Heart of the Beast
Adventure, Thriller (English)
After a harrowing plane crash, Special Forces officer James Belmont and his combat dog, Odin, find themselves stranded deep in the Alaskan wilderness. Together, they are forced into a brutal fight for survival against the elements. (more…)
Hunkkaar: The Roar
Crime, Drama (Hindi)
A victim takes a courageous stand against a powerful godman accused of misconduct in an intense courtroom drama centered on her fight for justice. (more…)
Don't Be Shy
Romance, Comedy (Hindi)
Quintessential Mean Girl, Shyamili ‘Shy’ Das, finds herself suddenly relegated to Loser-ville when Mayank, her boyfriend of three years, suddenly dumps her. But Shy, all set to get her revenge, finds herself falling into friendship and compassion with someone unexpected… (more…)
Guild Reviews by Film
Don't Trouble the Trouble
Fantasy, Drama, Action (Telugu)
Suri, a magician, accidentally makes a young girl vanish with a spell. The girl, revealed to be a genie who grants wishes, explores the city and unleashes her powers when angered.
Cast:
Fahadh Faasil, Ssara Palekar, Saurabh Sachdeva, Venkatesh Kakumanu
Director:
Shashank Yeleti
Writer:
Shashank Yeleti
Fri, October 2 2026
Director Shashank Yeleti’s Telugu film has hilarious moments and a delightful lead trio, but dull stretches and repetitive magic tricks keep it from becoming the full-on fun children’s film it could have been
Don’t Trouble The Trouble, written and directed by Shashank Yeleti, marks Fahadh Faasil’s first Telugu film as a solo lead. The film is an example of what it could have been versus what it actually is. Aiming to appeal to children and the childlike in adults, it makes for an easy watch without violence or gore. Some genuinely funny moments had children and adults in the hall cheering, but the narrative also has stretches that offer little excitement. The three principal actors — Fahadh Faasil, child actor Ssara Palekar and the adorable beagle Snoopy — are fantastic. Shashank has some fun ideas, from Aladdin and his magic lamp to an invisible character seen only by two characters and spells that should appeal to Potterheads. But not all of these ideas translate into an immersive experience.
Prem Keetanu
Comedy, Romance (Hindi)
A group of young men and their turbulent college life, where bad grades and hopelessness remain in the driver's seat. Even as they pursue love, friendship and aspirations, the film promises to capture the current generation's struggles and dreams in a light-hearted yet heartfelt manner.
Cast:
Veer Pahariya, Aparshakti Khurana, Aafia Syed, Rakesh Bedi, Nikhil Vijay
Director:
Apoorv Singh Karki
Fri, October 2 2026
The flat Hindi remake of ‘Premalu’ stars Vir Pahariya as a weepy slacker who somehow discovers love through the language of rejection
A mainstream remake of a non-Hindi-language movie is often a license to hijack, not adapt. If the original depends more on the treatment and cultural rhythm of an old formula, the imposter has nowhere to hide. Girish A.D.’s Malayalam romcom Premalu was about the scrambled identity of love and ambition for middle-class strivers who enter the adult world; it isn’t perfect (especially a copout airport climax), but the humorous ‘youngness’ of the film sells the point. But Apoorv Singh Karki’s Prem Keetanu is flattened by its Bollywood habits. It is tonally greedy, and the gentrified story is demarcated into genres: it starts out as a TVF-style campus-slacker comedy, morphs into a loud love triangle, collapses into echoes of an obsession tale, briefly flirts with the idea of a coming-of-age drama, and ends as a lightweight romcom. It has the grammar of a music-video montage, where every genre behaves like an entitled lover fending off one another to woo the reluctant viewer.
Verity
Mystery, Thriller (English)
Lowen Ashleigh is hired by Jeremy Crawford to ghostwrite novels for his bestselling author wife Verity, who is unable to finish following an accident. Lowen gradually uncovers Verity's disturbing truths while residing at the Crawfords' home to work.
Cast:
Dakota Johnson, Anne Hathaway, Josh Hartnett, Brady Wagner, Ismael Cruz Cordova, Irina Dvorovenko, Sienna Kulovitz, K.K. Moggie, Tom Galantich, Lou Martini Jr.
Director:
Michael Showalter
Fri, October 2 2026
Colleen Hoover has filled many of those airport bookstores and this one ought to have stayed there, and never crossed the desks of Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson or Josh Hartnett.
