We recommend: The best new movies and TV series
Editor’s note: An action-packed week: Bobby Deol as an ageing has-been actor in Anurag Kashyap’s latest, Bandar. Karisma Kapoor plays a troubled cop fighting her own demons. A story of friendship, rivalry, and K-Pop obsession in Night Shift for Cuties. A couple of Bollywood masala flicks in the theatres, while legends Mammootty and Mohanlal dazzle in Patriot, now on streaming. JLo and the grump from Ted Lasso are in a cutesy new romcom, while Apple TV has a chilling new psych-thriller with some heavy hitters in tow.
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New Releases
Indian prestige shows routinely dip into the well of real world historical stories to provide an easy point of access for viewers—Rocket Boys, Scam 1992, Freedom at Midnight, to name a few. Made in India: A Titan Story, too, heads down that path, handing the mighty Naseeruddin Shah the role of the mightier JRD Tata in this recreation of the story of Titan. Jim Sarbh, who has a knack for these roles (he played Dr. Homi Bhabha in Rocket Boys) stars as Xerxes Desai, who started the prestigious Titan watch brand in the mid-to-late ’80s in a landscape infested by foreign brands, using Vinay Kamath’s 2018 book Titan: Inside India's Most Successful Consumer Brand as its source material.
The series, with its smart portrayal of the mentor-mentee relationship between the two leads, takes viewers through the journey of an unsung brand into national relevance. It’s being received well by critics, with The Hollywood Reporter India writing:
We prefer higher stakes, all-or-nothing destinies, and the tangibility of the struggle. But willing a future into existence is just as compelling as making history. The series punctures our cynicism, and positions itself as a primal celebration of entrepreneurial spirit rather than a retro-fitted ode to cultural superiority.
Where to watch: Amazon MX Player
Brett Goldstein, best known as the perennial crank in the much loved and maudlin series Ted Lasso, takes on leading man duties in this romcom film that he has co-written as well. His counterpart: the formidable Jennifer Lopez. She’s a hotshot airline exec with little to no social life, running the business she’s inherited from her rich dad. He’s a lowly Brit lawyer struggling with the unique dynamics of the American workplace, thrust into the limelight—through a series of contrivances—to fight a case defending her. And sparks begin to fly.
The film is a light, breezy comedy that, per critics, doesn’t quite deliver. But the premise is fun, and the genre has a comforting familiarity to it, hitting all the beats. Worth a watch, we’d say?
Where to watch: Netflix
Yet another Indian crime thriller series with a famed Bollywood actress in the lead playing a cop of some sort? If it ain’t broke… This one, directed by Abhinay Deo of Delhi Belly fame, seems to be a bit different though, a bit grittier and darker. Karisma Kapoor plays Rita Brown, a depressed cop haunted by the memories of her dead husband (played by Shaan). So she takes to the bottle. She’s on a high profile murder case in Kolkata, where she’s joined by Arjun Sinha (Surya Sharma), who’s dealing with his own grief and the trauma of losing his wife and daughter in an accident. The series is grim and moody, with the director taking great care to paint the underbelly of the city. Kapoor plays against type in this role, bringing an understated energy here. Writes The Hindu of her performance:
Karisma also approaches Brown with restraint, maintaining a stoic face for the most part yet managing to express the burden of her trauma in the way she walks, talks and looks at people. The moody visual design is completely new for the actor, known for being part of some lively, talky films in the ‘90s and Karisma tones down her act to the bare minimum.
Where to watch: Zee5
Night Shift for Cuties (Indonesian)
We can all only ever dream of being as committed and dedicated to the things we love as K-pop stans are to K-pop. This series perfectly encapsulates this, as it follows Muti and Jenar, two convenience store workers stuck in the same old shift day after day. Both of them are massive fans of the fictional K‑pop girl group, Purple Tea, and so, when a contest is announced for one person (yes, just one!) to win a chance to visit Purple Tea in Seoul, tensions start to rise. What began as a friendship devolves into a rivalry, as the two start to work against the odds to win that contest.
Where to watch: Netflix
USA 94: Brazil’s Return to Glory
For two decades, the Brazilian national team had tried and failed to recapture the glory days of the ’50s and ’60s, when the likes of Pele and Garrincha ruled the world. In 1994, in the US, that dream was at long last fulfilled, as Roberto Baggio—‘the Divine Ponytail’—skied the decisive penalty into the American skies in one of the most heartbreaking moments in World Cup history. This new Netflix doc, on the eve of the 2026 World Cup, traces that historic win through player testimony and previously unseen footage, as Brazil, after a few years in the wilderness, came to rule the football world yet again.
Where to watch: Netflix
A dazzling star cast—featuring Javier Bardem, Amy Adams, Patrick Wilson, and more—propels this new Apple TV psychological thriller, based on John D MacDonald’s 1957 novel The Executions, which has already seen two film adaptations in 1962 and ’91. Adams and Wilson play a married attorney couple, Anna and Tom Bowden, living a domestic live with their two teenagers. There’s trouble in their little paradise, brewing away in the back, with a volatile son and a dad who’s busy microdosing acid and considering having an affair.
Around the same time, Max Cady (Bardem in a menacing turn), a dreaded criminal, is released from prison. Anna was Max’s defence attorney during the trial, while Tom was the prosecutor. Soon after, the two got together. And thus it is Max’s mission to destroy the Bowdens. “It’s a lurid, explicitly violent, well-acted, and preposterously plotted fever dream,” writes Rogerebert.com, “that had me rolling my eyes at certain twists and turns, even as I found myself eager to gobble up the next episode.”
