Fri, January 24 2025

Despite the predictability, what really holds this film together is the strong performances by Guru Somasundaram, Sanchana Natarajan, and John Vijay.

The title of director Dhinakaran Sivalingam’s debut film Bottle Radha makes its intentions clear. It is about alcohol addiction, and it is about Radhamani, who is an alcoholic. While there is no doubt that the movie trains all its focus firmly on Radhamani and his seemingly never-ending tryst with the bottle, some of the best moments of the film comes in the scenes involving his wife Anjalam. This is also due to the fact that Bottle Radha feels like being an anonymous fly during one of the many meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous, and it is the portions involving Anjalam gives the movie a refreshing change of pace. The opening shot of Bottle Radha is a drone shot that captures the expanse of the Chennai city that is not often shown in our films. We see Radhamani creating a ruckus over being admonished for coming drunk to work. Interestingly, the entire opening stretch wonderfully introduces the world of Radhamani, and how despite being around near and dear, the allure of the bottle takes him to unsavoury places. Again, the places he goes to might not seem really dire, but the look on Anjalam’s face when he comes home drunk says a lot more than what pages of dialogues could do. She feels insulted. She feels violated. She feels neglected. She feels distraught. And all that she can do is stand resolutely with tears streaming down her face. But Radhamani doesn’t see any of this because he is blinded by the booze, and when one things leads to another, and he finds himself arrested by the police, Bottle Radha decides to take a different route to tackle the issue of addiction.

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Fri, January 24 2025

Fri, January 24 2025

Created by Dan Erickson, the psychological drama has gotten richer and more complex in its return.

As a fan of the 2004-2010 sci-fi island drama Lost, I thought I’d never find a show that would be weirder or more out there. I was wrong. The Apple TV+ series Severance is a fascinating thriller set in the corporate world that might just be one of the most intriguing streaming series right now. Exploring the premise of having an ‘inner’ and ‘outer’ self at work and home, the show created by Dan Erickson returns for a second season that continues to examine what it means to be human in a world that is out to exploit you constantly. The second season picks up after the uprising from the innies at the Macrodata Refinement team at Lumon Industries, where Mark (Adam Scott), Helly R (Britt Lower), and Irving (John Turturro) are able to explore the outside world. Management is not happy as the gang is put through their paces initially and pushed even further as they come to terms with the added knowledge of their outie selves. Audiences get to explore more of the Lumon offices with new expanded departments and co-workers like Miss Huang (Sarah Bock), the new deputy manager who is just a child.

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Fri, January 24 2025

Created by Shawn Ryan, the return of the spy saga picks up with the right amount of thrills and action to keep viewers hooked.

In 2023, The Night Agent became Netflix’s most-watched series, and it’s easy to see why. Gabriel Basso plays the earnest young government official Peter Sutherland, an FBI agent in this case, who accidentally uncovers a conspiracy to kill the president. The action drama mixed all the right ingredients, and now as it returns for Season 2, it continues where it left off, and adds more urgency. The new season takes place 10 months after the first season, with Peter on assignment as a Night Action agent. Within the first 15 minutes, there’s immediate danger, putting him in the same position as he was in Season 1, not knowing who to trust. However, the smart-thinking agent follows his own leads to find out who amongst the agency is leaking information on the outside. He is reunited with his former girlfriend Rose Larkin (Luciane Buchanan), who proves to be a great asset to him, even as another plotline on the side involves suspicious goings on at the Iranian mission to the United Nations.

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Tue, January 21 2025

Some of the rage from the first season seems to be missing in this show, which is set in Nagaland.

After the second season of Paatal Lok (Amazon Prime Video), it’s safe to say that nobody else in India has mastered the police procedural like Sudip Sharma. Known for writing acclaimed films like Udta Punjab (2016) and Sonchiriya (2019) – Sharma became a household name after the first season of the show in 2020, much like his lead actor – Jaideep Ahlawat. Since then, Sharma has written Kohhra (2023), using the mould of a police investigation to uncover the oppressive culture of patriarchy typical to Punjab. In the second season of Paatal Lok, Sharma is still grappling with the larger rot in society using a trail of missing persons and murder probes.

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Sun, January 19 2025

Created by Sudeep Sharma, who had directed the first season, and helmed by Avinash Arun, Paatal Lok Season 2 serves as a textbook example of how a sequel of a good thriller should be.

Hathiram Chaudhary, the permanent resident of Paatal Lok (netherworld) is back, and with him, so is the world of crime and murky dealings that need a desperate cleanup. Paatal Lok Season 1 came out during the first lockdown and blew everyone’s mind with its taut storyline and strong performances. It opened up ways for other similar cop stories that dealt with cases from the underbelly of society. Some were good, some were mere copies, but none captured the attention of viewers the way Paatal Lok had. It took the makers 5 years to come up with a sequel, and after watching season 2 of Paatal Lok, I have to admit it was worth the wait.

