Mollywood Times
Comedy, Drama (Malayalam)
Sachin, the son of the immensely famous writer of ghost stories, Vaikom David, is asked by his teacher to write a short story for the school magazine. However, Sachin’s story is rejected for publication because it lacks quality. (more…)
Made in India: A Titan Story
Drama (Hindi)
In a market ruled by smuggling and foreign brands, a determined Indian man Xerxes Desai, with the help of his team, dares to build a world-class watch from scratch. Battling rejection, failure, and global humiliation, they transform Titan into a (more…)
Guild Reviews by Film
Raakh
Crime, Drama (Hindi)
When two teenagers vanish, a close-knit family is shattered and the city is left on edge. Determined to uncover the truth, a relentless officer leads a nationwide manhunt that pulls him deep into a world of violence and human depravity.
Cast:
Ali Fazal, Sonali Bendre, Aamir Bashir, Akash Makhija, Ramandeep Yadav, Anshul Chauhan, Rakesh Bedi, Dibyendu Bhattacharya
Director:
Prosit Roy
Writer:
Anusha Nandakumar, Sandeep Saket
Sat, June 13 2026
Sat, June 13 2026
Led by an excellent ensemble, ‘Raakh’ is an immersive investigative crime drama that sifts through Delhi’s lost innocence
The flood of true-crime content has turned the living room into a dark laboratory. It feels unsettling to measure which series ‘grieves better,’ which depicts ‘more realistic’ violence, or which frames ‘suffering believably’. The couch feels like a spectator’s seat to human misery. Yet, this discomfort perhaps serves the point. The niceness of a living room is often a bubble, while the city outside – as Raakh reminds this week – remains equally brutal and indifferent. In the sweltering haze of August 1978, a sudden rain washes away Delhi’s innocence. When two children, Suman and Sahil Arora (Divya and Vivan Sharma), vanish into the maw of a predatory night, the world of a decorated army man, Ashok, and his wife Mona (Aamir Bashir and Sonali Bendre), dissolves into unsolvable grief. Into this void steps Sub Inspector Jayprakash Jatav (Ali Fazal), a rookie defined by the sharp crease of his uniform and the heavy burden of his birth, hunting two shadows who kill with the casualness of a seasonal breeze. Inspired by the infamous Ranga-Billa case, Raakh is not merely a chase, but a dissection of the anatomy of crime in the Capital.
Sat, June 13 2026
Unsettling, disturbing, and difficult to watch at times, but undeniably important viewing
An atmospheric and deeply unsettling crime drama, Raakh draws inspiration from one of India’s most chilling criminal cases, the infamous Ranga-Billa case (1978) that shook the nation and forever altered the way people viewed safety in the capital. Most crimes are tragically remembered for the notorious criminals who commit them, while the victims are often forgotten with time. In a sea of cop dramas, Raakh urges you to look beyond the investigation and examine the origin, aftermath, and far-reaching consequences of a brutal crime on society at large. The lingering trauma of grieving parents seeking accountability and justice after losing their children makes for an emotionally difficult watch. Trial by Fire, led by Rajshri Deshpande and Abhay Deol, explored similar emotional devastation effectively. Raakh serves as a reminder of humanity at its worst, and how such horrors force ordinary people to live with endless guilt — what if I had done something differently? Yet the real sickness lies with the criminal mind to begin with.
Backrooms
Horror, Mystery, Science Fiction (English)
A strange doorway appears in the basement of a furniture showroom.
Cast:
Chiwetel Ejiofor, Renate Reinsve, Mark Duplass, Finn Bennett, Lukita Maxwell, Avan Jogia, Robert Bobroczkyi, Ember Ambrose, Krista Kosonen, Philip Granger
Director:
Kane Parsons
Writer:
Will Soodik
Sat, June 13 2026
Backrooms joins the growing list of films made by directors who transitioned from YouTube to feature filmmaking. Directed by 21-year-old Kane Parsons, it presents itself as a high-concept film—perhaps so high-concept that grasping exactly what it is trying to say becomes a challenge. By the end, one is left wondering what the point of it all was
Fri, June 12 2026
The 20-year-old behind the viral YouTube series turns his liminal-space nightmare into a feature that is cannier and lonelier than its origins.
