ENTERTAINMENT
Aadujeevitham, The GoatLife review: Prithviraj Sukumaran’s searing film is a worthy adaptation of a bestseller
Aadujeevitham is a harrowing Malayali migrant story told with dignity. Prithviraj Sukumaran's punishing physical transformation in the film, also known as The GoatLife, is astounding. AR Rahman's Periyone brings a lump to the throat, though his background score feels intrusive in places.
ENTERTAINMENT
‘Evil always wins’: Bramayugam director Rahul Sadasivan
Sadasivan, whose previous film was the Revathy and Shane Nigam-starrer psychological horror Bhoothakaalam, says he enjoys multiple interpretations of his films.
TRENDS
Por review: Bejoy Nambiar’s film on student politics is all over the place
Por / Dange review: A film about student politics needs to be rooted. It needs cultural specificity. But Bejoy Nambiar treats Por like an action movie with an earnest “tick-the-box” wokeness that doesn’t explore anything with any seriousness.
TRENDS
Bramayugam review: Mammootty strikes terror in this fascinating horror film
In Mammootty's new film Bramayugam (2024), written and directed by Rahul Sadasivan, the horror is sourced from the stock characters of Kerala folklore – the yakshi, chaathan and their hapless victims.
TRENDS
Premalu review: Naslen and Mamitha are charming in a harmless romcom
Premalu - directed by Girish AD and produced by Fahadh Faasil, Dileesh Pothan and Syam Pushkaran - is a light-hearted film on life and love that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
TRENDS
Captain Miller: Tamil cinema, caste and colonialism
SS Rajamouli's Telugu film RRR disappointed on that count, Tamil film Captain Miller threw light on the multiple continuing social oppressions, but few filmmakers explore the country’s social history better than Pa Ranjith, whose next is a tribal revolt against the British.
TRENDS
Blue Star review: Ashok Selvan’s sports drama is predictable yet full of heart
Blue Star, produced by Pa Ranjith and directed by first time filmmaker S Jayakumar (co-written with Tamil Prabha), revolves around two aspiring cricketers – Ranjith (Ashok Selvan), a Dalit Christian youth, and Rajesh (Shanthanu Bhagyaraj), who is from an OBC community.
TRENDS
Captain Miller review: Dhanush’s period drama is ambitious but unmoving
What’s missing from Arun Matheswaran’s Captain Miller - starring Dhanush, Elango Kumaravel, Shiva Rajkumar, Priyanka Arul Mohan, Sundeep Kishan, John Kokken and the always bankable Nivedhithaa Sathish - is a fulcrum for the plot.
TRENDS
Aattam review: A compelling, necessary film on the bro code
Aattam can be seen as a whodunnit, but that isn’t the point of the film. Its focus isn’t so much on who committed the crime than who enabled the perpetrator.
BUSINESS
Johnny to Jailer: 16 Rajinikanth films that define his career
From Rajinikanth's 'angry young man' portrayal of the poor and the wronged, to gestures that have become iconic, a look back at 16 films that resonated with audiences.
TRENDS
Neru review: Jeethu Joseph and Mohanlal are back with a satisfying courtroom drama
Ten years ago, Jeethu Joseph made an iconic thriller titled Drishyam (2013). Neru, too, is about a young woman who is assaulted in her own home. But there’s a significant shift in perspective from Drishyam to Neru.
TRENDS
Hi Nanna review: Mrunal Thakur and Nani are charming in an overblown drama
An unbelievable twist derails what could have been a straightforward story about a father who dedicates his life to caring for his daughter when the mother isn’t around.
TRENDS
The Village on Prime Video review: Milind Rau’s horror series is relentlessly grotesque
In Tamil web series The Village, the protagonists run from one danger to another without a solid plan or back stories to make us root for them.
TRENDS
In Jeo Baby's Kaathal: The Core, Mammootty goes where no megastar has gone before
Kaathal: The Core review: Directed by Jeo Baby, Mammootty and Jyotika’s beautiful film is about love and longing.
TRENDS
Garudan review: Suresh Gopi and Biju Menon’s twisty thriller is gripping
TRENDS
Pulimada review: A fierce, unsettling Joju in a confused thriller
Till the point the film builds Vincent’s (Joju George) world, A.K. Sajan is sure-footed. But the director slips from the time Aishwarya Rajesh walks into the screenplay as Mahishmati, a stranded tourist...
TRENDS
Kaithi, Vikram and Leo: Links in the Lokesh Cinematic Universe
Directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, Leo is the third film to be part of the Lokesh Cinematic Universe (LCU), following Kaithi (starring Karthi) and Vikram (with Kamal Haasan in the title role).
TRENDS
Huge deal that Leo makers took a stance: Chinmayi on dubbing comeback post #MeToo
Singer and dubbing artiste Chinmayi on the price she had to pay for speaking up against sexual harassment, and her work in Lokesh Kanagaraj’s Leo.
TRENDS
Chaaver review: An overindulgent political thriller lost in a sea of slow-mo
Starring Kunchacko Boban and Arjun Ashokan, director Tinu Pappachan's Chaaver takes itself far too seriously when the material is unfortunately quite hollow.
TRENDS
Kannur Squad review: A magnificent Mammootty heads a gritty police procedural
As a police procedural, Kannur Squad is meticulous in its attention to detail, never slackening in pace.
TRENDS
How Malayalam horror Manichitrathazhu inspired Bhool Bhulaiyaa and Chandramukhi 2
Chandramukhi 2 starring Kangana Ranaut and Raghava Lawrence releases in theatres on September 28, 2023.
TRENDS
Mark Antony review: SJ Suryah makes this cringe comedy occasionally fun
Adhik Ravichandran lays on the retro effect thickly, including extravagant costumes, hairdos, music and the colouring of the frames. There’s even a questionable “cameo” involving Silk Smitha.
TRENDS
Miss Shetty Mr Polishetty review: Funny in parts, this romcom isn’t as novel as it thinks it is
Anushka Shetty is luminescent as Anvitha - a commitment-phobic chef who is lonely. Naveen Polishetty as Sidhu Polishetty, an aspiring stand-up comedian, is effortlessly funny.
TRENDS
How Jawan actor Nayanthara blazed a path to Lady Superstardom
How the ‘Jawan’ star carved a space for herself.
