Usire Usire comes on the screen with delayed anticipation, yet manages to pique curiosity as it welcomes back cricketer-turned-actor and Bigg Boss Kannada contestant Rajeev, alongside a guest appearance by none other than star Kichcha Sudeep. A film that transcends caste boundaries and adds a valuable climax rooted in a real-life incident, will this promise a breath of fresh air? Set against the backdrop of middle-class life where caste is but a faint whisper, the film follows the intertwined li

Imagine the tenderness of a kangaroo nurturing its childa universal image of parental dedication. Now, picture that essence transposed into the soul of a film that is wrapped in the cloak of a crime thriller with a chilling touch of horror. Kishore Megalamane crafts this narrative through a series of deaths, tallying up to a staggering 125, with nearly 70 classified, including 12 women, as suicides. Set against the backdrop of Chikkamagaluru, the films focal point of investigations is the Anthon

HYDERABAD : Somewhere in the beginning of Aa Okkati Adakku (AOA), a banter ensues between Gana (Allari Naresh) and his sister-in-law Devi (Jamie Lever). There are lines thrown around on how Gana hasnt lost his sense of humour even though he has become more serious lately. This is followed by a discussion about the need for a person to possess content, whether it is serious or funny. The meta nature of this exchange is not lost on the audience. After headlining back-to-back films (Naandhi, Ugram,

HYDERABAD : If you are walking into Prasanna Vadanam expecting a thriller, the first half an hour might belie your expectations to some degree. Even though the film unfolds with the visuals of a fatally injured Surya (Suhas) being taken to the ICU, the sequences that follow have a surprisingly laidback energy. We learn that the jovial, good-hearted Surya has managed to overcome the trauma, and learned to lead a normal life free of any emotional baggage. However, just as we are making peace with

The Fall Guy has an inherent charm but the charm feels algorithmically structured. It has all the right doses of action, comedy, and romance, built around each other in the right proportions, in a perfectly balanced screenplay. However, the human tendency to seek out inauthenticity keeps pointing out that the charm feels plastic and manufactured. Take for instance The uncanny valley effect, where humans would look at a humanoid robot or a CGI creation that looks vaguely human, and feel mildly un

In one of the early scenes of Nadikar, superstar David Padikkal (Tovino Thomas) is ready for his shot and starts reciting the lines that he has memorised. Feel evide? (Where is the feel?), shouts a veteran director (Ranjith), frustrated on seeing his lead actor hamming his way through, sans any emotion. This sequence comes after a well-shot montage illustrating Davids sudden propulsion to stardom, leading him to taking things for granted with an unmistakable air of arrogance. As the film progres

CHENNAI : Some ideas are par for the course in the Aranmanai franchise, like the nightly ghost routine, the not-so-novel use of heroines, the hit-or-miss comedy... Despite all of this, Aranmanai 4 doesnt succumb to franchise fatigue, mainly due to refreshing plot twists and Sundar Cs mastery of commercial filmmaking. Truth be told, the film doesnt get off to a good start. Advocate Saravanan (Sundar C) fights bad guys who are against a love marriage, with the scene serving as a mere exposition of

During festivals like Vishu or Eid, as a Malayalee, it is common to encounter photoshoots seemingly promoting unity in diversity, especially emphasizing Hindu-Muslim harmony. Malayalee From India is an overblown cinematic equivalent of such content you casually swipe past on your mobile screens. Aalpparambil Gopi (Nivin Pauly) and Malghosh (Dhyan Sreenivasan) are freeloaders who support the right-wing party currently in power. Gopi blindly defends his party leaders communal and xenophobic rhetor

HYDERABAD: A Sanjay Leela Bhansali fantasia for OTT is a cause for concern. Before I got started with it, I wanted to get down and manually stretch the corners of my 30-inch TV. I even contemplated what would be worse, to watch it on a laptop or a tablet? Then, images of office-goers, on a local train ride back home, relishing the series on a smartphone flashed in my head. Oh, what a cardinal sin. Calling Bhansalis debut web series grand would be a cop-out. As per an Architectural Digest report,

Fear is a hot commodity this summer, with many horror films hitting theatres in quick succession. But 'Late Night with the Devi is different from conventional horror cinema in that it uses the genre to enlighten the audience with a scathing commentary on the television industry rather than merely induce fear among them with jump scares. The film, from directors Colin Cairnes and Cameron Cairnes, explores the dark underbelly of television business in the guise of a horror feature. The film stars

Silence. Absolute Silence. Three sweat drops trickle down from Josh OConnors serious face, suggestive of the moment that decides it all. Cut to the title credits. This is how Challengers begins, and before we even get a hint at the story, were already biting our nails to know who will win. But there is more to Challengers than just tennis. With Challengers, Luca Guadagnino takes the conventional love triangle and stuffs it with a cartload of relationship dynamics and lovemaking to give an intens