Kane Parsons, the debut director of Backrooms, is 20 years old. It is the sort of detail you want to hold against the film, but you cannot. Parsons made his name in high school, helming a YouTube series called Backrooms. Like the film, it grew out of a 2019 image of an empty yellow room: the patron saint of the internet’s endless fascination with liminal spaces, those transitional, in-between places that feel wrong the moment you find them empty. The leap from that to an A24 feature (the film is based on his series) should have flattened the whole thing into content. Instead, Backrooms turns out cannier and more searching than its origins, spending its runtime worrying at questions about memory and what it means to be lost, which are far older than the internet that taught Parsons how to make it.
Fri, June 12 2026
In Kane Parsons’s feature film, backrooms are explained as “every place that has ever been”.
Little comes closer to the approximation of a full empty life than perhaps a furniture store. Dining tables to be had family meals on, sofas to sink into, almirahs to hold possessions, beds to be slept in – all waiting for someone to take them home. Little comes closer to the approximation of an empty full life than perhaps an impersonal glass-and-concrete office space. Rows upon rows of people sitting behind screens doing identical work day after day – all waiting for somehow to make it home. In the Backrooms, the twain meet in the liminal space that the Internet calls it own, where real and fake symbiotically live off each other. It is fitting then that the film should be the creation of 20-year-old YouTube find Kane Parsons, and be steered into massive commercial success by A24, a studio with a nose for zeitgeist and the pocket for zillions.
Every Year After
Drama (English)
Six summers to fall in love. One moment to fall apart. A week to get it right. A fun, sweeping, romantic story that asks the question, what if your first love actually was your soulmate?
Cast:
Sadie Soverall, Matt Cornett, Aurora Perrineau, Abigail Cowen, Michael Bradway, Joseph Chiu, Elisha Cuthbert
Fri, June 12 2026
Based on the novel by Carley Fortune, a couple's love story is examined over years as they meet every summer.
The romance genre has gotten a new lease of life thanks to streaming. Amazon Prime Video is doubling down on its book-to-screen adaptations. The latest series that is set to dominate this summer is Every Year After, based on Carley Fortune’s Every Summer After novel. The simple premise is that a former couple reunites after a death, bringing up past feelings and emotions. The friends-to-lovers trope is explored nicely in the eight-part show, which includes plenty of romantic drama for all of its characters. The bingeable show is very similar to another Amazon Prime Video hit, The Summer I Turned Pretty, and could appeal to its fans as well.
Cape Fear
Drama, Crime (English)
A storm is coming for happily married attorneys Anna and Tom Bowden when Max Cady, the notorious killer they are responsible for putting behind bars, is let out of prison and wants revenge.
Cast:
Javier Bardem, Amy Adams, Patrick Wilson, CCH Pounder, Lily Collias, Joe Anders, Anna Baryshnikov, Jamie Hector, Malia Pyles
Thu, June 11 2026
A gripping psychological battle
In the fall of 2007, Anton Chigurh walked on to our screens and drove fear into our hearts, one which deepens with every rewatch of No Country For Old Men. The neo-Western crime thriller, directed by the irrepressible Coen Brothers, starred Javier Bardem as Chigurh, with the versatile Spanish actor turning in a deathly, remorseless, unemotional act that is unanimously cited as a masterpiece of cinematic villainy. The chilling Chigurh won Bardem a host of awards — including an Oscar, a Golden Globe and a BAFTA — with one important footnote being attached to his portrayal for posterity: the cold, unstoppable killer-for-hire, distinguished by that iconic bowl-cut, has been crowned as “the most realistic film depiction of a psychopath” in the Journal of Forensic Sciences.
Fri, June 5 2026
Reinvents the classic thriller with a modern edge, anchored by Javier Bardem's chilling performance as Max Cady.