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Sat, January 18 2025

While missing the kaleidoscopic quality of the first season, Sudip Sharma and Avinash Arun’s crime series is still smart, competent television

Reunions are always bittersweet. And then there is Sudip Sharma’s idea of a reunion. In the new season of Paatal Lok, Hathi Ram Chaudhary (Jaideep Ahlawat) first catches sight of his old pal Ansari (Ishwak Singh) at a morgue. Ansari was once his junior at their inconsequential Outer Jamna Paar police station. Now, though, as a hotshot IPS officer working the big cases, he commands respect. Hathi Ram stands off and stares, resisting contact. A team-up is imminent, but the morbidity of the setting makes it poignant. The Hathi Ram-Ansari friendship is our anchor in Season 2. Created by Sudip Sharma, the first season of Prime Video’s crime series was a pandemic hit—a grim, coruscating procedural, kaleidoscopic in its scale and scope, picking up hot-button topics like caste violence and Islamophobia. The second season is subtler and less combative, subduing commentary in favour of human relations. At times, it becomes a touching meditation on male bonds. When Hathi Ram’s name comes up during a briefing, Ansari corrects his higher-up that he is not an ‘SHO’, just an ordinary inspector. He isn’t being cruel or conceited, just realistic about their differing vantage points.

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Mon, January 20 2025

Mother’s Instinct could have been named ‘Mom gone bonkers’. Turning the concept/ idea/ theme of a mother’s selfless love for her child on its head, this 2024 thriller, now streaming on Prime Video, is a pulpy watch, with maternal instinct going into a zone dark enough to result in murder. A couple of them, in fact. Set in the 1960s and headlined by Hollywood A-listers Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain, the directorial debut of acclaimed French cinematographer Benoit Delhomme has a Hitchcockian feel of unease and foreshadowing, but never really lives up to its ultimately pulpy potential.

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Mon, January 20 2025

Despite sticking to practical effects that give enough meat for body horror fans, director Leigh Whannell’s ‘Wolf Man’ lacks the bite and is a far cry from its cult classic original

After the astounding success ofThe Invisible Man, director Leigh Whannell is back to reboot another of Universal Pictures’ most iconic horror titles. While The Invisible Man turned out to be the outing that could have revived the Dark Universe which was shot down after the failure of The Mummy, the filmmaker’s latest film Wolf Man shows why the chances of getting that universe are darker than the films it could have. In the latest iteration of Wolf Man, after getting a “closure” on his father’s sudden disappearance along with the keys to his childhood home, Blake (Christopher Abbott) decides to make a trip out of it to save his strained marriage with Charlotte (Julia Garner). Along with their child Ginger (Matilda Firth), the couple drives to the middle of nowhere when they get attacked by a mysterious creature similar to what Blake had seen 30 years ago. When one of them gets infected while escaping from the monster, the barricaded safehouse turns into a trap.

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Mon, January 20 2025

Marked by uneven storytelling, the biopic comes across more as a selective recreation of archival material to serve today’s political narrative than a compelling take on the darkest chapter of Indian democracy

When Kangana Ranaut announced that she would direct Emergency, many felt it might be another weapon to whip the Congress in the election year to limit the memory of the grand old party’s rule to the 21-month blot that Indira Gandhi inflicted on democracy in 1975. After a long wait and multiple controversies, it turns out that the artist in Kangana has prevailed over the fledgling politician in her to create an ambitious biopic of the former Prime Minister, where the Emergency period is a dark chapter in her storied journey from Anand Bhawan to 1 Safdarjung Road. However, in an attempt to find the roots of dictatorial insecurities in Indira’s psyche, the writers (Kangana and Ritesh Shah) tie the screenplay into knots. The muddled gaze results in a spiritual cousin of The Accidental Prime Minister where a biopic vilifies or dilutes its subject to serve the present dispensation.

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Sat, January 18 2025

The 147-minute Indira Gandhi biopic is all irony and no self-awareness

In Emergency, Kangana Ranaut plays Indira Gandhi who plays Kangana Ranaut. Let me explain. Ranaut performs as the former Prime Minister of India when the politician is flawed, cruel, paranoid, a nepotism hire, power-hungry, guilty, and the mother of Sanjay Gandhi. Her voice becomes high-pitched, uneven and shaky in these parts. But Indira Gandhi seems to perform as Ranaut when the woman is defiant, patriotic, headstrong, resilient, reverential towards the opposition (Janata Party leaders Jayaprakash Narayan and Atal Bihari Vajpayee), and the mother of the nation. Her voice becomes firm, furious and confident in these parts.