“I don’t read novels one can get at an airport,” declares Lowen (Dakota Johnson). Which is her way of saying that her books are “not popular”, but that they need not be. This is after she has taken up the offer to ghost-write for one very popular writer (Verity, played by Anne Hathaway) because, well, who doesn’t need money? As you may have guessed by now, neither does much writing in this latest Colleen Hoover book to be made into a film. When Lowen does find herself behind a computer, she is mostly rubbing her face or stretching or sighing. She also fills up a room with handwritten notes, laid out across couches and carpet, as part of her “process”.
Fri, October 2 2026
जैसे हर सिक्के के दो पहलू होते हैं, वैसे ही हर किसी का अपना सच होता है। एक ही बात को अलग-अलग इंसान, अलग-अलग नजरिए से देखते हैं। इसलिए, सवाल यह है कि किसके सच पर भरोसा किया जाए और इसी उलझन में दर्शकों को डूबने-उतरने पर मजबूर करती है हॉलीवुड फिल्म ‘वेरिटी’। ऐनी हैथवे और डकोटा जॉनसन जैसे दो बेहतरीन और हसीन एक्ट्रेसेस से सजी यह साइकोलॉजिकल थ्रिलर फिल्म मशहूर लेखिका कोलीन हूवर के चर्चित उपन्यास पर आधारित है। सच की धुंध इस थ्रिलर की ताकत भी है और कमजोरी भी, क्योंकि कहानी का रहस्य आपको तो बांधता है, पर कंफ्यूज भी करता है।
Thu, October 1 2026
Verity is one of those psychological thrillers where, once it starts, you find yourself glued to the screen, waiting to see what happens next. And honestly, how often does a thriller manage to do that?
Based on Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel of the same name, the film has been directed by Michael Showalter, who keeps the suspense alive through a steady stream of twists, secrets and revelations. Dakota Johnson plays Lowen Ashleigh, a struggling writer who gets an unexpected opportunity when she is hired to complete the bestselling series of Verity Crawford, a successful author who is now bedridden and unable to continue writing. Verity’s husband Jeremy and her publishers want Lowen to take over the series, but there’s a catch: she has to move into the Crawford family home in Vermont and go through Verity’s work — her manuscripts, notes, documents and everything she has left behind.
Chumbak
Comedy, Family (Hindi)
Five quirky families navigate life as neighbors in Chumbak Colony, where chaotic conflicts and hilarious antics turn each day into a new chapter.
Cast:
Deven Bhojani, Neena Gupta, Sumeet Vyas, Manasi Parekh, Sumeet Raghvan, Sandeepa Dhar, Anant Joshi, Amyra Dastur, Arjun Bijlani, Helly Shah
Director:
Aatish Kapadia
Writer:
Aatish Kapadia
Fri, October 2 2026
The 16-episode comedy series headlined by Neena Gupta goes for broke in search for belly laughs and pockets of charm
How do you review last-gen media? Watching Chumbak is a bit like watching your parents, grandparents and assorted relatives put on a play: you nod encouragingly, laugh at the one-liners (if they’re good), and, when no one’s looking, merrily go back to scrolling your phone. The show and its makers expect no better. These, after all, were the unassuming standards set by broadcast TV — by benign yet brain-scrambling sitcoms like Khichdi, Sarabhai vs Sarabhai and Baa Bahoo Aur Baby. This is a throwback to those times. That Chumbak is one of the top shows on Netflix India, in 2026, is revealing. The TV-fication of Indian streaming is complete.
Thu, September 10 2026
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.
Carrie
Mystery, Drama (English)
Misfit teenager Carrie White has spent her life in seclusion with her domineering mother, Margaret. After her father's sudden death, Carrie finds herself contending with the challenges of attending public high school, a bullying scandal, and the emergence of mysterious telekinetic powers.
Cast:
Summer H. Howell, Samantha Sloyan, Siena Agudong, Alison Thornton, Joel Oulette, Josie Totah, Arthur Conti, Thalia Dudek, Amber Midthunder, Matthew Lillard
Fri, October 2 2026
I wanted to like Mike Flanagan’s Carrie. I really did. I’m fond of Flanagan’s work in general. And in particular, I adore his takes on Stephen King’s stories. If somebody was going to convince me that Carrie needed eight episodes, he seemed a good bet. Having watched them, however, I’m still wondering why this needed to be a series. It is packed with good performances across the board. The series departs from the novel in ways that are at lest worth discussing. And overall, it is a competent retelling. But the longer it goes on, the more its achievements feel like reasons to admire individual scenes rather than recommend the whole thing.
East of Eden
Drama (English)
In the early 1900s, a fiercely independent woman drives a rift between two brothers, igniting a saga that unfolds across two generations.
