Yo Yo Honey Singh: Famous
Documentary, Drama, Music (Hindi)
He was an ordinary boy with extraordinary dreams. This intimate documentary traces the rise, fall and comeback of Indian rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh. (more…)
Guild Reviews by Film
Jigra
Crime, Drama, Thriller (Hindi)
When Ankur is wrongfully imprisoned and sentenced to death in a foreign country, his steely sister Satya is driven by a lethal resolve to break him free.
Cast:
Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Vivek Gomber, Akashdeep Sabir, Harssh A. Singh, Aditya Nanda, Adhiraj Singh, Rahul Ravindran, Ankur Khanna
Director:
Vasan Bala
Writer:
Debashish Irengbam
Mon, December 23 2024
Jigra, the new film by Vasan Bala, combines his trademark cine-literate sensibilities with mainstream Bollywood tropes. The odd combination makes for an interesting discourse about the film’s broad sentimentality, its genre credentials, and storytelling that is both contrived and confident. We discuss Bala’s balancing act and whether it works. Along the way, we talk about Alia Bhatt’s strong central performance, the action set-pieces, and the film’s emotional core.
Wed, October 16 2024
One would hope that Dharma Productions doesn't push Vasan Bala into moving traffic after Jigra; starring Alia Bhatt, it's one of the best Hindi films of the year, a near-perfect marriage of Bala's irreverent sensibilities and Karan Johar's trademark drama.
Getting an audience to detest a movie villain isn’t difficult. People are cynical; all they want is someone to project their frustrations on. But getting the same viewers to genuinely empathise with the protagonist of your film isn’t as easy as it might seem. It requires them to lower their guards and shed their egos; to allow moments of vulnerability in the presence of absolute strangers. Most of all, it requires them to ignore the objectively lunatic act of developing a connection with a made-up person, as if they are real. But Vasan Bala has cracked the code in Jigra — a film that pulls off this almost impossibly difficult feat by getting you, the viewer, to participate in the grandest act of collective empathy crafted on a Bollywood screen this year.
Tue, October 15 2024
In Vasant Bala's film, Vedang Raina might be portraying the titular character, but it's Alia Bhatt, who is the heart and soul of the film.
Will the real ‘Jigra’ please stand up? In Vasant Bala’s film, Vedang Raina might be portraying the titular character, but it’s Alia Bhatt, who is the heart and soul of the film. Turns out she is a shield not just for her brother, but also for the movie, even as the revenge thriller rests too heavily on Bhatt.
OutHouse
Drama, Romance (Hindi)
Nana, a retired single adamant old man, has no idea that an unwelcomed guest on his four - a puppy is going to change the course of his life. Aadima, a senior graphic designer artist, doesn’t have the faintest inkling that the same puppy is going to force her to go on adventures she otherwise wouldn’t. And Neel, her grandson has no clue that he is going to help Nana and Aadima understand the needs of elderly singles.
Cast:
Mohan Agashe, Sharmila Tagore, Jihan Hodar, Neeraj Kabi, Sonali Kulkarni, Sunil Abhyankar, Pradeep Joshi
Director:
Sunil Sukthankar
Writer:
Sumitra Bhave, Sunil Sukthankar
Mon, December 23 2024
We’re in leafy Pune, the idyllic city of the retired. Aadima (Sharmila Tagore), graphics novel illustrator, has her grandson Neel (Jihan Jeetendra Hodar) visiting her while his parents (Sonali Kulkarni,Neeraj Kabi) grapple with their work schedules, their roles as mom and dad and with their marriage. Nana (Mohan Agashe) lives on his own, has his own routine and brushes off his son (Sunil Abhyankar) who wants dad to transfer his flat to his name to facilitate a loan, and move to Mumbai. Not quite lonely, companions like a cat who steals his milk and friendly banter with neighbour Londhe (Pradeep Jeshim) keep life moving for Nana.
Vanvaas
Drama (Hindi)
Explores the dynamics of familial relationships, focusing on themes of sacrifice, emotional bonds, and the challenges of sustaining unity in modern times. The story delves into the lives of its central characters as they navigate conflicts and rediscover the importance of family values.
Cast:
Nana Patekar, Khushboo, Suman Nidhi Sharma, Utkarsh Sharma, Rajpal Yadav, Simrat Kaur, Hemant Kher, Bhakti Rathod, Kettan Singh, Snehil Dixit Mehra
Director:
Anil Sharma
Writer:
Anil Sharma
Mon, December 23 2024
The core premise is potent with possibilities for an empathetic experience. When elderly Deepak Tyagi (Nana Patekar), battling dementia, is abandoned in crowded Banaras by his hard-hearted family of three sons and their wives, his journey back home and comeuppance for the callous is an emotional space. Co-writing with Amjad Ali and Sunil Sirvaiya, director Anil Sharma places the family property named Vimla Sadan in a picturesque, snow-laden Palampur in Himachal Pradesh. Tyagi has plans of turning it into a trust. His sons and daughters-in-law who want to get their hands on the money, would rather desert him in faraway Banaras with no papers to identify him than let him sign the deed. It is tough for a man with memory lapses to survive.