There’s a specific cruelty in asking an audience to hold Robert De Niro‘s memory in their head while watching anything. Scorsese’s 1991 Cape Fear is one of the most viscerally unpleasant American studio films ever greenlit. It was a picture so brutally disturbing that it feels like it physically assaults you. De Niro’s Max Cady showed that when the id snaps and has a grudge, it’s almost like unleashing raw fury from God. Nick Antosca’s ten-episode Apple TV limited series (executive-produced, with some degree of irony, by both Martin Scorsese himself and Steven Spielberg) has the considerable audacity to set up shop in that shadow and try to grow something in the dark. Remarkably, it partly succeeds.
Fri, June 5 2026
Created by Nick Antosca, the series remake digs deep into the characters played by Javier Bardem, Amy Adams and Patrick Wilson
The latest star-led prestige drama from Apple TV is Cape Fear. Created by Nick Antosca, the new remake based on John D. MacDonald’s book The Executioners and the previous Hollywood films elongates the story of vengeance. It expands the roles of the Bowden family while creating an aura of ambiguity around notorious villain Max Cady, now played by Javier Bardem. With the backing of Oscar-winning filmmakers Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, the new Cape Fear is a chilling page-turner and psychological thriller you just can’t get enough of.
Made in India: A Titan Story
Drama (Hindi)
In a market ruled by smuggling and foreign brands, a determined Indian man Xerxes Desai, with the help of his team, dares to build a world-class watch from scratch. Battling rejection, failure, and global humiliation, they transform Titan into a symbol of national pride and innovation.
Cast:
Naseeruddin Shah, Jim Sarbh, Vaibhav Tatwawadi, Lakshvir Saran, Kaveri Seth, Namita Dubey, Joy Sengupta, Ashwath Bhatt, Prateeksha Lonkar, Paresh Ganatra
Director:
Robby Grewal
Writer:
Karan Vyas
Wed, June 10 2026
Though the series in parts does look like a corporate film, the story and the acting make it an engaging watch.
In India, making a film/web series based on real events/people is an adventure sport. There’s no way it can criticise political powers without being selective. Real people/organisations depicted in the narrative need to sign off on permissions before one depicts them, which becomes trickier if the depiction is anything beyond heroic or idealistic. The legal departments comb through the script picking apart inane details; one might argue such films/shows are made by lawyers as much as filmmakers. No wonder most look timid and cauterised. The additional obstacle for Robbie Grewal’s Made in India: A Titan Story, adapted from Vinay Kamath’s book, Titan: Inside India’s Most Successful Consumer Brand (2018), is that it’s also partly produced by Titan.
Fri, June 5 2026
Director Robbie Grewal’s series chronicling the origins of the Tata Empire’s iconic watch brand, for The Hollywood Reporter India. Based on Vinay Kamath’s book Titan: Inside India’s Most Successful Consumer Brand, the show follows how, through the 70s and 80s, Tata executive Xerxes Desai (Jim Sarbh) founded Titan and built a world-class watch under the guidance of JRD Tata (Naseeruddin Shah). Suchin finds the Amazon MX Player series warm, deeply felt and immensely huggable, drawing an unavoidable comparison to Rocket Boys given the shared heart-first DNA. He argues that more than a corporate success story, this is a tale framed as a fable of national pride, but one that soars because of its delicate love for its characters rather than its milestones. Across six achingly sincere episodes, he cares about the Titan story because he cares about the figures behind it.
Fri, June 5 2026
Robbie Grewal’s six-episode drama about the rise of an iconic Indian brand unfolds as more than just a designer moment in time
In theory, nothing about Made In India: A Titan Story is supposed to work. Starting with that corporate-core title. It’s hard not to be wary of well-mounted business success stories about brands and institutions that still exist. There’s the thinnest line between promotional productions and historical dramas. This six-episode series is adapted from Vinay Kamath’s book about the rise of Titan, the world-class watchmaking company founded by Xerxes Desai in pre-liberalisation India. It’s not exactly a rags-to-riches tale; it opens with Desai well into his career, and already an integral part of The Tata Group. It’s not your typical underdog tale either; Desai’s mentor is grand old J.R.D Tata himself, so even when Titan runs into its many bureaucratic and funding roadblocks, it’s not like the team has the odds entirely stacked against them. There’s also the ready-made patriotism angle; Titan unfolds to put the country on a map dominated by shiny Swiss companies. On paper, the series has all the ingredients of a persuasive marketing campaign. For a viewer, it’s the equivalent of trying to root for a nepo-baby in a landscape full of outsiders.
