbitch is, in many ways, the cynical sister to that stubbornly saccharine film. It’s also a fantastical reality check for anybody contemplating parenthood. In addition to repelling audiences with its weirdness, however, Nightbitch could possibly cause Suniel Shetty to reconsider his views on gender roles.
Bakaiti
(Hindi)
Set in old Ghaziabad, this heartwarming series follows the Kataria family grappling with a financial crunch. When Naina is forced to share her room with her younger brother Bharat, sibling tensions rise.
Cast:
Rajesh Tailang, Sheeba Chaddha, Aditya Shukla, Keshav Sadhna
Director:
Ameet Guptha
(Writing for Binged)
Feel-Good Take On Middle-Class Blues
Mon, August 4 2025
Sanjay Kataria, a struggling lawyer in Ghaziabad, scrapes through his daily life with his wife and two children with great difficulty. He faces resistance from his father in letting out a room in his ancestral property for rent, and continues to bicker with his brother over monetary issues. When Sanjay’s rebellious daughter Naina suddenly goes missing on her birthday, his life comes to a standstill. Rajesh Tailang is a perfect casting choice to play the average Indian middle-class father who tries to keep the family together, come what may. He mirrors the role’s simplicity and lends warmth to the portrayal of a man hardened by situations. Sheeba Chaddha, expectedly, is fabulous, in the shoes of a wife whose life rolls along selflessly.
A patchy family drama that struggles to rise above the noise
Sat, August 2 2025
The Ghaziabad-based Katarias have a sole earning member. Ajay (Rajesh Tailang) is a lawyer whose earnings, and patience, is stretched thin by the antics of his permanently bickering teenage children, Naina (Tanya Sharma) and her younger brother Bharat (Aditya Shukla). Ajay’s wife Sushma (Sheeba Chadha) handles the house, one eye on the never-ending work in the kitchen, and another on the sewing machine, which has been lying neglected for years. What if she opens a longed-for boutique? That would bring in much-needed extra cash. The kids join in, with a couple of madcap schemes. But nothing works. The squabbling siblings have to share a room, while the one that’s freed up, is rented out. The tenant (Keshav Sadhna) turns out to be a good-looking fellow, whom Naina starts batting her eyelids at. Turns out that he has troubles of his own, revealed in a most unconvincing manner.
Chief of War
Drama (English)
With Hawaii's four kingdoms divided by war, the ferocious warrior Kaʻiana embarks on an epic mission to unite his people—as an existential threat approaches their shores.
Cast:
Jason Momoa, Luciane Buchanan, Te Ao o Hinepehinga, Cliff Curtis, Kaina Makua, Moses Goods, Siua Ikale‘o, Brandon Finn, Mainei Kinimaka, Te Kohe Tuhaka
Jason Momoa Commands Fiercely In Brutal Epic Reclaiming Hawaii’s Untold History
Mon, August 4 2025
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.
Breathtakingly beautiful, Jason Momoa’s Apple show is like a political alliance between Avatar and Black Panther
Fri, August 1 2025
It takes great writing discipline to make a show like Chief of War. Nearly everybody who watches it on Apple will be entering a world that they’re entirely unfamiliar with. And yet, they must surrender to its intimate yet epic narrative. Set in the late 18th century, the nine-episode drama tells the story of the unification of the Hawaiian islands, from the perspective of the Polynesian community. Riskier is the creative decision to set it almost exclusively in the native language. Perhaps the folks behind it — Chief of War is co-created by Jason Momoa and Thomas Pa’a Sibbett — were empowered by the success of similar grand-scale productions such as FX’s Japanese-language drama Shōgun and Apple’s own Korean-language show Pachinko.
Son of Sardar 2
Comedy, Drama (Hindi)
Years after settling an epic family feud and surviving house arrest in Punjab, Jassi Singh Randhawa returns this time chasing love, not trouble. But when he lands in Scotland to win back his estranged wife, he stumbles into a hostage crisis, a mafia war and the most bizarre Sardaar wedding of the century.
