We recommend: The best new movies and TV series
Editor’s note: Emraan Hashmi is back in a powerpacked antagonistic role in the Shah Bano case-inspired Haq, now in theatres. Russell Crowe is chewing scenery as the second worst Nazi ever in Nuremberg. Pretty boy Jacob Elordi is playing a sweetheart monster in Netflix’s Frankenstein. The Tamil indie hit Bad Girl is finally streaming. And Succession alumni Sarah Snook and on-screen husband Matthew Macfadyen both headline separate series this week.
New releases
Haq (Hindi)
Emraan Hashmi updates his screen-image of the sharp cad in Suparn S Varrma’s Haq, which revisits the Shah Bano case (1978-85). Shazia (Yami Gautam) is hurt and incensed when her seemingly secular lawyer husband Abbas Khan (Emraan Hashmi) brings home a second wife, and later refuses to pay her post-divorce maintenance. The matter reaches court.
Suddenly, the hypocritical Abbas hides behind Sharia law and argues that if the court rules in favour of his wife, Muslim identity will have to face other forms of intervention. In reality, Shah Bano, the basis for Shazia, did win the case, and the Supreme Court’s judgement was hailed for being a landmark moment for gender rights and secular law in India.
Where to watch: Theatres
Baramulla (Hindi)
Manav Kaul is DSP Ridwaan Sayyed, recently transferred to Kashmir's Baramulla to investigate a series of child disappearances. He discovers local legends of a vengeful spirit, whose raison d'etre is tied to decades of conflict in the valley. Horror, mystery, politics, trauma, it's all here.
Nandini Ramnath of Scroll notes, "The air is thick with allegory and anger in Baramulla..., [which] inserts itself into the trend of social horror films that link unexplained phenomena to past trauma, while also borrowing from djinn lore."
Where to watch: Netflix
Frankenstein (English)
Mary Shelley’s 19th century Gothic about hubris and ambition gets a flashy new Hollywood makeover. Oscar Isaac plays Victor Frankenstein, the mad scientist with an unchecked thirst for knowledge and power, who creates a Jacob Elordi-shaped heartthrob of a monster. Mia Goth is Elizabeth, Victor’s brother’s fiancée, whom he has the hots for.
It’s been directed by Oscar-hoarding maestro Guillermo del Toro; The New York Times, calling it “unmistakably del Toro’s”, is full of praise for this timeless tragedy: “Lush, melodramatic, sweepingly romantic and achingly emotional, it is a tale of fathers and sons, of lovers and outcasts, of men as the true monsters.”
Where to watch: Netflix
Thode Door Thode Paas (Hindi)
Everyone is always on their phones these days, and it’s starting to piss Captain Ashwin Mehta off! Pankaj Kapur—a powerhouse performer who embodies every role he plays—stars as the family patriarch in this light, five-episode drama series. He pops by his son and daughter-in-law’s place (played by Kunaal Roy Kapur and Mona Singh), only to be handed a nice dose of apathy and indifference by the entire extended clan. He suggests a six-month digital detox, a chance for everyone to reconnect. Sounds awful—we can barely handle a couple of hours away from our phone. But there’s a cash reward of Rs. 1 crore waiting at the end of it.
Where to watch: Zee5
Nuremberg (English)
Mom! Russell Crowe is chewing scenery again!
And don't we love him for it? The Oscar-winning actor, who has been a generational hero for millennial men, has been having a blast playing all shades of baddies and intimidating men over the past decade, putting into good use his physical presence and growly voice.
Nuremberg, directed by James Vanderbilt (screenwriter for David Fincher's true-crime classic Zodiac), tackles the real-life Nuremberg trials. In the aftermath of the second World War, US Army psychiatrist Douglas Kelley is tasked with evaluating the mental fitness of captured Nazi leaders awaiting trial in the US. His most complex subject is Hermann Göring (Russell Crowe), once the second-in-command to Adolf Hitler. Both men engage in an intellectual battle as the new world order struggles to define justice for crimes unprecedented in human history.
Where to watch: Theatres
Predator: Badlands (English)
Elle Fanning, who stole hearts as the child at the centre of superhit tearjerker I Am Sam almost 25 years ago, before building a solid Hollywood filmography, stars in a dual role here (as Thia and Tessa) in the ninth(!) instalment of the sci-fi Predator franchise.
Starring alongside her is Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi (Dek and Njohrr), a New Zealand actor of Samoan-Tongan heritage. Dek, a young Predator outcast on a remote island, finds an ally in the form of Thia, as he sets about in search of something bigger. Director Dan Trachtenberg takes a quiet approach here; as The Hollywood Reporter writes, it’s a “surprisingly soft-hearted addition to the Predator canon, a movie that pushes its franchise mythology in a decidedly sweet direction.”