Warrant
Crime, Mystery, Drama (Tamil)
A bullied and vulnerable small‑town constable transforms into a brutal force while solving forgotten warrant cases, until a custodial death forces the law to judge the man he has become.
Cast:
Prashanth Pandiraj, Balaji Sakthivel, Kaali Venkat, Kausalya, Aruldoss, MV Namritha, Aruljothi Arockiaraj, Chaya Devi, Vaiyapuri, Meena
Director:
Vignesh Natarajan
Writer:
Prashanth Pandiraj, Vignesh Natarajan
Tue, June 9 2026
பல்வேறு அரசுப் பணிகளுக்கு முயன்ற பிறகு வேறு வழியில்லாமல் காவல்துறைக்கு வருகிறார் கோட்டை கருப்பசாமி (பிரசாந்த் பாண்டிராஜ்). காவல் நிலையத்தின் பரபரப்பான சூழல், அங்கிருக்கும் நடைமுறைகள் அவருக்குப் புதிதாக இருப்பதால், அதற்கேற்ப தன்னைத் தகவமைத்துக்கொள்வதிலும் அவருக்குச் சிக்கல் ஏற்படுகிறது. ஒரு தருணத்தில் பிடிபட்ட ஒரு திருடன், அவரைத் தாக்கிவிட்டுத் தப்பித்துவிடுகிறான். அதனால் பிரச்னைகளுடன் சேர்த்து கேலிகளையும் சந்திக்கிறார். அதன் பிறகு பழைய வழக்கு கோப்புகள் அவரிடம் ஒப்படைக்கப்பட்டு வாரண்ட்' டூட்டி போடப்படுகிறது. அந்த வழக்குகளில் சம்பந்தப்பட்டவர்களை அவர் கண்டுபிடித்தாரா, காவல் நிலையத்தில் கேலி செய்தவர்கள் முன்பு தன்னை நிரூபித்தாரா என்பதை எட்டு எபிசோடுகளில் சொல்கிறது இந்த `ஜீ5’ சீரீஸ்.
Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai
Romance, Comedy (Hindi)
When Jass leaves his marriage over conflicting priorities, a new romance abroad is upended by shocking revelations, forcing him to confront love, loyalty, and the true meaning of commitment.
Cast:
Varun Dhawan, Mrunal Thakur, Pooja Hegde, Maniesh Paul, Chunky Panday, Jimmy Shergill, Mouni Roy, Rakesh Bedi, Kubbra Sait, Rajesh Kumar
Director:
David Dhawan
Tue, June 9 2026
The David Dhawan universe of comedies delighted at least two generations, but the impact of those tried-and-tested funny games is fading
Varun Dhawan has made a decent living playing the man who refuses to grow up. Once again, his father David Dhawan, in what’s billed as his last directorial venture, gives the son a character that requires Varun to be in ‘Energiser Bunny’ mode throughout. Pause and thairaav are negligible words in the Dhawan universe of comedies that has delighted at least two generations of viewers. But the impact of those tried-and-tested funny games is fading. That’s best evident in Hai Jawaani Toh Ishq Hona Hai’s hero, who takes the cake in his ability to believe he’s beyond wrongdoing and in the sympathy he feels entitled to.
Sat, June 6 2026
Call me a cynic, but a film with both Ishq and Jawani in its title had me wary from the outset—and unfortunately, my apprehensions proved well-founded. Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai is cringe-inducing with a capital C.
Sat, June 6 2026
A classic David Dhawan escapist marital roller coaster that works overtime to make us submit to the rhythm of the ridiculous.
When in form, the infectious, chaotic energy of David Dhawan’s cinema can make even the most cynical critic melt. After a lull at the box office, the sultan of slapstick invokes a title from his inventory of playful songs and recreates the vibe of a period in Hindi cinema where logic politely steps aside to make way for a relentless cascade of laugh-out-loud misunderstandings. Dressed in a slick, contemporary cover, he partners with writers Yunus Sajawal and Farhad Samji to generate rapid-fire, rhyming situational humour that once defined the Govinda-Dhawan tempo. In his son Varun Dhawan, he has a performer who can deliver Govinda’s frantic spirit and channel the charm of a lovable rascal.
