Vadhandhi S02
Mystery, Crime, Drama (Tamil)
Vivek, a diligent cop, takes charge of the investigation of the murder of a beautiful young girl, Velonie. The rumours about her that spring up post her death threatens to irrevocably damage Velonie's image, Vivek must wade through a web (more…)
Ohh My Dog
Drama, Family (Hindi)
In Assam, 14-year-old Apu embarks on a desperate quest to rescue his beloved dog, Momo, after he is kidnapped. Meanwhile, in Bihar, a devoted dog named Oscar sets out on a perilous journey of his own to find his kidnapped (more…)
Guild Reviews by Film
Magudam
Action, Thriller (Tamil)
Peaceful medical representative and shipping harbor worker Linga's life changes because of betrayal and conflict in a coastal community.
Cast:
Vishal Krishna, Anjali, Dushara Vijayan, John Vijay, Jayaprakash, Ajay, Vamsi Krishna, Abu Salim, Arjai, Vj Jhansi
Director:
Vishal Krishna
Sat, August 15 2026
Starring Vishal, Anjali and Dushara Vijayan, Magudam marks Vishal's directorial debut. This revenge saga has a story that feels borrowed from the 1940s. But director Vishal dusts off the dated premise and brings it into 2026 with a lousy screenplay and hideous visual effects.
Actor Vishal’s directorial debut has hardly been a bed of roses. His journey behind the camera began in 2020, when he took over Thupparivaalan 2 after a fallout with director Mysskin, who had helmed the first film. Despite Vishal taking charge, the project never saw the light of day. Cut to 2026, and Vishal finally makes his directorial debut with Magudam. Ironically, the film has a backstory not entirely different from Thupparivaalan 2. Following creative differences, Vishal took over the film from director Ravi Arasu. Unlike Thupparivaalan 2, however, Magudam did make it to theatres.
Fri, August 14 2026
There’s not a single frame or dialogue in 'Magudam' that feels original. Everything feels like a copy of a copy of a hundred movies you’ve been watching for decades.
40 minutes into the three-hour-long Magudam, you feel like there’s almost nothing you’ve been told that matters to the larger plot. You’re introduced to a medical representative named Kripa and his family, and told repeatedly about their middle-class desire to buy a car. It’s info the film could have conveyed with one succinctly written dialogue, but Magudam hammers this point into our heads with sentimental scenes, a cringy family song about this dream and the most gnawingly dated comedy scenes led by Thambi Ramiah. It becomes clear as day that this car is going to be important to the plot, but given the amount of time it takes to keep droning on about it, you begin to expect a twist so original that you imagine M Night Shyamalan shifting base to Saligramam to live closer to Vishal.
Rehmat
Drama (Punjabi)
Three interconnected stories in present-day Punjab. A woman secretly shelters a wounded stranger within her home, while his family endures the weight of grief and impossible choices. Meanwhile, a mysterious elderly man arrives in a village, calling himself God.
Cast:
Naseeruddin Shah, Mita Vashisht, Suvinder Vicky, Diya Kamboj, Harwinder Singh Aujla, Jaswant Zafar, Navjot Randhawa, Anita Meet, Inder Bajwa, Sahej Aziz
Director:
Gurvinder Singh
Writer:
Gurvinder Singh
Fri, August 14 2026
Gurvinder Singh’s tranquil picture of India’s most storied region had its world premiere in the main competition of the 79th Locarno Film Festival
It’s present-day Punjab but it could be Punjab 1995; it could be India 1984. The village of Gujjarwal bristles with unsaid questions and silent answers. Big Bollywood movies (like Dangal) have been shot in the region, but the place is haunted by its own fictions. Everyone’s story is interconnected, like desperate organs of a wounded body. A young man named Keshav is absent from one household; a young father named Balwinder is missing from another. The police go around camouflaging bloody encounters as separatist violence and communal unrest. They assure Keshav’s family that his Sikh killers will be brought to justice; they visit Balwinder’s family to keep an eye on their voices.
Fri, August 14 2026
Rehmat is Gurvinder Singh’s idea of how he wants to see India: warm, thoughtful and neighbourly.
