Guild Reviews
Saripodhaa Sanivaaram
Action, Thriller (Telugu)
Set in Sokulapalem, bound by a promise to his mother, Surya, an LIC agent leads a normal life on six days, maintains a careful ledger of everyone made him angry,unleashing his anger only on Saturdays, solely for justifiable reasons. A tragic incident pits him on a collision course with the ruthless and borderline-manic cop Daya.
Cast:
Nani, S. J. Suryah, Priyanka Arul Mohan, Sai Kumar, Murali Sharma
Director:
Vivek Athreya
Writer:
Vivek Athreya
Nani-SJ Suryah elevate Vivek Athreya's clever writing
Thu, August 29 2024
Watching a neatly woven commercial cinema is therapeutic in every sense. And when it is headlined by powerhouse performers, Nani and SJ Suryah, you know you’re in for a treat. ‘Saripodhaa Sanivaaram’ marks Nani and director Vivek Athreya’s second collaboration after ‘Ante Sundaraniki’. While ‘Ante Sundariniki’ was a cute rom-com, Nani and Vivek went all out for ‘Saripodhaa Sanivaaram’ by picking a masala entertainer with a family backdrop. Surya (Nani) is a loved elder child to his parents (Abhirami and Sai Kumar). But, his anger is his problem. His mother, who is counting her days, teaches him a unique way to keep his anger in check and let it out only on Saturdays. Surya makes note of people who wronged him on the rest of the days and gets time to process his anger till Saturday. And when he feels his anger is justified, he thrashes the people who angered him.
Minmini
Drama (Tamil)
When Praveenah arrives at a boarding school in Ooty, she discovers that her classmate Sabari is haunted by the crushing weight of survivor's guilt. Years later, their paths converge again on a thrilling Himalayan biking adventure, where Praveenah sets out to help Sabari confront his demons and find redemption from the suffocating grip of guilt.
Cast:
Esther Anil, Pravin Kishore, Gaurav Kaalai
Director:
Halitha Shameem
Writer:
Halitha Shameem
Halitha Shameem’s Himalayan outing leaves you cold
Thu, August 29 2024
Early in Minmini, inside a school during a chilly evening at Ooty, a candle goes off. A student offers to light it up with his candle. “When one candle lights up another, there’s no loss,” someone remarks.
Kaantaye Kaantaye
(Bengali)
Set against the misty, storm-lashed backdrop of Darjeeling, ‘Kaantaye Kaantaye’ plunges viewers into a world where nothing is as it seems. P.K. Basu [Saswata Chatterjee], haunted by the tragic loss of his daughter, finds himself in a race against time at the ominous Hotel Repose.
Saswata Chatterjee’s web series is too long
Sat, August 24 2024
After their daughter died in a car crash, advocate PK Basu (Saswata Chatterjee) and his wife Rani (Ananya Chatterjee) go to North Bengal to recover from their grief. They visit their family friends Sujata (Ayoshi Talukdar) and Kaushik (Somraj Maity) who open a homestay there. A series of murders take place in Kolkata and North Bengal. As a number of characters get stranded in the homestay, PK Basu catches the culprit.
Vaazhai
Drama, Family (Tamil)
A twelve-year-old bright schoolboy, Sivanandhan, his mother, sister, and with his friend Sekhar works during his school holidays carrying banana stalks, a task he dreads. As he navigates life's challenges, poverty, friendship, and the challenges of growing up, Sivanandhan’s determination is tested by the harsh realities of life.
Cast:
Ponvel, Rahul R., Dhivya Dhuraisamy, Janaki Jayaraman, Kalaiyarasan
Director:
Mari Selvaraj
Writer:
Mari Selvaraj
Mari Selvaraj's career-best film will make you speechless
Fri, August 23 2024
Director Mari Selvaraj, on several occasions, called ‘Vaazhai’ his best film. He stated that it was the film he wanted to make first, before ‘Pariyerum Perumal’, ‘Karnan’ and ‘Maamannan’. ‘Vaazhai’ is a biographical film that explores a significant incident that changed Mari’s life. Mari is absolutely right, as ‘Vaazhai’ is his career-best film and a perfect answer to the trolls that targeted him. Sivanaindhan (Ponvel), with his charismatic and innocent smile, lives with his mother (Janaki) and elder sister Vembu (Dhivya Duraisamy). Sivanaindhan juggles between school and working at a banana plantation over weekends to make ends meet. He excels at school, consistently achieving first rank, but he does not enjoy working at the plantation for obvious reasons. The strenuous labour and the way he’s ripped off of his childish joys take a toll on him. But, Sivanaindhan understands.
Kottukkaali
Drama (Tamil)
A family decides to visit their clan God to cure their daughter, believed to be possessed but in fact is in love with a man from a different caste. The journey accompanied by her betrothed, unveils tensions between tradition and personal freedom, exposing her silent rebellion.