Cast:
Florence Pugh, Christopher Abbott, Mike Faist, Joseph Zada, Joe Anders, Tracy Letts, Ciarán Hinds, Hoon Lee, Martha Plimpton
Thu, October 1 2026
The latest retelling of John Steinbeck's classic novel by Zoe Kazan is an ambitious, sprawling saga that attempts to do justice to the author's work.
In 1955, Elia Kazan directed the James Dean starrer, East of Eden, which followed the last part of John Steinbeck’s semi-autobiographical 1952 novel. Dean played Cal Trask, who fights for his father’s love alongside his perfect brother Aron. A new Netflix limited series on the material, written and showrun by Elia’s granddaughter, Zoe Kazan, goes deep into the novel, exploring the Biblical themes, characters and the promise of America at the turn of the century. Backed by a strong cast, East of Eden follows the doomed marriage of Adam (Christopher Abbott) and Cathy (Florence Pugh) that spills over its sins to the next generation. Finely acted, the ambitious and largely faithful period drama really gets into the characterisation from the novel, while also immersing viewers into its self-righteous world.
Thu, October 1 2026
East of Eden broke my heart more often through its supposedly good father than its murderous mother. That’s where this uneven adaptation finds its strongest drama. Zoe Kazan’s departure from John Steinbeck’s treatment of Cathy is welcome, but the series spends too much time explaining cruelty that Florence Pugh makes compelling enough. It’s more affecting when it follows the damage parents pass to their children. Those family conflicts give its ideas about choice a force the explanations often lack. Let’s dive in.
Primetime
Drama, Thriller (English)
In 2006, To Catch a Predator host Chris Hansen sets out to make television history, turning an undercover investigation into one of the most controversial cultural phenomena of the decade.
Cast:
Robert Pattinson, Merritt Wever, Skyler Gisondo, Phoebe Bridgers, Matthew Maher, Bokeem Woodbine, Alex Winter, Anna Faris, Eric Rahill, Bill Heck
Director:
Lance Oppenheim
Writer:
Ajon Singh
Wed, September 30 2026
Any publicity is good publicity. Any act of social reform can be justified if the intent is right. Primetime asks the colder question underneath both slogans: how far can that intent be stretched before the act itself is the product? Lance Oppenheim’s first narrative feature, adapted from Luke Dittrich’s Esquire piece “Tonight on Dateline This Man Will Die,” does not treat To Catch a Predator as a curiosity from the MySpace years. It treats it as a machine. Chris Hansen (Robert Pattinson) works the chatrooms, then the doorway, then the camera. NBC has given him primetime. ABC’s Lost is eating the other side of the dial. The numbers have to land.
Mon, September 28 2026
Chris Hansen, a self-styled arbiter to dispense social justice, is far from a hero. He’s shown to be a philanderer, even getting caught by a gossip website. Robert Pattinson understands this dichotomy, and plays it incredibly well.
In the last few years, a strange but recognisable character has emerged on social media feeds: the lifestyle influencer. Preying on our voyeuristic tendencies, some of them stand at the junction of substance and salaciousness. Every trending topic becomes an opportunity to package their grandstanding as introspection, and monetise their exhibitionism. It’s an endless repository for ‘content’, and it is only a matter of time before the dopamine spikes (surrounding engagement) begin to sidestep the ethical quagmires. I was reminded of lifestyle influencers a lot while watching Lance Oppenheim’s Primetime, because before one could peek into people’s lives through phones, there was reality TV. Even though To Catch A Predator (on NBC) started out as an exposé on creepy men soliciting sex from minors, the quest for ratings and well-known host Chris Hansen’s ambition, turned a news piece into a muggy, diseased version of the American dream.
Sat, September 26 2026
Don't Be Shy
Romance, Comedy (Hindi)
Quintessential Mean Girl, Shyamili ‘Shy’ Das, finds herself suddenly relegated to Loser-ville when Mayank, her boyfriend of three years, suddenly dumps her. But Shy, all set to get her revenge, finds herself falling into friendship and compassion with someone unexpected… Mayank’s new girlfriend - Tara.
Cast:
Arushi Bajaj, Ansh Duggal, Bianca Arora, Piyush Khati, Kunaal Roy Kapur, Neha Dhupia, Anurag Basu, Anju Alva Naik, Nazneen Madan
Director:
Sreeti Mukerji
Writer:
Sreeti Mukerji
Wed, September 30 2026
Don’t Be Shy, the new Prime Video original movie directed by Sreeti Mukerji and produced by Alia Bhatt, is a coming-of-age drama that fundamentally undercooks its characters. We discuss how the film’s bloated, two-hour-plus runtime wastes the potential of its unlikable protagonist and buries meaningful character development under unnecessary musical numbers and low-stakes college fest drama. We also talk about the frustratingly dated, millennial-coded writing that relies on tired “gym bro” tropes, superficial relationships, and corporate internship aspirations. Along the way, we lament the underutilisation of Kunaal Roy Kapur’s professor character, question the afterthought inclusion of chapter markers, and wonder when Bollywood will finally level up to the standard of Hollywood coming-of-age films from the 2000s, let alone the modern era.