The Six Triple Eight
Drama, War, History (English)
During World War II, the US Army's only all-Black, all-women battalion takes on an impossible mission: sorting through a three-year backlog of 17 million pieces of mail that hadn't been delivered to American soldiers and finish within six months.
Cast:
Kerry Washington, Sam Waterston, Susan Sarandon, Oprah Winfrey, Ebony Obsidian, Shanice Williams, Kylie Jefferson, Sarah Jeffery, Pepi Sonuga, Milauna Jackson
Director:
Tyler Perry
Writer:
Tyler Perry
Mon, December 23 2024
The well-intentioned war drama, directed by Tyler Perry, loses focus at points.
Prolific filmmaker Tyler Perry’s latest is a departure from his usual fare. The actor-director tells the story of the inspiring women of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, the only all-Black unit of the Women’s Army Corps that served in Europe. It is a tale not many were aware of, and the movie highlights how the women endured and served with dedication despite the odds against them.
Yo Yo Honey Singh: Famous
Documentary, Drama, Music (Hindi)
He was an ordinary boy with extraordinary dreams. This intimate documentary traces the rise, fall and comeback of Indian rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh.
Cast:
Yo Yo Honey Singh
Director:
Mozez Singh
Mon, December 23 2024
Directed by Mozez Singh, the feature documentary charts the rise, fall, and comeback of the popular hip-hop artist and singer.
The new music documentary Yo Yo Honey Singh: Famous attempts to show the darker side of fame. It prods and probes, but eventually, it allows the artist to be. The Netflix documentary is engaging enough, showing how an ordinary young man from Punjab rises to become the Indian music industry’s most well-known artist and goes on to open doors for others as well. The real truth of the docu-film lies when it features the man himself and those closest to him to open up about what he went through during his self-imposed break.
Sun, December 22 2024
A step above Netflix's recent films about SS Rajamouli and Nayanthara, the documentary makes a half-decent effort to dissect the myth and mystery of Honey Singh.
The standard for Indian documentaries about cultural icons is so low that Yo Yo Honey Singh: Famous, out now on Netflix, comes across as a refreshing change of pace. The streamer is itself guilty of lowering the bar with glorified PR exercises like Nayanthara: Beyond the Fairytale, Modern Masters: SS Rajamouli, and the worst of them all, The Romantics. They functioned more like corporate orientation films than the genuinely engaging journalistic profiles that they’re supposed to be. Not that the Honey Singh doc provides any real insight into his artistic process, barring the hilarious scene in which he is stumped by none other than Salman Khan. It does, however, do a decent enough job of giving audiences a peek inside his troubled mind. And for his fans, that will be enough. Many of them appear on camera, either commenting on his well-publicised fall from grace, or expressing their dismay at the lacklustre music that he has been releasing recently. In one scene, a woman tails him on a bike, and weeps openly as he stops to interact with her. A highly sensitive person himself, Honey recognises the emotions that she is experiencing, and begins serenading her with his biggest hit, “Blue Eyes.” Any cynical suspicion that you might have had about the woman being a plant disappears instantly. In another scene, a couple of flower sellers attempt to sell him a garland at the traffic signal. Honey quips that he needs a woman in his life to gift it to. They recognise him, and comment about his past troubles. “You’re looking smart now,” the young flower seller says to him. Honey is ecstatic.
Sat, December 21 2024
At best, documentaries on celebrities tend to be an ode to their stardom; at worst, these end up as an exercise in image makeover for those who have fallen from grace. Rare is a documentary, especially of a living person, that dares to look truth in the eye and provides a balanced, insightful account. Is Sikhya entertainment’s Netflix film that endeavour? Maybe yes, maybe no, but while documenting the story of Punjabi singer Yo Yo Honey Singh, who has seen both dizzying heights of fame and the lows of infamy, director Mozez Singh does address the elephant in Honey’s life from the word go.
Mismatched S03
Comedy, Drama (Hindi)
After a disastrous set-up by their families, two teens strike up a tentative friendship at their summer program - but deeper feelings aren't far behind.