Maa Behen
Comedy, Thriller (Hindi)
In this dark comedy, a woman calls her estranged daughters in the middle of the night with chilling news — there's a dead body in her kitchen.
Cast:
Madhuri Dixit, Triptii Dimri, Ravi Kishan, Dharna Durga, Jatin Sarna, Geetanjali Kulkarni, Arunoday Singh, Shardul Bhardwaj
Director:
Suresh Triveni
Tue, June 9 2026
The film dives into the complex mother-daughter relationship, unexplored in mainstream Hindi cinema, with a distinct, quirky approach
“Daayan”. “Chudail”. “Vaishya”. “Chhichhori”. “Massage queen”. “Husband killer”. “Rekha ka dekha”. In Maa Behen, the list of slanders that Rekha (Madhur Dixit Nene) is subjected to is endless. There are multiple urban legends of her exploits in the locality—true or not is up for debate—but director Suresh Triveni and writer Pooja Tolani make one thing clear from the onset: Rekha is a single parent who has raised two daughters, Jaya (Triptii Dimri) and Sushma (Dharna Durga), on her own. That the daughters too believe some of these rumours around their mother is a source of laughs, not tension, in the film. Perhaps there’s no more complex relationship than mother-daughter. Surprisingly, it’s an unexplored dynamic in mainstream Hindi cinema, and Maa Behen dives into it with a distinct, quirky approach. There’s distrust, finger-pointing, screaming contests and constant reprimanding from both sides.
Sun, June 7 2026
Promising premise, uneven execution, sharp performances, and missed opportunities for wickedly subversive humour.
Every actor of consequence harbours a desire to inhabit roles that foreground performance—particularly those that test their flair for comedy, that most elusive of arts requiring instinct, rhythm, and razor-sharp timing. While legends such as Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan, alongside actors of formidable gravitas like Dilip Kumar and Irrfan Khan, have traversed the delicate line between the tragic and the comic with enviable ease, many have faltered in a genre that demands spontaneity and wit in equal measure. It is with such expectations that one approaches Maa Behen, a Netflix offering headlined by Madhuri Dixit. Directed by Suresh Triveni—who made a promising debut with the gently humorous Tumhari Sulu before veering into more sombre territory—the film attempts to mine a vein of humour that Hindi cinema seldom exploits with conviction: black comedy.
Sat, June 6 2026
If you grew up in a colony in a village or small town, chances are there was that one household you were asked to stay away from. You aren’t allowed to play with the children over there. The reason is a woman – usually very beautiful – who is believed to be a femme fatale. It’s all fully based on hearsay, and we get colourful stories of the woman’s tantalizing ways, whereas the householder is blissfully unaware. In Suresh Triveni’s Netflix Original film Maa Behen, we get a woman of this kind. Attractive, coquettish, and the object of every man’s fantasy (and every woman’s disdain), Rekha (Madhuri Dixit) is a mom to two firebrand girls, Jaya (Triptii Dimri) and Sushma (Dharna Durga). Together, they headline a wild and supremely entertaining feminist rib-tickler that would force you to exclaim, “Why is this not a series?”
Office Romance
Romance, Comedy (English)
Jackie, President and CEO of Air Cruz, runs a tight ship in her business, including a rigid anti-fraternization policy for all her employees. When a new sexy lawyer begins working for her, that policy becomes very tested.
Cast:
Jennifer Lopez, Brett Goldstein, Betty Gilpin, Edward James Olmos, Bradley Whitford, Amy Sedaris, Jodie Whittaker, Mary Wiseman, Tony Hale, Tony Plana
Director:
Ol Parker
Writer:
Joe Kelly, Brett Goldstein
Mon, June 8 2026
Directed by Ol Parker, the glossy rom-com features Jennifer Lopez and Brett Goldstein as co-workers who fall for each other despite the odds.