In Gurvinder Singh’s Rehmat, no guest is turned away. Whether it’s an alleged militant, or an out-of-state traveller, everyone is offered the respectful hospitality one associates with Punjab. Singh’s film opens with a prologue text noting the chapters of violence Punjab has witnessed during its many socio-political upheavals, and has left its scars. Especially the partition of 1947, and the insurgency of the 1980s. It might have contributed to the PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) for an entire generation, and yet it’s this dichotomy that seems to be at the heart of Singh’s film: a state full of traumatised civilians don’t let bitterness get in the way to greet an unannounced guest. It’s probably not a coincidence that the title of Singh’s film translates to ‘grace’.
Ohh My Dog
Drama, Family (Hindi)
In Assam, 14-year-old Apu embarks on a desperate quest to rescue his beloved dog, Momo, after he is kidnapped. Meanwhile, in Bihar, a devoted dog named Oscar sets out on a perilous journey of his own to find his kidnapped owner, a 15-year old.
Cast:
Shreedhar Dubey, Pankaj Tripathi, Rajesh Kumar, Pavan Malhotra, Geeta Agrawal Sharma, Jitendra Joshi, Bullu Kumar, Sulakshana Baruah
Director:
Amit Rai
Writer:
Amit Rai
Thu, August 13 2026
Despite a clunky storyline and some half-baked treatment, the film proves that when it comes to unconditional love and loyalty, nobody can beat dogs
It’s not every day that comes a Hindi film where one sees dogs; it’s even rarer to see them upstage humans so effortlessly. What makes Amit Rai’s feature Ohh My Dog all the more special is that he has opted to shine a light on the local ‘indies’ rather than pedigreed breeds. This lends the film a certain rootedness, a sense of relatability and authenticity. One of the dogs happens to be Rai’s own pet Oscar, but the scene-stealer here is the professional Bruno, a year-and-a-half old who runs, barks and always has a look of purpose and determination. This isn’t a four-legged creature whose sole objective here is to make audiences go ‘Aww’ (that he naturally does), but more ‘Whoa’ at his physical prowess and olfactory powers.
Mon, August 10 2026
A heartfelt canine mystery that blends childhood, loyalty, crime and courage, while finding warmth in its performances but unevenness in its lengthy, darker overall narrative approach.
There is something intrinsically disarming about dogs in cinema. Whether they are steadfast companions on perilous journeys, mischievous family pets, or silent witnesses to human joys and sorrows, dogs possess an emotional currency that few cinematic characters can match. Their loyalty is uncomplicated, their affection unconditional, and their ability to connect with children almost magical. Ohh My Dog, directed by Amit Rai, attempts to tap into precisely this potent emotional space—evoking the warm, uncomplicated pleasures of a time when Indian cinema could tell children stories that were entertaining, humane and morally resonant without talking down to them.
Sat, August 8 2026
Driven by Bruno’s soulful gaze and Maahi Rai’s charming resilience, this timely family thriller breathes new life into the human-animal genre without sinking into tear-jerking tropes.
At a time when man’s best friend is caught between systemic neglect and empty sentimentality, writer-director Amit Rai eschews melodrama to craft an absorbing thriller with a moral spine. Somewhere in Assam, young Apu’s attention-seeking dog, Momo (Oscar) goes missing. The local policeman, who looks well-meaning, tells him and his mother that their pet would have become a delicacy by now. Around the same time, deep in Bihar, Prince, a young construction worker, goes missing. There too, the ‘helpful’ custodian of law shows little interest in following the missing boy’s footprints. But the tech-savvy Apu doesn’t give up hope, nor does Oscar (Bruno), Prince’s street friend. In different timelines, as they launch their search-and-rescue missions, we get an engrossing tale with a message ensconced deep within.
The Legend of Karna
Animation, Action & Adventure, Drama (Hindi)
A warrior from the Mahabharata who is born to Kunti and the Sun God Surya but raised in a charioteer’s household. He possesses the gift of bow mastery that rivals the greatest warriors of his age, compelling him to enter a grand tournament usually reserved only for kings and princes, altering the course of an empire forever.