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Sat, January 18 2025

In a preposterous sequence, Manekshaw, Indira and the members of the Parliament join in a song. Not even Kangana Ranaut’s undoubted competence as an actor can save it.

The much-delayed, riding-on-controversies ‘Emergency’, written and directed by Kangana Ranaut, is finally out. The long disclaimer states that the biographical feature ‘draws information from the life and real life events of one of the most respected politicians and former prime ministers, Smt Indira Gandhi’. And then it follows up the standard caveat of ‘creative liberties’ having been taken in the dramatisation, with a most un-standard sentence: ‘the filmmakers fully acknowledge and respect other perspectives and viewpoints’. This unexpected dissonant note pretty much sets the tone of this film in which Ranaut has played the role of Indira Gandhi, which swings from showing her as a young woman growing into an autocratic leader, to a weak, vacillating mother under the influence of Sanjay, her ‘bigda hua beta’, and back again.

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Sun, January 19 2025

Director Abhishek Kapoor launches Aaman Devgan and Rasha Thadani with an outworn vehicle

Betaab, Barsaat, Mirziya… Bollywood somehow loves to launch its kids on horses. Abhishek Kapoor’s Azaad is the latest addition to the list where Ajay Devgn’s nephew Aaman Devgan, and Raveena Tandon’s daughter Rasha Thadani, get a horse ride because of their pedigree.

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Sat, January 18 2025

बॉलीवुड में इंसान और जानवरों के प्यार, दोस्ती और वफादारी पर ‘हाथी मेरे साथी’ और ‘तेरी मेहरबानियां’ जैसी यादगार फिल्में बनी हैं। हालांकि, वक्त के साथ इन बेजुबानों के साथ इंसानी रिश्तों की कहानियां कम होती गईं, पर अब डायरेक्टर अभिषेक कपूर इस कड़ी को आगे बढ़ाते हुए फिल्म ‘आजाद’ लेकर आए हैं, जिसका केंद्र एक घोड़ा है। अपनी फिल्मों से फरहान अख्तर, सुशांत सिंह राजपूत और सारा अली खान को बॉलीवुड में लॉन्च करने वाले अभिषेक कपूर इस फिल्म से भी दो नए चेहरों, अजय देवगन के भांजे अमन देवगन और रवीना टंडन की बेटी राशा थडानी को पर्दे पर उतार रहे हैं। फिल्म में इन दोनों नए एक्टर्स, खासकर अमन ने आत्मविश्वास भरी अदाकारी से खुद को लंबी रेस का घोड़ा साबित करने की बढ़िया कोशिश की है।

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Sat, January 18 2025

Abhishek Kapoor’s period actioner is a dull and broken spectacle

Azaad is fit, handsome, muscular and agile. His flowy hair is the talk of the town. He plays hard to get. He looks away and sighs if he isn’t interested. He loves his whisky neat — and straight from the bottle. He sits on a bed when he’s tired. He loses his appetite when he’s sad; he eats only if his food is spiked with alcohol. He has expensive taste. He farts in a closed room. He isn’t afraid to defy outdated perceptions of masculinity: his eyes go glassy when he gets a whiff of his late companion’s scent from a turban. He remembers the day they met and necked. He remembers their adolescent-love song together: “Ab jeene ki koi wajah toh hai” (I now have a reason to live). He isn’t ashamed of weeping. He likes dancing. He loves racing, too. Azaad is an expressive action hero; this film is his big-budget launch vehicle. There’s only one problem though: Azaad is a horse.

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Sat, January 18 2025

जेल एक ऐसी जगह है, जिससे हर कोई दूर ही रहना चाहेगा। यही वजह है कि जेल की भीतर की दुनिया के बारे में लोगों को कम ही जानकारी रहती है। हां, कई फिल्मों में जेल में होने वाली दबंगई, खराब खाना, बारिश में सोने की भी जगह ना मिलने जैसी चीजें जरूर देखने को मिली है, लेकिन विक्रमादित्य मोटवाने की नई वेब सीरीज ब्लैक वारंट जेल की दुनिया की स्याह सचाई को इतनी गहराई से दिखाती है कि आप इसमें खोते जाते हैं। एशिया की सबसे बड़ी तिहाड़ के जेलर सुनील कुमार गुप्ता और पत्रकार सुनेत्र चौधरी की इसी शीर्षक से लिखी किताब पर आधारित यह सीरीज जेल के भीतर होने वाले भ्रष्टाचार, जेलर-कैदी के रिश्तों, उनकी जिंदगी के साथ-साथ अस्सी के दशक में फांसी पर चढ़े चर्चित कैदियों की कहानी भी दिखाती है।

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Fri, January 17 2025

Dives into the brutal, complex ecosystem of Tihar Jail in the 1980s to chronicle its politics, and angst of the inmates

For a country so invested in rewriting history, it is shocking that there exist so few films and shows that tackle the contours of modern Indian history. Narratives set in pre-Independence India abound in Hindi cinema habituated to churning out period films by the dozen even though filmmakers are rarely burdened by facts or historical accuracy. Oftentimes, the genre, which spans historical biopics and narratives tracking several periods of the country’s freedom movement, becomes a means to an end — a way of reiterating religious extremism of the present rather than investigating the social conscience of a nation.