Where to watch: Theatres
The Girlfriend (Telugu)
Rashmika Mandanna has quickly become one of India's most popular heroines, playing loyal wives to bearded, hypermasculine men in blockbusters like Pushpa and Animal. Now, she is going to have her cake and eat it too; in The Girlfriend, she plays a young woman increasingly conflicted over her boyfriend's erratic, possessive behaviour and his closeness with another woman. Soon, she is on her way to reclaiming her identity and agency.
Where to watch: Theatres
Pluribus (English)
Rock star showrunner Vince Gilligan (the brains behind, first, Breaking Bad, and then Better Call Saul) returns to the small screen with post-apocalyptic sci-fi thriller Pluribus. Rhea Seehorn (whose turn as Kim on Better Call Saul catapulted her to new heights) stars as deeply unhappy romance novelist Carol Sturka. A global event of some sort turns (almost) the whole world into cloyingly happy and cheerful human beings. And Carol must end this nonsense ASAP.
The reviews, as with anything Gilligan touches, are positive: NPR calls it a “crushingly sad show at times, but it can be marvelously whimsical, too.”
Where to watch: Apple TV
This seven-part British drama series—co-written by Jack Thorne (of the acclaimed series Adolescence)—tackles the infamous phone hacking scandal that shook British media and led to the collapse of tabloid News of the World.
David Tennant (Doctor Who) stars as The Guardian journalist Nick Davies, whose investigation into the scandal set the ball rolling, with the fallout going all the way up to one Rupert Murdoch. The reviews are mixed; in The Guardian’s own words: “The Hack is stymied, too, by the fact that […] it deals mostly in ideals (and journalistic ideals at that) rather than the human emotions that make ideals real and valuable to us in life and as viewers. Abstraction is harder to care about.”
Where to watch: Lionsgate Play
As You Stood By (Korean)
A juicy Korean thriller starring beautiful people here. A woman is haunted by childhood memories of sheltering her brother from their father's violence. His old friend, a once-promising writer, is trapped in an abusive marriage. The woman, recognising the patterns of abuse in her friend's life, hatches a plan to murder his wife and set him free. As the plot advances, unexpected visitors, cover-ups, and ghosts from the past swirl in.
Where to watch: Netflix
Nice To Not Meet You (Korean)
This new Korean romcom series is about a political journalist—forced to cover the entertainment sector—who meets a struggling actor. A departure from Lee Jung-jae (Squid Game) and Lim Ji-yeon’s (The Glory) previous roles, this is a refreshing and unexpected casting choice, which “turned out to be funny, bizarrely charming, and surprisingly comforting,” writes Dojeon Media.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video
All Her Fault (English)
Marissa's (Sarah Snook, most famous for playing Shiv from HBO's Succession) world collapses when her son disappears after a playdate. As she and her husband Peter (Jake Lacy) confront the mystery, Marissa’s past deeds—quietly buried by her influential father—re-emerge. She realises the kidnapping might be related to a hit-and-run accident she was responsible for in her early 20s.
Where to watch: JioHotstar
Death by Lightning (English)
This four-part historical drama tells the extraordinary true story of the 20th American President, James A Garfield (Michael Shannon), and his assassin, Charles J. Guiteau (Matthew Macfadyen). The ensemble cast also includes Betty Gilpin as First Lady Crete Garfield, Nick Offerman as Vice President Chester A. Arthur, Bradley Whitford as Senator James Blaine and Shea Whigham as Senator Roscoe Conkling.
Veteran TV critic Alan Sepinwall loved it. He wrote, "I laughed. I choked up. I wished better things had happened for both Garfield and Guiteau. And I was glad that enough people remembered them to tell their tale this well."
Where to watch: Netflix
Fresh off the big screen…
Bad Girl (Tamil)
How many coming-of-age movies do we really get with women at the centre? This fast-paced, funny, romantic story about a young girl’s journey through adolescence into adulthood allows us insight into the protagonist, Ramya, and her experience with growing up. The writer-director, Varsha Bharath, spills all on a Reddit AMA, where she says the movie is about a ‘confused, messy mind’. The Hindu calls it a rare, immersive and layered coming of age story—something new brought to Tamil cinema. Starring Anjali Sivaraman as Ramya, the film reimagines the modern romcom, and addresses generational divides through the story.
Where to watch: JioHotstar
Mirai (Telugu)
Now, everybody wants their Harry Potter, and why not? Teja Sajja stars as a reluctant young man who learns he is destined to protect nine mystical scrolls created by Ashoka after the Kalinga war. Manchu Manoj plays the warlord who has eight of these and is on the hunt for the ninth, called Mirai. Mythology, sci-fi, superhero spectacle, the film has been a theatrical blockbuster.
Where to watch: JioHotstar
Here’s a new chapter…
Maharani Season 4 (Hindi)
Rani Bharti (Huma Qureshi) has Bihar eating out of her palm. Now she wants to rattle Delhi. She confronts Prime Minister Joshi (Vipin Sharma), finds new political families, and must keep her family from unraveling under the strain. New cast members include Shweta Basu Prasad. Reprising their roles are Amit Sial, Vineet Kumar and Pramod Pathak.
Where to watch: Sony LIV
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