We recommend: The best new movies and TV series
Editor’s note: A full week. Rajkummar Rao delivers a persuasive performance in Prahaar: The Ujjwal Nikam Story, Rajinikanth is back with Jailer 2, Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day drops on streaming, and so does Lokesh Kanagaraj’s much-loved DC.
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New releases
Prahaar: The Ujjwal Nikam Story (Hindi)
Another week, another biopic. This Avinash Arun directorial, as evident in the title, is about Ujjwal Nikam, the lawyer who represented the Maharashtra government and ensured the conviction of Ajmal Kasab, one of the terrorists behind the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Designed as a courtroom drama, the film is fronted by Rajkummar Rao and relives the horror of the attacks on the city.
“The film is neither entirely a puff piece nor a wholly measured take on a sensational case. Ideas that go against the imperatives of the hagiography are introduced only to linger in the ether, neither ignored nor satisfactorily resolved,” states a review in Scroll.
Where to watch: Theatres
Nayyi Navelli (Hindi)
Yami Gautam stars in this comedy horror blended with mythology. Directed by Balaji Mohan and written by Himanshu Sharma, the film centers around a bride in Meerut who has more up her sleeve than what is expected of her. The question here is: is she an ideal bride or a sinister being?
Where to watch: Theatres
Jailer 2 (Tamil)
Filmmaker Nelson Dilipkumar and superstar Rajinikanth are back with this action comedy. The first one released in 2023 and revolved around a former jailer who is out to get a drug smuggler. The sequel tracks the life of the protagonist, Muthuvel Pandian (Rajinikanth), in the aftermath, living a quiet life in Tamil Nadu. But the peace, it soon turns out, is an illusion. His past lurks behind, waiting to catch up with him.
Although Rajinikanth’s films are review-proof, his latest has received much praise upon release. Reads a review in NDTV,
Yes, Rajinikanth remains the film's biggest asset and there's no two ways about this. His controlled body language, comic timing and effortless swagger give even simple moments a high and has the audience cheering him on. His star aura is used effectively, allowing a look, pause or punchline to carry as much weight as a larger action sequence. The film's best scenes are often when the star exercises restraint in his performance.
Where to watch: Theatres
Emperor vs Sarat Chandra (Bengali)
Srijit Mukherji has a tradition of releasing his films during Durga Puja. Although there were few lapses in the past, the filmmaker is back to renewing it with his latest. As the title suggests, the film is about celebrated author Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay and captures the time when the British government felt threatened with his writing.
The period drama goes back to 1926 when Chattopadhyay’s novel, Pather Dabi, had created a stir as its themes of dissent and revolution vexed the British administration and led to its banning. Starring Tota Roy Choudhury, Abir Chatterjee and Mimi Chakraborty, the outing proves to be extremely relevant given the times we are living in.
Praising the performance of Roy Choudhury who essays the role of the author, a review in The Telegraph raves, “Tota Roy Choudhury is easily the biggest reason to watch Emperor vs Sarat Chandra. The actor gets into the skin of Sarat Chandra, from his body language and diction to the way he carries himself in a room.”
Where to watch: Theatres
Tenzing (English)
This film by Jennifer Peedom is about the 1953 Mount Everest expedition. Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay and New Zealander Edmund Hillary. Peedom, who helmed the documentary Sherpa in 2015, brings cinematic verve to a known, if not overtly familiar tale. Starring Chinese actor Genden Phuntsok and Tom Hiddleston, the film places Tenzing’s achievement at the center of the narrative, and through this, lends his achievements the importance that history failed to do.
“Hiddleston plays Hillary as frank, thoughtful, practical, with no side to him; Phuntsok maintains Tenzing’s boyish innocence. Would a Tibetan film-maker have immersed us even more thoroughly in Tenzing’s world and excluded the British more? Maybe. At any rate, Genden Phuntsok’s charm carries the picture,” asks a review in The Guardian.
Where to watch: AppleTV
Tyson (English)
Much has been written and discussed about former professional wrestler Mike Tyson. In the recent four-part docuseries, the grand trajectory of his life is traced. It starts from his rise to his achievements as heavyweight champion and then dives headlong to the heady fame that followed and the controversies that erupted.
It has proved to be a polarising documentary given its tendency to whitewash its subject.
Where to watch: Netflix
Fresh off the big screen
Disclosure Day (English)
Steven Spielberg’s fascination with aliens is not a secret. His latest treads familiar ground as he imagines immediate threat to the planet. A cybersecurity expert gone rogue and a meteorologist chance upon coveted information and uncover extraterrestrial life buried by a self-serving government.
The film received mixed reviews upon release but it is hard to deny oneself the pleasure of watching a Spielberg film. Raves a review in Roger Ebert,
The final scenes of “Disclosure Day” are among the most emotionally riveting of Spielberg’s career in ways you won’t predict. They lean into his sentimentality and thank God or whatever Non-Humanoid Supreme Being that they do. In a time dominated by unceasing cynicism, to have a master like this who truly believes in the power of transportive filmmaking is a gift.
Where to watch: JioHotstar
DC (Tamil)
Devdas has been adapted and retold several times. With his latest, filmmaker Arun Matheswaran takes on the mantle to reimagine the familiar tale of the tragic lover as a gangster. The result is both persuasive and compelling, making a case for Lokesh Kanagaraj (the director making his acting debut) as a performer and the malleable possibilities of the Bengali text.
“It’s Arun’s re-interpretation of the novel that makes all the difference. He takes three central epic characters and places them into a world full of gangsters, guns and moral ambiguity. His Devdas is just as traumatised as those that came before him, but he doesn’t have the time nor the luxury to drown in self-pity like his predecessors,” states a review in The Hollywood Reporter.
Where to watch: SonyLIV
Aasha (Malayalam)
In this thriller, a nurse gets into an altercation with someone after a road accident. As the fight escalates, and she refuses to back down, more and more complexities are thrown in the narrative. Starring Urvashi, Joju George and Aishwarya Lekshmi in the lead roles, the film was praised for its intriguing premise.
“The film successfully plants the seed of a certain idea in our minds, and it's easy to fall for it because that has been, traditionally, the path that most filmmakers take when writing thrillers involving two individuals. But “Aasha” flips that narrative on its head and alters our perspective after a certain point,” says a review in The Week.
Where to watch: Zee5
One more chapter
The Diplomat S4 (English)
Keri Russell returns as Kate Wyler, high-powered British diplomat caught in an endless churn of politicking and global crises, very often thanks to her slippery and conniving husband-enemy-soulmate and US Veep Hal (Rufus Sewell). The reviews are mixed—“‘The Diplomat’s’ core strength was in its central relationship. Season 4 dilutes that power across three couples, one of whom occupies the highest office in America,” writes Indiewire, but the strong performances and, indeed, the high drama, make this one an easy watch.
Where to watch: Netflix
Koffee With Karan (Season 9)
Karan Johar’s celebrity talk show defined pop culture like few had. Moments from it have become part of lore and now, for the final time, he is back sitting on his couch and asking revealing questions to his celebrity guests. As always, it is sinful and thereby worth all the pleasure.
Where to watch: JioHotstar
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