Cast:
Anna Ben, Soori, Jawahar Sakthi, Poobalam Pragatheeswaran, Sai Abinaya
Director:
P. S. Vinothraj
Writer:
P. S. Vinothraj
PS Vinothraj, Anna Ben, Soori's film is evocative and arresting
Tue, August 20 2024
Director PS Vinothraj announced his arrival in Tamil cinema with ‘Koozhangal’, a film which won the coveted Tiger Award at the 50th International Film Festival Rotterdam. His second film, ‘Kottukkaali’, brings together Anna Ben and Soori for the first time and has already garnered appreciation in the international market. Now, Kottukkaali is set to make its mark in the Indian market. Meena (Anna Ben) is confined to her home, with everyone around her speaking in hushed tones. She refuses to speak and appears distressed. Her relatives claim that she is possessed by a spirit. Meena, her mother, her fiance Pandi (Soori), and others embark on a journey to a temple to ward off the evil.
Vedaa
Action, Drama, Thriller (Hindi)
A court-marshalled soldier with a traumatic past helps a young girl from 'lower' caste and an aspiring boxer work towards her dreams despite her hostile environment.
Cast:
John Abraham, Sharvari Wagh, Abhishek Banerjee, Ashish Vidhyarthi, Kshitij Chauhan
Director:
Nikkhil Advani
Writer:
Aseem Arora
Caste vs the legend of John Abraham
Fri, August 16 2024
Vedaa is not a film about boxing, though its trailer seemed to suggest that. Director Nikkhil Advani’s film has a bit of boxing, of course, but its plot’s real drivers are caste and caste atrocities. However, Vedaa, starring John Abraham and Sharvari Wagh in the lead, is not a film about caste either. Vedaa is an action-thriller created to embellish and enhance the legend of John Abraham. In this enterprise, boxing is a tiny diversion and caste plays the same part that Islamic terrorism has often played in previous John Abraham-the-one-man-killer-machine films—It’s very bad and it must be annihilated. But since Vedaa is a Nikkhil Advani film, it’s politically sharp, gritty and mildly feminist. Written by Aseem Arora, Vedaa is set in Rajasthan, but its story really begins in Kashmir. Yep, that same-old scenic battleground Abraham keeps visiting, repeatedly, to save the nation from the Phiran-wearing, machine gun-carrying Islamic terrorists.
Thangalaan
Adventure, Action, Fantasy, History (Tamil)
During the British rule, Thangalaan, a fierce tribal leader, and his tribe assist Lord Clement, a British General, to trace gold in their village. While searching for the gold, the villagers earn the wrath of Aarathi, an apparent sorceress, who Thangalaan sets out to stop with all his might.
Cast:
Vikram, Parvathy Thiruvothu, Malavika Mohanan, Daniel Caltagirone, Pasupathy
Director:
Pa. Ranjith
Writer:
Pa. Ranjith
Vikram-Pa Ranjith's film drowns due to convoluted storytelling
Thu, August 15 2024
Director Pa Ranjith is one filmmaker with a powerful voice in Tamil cinema. Whether one agrees or not, his voice is significant and cannot be ignored. When he announced his collaboration with actor Chiyaan Vikram in 2021, it excited many. And the excitement grew multifold over the years and became one of the most anticipated films of 2024. Did ‘Thangalaan’ manage to fulfil the expectations? Let’s find out! Thangalaan (Chiyaan Vikram), Gangamma (Parvathy Thiruvothu) and their five children live in North Arcot where they rely on agriculture. However, their land is grabbed by the upper-class landlord using deceitful tactics. In the 1800s, Lord Clement, a British General, expressed his desire to trace gold near their village. However, a local myth claims that the sorceress Aarathi (Malavika Mohanan), guards the area. Thangalaan and the rest of the villagers believe in the myth.
Khel Khel Mein
Comedy, Drama (Hindi)
What if for one night your mobile phone was a public property? 7 friends at a wedding after-party decide to play a seemingly harmless but as it turns out, a dangerous game which might have earth-shattering consequences with relationships, marriages and identities being at stake.
Cast:
Akshay Kumar, Taapsee Pannu, Vaani Kapoor, Fardeen Khan, Ammy Virk
Director:
Mudassar Aziz
Writer:
Mudassar Aziz
Is it another Blockbuster?
Wed, August 14 2024
Parineeta
(English)
A chance meeting at a train station after years apart reignites old emotions between Lalita and Shekhar, sparking a tumultuous journey of love, jealousy, and complex bonds. Based on the timeless novel by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, Parineeta, streaming from 15 August, only on hoichoi.
Gourav Chakrabarty and Debchandrima Singha Roy present unadulterated old-school romance
Sun, August 4 2024
Neighbour duo Lolita (Debchandrima Singha Roy) and Shekhar (Gourav Chakrabarty) have unending claim on each other. Despite a marriage in haste, they parted ways because of Shekhar’s prejudices and Lolita’s pride. In Parineeta, Saratchandra Chattopadhyay’s classic takes a makeover in Aditi Roy’s series on Hoichoi.
