Freedom at Midnight
Drama (Hindi)
Freedom at Midnight is the electrifying story of India's struggle for independence. Based on the bestselling book of the same name, it recounts the partition of India and Pakistan, and the religious and socio-political dynamics of the era. (more…)
Guild Reviews
Her
Drama, Romance, Family (Malayalam)
‘Her’ features five strong, unrestrained female characters, in a hyperlink narrative that celebrates womanhood in all its myriad forms. The story represents today’s women from varied backgrounds coming out of their comfort zones to live life to the fullest.
Cast:
Urvashi, Parvathy Thiruvothu, Aishwarya Rajesh, Lijomol Jose, Remya Nambeesan, Prathap Pothan, Guru Somasundaram, Rajesh Madhavan, Rony David Raj, Srikant Murali
Director:
Lijin Jose
Writer:
Archana Vasudev
Sat, November 30 2024
Lijin Jose’s film Her is an anthology, but it is not strictly one. No clear demarcations exist between the five films in the collection, with one segment segueing smoothly into the next, although the characters and narratives are different. However, only two of the films are directly connected, while the rest have characters from other films popping in at some point to connect it all.
Sat, November 30 2024
It’s not fair to call Lijin Jose’s Her, written by Archana Vasudev, an anthology. On the surface, these are the stories of five women taking place across five households in and around Thiruvananthapuram. The timelines are jumbled and these stories are set across different genres with at least one comedy, one satire and parts you can broadly call drama, each with its own mood and theme. Yet you feel conflicted by the thought of calling it an anthology because it never stops feeling like a unified whole, with the narrative smoothness of a well-written feature film (it’s edited by Kiran Das).
Sookshmadarshini
Mystery, Thriller, Comedy (Malayalam)
Manuel returns with his mother to their former home in a middle-class neighbourhood. Suspicious of his intentions, Priyadarshini and her friends begin gathering clues, convinced he may be hiding something sinister.
Cast:
Nazriya Nazim Fahadh, Basil Joseph, Sidharth Bharathan, Deepak Parambol, Merin Philip, Akhila Bhargavan, Pooja Mohanraj, Abhiram Radhakrishnan, Kottayam Ramesh, Gopal Mangat
Director:
MC Jithin
Sat, November 30 2024
For prying eyes, the most innocuous action might seem suspicious. Priyadarshini (Nazriya Nazim) is the one with a bit of nosy behaviour in the neighbourhood in which Sookshmadarshini is set. At times, she almost behaves like the kind of neighbour that no one would ever wish to have. We get an interesting character detail that she is a microbiology graduate, for whom a Sookshmadarshini (microscope) is a part of her trade. Just that her lens is trained more on her neighbour, rather than microbes.
Sat, November 30 2024
The first 20 minutes of Sookshmadarshini may be used as a textbook to learn the art of writing a setup. Writers Athul Ramachandran and Libin TB are preparing their viewer for a film that falls into an unusual genre but instead of rushing towards the plot, they take their time to focus on establishing their protagonist: Priyadarshini (Nazriya), a 20-something mother who admits to feeling bored of domesticity. She lives in a regular middle-class neighbourhood, filled with regulars who know everything about each other.
Judy
Drama, History, Music (English)
Thirty years after starring in "The Wizard of Oz," beloved actress and singer Judy Garland arrives in London to perform sold-out shows at the Talk of the Town nightclub. While there, she reminisces with friends and fans and begins a whirlwind romance with musician Mickey Deans, her soon-to-be fifth husband.
Cast:
Renée Zellweger, Jessie Buckley, Finn Wittrock, Rufus Sewell, Michael Gambon, Richard Cordery, Royce Pierreson, Darci Shaw, Andy Nyman, Daniel Cerqueira
Director:
Rupert Goold
Sat, November 30 2024
Being a child star is not a thing to envy. Judy, a musical drama, is both a warm and loving tribute to the actor and singer Judy Garland as well as a cautionary tale about the pressures and impact of celebrity. Born Frances Ethel Gumm, Garland worked as an actor, dancer and singer for 45 of the 47 years she lived. The film opens with a 14-year-old Judy (Darci Shaw) being cast to play what would become the iconic part of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. The pressure of early stardom and humiliation fuelled insecurities as a harsh studio executive listed out her physical flaws. He described her as above average but exceptional because of her singing voice. A studio minder offered her pills to suppress her appetite and pills to help her sleep at night.