Sat, September 26 2026
Don't Be Shy, backed by Alia Bhatt and Shaheen Bhatt, and directed by Sriti Mukerji, tells the story of an ambitious and controlling Shy. While the film is well-intended, the makers never go the extra mile to tell an effective story
Ever so often, Bollywood wants to speak the language of the youth. However, in an attempt to address their issues and growing pains, the industry often ends up stereotyping Gen Z and making them look superfluous. In Don’t Be Shy, director Sriti Mukerji attempts to tell a Gen Z story, but sets it in the early 2000s and delivers a very run-of-the-mill, coming-of-age campus tale. While it begins on a promising note, the film eventually becomes predictable and rather silly by the end. Produced by Alia Bhatt and Shaheen Bhatt, Don’t Be Shy introduces fresh faces to the film industry. The cast delivers credible performances, but does that salvage the film? Only in parts.
Fri, September 25 2026
1998 में जब करण जौहर ‘कुछ कुछ होता है’ लेकर आए थे तो दर्शक सोचते थे कि अपने देश में कहां पर होते हैं ऐसे कॉलेज जिनमें इतनी रंगीनी हो, इतनी चमक-दमक हो, जहां पढ़ाई के अलावा सब कुछ होता हो…? लेकिन वह फिल्म सुहानी हवा के झोंके की तरह आई थी। आर्चीज़ कॉमिक्स से निकली कहानी, कसी हुई स्क्रिप्ट, सधा हुआ निर्देशन, बड़े सितारे, शानदार म्यूज़िक और… फिल्म सुपरहिट। इसके 14 बरस बाद एक बार फिर करण जौहर ‘स्टूडैंट ऑफ द ईयर’ लेकर आए तो हम दर्शक फिर हैरान हुए कि यार, कहां होते हैं ऐसे स्कूल-कॉलेज जिनमें इस तरह की भौंडी हरकतें होती हों, इस तरह के चमकीले जीव ‘पढ़ाई’ के नाम पर फूहड़ता करते हों। लेकिन यह फिल्म भी अपनी चमक-दमक और रसीले एंटरटेनमैंट के चलते युवा दर्शकों को ही सही, पसंद आ गई थी।
Bhed Bakri Bhoot
Drama (Hindi)
A brass band member's hate comment in a public toilet triggers a chain reaction of diverse social expressions.
Cast:
Vandana Joshi, Abhishek Khanna, Prasanna Bisht, Rishi Solanki, Arushi Chawla, Amit Anand, Prakash Shaw, Apeksha Iyer, Simran Rana, Nitin Sharma
Director:
Shivam Shankar
Writer:
Shivam Shankar
Tue, September 29 2026
In Shivam Shankar’s 30-minute short, the public washroom becomes the outlet of anger, diss, desire and unfiltered opinions for citizens of a choked country
A public toilet becomes the contained outlet for the public’s rage in Bhed Bakri Bhoot, a 30-minute short helmed by Shivam Shankar. It all starts with a heartbreak. A jilted lover, a marriage-band player of everyone, scratches “Shalu I hate you” on the yellowing wall, as the trumpets of his paramour’s wedding procession blare the tale of his pain in the background. This wall becomes the writing slate of disses and desires. Everybody from a runaway bride stood up by her lover to a journalist quitting his job to an escaped convict, pens their opinion on the wall, venting out their frustrations.
Village Rockstars 2
Music, Drama (Assamese)
Dhunu, now in her late teens, still climbs trees, swims, and most importantly, dreams of continuing her childhood life as a guitarist in her rock band. However, life does not unfold as Dhunu wishes. As she faces the bitter and sour moments of life, she stands on the threshold of leaving her once-happy childhood behind.
Cast:
Bhanita Das, Basanti Das, Manabendra Das, Boloram Das, Bhaskar Das, Junumoni Das, Junumoni Boro, Bishnu Kalita
Director:
Rima Das
Writer:
Rima Das
Mon, September 28 2026
If the 2017 original was a euphoric, barefoot sprint through childhood fantasies, this luminous sequel is a melancholic exhale of coming of age.