Where to watch: Apple TV
In David Dhawan’s latest hit, Jas (Varun Dhawan) and Bani (Mrunal Thakur) seem to be hitting a wall in their marriage as Jas wants to start a family ASAP, but Bani wants to focus on her career before she has a child. When Jas moves to London, he meets another girl he falls for and, before he knows it, he has two pregnant women bearing his child. In this loud, colourful film, Dhawan brings to the audience a twist on the classic love triangle, one which teeters on the edge of problematic, but tries its best to bring some laughter and lightness to the screen.
Where to watch: Theatres
Peddi (Telugu)
While Peddi, a Telugu language film directed by Buchi Babu Sana, covers plenty of ground—from class drama set in Andhra Pradesh of the ’80s to an underdog’s quest for self-assertion—at heart it’s a classic sports drama, propelled by a fantastic performance by its titular lead, Ram Charan. He’s a coolie with a secret gift: Peddi is a cricket whiz, with unconventional but exceptional batting ability. Playing matches for money, he has to win the respect of his competitors sitting much higher in the socio-economic ladder than him.
The film traces Peddi’s rise, first as a cricketer and then a wrestler, as he tries to bring together his village. While Charan’s powerful performance has been praised across the board, the film itself has received mixed reviews for its uneven narrative as well as its use of Janhvi Kapoor’s character as Peddi’s love interest and the daughter of a local politician. Hollywood Reporter India, calling her character “forgettable” even to the protagonist, writes: “And by that we mean, Peddi remembers her not by her face, but her waist. These scenes, shot with an intentionally unsettling male gaze, are impossible to sit through.”
Where to watch: Theatres
A somewhat successor to the 2019 hit comedy Pati Patni Aur Woh, here comes Pati Patni Aur Woh Do. Building a fake dating trope involving someone already married is something only Bollywood could pull off—Ayushmann Khurrana plays Prajapati Pandey, who is thrust into a strange situation with his former college mate, Chanchal (Sara Ali Khan). Chanchal is in an inter-caste relationship, which has placed her in danger. To protect her from any such danger, the forest officer and his old friend start to build a narrative around the two of them in public. And it works.
The film highlights themes of infidelity, friendship, marriage, the power of rumours, and more, as Prajapati’s wife thinks he’s cheating on her with her best friend (Prajapati’s colleague); the town thinks he’s cheating on her with his old friend Chanchal; and meanwhile, he’s technically not really cheating on anyone. Technically.
Where to watch: Theatres
In Bandar, Anurag Kashyap sets his sights on a fictionalised version of the Me Too movement and the dire state of affairs in the Indian carceral system through the story of Samar (Bobby Deol). He’s an actor and singer past his prime, wiling away his time through dating app attachments. One such ex, Gayatri (played by Sapna Pabbi), turns out to be vindictive and possessive, and she falsely accuses him of rape. Being an easy target—given his status as a Bollywood celeb—Samar finds himself behind bars, awaiting trial. And thus begins his ordeal. Kashyap chooses a provocative and contrarian lens with which to tackle the Me Too stuff here, while the prison material digs deep to offer a realistic and dismal depiction of incarceration in India, with politics and petty grievances pushing Samar deeper into his pit of misery.
Where to watch: Theatres
Patriarchy gets a kicking in the cheekily titled Maa Behen, swashbuckling black comedy by Suresh Triveni. Madhuri Dixit stars as the Maa, with Tripti Dimri and Dharna Durga her two daughters. By some strange twist of fate, Dixit—widowed and living in a small town—finds herself with the dead body of her nosy, dominating neighbour, Charitra Kumar Gupta (Ravi Kishan). And so she gets to work the next morning with her two daughters (Dimri and Durga) to take care of the body and cover up a morbid crime. Hijinks, naturally, ensue. The film promises plenty and delivers somewhat, falling just short as per the critics.
Writes The Indian Express:
A bloody body in a kitchen. A laapata gent. Wedding festivities underway. The hint of a re-kindled romance. The addiction to making reels. A small town and its cruel judgemental whispers. And a woman who wears her sleeveless blouses with pride. So many ideas jostling for space, but so little landing...
Where to watch: Netflix
One more chapter
Interview with the Vampire (Season 3)
Anne Rice’s book, Interview with the Vampire, was originally adapted into a film in 1994. In 2022, it was turned into this hit series, starring Jacob Anderson and Sam Reid. Embracing the queer elements of the book, as well as themes of race and abuse, the show is focused on the relationship between vampires Louis and Lestat, their histories, and their flaws. This third season, “The Vampire Lestat”, based on the second book by Anne Rice, is all about Lestat’s turn to something darker, more sinister.
Sherin Nicole in RogerEbert.com writes,
It’s both wicked and charming while remaining unrepentantly dangerous. That’s hard to look away from. As a gothic alt-rock opera caught somewhere between an ’80s that never was and a ’90s that will never be, “The Vampire Lestat” outdoes season 2.
Where to watch: Prime Video
Fresh off the big screen
Patriot (Malayalam)
A mature and complex tale about espionage directed with great finesse by Mahesh Narayanan, featuring a glitzy cast including heavy-hitters Mammootty and Mohanlal. There’s a spyware called Periscope, which sounds and acts a lot like Pegasus, the real-life spyware that was in the eye of controversy a few years ago, that’s being misused. The film is a slow-burn compared to the more high-octane spy-thrillers that rely on spectacle and showiness, instead plotting meticulously the journey of Dr. Daniel (Mammootty) as he tries to save the day. Eventually, he’s joined too by Mohanlal, as the two set about on their mission like model pros.
Where to watch: Zee5
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