It’s a plot straight out of a romance novel or maybe a K-drama. A CEO of an airline falls for the company lawyer, jeopardising their jobs and reputations. In the new Netflix rom-com, Office Romance, Jennifer Lopez plays the CEO of Air Cruz, who finds herself inexplicably falling for the new company lawyer from London. Will their secret office romance be exposed to all? Directed by Ol Parker, the opposites-attract comedy has a good dose of British humour, plenty of HR policies and some worthy scene-stealers. Jacqueline Cruz (Lopez) needs to get rid of a competitor’s lawsuit that is threatening her position as CEO of her father’s (Edward James Olmos) airline. The CEO has to make do with a replacement lawyer when their regular one, Peter Vance (Bradley Whitford), is out with an emergency. The new hire Daniel Blanchflower (Goldstein) is more than up to the task and ends up batting for Jackie in front of the board. It leads to Jackie and Daniel getting closer for the case and having a secret affair that risks both their careers. Will the odd couple make it work or call it quits?
Mollywood Times
Comedy, Drama (Malayalam)
Sachin, the son of the immensely famous writer of ghost stories, Vaikom David, is asked by his teacher to write a short story for the school magazine. However, Sachin’s story is rejected for publication because it lacks quality.
Cast:
Naslen K. Gafoor, Roshan Shanavas, Althaf Salim, Sangeeth Prathap, Sharafudheen, Prasanth Alexander, Gopika Ramesh, Sreerang Shine, Rajesh Madhavan, Anna Prasad
Director:
Abhinav Sunder Nayak
Writer:
Ramu Sunil
Mon, June 8 2026
Everything is random, proclaims Abhinav Sunder Nayak in his gutsy second feature, Mollywood Times. It is the story of a brilliant yet salty filmmaker, Vineeth Madhavan (Naslen), who simply can’t catch a break. The reason is never as simplistic as a talented filmmaker threatening the mediocrity around him. Nayak’s narrative tears apart the glossy dream of making it big in the film industry with talent alone. This very idea made me think of a street I walked down in Mumbai a decade ago. It was strangely full of young, glamorous people. They all looked hungry to be discovered in cafes or high-end gyms. “What is this lane?” I asked someone. “You don’t know? This is where all the strugglers live.”
Sun, June 7 2026
Abhinav Sunder Nayak's Malayalam film, starring Naslen as an aspiring director, is hampered by its own sourness
Abhinav Sunder Nayak gravitates towards obsessive compulsive curmudgeons. He is only two films old but there is a pattern. If his debut film, Mukundan Unni Associates, is about a dogged, unshakeable lawyer who would stop at nothing—even murder—to accomplish his insurance scam, his sophomore film, Mollywood Times, is about another determined obstinate young man, Vineeth Madhavan (Naslen), an aspiring Malayalam filmmaker. There is a subtle but compelling difference in perception. The rigid and unnavigable world of cinema with its uncompromising characters, vicious businessmen and unforgiving mindsets make Nayak’s favorite traits almost desirable. There are more parallels between Mukundan and Vineeth. They both come from middle-class backgrounds with families that offer them nothing beyond education. It’s really their only privilege. A used car gives a young Vineeth a chance to get out on the road to take in Malayalam film posters for the first time. His father begins to trust his talents only after his short film puts his rationalist grandfather in a coma (this has a hilarious payoff in the third act). What is his reward? Not an expensive camera or budget but an offer to get him admission into a visual communications course. It’s the most a father dreaming of a doctor or an engineer son could do. This class position also determines the potency of their obsession—how far they would go or how rigid they can be in their march towards their goals.
Fri, June 5 2026
Marketed as a “hate letter to cinema,” ‘Mollywood Times’ explores themes of ambition and disillusionment, but struggles with pacing and uneven writing that detract from its potential impact
A minor act of revolt can be your undoing in the film industry, where power centres are not very tolerant of those who do not fall in line. Vineeth Madhavan (Naslen), the filmmaker protagonist of Mollywood Times, goes the whole hog in his attempt to make his first film without any compromises, a film he wants to be remembered forever. In the process, we see his worldview transform from optimistic to cynical. Scene after scene seethes with the anger and frustration of someone who experiences his dream slipping away from grasp for no fault of his, so much so that one begins to wonder how much of the events in the film have been drawn from the life of its filmmaker, Abhinav Sunder Nayak. At least, much of the cynicism of his superb debut film, Mukundan Unni Associates, is very much visible here too.