Thu, August 13 2026
மகாபாரதத்தில் வரும் சூர்யபுத்திரன் கர்ணனை மையமாகக்கொண்டு, அவன் வாழ்க்கைப் பயணத்தைவைத்து உருவாக்கப்பட்டிருக்கும் அனிமேஷன் வெப் தொடர்தான் இந்த ‘தி லெஜெண்ட் ஆஃப் கர்ணா’. சோனி லிவ் தளத்தில் அனிமேஷன் தொடராக வெளியாகியிருக்கிறது. கர்ணனின் வாழ்க்கையை மட்டுமே மையமாகவைத்து, அவரின் பார்வையில் நகரும் கதையமைப்பின் மூலம் அந்தக் கதாபாத்திரத்தின் ஆழத்தை உணர முடிகிறது. குறிப்பாக, கர்ணனின் தனிப்பட்ட குணங்களையும், துரியோதனனுடனான நட்பையும் அதிகம் பேசுகிறது இந்தப் படைப்பு. பலமுறை எடுத்தாளப்பட்ட கதை என்பதால் அனிமேஷனில் புதியதோர் அனுபவம் தேவைப்படுகிறது. ஆனால், அது இங்கே சுத்தமாக மிஸ்ஸிங்! இரண்டு காட்சிகளை இணைக்கும் டிரான்சிஷன்களில்கூட ஆங்காங்கே சொதப்பியிருக்கிறார்கள். திரைக்கதையில் வேகம் காட்டி நகரும் காட்சிகள் சரியான கட்டமைப்பின்றி நகர்வதால் ஈர்க்க மறுக்கின்றன. இந்தச் சிக்கல்கள் அனைத்தும் நம்மைத் தொடருடன் ஒன்றவைக்க மறுக்கின்றன. அதேசமயம், பின்னணி இசை தேவையான காட்சிகளில் போர் முழுக்கமிட்டு வசீகரிக்கிறது. இன்னும் புதுமை தேவை கர்ணா!
Fri, July 31 2026
A retelling of the Mahabharata from the warrior Karna’s perspective, the series has been created by Sharad Devarajan and Jeevan J. Kang, but the characters are two-dimensional, and the philosophical rumination integral to the text is dispensed in sound bytes ready-made for reels.
The fundamental issue with adapting mythological epics in India is that there’s very little adaptation going on, avoiding straying too far from the source. But the issues with SonyLIV’s new animated series, The Legend of Karna, are twofold. Not only does the show struggle to find anything new to say about one of the greatest stories ever told, the Mahabharata, but it also can’t decide whom it is targeting. Too verbose for children and too simplistic for adults, The Legend of Karna ultimately finds itself in no man’s land, fighting a war that it was always going to lose. The irony. A retelling of the Mahabharata from the warrior Karna’s perspective, the series has been created by Sharad Devarajan and Jeevan J. Kang, with none other than Anup Soni, of “Saavdhan Rahein, Satark Rahein” fame, voicing the titular character. The Legend of Karna, to its great misfortune, finds itself sandwiched between Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey and the upcoming two-part Ramayana starring Ranbir Kapoor. Needless to say, it cannot compete with either of those projects in terms of production values or scope. There was, however, an opportunity to present a more internal take, especially since the writers were under no burden to flesh out the scores of characters in the Mahabharata.
The Devil's Mouth
Horror, Thriller (English)
A group of college friends' Thailand adventure turns deadly when they become trapped in submerged caves with a dangerous predator. As oxygen runs low, past conflicts emerge in their desperate fight for survival.
