Member Reviews

Bhuvan Bam’s Vasant Gawde, Mr. Vardaan to the world owing to his ability to see events before they come to pass, is back seeking to make a killing from the prescient news updates that he receives on a mobile phone app. This time around, the Taaza Khabar protagonist is either on the backfoot or, worse still, down on his haunches. His plight necessitates desperate measures as he faces new challenges hurled at him by a man who will stop at nothing. But the show, notwithstanding a series of dramatic confrontations, struggles to skirt around the pitfalls of an idea that is beginning to wear thin.

The opening stretch of Raghu Thathatakes us back to the ‘60s. Even as the opening credits roll, we are shown newspaper clippings of important developments in that period. Anti-Hindi slogans and protests are rampant in Tamil Nadu, a state that is furiously vocal against the imposition of Hindi. Indira Gandhi has taken over as the first woman Prime Minister of the country, something that should ideally given women across the country a lot more confidence and freedom.

Jr NTR, fondly called the ‘Man of the Masses’ by his fans, is back as a solo lead after six years, choosing director Koratala Siva’s Devara (now a two-part film) for his big moment. Devara explores the theme of fear and its impact on an entire generation. Fear is the strongest emotion in Devara, but how is this translated into a cohesive script? Let’s find out! Set in 1996, the story follows a police officer (Ajay), who along with his team are on the hunt for criminals, Daya and Yethi. Their investigation leads them to Singappa (Prakash Raj), who lives in Errasamudram (Red Sea) and recounts the story of Devara (NTR) and Bhaira (Saif Ali Khan). Cut to the 1970s, Devara is a righteous man, who thinks twice before taking a life, while Bhaira, on the other hand, is brutal and kills without hesitation.

Watching a Punjabi film, let alone reviewing it, even for a diehard Punjabi, comes with its own set of misgivings. Sadly enough, as we sit through Sucha Soorma — touted as famous singer-actor Babbu Maan’s comeback film after a gap of four years — doubts turn into a deep, gnawing realisation about said misgivings and a discomfiting feeling. It’s near impossible to rationalise why we are making such films in this day and age, which do not reflect upon the changing matrix of our society; or if they do, god help us. Undoubtedly, this Amitoj Maan directorial is a period film set sometime during the British rule in India, in the early 20th century, even though the only date definitively stated in the film is the year in which the hero, Sucha Soorma (Babbu Maan), was hanged. The very first scene deludes you to believe that here, perhaps, was a warrior who stood up for the downtrodden.

In the world of Indian web series, the Hindi show Panchayat managed to earn one of the top spots. This year, the third season of Panchayat was released and opened to positive reviews. Now, Panchayat has come to Tamil as Thalaivettiyaan Paalayam. Directed by Naga, the show is a light-hearted entertainer, with simplicity as its greatest asset. Siddharth (Abishek Kumar) is a city-bred youngster who has been posted as the panchayat secretary in Tirunelveli’s Thalaivettiyaan Paalayam. The village still lives in the past with no tinge of modernism or westernisation. Meenakshi Devi (Devadarshini) is the panchayat’s chairperson. But, for some reason, she is stuck to doing household chores while her husband, Meenakshi Sundaram, carries out the chairperson’s responsibilities.

Ajayante Randam Moshanam aka ARM features Malayalam actor Tovino Thomas in triple roles. Directed by Jithin Laal and written by Sujith Nambiar, the film generated significant interest through its posters and trailer. But has ARM lived up to everyone’s expectations? Let’s find out! The story begins with Kunji Kelu (Tovino Thomas), an exceptional warrior, whois granted the opportunity to request for a special gift from the king. He asks for a deity crafted from a unique rock that fell from a meteorite and struck their village, Haripuram. The story then shifts to Maniyan (Tovino Thomas), a clever thief who is accused of stealing the deity.

‘The Greatest of All Time’ aka ‘GOAT’ is Thalapathy Vijay’s penultimate film before he fully commits to politics. Tracing his career, one would truly understand why ‘GOAT’ is probably the perfect title for Vijay. Director Venkat Prabhu’s spy thriller further establishes Thalapathy Vijay as truly ’the greatest of all time’. Gandhi (Vijay), along with Sunil (Prashanth), Kalyan (Prabhudheva) and Ajay (Ajmal Ameer), forms the Special Anti-Terrorism Squad (SATS), led by Nasser (Jayaram). A fun and efficient team, they get the job done without much hassle. However, when Gandhi takes his pregnant wife (Sneha) and son Jeevan on a mission to Thailand, he faces a tragic loss, prompting him to seek a less risky job.

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.

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.

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.