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Sun, January 12 2025

Jails are a world of their own making and ‘a law unto themselves’. Time and again, we have been reminded that prisons not only house hardened criminals, but are hubs of crime too. We have often seen the murky life inside prisons through the eyes of the prisoners. But a jailer’s unflinching point of view, listing systemic lapses, is not an everyday insight. Trust filmmaker Vikramaditya Motwane to not only tread a new path each time, but also come out trumps. After wowing us with his period series ‘Jubilee’, now in association with Applause Entertainment and co-creator Satyanshu Singh, he turns his attention to Tihar jail. It’s certainly not a happy place, neither for the inmates, nor for those who try to run it. Since the source material is the book ‘Black Warrant: Confessions of a Tihar Jailer’, written by Sunetra Choudhury and the former superintendent of Tihar Jail Sunil Gupta, for most parts the intense narrative rings true.

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Sat, January 18 2025

Despite its intriguing setting, some cleverly staged scenes, and liberal doses of black humour, debutant Sreeraj Sreenivasan’s film falls short of fully realising its promise

One well-crafted sequence can sometimes make a film worthwhile, even when the film in its totality hits a notch below where it could have. These sequences tell us of the possibilities that a filmmaker holds, and serve as a showreel of someone whose work is worth looking forward to. Such sequences are galore in debutant Sreeraj Sreenivasan’s Pravinkoodu Shappu, partly thanks to cinematographer Shyju Khalid, who has shot some of the major Malayalam films of the past decade. To list out a few, there is a school bus chase sequence that sends chills down your spine due to its clever staging; there are thoughtfully lit night scenes inside a toddy shop, and one by a pond where a murder is taking place under the dim, reddish tail lamps of a vehicle; or like that of a masked man attacking a house at night, seen from the point of view of the woman facing it; or even the opening sequence which juxtaposes a classic nostalgic song with a shocking visual.

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Wed, January 15 2025

Nesippaya is Vishnu Varadhan's Roja, and it is the man who goes to the gallows to save his woman from certain death. It is poetic, heartwarming, indulgent, triumphant, and romantic.

What’s cute between a couple heads-over-heels in love might not seem the same for someone sitting on the table next to them in a crowded restaurant. But that’s the beauty of romance, I guess. Gestures that make up a secret language that can be spoken unabashedly and unfiltered in a space that isn’t conducive for romance to grow. It is in the unlikeliest of places that the strongest of romance is brewed between people who are steadfast in their belief that they have found their soulmate. And in the case of the protagonists of Vishnu Varadhan’s Nesippaya, this place is a Portugal prison. But let’s get to it in a minute. First up, the film introduces Akash and Aditi with two contrasting scenes that don’t actually give Nesippaya a romantic vibe. Akash’s Arjun crashes into a school bus, and takes it hostage. Aditi’s Diya is arrested in Portugal for the murder of the rich heir of an Indian businessman based out of the European country. And then, we piece together the reason behind this Portugal sojourn while the narrative crisscrosses between this story and the love story of Arjun and Diya. It is love at first sight for Arjun as he literally turns the spotlight on Diya as she dances her way into his heart. One might argue it is just an infatuation, but from time immemorial, Tamil cinema heroes have often confused crush and infatuation with love, and convinced the audience that they were seeing epic love stories unfold. But let’s get to it in a minute.

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Tue, January 14 2025

Director Vishnuvardhan's Nesippaya, starring Aditi Shankar and Akash Murali, is a suspense drama. The film is devoid of thrill and has very little going for it.

Director Vishnuvardhan returns to Tamil cinema after a decade. Known for his unique style of storytelling, the Shershaah director picked a suspense drama with Nesippaya and introduces legendary actor Murali (late) and actor Atharvaa’s younger brother, Akash Murali, to Tamil cinema. Alongside Akash Murali is director Shankar’s daughter Aditi, who is regarded as one of the most promising talents in recent times. Diya Ramalingam (Aditi Shankar) is accused of murder and is lodged in a prison in Portugal. Indrani (Kalki Koechlin) is representing her and is trying to secure a re-investigation despite pressure from influential people. Meanwhile, Diya’s ex-boyfriend Arjun (Akash Murali) gets to know of her arrest from the news and heads to Portugal.

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