Cast:
Kathryn Newton, Lana Condor, Nico Hiraga, Gavin Casalegno, Tommi Rose, Tayme Thapthimthong, Sahajak Boonthanakit, Harrison Luna
Director:
Jeff Wadlow
Writer:
Aja Gabel, Myung Joh Wesner, Jeff Wadlow
Thu, August 13 2026
விடுமுறையை ஜாலியாகக் கழிக்க, தாய்லாந்துக்குச் செல்லும் கல்லூரி நண்பர்கள் குழு, ‘தி டெவில்ஸ் மவுத்’ (The Devil’s Mouth) என்ற மர்மமான கடல் குகைக்குள் சிக்கிக்கொள்கிறது. வெளியேறும் வழி தெரியாமல் தவிக்கும் அவர்களை வெறியோடு துரத்துகிறது ராட்சத சுறா. இறுதியில் அவர்கள் உயிருடன் கரை சேர்ந்தார்களா என்பதே அமேசான் பிரைமில் வெளியாகியிருக்கும் இந்த சர்வைவல் த்ரில்லரின் கதை. (தமிழ் டப்பிங் உண்டு). 106 நிமிடங்கள் ஓடும் இந்தப் படத்தை ஜெஃப் வாட்லோ இயக்கியிருக்கிறார். முக்கியக் கதாபாத்திரத்தில் நடித்திருக்கும் கேத்ரின் நியூட்டன், சுறா துரத்தும் காட்சியிலும், நண்பர்களுக்கு வழிகாட்டும் இடத்திலும் ஸ்கோர் செய்கிறார். துணைக் கதாபாத்திரங்களாக வரும் நண்பர்கள், சுறாவின் வேகத்துக்கு ஈடுகொடுத்து நடித்திருக்கிறார்கள். ஒளிப்பதிவும் பின்னணி இசையும் ரசிக்கவைக்கின்றன. ஆனால், பயமுறுத்தாத சுறாவின் VFX காட்சிகளும், யூகிக்க முடிந்த க்ளைமாக்ஸும் சறுக்கல்! இதே டெம்ப்ளேட்டில் நிறைய சாகசப் படங்கள் வந்துவிட்டதால் இந்த `டெவில்ஸ் மவுத்’துக்குள் விருப்பம் இருப்பவர்கள் செல்லலாம்.
Fri, July 31 2026
Directed by Jeff Wadlow — who has significant experience in the slasher genre, having made movies such as Cry Wolf and Truth or Dare — The Devil's Mouth, much like its protagonists, loses its way and begins going around in circles.
What if the endlessly affable characters of Manjummel Boys (a 2024 Malayalam survival thriller) were constantly bickering, entitled 20-somethings instead? Chances are, you’d begin to wish that the cave they’re trapped in swallows them whole before rescue services could be alerted. This is the central problem with The Devil’s Mouth, the new survival horror movie on Prime Video. Instead of rooting for its protagonists to make their way out of the mess they’re in, you kinda-sorta-maybe start rooting for their adversary — a lost bull shark in basically the same predicament as they are. Both parties cross streams one day after a series of events that are too boring to get into here.
Vadhandhi S02
Mystery, Crime, Drama (Tamil)
Vivek, a diligent cop, takes charge of the investigation of the murder of a beautiful young girl, Velonie. The rumours about her that spring up post her death threatens to irrevocably damage Velonie's image, Vivek must wade through a web of half-truths and confusing leads to solve the case.
Cast:
M. Sasikumar, Anagha, Aparna Das, Vivek Prasanna, Revathy Sharma, Arjun Nandhakumar
Director:
Andrew Louis
Writer:
Andrew Louis
Thu, August 13 2026
தண்டனை போஸ்ட்டிங் பெற்று மதுரையில் பணியாற்றுகிறார் காவல்துறை துணை ஆய்வாளர் மூசா ராசா (சசிகுமார்). எட்டுவழிச் சாலை அமைக்க மத்திய அரசு முற்பட, மாநில அரசு அதற்கு எதிர்ப்பு காட்ட, இருந்தபோதும் அரங்கேறுகிறது திட்டத்துக்கான அடிக்கல் நாட்டு விழா. ஆனால், எதிர்பாராதவிதமாக, அதற்காகத் தோண்டப்படும் குழியில் எலும்புக்கூடு ஒன்று கிடைக்க, இந்தச் சம்பவம் அரசியல் வட்டாரத்தில் பெரும் கவனத்தைப் பெறுகிறது. அந்த வழக்கை மூசாவிடம் ஒப்படைக்கிறார் காவல் உயரதிகாரி (அனகா). அதற்கான விசாரணையில் மணியின் (யஸ்வந்த்) கதை வெளிச்சத்துக்கு வர, உண்மையில் அந்தக் குற்றத்தைச் செய்தது யார் என்பதை அலசுகிறது இந்த அமேசான் பிரைம் தொடர். 2022-ம் ஆண்டு, எஸ்.ஜே.சூர்யா, சஞ்சனா கிருஷ்ணமூர்த்தி நடிப்பில் அமேசான் பிரைமில் வெளியான `வதந்தி’ தொடரின் இரண்டாவது சீசன் இது. ஆனால், இது தனிக்கதை என்பதால் முதல் சீசனைப் பார்த்திருக்கவேண்டிய அவசியமில்லை.
