Anora, Sean Baker’s latest Academy Award-winning film, feels like a great film in its totality because it sort of uses its full length to show us the real state of mind of its title character. The film that has a stripper as the main character has this template rom-com structure in the beginning, and it… Continue reading Anora Review | A Well-Mounted Character Study With a Subtle Emphasis on the Class Divide
Tag: Hotstar
Love Under Construction Review | The Romance Is Pleasing, but the Rest of It Is Generic and Middling
During the promotions of the latest JioHotstar series, Love Under Construction, the people involved in the series were describing it as a modern version of Midhunam meeting Varavelpu. While that description gives you a basic idea of the premise, the emotional intensity of this series is slightly different from those films. Vishnu G Raghav’s writing… Continue reading Love Under Construction Review | The Romance Is Pleasing, but the Rest of It Is Generic and Middling
1000 Babies Review | An Engaging Serial Killer Tale That Withstands Rahman’s Flawed Malayalam
For a non-Malayali viewer, the new Hotstar series 1000 Babies, directed and co-written by Najeem Koya, will feel like an intriguing concept that keeps you interested because of the enormity of the central event. I am saying this because one of the major things that was bothering me while I was watching the series was… Continue reading 1000 Babies Review | An Engaging Serial Killer Tale That Withstands Rahman’s Flawed Malayalam
Showtime Part 2 Review | Bollywood’s Shallow Self-Reproach Feels More Like a Glorified Daily Soap
In my review of part 1 of season 1 of the new Dharmatic series for Hotstar, Showtime, I mentioned that even in self-criticism, Bollywood lacks nuances. Part 2 has now been released, and there are only three episodes. Well, the story goes through a predictable set of dramatic shifts in equations, and what you eventually… Continue reading Showtime Part 2 Review | Bollywood’s Shallow Self-Reproach Feels More Like a Glorified Daily Soap
Patna Shuklla Review | An Excessively Melodramatic Legal Drama That Lacks Compelling Arguments
There is a terrific revelation happening in the last quarter of the new Hotstar film Patna Shuklla, starring Raveena Tandon. This twist was so good that I felt extremely disappointed that everything else in this legal drama was just loud melodrama rather than a logical legal struggle. If you can manipulate your own mind to… Continue reading Patna Shuklla Review | An Excessively Melodramatic Legal Drama That Lacks Compelling Arguments
Showtime Review | Even in Self-Criticism, Bollywood Lacks Nuances
On paper, Showtime, the new Hotstar series produced by Dharma Productions digital wing Dharmatic Entertainment, looks like an extremely bold move. Bollywood, which is going through a patchy phase in terms of content and many other controversial topics including nepotism, doing a self-critique, that too produced by Karan Johar felt like a sign of acknowledgement.… Continue reading Showtime Review | Even in Self-Criticism, Bollywood Lacks Nuances
Karmma Calling Review | A Flat Thriller That Feels More Like a Glorified Daily Soap
The new Hotstar original Karmma Calling, directed by Ruchi Narain, based on the ABC original Revenge, feels more like a daily soap you see on these main TV channels rather than a nuanced thriller that can captivate you with its plot development. With almost every character being so unreal on screen, this blend of posh… Continue reading Karmma Calling Review | A Flat Thriller That Feels More Like a Glorified Daily Soap
Masterpeace Review | A Loud Woke Comedy That Works in Parts Because of the Relatability
The new Hotstar original Masterpeace, a comedy starring Nithya Menen and Sharaf U Dheen as the central characters, is an eccentric comedy that works to an extent primarily due to the relatability of the content on a thematic level. Set mainly in a single location, Sreejith N’s 5 episode series is deliberately loud, sometimes making… Continue reading Masterpeace Review | A Loud Woke Comedy That Works in Parts Because of the Relatability