‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’: A Visual Treat
By Shubhra Gupta MUMBAI: The only way you can enjoy Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Gangubai Kathiawadi is to embrace its extravagantly-constructed universe — the elaborate sets that make up the red-light area of Kamathipura that becomes the location of most of the film’s run-time, the frames which look like art deco paintings, and, most crucially, the very […]
ZEE5 Global presents Naseeruddin Shah-Lara Dutta Starrer Kaun Banegi Shikharwati
MUMBAI: ZEE5 Global, the world’s largest streaming platform for South Asian content, brings you a host of new movies and series across languages. This New Year, has a plethora of exciting new titles across languages to keep you glued to the edge of your seats through the month. Featuring a powerhouse ensemble cast including veteran actor […]
’83’: Ranveer Singh Plays Captain’s Knock in this Blood Rush of a Movie
By Shubhra Gupta Some days are unforgettable. 25th June 1983 was not just the day when India won the world cup final for the very first time at Lords: that victory was the turning point of how we saw ourselves as a cricketing nation, and how that incredible win fed into the veins of a […]
Abhishek Bachchan’s ‘Bob Biswas’ Releases Exclusively on Zee 5
This December, ZEE5 Global, the world’s largest streaming platform for South Asian content, brings to its viewers Bob Biswas, a crime-drama set against the backdrop of a love story, showcasing the dual life led by contract killer, Bob Biswas. Starring Abhishek Bachchan in the titular role and Chitrangda Singh as Mary, the ZEE5 Original film […]
‘India Sweets and Spices’: Gossip, Secrets and Biting Laughs
By Lisa Kennedy In Geeta Malik’s comedy-drama “India Sweets and Spices” the aunties maim. At least emotionally. The wives and mothers who live in an upscale New Jersey enclave of Indian Americans like their gossip spicy and don’t seem to care who feels the burn. (The scotch-drinking, suit-clad uncles aren’t laggards in that department either.) […]
“Drishyam 2”: Mohanlal’s Malyalam Film is a Solid, Satisfying Sequel
By Shubhra Gupta Cast: Mohanlal, Meena, Ansiba Hassan, Esther Anil, Murali Gopi, Saikumar, Asha Sarath Director: Jeethu Joseph Rating: Three stars Where’s the body? No body, no case. That was the point where we bade farewell to prime suspect Georgekutty (Mohanlal) in ‘Drishyam’, Jeethu Joseph’s smash-hit 2013 murder mystery. In the sequel, which opens six […]
How Netflix’s Rom-Com “Namaste Wahala” Breaks New Ground
By Bernard Dayo Namaste Wahala has now arrived – but you might not realize how it breaks new ground. Nigeria and India have always shared interesting parallels. Both were colonised by Britain and geopolitically, they are each other’s biggest trading partner. During the ‘90s video boom in Nigeria’s Nollywood, the industry’s brush with horror borrowed […]
‘Madam Chief Minister’: Strictly Passable
By Shubhra Gupta Cast: Richa Chadha, Manav Kaul, Akshay Oberoi, Saurabh Shukla Director: Subhash Kapoor Rating: 2 stars Can your film portray a chief minister of UP, who is Dalit, female, short-haired, spunky, ambitious, and claim that the character does not resemble Mayawati? The lead player in Subhash Kapoor’s ‘Madam Chief Minister’ is all of […]
‘Maasaab’: Average Route to Enlightenment
By Archika Khurana The story centers around the state of education in India especially in the primary schools in the rural parts of the country. Set in Khurand village of Uttar Pradesh— ‘Maassab’ means teacher in local dialect in and around north and central rural India—the narrative revolves around Ashish Kumar (Shiva Suryavanshi) who has […]
‘Tribhanga’ Review: A Relatable Chamber Piece
By Shubhra Gupta Cast: Kajol, Tanvi Azmi, Mithila Palkar, Kunaal Roy Kapoor, Vaibhav Tatwawaadi, Manav Gohil, Kanwaljeet Director: Renuka Shahane Rating: Three stars A life-changing event draws together three generations of women to look back and introspect: were they right in their actions, and the things they thought about each other? Renuka Shahane’s directorial debut […]
‘Tandav’: India’s Answer to ‘House of Cards’
Tandav has been billed as “India’s answer to House of Cards” by the Amazon Prime Video. Tandav will premiere on Friday, January 15 on Amazon Prime worldwide. All nine episodes will drop at once, which means fans can watch the series in one go. Sacred Games star Saif Ali Khan stars as Samar. Speaking about […]
‘Kaagaz’: Pankaj Tripathi Shines in Movie of a Bygone Era
By Pallabi Dey Purkayastha Story: In order to keep his band-baja business afloat, Bharat Lal (Pankaj Tripathi) approaches a local bank in Uttar Pradesh for a loan. Soon after, he realises that his uncle and his sons have declared him legally dead and snatched his share of the piece of land that the family had […]
“A Call to Spy”: Radhika Apte-starrer is Un-showy and Un-bombastic
By Shalini Langer Cast: Sarah Megan Thomas, Radhika Apte, Stana Katic, Linus Roache, Rossif Sutherland Director: Lydia Dean Pilcher Rating: Four stars, Streaming on Amazon Prime A Call to Spy is a rare World War II film that doesn’t seek to strike awe and fear — the requisites now to win battles. Quite in character […]
“Torbaaz” Movie Review: Sloppy Execution Mars Sanjay Dutt Film
By Shubhra Gupta Cast: Sanjay Dutt, Rahul Dev, Nargis Fakhri Director: Girish Malik Rating: One and a half stars A refugee camp is the unlikely site for the formation of a rag-tag cricket team. To use the healthy competition sports engenders, in order to vanquish hatred, is a great idea. But consistently sloppy execution mars […]
“Sir”: Soul-stirring Tale of Emotional Intimacy, Dreams, and Belonging
By Renuka Vyavahare Story: Soulmates are found in the most unexpected places. Two people divided by societal norms and united by their quiet love, understanding and mutual respect, empower each other as they exchange meaningful glances, speak through silences and wonder what lies ahead for them. Review: The male protagonist of the film — U.S […]
“Chhalaang” Review: Rajkumar Rao’s Staid Leap of Faith
By Shubhra Gupta Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Nushrratt Bharuccha, Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub, Saurabh Shukla, Ila Arun, Rajeev Gupta, Suparna Marwah, Baljinder Kaur, Garima Kaur, Naman Jain. Director: Hansal Mehta Rating: Two and a half stars For a while now, the Hansal Mehta-Rajkummar Rao ‘jodi’ has been working smoothly to deliver a series of films which combine […]
“Mirzapur 2”: Amazon Prime Video Series Gives You Sense of Deja Vu
By Ektaa Malik Directors: Gurmmeet Singh and Mihir Desai Cast: Pankaj Tripathi, Ali Fazal, Divyenndu Sharmaa, Ali Fazal, Shweta Tripathi, Rasika Dugal, Harshita Shekhar Gaur, Sheeba Chaddha, Rajesh Tailang, Amit Sial, Isha Talwar, Priyanshu Painyuli, Anjum Sharma, Vijay Varma Rating: Two stars While the backbone of Mirzapur, economically speaking, is the carpet weaving and brassware […]
Mira Nair-directed Vikram Seth’s “A Suitable Boy” to Stream on Netflix
Published in 1993, Vikram Seth’s A Suitable Boy runs for almost 1,500 pages and is deemed as one of the longest novels. Seth’s densely populated world has been adapted into a six-episode series by Mira Nair which will stream on Netflix starting October 23. And before you start watching, here’s a primer on what the […]