Cast:
Prajakta Koli, Rohit Saraf, Rannvijay Singha, Vidya Malvade, Muskkaan Jaferi, Abhinav Sharma, Taaruk Raina, Dipannita Sharma, Lauren Robinson, Ahsaas Channa
Mon, December 23 2024
The Hindi series returns with its core cast of characters as they navigate new and chaotic challenges, along with a different city.
The ‘mismatched’ couple Dimple and Rishi is back for another season in the popular Netflix series. Mismatched Season 3 returns with a three-year time jump as viewers are plunged back into the long-distance couple’s lives, with updates on their friends and family. Against the background of the virtual versus real world, the show puts its characters through new sets of problems that often feel misplaced. Focusing on its large cast and some faces, the new season feels like an odd reset back to its first season.
Tue, December 17 2024
Mon, December 16 2024
एक टेक्नॉलजी को जी-जान से चाहने वाली अंबाला की मिडल क्लास लड़की डिंपल आहूजा (प्राजक्ता कोली) और एक टूटकर प्यार करने वाला जयपुर के रजवाड़े घराने का सच्चा आशिक ऋषि सिंह शेखावत (रोहित सराफ), यानी एक बिल्कुल ही मिसमैच्ड जोड़ी और जब ये दोनों मिलते हैं, तो क्या होता है यही कहानी है वेब सीरीज ‘मिसमैच्ड’ की। लेखिका संध्या मेनन की किताब ह्वेन डिंपल मेट ऋषि पर आधारित इस सीरीज के दो सीजन पहले ही आ चुके हैं और युवा दर्शकों के बीच डिंपल और ऋषि यानी प्राजक्ता कोली और रोहित सराफ की जोड़ी पहले ही काफी पसंद की जा चुकी है। उनकी केमिस्ट्री तीसरे सीजन में भी सुहाती है, मगर कहानी के मामले में सीरीज बेहद कमजोर और सतही साबित होती है।
Inside Out S02
Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family (English)
Teenager Riley's mind headquarters is undergoing a sudden demolition to make room for something entirely unexpected: new Emotions! Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust, who’ve long been running a successful operation by all accounts, aren’t sure how to feel when Anxiety shows up. And it looks like she’s not alone.
Cast:
Amy Poehler, Maya Hawke, Kensington Tallman, Liza Lapira, Tony Hale, Lewis Black, Phyllis Smith, Ayo Edebiri, Lilimar, Grace Lu
Director:
Kelsey Mann
Mon, December 23 2024
This animated spinoff story meant to bridge the Inside Out films is very meta and witty.
Inside Out 2 returned this year to theatres with great fanfare as the sequel took audiences back to Riley’s life as she begins high school. The new animated series, Dream Productions, is set slightly before the film and follows Riley as a pre-teen adjusting to the time in-between being a kid and a teenager. Instead of the core gang of emotions that we are used to, the miniseries focuses on bubbly dream director, Paula Persimmon, who finds herself being obsolete.
Tanaav Vol 2
Crime, Drama (Hindi)
Kabir, a special task force veteran, is brought out of retirement to hunt down an enemy, Umar Riaz, he thought he had neutralised but is still alive. He, along with a reassembled special task force, decides to infiltrate Umar's brother's wedding after learning that Umar would be in attendance. However, when things do not go as planned, Kabir and his team must give their all to ensure the dangerous man is caught.
Cast:
Manav Vij, Arbaaz Khan, Shashank Arora, Rajat Kapoor, Sahiba Bali, Ekta Kaul, Udit Arora, Kabir Bedi, Arslan Goni, Satyadeep Misra
Director:
Eeshwar Nivas, Sudhir Mishra
Writer:
Adhir Bhat
Mon, December 23 2024
The final episodes of the political thriller conclude in an emotional blaze as the absorbing drama takes its story up a notch.
Returning after two years, the second season of the political drama Tanaav was split into two parts. The first six episodes premiered in early September, and the remaining six episodes of Vol. 2 wrap up the story that was introduced in part one. Manav Vij’s Kabir Farooqui and the Special Task Group (STG) race to contain Fareed aka Al Damishq (Gaurav Arora) before a crucial peace conference in the valley. While the first part felt like unfinished business, the second part comes to a thrilling end.
That Christmas
Animation, Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Adventure (English)
It's an unforgettable Christmas for the townsfolk of Wellington-on-Sea when the worst snowstorm in history alters everyone's plans — including Santa's.
Cast:
Brian Cox, Bill Nighy, Fiona Shaw, Jack Wisniewski, Jodie Whittaker, India Brown, Guz Khan, Lolly Adefope, Zazie Hayhurst, Sienna Sayer
Director:
Simon Otto
Mon, December 23 2024
The animated feature about the Christmas spirit in a small English town suffers from too many subplots.