Cast:
Ajay Devgn, Mrunal Thakur, Ravi Kishan, Neeru Bajwa, Vindu Dara Singh, Mukul Dev, Sanjay Mishra, Deepak Dobriyal, Chunky Pandey, Kubbra Sait
Director:
Vijay Kumar Arora
Writer:
Jagdeep Singh Sidhu, Mohit Jain
(Writing for The Daily Eye)
Bursts into bagpipes, buffoonery, and borrowed patriotism, each stumbling over substance in pursuit of spectacle
Sun, August 3 2025
Son of Sardaar 2 is back, and this time the sardaar has swapped swords for bagpipes—aye, we’re in Scotland now, lads! Directed by Punjabi punch specialist Vijay Kumar Arora and bankrolled by Ajay Devgn (also starring, obviously), Jyoti Deshpande, N.R. Pachisia and Pravin Talreja, this one’s a chaotic cocktail of comedy, culture clashes, and complete confusion. A standalone sequel to the 2012 madcap masala-fest Son of Sardaar, this film dares to ask the question: What happens when you mix a fake war hero, a dysfunctional band, a confused wedding, and Ravi Kishan’s eyebrows into one movie? Apparently, a whole lot of madness. The plot? Let’s just say it’s more tangled than a pair of wired earphones in a jeans pocket. Our man Jassi (Ajay Devgn), fresh off a long exile (probably dodging sequels), flies to bonnie Scotland to win back his estranged wife (Neeru Bajwa). But instead of rekindling romance, he finds himself knee-deep in cross-border chaos featuring a mob rivalry, a desi wedding gone rogue, and a mistaken identity twist that feels like Comedy of Errors… rewritten by Rohit Shetty during a sugar rush.
Ravi Kishan and Deepak Dobriyal outdo Ajay Devgn to keep this goofy comedy kicking
Sun, August 3 2025
After watching Dhadak, one finds a serious layer in this infantile sequel to Ajay Devgn’s tribute to his Punjabi roots as well. The writing plays on the Bollywood Sardar stereotype, one who is innocent, stands his ground, and doesn’t show his back in a battle. Lest we forget, the makers ensure the word Punjabi keeps popping up in the dhol-centric background score as well. After a long wait for a visa, when the simpleton Jassi (Ajay) comes to London, he discovers that his wife Dimple (Neeru Bajwa) has decided to ditch her. Lost, he strikes a chord with Rabia (Mrunal Thakur), a Pakistani musician who runs a wedding band with a transgender musician, Gul (Deepak Dobriyal), and Mehwish (Kubra Sait), as well as her foster daughter, Saba (Roshni Walia), after being ditched by her philandering husband, Danish (Chunkey Panday).
A confused, half-hearted comedy
Sat, August 2 2025
Thirteen years after Son of Sardaar hit cinemas with its brand of crowd-pleasing comedy, its sequel arrives with less humour and even less purpose. Vijay Kumar Arora takes the helm of Son of Sardaar 2, repackaging the chaotic energy of the original into a modern comedy about mistaken identities, cross-border friction, and manufactured family values. Son of Sardaar 2 is not a direct narrative continuation of the original but borrows the premise of an impromptu fake family assembled for a wedding from the 2017 Turkish film Aile Arasında (Between Family). In this version, a Pakistani family enlists the help of a kind-hearted, gullible Indian Sikh man to help the youngest member marry her Sikh boyfriend. Ajay Devgn plays Jassi, a gentle Sikh protagonist whose journey from Punjab to the UK—after finally receiving his long-awaited spouse visa—doesn’t yield the results he expected. Cuckolded by his wife Dimple (Neeru Bajwa), an aimless Jassi finds himself caught in the middle of India-Pakistan cultural chaos.
Mahavatar Narsimha
Animation, Action, Fantasy, Drama (Kannada)
Hiranyakashyap, the tyrannical demon, challenges Vishnu, proclaiming himself a god. However, his son Prahlad remains devoted to Vishnu, who appears as Narsimha to defeat the demon.
Director:
Ashwin Kumar
Writer:
Jaypurna Das
(Writing for The Common Man Speaks)
Uplifting mixture of devotion and entertainmentmahavatar-narsimha
Sat, August 2 2025
Lord Vishnu’s various avatars have their own importance and they are worshipped in large numbers. But they also are cinematic enough for a movie on each one of them. In fact, I have always found it surprising as to why we have never had a series of films or web shows on each avatar of his. Filmmaker Ashwin Kumar’s animation film Mahavatar Narsimha has finally filled the void. The movie is based on Lord Vishnu’s Narasimha Avatar. The story starts off when sage Kashyap and his wife get physical during an inauspicious time. Hence, the twins born out of their union turn out to be Asura brothers Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashyap. As per their nature, the twins create havoc in the three worlds. Once, Hiranyaksha captures the earth and submerges it into the ocean. Hence, Lord Vishnu takes the Varah Avatar, frees the earth and kills Hiranyaksha. Hiranyakashyap, who already is against Vishnu, starts hating the latter even more and vows to avenge his brother’s death.