We recommend: The best new movies and TV series
Editor’s note: Begin the year in the theatres witnessing the realisation of a possibility that war films can be made by Indians that don’t argue for battling the ghosts of Pakistan, past, present, and future. The film is Ikkis, don’t miss it. Don’t miss the latest Ricky Gervais comedy special, the season finale of Stranger Things, and the contentious but well-made film Haq on OTT.
New releases
Ikkis (Hindi)
No matter how dastardly the thriller, crime film specialist Sriram Raghavan has always hinted at being a softie. Take note of how Raabta has been shot in his spy thriller Agent Vinod, or the doomed longing between Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Huma Qureshi’s characters in Badlapur.
With war film Ikkis, Raghavan delivers a warm story of the father of a martyred 21-year-old Indian soldier, played by Dharmendra, coming to terms with his son’s death 25 years after the tragedy. Helping him is a Pakistani soldier (Jaideep Ahlawat) who may have something to do with that death. Playing the real-life martyr, Arun Khetarpal, who lost his life during the ‘71 war with Pakistan, is Agastya Nanda.
Where to watch: Theatres
Follow My Voice (Spanish)
Cooped up at home after a difficult health crisis and struggling with her mental health, Klara has to find some way to wile away her time and combat cabin fever. That’s when she discovers Kang.
Kang is the host of a radio programme that Klara finds solace in while she spends her days at home. When she returns to school, she has to face the fact that she has a crush on this boy—whom she doesn’t even know. Based on a Wattpad book by Ariana Godoy, this film follows Klara as she tries to get better, and in that process, falls for Kang, despite never really having spoken to him.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime
My Korean Boyfriend (Portuguese)
Moving to Korea and dating a Korean boy may not be all that it seems to be on K-Dramas. This reality TV show follows five Brazilian women on their romantic journeys with their online crushes whom they finally get to meet in person—five Korean boys. Will it be everything they’d hoped for? The set-up is enticing—the tensions of cultural differences, the excitement of a new love, the mystery of online dating. According to Midgard Times,
“Seoul is shot attractively without feeling like a tourism ad, and everyday spaces — apartments, cafés, family homes — are given as much attention as scenic city shots. There’s a casual intimacy to the way dates and domestic moments are filmed that works well. You can tell the production knows how to make reality television look polished without feeling artificial.”
Where to watch: Netflix
Fresh off the big screen
Haq (Hindi)
The picture-perfect Khan household is torn apart when Abbas (played by Emraan Hashmi), the husband, brings home a second wife. Things start to disintegrate until, eventually, his first wife, Shazia (Yami Gautam Dhar), can take it no longer; she is compelled to take to the courts to seek justice. What follows in this courtroom drama from last year directed by Suparn Verma is a fictionalised account of the landmark Shah Bano judgement by the Supreme Court of India in 1985. Its implications can be felt till today, and Haq—now on Netflix—explores the emotional weight of Shazia’s journey in this film.
Writes Scroll:
“The creators of Haq do not want it to be seen as yet another Muslim-baiting screed. The movie’s mission to rescue hapless Muslim women from the clutches of hidebound men is relatively restrained and explored through relatable characters.”
Where to watch: Netflix
The Smashing Machine (English)
Dwayne Johnson—aka “The Rock”—plays Mark Kerr, a former MMA fighter down on his luck. His promising career dissolved following issues with substance abuse and conflicts with his girlfriend, Dawn (played by Emily Blunt). It’s a sensitive, empathetic film by Benny Safdie (one half of the Safdie brothers, who’ve made Good Time [2017] and Uncut Gems [2019]), with The Rock delivering a memorable performance. “Johnson,” writes The New Yorker, “does the substantial work of bringing a noteworthy character to life, by infusing the role with his own expansive personality […] It’s a performance of flair and precision and imparts emotion to a script that lacks it.”
Where to watch: Bookmyshow Stream
Ricky Gervais: Mortality (English)
At his best, Ricky Gervais can deliver, with surgeon-like precision, the most caustic critiques of modern society through his crass, often mean-spirited comedy. At his worst—an increasingly frequent occurrence, sadly—he’s no better than a two-bit rabble rouser whining about ‘cancel culture’ and the ‘woke mob’. We await with baited breath to see which way he swings on his new Netflix comedy special, Mortality, where he talks of life and death in between (wait for it) complaining about a difficult decade where people get offended at everything.
Where to watch: Netflix
One more chapter
Stranger Things - Season 5 (English)
The beloved teenage squad is back to battle the mind-bending, portal-crossing supernatural beings who have been wreaking havoc on the world for the last four seasons. Except this is the final chapter—will we see the “upside down” defeated, or will the kids we’ve grown to know and love over the past few years lose this fight that has taken over their lives?
Leila Latif writes for Empire Online,
“The needle drops continue to utterly rule, and the Duffers truly understand the power of coming-of-age tales, where characters evolve and pass the baton to the generation after.”
Where to watch: Netflix
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