Agent of Happiness
Documentary (Dzongkha)
The documentary team follows two happiness agents in their forties who spend a month and a half on the road twice a year, going door-to-door with their questionnaires in isolated villages in the Himalayas. The filmmakers undertake to provide an intimate insight into the daily lives and desires of Bhutanese people, and also seek the answer to the universal question of whether happiness can really be measured. Gross National Happiness promises a heart-warming journey into a mysterious, fairytale-like world, which is the exact opposite of the social order dominated by consumption and desires.
Cast:
Amber Kumar Gurung, Guna Raj Kuikel
Director:
Dorottya Zurbo, Arun Bhattarai
Sat, November 30 2024
In the late 1970s, the king of Bhutan coined the term “gross national happiness". GNH parameters are used to measure progress, well-being and happiness, placing their importance over economic pursuits alone. This programme has been pivotal in shaping development policies and governance in Bhutan, a landlocked nation in eastern Himalayas that is often ranked as one of the happiest in the world. Happiness surveyor Amber Kumar Gurung of the Happiness Centre is the subject of a new documentary, Agent of Happiness (in competition at the MAMI Mumbai film festival 2024).
Our Little Secret
Romance, Comedy, Drama (English)
After discovering their significant others are siblings, two resentful exes must spend Christmas under one roof — while hiding their romantic history.
Cast:
Lindsay Lohan, Ian Harding, Kristin Chenoweth, Jon Rudnitsky, Dan Bucatinsky, Jake Brennan, Judy Reyes, Katie Baker, Tim Meadows, Ash Santos
Director:
Stephen Herek
Writer:
Hailey DeDominicis
Sat, November 30 2024
Earlier this year, the second part of Lindsay Lohan’s acting comeback commenced with Irish Wish. The actress played a woman who is about to watch her best friend marry her longtime crush in Ireland. This time, Lohan is back with another romantic dilemma in Our Little Secret. Taking place at Christmas, Lohan’s character Avery meets her ex Logan (Ian Harding) at her new boyfriend’s house. Hilarity is supposed to ensue, but there’s very little to laugh about.
Spellbound
Animation, Fantasy, Family, Adventure, Comedy (English)
When a powerful spell turns her parents into giant monsters, a teenage princess must journey into the wild to reverse the curse before it's too late.
Cast:
Rachel Zegler, Miguel Bernardeau, Giovanna Bush, Dennis Stowe, Jenifer Lewis, Dee Bradley Baker, Susan Fitzer, Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem, John Lithgow
Director:
Vicky Jenson
Sat, November 30 2024
Skydance Animation’s second film, Spellbound, updates family dynamics in a modern way, letting kids know that sometimes happily ever after doesn’t work out. Shrek director Vicky Jensen helms this refreshing but overlong story of a teenage girl trying to undo a spell on her parents that has turned them into literal monsters. The colourfully appealing but flat world of Lumbria makes way for a quest for the royal trio in this well-meaning musical.
Blitz
War, Drama, History (English)
In World War II London, nine-year-old George is evacuated to the countryside by his mother, Rita, to escape the bombings. Defiant and determined to return to his family, George embarks on an epic, perilous journey back home as Rita searches for him.
Cast:
Elliott Heffernan, Saoirse Ronan, Harris Dickinson, Benjamin Clémentine, Kathy Burke, Paul Weller, Stephen Graham, Leigh Gill, Mica Ricketts, CJ Beckford
Director:
Steve McQueen
Sat, November 30 2024
12 Years a Slave director Steve McQueen takes audiences through the life of a Londoner during the German blitzkrieg of their city during World War II. The Apple TV+ feature Blitz has more of a child’s perspective as a young boy named George escapes back to his mother after being sent away for evacuation. We see the good and bad of the times through his eyes as he loses his innocence during his misadventure.