Bandar
Thriller (Hindi)
TV star Samar's life spirals when his ex Gayatri accuses him of rape after he blocks contact with her. Despite his new relationship with Khushi, he faces arrest and encounters a corrupt justice system.
Cast:
Bobby Deol, Sanya Malhotra, Saba Azad, Sapna Pabbi, Joju George, Riddhi Sen, Ankush Gedam, Nagesh Bhonsle, Jeetendra Joshi, Jaimini Pathak
Director:
Anurag Kashyap
Mon, June 8 2026
'Bandar' rather daringly wants to draw comparisons between the horrors faced by a sexual assault victim and someone falsely accused of a rape case. Bobby Deol gives up every last bit of vanity to make Samar as douchey and reckless as possible.
Anurag Kashyap’s Bandar is set in a fascinating world. An out-of-work actor Samar Mehra (Bobby Deol), 50, a shadow of his ‘90s screen-self, has to perform his one-hit wonder at tacky weddings to pay the bills. When he exits the airport and sees his more famous colleagues (cameos by Sunny Leone and husband Daniel Weber) getting ‘papped’, he takes out his phone and takes a selfie of his tired face, to humble-brag on social media. He’s behind on his EMIs; his domestic help, Shiva, hasn’t been paid in four months. Even as he carries a constant back pain, Samar is unapologetic about his carnal desires, dabbling in problematic pornography and scrolling through profiles of significantly younger women, as if to suggest a sexual preference. He’s also petty and territorial, something we find out during a conversation with girlfriend, Khushi (Saba Azad), when he expresses displeasure after she went out with a group of friends the night before. All in all, where protagonists are usually air-brushed, Samar is a grimy, authentic everyman, comfortably placed in his contradictions, unserious world-view and profound vanity.
Sun, June 7 2026
Sun, June 7 2026
Kashyap’s Bandar Rattles Loudly, Says Half Truths
If Anurag Kashyap had, by some cosmic clerical error, wandered into academia instead of cinema, he might well have become a tenured authority on the anthropology of crime—specifically, the sort that festers in dimly lit alleys and moral grey zones. His fascination with transgression is neither new nor unwelcome; after all, crime, in fiction as in life, offers a perverse kind of narrative seduction. One is drawn not merely to the act itself but to the elaborate theatre of law enforcement—those who prosecute, persecute, or, on less scrupulous days, politely protect the very rot they are sworn to excise. What grows wearisome, however, is Kashyap’s stubborn fidelity to the same old gangland grammar: interchangeable criminals, cut from identical cloth, trading smug one-liners like bored schoolboys passing notes in class. Variety, it seems, has been quietly smothered somewhere between the first act and the last cigarette.
Peddi
Action, Drama (Telugu)
In 1980s rural Andhra Pradesh, A spirited villager unites his community through sports to defend their pride against a powerful rival.
Cast:
Ram Charan, Janhvi Kapoor, Shiva Rajkumar, Jagapati Babu, Divyendu Sharma, Rajatabha Dutta, Dayanand Reddy, Upendra Limaye, Viji Chandrasekhar, Satya
Director:
Buchi Babu Sana
Sun, June 7 2026
Sat, June 6 2026
Peddi is a melodramatic sports film that tests your patience in the guise of telling an invigorating story of redemption; Jahnvi Kapoor exists purely as a plot device
Baahubali, KGF and Salaar’s success has set a trend: films increasingly become hype instruments for their heroes. The template is now painfully familiar: a stranger arrives in town, bewildered by the hero’s omnipresent worship. He then meets another archetype: the hypeman, clearly of the land, dispenses worldly wisdom like a street philosopher. The stranger, suitably elitist and condescending, serves as the audience surrogate. The hype rural man becomes the narrator. In Peddi, Boman Irani gets the thankless honour of the uber-cool stranger, dragged through a dense forest by the hypeman just to hear the legend of Peddi (Ram Charan).
Sat, June 6 2026