Tue, August 11 2026
Fri, August 7 2026
Director Andrew Louis' Vadhandhi Season 2, starring Sasikumar, Yashwanth, Vivek Prasanna, Anagha, Aparna Das and Revathi Sharma, begins as an engrossing investigative thriller but loses momentum in the middle before redeeming itself with a satisfying climax.
What starts as the foundation work for an eight-lane highway soon turns into a politically sensitive investigation when a human skeleton is unearthed at the construction site. A punishment posting brings police sub-inspector Moosa Raaza (Sasikumar) to Madurai, where he is entrusted with solving the high-profile case. As Raaza begins piecing together the mystery, the investigation leads him to Mani (Yashwanth), whose past gradually reveals the truth behind the decades-old crime. Although Vadhandhi Season 2 carries forward the franchise name, it tells a completely independent story. Unlike the first season starring SJ Suryah, this one does not require any prior knowledge, making it an easy watch for everyone.
Mourinho
Documentary (English)
This trophy-packed, insider-fuelled documentary charts José Mourinho's iconic rise as one of the world's top footballing managers of the most elite clubs.
Cast:
José Mourinho, Frank Lampard, John Terry, Petr Čech, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Didier Drogba, Iker Casillas, Samuel Eto'o, Javier Zanetti, Marco Materazzi
Director:
Joe Perlman
Wed, August 12 2026
The documentary series doesn't offer much fresh insight on the enigma that is José Mourinho, popularly known as 'The Special One'. For over two decades, the football manager and former player has remained one of the game’s most controversial figures and yet, there is something that draws you to him.
A colourful portrait of one of football’s most complicated characters, Netflix’s Mourinho finds “The Special One” in characteristically charismatic form. It portrays football manager and former player José Mourinho as somehow both psychologically opaque and emotionally transparent; he claims that he has never felt pressure, but he seems to thrive in it; he is capable of forming lifelong bonds with everyone except his own flesh and blood; Mourinho is an enigma, one that would take more than a Netflix series to crack.
Reacher S04
Action & Adventure, Drama, Crime (English)
Jack Reacher, a veteran military police investigator, has just recently entered civilian life. Reacher is a drifter, carrying no phone and the barest of essentials as he travels the country and explores the nation he once served.
Cast:
Alan Ritchson, Agnez Mo, Sydelle Noel, Anggun, Christopher Rodriguez Marquette, Kevin Corrigan
Wed, August 12 2026
The most watched series on Prime returns with a humdinger of a season and its invincible hero who is always the last man standing.
Reacher fans, rejoice. I’m delighted to report that Season 4 of the one and only Jack No Middle Name Reacher, which has him up against a formidable pair of enemies, is a humdinger. Based on ‘Gone Tomorrow’, Lee Child’s 13th novel featuring Reacher, it begins in a Philadelphia subway in which a woman kills herself. It catapults our hero, busy minding his business till someone makes it their business, into a breakneck adventure involving an assortment of characters, including bent cops, incompetent CIA agents, evasive US presidential candidates, and sundry others, all looking desperately for a missing pen-drive. What’s so important on that drive that it needs to be found at all costs? How is it connected to congressman John Samson (Marc Blucas) and his fiercely protective wife (Kathleen Robertson)? What is it that two women from Indonesia, the attractive Lila Hoth (Agnez Mo) and her mother, Amisha (Anggun) are searching for? Why are people being killed in the most ghastly manner, with dismembered corpses strewn all over the place?
Maaran
Drama, Thriller (Gujarati)
In a patriarchal society, two strangers - Birwa, a trafficking survivor, and Tara, who faces the same fate - are drawn into the path of a ruthless predator. Maaran exposes the devastating impact of gender-based violence and oppression.