In contemporary Indian cinema, few voices capture the anguish and alchemy of rural survival quite like Rima Das. With Village Rockstars 2, the auteur returns to the flood-bitten plains of Assam, proving that lightning can indeed strike twice in the same muddy field. If the 2017 original was a euphoric, barefoot sprint through childhood fantasies, this luminous sequel is a melancholic exhale of coming of age. The cardboard guitars have given way to real strings. Her Apu’s melody is now weighted down by the weight of adulthood, but Dhunu isn’t the tragic sister left behind to fade away.
Hunkkaar: The Roar
Crime, Drama (Hindi)
A victim takes a courageous stand against a powerful godman accused of misconduct in an intense courtroom drama centered on her fight for justice.
Cast:
Aneet Padda, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Raghubir Yadav, Zoya Hussain, Ram Kapoor, Rajesh Sharma, Arjun Mathur, Charu Shankar, Veen Harsh
Director:
Karan Kapadia, Nitya Mehra, Heeraz Marfatia
Writer:
Heeraz Marfatia
Mon, September 28 2026
Aneet Padda stars in this limited series about a young woman who accuses a powerful godman of rape
A young woman and her parents are at a police station. They’re trying to file a complaint, but the officer they’re speaking to is distracted. Another cop comes by with a box of sweets, says they’re from Saburi, that Baapji makes them with his own hands. The family are offered these as well; the daughter is uncomfortable but is told it’s aashirvaad. She tells the officer again that she wants to report a crime done to her. Badsaluki, she says first, then corrects that to zabardasti. The perpetrator is Baapji. There’s a temple bell, a cry of ‘Baapji ki jai’, and we go into the opening credits.
Sat, September 26 2026
Fri, September 25 2026
Aneet Padda, Fatima Sana Shaikh remain largely convincing, and own the best moments of the six-episode show.
The rampage of dhongi babas, spellbound bhakts and shell-shocked victims continues apace. The fresh spate began in 2020 with Bobby Deol spreading his beatific smile and vile ways through the multi-season ‘Ashram’ . In 2023, we saw Manoj Bajpayee fighting a lone battle against a powerful self-styled godman, based on the real-life Asaram, in ‘Sirf Ek Banda Kaafi Hai’. That was followed by Jaideep Ahlawat jumping into the role of the rapacious ‘Maharaj’ in a film of the same name in 2024. Now comes ‘Hunkkaar’, in which the excellent Raghubir Yadav plays Baapji, the all-seeing seer who preys upon young girls. While the casting seems, at first glance, to be inspired – I mean, the always likeable Yadav turning into a monster, can you imagine – not being able to overcome the utter familiarity of the subject never allows Hunkkaar to become its own beast.
Heart of the Beast
Adventure, Thriller (English)
After a harrowing plane crash, Special Forces officer James Belmont and his combat dog, Odin, find themselves stranded deep in the Alaskan wilderness. Together, they are forced into a brutal fight for survival against the elements.
Cast:
Brad Pitt, J.K. Simmons, Anna Lambe
Director:
David Ayer
Writer:
Cameron Alexander
Mon, September 28 2026
‘Heart of the Beast’ uses the conventions of the survival genre, but the film’s sincerity is difficult to resist
There are movies that make you jump out of your seat, and then there are movies that make you sit very still, your shoulders slowly tightening, waiting for something terrible to happen. Heart of the Beast belongs to the latter category. Brad Pitt leads this affecting survival drama in which the bond between a retired soldier and his service dog becomes the heart of the story. Director David Ayer’s film is remarkably spare. There is very little dialogue, few characters and, for long stretches, just Brad Pitt and Odin, a German Shepherd, navigating an unforgiving wilderness. Yet the film rarely feels empty. Its silences become part of the storytelling, allowing the landscape, the sounds of the forest, Jared Michael Fry’s evocative score and the two central performances to carry the weight.
Sun, September 27 2026
A story about a man and a dog—that one line is enough for suckers like me to get excited about a film, and David Ayer’s Heart of the Beast doesn’t disappoint. Ayer is known for his action films (The Beekeeper, Fury, Suicide Squad), and even though the human protagonist is a retired army man, this film is really about the bond between him and his dog.
Fri, September 25 2026
My five minutes of joy — and, more importantly, of peace — are when I lay my head on my furry baby’s stomach and talk her through my day. The highs, the lows, the mundane and the momentous… I talk to her about everything. She responds with a few grunts (if I am lucky), but I am mostly greeted with an unstifled yawn. But her eyes tell me she understands. That she shares and cares. That alone is enough to help me power through yet another day.