Based on a True Story S02
Comedy, Drama (English)
The lives of a realtor, a plumber and a former tennis star unexpectedly collide, exposing America’s obsession with true crime, murder and the slow-close toilet seat.
Cast:
Kaley Cuoco, Chris Messina, Tom Bateman, Liana Liberato
Sat, November 30 2024
Comedies that mock America’s inexplicable obsession with true crime and especially podcasts are on the rise. The new season of Peacock’s Based on a True Story, starring Kaley Cuoco and Chris Messina, brings back their suburban couple, Ava and Nathan Bartlett, who thought unmasking a serial killer would make them famous. By the end of Season 2, the duo become more infamous thanks to their curiosity about a new copycat serial killer. The comedy is still funny and insightful even as it takes its time to surprise the characters and audience with new twists.
Vijay 69
Drama, Comedy (Hindi)
An adventurous, foul-mouthed former swimming coach reaches for record-breaking glory when he attempts a triathlon at 69 years old.
Cast:
Anupam Kher, Chunky Pandey, Mihir Ahuja, Guddi Maruti, Vrajesh Hirjee, Kunal Vijaykar, Sulagna Panigrahi, Ravish Desai, Dharmendra Gohil, Ketika Sharma
Director:
Akshay Roy
Writer:
Akshay Roy
Sun, November 24 2024
One day, a foul-mouthed man on the cusp of 70 realises that he doesn’t have any achievement in his lifelog that will keep him alive for posterity. A national-level swimmer who didn’t strive enough to change the colour of his bronze medal, Vijay Mathew (Anupam Kher) is an ordinary old man seeking a sliver of gold dust. Having lost his supportive wife to cancer, he is withering from the inside and appears grumpy from the outside. Still, he hasn’t given up on the magic of life and doesn’t want those around him to undermine his leap of faith when an opportunity presents itself. Vijay decides to participate in a tough triathlon contest to make it to record books and give something back to his friends who stood by him.
Mon, November 18 2024
The sports film Vijay 69, starring Anupam Kher, is about a sexagenarian who realises that he’s not achieved much in his life. He decides to become the oldest man to run a triathlon in India, trying to prove all the naysayers wrong. Anupam Kher ably steps to play the cranky senior citizen who finds new meaning with this ambitious goal. While filmmaker Akshay Roy’s is well-meaning and inspiring, it is a bit meandering in its storytelling that veers from full comedy to drama often.
Sun, November 10 2024
There are some movies you just want to like before you watch them. Personal biases are an integral part of the cinema experience. For instance, I used to have a soft spot for stories that romanticised a version of myself: slice-of-life introvert tales or dysfunctional family dramas. My focus has now moved to aspirational old-people stories; perhaps it has something to do with my parents aging with all sorts of ailments. The prospect of watching Vijay 69, then, was an inviting one. Not only is it director Akshay Roy’s first film since the criminally underappreciated Meri Pyaari Bindu (2017), it stars Anupam Kher as Vijay Mathew, a 69-year-old widower who attempts to become India’s oldest triathlete. I went into the film expecting to revise my reality — of having a 71-year-old father allergic to physical fitness — for a few hours. A bit of sports thrown in can’t hurt matters. What could possibly go wrong? And what could possibly go wrong when you have to ask what could possibly go wrong?
Maryade Prashne
Family (Kannada)
Maryade Prashne is a compelling slice-of-life story set in the lower-middle-class neighbourhood of Chamrajpete in Bengaluru. The film centres on three close friends, Suri, Manja, and Sathish, whose lives are tragically altered during what should have been a joyful birthday celebration. As they navigate the challenges of their daily struggles, the movie delves deep into themes of friendship, loyalty, and the pursuit of justice for a loved one.