Cast:
Yash Soni, Deeksha Joshi, Shruhad Goswami, Tarjani Bhadla, Abhinay Banker, Parmeshwar Sirsikar, Vaishakh Rathodd, Kukul Tarmaster, Prachi Thaker, Dhairya Thakkar
Director:
Abhishek Jain
Writer:
Divya Thakore
Wed, August 12 2026
Maaran, which is a Gujarati film, is based on the illegal business of flesh trade. The story takes place in a fictitious village called Vaadi. Supplying girls is the main business for Ratan (Yash Soni) but he keeps it in the shadows. For the world, he works as a security guard in a posh tower in the city outside the village. Ratan lives with Birwa (Deeksha Joshi), who he had abducted five years ago. The girl’s younger sister Purva (Tarjani Bhadla) has been searching relentlessly for her. Ratan and Birwa’s life goes through some change when the former’s friend and acquaintance Babu (Shruhad Goswami) abducts Urmi (Prachi Thaker), who turns out to be a tough girl. Meanwhile, Ratan eyes Tara (Druma Mehta), who stays in the tower he works at, as his next target.
Mon, August 3 2026
Abhishek Jain’s National-award winning Gujarati thriller is a potent and well-performed examination of patriarchy and its psychological scars
One would imagine gender-based violence is the ‘safest’ way to be critical these days. It’s the most acceptable method to scrutinise a country without offending the world and its father(s). But some of the most potent takes on Indian patriarchy come from the voices shaping contemporary Gujarati cinema. It’s not as simple as “the region is full of repressed masculinity and casual sexism”. Given how tricky it is to be politically expressive in the state, there’s an overt sense that the patriarchy in these stories is not isolated from the society that breeds it. The genre itself is political. The characters and craft work harder to catch our eye because they stem from a culture where misogyny and moral policing are normalised as rhetoric by leaders and campaigns.
DC
Romance, Action, Drama (Tamil)
Rebel Devadas joins forces with Chandra in a dangerous world where passion and peril collide. Their turbulent alliance demands bloodshed and tests loyalties as survival becomes the ultimate stake in their fight.
Cast:
Lokesh Kanagaraj, Wamiqa Gabbi, Sanjana Krishnamoorthy, Sharath Ravi, Kobisan Chandrakumar, Avinash Raghudevan, Kasthoori Raja, Jawahar Sakthi
Director:
Arun Matheswaran
Mon, August 10 2026
Sun, August 9 2026
‘DC’, starring Lokesh Kanagaraj and Wamiqa Gabbi, is part gangster melodrama, part pulpy grindhouse noir
Tamil cinema’s current epidemic is directors auditioning themselves as leads, and Lokesh Kanagaraj is its latest carrier. In Arun Matheswaran’s DC, Kanagaraj is Devadas, a wronged hero discarded by society. He beats, shoots, maims and kills, but doesn’t like to be called a rowdy or a gangster. There are no backstories in DC; Das and his gang are a strange mix of delinquents with revolutionary blood running inside them. They have a leader, Arasu (Thalaivasal Vijay), whose aims and ideologies are equally nebulous, but in the first few scenes in the film the gang accosts a police vehicle to steal a weapons consignment. An inadvertent act by a cop leads to the gang exacting revenge by savagely murdering him, which in turn launches a more stringent manhunt. The police officer giving orders to the team entrusted with this task signs off with two words: be brutal.
Sat, August 8 2026
G. D. N.
Drama (Tamil)
Based on the life of G.D. Naidu, the 'Edison of India', dramatising his groundbreaking innovations, his industrial contributions, and conflicts with authorities—including struggles where his work and international dealings faced severe scrutiny and opposition.