Ulajh
Drama, Thriller (Hindi)
The journey of a young IFS officer, belonging to a prominent family of patriots, who gets embroiled in a dangerous personal conspiracy while far from her home turf, at a career-defining post.
Cast:
Janhvi Kapoor, Gulshan Devaiah, Roshan Mathew, Meiyang Chang, Adil Hussain
Director:
Sudhanshu Saria
Janhvi Kapoor is caught in an inept thriller
Sun, August 4 2024
What sort of a spy movie is Sudhanshu Saria’s Ulajh? It begins as a Raazi (2018) in pantsuits: patriotic female protagonist, driven by loyalty and legacy, enlists to serve her country on foreign turf. Indo-Pak diplomatic relations, as fraught and fragile as they were in 1971, inform the narrative stakes. Both films hail from Junglee Pictures, and the editor, in each case, is Nitin Baid. If that weren’t enough, the new film even has a song with ‘watan’ in its title — plastered, ineffectually, over the opening credits and thereby fast forgotten.
Yeh Ulajh Sulajhti Nahi
Fri, August 2 2024
Gyaarah Gyaarah
Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy (Hindi)
Three cops defy the rules of time to investigate and deliver justice in a series of cold cases. How far will they go as they work from within the corrupt system to bring the criminals to book?
Cast:
Raghav Juyal, Kritika Kamra, Dhairya Karwa, Nitesh Pandey, Gaurav K Sharma
Director:
Umesh Bist
Middling crime thriller bids its time
Sun, August 4 2024
Gyaarah Gyaarah, out on ZEE5 and adapted from the Korean series Signal, is a time-warping thriller of the dour, soulless kind. Tumbling across timelines, director Umesh Bist always makes sure to hold his audience’s hand. Bland letters appear on screen to indicate the precise date, year, location. Lest we lose our bearings, the pop-culture references are even more plain: Dil for 1990, Kapoor & Sons for 2016. This is a fairly unimaginative way to summon a period, to evoke a mood. It’s unlike the scene in Back to the Future where Doc in the 1950s exclaims to Marty, who’s traveled back from the 80s, “Ronald Reagan! The actor?! Then who’s vice president? Jerry Lewis?”
Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Romance, Drama, Action (Hindi)
After 20 years in prison, a man reunites with his lost love and the truth behind his crimes is revealed.
Cast:
Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Jimmy Shergill, Shantanu Maheshwari, Saiee Manjrekar
Director:
Neeraj Pandey
Writer:
Neeraj Pandey
न कसक न तड़प और कहानी बेदम
Sat, August 3 2024
औरों में कहां दम था जो आज के दौर में भागती-दौड़ती, चटकीली-चमकीली फिल्में परोस रहे बॉलीवुड में ऐसी ठहराव ली हुई, सिंपल-सी प्रेम-कहानी बना सके। सो, यह ज़िम्मा उठाया नीरज पांडेय ने। उन्हीं नीरज पांडेय ने जो ‘ए वैडनसडे’, ‘स्पेशल 26’, ‘बेबी’, ‘अय्यारी’ जैसी फिल्में और ‘स्पेशल ऑप्स’ जैसी वेब-सीरिज़ दे चुके हैं। लेकिन हुआ क्या? कड़ाही पनीर बनाने वाले हाथों को खिचड़ी बनाने का शौक चर्राए तो ज़रूरी नहीं कि उनसे स्वादिष्ट खिचड़ी बन ही जाए। कृष्णा पिछले 22-23 साल से जेल में है। बरसों पहले वह और वसु एक-दूसरे से प्यार करते थे। एक हादसा हुआ और कृष्णा को जेल जाना पड़ा। इधर वह जेल से निकलना नहीं चाहता और उधर वसु उस पल का इंतज़ार कर रही है जब वह जेल से निकलेगा। वसु के पति को भी कृष्णा का इंतज़ार है। वह उस हादसे की रात का सच जानना चाहता है। कृष्णा आता है, वसु से मिलता है, उसके पति से भी मिलता है और उसी रात उन दोनों से दूर भी चला जाता है। कहानी बुरी नहीं है। लेकिन कागज़ पर लिखी अच्छी कहानी भी पर्दे पर तभी अच्छी लगती है जब उसे दमदार तरीके से फैलाया और फिल्माया गया हो। यह फिल्म ‘औरों में कहां दम था’ इसी हादसे का शिकार हुई है। दो लाइनों में सोची गई कहानी को दो पन्नों में फैलाते-फैलाते ही नीरज पांडेय ने न जाने कितने समझौते कर लिए होंगे। फिर यह फिल्म तो सवा दो घंटे से भी ऊपर है जिसे बनाते हुए निर्देशक नीरज पांडेय ने जो समझौते किए, वे भी इसे देखते हुए साफ महसूस होते हैं।
All about Tabu- Ajay Devgan chemistry
Fri, August 2 2024