More than two decades ago, Love Actually became the quintessential British Christmas film. The rom-com featured connected stories of love, family, and, of course, Christmas. Writer-director Richard Curtis’s latest holiday offering is a family film, That Christmas, that follows the same template, but even with the mighty touch of Santa Claus, it can’t recreate that one-of-a-kind feeling. However, for a younger audience, the craziness of the narrative might be just passable.
Skeleton Crew
Action & Adventure, Sci-Fi & Fantasy (English)
Four ordinary kids search for their home planet after getting lost in the Star Wars galaxy.
Cast:
Jude Law, Ravi Cabot-Conyers, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Kyriana Kratter, Robert Timothy Smith, Nick Frost
Mon, December 23 2024
Created by Christopher Ford & Jon Watts, this new space adventure reminds one of the family films of the 1980s and 1990s.
The newest Star Wars series is a good old-fashioned space adventure led by a bunch of pre-teen heroines and heroes. Skeleton Crew brings together four imaginative children who embark on a trip to the outer galaxies that they won’t forget. The series also features Jude Law as a mysterious space pirate, whose role is yet to be determined. With only two episodes airing so far, the sci-fi series Skeleton Crew looks to unite Star Wars fans, young and old, in a classic adventure saga.
Mufasa: The Lion King
Adventure, Family, Animation (English)
Mufasa, a cub lost and alone, meets a sympathetic lion named Taka, the heir to a royal bloodline. The chance meeting sets in motion an expansive journey of a group of misfits searching for their destiny.
Cast:
Aaron Pierre, Kelvin Harrison, Jr., Tiffany Boone, Kagiso Lediga, Preston Nyman, Blue Ivy Carter, John Kani, Mads Mikkelsen, Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner
Director:
Barry Jenkins
Sun, December 22 2024
I’m not sure what happened during the four years of making Mufasa, but I don’t see the point of putting so much work, passion, sweat, and life into something that’s already been done before.
While watching Mufasa: The Lion King, all I could think about was this: 4 precious years of Barry Jenkins’ career were spent in front of Disney green screens and sound stages to not even create something madly original? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against effects-driven or photo-realistically animated movies; visionaries like Peter Jackson and James Cameron have redefined the relationship between technology and storytelling over the years. But Disney? Another Lion King film? My viewing experience was laced with the frustration of realising that yet another Hollywood studio franchise was doing wasteful Hollywood things.
Fri, December 20 2024
If the 2019 reboot of The Lion King, that came out 25 years after the original, also called The Lion King, taught us anything, it is that one should never tamper with anything that has made a place for itself not only in the hearts of the audience but also in cinema history. Mufasa: The Lion King, though not a reboot or remake, can be added to that list. Serving as a prequel to the 2019 film, it takes us back in time to when Mufasa and Taka — as Scar was once known — were young cubs roaming the plains together.
Thu, December 19 2024
We were charmed in 1994. By the story of Simba the lion cub, son of Mufasa, King of the Pride Lands. Scar, the evil force, had provided dramatic confrontation. The freshness of the animated number Circle of Life and the energetic camaraderie of Hakuna Matata have remained on the charts since then. Director Barry Jenkins’ prequel therefore comes with high expectations of a heartwarming, musical entertainer. The screenplay by Jeff Nathanson gives a backstory to Mufasa who died early in the 1994 blockbuster. Who was Simba’s dad?
Marco
Action, Crime, Thriller (Malayalam)
The adoptive son of the Adattu family, Marco, sets off on a ruthless quest for vengeance after his brother is brutally murdered, finding only betrayal, loss and unimaginable brutality at every step.
Cast:
Unni Mukundan, Siddique, Ishan Shoukath, Jagadish, Abhimanyu Thilakan, Kabir Duhan Singh, Anson Paul, Ajith Koshy, Durva Thaker, Yukti Thareja
Director:
Haneef Adeni
Writer:
Haneef Adeni
Sat, December 21 2024
In his element, filmmaker Haneef Adeni is something of a Picasso of pain, a visionary for violence. As psychotic as it may sound, he finds lyricism in the way action blocks are staged in 'Marco'
The blood begins to flow even before the first scene in Marco. For a film about a bastard son avenging the murder of his adopted brother, it’s appropriate for even the opening credits to show his family tree in the form of a (literal) bloodline, as blood flows from one generation to next. Haneef Adeni, after the unwatchable comedy Ramachandra Boss & Co, returns home to a world he is most familiar with, in Marco. All his obsessions return too, including the Biblical references, Christian symbolism, Malayali men dressed for black tie events in peak summer, and the cringiest of English dialogues that are too lethal even for TikTok.