Cast:
R. Madhavan, Priyamani, Sathyaraj, Jayaram, Dushara Vijayan, Abdool Lee, Thambi Ramaiah, Vinay Rai, Ramesh Thilak, Karunakaran
Director:
Krishnakumar Ramakumar
Writer:
Krishnakumar Ramakumar, R. Madhavan
Sat, August 8 2026
Madhavan delivers a compelling performance as inventor GD Naidu in an ambitious biopic that does not fully realise its emotional potential
Men and machines. It’s a love story that defies logic. The soulful 2024 Tamil film Meiyazhagan explored the relationship between the protagonist and his cycle, and what the vehicle really meant to him. “In a way, this cycle coming into our lives changed it completely,” a teary-eyed Karthi tells Arvind Swamy in the film.G.D.N kickstarts proceedings with this fascinating emotion. A young Gopalaswamy Doraiswamy Naidu (GDN) follows an Englishman around for two years — not because he wanted to be friends, but because he was besotted with the motorcycle that he was riding. A few minutes into the film, a star-stuck Dorai asks the Englishman (who he ironically also calls ‘Dorai’ which means ‘master’) if he can sell him the motorcycle.
Sat, August 8 2026
By turning a colourful life lived on the ire of multiple governments into a flat, tiresome portrait, this biopic thrusts Gopalswamy Doraiswamy Naidu into a second oblivion.
When storytellers say they have made a film to inspire people — red flag! Abort! For the kind of people who make movies to inspire others are, perhaps, those least capable of evoking inspiration — or worse, they feel like they are catering to a baseline stupidity. People aren’t inspired by formulas, or at least people with half a mind aren’t. At best, it can make them simper in theater halls, whacked over their heads with a background score that can even turn a dead man into a pound of goose flesh. But when you return to the thick materiality of your life, you forget that goosefleshing. To truly inspire people, you have to recognise that nothing moves mountains like honesty, like humanity. The best biopics — a genre we are facing a glut in, including Madhavan’s limp Rocketry: The Nambi Effect (2022) — know that ideas can never do the heavy lifting of a life well lived. At best, it can serve as a placeholder.
Sat, August 8 2026
Madhavan delivers a compelling performance as inventor GD Naidu in an ambitious biopic that does not fully realise its emotional potential
Men and machines. It’s a love story that defies logic. The soulful 2024 Tamil film Meiyazhagan explored the relationship between the protagonist and his cycle, and what the vehicle really meant to him. “In a way, this cycle coming into our lives changed it completely,” a teary-eyed Karthi tells Arvind Swamy in the film. G.D.N kickstarts proceedings with this fascinating emotion. A young Gopalaswamy Doraiswamy Naidu (GDN) follows an Englishman around for two years — not because he wanted to be friends, but because he was besotted with the motorcycle that he was riding. A few minutes into the film, a star-stuck Dorai asks the Englishman (who he ironically also calls ‘Dorai’ which means ‘master’) if he can sell him the motorcycle.
Pluto
Science Fiction, Comedy (Malayalam)
Follows the unexpected arrival of an extraterrestrial visitor in a quiet Kerala village, which turns everyday life completely upside down.
Cast:
Neeraj Madhav, Althaf Salim, Aju Varghese, Arsha Baiju, Nimna Fathoomi, Subin S B, Nihal Nizam, Vineeth Thattil David, Dinesh Prabhakar, Thushara Pillai
Director:
Adithyan Chadrashekar
Writer:
Niyas Muhammed
Sat, August 8 2026
Sci-fi films are not something that happens often in the Malayalam film industry, which has relatively smaller budgets, with the subgenre of sci-fi comedies appearing even less frequently. Even the rarity of the genre does not really work to the advantage of Pluto.
Just like Vicky (Neeraj Madhav), the protagonist of the sci-fi comedy Pluto, who befriends an alien, the movie also does not know what exactly to do with the alien character. This has to do with the nature of the alien. In an attempt to break alien stereotypes, Pluto does not have superpowers, except for two skills which are only sparingly used. So, there are only so many exciting things left for the alien to do. Probably due to tight budgets, the alien also lacks elaborate design elements. Just a spandex suit with a human face (Althaf Salim) does the job. By extension, this would mean that the alien would do familiar Althaf Salim things. One interesting touch that screenwriter Niyas Muhammed and filmmaker Adithyan Chandrasekhar bring to the table is the similarity between Vicky and Pluto, the alien. Both are considered losers in life. Hence, Pluto cannot be of particular use to Vicky, who is down and out after failing with one ill-advised business idea after another.