Cast:
Rakesh Adiga, Sunil Raoh, Teju Belawadi, Prabhu Mundkur, Poornachandra Mysuru, Rekha Kudligi, Nagendra Shah, Shine Shetty, Hariharan V, Shwetha R Prasad
Director:
Nagaraj Somayaji
Writer:
R.J. Pradeepa
Fri, November 22 2024
There’s a Bengaluru that has slowly been invisibilised in pop culture. It’s almost like they’d like you to believe India’s Silicon Valley is all about skyscrapers and pubs, people with laptops waltzing into swanky hotels and coffee shops, and health-conscious folks ordering flour from chakkis. But, there’s another Bengaluru, the one that was once the mainstream and is now the outlier — made up of locals and migrant workforce, all of whom fall under the broad category of the middle class — whose members walk hesitantly into star hotels, drink happily in open-to-the-sky bars, who stand in a queue to grind flour in a machine, and who struggle to pay their loans on time, every single month. The kind of people who wear unbranded inner garments and smell of sweat, as a character in Maryade Prashne says. The only thing they have for themselves is maryade or self-respect. What does one do when that is questioned? When intent is rubbished? That’s what Nagaraj Somayaji’s taut two-hour-long Maryade Prashne is all about.
Waack Girls
Drama (Hindi)
Six Kolkata girls create Waack Girls, a dance group in a city unfamiliar with waacking. Led by Ishani, an expert waacker and managed by Lopa, this light hearted story is filled with music, dance, comedy and drama.
Cast:
Mekhola Bose, Achintya Bose, Barun Chanda, Rytasha Rathore, Anasua Chowdhury, Chrisann Pereira, Priyam Saha, Ruby Sah
Director:
Sooni Taraporevala
Writer:
Iyanah Bativala
Fri, November 22 2024
An underdog dance group making something of itself: right from the opening frame of Waack Girls, you know that this will be the trajectory of this rag-tag bunch, based in Kolkata. But this Sooni Taraporevala-created-and-directed nine part series attempts to build in differentials. First off, Kolkata is still not a city you’d think of when it comes to street style dancing and underground meetings where dance-offs occur. A lovely Cal feeling is captured in a crumbling old mansion, in a tony club, in the corner puchka-wala, and in the accents people use. You do see some familiar structures on the skyline, like the Howrah Bridge, but they are just there, no emphasis laid. That is refreshing.
Freedom at Midnight
Drama (Hindi)
Freedom at Midnight is the electrifying story of India's struggle for independence. Based on the bestselling book of the same name, it recounts the partition of India and Pakistan, and the religious and socio-political dynamics of the era.
Cast:
Sidhant Gupta, Chirag Vohra, Rajendra Chawla, Arif Zakaria, Ira Dubey, Rajesh Kumar, Luke McGibney, Cordelia Bugeja, Malishka Mendonsa, K.C. Shankar
Director:
Nikkhil Advani
Writer:
Abhinandan Gupta, Adwitiya Kareng, Gundeep Kaur, Divy Nidhi Sharma, Revanta Sarabhai, Ethan Taylor
Mon, November 18 2024
Once a purveyor of Bollywood entertainment, director Nikkhil Advani of late is exploring drama surrounding real, epochal events – life-altering situations where the decisions are not made based on right and wrong, but on the pretext of consequences. A slippery ground to navigate, he got it right in Mumbai Diaries set against 26/11 terror attacks in the metropolis and doesn’t disappoint in Freedom At Midnight either.
Mon, November 18 2024
One of the most painful and fraught chapters of India’s history is brought to life in the SonyLIV series Freedom at Midnight, created by Nikkhil Advani. With a large ensemble cast of Indian and foreign actors, the series moves forwards and backwards in time to depict what went through the minds of India’s political leaders as they bargained and argued with the British empire for their freedom. Through the seven episodes, the threat of partition looms large, and the tense finale brings with it a melancholic feeling that lingers.
Sat, November 16 2024
After years of struggle, the idea of an independent India doesn’t seem a distant dream. The British looks ready to hand over the reins to the country by 1946, but at what cost? Nehru is at odds with Gandhi’s ideals and the interests of the Congress party, while Patel prefers to be the bad cop. A bitter and ailing Jinnah is desperate for the formation of Pakistan. Who has the last laugh?